Chapter 344 – The Wrong Delivery, Nine-Phoenix Hairpin
Could such a thing be given away so casually?
This was the first thought that flashed across Wei Yuewu’s mind as soon as she saw the item inside the jewelry box. She pressed the box hard.
“Miss, this is a Phoenix Hairpin!” Jin Ling opened her eyes wide and exclaimed in disbelief.
Phoenix hairpin. The Nine-Phoenix Hairpin. Wen Tianyao actually gave her the Nine-Phoenix Hairpin!
Wei Yuewu had seen this kind of hairpin before. It was part of Wei Yan’s plot back then when she tried to harm her and sent her a real Nine-Phoenix Hairpin.
In the end, Wei Yuewu gave Wei Yan a dose of her own medicine using the hairpin.
Although the hairpin in the box right now looked a little different from the one Wei Yan gave her, the nine phoenixes looked very distinctive. In fact, this hairpin was even more exquisite and beautiful.
The gems hanging in the phoenixes’ mouths were all bright and colorful, revealing a sense of nobility.
How could the Crown Prince give away such a hairpin casually?
“This is the Nine-Phoenix Hairpin,” Wei Yuewu said in a low voice and closed the jewelry box.
“Did His Highness give you the wrong one?” Even Jin Ling felt astounded upon finding the Crown Prince gave this hairpin to Wei Yuewu. Supposedly, it should be given to the Fourth Young Lady instead of her Miss.
“No, he didn’t!” Wei Yuewu couldn’t figure out what Wen Tianyao meant. Only Masters in the Palace could wear this kind of phoenix hairpin. Moreover, only the Empress or the Crown Princess was qualified to wear such a beautiful phoenix hairpin.
“W-What does His Highness mean? Is he…” Suddenly, a premonition flashed across Jin Ling’s mind. Her expression changed drastically, and she hesitated.
“I don’t know. Find a time and give it back.” Wei Yuewu disclosed indifferently.
Wei Yuewu indeed did not know what Wen Tianyao meant, but she clearly knew that she could not accept this kind of jewelry.
“But… can we return the Crown Prince’s reward?” Jin Ling hesitated.
“We can’t return it, but we can ask someone to take it!” Wei Yuewu smiled coldly. No matter what the Crown Prince was planning, it was a good opportunity for Wei Qiufu. The cunning and scheming Wei Qiufu would never miss such a good opportunity, including this hairpin.
“Miss, do you want to give it to the Fourth Young Lady?” Jin Ling asked in confusion. Such a controversial hairpin would cause chaos if it was given out in such a circumstance.
“Of course.” Wei Yuewu got up, picked up the jewelry box, put it in her sleeve, and turned to the door. Of course, she would give it to Wei Qiufu, and she would give it to her generously. Wen Tianyao admired Wei Qiufu now, didn’t he?
In this case, this jewelry box came in handy.
Meanwhile, Wei Qiufu was indignant when Wei Yuewu ignored her and went straight to her room earlier. A trace of viciousness flashed in her eyes. That bitchy Wei Yuewu was so ignorant.
“Miss, please take a look. The Crown Prince sent over a box of jewelry as well as a hairpin. Look, it’s so beautiful!” Ming Yan walked over delightfully with a small and exquisite jewelry box and showed Wei Qiufu the gorgeous butterfly hairpin inside the box.
Just as Wei Qiufu was about to take it, a hand suddenly reached out from the side and took it. Jin Ling took the box from Ming Yan’s hand without hesitation and stuffed the box in her hand into Ming Yan’s hand.
“Miss, this hairpin is so beautiful, it should be yours. The eunuch must have delivered the wrong items just now!” Jin Ling gloated with a proud smile, completely ignoring Wei Qiufu’s and Ming Yan’s pale faces.
“It is quite beautiful. Fourth Elder Sister, thank you for returning this to me!” Wei Yuewu smiled coldly and turned to leave.
Jin Ling even raised her head, and the two of them actually swapped the jewelry box from Wei Qiufu’s hands without any courtesy.
“Miss, Sixth Young Lady, she…” Ming Yan stomped her feet in anger.
Wei Qiufu’s eyes turned red, and she lamented as she lowered her head, looking very sad and pitiful, “Forget it. Since Sixth Younger Sister likes it, let her be!”
In the eyes of the Crown Prince Mansion’s palace maids and eunuchs, Wei Yuewu was rude and unreasonable, while Wei Qiufu was tolerant and magnanimous. The stark difference showed who was a better person.
Immediately, the palace maids and eunuchs who witnessed such a scene were pitiful and respectful to Wei Qiufu.
No wonder the Crown Prince looked up to Fourth Miss Wei.
“Miss, why do you always give in to the Sixth Young Lady? We don’t know what she has given us. How can you accept it just like that?” Ming Yan picked up the jewelry box in her hand grumpily and fuddled at it.
This time, not only Wei Qiufu was curious but also the Crown Prince Mansion’s palace servants. They quietly peeked at the jewelry box in Ming Yan’s hand.
Wei Qiufu stood closest and was the first to see what was inside the jewelry box. As soon as she saw the item clearly, she immediately closed the box, and her expression changed dramatically. Then, she pulled the startled Ming Yan and quickly walked into the room, disregarding her pretentious gentleness in front of everyone.
The palace maids and eunuchs who stood closer to Wei Qiufu did not see what was inside the jewelry box. They exchanged puzzled glances as Wei Qiufu walked away.
However, they didn’t dare to say anything since this matter had nothing to do with them. After settling their tasks here, they left.
Wei Qiufu had not recovered from her dramatic expression after all the palace servants left. She sat on the bed with the box in her arms. Her face was blushing and pale. She seemed to be surprised, happy, and angry.
