Chapter 317 – Gifts For The Most Appropriate Occasions
“Of course! It is so beautiful, I have to bring it with me into the Palace, or it would be a waste of Concubine Dong’s good intentions. Father, don’t you know? Concubine Dong also gave me a lot of exquisite brocade. Miss Zhao was so jealous when she saw my brocade that day, so I gave her one!”
Wei Yuewu recalled with a sweet smile, but a hint of frigidness flashed across her slightly ajar lips.
Sure enough, this was the most plausible reason.
Since Concubine Dong gave her such an outstanding brocade and hairpin, of course, she would wear them at the most suitable occasion. What was more suitable than attending a banquet in the Palace?
The banquet in the Palace—Empress Tu had once been engaged to Wei Luowen—Empress Tu did not like Mother…
There seemed to be a faint connecting line that suddenly became clear!
Wei Yuewu gently clenched her hands in her sleeves. Wen Tianyao also said that he had never seen Mother when he was a child. Was it because of the Empress? How much did Empress Tu care about this matter that she resented Mother after becoming the Empress?
Even though Mother had married Wei Luowen, an official who was highly valued by His Majesty, she did not even have the chance to visit the harem. This was probably why Madam Dowager hated and disliked Mother more and more.
At that time, Mother was alone in the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang’s backyard, and no one was kind to her. Even if Father was somewhat protective, this kind of protection would only increase Madam Dowager’s disgust toward Mother. So, her feeble mother should be struggling all by herself.
In the end, her wings were broken, and she even lost her life, leaving behind a lonely and helpless daughter.
Even so, no one could tolerate her existence, so she was sent to her maternal grandparents’ family.
“Where is the hairpin now?” Wei Luowen did not pay attention to Concubine Dong’s gift. He remembered that Concubine Dong had said that she would give some gifts to Wei Yuewu, such as the brocade, but he didn’t take it to heart, and his focus was still on the hairpin.
“Father, what’s wrong? Is there something wrong with the hairpin? Isn’t it the betrothal gift you gave to Mother?” Wei Yuewu raised her head and asked in confusion.
This was what Granny had told her, but judging from Concubine Dong’s and her father’s reaction, she was certain that it was not the case.
“Uh… The hairpin was not from our mansion before…” Wei Luowen sounded hesitant, and the scar on his face twisted extremely unnaturally. There were some things that he did not want his daughter to be involved in. This was originally his own idea, and it was also Rui’er’s idea!
“Not from our mansion?” But I heard Granny say that this was a betrothal gift from you to Mother? Did you take something from someplace else and give it to her?” Wei Yuewu was extremely confused as if she did not understand anything at all.
“No, it’s not, but before this… The hairpin was a gift from another mansion. Your grandmother felt that it was nice, so I put it in the betrothal gift for your mother, but it was still something from another mansion…” Looking at Wei Yuewu’s clear and innocent eyes, Wei Luowen felt that it was even more difficult for him to explain himself.
“So, it is from another mansion? As long as it is sent over, it will be ours. Granny said that Mother liked the hairpin very much. When I came back this time, she even told me to keep Mother’s hairpin, but I couldn’t find any of Mother’s things when I got home. Luckily, Concubine Dong was so nice to keep Mother’s hairpin.”
Wei Yuewu blinked her eyes and smiled.
Her long eyelashes fluttered to hide the coldness in her eyes. Since she returned to the mansion, she had tried but failed to find out who was keeping Mother’s things, including the betrothal gift.
Or it could be said that the things were divided among Madam Dowager, Lady Li, Concubine Dong, and even Lady Zhang, because all of them had some of her mother’s belongings!
As long as she thought of this, she felt as if her heart was being twisted. Someone must have kept her mother’s belongings, the things that she had personally prepared, in a corner and forgotten about it. Perhaps the items were rewarded to the servants, or became the personal possession of someone. Who would still remember that beautiful and gentle woman?
She would take back everything that belonged to Mother bit by bit…
Wei Yuewu spoke in such a gentle and delightful tone, but her implication made Wei Luowen feel as if his heart had been struck by a heavy blow. His own daughter, the daughter that Rui’er had given birth to with all her might, had actually been unable to find a single relic of her own mother. Even a hairpin was obtained from Concubine Dong. How ironic was this!
“Yuewu, I will have your grandmother sort out your mother’s things and send them to your room. There are also some shops that you can manage first. They are all your mother’s things. Now that you have grown up, of course, you should own those things.” Wei Luowen’s expression changed. He felt that he had really neglected her too much.
Not only did he neglect Yuewu, but also Rui’er!
But there are some things that he also knew were very difficult…
“Father, forget it… It has been so many years. Maybe Mother’s things are already gone… always…” Wei Yuewu sighed. Her eyes drooped slightly. She forced a smile on her face, but it seemed too stiff.
She was being humble in order to achieve her goal. There was definitely not much left of Mother’s things now. If there was, it must be valuable and priceless. She would definitely not get anything from Madam Dowager. Right now, she was knocking some senses into Wei Luowen’s head.
“Your mother’s things are yours. No one can take them away.” Hearing Wei Yuewu say this, Wei Luowen suddenly thought of the ruined curtain. There were many things in the room. Even the curtain had not been changed for many years. Anger rose in his heart. No matter what, Rui’er’s things could only be Yuewu’s. No one could take them away from her.
