Chapter 329 – The Debt, Is This Truth Of The Mansion Of Marquis Hua Yang?
Since the Third Princess planned to make a move, she would naturally go to Zhaoyi Tu as her partner. After all, she did not know anything about the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang, so she had to discuss her plan with Zhaoyi Tu.
This was the only way from Zhaoyi Tu’s palace to the Palace gate. She originally thought that Zhaoyi Tu had only sent a palace maid to the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang, but she was surprised when she heard the young lady’s voice. Could the lady be the candidate that Zhaoyi Tu had intended to marry her father? That would be great!
Tu Yuzhen was in a good mood. Although she did not understand Madam Dowager’s reaction, this did not stop her from perceiving Concubine Dong’s grievance. She was just a concubine. Did she really think that she could be able to control everything?
However, Marquis Hua Yang was too lenient toward the concubine. The concubine was actually bold enough to burn down Marquise’s courtyard. If she married Lord Marquis one day, she would not let a concubine get in her hair.
Tu Yuzhen walked a bit faster as she was rushing back to report to Zhaoyi Tu about her trip to the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang. When she turned around the corridor, she was surprised to bump into two people in front of her and hurriedly stopped. However, the young lady, whom she stumbled upon, was probably shocked to see her. She couldn’t manage to find her balance and fell in front of Tu Yuzhen with a plop.
With that, the young lady happened to be blocking Tu Yuzhen’s way.
“Miss, are you okay?” Jin Ling screamed and rushed over to help Wei Yuewu up.
“A-Are you okay?” Tu Yuzhen hurried over and asked in concern after seeing Wei Yuewu’s pale face, noting that she was not feeling well.
“I… I… It hurts.” As Jin Ling helped her up, Wei Yuewu held her waist, and her beautiful eyebrows were tightly knitted together.
“Miss, you have to be careful. If you fall again, something bad might really happen. Lord Marquis sent you to the Palace to join the Third Princess’ prayers. If something happens to you, I’ll suffer the consequences!” Jin Ling quavered as she helped Wei Yuewu to sit down next to the fence of the corridor and massaged her waist.
Lord Marquis? The young lady was part of the Third Princess’ prayer lineup?
Tu Yuzhen was astonished.
“Miss, it’s no big deal. Let’s go back!” The maid, who was following behind Tu Yuzhen, came over. When she saw the scene in front of them, she gently tugged at Tu Yuzhen’s sleeve, indicating that she should not meddle in other people’s business. In this imperial palace, it was best to steer clear from other people’s business.
Although Tu Yuzhen had obtained Zhaoyi Tu’s adoration and attention, she was usually very meticulous and reserved as her parents were both dead and she was not from the Tu Family’s main branch.
“Which family are you from, Miss?” However, this time, Tu Yuzhen did not leave. She even took two steps forward and carefully sized up Wei Yuewu.
The Miss in front of her looked young. The misty eyes under her long eyelashes were pure and a little charming. Her delicate facial features and pale lips emphasized her identity.
It was rumored in the Palace that the Sixth Young Lady from the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang was remarkably beautiful at a tender age but she was weak. In fact, she heard from the Third Princess today that the young lady even fainted after falling on the road.
“She is Sixth Young Lady from the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang. Who are you, Miss?” Jin Ling answered smugly as she stood in front of Wei Yuewu and protected her.
“Our Miss is Ninth Miss Tu.” Tu Yuzhen’s maid also stood in front of Tu Yuzhen and raised her chin proudly.
The identity of daughters of the Tu Family was enough to make everyone look up to them. Even if she was just from a side branch, she was not an ordinary young lady since she was ranked.
However, Jin Ling had never heard of Ninth Miss Tu before, so she turned to look at Wei Yuewu.
Wei Yuewu shook her head silently, indicating that she did not know either.
Tu Yuzhen pushed the maid in front of her away, sat down at the railing next to Wei Yuewu, and smiled warmly. “I apologized for scaring you, Sixth Miss Wei. I was in a hurry to report to Zhaoyi Tu, so I didn’t pay attention to the road. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s fine. I tripped, that’s all.” Wei Yuewu smiled politely.
“I just came from the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang. Because something happened there, so I was in a hurry to report to Zhaoyi Tu,” Tu Yuzhen explained.
“W-What happened?” Wei Yuewu was shocked at the mention of her family.
Seeing that Sixth Miss Wei was intrigued by her topic, Tu Yuzhen smiled in satisfaction and conceded, “It’s nothing much. I heard that they were going to burn down the courtyard of the deceased Marquise Hua Yang, so I went to stop them!”
Tu Yuzhen disclosed in a faint tone. Previously, the Third Princess did not explain in detail that Wei Yuewu knew about this matter, so she did not know that Wei Yuewu already knew.
“Oh… How is it now?” Wei Yuewu nimbly skipped the part where she knew or did not know and directly asked the result.
The urgency in her tone did not surprise Tu Yuzhen. After all, no one could calm down when someone tried to burn her birth mother’s courtyard.
“Fortunately, I went in time, or else… They had even set up the firewood!” Tu Yuzhen shook her head and tut-tutted. “I heard that Marquis Hua Yang loved Marquise dearly back then, but who would have thought that her courtyard was going to be burned today.”
