Chapter 307 – The Gentle Zhaoyi Tu And The Third Princess
“Miss, are you alright?” Jin Ling’s anxious voice came from outside the sedan.
Wei Yuewu composed herself and quipped, “I’m fine. Go and see what happened.”
Such an accident happened too abruptly, but Wei Yuewu managed to hold still as she was at the end of the convoy. The sedans in front of her must have bumped into each other.
The palace paths were crisscrossed. The convoy that Wei Yuewu was in advanced slowly on the widest path, but they could not avoid the convoy that was coming from another small path. The latter appeared too abruptly that the sedan at the front could not react in time and crashed into it.
Although the eunuchs, who were carrying the sedan behind them, witnessed the crash and had stopped in a hurry, the young ladies rolled out of the sedan due to the inertia.
The young ladies who sat at the two sedans behind the first sedan also fell out. All of a sudden, shrill screams echoed around, maids cried out in alarm, and the entire scene was a mess.
Chu Fangnan was in a daze, not expecting such an incident to occur. Just now, he was in a hurry, but he didn’t notice a large convoy on the road when he turned the corner. Therefore, he directly crashed into the first sedan, and then a series of accidents happened.
His subordinates reported that the other three heirs-apparent had already entered the Palace, which made Chu Fangnan extremely anxious. Only then did he rush over to the Palace.
Compared to the other heirs-apparent, Chu Fangnan had to admit that he had no advantage. If he went any later, it would be even more impossible for him to marry the princess.
“Check them out and see if everyone’s okay,” he urged the eunuch beside him with a frown as he looked at the young lady who had fallen to his feet.
Knowing that they had caused trouble, the eunuch followed the maids and helped the ladies to their feet. Then, he looked at the scene briefly and realized that everyone was fine except for Miss Qin Wenyu. She was so shocked by the accident that blood drained from her face and she was still in a daze.
The few young ladies at the back also stood up with the help of the eunuchs and maids.
“Your Heir-apparent, it’s nothing serious,” the eunuch heaved a sigh of relief and reported.
“Let’s go!” Looking at the beautiful young lady who fell in front of him, Chu Fangnan waved his hand and quickly strode forward as he was not in the mood to think about other things. If he went too late, there would be no possibility for him at all. His father was still waiting for his good news.
Then, a large group of eunuchs and guards rushed over together.
“Miss…” Qin Wenyu’s maid stomped her feet in anger and pointed at Chu Fangnan since he turned to leave without an apology. “Look at him…”
“That’s enough. Let’s go!” Although Qin Wenyu’s face was still a little pale, she had quickly calmed down and urged the maid before slowly getting on the sedan that had just been lifted upright.
“Okay.” The maid pursed her lips and ordered the sedan to start moving.
Since Qin Wenyu did not say anything, the young ladies in the sedans behind her shut their mouths despite their upset. One by one, they boarded the sedans, and the convoy started moving again.
“Miss, the Heir-apparent of Chu knocked over Miss Qin’s sedan in front, and she and several young ladies fell out of their sedans.” Jin Ling trotted back from the front and reported to Wei Yuewu in a low voice through the window.
Wei Yuewu’s sedan had already begun to move forward slowly.
“Is anyone hurt?” Wei Yuewu asked after pondering for a moment.
“No, and I think they are merely frightened by the accident. Miss Qin had gotten into her sedan and ordered the convoy to move,” Jin Ling reported.
Hearing this, Wei Yuewu fell into deep thought. It seemed that Qin Wenyu was not simple at all. She had no complaints after such a terrible accident…
“Jin Ling, is Sixth Young Lady alright? Fourth Young Lady is worried sick!” Ming Yan’s voice suddenly appeared outside the window.
The corners of Wei Yuewu’s lips curled up into a sneer. Wei Qiufu didn’t miss a chance to express the so-called sisterhood. However, it seemed a little too pretentious to care about her after the accident.
