Chapter 143 – They Were Wearing Different Palace Flowers
Wei Yuewu had no choice but to follow her.
Her seat was right next to Wei Qiufu. Seeing Wei Yuewu coming over, Wei Qiufu’s face was already full of smiles. Nobody would believe that the two of them were actually not on friendly terms at all.
“Sixth Younger Sister, come and sit here.” She stretched out her hand to greet Wei Yuewu.
Wei Yuewu turned her eyes and smiled. She sat down beside her gently. She then turned her watery eyes and met the person opposite her. Her eyes narrowed slightly and a trace of coldness flashed in them. It was actually Mo Huating.
“Sixth Younger Sister, what are you looking at?” Wei Qiufu covered her mouth with a handkerchief and her eyes also fell on Mo Huating opposite Wei Yuewu.
Her voice wasn’t loud, but it was enough for the few ladies beside her to hear clearly. Thinking of the fact that this Marquis Jing Yuan was once the fiance of this Sixth Miss Wei, everyone looked at them curiously for a moment.
Wei Yuewu couldn’t help but retract her gaze and glance at the other side of Wei Qiufu.
Coincidentally, Fourth Miss Zhao was glaring at Wei Qiufu with a gloomy expression. Wei Yuewu immediately had an idea in her heart. She smiled slightly and said generously, “Seeing Marquis Jing Yuan suddenly made me remember Second Elder Sister. Fourth Elder Sister, I heard that Second Elder Sister and you used to be very close. After going back to our mansion, how about we two seeing Second Elder Sister together?”
Wei Yan’s reputation was now completely ruined. It could be said that no matter who made friends with her, it was not a matter to be proud of.
No one was willing to mention her. However, both Wei Yuewu and Wei Qiufu were linked to Wei Yan by means of kinship, a fact they couldn’t deny at all. Even if they wanted to avoid Wei Yan, they couldn’t.
Wei Qiufu was most concerned about her own reputation. Wei Yuewu’s words placed her in an awkward situation whether she responded to her proposal or not. She secretly twisted her handkerchief and her gaze fell on Wei Yuewu’s head. From her point of view, she saw a slightly trembling hairpin with a faint rose red flower on her head. A trace of malice flashed in her eyes.
Wei Yuewu naturally saw her gaze and sneered in her heart. Wei Qiufu was truly unrepentant. She wouldn’t let go of any chance to frame her. For the sake of her own ascension to a higher place, she not only stepped on other people, but also viciously put them in deathtraps. Wei Yan and Wei Qiufu were really birds of the same feather.
As expected, all the young ladies present were wearing palace flowers, which were either bright red or rose red. The few young ladies beside the Third Princess and Fourth Princess were all wearing rose red palace flowers. Wei Yuewu had already inquired about the meaning behind this.
It was said that the Crown Prince was coming of age and the Internal Affairs Department had begun the official procedure to choose a Crown Princess and concubines for him. This time, one Crown Princess, two senior concubines, and two junior concubines would be chosen out of the young ladies attending the banquet for the Crown Prince. The Palace had already registered all eligible aristocratic young ladies as the candidates.
The empress conferred various palace flowers to the candidates, who would be invited to banquets, at which the Crown Prince made his choice.
The ones who wore bright red palace flowers were candidates for the Crown Princess.
Those who wore rose red palace flowers were candidates for the senior and junior concubines.
After the Crown Prince made his choice, the empress would finally decide on the most suitable candidate. This was the information Yan Feng had obtained at Wei Yuewu’s instruction.
This was also known by most of the young aristocratic ladies attending the banquet. However, there was another message hidden behind it…
Why did the heirs-apparent of the four major dukedoms appear here?
Regarding the selection of Crown Princess and concubines for the Crown Prince, how could the two princesses make the decision for the Crown Prince? At the very least, this matter should be presided over by an imperial concubine serving His Majesty rather than by two princesses…
Of course, the meaning behind this was more than choosing a Crown Princess, which was the message on the surface known by everyone.
And there was another thing: Wei Yuewu clearly knew that it was impossible for her to have a palace flower!
