Chapter 308 – A Trick Of Handkerchief
Wen Yuewu had placed her handkerchief casually on the table because she was massaging her legs earlier, while Wei Qiufu was sitting on the other side of the table.
Coincidentally, Wei Qiufu put her handkerchief on the table too, and the two handkerchiefs were strangely mixed together.
Wei Yuewu had always paid close attention to Wei Qiufu’s movements, so when she saw Wei Qiufu’s hand on her handkerchief, a trace of coldness flashed across her dim eyes, but she turned her face away as if nothing had happened and continued to massage her legs.
After that, the Third Princess stood up again. Wei Yuewu casually picked up the handkerchief on the table and followed everyone into the main hall. This time, Wei Qiufu waited until everyone moved forward before passing the handkerchief to Ming Yan and glancing outside. Nodding knowingly, Ming Yan hid the handkerchief in her sleeve and quietly left.
Outside the side hall’s door, Wei Fengyao’s maid, who was anxiously waiting, rushed to Ming Yan when she saw her coming out and asked, “Do you have it?”
“Here!” Looking around to make sure that no one was watching them, Ming Yan retrieved the handkerchief from her sleeve and handed it over to Wei Fengyao’s maid while covering it stealthily with another sleeve. Then, she curiously asked, “Why did Eldest Young Lady want Sixth Young Lady’s handkerchief?”
“It’s none of our business!” The maid from Prince Nan’an Mansion scolded Ming Yan and snatched the handkerchief before turning to leave.
She was the maid that Wei Fengyao had sent just now to tell Wei Qiufu and Wei Yuewu that they would go out for a walk after the praying ceremony ended.
Ming Yan pursed her lips in disdain as the maid refused to reveal anything to her. However, there was one thing she was certain, and that was Eldest Young Lady wanted to make her move on Sixth Young Lady. Regarding this matter, the Fourth Young Lady would love to see it happen.
No matter what happened in the end, it had nothing to do with the Fourth Young Lady.
In the Buddha Hall, this time, the praying time was slightly longer, and the young ladies’ legs had gotten numb due to the long hours of kneeling. When the Third Princess asked them to get up, the maids helped the young ladies to sit in the chairs to rest. The young ladies thumped their legs with their hands, while the maids squatted down to massage their masters’ legs.
“You’re dismissed in a while. All of you got up early today, and it isn’t lunchtime yet. You can take a stroll in the imperial garden. The weather is nice today,” the Third Princess announced with a gentle smile while picking up the tea cup and taking a sip. Compared to the Fourth Princess who looked strict and arrogant, the Third Princess was both kind and attractive.
“Thank you, Your Highness!” the young ladies all beamed.
“Sixth Miss Wei, do you want to go to Mother’s palace now or after lunch?” the Third Princess turned to Wei Yuewu and asked with a smile. Wei Yuewu’s sitting position had never changed since she was first placed next to the Third Princess. The others sat down according to the Third Princess’ arrangement.
“I’ll go after lunch,” Wei Yuewu replied after thinking for a while. As she looked at the sky outside, it was already close to noon. It would be inconvenient in case she bumped into Zhaoyi Tu having lunch if she went over now.
Although she had promised Zhaoyi Tu to go there immediately, it was inappropriate timing.
“Alright, after lunch, I’ll send someone to bring you to Mother’s palace,” the Third Princess quipped with a gentle smile, obviously delighted to see Wei Yuewu being so considerate.
“Everyone, dismiss. You can go wherever you want to go. There will be guards guarding the places where you’re not allowed to enter,” the Third Princess turned to the other young ladies and announced.
There were quite a few young ladies who did not take a stroll yesterday. Now that they heard that they could casually take a look and stroll around, all of them were in high spirits. These young ladies were restrained when they were at home, so they yearned for freedom.
Although they had visited the palace several times, their elders would tag along most of the time, so they could not look around as they pleased.
It was extremely rare for them to not have any elders watching over them like a hawk.
With that, the young ladies no longer cared about their sore legs and bowed to the Third Princess before leaving in twos and threes.
Wei Yuewu and Wei Qiufu followed the crowd to the door. Sure enough, the sun was shining brightly outside. It was rare to see such a bright and sunny day in winter.
“Sixth Younger Sister, let’s go over there. Eldest Sister said that she will wait for us in a pavilion over there!” Wei Qiufu pulled Wei Yuewu’s hand and pointed to a small path on the right.
“Here?” Wei Yuewu frowned. “I think I’d better go back first. After lunch, I have to go to Zhaoyi Tu’s palace.”
“What’s the hurry? It’s still early. This place is quite close to the Chu Xiu Palace we live in. It is much closer than if we go back from the Third Princess’ place!” Wei Qiufu persuaded with a smile. She was jealous that Zhaoyi Tu had taken a fancy on Wei Yuewu, but she did not show it on her face.
It was true that this place was much closer than the place they went to yesterday.
“The lunch is prepared at Chu Xiu Palace, but everyone has gotten out to have fun, so they know that they won’t miss lunch. Eldest Sister entered the Palace today to accompany us. It won’t be nice if we don’t show up. In a while, she will go out of the Palace.”
Wei Qiufu persuaded her with a gentle face, and her words were reasonable.
“Alright then.” Wei Yuewu could only nod and agree. The two of them walked towards the small path in the corner.
In another side hall, Yan Huaijing came out with a few guards and eunuchs. He was dressed in a snow-white fur coat, which made his handsome face look like the divine deity. The Third Princess, who had come out at some point in time, looked at him with infatuation, and excitement filled her eyes.
