Chapter 142 – The Lost Palace Flower And Plum Blossom Banquet
“Master is an elder. Please move first.” Yan Huaijing said gracefully.
Master Fenghe glanced at Yan Huaijing and reached out to place a piece on the board, “Nice demeanor, Your Heir-apparent!”
“Nothing about demeanor. Master, I am just a junior in front of you, so it is natural for you to move first.” Yan Huaijing said meaningfully as he placed a Go piece on the board. For a while, Wei Yuewu wrapped in the cloak couldn’t understand what he meant.
“Everything in this world is alternating between unity and division, like this Go game.” Master Fenghe placed another piece on the board.
“Unity is followed by division, and division is followed by unity. What Master said is indeed correct.” Yan Huaijing also landed a piece on the board, the corner of his lips curled into a smile. “However, after unity, the game situation may not look the same as before!”
Master Fenghe’s hand froze at Yan Huaijing’s words, but then a smile appeared on his face and he said mercifully, “But however the game situation changes, the Go pieces remain the same. So what is the point of changing back and forth?”
As he said, he landed another piece on the board.
Yan Huaijing immediately placed a piece on the board without thinking. “If the Go pieces are not good, you can change them. This is the way things work under the sun. If the old things are not gone, the new things won’t come!”
“But right now, these Go pieces are still good! They are complete!” Master Fenghe placed the Go piece in the hand on the board and looked up at Yan Huaijing. Then, he shifted his gaze to Wei Yuewu beside Yan Huaijing, who was wrapped in such a way that her face couldn’t be seen clearly. “This is…”
“This is my new concubine. When she heard that I was coming to play Go with Master, she insisted to come. However, how could a woman in the backyard meet people casually? I am afraid this made Master laugh.”
Yan Huaijing said those words with a carefree manner, and he even gently touched Wei Yuewu’s hair. Anyone could see the intense affection in his eyes.
Wei Yuewu was so angry that she wanted to curse him. She reached out and pinched him in the waist fiercely and rolled her eyes in the cloak.
If it weren’t for the inconvenience of being seen by others in her current state, she would have already lifted her cloak and run away.
“Be good, don’t make trouble!” Yan Huaijing reached out and patted her in the head as a signal for her to let go. Such an intimate tone made people more and more curious and wonder how beautiful this woman in the cloak was that she actually was doted so much by the famous Heir-apparent of the Duke of Yan!
Fortunately, Master Fenghe was a monk, so he wasn’t that curious about women. He just glanced at Wei Yuewu and didn’t ask any further questions.
The two of them played the set of Go game for more than an hour. At first, Wei Yuewu could hear it clearly, but later, she became tired and fell asleep half leaning on Yan Huaijing’s body.
In a daze, she seemed to hear Yan Huaijing laughing loudly. Then, the old monk spoke with a somewhat gloomy voice. The two of them said something to each other. Wei Yuewu even felt that her hand was pulled out by Yan Huaijing. The sudden chill in her hand made her wake up instantly.
“It’s okay, let’s go!” Yan Huaijing stood up with Wei Yuewu in his arm. Wei Yuewu shrunk her hand that was still wrapped in the cloak. She felt a little cold, but she still followed Yan Huaijing out.
Although she wasn’t awake yet, she was still concerned about the result of the game. When she walked outside of the room and was picked up by Yan Huaijing, she asked in a low voice. “Who won?”
“A draw!” Yan Huaijing said calmly, picking up Wei Yuewu and disappearing.
“A draw?” Wei Yuewu was surprised. Would Yan Huaijing also come to a draw with others?
What’s more, today’s game of chess was so strange, and what was going on when her hand was pulled out just now…
“Useless idiots, how could you not find it? What’s the use of raising a bunch of good-for-nothing idiots like you?” Zhao Ruo’e was furious in her own courtyard. She swept a cup of tea off the table, and the maids were trembling out of fear and they did not dare to speak.
Fourth Miss Zhao was the fourth daughter of Marquis Huaiqin. This time, she became the study companion of the Third Princess. She felt that she had a chance to climb up the royal branch, but she lost the most important thing. How could she not be anxious?
“Mi… Miss, I will look for it again.” A maid said.
“Then… hurry up and go! If there’s still no clue, I’ll skin all of you!” Zhao Ruo’e stomped her feet forcefully and said angrily.
Tomorrow was the day of the banquet hosted by the two princesses. If she could not find it and was noticed by the Third Princess, that might be the end of her path to climb high up. Thinking of this, she became anxious.
The maids who served her were all driven out and scattered around the courtyard. Almost every inch of the courtyard was carefully inspected, and it seemed they had the intention of turning this place upside down.
However, no matter how they looked for it, they ended up in no avail. As a result, they were all dumb as a wooden chicken. No one dared to go back and be beaten and scolded at this time.
The leading maid was the top maid serving Zhao Ruo’e. She thought for a while and then walked to the path leading to the Third Princess’ courtyard.
Since they couldn’t find it in this courtyard, it might have fallen to the ground halfway.
They were actually not far away from the Third Princess’ courtyard. After a few steps, she arrived at the Third Princess’ courtyard. However, she didn’t dare to enter. She walked around the gate, wondering whether she should ask the door-keeping nurse for help. Then, she saw two maids coming head on towards her.
She subconsciously hid behind a tree.
“Did you really see that palace flower?” The words of the maid in green made her even choke on her breath. Palace flower? Could it be the one her own Miss had lost?
“Yes, I did. Fourth Young Lady said it was from the Third Princess, but she didn’t know why it was rosy red. Could it be that Fourth Young Lady wanted to be the wife herself, but she wanted our Miss to be a concubine?” Another maid dressed in red had an unhappy expression on her face.