As far as she was concerned, Wei Qiufu’s sedan should be not far from hers.
“Jin Ling, please thank Fourth Elder Sister for me. Do ask her if she was frightened just now. When you went ahead to have a look, didn’t you say that Fourth Elder Sister was fine?”
Wei Yuewu’s tender and sweet voice resonated through the curtain, and it was loud enough for the young ladies around her sedan to hear clearly.
“Yes, Miss!” Jin Ling answered in an even louder voice. “Please rest assured that I had already seen Fourth Young Lady when I ran to the front to check the situation. She was fine.”
This meant that Wei Yuewu had already sent her maid to check on Wei Qiufu, but Wei Qiufu only came to check on her after the dust had settled. In other words, Fourth Miss Wei was not as close to Sixth Miss Wei as they imagined. If Wei Qiufu genuinely cared for Wei Yuewu, shouldn’t she send someone to check on the latter immediately?
“Yes, thank you for your concern, Sixth Young Lady!” Ming Yan felt that the situation had turned against them and did not dare to continue acting. She hurriedly bowed and turned back to Wei Qiufu’s sedan.
Wei Qiufu’s sedan was just one sedan away from Wei Yuewu’s, and she had heard Jin Ling’s words clearly. At this moment, she tugged her handkerchief and pulled a long face.
Not only Wei Yuewu, but her maid was also a tough opponent. However, Wei Qiufu was not afraid. After all, Wei Yuewu knew nothing about the situation in the Palace…
This time, the convoy moved smoothly. It did not take long for them to arrive in front of the Buddha Hall. The young ladies slowly got out of their sedans. The few who fell off their sedans earlier went to the side hall and rested for a while. Meanwhile, the eunuchs escorted the rest of the young ladies into the main hall.
Incense and candle smoke had filled the hall. The Third Princess and Zhaoyi Tu were kneeling on the two prayer mats and silently praying. Wei Yuewu and the others went to their respective prayer mats and knelt quietly.
The sound of chanting echoed across the hall, and in an instant, it calmed the atmosphere.
The whole process did not take long. After a while, Jin Ling came over to help Wei Yuewu up and brought her to the side hall to rest.
In the side hall, the beautiful Zhaoyi Tu wore a light-colored dress, and her appearance was bright and outstanding. She used to be the prettiest among the Tu Family’s women, and her unique charisma said it all.
At this moment, the Third Princess sat next to her, looking very intimate.
Everyone bowed to Zhaoyi Tu and the Third Princess together. Then, they were about to kneel down again.
“Please stand!” Zhaoyi Tu waved her hand with a smile, gesturing to them to be at ease. Then, the eunuchs led them to their chairs and sat them down.
Wei Yuewu originally wanted to sit at the back, but the eunuch led her to sit beside the Third Princess. When she looked around, she realized that there was a certain arrangement in the seating position.
On her other hand was Wei Qiufu. They had never sat adjacent to each other before.
“Are you the Sixth Miss Wei of the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang?” Zhaoyi Tu’s gaze fell on Wei Yuewu’s face.
Although Zhaoyi Tu had seen Wei Yuewu before when she was with the Empress, she did not remember Wei Yuewu’s appearance clearly, which was why she was a little hesitant.
“Yes, I am.” At the mention of herself, Wei Yuewu hurriedly got up and bowed.
“You don’t have to be so formal. Back then, your mother asked me to act as a matchmaker for you and Marquis Jing Yuan, but I didn’t expect that it did not succeed in the end,” Zhaoyi Tu sighed and shook her hand.
Many people knew about what had happened in the Palace at that time, and they were aware of the marriage between the two families. However, it had to be resolved because of Wei Yan.
Wei Yuewu lowered her head. “Yes!”
“Your mother was on good terms with me back then. Although we didn’t spend much time together, we could be considered close friends. Well, never did I expect that she… Well!” A nostalgic expression appeared on Zhaoyi Tu’s face. She gently pressed the corner of her lips with a handkerchief and sighed with a bit of sadness.
