Chapter 133
Huamo took out the brocade. There were four bolts of them, and they were all brightly colored. She placed the brocade on the table in front of Wei Qiufu. They were as bright as clouds and were extremely attractive, but Wei Qiufu was a little absent-minded.
Seeing Wei Qiufu occasionally looked at the qin in front of the dressing table with a thoughtful and restless expression, Wei Yuewu revealed a faint smile on her face. She did not believe that Wei Qiufu could refrain from asking.
She didn’t care about the qin when Yan Huaijing sent it to her at that time. When she was back home, she took a closer look and discovered that it was a particularly famous ancient qin.
Moreover, it was very coincidental. It was said to be the famous qin that was used to play the famous piece Confession of Love.
To Wei Qiufu, who was proud of her skills of playing the qin, such a famous qin was definitely a present of firewood in cold weather. Wei Yuewu had made a thorough investigation and learned that Wei Qiufu’s fame had risen because of a banquet two years ago, at which she won the recognition of the Third Princess after playing a qin tune that startled the audience. After that, she became a friend of the Third Princess.
Now, at such a critical moment, the attractiveness of an excellent qin to Wei Qiufu was enormous.
Wei Qiufu unconsciously flipped her hand over the brocade, but she couldn’t help but turn her head and ask Wei Yuewu with a smile, “Sixth Younger Sister, is that qin yours?”
“It was a gift to me from my granny. I seldom played the qin, I brought it with me because it reminded me of granny.” Wei Yuewu replied very casually. “I heard that my granny spent a lot of effort to find this qin. However, I’m not very good at playing the qin.”
“Then, can you lend it to me for some time?” Wei Qiufu asked tentatively.
“Well…” Wei Yuewu’s face revealed a hint of displeasure as she categorically refused. “It’s been given to me by one of my elders. Fourth Elder Sister, you’d better borrow a qin from others!”
If Wei Yuewu agreed straightforwardly, Wei Qiufu’s suspicion would not dissipate, and she might not really want to borrow it. However, Wei Yuewu’s blunt refusal had dispelled Wei Qiufu’s suspicion.
“Sixth Younger Sister, I went up the mountain in a hurry this time. I didn’t take my qin, so I had no choice but to borrow it from you. After all, the banquet was held by the two princesses. I can’t lose the dignity of our mansion of Marquis Hua Yang.”
Her meaning was clear: if Wei Yuewu did not lend it, she would be ignoring the dignity of the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang and only thought of herself. Hearing this, the nurse standing behind Wei Qiufu looked up at Wei Yuewu with a serious expression and her eyes looked overbearing!
“Well…” Wei Yuewu bit her lips in embarrassment.
“Sixth Younger Sister, do me a favor this time. If there is a chance in the future, I will definitely find another good ancient qin to repay you for your generosity.”
Wei Qiufu became more and more articulate and her words became more and more modest.
Wei Yuewu sneered in her heart. She said that she would find a good ancient qin. If this kind of ancient qin was so easy to find, how come Wei Qiufu hadn’t found a good one till now? In other words, no matter how pleasant Wei Qiufu’s words were to the ear, it was actually impossible for them to come true. She just said those words to issue an empty check.
Wei Qiufu was really quick to seize the opportunity: she took advantage of the presence of the nurse who served the Madam Dowager to pressure Wei Yuewu.
Seeing that Wei Yuewu was still hesitating, Wei Qiufu frowned. She looked deeply at Wei Yuewu and pushed the brocade in her hand in front of Wei Yuewu before saying, “Sixth Younger Sister, although you were raised in your granny’s mansion, we are after all sisters of the same bloodline. Even if I misunderstood you this time and owed you an apology, I will definitely make it up for you in the future. Now that it is related to the reputation of our mansion of Marquis Hua Yang, Sixth Younger Sister, you must not be selfish.”
“Alright, since Fourth Elder Sister really wants to borrow it, I’ll lend it to you once. However, this is from my granny. Please take care, Fourth Elder Sister. If it is damaged, I’m afraid it will be difficult for me to explain to my granny.” Wei Yuewu had a painful look on her face as if she was parting reluctantly with what she treasured most.
Anyone could tell that she had agreed to lend it reluctantly and would somehow hesitantly go back on her word.
“Thank you, Sixth Younger Sister. I will be careful.” Wei Qiufu did not allow Wei Yuewu the chance to go back on her word. She immediately stood up and bowed deeply to Wei Yuewu to express her gratitude.
Without waiting for Wei Yuewu to say anything else, she winked at Ming Yan, who immediately understood and carried the qin in her arms.
Once she succeeded in borrowing the qin, Wei Qiufu naturally remembered another reason why she had come. She rolled her eyes and smiled. “Sixth Younger Sister, my mother sent me some food. I couldn’t eat all of them for a while, so I brought you some. See if there’s anything that can help you recover. Your body is still too weak right now. You should take good care of yourself.”
“Thank you, Fourth Elder Sister. I don’t have a good appetite now.” Wei Yuewu shook her head and rejected with a bitter smile.
Wei Qiufu swept her gaze across Wei Yuewu’s pale face and smiled. “The taste of the food is light and it can help you recover from your injury. I’ve asked the imperial doctor serving the Third Princess, and the doctor said that you can eat any of the food. As long as you’re careful, you can eat whatever you like.”
“Well… Thank you, Fourth Elder Sister.”
‘”Sixth Younger Sister, your complexion is much better. I wonder if you can come out for a walk. The plum blossoms are blooming just in time. You will be in a better mood if you walk around. In a few days, the two princesses will hold a plum appreciating banquet. The Third Princess asked me to send the invitation to you. Sixth Younger Sister, you will only need to show up and sit there for a while. When you are tired, you can come back.”