Any woman would feel extremely excited if they could marry Yan Huaijing. Even though the Third Princess never revealed her emotions, at this moment, she could not help but blush as she looked at Yan Huaijing, who was bathed in the sunlight.
However, when the Third Princess saw Lu Yeli’s scrutinizing gaze, she suddenly calmed down and smiled sweetly at him before turning to leave.
Today, it was not only the Third Princess and the young ladies who came for the prayers but also the other heirs-apparent.
No matter if it were the Third Princess or the Fourth Princess, they were the most likely princesses to marry the heirs-apparent, so it was only natural for these heirs-apparent to be here today.
These heirs-apparent had also entered the Palace in the past few days because of the marriage issue, but they had come earlier this time.
The Third Princess clearly knew that Wen Cailuan was her opponent, and a strong one. The Empress would highly likely marry Wen Cailuan to the Heir-apparent of Yan as the Yan State was the most powerful and important one among the four dukedoms. The Third Princess could not give up such an opportunity no matter what.
Whether it was for herself or for her mother and Fourth Elder Brother.
They owed this to her and her mother, so they should pay them back.
Therefore, the Third Princess needed help. She needed someone who could win Yan Huaijing’s heart. A beauty, perhaps? If it didn’t work, she would bring Jing Wenyan along. So what if she was the First Daughter of the State of Jing? A landless nobility was worse than a peasant.
But right now, the Third Princess had to carefully consider what Jing Wenyan had said and observe Sixth Miss Wei.
When Yan Huaijing appeared in front of the hall, it immediately caused a commotion among the young ladies who had fallen behind.
Wei Yuewu and Wei Qiufu, who were walking forward, turned around out of curiosity as they heard the commotion and met with a pair of gentle and affectionate eyes.
However, Wei Yuewu saw something more than that. Behind those gentle eyes, there were hidden depths that would give someone a fatal blow.
Yan Huaijing was here?
Wei Yuewu had expected this, and Chu Fangnan should also be coming here when he had rushed over just now.
Wei Yuewu slowly lowered her head and looked away from Yan Huaijing’s seemingly affectionate but ruthless eyes. His gentle and charming outlook was indeed attractive, but behind the gentle disguise was a cold-blooded temperament. She would not fall for it.
At this moment, Yan Huaijing also saw Wei Yuewu. The corners of his lips curved up slightly into a wicked smirk, and his black eyes became more and more brilliant. Seeing such a handsome picture, those young ladies were so mesmerized that they covered their chests with their hands and felt that their hearts were about to jump out of their chests.
Moreover, the handsome heir-apparent’s gaze swept over, and no one knew whom he had just seen.
“Go, take a look!” Yan Huaijing turned to look at the Third Princess’ back and said to the eunuch beside him.
The order was unclear, but the eunuch understood his meaning when he saw which way Yan Huaijing was looking. Although Yan Huaijing was smiling all along, it was not a sincere smile until he saw Sixth Miss Wei. Only then did his smile suddenly become enchanting.
“Yes!” The eunuch nodded and retreated quietly.
Although the eunuchs, who had followed their heirs-apparent into the Palace, had some differences in clothes, if one did not look carefully, they would not be able to tell the difference. It was not as eye-catching as the difference between the clothes of bodyguards. Therefore, no one noticed the eunuch when he retreated.
“Heir-apparent Yan, what makes you so happy?” At this moment, Lu Yeli walked over. His gaze swept over the group of young ladies, and he didn’t feel that there was anyone here that could attract Yan Huaijing’s attention. He couldn’t help but look into the distance and see the Third Princess gracefully leaving with the palace maids and eunuchs. With that, his gaze became profound and serene.
Compared to the arrogant Fourth Princess, Lu Yeli felt that the soft-spoken Third Princess was more suitable for him.
Of course, this was under the consideration of Yan Huaijing’s presence. The Fourth Princess was the Empress’s daughter and the Crown Prince’s only sister. If he married her, not only now, but it would be beneficial to the State of Lu when the Crown Prince ascended to the throne in the future. However, from the looks of it, the Empress and the Fourth Princess had taken a liking to Yan Huaijing.
In that case, his only option was the Third Princess. In fact, there were many benefits to marrying the Third Princess. The relationship between the Third Princess and the Crown Prince was even better than that of the Fourth Princess. Although her status was slightly lacking compared with the Fourth Princess, Lu Yeli believed that he could make use of this relationship in the future to gain profit for the State of Lu.
With this in mind, the Third Princess had become his target.
As for the State of Qi and the State of Chu, Lu Yeli looked at Qi Yunhao and Chu Fangnan who followed him with disdain. Compared with himself and Yan Huaijing, the two of them should be far inferior. He believed that the Emperor and the Empress would be able to see this clearly.
“Nothing. I just saw something interesting,” Yan Huaijing spoke in a gentle tone and waved his sleeve as he walked down the stairs.
“Who caught Heir-apparent Yan’s attention?” Qi Yunhao asked. At this time, he and Chu Fangnan also came over and said meaningfully, “Could it be that you have taken a fancy to a certain beauty here?”
Of course, Qi Yunhao had ulterior motives in asking this question, and he did not expect Yan Huaijing to really answer him. Although Yan Huaijing usually looked gentle, most of the time, that kind of gentleness was rather superficial and insincere.
Ever since he came to the capital and met the famous heir-apparent of Yan State who was said to be “gentle and affectionate”, Qi Yunhao had encountered this kind of scene many times. However, he had indeed seen that there was a slight difference between Yan Huaijing’s mood just now, so he probed.
But in the next moment, he was bewildered.
“Yes!” An elegant and suffocating voice came out of Yan Huaijing’s mouth, but it made the few people who were walking behind him stop in their tracks…
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