Several ladies were talking in the inner room, while Tang Ning was outside greeting Fu Laiqing, Qian Qiuyue and others. Also present was Zhou Yuchang, the second wife of Marquis Wenxin.
Madam Zhou Er and Qian Qiyue have completely different personalities, and neither of them looks like they come from a military family.
She spoke softly and had a gentle personality. She walked in a long Xiang bamboo skirt with a graceful figure. The hairpin on her head swayed slightly but hardly moved. Even when she was ordering tea or pouring water, the tassels fell steadily on the side of her fair and pretty face. She looked more like the daughter of a civil official than Qian Qiyue.
"I've heard Ah Yue mention the county lady many times, and I've wanted to meet you for a long time, but I never had the chance." Zhou Yuchang spoke softly, "Today, after meeting you, the county lady is just as Ah Yue said, very beautiful, and makes people feel close to her just by looking at her."
"Sister Yue only knows how to say sweet words to make people happy."
Tang Ning smiled and said, "Sister Zhou, please don't call me the county lady. Just call me Tang Ning or An Ning like Sister Yue. I didn't have many friends in the past, and it's rare that I get along well with Sister Zhou. If you have time, just come over."
Zhou Yuchang was a little embarrassed: "Then I come here frequently, Aning, don't despise me. To be honest, I have been thinking about the books here for a long time, but I didn't know you well before, so I didn't dare to come to borrow them rashly."
Tang Ning smiled immediately when he saw her blushing cheeks. This girl from the Marquis Wenxin's Mansion was actually a reserved person, and she made her purpose so clear, which made people feel favorable towards her.
She deliberately joked, "Don't be polite, Sister Zhou. Haven't you seen Sister Yue coming over every now and then to eat and drink for free? I don't mind it at all, let alone just reading a book..."
Qian Qiyue turned around and reached out to pinch her cheek: "Well, Xiao Haitang, you dare to make up stories about me!"
Tang Ning smiled and dodged: "No, it's Aunt Zhang who is talking about you."
Aunt Zhang is the cook of the Tang Mansion. She is an excellent cook, especially meat. She can always cook it in different ways. Qian Qiyue has a strong taste and likes to eat meat, so she is always very satisfied every time she comes.
Seeing that she was making fun of herself, Qian Qiyue rushed over without giving up: "You are just making fun of me."
Tang Ning was tickled by her and started giggling. He quickly raised his hand to fight back and the two of them burst into laughter.
Qian Qiyue often rode horses and whipped them, and she had also learned some kung fu, so she was quite strong. Tang Ning could not beat her, and she laughed so hard that she couldn't breathe, so she quickly begged for mercy and retreated.
Qian Qiyue tried to grab her, but when she stood up, she hooked the table leg and staggered to the side and fell onto the table in front of her.
"careful."
Fu Laiqing, who was sitting opposite, saw someone rushing towards him and subconsciously wanted to reach out to help, but when he saw Qian Qiyue's face, he quickly withdrew his hand and stepped back.
Qian Qiyue originally wanted to grab the hand for support but it was empty, and she fell on the table with a thud.
"What are you doing?!" Qian Qiyue looked up and glared. Seeing Fu Laiqing's hands retracted, she supported herself on the table and said angrily, "Fu Laiqing, am I a ghost? Why are you hiding?!"
Fu Laiqing shrank his neck in fear: "I didn't see it, I accidentally..."
"Bah!"
Qian Qiyue spat in his face. She clearly saw that this Fu had reached out his hand when he saw someone fall, but he took his hand back when he saw her. She angrily glared at him: "Do you think I'm blind?!"
"This... Men and women should not touch each other..."
Qian Qiyue had no expression on her face, she just stared at him: "Keep making it up!"
"…"
Fu Laiqing was embarrassed and couldn't continue speaking as she stared at him.
He really didn't mean it. He was just the last person who "accidentally" touched Miss Qian and was almost killed by her three brothers and father. He saw with his own eyes Miss Qian's superb acting skills and how she fooled her father and brothers and almost ruined the Lu family.
It was really just a conditioned reflex on his part. When he came to his senses, Miss Qian had already fallen.
Seeing Fu Laiqing looking at her in a cowardly manner, looking for help, Tang Ning hurriedly pulled Qian Qiyue and said, "Sister Yue, did you bump into anything?"
Qian Qiyue glared at Fu Laiqing fiercely, then turned around, rubbed her arm and said, "It's okay, it's just that this Fu guy is an eyesore."
Fu Laiqing: "..."
"There are so many girls in the Fu family, how can you bring him here without Madam Fu bringing him along?"
"...I just dropped my grandmother off on the way..."
"I wasn't talking to you!"
Qian Qiyue had a stern face and looked ferocious.
Fu Laiqing: "..."
Feeling wronged, but dare not speak out.
Madam Zhou Er saw the young master of the Fu family who was almost huddled up in a ball because of the anger, so she held back her laughter and went forward to comfort Qian Qiyue. After coaxing Qian Qiyue to sit down angrily, she said, "Okay, young master Fu didn't mean it. By the way, do you know about the fall of the fourth prince?"
