Chapter 356 – Third Princess’ Mysterious Guest
“The Third Princess didn’t say anything much but she promised me that she would explain my matter to Her Majesty when she was free.” Zhao Ruo’e was surprised to see Wei Yuewu come to her for this matter. She felt apologetic and brought Wei Yuewu to the pavilion next to the rockery outside her room to talk.
Zhao Ruo’e lived in a nice room. She didn’t live next to the other young ladies. When she opened the door of her room, she could see the sun and the scenery was breathtaking. Opposite the corridor was a rockery with several plum blossom trees. There was a small pool of clear water next to the rockery, a few small stones were leaning against the rockery, and there was a small pavilion next to the rockery. The sun was shining on the pavilion’s high eaves at this moment.
Moreover, her room was on the leeward side of Chu Xiu Palace.
It seemed that Zhao Ruo’e had inquired about the rooms before she entered the Palace, hence she could pick such an outstanding location.
Lifting her skirt, Wei sat down by the fence around the pavilion and assured with a smile, “Wonderful. I was thinking that if the Third Princess didn’t believe you, I would go to see Her Highness with you as your witness.”
“You don’t have to. The Third Princess is kind and considerate. Anyway, I think there was someone at her place because I saw a soft sedan at the entrance of her palace, but I didn’t see anyone when I got in. I wondered who the person is.” Zhao Ruo’e suddenly remembered something as they talked about the Third Princess and she bleated in dismay.
There were only a handful of young ladies of aristocratic families who entered the Palace this time. Zhao Ruo’e felt that the person did not need to avoid her.
However, Wei Yuewu blinked in astonishment. “Did you recognize the person? Was she one of the young ladies?”
Zhao Ruo’e sat down beside Wei Yuewu gloomily. At this time, she had already regarded Wei Yuewu as her confidant. Suddenly, she hit an idea and said, “I don’t know who she was, but when I came back, I went to see the other young ladies. They all seemed to be here. Was it your Fourth Elder Sister?”
Wei Yuewu and Wei Qiufu lived far away from the other young ladies, so Zhao Ruo’e did not go over to verify her suspicion.
“No, it is not Fourth Elder Sister!” Wei Yuewu shook her head with certainty. When she left, Wei Qiufu was still in the room. Then, she frowned slightly and reminded, “Was she the daughter of a noble family outside the Palace who came to visit the Third Princess? Which daughter of a noble family can you think of, who is close to the Third Princess but did not enter the Palace to join the Princess’ praying session?”
Zhao Ruo’e would probably know who was close to the Third Princess. It was because she used to be the Third Princess’ study companion, and her identity was different. The people around the Third Princess couldn’t conceal their relations with the Third Princess from Zhao Ruo’e even if they wanted to.
“Someone close to the Third Princess?” Zhao Ruo’e thought about this after being reminded by Wei Yuewu. Suddenly, she patted the fence, and her eyes lit up. “I know! Eldest Miss Jing!”
Jing Wenyan? Wei Yuewu twitched her lips a little, revealing a knowing smile. If the person was Jing Wenyan, some things that had happened made sense.
“Could it be another young lady?” Wei Yuewu pretended to be puzzled and asked.
“No, I don’t think so. Eldest Miss Jing had been very close to the two princesses ever since she entered the Palace. Occasionally, she would enter the Palace to keep the princesses company. The Palace had invited Eldest Miss Jing to the prayer session initially, but she politely refused, saying that her current status was ominous, and it was inappropriate for her to accompany the Third Princess to pray,”
Zhao Ruo’e thought for a moment and asserted.
Wei Yuewu sneered secretly. It seemed that Eldest Miss Jing was secretly scheming against her while expressing goodwill towards her on the surface.
Moreover, Eldest Miss Jing was a two-timer. It was not simple to be on good terms with the two princesses. Had she joined the Third Princess’ prayer session, she would definitely have offended the Fourth Princess.
It didn’t matter what Jing Wenyan wanted to do as long as she didn’t come to provoke her!
“Did Eldest Miss Jing avoid you when she entered the Palace in the past?” Wei Yuewu placed her hand on the fence at the back and casually groped around.
“No, she basically won’t avoid us. But I heard that she would come sometimes when we are not around. Eldest Miss Jing is a nice person and treats everyone well. I heard that the Empress Dowager and the Empress like her very much, and they intend to arrange her marriage with one of the princes.” Zhao Ruo’e covered her mouth and chuckled.
“One of the princes? Why not the Crown Prince?” Wei Yuewu looked up in surprise.
“Crown Prince? That’s impossible. His Highness has to hold a nationwide selection. Even without the selection, His Highness won’t choose her. She is very beautiful, but she doesn’t have powerful backing without the State of Jing. Based on her personality, she has what it takes to be Crown Princess, but she has no powerful backers.”
Zhao Ruo’e sneered and shook her head.
Wei Yuewu understood the meaning behind these words. With the Crown Prince’s stable status, the Crown Princess would definitely be the future Empress, the noblest woman of the country. She would not be able to establish a foothold without the support of a powerful family.
It was completely possible for the powerful concubines in the harem to trample her down.
This was also the reason why Wei Qiufu wanted to get rid of her and Wei Yan. She wanted to become the only legitimate daughter of the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang. Only by obtaining the full support of Wei Luowen and Wei Luowu would Wei Qiufu be able to stand firm in the harem.
