Chapter 295 – Did The So-Called Orchid Courtyard Have A Front Hall?
“Well…” Wei Yuewu had an embarrassed look on her face as she looked around. She was clearly not very willing to lend it out!
“Sixth Younger Sister, since Fourth Younger Sister likes it, just lend it to her for a few days. Anyway, she will return it to you. I also have a few hairpins. I originally wanted to give them to you and Qiufu. Now, I will give all of them to you alone!” Wei Fengyao saw that Wei Qiufu really liked the hairpin, so she naturally stood on Wei Qiufu’s side and spoke for her.
These words were very polite. Moreover, Wei Qiufu only asked to borrow it, not to have it for her own. Since Wei Fengyao had also spoken for Wei Qiufu, Wei Yuewu couldn’t refuse whatever reason she had.
“Well then… Alright! When do you want it, Fourth Elder Sister?” Wei Yuewu’s face was full of unhappiness, but she had no other option.
“If it is convenient for you, lend it to me when we are back to our rooms later!” Wei Qiufu smiled and bowed to Wei Yuewu. “Thank you, Sixth Younger Sister!”
She behaved in an extremely reasonable manner. Not only did she express her gratitude to Wei Yuewu, but she also expressed her humility. No matter who saw it, they would think that Wei Qiufu was generous and polite.
“Fourth Elder Sister, you are welcome!” Wei Yuewu smiled and turned sideways to avoid her bow.
“Let’s go. We will have a walk around the Palace. Although the two of you have also been to the Palace, there are too many people coming and going during the banquet time. There are some places that ordinary guests aren’t allowed to enter.” Wei Fengyao smiled and pointed at the road ahead. Then, she walked to the intersection first.
Wei Qiufu and Wei Yuewu followed behind with their maidservants!
They walked all the way out of Chu Xiu Palace.
Suddenly, Wei Fengyao, who was walking in front, smiled mysteriously and stopped. “Sisters, I’ll take you to a good place!”
“Eldest Sister, this is the imperial palace. Let’s just walk around!” Wei Qiufu also stopped and looked around awkwardly.
“Don’t worry. I am not going to take you to the forbidden area. There are some palaces in the Palace that are inaccessible for outsiders. Although I am the Heiress-apparent of Prince Nan’an, I don’t dare to be reckless in the Palace!” Wei Fengyao said helplessly. She gently wiped her pale face with the handkerchief in her hand.
“Then… what do you think, Sixth Younger Sister?” Wei Qiufu turned to Wei Yuewu and asked gently.
Wei Yuewu had been quietly watching on the side. Apparently, Wei Qiufu and Wei Fengyao were putting on a play. However, she also wanted to see what they had up their sleeves. She smiled slightly and said, “I have only just returned to the capital and haven’t been to the Palace many times. I will just follow Eldest Sister and Fourth Elder Sister!”
In any case, she was the youngest and had just returned to the capital. Naturally, everything would be decided by Wei Fengyao and Wei Qiufu.
After hearing Wei Yuewu’s extremely sensible answer, Wei Qiufu’s eyes flashed with a trace of caution. Fortunately, her goal this time was not Wei Yuewu. She only wanted to make use of Wei Yuewu as her stepping stone.
“Then I’ll listen to Eldest Sister!” Wei Qiufu bit her lips and replied.
“Alright, let’s go!” Seeing that both of them agreed, Wei Fengyao smiled and led the way. Not far away, they saw a courtyard.
There were two large words on the tall plaque at the entrance of the courtyard, which read Orchid Courtyard.
“Are there orchids planted here?” Wei Yuewu stopped and asked in surprise.
“Yes, a few orchids here are about to bloom. I heard that the orchids here are extremely beautiful. All species of orchids can be found here, and they have been nurtured very well!” Wei Fengyao pointed at the door with a smile and walked in first.
At the door, there were a few pots of orchids that looked very unique. Unlike the two rows on one side, they were placed at the foot of an artificial hill and formed a small orchid garden. In the shadow of the artificial hill, there were a few orchids that were about to bloom. Their buds were half open and half closed and were extremely attractive.
“So beautiful!” Wei Yuewu couldn’t help but exclaim.
Usually, red plum blossoms were the most popular in the cold winter. Now that Wei Qiufu saw these orchids that had not been in full bloom, she felt that they were extremely graceful and elegant.
Wei Qiufu picked up the corner of her skirt, took two steps forward, squatted down, and looked at the orchid flowers carefully. She could not help but praise, “Eldest Sister, the orchids here are really good. The ones in our mansion have not bloomed yet!”
“How can the orchids in our mansion be compared with the ones in the Palace? Look at everything here. Although the overall scene is not much different from the courtyard outside, don’t you feel there is something different?” Wei Fengyao said proudly.
“What’s the difference?” Wei Qiufu could not answer for a moment, so she turned to Wei Yuewu and asked, “Sixth Younger Sister, did you see anything different?”
Wei Yuewu shook his head. “I didn’t see either. Eldest Sister, please tell us about it.”
Seeing that the two of them did not know the answer, Wei Fengyao became prouder. “Don’t you feel that this place is warmer than the outside?”
“Yes, it seems to be warmer here!” Wei Yuewu hesitated for a moment before answering.
“It’s warmer because there is a ground heating system here!” Wei Fengyao smiled.
“All the ground in such a big place is heated?” Wei Qiufu gestured with her hand in shock. The area in front of her didn’t look big when they first entered the Orchid Courtyard. However, looking from where she stood towards the inside, the area was actually not small. If the ground was really all heated, it would really be an enormous project.