Qian Qiyue was distracted, and Tang Ning was surprised: "The fourth prince fell? When did it happen?"
"Mr. Fu should know about this yesterday." Madam Zhou Er said.
Seeing Tang Ning looking at him with almond-shaped eyes, Fu Laiqing moved his body uncomfortably before saying, "Yesterday, the young princess of the Ji Palace came to see me. The old princess Ji held a polo match at the Western Suburbs Racecourse and invited many people from the capital to attend. The Fourth Prince's wife has a good relationship with the young princess of the Ji Palace, so the Fourth Prince accompanied her."
"The Second Prince was there at the time. I don't know why the Fourth Prince had an argument with him, and the two of them went on the field. As a result, the Fourth Prince got startled and fell off his horse. Fortunately, the people around him reacted quickly and dragged him out in time, otherwise something really bad would have happened." He paused and said, "Master Xiao Qian was there at the time."
Tang Ning looked at Qian Qiyue: "Is it your brother?"
Qian Qiyue curled her lips: "Yes, it's Big Brother."
Qian Qingran was sent out to other places at an early age and did not spend much time in Beijing. He had previously returned to Beijing to report on his work and was now assigned to the Ministry of Works. He looked gentle and refined, and no one expected that he was also very good at horseback riding.
It is said that if he had not helped the Fourth Prince and given others a chance to save people, the Fourth Prince would have already become a ghost under the horse's hooves.
Qian Qiyue didn't like the Lu family, not even the Queen and the Fourth Prince, but she also understood the situation yesterday. If the Fourth Prince really died on the horse farm, her brother and everyone present would probably be implicated.
Qian Qiyue muttered, "I heard from my eldest brother that although the Fourth Prince was rescued, he was dragged all the way under the horse and suffered injuries on his face and body. After this happened, the Ji Wang Mansion was also in a panic. They hurriedly dispersed the polo match and sent the prince back to the capital to find an imperial physician. People from the Ji Wang Mansion came to our house early this morning to express their gratitude."
Princess Wenqing of Prince Ji's Mansion used to be arrogant and looked down on everyone, but this morning when she pulled her closer, she was so affectionate, calling her sister A Yue all the time, and even asked about her elder brother in some ways. Her eagerness made her hair stand on end.
The princess was extremely willful. She had beaten someone to death while competing for a husband. But after she got the man, she felt bad about it and forced the marriage to be cancelled.
Mrs. Qian saw that the people from Prince Ji's mansion seemed to be targeting her son and didn't want to deal with them at all, so she made an excuse to go to Jiyun Lane and took Qian Qiyue out of the mansion.
Fu Laiqing was shocked when he heard Qian Qiyue's words: "Could it be that the little princess of Prince Ji's Mansion has fallen in love with Master Qian?"
Qian Qiyue quickly said "Puh, puh, puh" and glared, "Don't bring bad luck to me!"
As for Princess Wenqing, she doesn't want her to be her sister-in-law. Her elder brother will be so frustrated!
"But the Fourth Prince has been very unlucky these past few days. He fell down and smashed his head in his own house before, and not long after that, he was caught again. I heard that the Empress in the palace is also not at peace."
"Just the other day, a maid died in Fengxi Palace. It was said that she stole something from the Queen and committed suicide. However, news came out in the palace that the maid was hanged on the beam in front of the Queen's bedroom."
Mrs. Zhou Er was a little shocked when she heard this: "Who did it?"
Qian Qiyue said, "I don't know. I just heard that a group of palace servants were replaced in Fengxi Palace, and two eunuchs were beaten to death." She turned her head and said, "Tang Ning, did Governor Xiao tell you about this?"
Xiao Yan should know more about what's going on in the palace than they do.
Tang Ning shook his head: "Brother mentioned it, but didn't elaborate."
The few people didn't think much about it after hearing it. After all, Tang Ning was just a little girl, so it was normal for Xiao Yan not to say much to her about such a bloody matter.
Qian Qiyue leaned on the table and muttered, "The Queen and the Fourth Prince are both unlucky. Who knows, they may have provoked some filthy creature. Forget it, let's not talk about them. There will be no bad luck."
Fu Laiqing rolled his eyes and glanced at Tang Ning.
The Queen and her son got into trouble after the Fourth Prince investigated the Lu family. It couldn't be a coincidence that something happened one after another. Uncle always said that Tang Ning was smart and clever, so she couldn't fail to see that...
"Fu Laiqing, what are you looking at Tang Ning doing?"
Fu Laiqing quickly looked away: "Nothing."
Qian Qiyue snorted and glared at him: "I'm warning you, don't have any bad thoughts!"
Fu Laiqing: "..."
The spark of admiration in his heart had not even started to rise before it was extinguished by Tang Ning himself. How could he have any evil thoughts in his mind?
"Miss Qian, I really didn't mean it just now." Fu Laiqing begged for mercy.
Qian Qiyue: "Do you think I believe you?"
Fu Laiqing: "..."
Seeing Qian Qiyue holding Tang Ning's arm and whispering to her, glancing at him from time to time, Fu Laiqing couldn't help but sigh deeply and look downcast.
Wronged.