Chapter 196 – Two Safety Talismans
Wei Yuewu asked Huamo to bring a purse, and she put the safety talisman Wei Qiuju had given her into the purse before hanging it on her waist.
Seeing Wei Yuewu hang the purse at her waist, Wei Qiuju thought she had succeeded in her scheme, so she didn’t have the mood to stay here with Wei Yuewu any longer. After a few perfunctory words, she went back on the pretext that she had suddenly remembered something she needed to attend to.
“Huamo, bring me another purse, exactly the same as this one.” After Wei Qiuju left, Wei Yuewu, who was sitting in front of the mirror and let Huamo do the makeup for her, gave the instruction.
The purse that Huamo had just taken was the most ordinary type which was sometimes given to the servants as a reward. Normally, when Huamo and the others had time, they would casually make a few of these purses. They were not determined to make it very beautiful. Most of the time, they did not even change the pattern.
“Yes, I get it!” Huamo had just been behind Wei Yuewu and dressing her up. Naturally, she had also heard what Wei Qiuju said. So when she went to take the purse, she had chosen the most ordinary one. Now she was asked to bring another one, so she went to take exactly the same one and handed it over to Wei Yuewu.
She also brought a safety talisman that looked very similar to the one Wei Qiuju had offered. However, upon closer inspection, there was still a difference. There were some differences in the dark patterns on the safety talismans, and the most obvious difference was that the characters “Feng He” were missing on this one.
This was just an ordinary safety talisman that Jin Ling got from the Plum Blossom Nunnery for Wei Yuewu.
Wei Yuewu picked up the safety talisman and looked at it, then put it in the purse. At this time, Shufei had already untied the purse at Wei Yuewu’s waist that was hung there by herself earlier.
“Miss, this purse…” Shufei raised the purse in her hand.
“Let Jin Ling hang it on her waist when she comes back later!” Wei Yuewu said indifferently.
Jin Ling had gone out to arrange the affairs for the trip. This time, because the young ladies of the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang would each bring a puppy with them, they each brought an extra maid. Wei Yuewu brought Jin Ling and Huamo.
By the time the young ladies and their maids arrived at the gate, two carriages had been arranged outside for them by the Madam Dowager. Two young ladies shared a carriage, and of course, the maids they brought with them were also in the same carriage.
Wei Yuejiao hadn’t arrived. Wei Qiufu and Wei Qiuju were already at the gate and the former had sat in the carriage in the front, but Wei Qiuju was still hovering by the side. She did not know which carriage she should take. As soon as Wei Yuewu appeared at the gate, her eyes lit up and she hurriedly took a few steps forward to arrive in front of Wei Yuewu.
“Sixth Younger Sister, can I sit with you in the same carriage? Fourth Elder Sister likes to be quiet. I’m afraid of disturbing her.” Wei Qiuju pointed at the carriage in the front with a cautious gaze and a look of anticipation, which was really hard to refuse.
Wei Yuewu nodded, “Okay, Fifth Elder Sister, I’ll trouble you to sit with me. Coincidentally, I’m also a person who can’t stay quiet.”
“Alright, then let’s get in.” Wei Qiuju swept a gaze past Wei Yuewu’s purse at her waist. A trace of pride flashed across her eyes, but she did not show it on her face. And she still looked tender and timid.
The two of them boarded the carriage together and waited. Not long after, Wei Yuejiao also came out. Wei Qiufu was alone in the carriage in the front, so she naturally went to join her. Compared to sharing a carriage with Wei Yuewu or Wei Qiuju, being able to sit with Wei Qiufu was the most satisfactory for Wei Yuejiao.
As the four of them all arrived, the carriage slowly set off.
Because they were only attending a banquet and didn’t hurry on with their journey, the carriages marched along very slowly and steadily.
“Fourth Younger Sister, why haven’t you replied to the letter I wrote to you before?” In the carriage in the front, Wei Yuejiao looked at Wei Qiufu with a face full of displeasure.
Among the sisters in the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang, the two of them had a very good personal relationship. Even though Concubine Dong had a good relationship with Second Lady Li, Wei Yuejiao and Wei Yan were not very fond of each other.
