Chapter 233

Chapter 233 The Carriage Driver Escaped

The carriage to pick up Qu Moying did not wait at the door of Duke Qi’s Mansion’s backyard. Instead, it waited on the opposite side of the road, close to the backyard door of the other mansion, which made people feel like the carriage was waiting for someone in the opposite mansion.

The door of Duke Qi’s Mansion opened, and a maid came out. She looked around and seemed to be looking for someone.

The carriage driver reacted. He drove the carriage over to the maid, his face almost covered by his hat. “Lady, are you going to the Yamen?”

“Yes, wait a moment. Our Miss will be here soon.” The maid hurriedly nodded, turned around, and walked inside. It seemed that she was going to call her miss over.

The carriage driver breathed a sigh of relief, but suddenly his expression changed. He pulled the carriage shaft, jumped down from the other side of the carriage, turned around, and ran. In the blink of an eye, he ran far away and entered a small alley.

He originally thought that the plan worked out. However, when he saw a complacent smile on the maid’s face as she turned around, he realized that something was wrong, so he quickly ran away.

The back door was knocked open, and a few aggressive servants rushed out. But when they looked outside, they found that the carriage driver had already gone, leaving only the carriage. The leading manager asked the maid a few questions and looked at the nearby alleys. He was not sure where the carriage driver had gone, so he asked a few servants to chase after the carriage driver in different directions.

After a while, these servants came back, but they all shook their heads because they didn’t see the carriage driver.

They failed to catch the carriage driver, but the carriage was still there. Duke Qi’s Mansion’s manager could only check the carriage. His face changed drastically as he checked it. Instead of asking the servants to look for the carriage driver, he let them check the carriage carefully. After the check, the manager couldn’t help feeling scared.

He asked someone to keep an eye on the carriage. Then, he brought the maid to report to Duchess Qi.

After hearing the manager’s report, Duchess Qi’s expression changed greatly. She immediately realized there was something wrong. She stood up and asked anxiously, “What? The window of the carriage is sealed, and an iron sheet is nailed to the door so it is hard to break it from the inside?”

Duchess Qi had seen much of the world. As soon as she heard the manager’s description of the carriage, she knew that things were not simple.

A similar thing happened many years ago. A noble lady attending a banquet suddenly left because of an emergency. But then, the carriage she took accidentally fell into the river. It was said that the carriage had just been reinforced with an iron sheet inside in case of an accident, which made the carriage heavier. When the carriage fell into the water, the lady couldn’t escape from the carriage because both the window and the door were tightly locked.

People said that such an accident happened because this lady was in a hurry to go home and asked the carriage driver to drive quickly. As for the carriage, the lady rented it herself. It was not the carriage from her family.

After this incident, this lady’s mother also had an accident. Then, the branch of the concubine in this family became the main branch. People gossiped that both the lady and her mother actually died of murder.

But it had been a long time since the incident happened, and there was no evidence. Although everyone said that it was a murder, there was no evidence.

But coincidentally, Duchess Qi was also at the banquet. She vaguely remembered that the lady left in a hurry after receiving a letter.

Now that the same thing almost happened to Qu Moying, how could Duchess Qi not be angry?

“Find out who sent the letter. Bring the maids from the other’ mansions over as well and let Third Lady Qu identify them one by one.” Duchess Qi said angrily while asking her granddaughter to help summon the manager over.

Qi Xiangyu’s gaze fell on Qu Moying’s face for a moment. This matter was indeed mysterious. Who wanted to kill Qu Moying?

Then, she glanced at Qu Qiuyan.

Qu Qiuyan’s hands and feet were as cold as ice. If not for her good self-control, she almost couldn’t help trembling at this time. How could their plan fail again? Her uncle had assured her that even if the assassination failed, this plan would definitely kill Qu Moying.

But what was the situation now?

Duchess Qi actually asked her to identify the maid!

Even if Qu Qiuyan recognized the maid, she would not testify against her. However, she was not the only one who saw the maid at that time. She only hoped that the maid had left at this time. If the maid was still in the mansion, this matter might be exposed. Qu Qiuyan didn’t know how to deal with it when the time came.

“Third Lady Qu…” Seeing that Qu Qiuyan had not spoken for a long time, Duchess Qi said coldly and looked at her suspiciously.

“Yes, I will definitely find out this person. How dare she do such a thing… She is really… really ruthless.” Qu Qiuyan held back her trembling, raised her head, and said angrily with a pale face.

She tried to hide her panic by pretending to be angry.

“Grandmother, please sit down. Don’t worry. We’ll find out some clues! I don’t think it’s a lady’s idea. I think…” Liu Jingyu stood up and comforted Duchess Qi in a soft voice. She reached out to pull Duchess Qi’s sleeve and gently shook it. Then, she pressed Duchess Qi to sit down and whispered in her ear, “Grandmother, it seemed to be the means used by the royal family.”

Liu Jingyu’s voice was not loud, but the surrounding people heard her. The madams and young ladies looked at each other and nodded, feeling that what Liu Jingyu said was reasonable.