From the very beginning, Wei Yuewu was able to attend this banquet because Wei Qiufu obtained an additional invitation for her from the Third Princess. However, the number of palace flowers had long been determined, especially those bright red ones, and candidates from the same mansion could not be conferred two bright red palace flowers. Since a bright red palace flower had been conferred to Wei Qiufu who represented the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang, it was impossible for Wei Yuewu to be conferred another bright red palace flower.
Her status was actually higher than Wei Qiufu’s, so it was impossible to confer a rose red palace flower to her.
Wei Yuewu suddenly had an idea. Since Wei Qiufu was so obsessed with giving others rose red palace flowers, what kind of scene would it be when she found out that she herself was wearing a rose red palace flower? It was truly worth expecting.
“What Sixth Younger Sister said sounds reasonable.” Wei Qiufu responded evasively to Wei Yuewu’s words and turned to Zhao Ruo’e, who was on the other side. She covered the corner of her lips with a handkerchief and asked curiously, “Fourth Miss Zhao, I heard that you’ve been a study companion for the Third Princess these days. May I know how the experience of studying in the Palace differs from that of studying in the boudoir?”
“There is no doubt that studying in the Palace is different from studying elsewhere. The two princesses are both knowledgeable, so we, as their study companions, have learned a lot from them.” Zhao Ruo’e raised her eyelids and made a lukewarm response.
Because of the Third Princess, she was usually on good terms with Wei Qiufu, and Wei Qiufu had never been treated by her so indifferently.
However, when she thought of the fact that this Fourth Miss Zhao had found her palace flower missing and that she must be so anxious that she was like an ant on a hot pot, she understood that it was normal for Fourth Miss Zhao to ignore her. She couldn’t help but smile in her heart. It was her desire to see Fourth Miss Zhao being anxious; the more anxious the better!
“I didn’t expect that you could learn so much from the two princesses. Fourth Miss Zhao is indeed the favorite person of the Third Princess.” Wei Qiufu leaned over as she spoke, as if she had something to say to Zhao Ruo’e.
As she leaned over, her head shook a bit too much, and the bright red palace flower stuck to the side of her head suddenly shook twice before falling on the table in front of Zhao Ruo’e.
Wei Yuewu’s lips curled into a mocking smile. On such an occasion, every young lady was wearing the palace flower on their head tightly in case the palace flower might fall off.
“Fourth Miss Wei, your palace flower has fallen off!” On the other side of Zhao Ruo’e was another study companion of the Third Princess. She was attracted by their conversation and reminded Wei Qiufu.
“Ouch, I’m really sorry!” Wei Qiufu’s face turned slightly red as she picked up the palace flower. She looked around and said embarrassedly.
The young lady said enthusiastically, “Never mind. Fourth Miss Wei, is it alright if I help you wear the palace flower?” She pushed her chair away and stood up. Then, she bypassed Zhao Ruo’e and walked to Wei Qiufu.
Wei Qiufu handed the palace flower in her hand to Miss Qin and said, “Thank you, Miss Qin, for taking the trouble!”
Miss Qin took the palace flower and carefully pinned it on Wei Qiufu’s head. She said with envy and courtesy, “It is my pleasure to help. Fourth Miss Wei’s palace flower is really beautiful!”
Wei Qiufu was a favorite with the Third Princess, whereas the several of them were merely study companions. Of course, they had to curry favor with her. Moreover, Wei Qiufu was wearing a bright red palace flower while they were all wearing rose red ones. The meaning behind this was enough to make this Miss Qin with an insignificant family background eager to please Wei Qiufu.
“Your palace flowers are also very beautiful!” As Wei Qiufu said this, she looked at Zhao Ruo’e shyly.
By now, Miss Qin had helped Wei Qiufu put on the palace flower. She turned her head and immediately cried out in surprise, “Miss Zhao, where is your palace flower?”
Apparently, Zhao Ruo’e wasn’t wear a palace flower on her head.
The several of them had each received a palace flower together in front of the Third Princess. Zhao Ruo’e should also have a rose red palace flower, but she wasn’t wear it on her head now.
Wei Yuewu had been watching Wei Qiufu’s performance from the side. Looking at Wei Qiufu’s constantly flickering eyes, she knew that Wei Qiufu was quietly directing everyone’s gaze towards the palace flower. There was a slight chill in Wei Yuewu’s eyes, and she simply used her hand to support her head and turned to look at Wei Qiufu’s performance with interest.
