After following Xie Qichi for a while, Qu Yue changed her direction.
She had to go and explain the situation to Mu Yao.
The Qiuyue Courtyard where Mu Yao lived was located in the second best position in the whole Marquis Mansion. This was Qu Yue's second time going to Mu Yao's courtyard. She wandered around for a long time before she arrived.
The door lock in sight was magnificent and exquisite. Qu Yue originally wanted to go straight in, but the experience of her first visit suddenly flashed through her mind.
A few years ago, she was so naive as to really regard Mu Yao as her younger sister and casually pushed open the door and entered her courtyard.
As a result, she was kicked in the leg and forced to kneel on the ground, receiving twenty slaps as a lesson.
Qu Yue still couldn't forget that the sun that day was extremely dazzling, but it was not as hurtful as the sarcasm in Mu Yao's eyes.
With her arms crossed over her chest, Mu Yao looked down at her condescendingly: "You, a lowly daughter of a traitor, don't even deserve to kneel and enter my courtyard."
Qu Yue closed her eyes and stopped recalling this embarrassing memory.
She took a deep breath, stepped forward, and hesitated for a long time with her hand hovering in the air before gently knocking on the door lock.
She nervously called out, "Sister, I have some news for you."
After a long while, the sound of the door bolt being unlocked came from inside.
With a creak, the door opened a crack. The servant who opened the door nodded and greeted her for the first time, "Madam of the Heir Apparent."
Qu Yue was flattered. A gentle smile appeared on her beautiful face. "Thank you."
There were many people in the Marquis Mansion, and it was probably because the news of her reward had spread.
These servants knew that she was in favor with the emperor, so they became a bit more respectful.
Qu Yue followed the servant inside.
In the courtyard, Mu Yao was sitting on a lounge chair under the shade of a tree. A servant was fanning her while another was feeding her fruit from a fruit plate.
When she saw Qu Yue come in, her face immediately darkened. "What's the point of knocking? Can't you just push the door open?"
Qu Yue opened her lips to explain but finally just weakly replied, "Sorry."
Mu Yao opened her mouth and took a bite of the fruit that the servant had brought to her lips. "Stop being so fussy. Tell me the situation."
Qu Yue quickly replied, "The emperor has agreed to stay for dinner."
Hearing this, the maid who was fanning stopped.
The gatekeeper outside even got his leg hit by the dropped door bolt and let out an "ouch".
Mu Yao almost choked on the fruit.
She gasped in disbelief and suddenly stood up from the chair. "Sure enough!"
According to the laws of the Great Yan Dynasty, his agreement to stay implied something self - evident.
Unmarried and a close relative.
The only one who met the condition was herself!
A proud smile appeared on Mu Yao's heavily made - up face. "I knew the emperor was interested in me!"
Qu Yue's head was dizzy from the scorching sun. She vaguely replied with a "hmm" to show her response.
But this just annoyed Mu Yao.
With a gloomy face, she walked up to Qu Yue and raised her hand to give her a slap. "What? Do you really think the emperor's staying for dinner is your credit?"
Qu Yue's features were tightly scrunched up in pain. She covered her face and shook her head. "I didn't think so."
Her natural vulnerability even touched Mu Yao.
Slut!
Mu Yao looked away and couldn't help spitting in her heart.
But for now, she didn't have the mood to talk to Qu Yue anymore. She rolled her eyes and waved her off. "Get out of here quickly!"
Qu Yue rubbed her painful face and left the Qiuyue Courtyard.
As soon as she left, Mu Yao immediately said to the fanning servant, "Hurry up and call Mother!"
Madam Song, who got the news, also had a beaming smile on her face.
She took Mu Yao's hand and gently patted the back of it. "Daughter, if your matter with the emperor can be settled tonight, our family won't have to worry about food and clothing in the future!"
The handsome face of Xie Qichi flashed through Mu Yao's mind, and her heart fluttered slightly. "It will."
Originally, ordering Qu Yue to invite the emperor to stay for dinner today was just to test his attitude.