The letter was now in Wei Yuewu’s hands. A trace of disdain flashed through Wei Qiufu’s eyes. Did Wei Yuejiao really think of herself as someone important? She thought so. However, she had always been sophisticated and didn’t reveal any sign on her face. She smiled gently and explained, “Third Elder Sister, you don’t know that I was on the mountain with the two princesses to appreciate the plum blossoms. After that, there was a misunderstanding between me and Sixth Younger Sister. I’m afraid that grandmother would misunderstand something if I write to you at this time.”
“What would she misunderstand? It’s not like that the two of us just start to write to each other these days. Grandmother already knew about it and didn’t say anything. Could it be that since Wei Yuewu is here, the two of us can’t even write letters?” Wei Yuejiao was the most unconvinced of Wei Yuewu, and she was a little annoyed when she heard that.
“Third Elder Sister, keep it down. She is Eldest Uncle’s first daughter of his wife, and her identity is different from ours.” Wei Qiufu sounded like she was trying to persuade Wei Yuejiao, but at this moment, she was only adding fuel to the fire by saying these. Wei Yuejiao’s expression immediately turned cold and she angrily said, “What do you mean by that her identity is different from ours, Fourth Younger Sister? We are all daughters of Father, and I am the elder sister. So what’s the difference?”
Of course, what she said meant that she had ignored the different status of wife and concubine, which was what the aristocratic families paid the most attention to. In Wei Yuejiao’s opinion, she was the first daughter of the wife-to-be. Moreover, she was an elder sister. So her status was only nobler than Wei Yuewu’s. However, she had never thought that she was only a daughter of a concubine. In the eyes of others, a concubine’s daughter would never parallel the wife’s first daughter.
Thinking of how Wei Yuewu had embarrassed her in front of her grandmother yesterday, Wei Yuejiao was extremely angry and ashamed. Her mother was about to return to the mansion. She must ask her mother to play rough against Wei Yuewu and let her know who the real Young Lady of the Marquis Mansion was.
“Third Elder Sister, you are right!” Seeing the way Wei Yuejiao felt hateful, Wei Qiufu knew that it was almost time. So she stopped starting a war. She immediately stopped arguing and agreed with her words to start chatting with her.
In the carriage behind them, Wei Yuewu and Wei Qiuju were also chatting. They were also talking about something that was not okay for others to know. Fortunately, the few people in the carriage were the most trusted servants of them, so they weren’t afraid that others would hear them.
Wei Qiuju was complaining to Wei Yuewu, “Sixth Younger Sister, Grandmother sent a maidservant to warn me to mind my own business, but I really didn’t do anything. Why did everyone know that it was Third Elder Sister who did it yet they had to shift the blame on me?”
Wei Qiuju felt wronged so much that she wiped her tears with a handkerchief.
“Fifth Elder Sister, have you thought about what kind of family you will marry into in the future?” Wei Yuewu took a soft cushion and leaned against it before raising her eyes and asking softly.
“I… I don’t know!” These words stabbed in Wei Qiuju’s heart. It was something that she had been thinking about for the past few days. Originally, with her status, she could easily become the legal wife of an ordinary official family. After all, she had the background of the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang and had two uncles who were separate civil and military officials.
But now? A series of incidents had happened to her, and Wei Yuejiao had ruined half of her reputation, could Eldest Sister really clean up her reputation completely for her?
Compared to Wei Yuejiao, Wei Qiuju believed that whether it was Madam Dowager or married Wei Fengyao, they did not value her more. With this thought, she felt even more aggrieved.
“Fifth Elder Sister, do you want to marry into an ordinary rich family to be the legal wife and then kneel down and salute whenever you meet the other elder sisters in the future?” Seeing Wei Qiuju’s face was full of tears, Wei Yuewu sneered in her heart. Wei Qiuju always and only cared about herself, but she never thought that because of her selfishness, she would push others into a bad situation where they would never be able to get out.
Since that was the case, then she would start with her selfishness!
“No, I don’t want that!” Thinking of that she had to kneel and salute Wei Fengyao and the others when she met them in the future, Wei Qiuju shook her head vigorously with tears falling down. She looked really pitiful.
