Chapter 117 – Unexpected: The Last Guest Courtyard
At the city gate, Wei Yuewu’s carriage was stopped by two eunuchs.
“Is that Sixth Miss Wei from the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang in the carriage?” The older eunuch looked at the emblem on the carriage and checked the register in his hand.
“Yes.” Shufei replied behind the curtain.
“Wait by the side. The two princesses’ carriages will arrive soon.” The guard said as he pointed at the gorgeous carriages parked on both sides of the road.
Through the curtain, Wei Yuewu saw that the carriages she had seen were neatly parked on the roadside. There were about twenty of them.
It was dawn and very early.
The coachman, Old Li, parked the carriage by the side of the road as was ordered.
It was very quiet outside. Jin Ling asked in a low voice, “Miss, didn’t you say that it was only Third Princess? Why are there two princesses now? Is Fourth Princess also coming?”
Wei Yuewu knitted her eyebrows slightly. It seemed that this was not a simple event.
The trip of two princesses was already a big matter, but still, so many aristocratic young ladies were invited. Did they think the scene wasn’t grand enough?
After Yan Huaijing’s prisoner offering event, the nobles in the capital should be dipped in a rather low mood! Yet at this time, the two princesses went out on a trip in such a grand manner and with so many young ladies. Was this trip really just an ordinary event between girls?
Wei Yuewu did not believe that the Third Princess and Fourth Princess would be so ignorant of the current situation.
Even if they really didn’t understand the situation, there were sensible people around them who would remind them of the meaning behind this.…
“Fourth Princess is very likely to be coming too.” Wei Yuewu raised her watery eyes and looked at the greyish sky outside. Her smile was clear and faint.
“If the two princesses want to see the blossoms at the Plum Blossom Nunnery, why do they need so many young ladies to accompany them?” As a servant for Yan Huaijing once, Jin Ling had been well-trained since childhood. She immediately noticed that something was unusual.
Wei Yuewu thought of an idea and instructed, “Jin Ling, you get off. If there is anything unusual, watch it closely and report to me.”
“Yes, I understand.” Jin Ling nodded. She dismounted from the carriage and pretended to get some fresh air.
Actually, not long after, Jin Ling noticed a large carriage heading towards the outside of the city under the protection of a group of guards.
Jin Ling’s eyes were sharp. She even saw that when the carriage passed by the carriages of the young ladies, a hand lifted the curtain and someone looked out. Then, the curtain was put down and the carriage whistled away.
Just as Jin Ling was about to board the carriage and report to Wei Yuewu, she suddenly saw a group of people coming out of the city gate escorting another carriage, which was similarly gorgeous and spacious, and with the same grandeur. This time, Jin Ling’s eyes landed on the emblem of the carriage. Other servants in the capital might not recognize the emblem, but Jin Ling did. Her expression changed slightly.
When the two carriages were both out of the city gate and she saw another two carriages coming from behind escorted by eunuchs and palace maids, Jin Ling hurriedly returned to the carriage.
“Miss, the heir-apparent of the Duke of Chu State and the heir-apparent of the Duke of Qi State just left. The carriages of the Third Princess and Fourth Princess are coming!” Jin Ling’s eyes revealed shock as she reported.
This was just as Wei Yuewu had predicted. She reached out and gently stroked a strand of her beautiful hair. A trace of understanding flashed in her eyes. She shook her hand as a signal for Jin Ling not to speak.
“The two princesses’ carriages have arrived. Young ladies, please follow behind the princesses’ carriages.” The eunuchs outside spoke at the carriages waiting on both sides.
At this time, the carriages of the Third Princess and the Fourth Princess came near. As their carriages moved forward, the carriages on both sides started to move on slowly.
“Old Li, Miss asks you to drive slowly.” Shufei said to the coachman through the curtain.
“Yes, I know!” Old Li nodded his head and deliberately slowed down to let other carriages pass by. When there were no other carriages, he raised the whip in his hand and followed in the back.
Plum Blossom Nunnery wasn’t far away. Besides, they departed from home early in the morning. Not long after, they arrived at the nunnery’s entrance.
Wei Yuewu got off the carriage with Jin Ling’s help. Other young ladies got out of their carriages too and gathered in groups of three or five with those they knew. The ones that Wei Yuewu felt most familiar with were those who had been picked by Empress Tu to be study companions of the two princesses.
Since they were the princesses’ study companions, it was a matter of course for them to come too.
Wei Yuewu decided to keep a low profile since she had already noticed something unusual.
She followed the crowd and moved forward. When she reached the entrance of the nunnery, she saw many nuns at the entrance giving a wooden plate to each young lady who entered and then leading the way in the front. They were taking the young ladies to the guest rooms where they could rest.
When Wei Yuewu approached, a nun walked over. She clasped her hands as greetings and looked at the plate in her hand. Then, she said with a smile, “Sixth Miss Wei, please come with me.”
