Chapter 99 – Ming Xian’Er’S Dilemma

Chapter 99 Ming Xian’er’s Dilemma

“The Second Madam can’t get off her bed?” Qu Moying raised her eyes and looked at Qu Xuexin in shock after hearing the news Qu Xuexin told her.

“I just received a message from my mother. She said Second Uncle and Second Aunt argued right after they came back home. Second Uncle slapped Second Aunt in her face and said he’s going to divorce her. Then Second Aunt passed out immediately. Grandmother called a doctor to check on Second Aunt. After the basic treatment, she woke up but couldn’t stop shivering. Right now, she is too feeble to even talk, and the doctor is still treating her,” said Qu Xuexin softly.

She then lowered her head and used her hanky to press the corner of her red eyes gently.

They stayed together in a guest yard of the Eastern Palace. Qu Moying lived in the side room while Qu Xuexin stayed in the main room as the older sister.

Right now, both of them were in Qu Moying’s room. She still felt unwell, her face as pale as a bedsheet.

“How come Second Madam suddenly got sick?” asked Qu Moying.

“Em.. My mother had no idea either. She just said Second Aunt suddenly became severely ill, and they had called several doctors to check on her.” Qu Xuexin shook her head as her eyes fell on Qu Moying. She sounded hesitant, “Moying..” historical

She didn’t finish her words, only staring at Qu Moying with a sorrowful look on her face.

“First Sister, I still feel unwell. Could you please leave me alone for some time?” Qu Moying asked feebly. She was exhausted due to the pain from her body. The skin on her hand and arms was dreadfully red and swollen. She tried her best to tolerate the pain until she passed out. Right now, Qu Xuexin’s hesitant look made her feel more tired, and she didn’t want to deal with her at all.

Even a fool could tell that Qu Xuexin wanted to speak for Yu.

“Moying..” Qu Xuexin regained her nerve and wanted to finish her words.

“First Sister, I’m really exhausted. Can we just talk later?” Qu Moying closed her eyes and leaned on the pillow weakly.

“Em.. Al-Alright!” Qu Xuexin stood up reluctantly. She looked at Qu Moying and let out a sigh. Judging by Qu Moying’s attitude, the relationship between her and Yu couldn’t possibly be fixed. Even though Qu Xuexin wanted to do something, Qu Moying wasn’t willing to give her a chance. But at least, she gave it a try.

Qu Xuexin walked out and saw Yu Chun waiting outside and holding a pot of medicinal liquid in her hands. Due to her eyes, Qu Moying brought two maids with her today, but she only took Yu Dong inside for the funeral while leaving Yu Chun in the carriage. Now, Yu Chun was brought inside to serve her too. However, Qu Xuexin only had one maid with her.

“Yu Chun, do you think Moying will forgive Second Aunt?” Looking at Yu Chun, Qu Xuexin sighed again, her voice sounding tired.

“First Lady, I’m sorry I don’t know,” Yu Chun answered her politely with her head lowered.

A bitter smile showed up on Qu Xuexin’s face as she mumbled to herself, “You are right. How will a maid like you know? Technically..this is Grandmother’s decision.. But Moying and Qiuyan.. They are both Second Uncle’s blood!”

Then she stared at the yard door blankly, smiling bitterly.

Yu Chun stayed silent and didn’t look up at her.

“Yu Chun, I’m going back to my room. If Moying needs anything, just come to tell me,” Qu Xuexin told Yu Chun.

“Yes, First Lady,” Yu Chun answered.

After seeing Qu Xuexin go back to her room, Yu Chun walked inside with the medicine in her hands.

She put down the pot on the table and said, “My lady, it’s time to use the medicine again.”

Qu Moying, whose eyes were still closed, nodded and sat up. Yu Chun went up to help her take off her outer clothes. The skin on her arms and neck was still red and swollen with some brown, dried potion stains left on, looking horrible.

It was the same on her back. Luckily, she picked relatively large-sized underwear to wear today, which protected the skin on her front body below her neck and a small part of her back. Even so, Yu Chun still felt pain seeing her master suffering, and tears started to form in her eyes.

She had helped her master apply the medicinal liquid once, and Qu Moying’s skin looked actually much better than the beginning. It looked even more dreadful before.

Yu Chun wiped Qu Moying’s skin carefully with a towel soaked by the medicine. “My lady, please don’t treat yourself like this again,” she whispered to her with her eyes turning red. She knew better than anyone that it was her master’s own choice to make her body like this.

Qu Moying’s eyes were still half-closed as she struggled to tolerate the sting when the medicine touched her skin. She forced a smile on her face, “It’s okay. It just looks horrible, but I will recover soon after a few days.”

“My lady, I know it hurts a lot. You can make a sound if you feel too much pain,” Yu Chun said in a choked voice, looking at Qu Moying’s pale face. She could feel Qu Moying’s muscles tightening up every time she touched her skin with the towel. Even though the medicine had a strong effect, it must hurt a lot when it touched the skin.

“It doesn’t hurt that bad. It just looks terrible,” Qu Moying took a deep breath. Compared to the pain she had mentally, this was nothing to her. She could bear with it.

“My lady, please don’t do this again..” Yu Chun turned her head away to wipe her tears. Her eyes fell on Qu Moying’s clenched, skinny fists where the vessels were bulging, making her feel even sadder.