She had carefully lived in the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang for so many years, and she didn’t want to kneel to her sisters in the future after she married into another family. However, if she could only marry into an ordinary wealthy family, it would indeed require her to kneel and salute when seeing a prince’s wife like Wei Fengyao.
However, she also knew that with her current reputation, she could only marry into an ordinary wealthy family.
“Actually, Fifth Elder Sister, you still have other choices.” Wei Yuewu said meaningfully, but she didn’t make it clear.
Wei Qiuju did not understand for a moment. She raised her red eyes and waited for Wei Yuewu to continue. However, Wei Yuewu did not continue. She only reminded her softly, “Fifth Elder Sister, you must not cry again. When we arrive in the Prince Nan’an Mansion later, Princess Nan’an will definitely not happy to see you like this. Grandmother had warned us about this before.”
Speaking of the Prince Nan’an Mansion, Wei Qiuju suddenly remembered her plan with Wei Fengyao. She couldn’t help but feel guilty. She wiped away her tears with the handkerchief and secretly looked at Wei Yuewu. She didn’t notice anything unusual. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief. A hateful mockery flashed in her eyes.
If she hadn’t been born by a concubine, how could she not have been comparable to Wei Yuewu!
So what if she was the first daughter of the legal wife? She would still be trampled underfoot by a concubine’s daughter in the end.
At this moment, Wei Qiuju was full of self-pity and she also mocked Wei Yuewu in her heart. She did not notice that Jin Ling had come closer with the excuse of helping Wei Yuewu to pick up the snacks on the carriage…
As the wheels rolled, the two people in the carriage began to chat casually.
Not long after, the carriage arrived at the entrance of Prince Nan’an Mansion. Wei Fengyao had already sent the nurse-in-charge to wait at the entrance. Seeing the carriage marked with the sign of the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang coming over, the nurse-in-charge hurriedly led the carriage directly into the side gate.
The carriages stopped in the parking lot, and the four young ladies got off the carriage one after another. They brought their maids and followed the nurse-in-charge to the inner courtyard.
When they entered the inner courtyard, a clever manservant had gone to a side courtyard and reported the news.
In the side courtyard, the fat heir-apparent of Prince Nan’an was also entertaining guests.
There were actually quite a few guests in Prince Nan’an Mansion today. Wei Fengyao entertained a few young ladies from her parents’ family. Princess Nan’an had some good old friends to meet and talk to. The heir-apparent of Prince Nan’an had his own guests, a few of whom were the grandchildren of the old friends that Princess Nan’an invited. In addition, he also invited a few important guests among whom there was actually the Fourth Prince, Wen Yi.
“Your Heir-apparent, they’re here! They’re already here!” The manservant whispered in the heir-apparent of Prince Nan’an’s ear excitedly. The heir-apparent had told them that the first person to confirm and report the news would get a big reward. He remembered that the heir-apparent had always been generous, so how could he not be extremely excited?
“Have you seen that young lady?” The heir-apparent of Prince Nan’an also had an excited expression. He didn’t expect it to be true. And he had a thousand reasons to feel extremely joyful.
“Yes, I’ve seen her. It’s the young lady that this servant and Your Heir-apparent saw last time.” The manservant nodded repeatedly.
“Your Highness, do you want to go for a walk in our garden? There’s nothing interesting in drinking here!” The heir-apparent of Prince Nan’an nodded and rolled his eyes before saying to the Fourth Prince, Wen Yi.
The Fourth Prince did not really want to come. But the heir-apparent of Prince Nan’an did have come to invite him several times. In addition, the heir-apparent of Prince Nan’an was Empress Dowager’s favorite grandson. So, he could not just refuse him.
He had no choice but to come. Luckily, these guests here weren’t all rogue young masters like the heir-apparent of Prince Nan’an. Looking at the few young masters who were also helpless, Wen Yi could only say that he hadn’t come for nothing today. At the very least, these young masters were with powerful backgrounds and perhaps could be beneficial to him.
“I’ve visited Uncle Prince’s garden several times. There’s really nothing special to see.” The Fourth Prince lazily raised his head and said.
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