The maid behind the tree suddenly remembered that one of the maids was serving Sixth Miss Wei who had been struck by a sword. Her heart skipped a beat. Was the Fourth Young Lady they were talking about Fourth Miss Wei? Immediately, she listened intently and didn’t dare to make any noise.
“Who knows! Fourth Young Lady has dreamed of becoming the Crown Princess for many days. Everyone in the mansion knows about it. But how could she do this to our Miss? No matter how, our Miss is still the first daughter of Marquis Hua Yang. She has a much higher status than Fourth Young Lady. Where did Fourth Young Lady find this palace flower? Why would she dare to give it to our Miss?”
Jin Ling’s face was filled with anger. She walked to the tree and seemed to hesitate for a moment before stopping.
“Sister Jin Ling, let’s go back. It’s no big deal. It is up to our Miss whether to wear it or not tomorrow!” Shufei looked at the gate of the Third Princess’ courtyard and pulled Jin Ling aside, advising her in a low voice.
“No, I think we had better report it to the Third Princess. Someone conspired with the Fourth Young Lady to actually give that palace flower to our Miss. As long as the Third Princess investigates it, she will know who were given this kind of palace flower.” Jin Ling said in a voice with unrelenting hatred, her little face turning pale with anger.
The maid behind the tree had wanted to stand out to say that her Miss had lost the palace flower. At this time, she did not dare to move at all and she held the tree trunk motionless.
“The person who conspired with Fourth Young Lady is really annoying. Could it be another Eldest Lady Yang? She was made use of by someone, and in the end, she even annoyed the Crown Prince and ended up being driven down the mountain. In the future, which rich and influential family would accept someone like her? She simply destroyed her own future.”
Shufei said ironically to echo Jin Ling’s words. Then, she changed her tone, “Alright, don’t be angry anymore. Let’s go back first. You have to obtain the consent of Miss even if you want to get justice for her. Miss is still resting now. Let’s wait for Miss to wake up before making a decision. If you act rashly, Miss will be angry when she wakes up.”
As she said those words, Shufei pulled on Jin Ling’s sleeve.
“But I still feel aggrieved for Miss…” Jin Ling was pulled to move a few steps, but she still didn’t want to leave.
“Don’t worry, Miss is not the kind of person who would suffer losses. Let’s go, let’s go. This matter is up to Miss. When our Miss managed to get the Fourth Young Lady and the people who had conspired with her on the hook, these people would be in a terrible situation. Didn’t you see what happened to Eldest Lady Yang?” Shufei pulled her another few steps forward.
Perhaps Jin Ling felt that Shufei’s words made sense. Therefore, she did not continue to be stubborn this time. She followed Shufei back and muttered, “Fourth Young Lady actually conspired with an outsider to frame our Miss. It’s really way too much. After returning to the mansion, I must report it to the Madam Dowager and seek justice.”
“Let’s go, let’s talk about it when we get back…” Shufei comforted her.
The two of them talked quietly and walked past the tree. When they were far away, the maid walked out from behind the tree with a pale face. She looked at the Third Princess’ courtyard, exerted her strength and hurriedly ran back. She must tell her Miss that the palace flower was secretly taken away by Fourth Miss Wei.
And according to the two maids’ discussion, she actually wanted to drag her Miss into the water.
From whichever perspective, it was no wonder that Eldest Lady Yang had been framed on that day.
When she had walked far away, Jin Ling and Shufei appeared at the corner. Seeing the maid who was running and gradually disappearing in the front, they couldn’t help but look at each other and smile. They patted on their own head, turned around and went back to the courtyard together.
Yan Feng had long since found out that Fourth Miss Zhao lost her palace flower, and that it was also a rosy red palace flower. He had also found out that Fourth Miss Zhao had been so anxious these past few days that she was like an ant on a hot pot.
At this time, Yan Feng received Wei Yuewu’s orders and was hurriedly going down the mountain…
The day of the banquet arrived. The banquet was held in a plum forest in the back mountain. Wei Yuewu did not arrive early. After entering the plum forest, she discovered that everything here had been arranged with ingenuity.
This was an open space in a plum forest. Plum branches were lying on the side, with plum blossoms blooming one after another. The branches looked vigorous and formed an outstanding scene with gorgeous plum blossoms.
The ground was covered with a bright red carpet, and the table was not in the form of a huge round table shared by many, but in the form of separate pattern for individuals, accompanied by carved mahogany chairs.
There was a spacious nanmu chair in the middle. Needless to say, this must be the seat of the Crown Prince Wen Tianyao.
Centering on his position, both sides fanned out, sending rows of tables and mahogany chairs.
Wei Yuewu saw the Third Princess and the Fourth Princess sitting one seat away from the middle seat. The ladies were each led by someone, and according to the rank and position of each mansion, they were led by someone to sit on both sides.
Wei Yuewu’s gaze fell on the first seat on the right.
Yan Huaijing sat there lazily. He was dressed in a snow-white long robe with dark patterns. His handsome look was as eye-catching as jade and his thin lips curled up slightly. With a gentle smile on his face, his sparkling eyes silently slid across the young ladies’ faces. After receiving shy gazes one after another, he withdrew his sight in boredom.
He happened to meet Wei Yuewu’s eyes.
Wei Yuewu immediately lowered her head. She didn’t dare to have any involvement with this Heir-apparent of the Duke of Yan on such an occasion. Fortunately, that pair of burning and handsome eyes just swept across her without any pause. It was rare for this heir-apparent to be so cooperative. Wei Yuewu naturally wouldn’t want to be close to him. She wanted to find a seat far from him.
A palace maid appeared in front of her to guide the way. “Sixth Miss Wei, please come with me.”
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