Chapter 171

Chapter 171 Questioning, Where Was Cousin Yanyue Buried?

Lord Yun was going to look into this? Was this something that could be looked into? Just now, Old Lady Ji had already panicked because of Qu Moying’s words. Hearing that Concubine Xiang still insisted on getting to the bottom of this, Old Lady Ji was suddenly enraged. She slammed the table and angrily rebuked, “Is this something that a concubine like you should meddle in? You keep talking about the matter of an heir. Who do you think you are?”

Concubine Xiang had already left her life and death out of consideration. Hearing Old Lady Ji reprimand her like this, she raised her head to look at the Old Lady and said, “Old Lady, this is not something I want. It’s Earl Ling’an’s last wish. Moreover, it will be reported to the Emperor.”

The Old Lady’s brows furrowed tightly. She wished she could have slapped Concubine Xiang. She was extremely annoyed. Picking up the teacup on the table, she took a sip and put the cup back down. Then, she calmed herself down. “What exactly is written in the letter?”

This time, Concubine Xiang did not speak. She looked at the elders at the side. She did not manage to read the letter just now. The ones who did were the elders.

One of the elders coughed softly. “Old Lady, Earl Ling’an wrote that he wanted an heir, so that the first branch’s bloodline could be passed down. He didn’t want that there would be no descendants left in the first branch after his death and that no one would pay their respects to the first branch in the future. In addition, he also mentioned Third Lady Ji.”

“What about Yanyue?” The Old Lady was shocked. This was another matter that could not be mentioned.

“He mentioned that the dowry that his wife, Yue, gave to the mansion should be given to Third Lady Ji. When the Crown Princess married into Eastern Palace, half of Yue’s dowry was left for Third Lady Ji,” the elder said.

Third Lady Ji, Ji Yanyue. Right now, there was no such person as Ji Yanyue in the Ji Family.

“Yanyue, Yanyue…” Old Lady Ji stared into space as she muttered to herself.

“Old Lady, where exactly did Cousin Yanyue go? Since Uncle left half of Aunt’s dowry for her, naturally, these are all hers. We should let Cousin Yanyue make the decision since she is Uncle’s biological daughter. At this time, are you still unwilling to tell us where she is, Old Lady Ji?”

Qu Moying looked up at Old Lady Ji and asked.

“Yanyue is already dead. What’s the use of talking about this?” Old Lady Ji pressed hard on the chair and shouted angrily.

“But I heard that Cousin Yanyue didn’t die. It’s just that she was no longer around here. And I heard people say that her reputation was damaged. But no matter what, Cousin Yanyue should come out at this time. Uncle is dead. If Cousin Yanyue is still alive, she will be Uncle’s only kin,” Qu Moying continued.

She wanted to see how Old Lady Ji would justify herself.

“Fourth Lady Qu, this is the internal affairs of our mansion. It has nothing to do with you.” Old Lady Ji had disliked Qu Moying for a long time, and now she was so annoyed that she did not care about etiquette. She directly reprimanded Qu Moying.

“Old Lady Ji, I am just worried about Cousin Yanyue’s safety. This matter should be looked into. Uncle was a high-rank official, but he didn’t even know that something had happened to his own daughter. This is quite unacceptable! Please forgive me for being anxious, Old Lady.”

Qu Moying held onto Yu Dong and stood up. She bowed deeply to Old Lady Ji and said again, “Please, clear Cousin Yanyue’s name, Old Lady Ji!”

She lowered her head, and her eyes were cold and bloodthirsty. No matter what, she did not believe the vague meaning in those words that had been spread outside.

Her sister died so miserably, and after that, her sister’s reputation was ruined. How could this Grandmother, who had frequently expressed her love for Ji Yanyue, be so calm as she vilified the latter’s reputation?

Humans were inherently kind, but people in the Ji Family were cruel and malicious ones.

“Fourth Lady Qu, it’s true that Yanyue died of a sudden disease.” Old Lady Ji gritted her teeth hard to prevent herself from losing her composure. Qu Moying had talked and behaved appropriately, so at this time, Old Lady Ji could not find fault with her.

“Why didn’t Uncle know that Cousin Yanyue died of a sudden disease? The letter he left behind indicated that nothing had happened to Cousin Yanyue.” Qu Moying looked up, and her gaze slowly fell on Old Lady Ji’s face.

“I’m afraid he would be worried about this matter, so I kept it a secret from him. Not only him but Crown Princess also did not know this.” Old Lady Ji explained with a sulky face.

“Where is Cousin Yanyue buried?” Since Qu Moying had voiced out about this, she naturally would not let the Old Lady brush it off so easily. “I’d like to pay my respects to her,” she said.

Since it was hinted that Yanyue had eloped with someone, there would naturally be no grave. This was also the cunningness of Pei Luo’an and the others. If there was nowhere to investigate, nothing would be found out. Those vague speculations would not only make people feel that Earl Ling’an’s Mansion was cold-blooded but also pitiful.

In order to cover up the fact that one of their ladies had lost her chastity, they had done all they could to cover it. If this matter was really put to the table, it wouldn’t be good for the entire Ji Family.

The few elders at the side couldn’t watch on any longer. An elder sitting at the head of the table spoke, “This is a matter of our Ji Family. Fourth Lady Qu, I hope that you won’t interfere.”

“Third Lady Ji is my cousin. Shouldn’t I go and pay my respects?” Qu Moying coldly looked at the elder. Her face was emotionless and ruthless, and her cherry lips tightly pursed. There was a bit of killing intent in her that made one’s heart palpitate.

