Chapter 134 – The Son Of The Second Branch Who Was Truly In Grief
Chapter 134 The Son of the Second Branch Who Was Truly in Grief
When Xiao Haitang came to find Qu Moying again, Qu Moying was still waiting in the same place.
Seeing that Qu Moying was still there, Xiao Haitang heaved a sigh of relief. Just now, after she angrily went back, her aunt reprimanded her fiercely, telling her to keep a close eye on Qu Moying and not let her run around. She had to remain deaf to whatever annoying words Qu Moying said.
Xiao was also afraid that Qu Moying would cause trouble secretly again, so she became alert and sent someone to keep an eye on her.
In order to avoid embarrassment, Xiao Haitang even went to the front to find the Qu Mansion’s other young ladies and come over together.
“Fourth Lady, how is the visit? Can we go now?” Xiao Haitang stepped forward and said with a smile, as if the dispute between her and Qu Moying did not exist.
Qu Moying nodded with a smile and stood up, “Oh, I’ve visited the place. I was waiting here for you to come back.”
“I’m really sorry. Something was up just now, or I would have come back earlier,” Xiao Haitang apologized politely.
The two of them exchanged pleasantries as if nothing had happened earlier. Qu Qiuyan’s eyes darkened as she looked at them.
She did not believe that nothing had happened between the two of them.
Xiao Haitang and her were considered to have a good relationship. Thus, she knew that the person Xiao Haitang wanted to marry was her cousin. She had heard that the two families also had this intention. It was just a matter of time now. At this moment, Earl Ling’an’s Mansion had expressed that they wanted Qu Moying to marry into their family. Xiao Haitang definitely would not tolerate this matter.
Others might not know what kind of person Xiao Haitang was, but Qu Qiuyan knew about her. Before she came, she had already written a letter to Xiao Haitang and told her everything about how Earl Ling’an’s Mansion had asked the Qu Mansion about the marriage with Qu Moying. Therefore, it was impossible for Xiao Haitang to be on friendly terms with Qu Moying.
She had originally thought that Xiao Haitang must have made a move. After all, this was Earl Ling’an’s Mansion. Qu Moying had never been here before. Anything could happen here. But now, nothing had happened. It was really suspicious.
Her gaze swept from Qu Moying to Xiao Haitang. Both of them seemed to be on friendly terms, and their smiles were also very amiable.
This was different from what she had imagined. What went wrong?
Qu Qiuyan did not know that when Qu Moying came to the Ji Family yesterday, she even dared to confront Xiao, not to mention Xiao Haitang. Therefore, Xiao was very vigilant against Qu Moying. She repeatedly told her niece to be careful of Qu Moying and to keep an eye on her to prevent her from causing trouble.
Although Xiao Haitang did not care, she listened to Xiao readily. Originally, she did have some thoughts, but now it was just a warning. She did not expect that she would be irritated by Qu Moying.
“Miss Xiao, can I go to the mourning hall to pay my respects again? I don’t have the mood to admire the scenery right now,” Qu Moying got straight to the point and said to Xiao Haitang.
Xiao Haitang’s heart skipped a beat. When her aunt asked her to keep an eye on Qu Moying, she also repeatedly said that no matter what Qu Moying’s reason was, she should not take her to the mourning hall again.
“You have already paid your respects just now. If you go again, they have to prepare new candles and incense sticks again,” Xiao Haitang quavered awkwardly.
“It doesn’t matter. I originally brought some additional ones. I want to go take a look and look for Cousin. I have something to ask him. I heard that Cousin is at the mourning hall right now,” Qu Moying asserted.
Xiao Haitang was befuddled. Should she not let her go to the mourning hall or see her Cousin?
She still had a barely acceptable reason to not let her go to the mourning hall, but she couldn’t say anything to stop her from seeing her Cousin.
“Miss Xiao, if you are busy, I can go by myself.” Seeing that she did not respond, Qu Moying said lightly.
“Let’s go together.” Xiao Haitang could not refuse at this time. Her aunt had told her to keep an eye on Qu Moying.
Since the two of them were going over, the other three would also go over.
The white banners were waving at the mourning hall. The low and continuous chanting of the monks echoed across the hall, followed by the sounds of some Buddhist instruments.
Qu Moying waited outside the mourning hall for a while. Then, Yu Dong took out the candles and incense sticks she brought with her. Although the Ji Family had prepared the incense sticks, it was more sincere for Qu Moying to bring her own. In particular, Qu Moying was a junior, so she should be more sincere. Therefore, she asked Granny Zhou to prepare the candles and incense sticks for her yesterday.
When she walked into the mourning hall, she looked around and found that it was rather empty. Only the Ji Family’s Eldest and Second Young Masters knelt in front of the coffin. Right now, Earl Ling’an’s Mansion only had two male descendants.
The Eldest Young Master, Ji Yuanxing, was Ji Youran’s older brother. The Second Young Master, Ji Yuanhai, was the concubine-born son of the second branch. He was only eleven years old, and he was born by Ji Yong’an’s concubine. His mother had already died and was survived by this only child. Rumors had it that Xiao killed the boy’s mother. Of course, even Ji Hanyue was not quite clear about these things.
However, there was one thing that she knew. Her younger sister had always had a good relationship with Ji Yuanhai. The two of them were about the same age. Her younger sister had a kind and gentle personality. Her relationship with Ji Yuanhai had always been very good.