She would like to see if Wei Qiufu could withstand it a while later!
“Miss Zhao, where is your palace flower?” Wei Qiufu also had a surprised expression as she covered the corners of her lips with her handkerchief and asked in an affected manner.
The two of them asked the same question one after another, immediately alarming the surrounding young ladies, who turned their gazes to Zhao Ruo’e’s beautiful hair.
“No palace flower?”
“How did she dare not to wear it?”
“Why isn’t she wearing her palace flower? Trying to disobey the empress?”…
The low murmur made Zhao Ruo’e so ashamed that her face twitched. She barely suppressed the desire to jump up and slap Wei Qiufu in the face. However, she knew that neither her status or background was enough to challenge Wei Qiufu when she had no any evidence against Wei Qiufu. She could only clench her teeth secretly.
“I… I lost my palace flower and couldn’t find it.” After her face twitched slightly, Zhao Ruo’e calmed down. Her gaze swept towards Wei Yuewu, who was watching a good show with her sleeves retracted and her cheeks resting on her chin. She was secretly vigilant in her heart.
Everything that happened that day and the subsequent events showed this Sixth Miss Wei was obviously not easy to deal with. The eldest young lady of the Yang Family had set a good example for her.
“Lost? What… what are you planning to do?” Wei Qiufu lowered her voice and said worriedly for her.
Although she had deliberately lowered her voice, the several ladies beside her were all keeping an eye on the two of them, so how could they not hear Wei Qiufu’s words?
“I have no idea either.” Zhao Ruo’e shook her head in frustration, her eyes immediately filled with tears, as if she was wronged.
Wei Yuewu nodded her head repeatedly. As expected, this Fourth Miss Zhao was not simple. Although she looked impetuous and had once shown such deep hostility towards Wei Yuewu, now she looked exactly like a weak and pitiful lady. Apparently, she was also a master of playacting comparable to Wei Qiufu.
Of course, the better Zhao Ruo’e was at acting, the better the result would be for Wei Yuewu…
“Could it be stolen?” Seeing that Zhao Ruo’e’s eyes were immediately red, others couldn’t help but feel pity for her, and even Chu Fangnan and Qi Yunhao were looking at her.
The two heirs-apparent were seated far away and the sound of speaking here was low. But when they saw Miss Zhao’s wronged expression with tears in her eyes, they immediately felt pity for her.
As a result, they focused their attention on this group of ladies.
After a quick glance, they immediately turned their attention to Wei Yuewu. Today, Wei Yuewu was wearing a light white coat and a water-blue dress. On the either corners of the dress were embroidered a few slender lotus flowers and lotus leaves, making her look quite elegant and calm.
Although she didn’t use any face powder and looked a bit too pale and the color of her lips was too faint, she still looked stunning. When her long eyelids flapped, people’s attention was immediately attracted by her beauty.
This was not the first time Chu Fangnan and Qi Yunhao had seen Wei Yuewu, but they had never watched her so closely before. When they calmed down, they were shocked to find that she was actually such a stunning beauty and their gaze immediately fell on Wei Yuewu’s face.
Wei Yuewu’s attention was now completely focused on Wei Qiufu, and she didn’t notice the reaction from the other side.
Yan Huaijing calmly glanced at Wei Yuewu, who was seated opposite him. He lazily picked up the wine cup beside his hand and raised it to Chu Fangnan and Qi Yunhao.
The two of them weren’t paying attention to Yan Huaijing at the moment. After they were gently pulled by their own people, they turned around, only to find Yan Huaijing had drunk all the wine in his cup and placed the cup heavily on the table. His expression was gloomy.
Without saying anything, Qi Yunhao and Chu Fangnan already knew what to do. They raised the wine cup in their hands towards Yan Huaijing and drank up in one gulp. Then, they picked up another cup, drank up in one gulp, and then raised another cup…
They drank three cups in a row as an apology for their disrespect a moment ago.
Seeing the two of them drink three cups of wine each, Yan Huaijing’s expression turned slightly normal and he revealed a smile like that of an exiled immortal. He opened his thin lips and asked gently, “So what do you think of it?”
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