The warm water submerged her body. The only thing Qu Yue remembered was that the man had an accessory on him.
During their intimacy, it had been constantly pressing against her.
Yesterday, she had personally received the mourners. She remembered that there were five people with accessories on their waists.
The current emperor, Xie Qichi; the current regent, Lin Hemin; the top scorer in the imperial examination, Ning Yanzhi; the chivalrous hero from the Jianghu, Wen Wuyou; and Mu Wang, the second son of the Marquis Mansion.
After narrowing down the candidates, Qu Yue felt a headache coming on.
These five men were all like brothers to Mu Yuan!
They had always had a lot of complaints about her and had always given her the cold shoulder.
If she was not careful and revealed her indiscretion, given their loyalty to Mu Yuan, they would surely send her to be drowned in the pond.
Moreover, each of them had an extraordinary status, so they definitely couldn't be offended.
She could only find a proper way to handle this matter carefully.
Having made up her mind, Qu Yue got up from the wooden tub. The clear water trickled down her delicate curves and splashed on the ground, spreading the unique fragrance of her body.
She picked up the towel with her dripping hands and wiped her skin inch by inch. The soft fabric was just like the man's patient kisses last night.
Her moist eyes were mostly red.
At that moment, someone knocked on the door from the outside. Liu Xu's gentle reminder came through the door panel, "Miss, the Second Young Master is waiting for you in the front hall to go and buy burial items together."
The Second Young Master, Mu Wang.
Why was it him?
Qu Yue took a deep breath, bent down to pick up the mourning clothes on the ground, and put them on with difficulty.
Before leaving, she specifically went to the bedroom and picked up her money bag.
As she walked towards the front hall, Liu Xu kept whispering in Qu Yue's ear, "Miss, no matter what the Second Young Master says to you later, don't take it to heart."
Qu Yue walked in a proper manner and shook her head. "It doesn't matter. The Second Young Master was raised by the Crown Prince. Their relationship is deep, so it's normal for him to dislike me."
The Second Young Master's hatred for her ran deep. Ever since the day she had used her kindness as leverage to seek marriage, he had wished to kill her.
At first, Qu Yue had tried to ease the relationship, but after that kidnapping incident, she didn't dare to anymore.
It seemed that Mu Wang just naturally disliked her. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get his approval.
Seeing that Liu Xu was still listless, Qu Yue pinched her nose. "Alright, I won't take it to heart."
When she comforted others, her voice would unconsciously become softer, like a freshly steamed sweet cake, soft and fluffy, extremely pleasant.
Liu Xu's heart melted at the sound.
Not only her, but Mu Wang, who had been waiting impatiently in the front hall, also heard it.
He sneered. "Walking so slowly. Do I have to invite you?"
Qu Yue looked in the direction of the sound and saw a young man nearly five feet and eight inches tall wearing plain mourning clothes. He was half leaning against a pillar, with his arms crossed. The rising sun cast a vibrant glow on him. His high ponytail fluttered freely in the wind, and his eyebrows and eyes were bold.
It was clearly a very vibrant scene, but it was somewhat diminished by the man's undisguised disgust.
Mu Wang arrogantly lifted his chin at her.
He didn't have a good impression of this sister-in-law. Back then, she had come to ask for marriage with the marriage contract in hand. When elder brother had been unwilling, she had pretended to faint at the front gate.
He had been raised by his elder brother since childhood, and their relationship was deep. He had also personally witnessed his elder brother's pain and the infamy he had suffered at that time, so he increasingly looked down on Qu Yue.
Moreover, according to his mother, in the three years since she had married into the mansion, she had relied entirely on the Marquis Mansion for food, clothing, and daily necessities. She had also secretly used the name of the Marquis Mansion to investigate the case of the eldest princess.
She was really taking everything!
Qu Yue didn't care about his attitude and greeted him with a smile. "Second Brother."
Mu Wang sneered and walked outside on his own. "Humph, you really know how to give yourself airs."
Qu Yue was used to this and followed his steps.
Liu Xu followed them. The three of them stepped over the threshold and walked out of the main gate together.
The coachman was holding the reins of the horse, waiting outside.
Liu Xu was about to help Qu Yue get into the carriage when they heard Mu Wang ask, "Who said you could sit in the same carriage as me?"
