Chapter 258 – Crown Prince’S Secret
The door curtain was raised, and a woman whom Wei Yuewu had seen downstairs walked in. She looked like a young madam, and needless to say, she must be the heiress-apparent of the mansion of Duke of Jing.
“Elder Sister-in-law!” Jing Wenyan stood up and greeted her with a smile. She held the heiress-apparent’s hand affectionately as if she had completely forgotten she had vowed to report to Duke of Jing when Wei Yuewu informed her about this heiress-apparent’s scheme.
“Your Heiress-apparent!” The other young ladies all stood up to pay their respects.
“Elder Sister-in-law, how is the situation in the front yard?” Jing Wenyan suddenly asked shyly in a low voice.
“It’s fine. Don’t worry, our mother will take care of everything.” The heiress-apparent looked at Jing Wenyan and patted her hand. She looked around and said, “Younger sister, you have a lot of friends here, but I have never seen this young lady before. I wonder which mansion she is from. She is actually so beautiful.”
By coincidence, she was talking about Wei Yuewu. The mansion of Duke of Jing’s people hadn’t attended any banquet before and kept a low profile, whereas Wei Yuewu rarely appeared in front of others. Therefore, even though this heiress-apparent had helped Wei Fengyao to set up Wei Yuewu, she actually did not know Wei Yuewu.
“This is Sixth Miss Wei, daughter of Marquis Hua Yang.” Only then did Jing Wenyan remember that she had not introduced the heiress-apparent to the young ladies in her room. “This is the eldest young lady of Li Mansion, daughter of the tutor of the Crown Prince; this is Miss Wang, the eldest young lady of General Ming Yuan; and this is Miss Zhao from the mansion of Marquis Huaiqin.”
“Sixth Miss Wei?” The heiress-apparent was shocked. She looked at Wei Yuewu in disbelief and the handkerchief in her hand trembled.
“Yes, Yuewu greets Your Heiress-apparent!” Wei Yuewu gracefully bowed again as if she did not notice the shocked expression on her face.
“You…” The Crown Princess furrowed her brows and carefully sized up Wei Yuewu. She increasingly felt that it was inconceivable. Of course, she was on Wei Fengyao’s side regarding what happened today. She had heard that this Sixth Miss Wei had a vicious nature and forced her cousin to death. That was why she offered a helping hand to Wei Fengyao disregarding the potential damage to the mansion of Duke of Jing’s reputation.
But in the end, she made the Heir-apparent of Prince Nan’an lose face. She also heard that the Heir-apparent of Prince Nan’an left angrily with Wei Fengyao. As for that Sixth Miss Wei mentioned by Wei Fengyao, this heiress-apparent of the mansion of Duke of Jing had never seen her before.
How could she not be shocked to see Wei Yuewu in Jing Wenyan’s courtyard!
She knew well about Jing Wenyan, her younger sister-in-law. Since this Sixth Miss Wei was treated by Jing Wenyan with special consideration, she must not be underestimated.
“Your eldest sister…How is your eldest sister?” She couldn’t help but blurt out.
“Your Heiress-apparent, are you talking about the Heiress-apparent of Prince Nan’an?” Wei Yuewu looked up and her cold eyes fell on the face of this Heiress-apparent of Duke of Jing, who was so shocked that she could not control her emotions. “If Your Heiress-apparent is talking about the Heiress-apparent of Prince Nan’an, then both Eldest Miss Jing and I have seen her. A moment ago, the Heir-apparent of Prince Nan’an left angrily with her.”
“You… you both saw her?” The Heiress-apparent of Duke of Jing almost bit her tongue and she hurriedly turned back to look at Jing Wenyan.
“Yes, it was a coincidence. Eldest Miss Jing and I were having a walk around there. We happened to see what was happening. By the way, I feel Your Heiress-apparent looks a little familiar. Could it be that Your Heiress-apparent was also there at that time?” As Wei Yuewu said these, there was a smile on her lips and her eyes were as clear as water.
However, her piercing gaze made the Heiress-apparent of Duke of Jing involuntarily lower her head. Her heart suddenly started to beat violently as she pondered over what Wei Yuewu had said. Did this mean that Jing Wenyan had also seen her? Being a smart person, she might even be able to figure out what had happened.