It made Ming Yan, who also had a change in expression, really confused.
Hearing that there was no sound outside, Ming Yan called out in a low voice, “Miss…”
“Shut up!” Wei Qiufu shouted harshly, scaring Ming Yan so much that she didn’t dare say anything else.
“The Crown Prince actually gave Wei Yuewu such a thing,” Wei Qiufu hissed through gritted teeth. Her beautiful eyes were filled with dense jealousy.
Not only did Wei Yuewu get what Wei Qiufu wanted, she even casually swap her item with hers.
“M-Miss, I-I don’t think the item belongs to the Sixth Young Lady. It must be the Crown Prince Mansion’s people who made a mistake. It must be for you, Miss!” Ming Yan looked at Wei Qiufu’s face and said timidly.
These words made Wei Qiufu’s face ease up a little. “Why do you think so?”
Seeing that her Miss’ expression was getting slightly pleasant, and hearing her encouragement for her to continue, Ming Yan uttered, “Please think about it. You were the one who saved the Crown Prince; you are the one whom the Crown Prince admires, and you will be the one who enters the Crown Prince Mansion. His Highness rewarded you this morning, and now, he rewarded you again. He even asked someone to take you to the lantern festival later. You know what he means, right?”
“So, are you saying that this hairpin is for me?” Wei Qiufu frowned, not very confident. Although she felt that Ming Yan made sense, it was Wei Yuewu who gave her this box, which frustrated her a little.
“It must be for you, Miss. The Crown Prince has given you so many gifts today, and the other young ladies only have one reward each. The Sixth Young Lady lives close to you. You have so many gifts, so it is possible that the eunuchs delivered the wrong item to her. Miss, please think about it. There is no connection between the Crown Prince and the Sixth Young Lady. Why would His Highness give her such a promise?”
Ming Yan lowered her voice and uttered.
“Is this His Highness’ promise?” Wei Qiufu seemed to believe her.
“It must be. Even though you cannot enter the Crown Prince Mansion with a high position, he guarantees that in the future, you will…” Ming Yan lowered her voice even more as she pointed in the direction of the Empress’ Feng Yi Palace and whispered, “Miss, His Highness is giving you a signal!”
“I-Is it really a hint?” Even Wei Qiufu couldn’t help but breathe heavily after hearing this explanation.
“Miss, please digest it and think if I’m right.” Ming Yan was getting more and more excited as she spoke, believing in her own words.
If her Miss had a chance to become the Empress in the future, she would have a promising future too!
“Alright, put away the thing!” Although Wei Qiufu was excited too, she quickly came to her senses and pushed the box to Ming Yan.
“Yes, I will put it away!” Ming Yan took it carefully and put it away.
“Miss, you have to dress up more beautifully later. I heard that His Highness has never invited any Miss to admire lanterns together!” Ming Yan had already inquired about it.
Wei Qiufu got up and sat down in front of the dressing table. Her reflection in the mirror was gentle, gorgeous, and outstanding.
Tonight? Of course, she had to firmly grasp the invitation of the Crown Prince. If the message behind the phoenix hairpin was that His Highness would make it up to her in the future as he couldn’t give her a high position now, Wei Qiufu felt that she could endure such a hardship for now.
Wei Qiufu had to show the Crown Prince her appreciation and her understanding of his situation now, and the Crown Prince would definitely accept and dote on her even more.
As for whether this hairpin was intended for Wei Yuewu in the first place, Wei Qiufu thought about it and felt that it was absolutely impossible.
How could the Crown Prince give away such a hairpin casually? There was no reason for the Crown Prince to give it to Wei Yuewu.
As the night fell, the entire imperial palace was brightly lit. It was said that the reason why there were lanterns in the Palace today was that it was about to be New Year’s Eve. When there was a big banquet for the officials, there was such an arrangement. Therefore, they hung up the lanterns in the Palace today for the Masters to admire them first.
This was an activity exclusively for the imperial family in the Palace without any outsiders, but the young ladies who entered the Palace to accompany the Third Princess in the prayer were invited to join the festival tonight.
Thus, Chu Xiu Palace prepared dinner early. After the young ladies finished their dinner, they dressed up one by one and went to the festival where lanterns were hung up in the Palace.
They were all young girls who enjoyed such a lively and extravagant event.
Under the envious gazes of everyone, Wei Qiufu left Chu Xiu Palace with the Crown Prince Mansion’s eunuchs. Instantly, everyone knew that Fourth Miss Wei had received the invitation of the Crown Prince and went to admire the lanterns together.
Immediately, everyone was jealous and hateful when they saw Wei Qiufu, but there was nothing they could do.
No one would have thought that Fourth Miss Wei, who seemed to have lost her influence, would actually get the favor of the Crown Prince. This meant that the Crown Prince Mansion was about to have a new favored Master. However, with Yang Yuyan and the nationwide selection, no one could guess what kind of position Fourth Miss Wei would get.
But it didn’t matter. The Crown Prince’s adoration to her proved that Fourth Miss Wei would become the apple of the Crown Prince’s eyes.
The night darkened. Unlike the other young ladies, Wei Yuewu had not gone out yet. She gave an excuse that she wasn’t feeling well, and stayed in her room alone.
Wei Yuewu casually took a book and placed it in front of the desk. As she flipped through it, she suddenly heard a gentle knock on the window. She stood up, walked to the window, and pushed it open. Then, she saw the handsome heir-apparent appear at the window again.
Looking at Yan Huaijing, Wei Yuewu sighed. Who would have thought that this person would appear at such a time and in such a manner?
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