“Is Eldest Miss Jing willing to accept such an arrangement? After all, she is so outstanding, and I heard that she is very compatible with His Highness.” Wei Yuewu had a look of doubt on her face.
“She has no say in this. Actually, during her birthday banquet the other day, the Duke of Jing wanted to choose a husband for her. Although the guests were all the young masters of aristocratic families, they were not comparable to princes. Since the Palace felt that she was not suitable to be the Crown Princess, how could she dare to object!” Zhao Ruo’e was very disapproving.
At this time, Wei Yuewu had touched a small bulge at her wrist area. She calmly wrapped her sleeve around the small bulge and asked, “The other day? Do you mean her birthday party?”
“Yes. By the way, I heard that the Heir-apparent of the Duke of Yan State asked you to observe her for a while. With that request, she was actually elevated to the same level as the two princesses. The Third Princess was very unhappy after hearing about it.” Zhao Ruo’e suddenly leaned over with interest. “Tell me about your relationship with the Heir-apparent of the Duke of Yan State. Why did he ask you to keep an eye on Eldest Miss Jing for him?”
Any casual remark from this extremely handsome Heir-apparent of the Duke of Yan State could reach young ladies of aristocratic families’ ears. They paid more attention to him than to any other person.
“When I was on my way back to the capital, I encountered an assassination. Fortunately, the Heir-apparent of the Duke of Yan State passed by and helped me after knowing that I was Marquis Hua Yang’s daughter. Later, at my grandmother’s birthday banquet in the mansion, I performed a dance, but the stage collapsed. Had it not been for His Heir-apparent, I would have been disabled or dead.”
Wei Yuewu sighed after uttering those words.
These incidents were not secrets, and someone would learn about them with a brief inquiry. Furthermore, Wei Yuewu didn’t intend to hide them from Zhao Ruo’e, so she asserted calmly. There was no shyness on her face. Instead, there were gratitude and a faint trace of sadness.
Any daughter of a noble family would be scared to death if she encountered this kind of thing, let alone twice. Zhao Ruo’e took Wei Yuewu’s hand sympathetically, wanting to show her sympathy and affection.
However, when she pulled Wei Yuewu’s hand toward her, she heard a tearing sound. She quickly turned around and saw that a piece of Wei Yuewu’s sleeve had been torn as if it had been hooked with something.
“Ah, Miss!” Jin Ling, who was standing at the side, was shocked. She rushed over and helped release Wei Yuewu’s sleeve.
Zhao Ruo’e stood up frantically too. While helping Jin Ling, she apologized in a rather embarrassed manner, “Sixth Miss Wei, I’m really sorry to have torn your clothes. Please change your clothes in my room before going back.”
Actually, it was just a small nail, and it wasn’t hooked on the fabric tightly. Even if there were nails in the pavilion, it was basically impossible for the nails to tore her clothes. But for some reason, the nail hooked on Wei Yuewu’s sleeve and damaged it.
It was just that Wei Yuewu sat too comfortably just now, so her hand fell outside the fence. Somehow, her sleeve was hooked by the nail under the fence.
“It’s fine!” Wei Yuewu pulled back her sleeve and looked at her torn sleeve helplessly.
“It’s not fine! Miss, you only have the clothes from Concubine Dong, so you have to wear this dress tomorrow.” Jin Ling squatted in front of Wei Yuewu. She was so anxious that her face turned pale.
“What? Sixth Miss Wei only has one set of clothes left?” Although Zhao Ruo’e had seen a lot of clothes on Wei Yuewu’s bed before, she had not noticed Madam Dowager’s set of clothes at that time. Now that she thought about it, it seemed that they were indeed clothes made from Concubine Dong’s fabric.
Hearing Zhao Ruo’e’s question, Wei Yuewu bit her lips and lamented stiffly, “Actually, those clothes are also quite beautiful!”
“No, don’t wear those clothes. The Empress will definitely not let you off the hook. Also, you couldn’t wear this dress tomorrow even if it wasn’t damaged today. If people found out that you wore the same clothes for two days, they would look down on you. How about this? I have a few sets of extra clothes. Pick two sets before you go back. One set for today, and you can wear the other set tomorrow.”
When Zhao Ruo’e heard that Wei Yuewu wanted to wear the clothes that Concubine Dong had given her, she shook her head vigorously while ordering her maid to bring over two sets of her own clothes.
When entering the Palace, everyone would bring a few more sets of clothes. Other than one set every day, they would bring an extra few sets in case something unexpected happened.
“Oh… C-Can I really…” Wei Yuewu stammered, feeling embarrassed.
“Oh, stop it. Didn’t I also take two sets of clothes from you before? Moreover, you don’t have many clothes, to begin with. When you return to the mansion, make a few more sets of clothes so that you can attend banquets and parties.” Zhao Ruo’e said enthusiastically. At this time, her maid had already come over. She took the two sets of clothes from the maid and handed them to Wei Yuewu.
“Thank you, Miss Zhao,” Wei Yuewu beamed sincerely. Jin Ling took the clothes from Wei Yuewu’s hands.
“You’re welcome. Next time, you should be more careful. Don’t be bullied by a lowly concubine. My mother said that all those concubines can think of is improving their status in the family. They are nice to you on the surface, but it’s all fake. She has her own daughter, so she won’t treat you sincerely.” Zhao Ruo’e hissed disdainfully.
As Wei Yuewu had gotten what she aimed for, she smiled and was about to take her leave when a young lady walked over from the opposite side. Her gaze immediately became cold…
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