In the past, whenever Ji Yuanhai suffered any grievances in the second branch, he would come to her younger sister and tell her. Although her younger sister was one year younger than him, she would try her best to appease him. Ji Hanyue didn’t have special feelings for Ji Yuanhai. She simply treated him as a little brother. After all, the age gap between them was quite large, and they were not in the same branch. It was impossible for her to be as close to him as her younger sister.
Her younger sister had mentioned it more than once, saying that Ji Yuanhai was smart and well-learned. He was much better than Ji Yuanxing!
“Cousin, why are you here?” Hearing the voice, Ji Yuanxing looked up at Xiao Haitang and asked frowning. Then, he turned to the young ladies from the Qu Mansion behind her.
“Fourth Miss Qu wants to pay respects to Uncle again, and also look for her cousin… Maybe they have something to say to each other?” Xiao Haitang answered vaguely.
Cousins were the most intimate, and a lot of times, marriage relations would occur between two families, just like Xiao Haitang and Ji Yuanxing. However, this time, the Ji Family wanted to select another bride. Xiao Haitang didn’t know if Ji Yuanxing knew or not, so she deliberately mentioned it to show that Qu Moying and her cousin were intimate just like them. She wanted to see Ji Yuanxing’s reaction.
Sure enough, Ji Yuanxing turned his eyes to the several young ladies behind Xiao Haitang. The one with a beautiful and elegant appearance was Third Lady Qu. He heard that she might be the future Princess Jing. The one who looked faintly charming but was delicate and pretty must be First Lady Qu. There was another one who looked good, but she was clearly not as beautiful as Third Lady Qu. She should be Second Lady Qu, a daughter of a concubine, who looked a little timid.
Xiao had already told Ji Yuanxing about the few young ladies of the Qu Mansion. When he looked at them, he immediately recognized each one of them. The one on the far side with a long veil on her face should be Fourth Lady Qu, who was also the daughter of Yue. Was she the bride his elder sister and mother had selected for him?
The wide veil covered her eyes and half of her face. However, from what he saw, he felt that she looked quite pretty. It was not as bad as the rumors said.
Her skin was fair and flawless, coupled with her pink lips and glossy black hair. If her eyes were pretty, she should be good-looking. She had a curvy and petite figure. The rumors about her dull appearance and lack of talent were apparently wrong. His elder sister and mother might be wrong. It was said that she was quite outstanding.
When Ji Yuanxing was examining Qu Moying, Qu Moying glanced at him, and then glanced past him to Ji Yuanhai, who was kneeling behind him.
Ji Yuanhai was also looking at her. His eyes were so swollen that they were almost reduced to two slits. He looked like he had been crying heavily, but even though the small slits, Qu Moying saw a trace of dark hatred in those eyes. Although it was a cautious flash, it made Qu Moying’s heart skip a beat.
The whole of the Ji Family were crying today. Everyone was very sad. Many people had red eyes, but only this child was crying so much that his eyes were almost swollen. He was really crying, unlike those people who deliberately wiped their eyes red.
In the past, Ji Hanyue had never paid attention to this concubine-born brother in the other branch. Now, she could not help but look a few more times at him. After all, in the entire mansion, he was the only one who had really cried.
He was still young and had not grown up yet. The eleven-year-old Ji Yuanhai looked a little younger, just like she, at the age of 14, looked a little petite for her age.
There was only one reason, and that was he had not been properly treated.
Qu Moying had been raised in the village since she was a child. Her food and supplement could not be compared with those in the mansion, so, she was naturally a little petite. What about Ji Yuanhai in front of her?
No wonder her younger sister repeatedly said that Ji Yuanhai lived miserably in the second branch, but there was nothing she could do. Xiao was in charge of the second branch, and she, an unmarried elder sister, could not make any decisions. Moreover, Old Lady Ji trusted Xiao and Ji Yong’an of the second branch. The person that Ji Yong’an liked was also Xiao’s child, Ji Yuanxing…
“Prepare candles and incense for Fourth Lady Qu,” Ji Yuanxing ordered.
Qu Moying composed herself and bowed. “Thank you, First Young Master Ji. I brought my own candles and incense!”
Seeing that she rejected his good intentions, Ji Yuanxing did not say anything else and retreated to the side. Xiao Haitang stomped her foot fiercely, wishing she could go forward and give Qu Moying a push. How could Cousin show such kindness to Qu Moying? Shouldn’t he be disdainful of people like Qu Moying?
Could it be that Cousin really wanted to marry Qu Moying? Thinking of this, she was enraged.
“Miss Xiao, let’s go and offer incense again!” Qu Qiuyan suddenly whispered and reached out to pull Xiao Haitang’s clothes.
Xiao Haitang immediately understood and looked at Qu Qiuyan gratefully. She nodded and followed Qu Moying to offer incense.
At this time, she could not lose her composure and let others discover anything.
Previously, when she had followed the Old Lady to offer incense, Qu Moying had followed her every moment. The Old Lady’s words and actions were her standards, and she exactly followed them when offering incense.
Her face had a sad expression as she silently offered the incense to the deceased!
At this time, she knelt in front of the coffin with tears in her eyes. She lowered her head and kowtowed three times. Tears flowed down her face, and she could not help but whimper. Even though she bit her lips so hard that a faint smell of rustic blood lingered in her mouth, she still could not control her crying.
Her father was such a heroic figure. He was loyal to the country and faithful to his family. He adored and loved his two daughters. However, he died inexplicably. His funeral even dragged until now without a proper burial. Qu Moying was extremely furious now. Her eyes were filled with hostility…
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