After saying those words, Wei Qiufu took out a large red invitation from her pocket and placed it on the table.
Jin Ling handed it to Wei Yuewu. Wei Yuewu looked at it and found that the signatures below were indeed by the Third Princess and Fourth Princess.
Therefore, this was a plum appreciating banquet hosted in the name of the Third Princess and the Fourth Princess. A trace of deep thought flashed through her eyes. The four heirs-apparent were all present, and the Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince were also present. However, the banquet was hosted by the Third Princess and the Fourth Princess. The meaning behind this was truly worth pondering about.
What was more, did Yan Huaijing refer to this banquet when he said those words that day?
If that was the case, she really didn’t want to join in the fun. However, Wei Qiufu was obviously determined to have her join in the fun. It seemed like she had other plans. Forget it, then she would go and take a look…
“Thank you, Fourth Elder Sister.” Wei Yuewu expressed her thanks to Wei Qiufu. Actually, as long as Wei Yuewu was still able to sit up, she would have to attend the banquet. There was no possibility of rejecting the invitation.
Since Wei Yuewu had received Wei Qiufu, it meant that she could sit up and therefore she had no reason to reject the invitation.
After Wei Yuewu agreed, Wei Qiufu’s first goal was achieved. Wei Qiufu said a few more empty polite words and stood up to say goodbye. However, when she reached the door, she suddenly thought of something. She hurriedly turned around and walked back. “Sixth Younger Sister, I really forgot something. I have talked with you for so long, but I forgot to take this out.”
With an embarrassed expression, she took out a small jewelry box from her pocket. She opened the box and pushed it in front of Wei Yuewu. Inside the box was a small exquisite palace flower.
The rose red palace flower had the shape of a plum blossom for being slanted into the hair on the temples. It was exquisite and beautiful. One could tell from a glance that it was made meticulously. Below it was gold receptacle with stamens that shined brilliantly. Upon closer inspection, it was actually a small gem. This kind of craft was absolutely extraordinary. Not to mention how exquisite this palace flower was, even its value was extraordinary.
This was absolutely not just an ordinary palace flower.
“The ladies attending the plum appreciating banquet all have such a palace flower. It was bestowed by the Third Princess. On the day of the banquet, you also wear it. Anyway, this palace flower was so beautiful and exquisite.”
“Will all the young ladies wear this?” Wei Yuewu asked hesitantly, her eyes flashing with a trace of deep thought.
Wei Qiufu replied with a smile, “The two princesses sent every young lady a palace flower. Basically, all of them all wear the palace flower to show their gratitude and give face to the two princesses. It is not good to refuse the offer!” The implication of her words was that Wei Yuewu could decide whether to wear it or not.
However, who would dare not to give face to the two princesses?
Hearing this, Wei Yuewu smiled sweetly and nodded, “Alright, thank you, Fourth Elder Sister. I will wear it!”
Seeing that her second goal had been achieved, Wei Qiufu did not stay any longer. She smiled and left with the maid.
“Miss, is there something wrong with this flower?” Shufei brought in a cup of water and looked at the exquisite palace flower on the table in puzzlement.
Wei Yuewu had been staring at the flower for an hour.
“Is Jin Ling back?” Wei Yuewu’s gaze was still focused on the palace maid as she asked with a frown.
She had ordered Jin Ling to inquire about the palace flower.
Shufei hesitated for a moment. “Sister Jin Ling hasn’t returned yet, but I…”
“What is it?” Wei Yuewu raised her watery eyes.
‘”Assistant Minister Yang’s mansion sent over some medicinal ingredients. The nurse running the errand said that these were the ingredients that the Eldest Miss Yang had promised you. As for what happened on the mountain, the nurse said that the assassination happened all of a sudden. Eldest Miss Yang was a timid person and was so panicked that she accidentally pushed you. Afterwards, she was shocked and was afraid to admit it, so she said those words.”
The more Shufei said, the angrier she became, “Miss, the person from the mansion of Assistant Minister Yang was really capable of making excuses, as if they were telling the truth.”
In other words, the person from the mansion of Assistant Minister Yang believed that Yang Yuyan had randomly accused Wei Yuewu because Yang Yuyan was shocked and had done something wrong that she didn’t want others to find out. That was why she said those words against Wei Yuewu.
“What did you say?” Wei Yuewu leaned back and asked calmly, a strange look flashing through her eyes.
“I said that Second Miss Yang and several other ladies witnessed Eldest Miss Yang pushing our Miss. Not only was our Miss smeared by Eldest Miss Yang, she almost lost her life.” Shufei stamped her feet in hatred. “But they said that Second Miss Yang was also panicked at the time so that she mistakenly thought Eldest Miss Yang had done it intentionally when she lost her head and pushed you.”
Although the two nurses from the mansion of Assistant Minister Yang had been smiling, the meaning behind these words was quite clear: everything done and said by the Eldest Miss Yang and Second Miss Yang was due to “misunderstanding.”
When Shufei thought that the mansion of Assistant Minister Yang intended to explain such a big incident by excuse of “misunderstanding”, she became increasingly unconvinced and indignant.
Seeing Shufei’s angry face, Wei Yuewu asked smilingly, “Are they still there?”
“Yes, they are. I thought that this matter must be reported to Miss, so I asked them to wait outside.” Shufei said.
“Let them in.” Wei Yuewu instructed and leaned back leisurely. She would like to see how the people from the mansion of Assistant Minister Yang could give a satisfactory explanation of what they had said. Of course, whether they could protect the reputation of that Eldest Miss Yang or not was all up to her. She didn’t believe that the people from the mansion of Assistant Minister Yang didn’t understand the situation and weren’t anxious about…