She remembered that she had disregarded the mansion of Duke of Jing’s reputation to help Wei Fengyao plot against this Sixth Miss Wei. If her husband, father-in-law, and mother-in-law knew about this, they would definitely not forgive her.
The Heiress-apparent of Duke of Jing could not help but feel regret. If she had known that this would happen, she would not have helped Wei Fengyao no matter what. Now, not only did Wei Fengyao shoot herself in the foot, but she would probably land herself in serious trouble.
“What… what a coincidence!” The smile on the Heiress-apparent of Duke of Jing’s face stiffened. Anyone could see she was struggling to maintain her composure. “Wenyan, I have got the information about the matter that is of interest to you. Shall we go in and talk?”
At this time, she must hurry up and curry favor with Jing Wenyan to stop her from say anything about today’s incident to her father-in-law and mother-in-law.
“Elder Sister-in-law, come with me.” Jing Wenyan pointed at the window with a trace of shyness, motioning the heiress-apparent to move aside to talk.
Wei Yuewu’s heart skipped a beat. What was Jing Wenyan trying to do? Even if there was really something that they needed to talk about in private, why didn’t they go inside? The window wasn’t big, and there were many maids and old maidservants in the room. Even if the young ladies couldn’t hear their talk, the maids standing in the back row could probably hear them. Was she intentionally trying to be overheard by them?
The heiress-apparent nodded and followed Jing Wenyan to the window. The two of them leaned against the window and spoke in a low voice.
The room quieted down. The young ladies seemed to be concentrated on eating, but all of them stretched their ears and listened carefully to the conversation over there. However, the voices of the two were really too low. Wei Yuewu only vaguely heard they were talking about “selecting”, “husband”, “young masters of aristocratic families”, “choose carefully”…
The meaning of these words put together was enough to make people ponder. Since Jing Wenyan held a grand banquet today and many young masters of aristocratic families were invited, was the mansion of Duke of Jing trying to choose a husband for Jing Wenyan?
Once this message was revealed, the expressions on Wang Yachun and Zhao Ruo’e’s faces relaxed.
No one was willing to marry into the same mansion as this Eldest Miss Jing, the number one beauty in the State of Jing that no longer existed.
Wei Yuewu’s gaze swept past the backs of the heiress-apparent and Eldest Miss Jing. She did not believe that there was such a coincidence. How come the moment she mentioned the words of Yan Huaijing at the gate that placed her in the same position as the two princesses, this Eldest Miss Jing immediately revealed the plan of the mansion to choose a husband for her?
Moreover, this message was delivered by the Heiress-apparent of the Duke of Jing. No matter how one looked at it, it was too much of a coincidence.
It seemed that the words that Yan Huaijing said to her at the gate of the mansion had long since reached Eldest Miss Jing’s ears…
Well, the speed of reaction by the mansion of Duke of Jing, or rather, the speed of reaction by this Eldest Miss Jing was really fast!
Since that was the case, the hostility of the two princesses towards Jing Wenyan would naturally be reduced. As for whether the plan succeeded or not, it was another story.
The Heiress-apparent of Duke of Jing said a few more words to Jing Wenyan in a low voice before saying goodbye to everyone with a smile. However, she landed her eyes on Wei Yuewu’s face for quite a while before leaving.
Jing Wenyan returned to her seat with a flushed face. She seemed to still feel shy about the topic just now. For a moment, she actually did not speak.
Well, anyone in her place would have this kind of reaction. After all, any young lady would feel embarrassed when talking about their own marriage.
After a while, the blush on Jing Wenyan’s face faded, and she asked everyone with a smile, “Sisters, have you heard about the nation-wide selection?”
“I just learned about it. It should have been decided only recently.” Wang Yachun put down the chopsticks in her hand and smiled. Obviously, she was also very interested in this topic.
“I also heard it from the Third Princess that a decree would be announced soon.” Zhao Ruo’e also got excited and added.
Yang Yuyan must be really ignorant of what they were talking about. The presence of Wei Yuewu was putting a lot of pressure on her. However, she still couldn’t help but ask, “For… for what?”