Every lady from a noble family was raised up in a mansion and pampered by the family. But her master was so unlucky that her family abandoned her and left her in a village. After her master came back to the mansion, people still treated her like a low-life servant. Then her master almost died in the fire set by the Third Lady’s maid. But in the end, only the maid got punished, yet no one ever blamed the Third Lady and the Second Madam for it.

Right now, even though her master was hurt like this, the Second Madam still might not be punished as she deserved.

When she thought about this, Yu Chun’s heart was filled with grievances and sorrow.

“I’d rather be like this instead of being in Qu Qiuyan’s current position,” Qu Moying said in a flat tone with her eyes closed. A faint smile showed up on her pale face.

If she didn’t choose the brutal way to torture her own body, she would be the one whose name was ruined. She was not Qu Qiuyan. If the same things happened to her, Yu would love to use every means to make her life even more miserable. As for Qu Zhizhen, that man had never cared about his ex-wife, let alone her daughter, who he didn’t love at all.

She was not comparable with the daughter he had pampered all these years, who would bring him wealth and fame in the near future.

Qu Moying was sure if the same thing happened to her instead of Qu Qiuyan, her life would be permanently ruined, and her hatred from these two lives could never be resolved.

She might even die more miserably than in her past life!

She was just a weak girl living in the danger of being framed by others at any second who didn’t have parents to protect her. If she weren’t tough enough to herself, how would she clear a way out?

“My lady..” Yu Chun couldn’t stop sobbing as she turned her head away to wipe her tears again, feeling sorry for her master’s painful life. Everyone in the Qu Family overlooked Qu Moying and mistreated her, but even so, Qu Moying still had the will to fight back. Yu Chun had made up her mind. As Qu Moying’s maid, she would never back out. She would always try her best to protect her master.

“My lady, is everything done?” Yu Dong’s voice suddenly came from outside.

Yu Chun hurriedly turned back. She helped Qu Moying put on the clothes and lie down on the bed. Then she tucked her in carefully and left with the pot.

Yu Dong was waiting outside with a maid from the Eastern Palace.

“I just helped the lady apply the medicine to her body,” Yu Chun said in a low voice and cast a glance at the maid from the Eastern Palace.

“I know.” Yu Dong nodded at her and let the other maid wait out of the door when he went inside to report. The purpose of him going out just now was to encounter some maids from the Eastern Palace. As Qu Moying expected, after a few times he walked around, someone came for him..

“My lady, I met a person, and she wanted to talk to you about something,” Yu Dong came inside and told Qu Moying.

“Let her in!” said Qu Moying.

Yu Dong then left and came back with the maid from the Eastern Palace.

After entering, the maid saw Qu Moying half-lying on the bed and knelt down immediately, “Fourth Lady Qu, I beg you. Please save Sister Ming.”

“You mean Ming Xian’er?”

“Yes, Sister Ming.” The maid started to wipe her tears. “Her Royal Highness beat Sister Ming up, saying that she disrespected the Crown Princess. And..and she said she’s going to sell Sister Ming to someone else and drive her out of the Eastern Palace.”

Knowing Ji Youran’s personality, Qu Moying knew she couldn’t allow a woman like Ming Xian’er to stay near the Crown Prince. It was the perfect excuse for her to get rid of her enemy in the name of the dead Crown Princess. Therefore, after everything was settled, she could still be the gentle, graceful, and well-behaved Ji Youran, who would never be jealous of others.

Ji Youran wouldn’t show her true colors until the last moment. Before that, she just looked like a kind, harmless woman.

Even though Ji Youran was aware of Pei Luo’an and Ming Xian’er’s relationship, she wouldn’t do anything to her since it would affect her image. Then the Crown Princess’s funeral became her best chance to give Ming Xian’er a sudden strike and get rid of her permanently.

Qu Moying sent Yu Dong to walk around outside because Ming Xian’er would send someone to ask for help. If no one came, Yu Dong could still check Ming Xian’er’s situation. It turned out that her guess was correct.

“Tell me what happened,” Qu Moying said in a flat tone.

The maid nodded, wiped her tears off, and said, “After the Crown Princess passed away yesterday, all the bright-colored clothes were forbidden in the Eastern Palace. Meanwhile, everyone received a set of white mourning clothes, so did Sister Ming. But there was a big stain on the clothes she got. Sister Ming had no other choice but to wear her own white clothes first. On the way to the embroidery workshop to ask for another set of mourning clothes, she encountered Her Royal Highness. Her Royal Highness scolded her for being disrespectful for the Crown Princess, asked her men to catch Sister Ming on the spot, and made them give her ten strokes with a heavy stick.”

“After being beaten up, Sister Ming was locked in the woodshed. I tried to ask His Royal Highness for help, but I couldn’t even have a chance to see him. Until now, Sister Ming is still locked there and hasn’t had any food. She doesn’t have anyone to help treat her wounds. If she stays there any longer, she might lose her life!” The maid said with a choked voice.

“Ming Xian’er sent you to me?” asked Qu Moying.

“Fourth Lady Qu, Sister Ming heard you are in the Eastern Palace, so she sent me to beg you for help. Fourth Lady Qu, can you say something for her or tell His Royal Highness about it? Sister Ming will definitely pay you back if you save her. She didn’t mean to disrespect the Crown Princess. Someone wants to set her up.” The maid bowed her head onto the ground twice.