Wei Luowen sounded firm and decisive, and his words reflected his feelings and determination.
“Thank you, Father!” Wei Yuewu bowed respectfully to Wei Luowen. However, this salute made Wei Luowen even sadder. He reached out and gently stroked Wei Yuewu’s hair, suppressing the pain in his heart. His own daughter was actually thanking him for obtaining her own things.
“Father, what’s wrong with the hairpin?” Wei Yuewu stood up straight and blinked her eyes.
It was certainly not easy to take back Mother’s things. However, with Wei Luowen’s promise today, even if someone tried to stir up trouble, she was not afraid. All she had to do was to write a list of her mother’s belongings and ask Wei Luowen to get them back when the time came.
However, this process could not be done immediately. The others in the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang would definitely intervene. Even the high and mighty Madam Dowager would definitely try to stop him if she knew about their plan.
Therefore, she was not in a hurry.
Moreover, Wei Luowen agreed too quickly, so she felt that it was not reliable.
However, she would take Mother’s things back bit by bit. This was what the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang owed Mother!
“There are some other things going on with the hairpin, and it’s quite troublesome. I don’t know where Concubine Dong found the hairpin!” When he mentioned the hairpin, Wei Luowen frowned again.
He hesitated from revealing the truth because it was hard to say it out loud.
“Father, you didn’t know that Concubine Dong kept the hairpin?” Wei Yuewu raised her eyebrows with a surprised look on her face. She did not believe that Concubine Dong, who had always been meticulous and careful, would make such a careless mistake.
Including the brocade, Wei Yuewu believed that Concubine Dong would definitely show them to Wei Luowen at a certain time. It was just that at that time, he simply glanced at them casually, and it was impossible for him to notice the abnormality.
“The… the hairpin! Yes, I-I know. Concubine Dong said at that time that she was keeping it for you!” Wei Luowen frowned even more deeply.
In fact, many years had passed since then. At that time, Rui’er had just died, and he was so sad that he couldn’t extricate himself from it. Hence, Concubine Dong managed everything in the house. Back then, she seemed to have approached him with a pair of hairpins and asked if she could keep them. She also claimed that Rui’er had entrusted them to her and said that she would give them to Yuewu and Jiao’er in the future. At that time, he was immersed in the pain of his heart, so he couldn’t be bothered by it.
Therefore, Concubine Dong kept the hairpins, and then he slowly forgot about them.
When he entered the capital this time, Concubine Dong had also told him about the hairpins, saying that she would send some jewelry and hairpin to Yuewu. At that time, he didn’t care about it, but he didn’t know that she would put the hairpin together with the gifts.
Others might not know about the hairpin, but Concubine Dong should know about it because he had told her implicitly. Did she not tell Yuewu not to wear it in the Palace when she gave it to her?
“Didn’t Concubine Dong send someone to tell you that it was best not to wear the hairpin in the palace?”
“No, she didn’t tell me that. She just asked the maid to praise the hairpin, and she said that you had specially prepared it for me. Third Elder Sister also has one, but hers is not as pretty as mine.” Wei Yuewu asked in befuddlement, “What’s wrong, Father? Did is there something wrong with the hairpins of mine and Third Elder Sister?”
At this point, Wei Luowen had already suspected that Concubine Dong had done it on purpose.
He had originally wanted to make Concubine Dong his official wife, but from the looks of it, he had to ponder his decision again.
“Don’t wear that hairpin in the Palace!” Wei Luowen cautioned in a deep voice.
“But, Fourth Elder Sister had taken the hairpin away! I said I didn’t want to lend it, but she said it was fine. She just wanted to see it. She said she would take it outside the mansion and ask someone to customize a similar one for her.” Seeing Wei Luowen’s gloomy face, Wei Yuewu smiled more and more calmly.
“She wants to make a similar hairpin?” Wei Luowen was taken aback for a moment. He did not expect that her niece had also been involved in this matter, but he was secretly relieved. At the very least, Yuewu could not be seen wearing the hairpin in the Palace. Although he wasn’t sure if the woman would still hold a grudge about what happened in the past, he did not want Yuewu to be disgusted by her.
As for Wei Qiufu, since she only wanted to imitate it, she naturally would not wear it now. He worried too much.
Of course, Wei Luowen failed to notice that her niece was wearing this hairpin today!
“Father, if His Majesty bestows a marriage for you, I hope the bribe to be a noble lady. That way, at least she will not do anything bad to me, and Mother’s courtyard will not be closed until it becomes dusty.”
Wei Yuewu denoted with a serious face.
Her remarks once again reminded Wei Luowen of the ruined courtyard and the worn curtains hanging inside. Did Concubine Dong have nothing to do with this? At this moment, Wei Luowen began to hesitate. Perhaps he really should marry a lady from a prestigious family. At least, she would not look down on Yuewu and ill-treat her. Moreover, she would not leave Rui’er’s courtyard to be ruined like that.
However, Concubine Dong had been serving him sensibly for so many years, and there was also Jiao’er…
“Sixth Young Lady, quickly come and take a look. Our Fourth Young Lady doesn’t want to live anymore!”
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