“To choose a Crown Princess for the Crown Prince!” Wang Yachun said with a smile.
“Is the Crown Princess going to be chosen like this? How about her status and family background?” Yang Yuyan was shocked. She also aimed to enter the Crown Prince Mansion. This was definitely not good news for her.
“Except for the Crown Princess, side concubines, secondary concubines, and other junior concubines might also be selected. It wouldn’t be a big deal if a few women with lower statuses were selected.” Zhao Ruo’e said nonchalantly.
“How can ignorant women who grew up in the countryside enter the Crown Prince Mansion!” Li Yue’er said disdainfully, landing a provocative gaze directly on Wei Yuewu.
Wei Yuewu looked up and smiled silently. “Well, among ignorant women who grew up in the countryside, someone may also stand out like a pearl. How could Miss Li completely negate women with low statuses? I heard that the late emperor had a concubine from the countryside. Could it be that Miss Li looks down on her?”
“I’m just stating facts!” Li Yue’er flew into a rage. How was she supposed to answer Wei Yuewu’s question? It was she who took the initiative to provoke Wei Yuewu by mocking her for being ignorant.
“Miss Li, you are overreacting. I am just stating the truth!” A smile appeared on Wei Yuewu’s face as she spoke gently.
Seeing Wei Yuewu’s calm face, Li Yue’er was so angry that her face turned red. She could not help but stand up and shout angrily, “You… Could it be that you are coveting the Crown Prince?”
“Miss Li, you must be joking. Is it up to you to decide who can enter the Crown Prince Mansion?” Wei Yuewu looked up and asked casually with a smile, “Could it be that Her Majesty must ask for Miss Li’s opinion before making her choices?”
Li Yue’er’s face changed dramatically, but she could not say a single word to refute. She gritted her teeth hatefully. “You…”
“What does Miss Li want to say?” Today, Wei Yuewu was determined not to let Li Yue’er have an easy time. Neither did she plan to exercise restraint. She raised her watery eyes that were filled with chilly coldness. “Miss Li, if you have any suggestion regarding this matter, you can actually go and tell the Crown Prince directly. I heard that your father, tutor of the Crown Prince, was much appreciated by His Highness.”
Tutor of the Crown Prince was an important 第二百五十七章 第二百五十七章 official directly subordinate to the Crown Prince Mansion. The reason why Lady Li’s elder brother could obtain such an important position was naturally because of the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang. However, when Wei Yuewu mentioned the importance of the position, she sounded as if reminding Li Yue’er of whom her family relied on to obtain this position.
“Sixth Miss Wei, what Miss Li said has nothing to do with us. However, I am really curious about the nation-wide selection. How come the Crown Princess shall be chosen in a nation-wide selection? Isn’t status or family background an important factor to be considered when selecting the Crown Princess?” Jing Wenyan jumped out in time to be a peacemaker. She smiled and poured a cup of tea for Wei Yuewu and Li Yue’er. Then, she turned around and filled the cups for Yang Yuyan, Wang Yachun, and Zhao Ruo’e. “Today, we are having a private talk here. Anyway, it is just a casual conversation and must not be taken seriously. I believe you two both have your sources of information. However, I don’t know which one of you is better informed. Sixth Miss Wei or Miss Li?”
She didn’t mention Wang Yachun or Zhao Ruo’e, and the two of them were eager to show off. Zhao Ruo’e was the first to cut in, “Miss Jing, this is actually related to a secret, a very important secret. I heard…”
Zhao Ruo’e hesitated for a moment and looked at the servants in the room.
Jing Wenyan understood and clapped her hands at the servants in the room with a smile. The maids and old maidservants of the mansion of Duke of Jing all left.
“Sisters…” Jing Wenyan looked at everyone.
Everyone understood what Jing Wenyan meant. They each asked their maids to go out. Wei Yuewu’s eyes flashed and she nodded at Jin Ling, motioning her to go out as well. She would like to hear what Zhao Ruo’e was going to say at the instigation of Eldest Miss Jing, who had taken great efforts to design such a plot…
This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