“Thank you, Ninth Miss Tu. Thank you, Zhaoyi Tu.” Wei Yuewu stood up, bowed to Tu Yuzhen, and solemnly thanked her.
“You’re welcome, Sixth Young Lady. You just fell down. Let’s sit down and talk.” Tu Yuzhen smiled and took Wei Yuewu’s hand, indicating her to sit down.
Wei Yuewu sat down, but her eyebrows were still furrowed, and she looked at Tu Yuzhen with a hesitant look.
“Sixth Young Lady, if you have something to say, please say it. Although this is the first time we meet, I feel that we are quite compatible.” Tu Yuzhen smiled. After knowing that Wei Yuewu was Marquis Hua Yang’s daughter, she didn’t want to be snobbish to her.
In fact, Tu Yuzhen felt that she had to win her over after knowing that Marquis Hua Yang cherished Sixth Miss Wei the most.
If Wei Yuewu could put in some good words for her, it would be easier for her to marry Marquis Hua Yang.
“G-Grandmother decided not to burn my mother’s courtyard just because of one message from Zhaoyi Tu?” After hesitating for a moment, Wei Yuewu glanced at Tu Yuzhen and asked directly, albeit falteringly.
“Sixth Young Lady, you probably don’t know about this. Your family owed our family a life in the past!” Although this matter was supposed to be secretive, Tu Yuzhen felt that it was necessary to please Wei Yuewu and build a close relationship with her, so she spilled the beans.
The more secretive it was, the closer the relationship between the two of them would be.
“My family owed the Tu Family a life?” Wei Yuewu widened her watery eyes and looked at Tu Yuzhen blankly. She was completely unaware of this matter.
Pleased by Wei Yuewu’s expression, Tu Yuzhen looked around to make sure that no one was around before leaning closer and whispering, “You probably don’t know that your father was once engaged to a young lady from our family.”
Wei Yuewu was aware that her father was engaged to one Miss Tu, but because the person was Empress Tu, no one dared to mention it now. Why did Ninth Miss Tu dare to spill the beans now?
A trace of coldness flashed through Wei Yuewu’s eyes, but her face showed a bit of confusion without batting an eyelid. “I-I don’t know!”
It was normal for a younger generation like her not to know about this since it happened a long time ago and was kept as a secret.
“Back then, your father was engaged to my Second Elder Sister, but he broke off the engagement because of your mother. After that, she was depressed. She had been weak since birth, so after breaking off the engagement, she fell ill and died.” Tu Yuzhen sighed, “I saw her when I was young, and she was a talented woman.”
She died because of depression?
Wei Yuewu narrowed her beautiful eyes slightly. “Did that actually happen to Second Miss Tu?”
“Yes! No one would have thought that Second Sister liked Marquis Hua Yang, so much so that she fell ill and was bedridden after the engagement was canceled. Although she was weak, in the end, she…”
Tu Yuzhen sighed.
“But, why didn’t I know anything about it?” Wei Yuewu asked in confusion.
“Back then, Second Sister was also a well-known figure among the Tu Family’s women, and no one could annul their reputation. However, Marquis Hua Yang insisted on marrying your mother. Grand Preceptor tried his best to convince your father, but your father insisted and even broke off the engagement. However, Marquis Hua Yang knew that he was in the wrong, so he tried his best to hide the news in case of ruining the reputations of daughters from the Tu Family.”
Tu Yuzhen recounted slowly.
Wei Yuewu smiled, and a cold light flashed in her eyes. Tu Yuzhen’s version of the story sounded reasonable and plausible, and it seemed to explain everything, but she intuitively chose to believe Yan Huaijing’s version even more.
The person who was engaged to her father in the past should be Empress Tu, and Second Miss Tu was simply the red herring of this matter. Second Miss Tu had been ill since she was young, so the family did not arrange a betrothal for her. Even if the matter was exposed after someone investigated it, they would only respect the women of the Tu Family more.
The implication behind this was enough for Wei Yuewu to reflect on it and secretly feel shocked.
The secret that happened back then was buried so deeply that everyone felt that it would be a great deal after revealing it. However, after being exposed, they would only exclaim their loss and pity for the short-lived Second Miss Tu and their admiration for the faithful women of the Tu Family. In fact, they even felt that Marquis Hua Yang owed a life to the Tu Family.
So, regardless of whether this matter resurfaced or not, the Tu Family’s reputation would not be affected. Instead, it would only be mesmerized!
This secret was buried too deeply, so deep that everyone thought that what they found now was the truth, and now it could be considered as the great truth, right?
Or, could it be an idea from the Tu Family to raise their status for their daughter to marry into a noble family? This was the peculiar part.
Wei Yuewu thought for a long time and suddenly remembered something from the past. Her heart trembled inexplicably, but her face revealed a faint curiosity. “That day, when I was at Plum Blossom Nunnery, I saw the Crown Prince praying for a woman from the Tu Family, and he said that she shared the same death date as my mother. Could it be Second Miss Tu?”
At that time, Wei Yuewu only thought it was Wen Tianyao’s mere excuse. Now she found that it was actually a truth. Moreover, the death date was similar to her mother’s. It was so coincidental. Could it be that there was some other mystery behind it?
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