Wei Yuewu looked sideways at the plate in the nun’s hand and noticed some slight difference. Her eyes flashed with a trace of thought. She had observed the plates in the hands of the nuns beside her. Those plates were all pointed, but the one held by the nun leading the way for her was round. Most importantly, when other nuns greeted other ladies, they said “Miss, please come with me.”
However, the nun in front of her directly addressed her as “Sixth Miss Wei.” So this nun had not only been waiting for her for a long time, but she knew her.
Sure enough, someone was waiting for her….
Wei Yuewu didn’t visit the guest rooms of the Plum Blossom Nunnery last time. As she followed the nun along the way, she felt this place very quiet and elegant. It was completely different from the guest rooms in ordinary temples and nunneries. The reason lied in the plum blossoms on the extending branches. The fragrance overflowed between the twigs and created a pleasant atmosphere.
One could frequently see plum blossoms blooming on the branches that stretched out of courtyards.
Wei Yuewu followed the nun on and on, almost to the back door of the nunnery before they finally stopped at a courtyard.
Coincidentally, this courtyard was at the far end of the guesthouse.
“Sixth Miss Wei, I’m really sorry. The Third Princess invited you suddenly. There’s only one courtyard vacant. I’m sorry that you have to make do with it.”
The nun politely clasped her hands again as a gesture of courtesy. Then, she pushed the slightly-opened door and explained with those words.
When the door opened, a burst of fragrance overflowed. Wei Yuewu was stunned when she saw that the red plum trees in the courtyard were so beautiful.
Originally, she had thought that this courtyard at the far end would be the most inferior one, since it was used as a makeshift. However, the vibrant plum trees in the courtyard showed that it was not what she had imagined. The three plum trees in it were extremely beautiful, even surpassing any plum tree she had seen along the way.
How would such plum trees grow like this without receiving special care?
The articles in the courtyard seemed simple, but it looked like they were regularly cleaned. Even the square stone table under the plum tree had no moss at its legs. It was so clean!
“This… who lives in this courtyard?” Wei Yuewu walked in with a faint smile on her face. Only her beautiful eyes revealed a faint coldness.
“Normally, only one guest of our nunnery lives here. This time, she happened to go out for some business. Sixth Miss Wei, you’re lucky. Otherwise, you will have to stay with another young lady as suggested by the Third Princess’ palace maid.” The nun smiled.
“I was supposed to stay with some other young lady in one courtyard?” Wei Yuewu smiled faintly, as if she did not understand what the nun meant.
“The two princesses’ trip here was set down a long time ago, and arrangements have been made based on the number of young ladies and heirs-apparent that would come. It was naturally impossible to have extra guest courtyards.” The nun explained with a smile.
Wei Yuewu’s eyes landed on a plum tree, to which a gauze scarf was tied. She asked calmly, “Then is this guest… a madam or a young lady?”
“It’s an old lady. She likes to pray before the Buddha and loves quiet places. She lives here for the most part of the year.” The nun’s eyes followed Wei Yuewu’s gaze and landed on the gauze scarf.
“May I know who this kind old lady is and which family she is from?” Wei Yuewu asked curiously.
“I hope that Sixth Miss Wei will forgive me. The old lady doesn’t want her name to be mentioned.” The nun smiled and dodged the question.
At this point, they arrived at the door of the main apartment. The door was also ajar, and the nun pushed it open for Wei Yuewu.
The room was very clean and spotless. One could tell from a glance that it had been carefully cleaned. It was even cleaner than her Lotus Courtyard.
“Sixth Miss Wei, take a rest first. Go to the main hall in the front after a while. The two princesses are going to pray to the Buddha with the young ladies.”
The nun said as she took her leave.
“Thank you, Venerable!” Wei Yuewu nodded and said softly.
After the nun left, Wei Yuewu stepped into the room.
Shufei put down the baggage in her hand and walked around to look at the surroundings. She sighed, “Miss, you are really lucky to have an extra guest courtyard. It would be very inconvenient if you stayed with another young lady in the same courtyard like that nun said.”
She had thought that because her mistress received only an ad hoc invitation, all the good courtyards must have been allocated to others. She didn’t expect that there was still such a nice courtyard.
“Miss, why is it so coincidental?” Jin Ling was more vigilant than Shufei. At this time, she also put down the things in her hands and wandered around.
Wei Yuewu, on the other hand, stood up and walked to the window. She looked at the scarf outside the window, her eyes slightly narrowed as if she was deep in thought.
It was a small gauze scarf. Many girls had one in their hands. There was nothing special about it. However, Wei Yuewu was sure that it was not made of ordinary material.
“Shufei, go and get the scarf. Let me look at it.”
Wei Yuewu said.
It looked like the scarf was accidentally blown to the tree by the wind.
Shufei received the order and carefully removed the scarf from the branch. Then, she went back to the room and handed it to Wei Yuewu.
Wei Yuewu stretched out her hand and touched it, and immediately, a dark light flashed across her eyes. Her eyebrows knitted together tightly. Suddenly, she seemed to have thought of something. She held the scarf against the sunlight from the window and altered the angle. As the sunlight shone through the window, shock rose to Wei Yuewu’s face.…
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