Chapter 255 – Pavilion In An Unoccupied Courtyard
“Eldest Miss Jing, you must be joking. It is not up to us to decide whether or not to be the Crown Princess.” Wei Yuewu smiled faintly. There was a faint indifference in her eyes. She really did not like Jing Wenyan looking at her with a scrutinizing gaze.
Seeing that Wei Yuewu did not want to talk about this matter, Jing Wenyan changed the topic and said with a smile, “Actually, I don’t know if it’s true or not. I feel we hit it off and therefore I talked about this with you in private. I am leaving now.”
“Eldest Miss Jing, please go ahead!” Wei Yuewu answered smilingly.
Seeing that she really couldn’t figure out Wei Yuewu’s thoughts, Jing Wenyan smiled and really left with her people, leaving only an old maidservant several steps in front of Wei Yuewu waiting for her instructions.
“Miss…” Jin Ling came over and wanted to say something, but she stopped when noticing the expression in Wei Yuewu’s eyes.
“Just take us for a walk in your mansion’s garden. Take some quiet paths.” Wei Yuewu instructed the old maidservant.
“Yes, Sixth Young Lady!” The Old maidservant accepted the order and led the way.
Sure enough, the scenery was good along the way, and there were very few pedestrians on the road. Because the old maidservant saw that Wei Yuewu liked quietness, she specially avoided places where there were many people.
“It seemed that there weren’t many people living here in the past, right?” Wei Yuewu looked at an empty courtyard and asked curiously. This was the third empty courtyard she saw along the way.
Apparently, the mansion of Duke of Jing had fewer people than the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang.
“Our Duke, Duchess, Heir-apparent, and young lady used to live in the State of Jing. They rarely come back here. Even if they come back, they only occupy a few main courtyards. The other courtyards are almost all unoccupied. But this time…” The Old maidservant paused for a moment. After all, the family of the Duke of Jing had lost its territory and could only live here now, which was a shameful thing to mention.
“Right now, there aren’t many masters and young ladies in the mansion, and only a few main courtyards are occupied.” The old maidservant added, still not answering Wei Yuewu’s question.
“What about the concubines and the other young ladies and young masters in the mansion?” Hearing that the old maidservant only mentioned the Heir-apparent of Duke of Jing and Eldest Young Lady, Wei Yuewu smiled and asked. She didn’t believe that Duke of Jing had no other children.
The old maidservant sighed and answered, “Our Duke had another son and a younger daughter before, but they were missing on their way back to the capital. Nobody knows where they are now. The Duke sent many people to look for them, but they haven’t been found yet. Several concubines have also disappeared!”
Therefore, only Jing Wenyan and the Heir-apparent of Duke of Jing were living in the mansion. Wei Yuewu had learned that the two of them were both born by the Duchess of Jing.
Wei Yuewu’s watery eyes fell on a courtyard in front of her and she asked as if casually, “It has been so long. Is there still no news?”
“It has indeed been a long time, so even the Duke felt that the odds were against them. Most of the people sent out have also returned.” The old maidservant replied.
“Has this courtyard been empty all the time?” Wei Yuewu suddenly stopped and pointed at the courtyard in front of her.
This courtyard was very large and it also had a tall building, which made it look different from other courtyards. Normally, this kind of tall building should appear in the main courtyard instead of such a remote courtyard. It was really strange. Moreover, this courtyard was obviously larger than the previous ones.
“This courtyard had always been empty. When they entered the capital, the Duke had also sent people to clean up the courtyard. Originally, he wanted the Eldest Young Lady to live here, but the Eldest Young Lady said that she wanted to live closer to the Duke, so this courtyard was closed and left unoccupied.”
The old maidservant looked at the courtyard to which Wei Yuewu pointed and thought for a moment before answering.
“Can I… go in and take a look?” Wei Yuewu’s expression remained unchanged as she looked at the half-closed gate of the courtyard and asked.
“Well…” The old maidservant hesitated for a moment. Although she was instructed to show this Sixth Miss Wei around the mansion, the Eldest Young Lady did not say whether she could bring Sixth Miss Wei to the courtyard.
“Then forget it. I’ll ask Eldest Miss Jing when I see her later.” Wei Yuewu didn’t want to make things difficult for the old maidservant at all. She turned her body slightly and was about to go to another path.
“Sixth Young Lady, please wait a moment. There’s no need to ask the Eldest Young Lady if you just want to have a brief walk in it.” Seeing that Wei Yuewu really wanted to leave, the old maidservant hurriedly went forward and said with a smile. Although the Eldest Young Lady did not explicitly allow her to take this Sixth Miss Wei to the courtyard, she didn’t say no either. Anyway, it was just an abandoned courtyard. And the old maidservant really did not think there was anything that could not be seen by an outsider.
“Will Eldest Miss Jing blame you?” Wei Yuewu asked after pondering for a moment.
The old maidservant hurriedly said, “It’s fine, Sixth Young Lady. Our Eldest Young Lady instructed me to properly entertain you. Wherever you want to go, I will bring you over.”
Eldest Young Lady had repeatedly warned her not to offend this seemingly delicate and weak Sixth Miss Wei.
“Then… alright!” Wei Yuewu seemed to be in a dilemma.
“Sixth Young Lady, this way, please. I will lead the way for you!” The old maidservant said enthusiastically.
Seeing that the old maidservant was so enthusiastic, Wei Yuewu no longer said anything and slowly walked to the gate of the courtyard with Jin Ling.