What happened to Qu Moying today was not simple. It seemed that she was involved in the royal family’s affairs. Otherwise, who would have done such cruel things to deal with her, a useless lady from a Vice Minister’s Mansion?

Their eyes on Qu Qiuyan softened. They didn’t think that Qu Qiuyan was that capable.

Sensing that the suspicion in everyone’s eyes had weakened, Qu Qiuyan heaved a sigh of relief and felt like coming back to life. She looked up at Liu Jingyu with gratitude.

Qu Moying smiled and gave Liu Jingyu a meaningful look. Not saying anything, she pursed her lips and listened to them quietly.

The matter was now handled by Pei Yuanjun, so no matter who did it and how flawless it was done, this matter would not end easily.

Pei Yuanjun was not a regular person. He loved to see the world in disorder. Now that something had happened, how could he not add fuel to the fire?

As for things that had happened in Duke Qi’s Mansion, the witness might have gone now. However, the carriage was still there, and it was evidence that could not be destroyed.

After linking everything and crossing the dots, Qu Moying already knew Qu Qiuyan’s intentions!

Qu Qiuyan wanted to lure her out with the previous incident as an excuse. The letter must be about the assassination, which aimed to lure her out. The letter might have asked her to go to the Yamen to identify the assassin. She would have to go because it was a request from the authorities and it didn’t take much time.

If Qu Moying really didn’t know anything, she would definitely go. Then, the carriage accident would happen, and she would be killed without a trace. At that time, others would not see this letter because someone must have taken it away beforehand, and there would be no evidence left.

No one would know why she left. They only knew that she had something urgent to do. There might even be some follow-up explanation that claimed it was she herself who insisted on leaving. If anything happened, no one would be blamed.

If this had happened in other mansions, it might not have been handled so perfectly. But it happened in Duke Qi’s Mansion, Liu Jingyu’s territory, with Liu Jingyu’s involvement!

The fewer traces there were that led to the truth, the more Liu Jingyu was involved!

For example, the maid that was sent to look for the carriage driver at the back door was supposed to confuse the carriage driver, but the carriage driver ran away after seeing her. It could be seen that this maid was also suspicious!

Maids were called over to Qu Qiuyan, even including the maids brought over by the guests, but Qu Qiuyan failed to identify the one who delivered the letter.

Even the servants outside the room at that time came over, and they tried to identify the maid who sent the letter, but they also failed.

The maid who sent the letter appeared out of nowhere and disappeared without a trace, which was really amazing.

Duchess Qi was furious and sent people to investigate the outer yard where male guests were being entertained.

But nothing was found.

Hearing this news, Duke Qi was also furious. He sent his people to investigate the case and search for the maid, but they still did not find anything.

The other guests couldn’t sit still anymore. They got up and left. Seeing that nothing was found, Old Lady Qu also got up and left. She didn’t want to stay any longer.

Duchess Qi felt extremely guilty towards Qu Mansion, so she asked Duke Qi’s Mansion’s heiress-apparent to send Old Lady Qu off.

Liu Jingyu and Qi Xiangyu followed behind to see them off as well.

The madams all walked in front, followed by the young ladies. Qu Moying went at the end of the queue, accompanied by Qi Xiangyu beside her.

Not far ahead, Qu Xuexin, Qu Qiuyan, and Liu Jingyu were walking side by side. Liu Jingyu walked in the middle, and the scene looked harmonious.

Qi Xiangyu looked at the three of them with admiration and said, “My cousin sister is indeed the County Lady. Her behavior is more and more decent.”

Qu Moying smiled politely and did not reply.

“Fourth Lady Qu, do you think what happened today has anything to do with Third Lady Qu? She was the one who received the letter, and she was also the one who sent the letter to you. If something happened to you…” Qi Xiangyu directed the conversation to Qu Qiuyan, glanced at Qu Moying, and asked casually with a smile.

The implication of Qi Xiangyu’s unspoken words was the key.

“I don’t know!” Qu Moying shook her head and lowered her head slightly. The eye veil covered her eyes, so no one could see the emotion in her eyes.

“Have you ever guessed?” Qi Xiangyu asked tentatively. After Qu Moying returned to the capital, the rumors about her changed a lot compared with the ones that were circulated before her arrival.

No matter what others said, the most important thing was whether Qu Moying was useful or not!

“What’s the point of guessing? Nothing could be proved without evidence.” Qu Moying said calmly.

“Since something happened and it’s such a big thing, how could there be no trace left?” Qi Xiangyu looked at Qu Moying and said with a meaningful smile. Apparently, no one was stupid.

“But just now, Duchess Qi didn’t find anything.” Qu Moying shook her head helplessly.

“The thing has been done, but there is no evidence. It means the investigation needs to be done inside the family and focus on the family members.” Qi Xiangyu looked at Qu Moying with a meaningful gaze. She felt that she had made it clear. If Qu Moying was clever, she would be able to understand her meaning. Qi Xiangyu was waiting for her reaction.