Although the elder could not see her eyes, he could sense that her eyes were coldly staring at him from behind her eye veil. For some reason, he was a little flustered. This Fourth Lady Qu’s imposing manner was truly astonishing. It actually made him feel a bit guilty.

“Fourth Lady Qu, let’s talk about this later. Let’s first investigate Concubine Xiang’s matter. I hope that you can take the dignity of the Ji Family into consideration. ”

Old Lady Ji was an experienced and sophisticated person. She coughed softly and pulled back the conversation.

The coldness on Qu Moying’s face receded slightly. When she looked back, there was already a faint smile on her face. She glanced at Concubine Xiang and said, “Old Lady Ji, Concubine Xiang’s matter is actually very easy to investigate. As long as we let Lord Yun carry out an investigation, he will definitely be able to find out the truth. Right now, Concubine Xiang thinks that the letter is real, while Second Madam Ji thinks it is fake. That is why there is a dispute. It is precisely because of this dispute that Lord Yun meddles in.”

With a few words, she pointed out where Lord Yun would start his investigation.

If not for the fact that the Ji Family’s people had a dispute, it would be inconvenient for Lord Yun to interfere even if he wanted to.

At present, Concubine Xiang was the key, but the cause for this matter was also the key. The difference in opinions was the reason for the divergence.

The member of Ji Youran and Xiao’s family, namely the second branch, had not appeared until now. They must be dealing with the letters left by her father. They must be afraid that some bad news would spread out. This was why they did not have time to come over right now. They would only appear after they finished dealing with it. Now, Qu Moying had to make the Old Lady own up while they were not around.

She had specially asked Granny Zhou to leave a few letters meant for her mother. When her father was at the border, he had written a few letters to her mother, all of which had been kept there. Later, when her mother was gone, her father had collected these letters and put them in the drawer.

These few letters were meant to stall Xiao and Ji Youran. The previous words were all foreshadowing, and it was best to start with Old Lady Ji to get the truth out.

Ji Youran and Xiao would never have thought that Qu Moying had always been with Old Lady Ji, nor would they have thought that Old Lady Ji had already given up and decided to admit to this matter.

Otherwise, they would not be so reassured as to let Old Lady Ji handle these matters alone.

These words made Old Lady Ji snap back to her senses. Right now, what she was most afraid of was Lord Yun interfering in this matter. She had heard that as long as a living person entered the West Prison, which was under the command of Lord Yun, there would be nothing that couldn’t be gotten out of that person. She had also heard that Lord Yun could even make those who were dead “speak”. Even if it were broad daylight when one passed by outside West Prison’s door, they would still feel waves of cold wind.

Old Lady Ji’s breathing became heavy. She had an idea in her mind. Wasn’t it just to find an heir for the first branch? If they insisted, then so be it. After all, the heir must be her own grandson, so it didn’t matter which branch the grandson was from.

The title of Earl Ling’an would always belong to Ji Family anyway, and it was impossible for it to fall into another family’s hands. There was no need to get Lord Yun, who was hard to deal with and would even bring trouble to them, involved just because of this matter.

“Fourth Lady Qu, the Ji Family’s matter will be investigated by the Ji Family. Concubine Xiang married into us together with Yue. She wholeheartedly served Yue and also paid her respects in the temple hall after Yue passed away. She has been in the temple hall for so many years, and her mind is kind. So, what she said is naturally true.”

Old Lady Ji coughed softly. She affirmed Concubine Xiang and confirmed that what Concubine Xiang said was true.

The elders watched on and nodded repeatedly. They also felt that it was a good idea. No one wanted to have anything to do with the malignant man, Lord Yun. Although it was Earl Ling’an’s Mansion’s matter, the Ji Family got involved, so the elders would also be implicated inevitably. If these few elders were brought to Lord Yun, they would not even be able to stand steadily.

They would rather not meet him!

Not only was Lord Yun notorious, but he was also favored by the Emperor. It was said that the Emperor listened to him. Even if Lord Yun grew dissatisfied and killed someone’s whole family, the Emperor might not say anything.

The elders thought the situation through. When the elders heard Old Lady Ji’s words, they all nodded as if they were granted amnesty.

“Old Lady, do you think that what Concubine Xiang said is credible?” Qu Moying frowned and asked.

“Of course it is credible.” If this question had been asked by someone else, Old Lady Ji would not have answered so decisively.

“Old Lady Ji, are you really going to find an heir for Uncle?” Qu Moying raised her eyebrows. Even though one could not see her eyes, they could sense her surprise.

“Since it was Yongming’s wish, I will naturally do as he wished. He was the dignified Suppressor General. Was he not worthy of having an heir?” The Old Lady snorted coldly. Seeing Qu Moying’s surprise, she became even more displeased.

“Old Lady, you are indeed fair. I’d like to express my thanks.” Qu Moying bowed, and then her gaze fell on Concubine Xiang. “Can I ask for a favor, Old Lady?”

“What is it?” Old Lady Ji asked cautiously. As long as it was said by Qu Moying, she did not like it. This time, Fourth Lady Qu had been very annoying. These were all the thoughts in Old Lady Ji’s mind. She was willing to give in a little just to make Fourth Lady Qu leave sooner. This Fourth Lady Qu was really difficult to deal with.

“My mother left me some things back then, but I am a bit confused now. There are some things that Concubine Xiang knows better. Can I temporarily invite Concubine Xiang to Qu Mansion today and help me sort out which ones are my mother’s dowry?” Qu Moying said with a shy expression. “Yue did not have many old acquaintances in the capital. Only Concubine Xiang might be able to help!”