Compared with the other courtyards she saw along the way, even the gate of this courtyard was also much bigger. Apparently, this courtyard was for the most important master of the mansion. In other words, there used to be a master who loved quietness in the mansion…
Wei Yuewu looked up at the big gate and asked, “It was said the mansion of Duke of Jing was bestowed by His Majesty. Is this true? The mansion is indeed extraordinary.”
“This… I have always lived in the State of Jing before. I am not clear.” The old maidservant shook her head awkwardly. Although she had heard of such rumors, she did not dare to speak carelessly.
The gate was opened, revealing the ground inside that was quite clean. It seemed that after Duke of Jing moved in, he had ordered people to clean up the entire mansion. Although this courtyard was unoccupied, it didn’t look desolate.
Wei Yuewu looked over, and she found there were more than two layers. Located in the innermost area was the tall pavilion.
“Can I walk around freely?” Wei Yuewu asked politely.
“Sixth Young Lady, please feel free!” The old maidservant replied with a smile. In the old maidservant’s mind, since they had already entered the courtyard, she might as well allow this Sixth Miss Wei to walk around freely. Moreover, the doors here were all closed. At most, she would just take a glance from the outside. In order to show her generosity, she even added, “Sixth Young Lady, I will wait for you near the gate. If you have any need, just let me know.”
“Alright!” Wei Yuewu smiled and nodded at the old maidservant. She was very satisfied with the thoughtfulness of the old maidservant and turned around to walk in.
Jin Ling immediately stepped forward, took out a purse from her pocket, and handed it to the old maidservant.
The old maidservant took it and felt the weight inside. Her face immediately bloomed with joy and she kept thanking Wei Yuewu. As soon as Wei Yuewu entered the second layer of the courtyard, the old maidservant went to a small house near the gate to have a rest.
There were also many rooms in the second layer, but they were not what Wei Yuewu wanted to see. She wanted to see the pavilion. If she was not mistaken, there was someone in the pavilion.
It was a surprise to see someone on a pavilion in an unoccupied courtyard. What surprised Wei Yuewu the most was that when the face disappeared in an instant, she figured out it was probably the Third Prince.
The Third Prince was actually in an abandoned pavilion in the mansion of Duke of Jing. From whichever perspective, this matter was a bit mysterious. The other reason why Wei Yuewu came here in such a hurry was that Wei Yuewu felt that this Third Prince should know something about her mother, but he just didn’t want to tell her.
She really wanted to find out the relationship between her mother and the Crown Prince, Wen Tianyao. Maybe the Third Prince also knew something.
Moreover, if this place was really the former Prince Bei’an Mansion, Wei Yuewu felt that it would be easier to discover something useful in this kind of quiet and remote place!
Picking up the hemline of her dress, Wei Yuewu walked to the pavilion and looked up. This pavilion was not high or big. Compared to the other pavilions in the mansion, it was much smaller and less significant.
However, the other pavilions in the mansion all had independent courtyards, whereas this pavilion was included in this courtyard.
“Miss…” Jin Ling said worriedly as she caught up from behind.
Wei Yuewu shook her hand, indicating that she did not have to worry. “Let’s go up and take a look.”
“Miss, the rooms here are all locked. There is no way to go up!” Jin Ling had observed a few rooms before, and each one was tightly locked. Therefore, she reminded Wei Yuewu.
“Yes, we can. I saw someone up there in the pavilion!” Wei Yuewu shook her head with certainty. At this time, she was looking up from below. She could not see anything, nor did she see the Third Prince. However, she believed that what happened just now was not her illusion. The Third Prince should be there.
Since the Third Prince could go up, she could naturally go up as well.
“There’s someone up there!” After following Wei Yuewu for a few steps, Jin Ling was suddenly shocked. She hurriedly took two steps forward and stood in front of Wei Yuewu. She said in a low voice, “Miss, there are people up there. Are you still going up?”
She didn’t discover that there was someone up there. On the one hand, this indicated that there was no one up there a moment ago, and on the other hand, this indicated that the person above was so powerful that she actually did not notice the person. In the case of the first explanation, it would not be a big deal, but in the case of the second explanation, Jin Ling did not think that it was a good thing for Wei Yuewu to go up!
“It’s fine. This is the mansion of Duke of Jing. Nothing will happen!” Wei Yuewu shook her head. Although she did not know what the Third Prince meant, she was certain that the Third Prince had no ill intentions toward her.
“Miss!” Jin Ling was still worried. After all, this was the mansion of Duke of Jing and they were now in a desolate place. If something happened that she could not handle, Wei Yuewu would be in danger!
Wei Yuewu shook her head. Her gaze fell on the fence on the second floor and she deliberately raised her voice to probe, “It’s fine. Many guests came here today. The mansion will definitely ensure the safety of the guests. Moreover, I heard the mansion of Duke of Jing used to be Prince Bei’an Mansion. I would like to feel the imposing manner of the prince mansion.”
Seeing that Wei Yuewu was determined to go up, Jin Ling knew that she could not stop her. She could only move aside and let Wei Yuewu go over. She followed closely behind Wei Yuewu and looked around vigilantly.
On the second floor, a young man stood there with his hands behind his back. His gaze fell on Wei Yuewu with a myriad of complicated feelings. He had already started to move to avoid Wei Yuewu, but he suddenly stopped when he heard Wei Yuewu mentioning “Prince Bei’an Mansion.” He thought for a moment before directly turning around and walking to the stairs.
“Your Highness…” A guard stepped forward and tried to say something but was stopped by him.
The sound of a woman’s soft footsteps came from the stairs…
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