“A-Are you close with my mother, Your Highness?” Wei Yuewu raised her head slightly and said in a shaky tone. She seemed a little worked up, hiding a trace of suspicion in her eyes.
Her mother had been engaged to her father not long after she entered the capital, but Wei Yuewu did not know if Zhaoyi Tu was talking about what happened after she entered the Palace or before she entered the Palace.
“I was indeed very close to your mother, or she would not have asked me to match you up with Marquis Jing Yuan.” Zhaoyi Tu let out another sigh and looked at Wei Yuewu with a gentler gaze. “After the prayer with the Third Princess, come to my palace. I have something to tell you.”
“Yes, Your Highness.” Wei Yuewu nodded again.
“Die’er, I have something to do, so I need to go now. After the prayer, send the young ladies back to their quarters. Don’t be too restrained. They are all young, so they can’t sit still for a long time.”
“Yes, Mother. I’ll do as you say.” Donning a childish smile, the Third Princess tugged Zhaoyi Tu’s sleeve and teased, “Mother, you’re the most caring person, and you even care about such tiny details. Don’t you want to know whether I’m tired or my foot hurts?”
“I know that you’re tired, but as a princess, you should make some contributions to the country. However, these young ladies have to suffer along with you.”
Zhaoyi Tu’s words caused the eyes of the young ladies to turn red.
There were many young ladies who had sore legs from kneeling yesterday. They had yet to recover after a night’s rest, and now, they had to kneel again. Although it was shorter than yesterday, their legs were getting more and more painful.
They were all young ladies of aristocratic families, who lived a comfortable life, so they had never suffered much in their lives.
“Many thanks to you for accompanying me!” The humble Third Princess stood up and bowed to the young ladies on both sides, scaring the young ladies so much that they hurriedly stood up and returned the greeting.
With a satisfying smile upon the sight, Zhaoyi Tu stood up and said, “Die’er, I’ll be leaving first.”
“Farewell, Mother!” The Third Princess bent down. Wei Yuewu and the other young ladies bowed respectfully to see Zhaoyi Tu off. Then, they slowly straightened up. Both Zhaoyi Tu and the Third Princess gave people a kind of amiable and gentle feeling.
“Sixth Miss Wei, don’t forget about our appointment.” As Zhaoyi Tu walked a few steps forward, she stopped and turned to Wei Yuewu.
“Yes, Your Highness, I’ll see you later,” Wei Yuewu replied hurriedly.
In fact, the following prayer was not long. Compared with yesterday’s situation where they couldn’t even stand up properly after kneeling for such a long time, today was much better. Wei Yuewu specially observed her surroundings and realized that the prayers went on in both the main hall and the side hall as there were people there. Thinking of the scene of Chu Fangnan passing by in a hurry, she squinted slightly, and her eyes darkened. It was perhaps because of these heirs-apparent that their convoy moved a little slower just now.
Could it be that the heirs-apparent were praying when the Third Prince and the other young ladies were resting?
Wei Yuewu couldn’t figure out why those outsiders would come to attend the Third Princess’s prayer and her coming of age ceremony.
However, it didn’t matter if she couldn’t figure it out. After all, the Third Princess’s prayer was her priority, and it was not her problem anyway. Since the Third Princess didn’t explain, she naturally didn’t need to know.
“Sixth Younger Sister, Eldest Sister is waiting for us outside. Let us go for a walk with her,” Wei Qiufu whispered into Wei Yuewu’s ear during the break.
“B-But I have to go to Zhaoyi Tu’s palace later,” Wei Yuewu refused in a low voice.
“It doesn’t matter. We will accompany you there. Anyway, we are just taking a walk to relax,” Wei Qiufu said warmly as if she did not want Wei Yuewu to refuse.
“Uh… alright,” Wei Yuewu stammered in dilemma, and her eyes fell on her handkerchief, which was now held in another hand…
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