"Aren't we going out together to buy burial items?" Qu Yue turned her head. The morning sun shone on her face, warm and gentle.
Mu Wang met her clear gaze. His heart skipped a beat, but it was quickly replaced by disgust.
He glared at Qu Yue. "Who's going to buy with you? I'm here to supervise you!"
"Don't even think about using the money of the Marquis Mansion for other things!"
The money of the Marquis Mansion?
Qu Yue lowered her long eyelashes and pursed her lips without saying a word.
When had the Marquis Mansion ever given her money? For this funeral, she had emptied all her savings.
But she guessed that even if she explained, he wouldn't believe her, so she simply shut up and just nodded slightly. "Okay."
She had been holding one leg in the air for a long time, and it was starting to ache faintly. "Can we set off now?"
Mu Wang snorted and climbed into the carriage from the other side. The short flute hanging from his waist swayed from side to side.
When he sat down and turned his head, he saw Qu Yue staring at his lower body. Her dark, grape-like eyes were filled with curiosity about his crotch.
She really had such thoughts!
Elder brother had just died, and she was already eyeing him!
A faint blush gradually appeared on Mu Wang's fair cheeks.
He knew he should resist, but his eyes just couldn't help but glance at Qu Yue. He suddenly felt extremely annoyed. "This is our family's carriage. You, an outsider who forced your way into the family, have no right to sit in it!"
This meant that he wouldn't let her get in the carriage.
Qu Yue sensibly retracted her leg and bowed slightly. "Then please wait for me at the shop, Second Young Master."
Second Young Master.
The cold and distant title came out of her red lips, but it actually made Mu Wang feel even more aggrieved in his chest!
She had done such a thing to him last night, so why was she still calling him Second Young Master?
Mu Wang was furious. He slammed the carriage curtain shut. "Set off!"
The carriage kicked up dust, which got into Qu Yue's and Liu Xu's noses, and they immediately started coughing.
Liu Xu's eyes turned red with anger. She stamped her feet hard twice. "This Second Young Master is really bullying people too much!"
Qu Yue shook her head. "It doesn't matter."
She deeply understood a truth: when one was under someone else's roof, one always had to lower one's head.
One had to learn to endure in order to survive.
However, was the thing that had pressed against her last night Mu Wang's short flute?
It was the height of summer, and the sun was moving forward with the two of them. Before long, it was directly overhead.
The coarse mourning clothes made them sweat. The fabric was also very hard. The inside of her thighs, which had already been bitten by the man, were now rubbed raw and hurting.
Liu Xu noticed her extremely abnormal walking posture. "Miss, does your leg hurt?"
Qu Yue paused. "I don't hurt."
"Or else, let's find a place to rest for a while. I'll help you take a look." A layer of sweat had appeared on Liu Xu's nose. She supported Qu Yue and was about to walk towards the shade of a tree.
Qu Yue was startled and quickly withdrew her hand. "No need!"
The marks on her body hadn't disappeared yet. If Liu Xu found out, it might bring unnecessary trouble.
Liu Xu withdrew her hand awkwardly and fell silent for a moment.
Qu Yue pointed at a row of neatly arranged women along the street and asked to divert her attention, "What are those people in front doing?"
Liu Xu was successfully led astray by her. She just glanced at them and then shook her head and explained, "Miss, you've been devoted to the Marquis Mansion, so you probably don't know that recently a large number of widows have been urgently summoned to the temple in the capital."
She put her hand to her mouth and leaned closer to Qu Yue. She whispered, "Someone has already found out that these widows are being summoned to be buried with the Empress Dowager!"
"Once they go, they won't come back."
Liu Xu's murmured words hit Qu Yue's soul directly. She couldn't help but shiver.
Qu Yue's eyes, which were naturally full of water, looked at the long line of women. She patted Liu Xu's head. "Don't spread rumors randomly."
Liu Xu pouted. The words she wanted to refute were stopped by Qu Yue's look.
The two of them continued walking. Their mouths were dry when they finally saw the funeral shop not far away.
The Marquis Mansion's carriage was parked beside the door. Mu Wang was propping one foot on the carriage wheel and his body against the carriage frame. There was a pile of funeral items in front of him.
"You're here? Pay the money."