Even if the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang’s strength was not small, it was impossible for the mansion to do this!
“The ground in other places of this garden is also heated. That’s why the orchids here have already bloomed. How can our two mansions compare with this place!” Wei Fengyao raised her neck and said proudly.
These words sounded like self-deprecation, but which mansion could compare with the royal palace in terms of luxury?
“Who built the ground heating system here?” Wei Yuewu calmly looked at this large garden. Her watery eyes flashed with a hint of shock and envy. This was really a big project. Of course, not everyone could do it.
“I don’t know. I heard that it was built at the order of an imperial consort favored by the late Emperor, but I don’t know who she is exactly!” Wei Fengyao shook her head and pointed inside. “Let’s go in and take a look. There are even more beautiful scenes inside.”
The two of them followed her in. This Orchid Courtyard actually consisted of several gardens. Although each garden was not big, they were quite exquisite. From time to time, they could see orchids blooming in the corridors and artificial hills.
Thanks to these orchids that looked both enchanting and graceful, there was an aura of early spring, which added to the beauty of the richly ornamented corridors and buildings.
In the middle of winter, the three of them wore a lot of clothes. After walking for a while, they were already sweating slightly. In addition, this place was much warmer than the outside. It hadn’t been long before they felt hot.
“Eldest Sister, let’s go in and take a rest!” Wei Qiufu suggested. She pointed at the room on the side and wiped the sweat off her forehead with a handkerchief.
“This… I don’t have the key this time. The next time we come here, I will ask someone to get the key from the palace servants.” Wei Fengyao looked embarrassed. When they came over, Wei Fengyao didn’t let any palace servant lead the way. She personally took the two of them and several maidservants followed them from a distance.
“Alright then!” Although Wei Qiufu felt very hot, she was particularly concerned about etiquette. She wiped her face with a handkerchief and answered gently.
The three of them then continued to walk towards the back of the courtyard, admiring the flowers all the way.
There were not many people on the road. Only a few palace maids were tending to the flowers and plants. When they saw Wei Fengyao and the other two young ladies, they respectfully and politely moved aside to make way and bow to the three of them.
Only after the three of them left did the palace maids once again work on the flowers.
Finally, they sat down in a corridor in a small courtyard. Behind the corridor was a small artificial hill with a pool of clear water. It was a quiet place.
What was more, this corridor was actually facing the sun with the wind blocked by a wall. The warm sunlight shone down, making them feel quite relaxed and cozy.
“Fourth Younger Sister, Sixth Younger Sister, this place is not far from Chu Xiu Palace. In the following days, if you have nothing to do, you can come and take a walk. You only need to accompany the Third Princess to pray in the morning. You can come here in the afternoon to admire the flowers.” Wei Fengyao smiled and pointed at the several pots of orchids in the corridor.
“Many thanks, Eldest Sister. Originally, I was worried that there are no other places to go when we don’t need to accompany the Third Princess. I didn’t expect that there would be an excellent place here.” Wei Qiufu smiled and turned to Wei Yuewu. “Sixth Younger Sister, what do you think?”
“Not bad!” Wei Yuewu nodded. This place was so beautiful and it was also close to Chu Xiu Palace. It was really a fortune for them to have such a good place when there was nothing to do.
But were there really no other imperial consorts coming to such a nice place?
This courtyard was tidied up so neatly, and it was warmer than the outside thanks to its enormous ground heating system. Orchids in blossom could be seen everywhere. However, Wei Yuewu noticed something strange. Although the Palace didn’t lack imperial consorts who loved flowers and plants and were idle, they actually didn’t meet anyone along the way.
Who wouldn’t feel like admiring such elegant orchids that bloomed in the cold winter?
However, the three of them didn’t meet anyone else along the way!
Wei Yuewu also noticed another strange thing. Although this place was close to Chu Xiu Palace, it should be even closer to the Crown Prince Mansion. After they entered the courtyard, she didn’t see any buildings such as the front hall and main hall, which were commonly seen in royal courtyards. Instead, she only saw gardens here, one garden after another…
This meant that the Orchid Courtyard was bigger than what she had seen, and there should be a main hall, which was the most correct way to enter the Orchid Courtyard.
“Alright, Sixth Younger Sister, let’s come here again when we have time!” Wei Qiufu proposed with a smile on her face.
“Yes, Fourth Elder Sister!” Wei Yuewu smiled and put away the suspicion in her eyes. She just needed to play the part of a younger sister who didn’t know anything.
“Then it’s settled. I’ve already spoken to the person in charge of the courtyard. When the two of you are free, you can come over and have a walk around here!” Wei Fengyao smiled as she made the decision. Her eyes met Wei Qiufu’s for a moment and both of them felt satisfied.
There were some things that were inappropriate for Wei Qiufu to do alone. But what if she had the company of Wei Yuewu? With Wei Yuewu by her side, it would seem quite natural for such things to happen “by chance”. If an accident occurred, Wei Yuewu might also be held responsible.
No matter how alert Wei Yuewu was, what could she do?
This was the imperial palace, not the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang. For Wei Yuewu, getting the information she needed or doing anything wouldn’t be easy!
“Fourth Younger Sister, Sixth Younger Sister, it is getting late. I need to go back. Now let me take you to see the new rooms I picked for you!” Wei Fengyao had other plans in her heart. At this time, she put on an even more brilliant smile, which concealed the viciousness in her eyes. However, there was too much powder on her face. Since they sweated after walking in the warm gardens, some powder had fallen off her face. She looked really terrible…
Well, she did hear some rumors about that room…
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