Now that he had agreed to stay, there was nothing more to say.
Song Luo looked worried. "Don't take anything lightly."
She scanned the courtyard and got an idea when she saw the stack of fruit plates.
She looked seriously at Mu Yao. "Like this. Cook dinner tonight. Make a good meal and let the emperor see your virtue of being a good wife."
Mu Yao frowned. "Mother, is this necessary?"
After all, this was Mu Yuan's funeral. Even if there was a banquet, they should avoid rich and fatty foods.
Song Luo sneered. "Wasn't Mu Yuan's death just a stepping - stone for our Marquis Mansion?"
Mu Yao thought about her words. It was true, but she still impatiently clicked her tongue. "I don't know how to cook. And if the cook does it, it will seem too fake."
Song Luo didn't care. "Just let that little bitch do it."
Mu Yao suddenly had an epiphany. "You're still more thoughtful."
The servants had very sharp ears. The mother - daughter's conversation was like a huge rock thrown into a calm yard.
The whole Qiuyue Courtyard was excited because Mu Yao was about to enter the palace as a concubine, but Qu Yue was shocked as if struck by lightning.
She was just telling Liu Xu about several important things that happened today when the other suddenly interrupted her.
Qu Yue looked at her curiously. "What's wrong?"
Liu Xu frowned tightly. "The emperor personally confirmed with you that it was you who invited him, right?"
Qu Yue nodded seriously. "Yes."
"..."
Liu Xu slumped to the ground dejectedly, with empty eyes.
After silently messing up her hair for a while, she let out a bitter smile and said, "Miss! Don't you know that rule?"
Since her mother's death, Qu Yue had been locked at home by her father and beaten and scolded at will. She rarely had contact with the outside world.
Later, after she got married, she was even isolated by the Marquis Mansion, and no one talked to her.
She had almost no source of information.
Occasionally, when she secretly sneaked out to the street to eat wontons, she just buried her head and ate, for fear of being discovered if she returned to the Marquis Mansion too late.
Her eyes were filled with tears as she slowly shook her head. "What rule?"
Liu Xu seriously explained it to her.
Qu Yue was so confused that her head was spinning. She was almost crying anxiously. "Ah? Ah?? I didn't understand. Could you please say it one more time?"
"..."
Liu Xu had expected her reaction. "In short, the emperor probably misunderstood that you wanted to have a relationship with him, so you invited him."
Hearing her guess, Qu Yue firmly shook her head. "It won't be like that."
After all, the emperor had sent so much gold, silver, and jewelry to Mu Yao.
He was so smart that he could probably guess who had asked her to invite him.
Moreover, the emperor didn't like her in the first place. How could he have such a misunderstanding?
Liu Xu looked at her pretending to be calm and closed her eyes and shook her head.
She didn't cherish the opportunity that was right in front of her but instead gave it to others. She was so stupid.
Just as the two were in a deadlock, each insisting on their own opinion, the door of the Xian Courtyard was kicked hard.
Both of them trembled. After exchanging a look, Liu Xu went to open the door.
The door bolt fell to the ground, and the people outside couldn't wait to rush into the courtyard.
The person who came was about fifteen or sixteen years old. She obviously didn't take Qu Yue seriously and entered the courtyard haughtily.
Her overbearing tone was just like her master Mu Yao's. "Locking the door during the day. What kind of dirty things are you doing?"
Qu Yue stood up and explained, "You've misunderstood, miss. I just don't like to keep the door open."
Different from Mu Yao's Qiuyue Courtyard, there was not a single servant in her courtyard, so she felt less secure.
Moreover, "Xian" was a homophone for "Xian" which meant "disliked". The Marquis Mansion had been subtly telling her that she was a useless person who was disliked by everyone.
Based on these two points, Qu Yue, who used to love opening the door to welcome guests, now kept the door closed all day long and even got a bad reputation for being unfriendly.
Qu Yue pulled back her thoughts and gave a faint smile to the visitor. "You're the one who was fanning my sister in the courtyard just now. What's the matter?"