Chapter 437
Chapter 437 Two Legitimate Wives
“Umm… is entry permitted here?” Wei Qiufu was stunned and asked in surprise.
The front door was so tightly guarded that no one was even allowed to peer the slightest sight of the courtyard. Unexpectedly, the back door was not fully closed. It was really suspicious.
“It is indeed strange!” Wei Yuewu frowned, and her eyes were filled with doubt. She even stopped in her tracks before continuing, “Fourth Elder Sister, let’s just go back. This is too strange!”
Seeing that Wei Yuewu was also confused and suspicious, Wei Qiufu inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief. However, she really wanted to go in and take a look.
“Fourth Elder Sister, let’s go back. This is the Duke of Yan State Mansion, and the Heir-apparent of Yan has always been aggressive. No one in the city, not even other princes, can pry too much into him.” Wei Yuewu wanted to back out.
“No, let’s go take a look. Anyway, there aren’t many people here. I actually met this aristocratic daughter from the State of Yan when I was in the palace. We do know each other somewhat.”
The more Wei Yuewu refused to go, the more Wei Qiufu felt relieved. It seemed that Wei Yuewu had nothing to do with this matter. As for her, she was interested in meeting this aristocratic lady merely because she heard Wei Yuewu say that Yan Huaijing didn’t want people to pry too much into his private affairs.
Her intention was actually similar to that of Jing Wenyan. Both of them wanted to curry favor with Crown Prince by providing exclusive information about the aristocratic lady from the State of Yan. However, Jing Wenyan thought of it beforehand and even sent someone to notify the Crown Prince, while Wei Qiufu only came up with the idea at the last minute.
Wei Yuewu decided not to casually follow Wei Qiufu into the door at this time. No matter how she looked at it, this matter seemed to be somewhat iffy.
“I… I think I’d better not go in. Fourth Elder Sister, if you want to go in, I will wait for you outside.” Wei Yuewu decisively shook her head. After saying that, she turned around and stood behind a rock in the corner. The rock was not small, just enough to block her figure.
“I’ll wait for you here!”
“Are you sure you want to stand here and wait for me?” Wei Qiufu frowned, but then she felt happy in her heart and asked with a smile. If Wei Yuewu chose to stand here, even if she ran into trouble inside, Wei Yuewu would not be able to escape from it too.
This rock might be able to hide someone on usual days, but everyone was paying attention to this area now. Therefore, this large rock not only failed to serve as a means of camouflage, but it might also be easily spotted by others.
“Fourth Elder Sister, I will wait for you here.” Wei Yuewu looked like she did not know anything, but she was decisive and unwilling to get involved in this matter.
“Umm… Okay, you wait for me here then!” Wei Qiufu said rather proudly. She did not expect that Wei Yuewu would slip up at some point. Since Wei Yuewu did not want to get into trouble, she would get her into it.
If something really happened later, the entire mansion of Marquis Hua Yang would be responsible for her doing. Therefore, Wei Qiufu did not think that there was anything to be worried about. What was more, she just wanted to enter the courtyard and talk to the State of Yan’s aristocratic lady to gather some information. She could just mention that she entered from the back door by casually pushing the door open.
“Alright!” Wei Yuewu nodded without batting an eyelid. In order to increase her credibility, she deliberately hid behind the rock as if to avoid other people’s gazes.
Wei Qiufu was naturally more pleased by Wei Yuewu’s subtle movements. Then, she brought Ming Yan to the courtyard door with high confidence and boldly pushed the door open. Sure enough, the courtyard door was actually ajar.
She turned back and looked in the direction of Wei Yuewu. From her angle, she could see a corner of Wei Yuewu’s clothes behind the rock. As she looked at Wei Yuewu’s “careful” disguise, the corner of her lips silently revealed a trace of ridicule.
What was the point of hiding?
After all, Wei Yuewu had already followed her all the way here.
Wei Qiufu pushed the door open again and walked in. Ming Yan followed closely behind her…
“Miss, are we going to wait here?” Seeing Wei Qiufu leave, Jin Ling asked.
“Let’s go!” Wei Yuewu smiled faintly and turned to leave in another direction. “Jin Ling, have you been to the Duke of Yan State Mansion?”
“No, I have never been here before. This is my first time following His Heir-apparent to the capital.” Jin Ling shook her head. This was actually her first time entering the Duke of Yan State Mansion in the capital, and she was filled with curiosity towards this place.
At this time, she had already left the courtyard for a distance, so she was no longer as eye-catching. Wei Yuewu stood still, looked around, and asked, “Do you feel that the Duke of Yan State Mansion in the capital is somewhat similar to the one in the State of Yan?”
At this moment, she did not know the way, nor did she know where Yan Huaijing was. She had to ask Yan Huaijing about the matter of Tu Jiulin.
“It’s different from the Duke of Yan State Mansion in the State of Yan.” Jin Ling looked around and was also at a loss.
“Let’s just stroll around and see if there are any people you know. Let them inform the Heir-apparent of Yan that I need to see him,” Wei Yuewu said after giving it some thought.
Thinking that this was the only way, Jin Ling immediately nodded.
Thus, Wei Yuewu brought Jin Ling for a leisure stroll in the garden. It was still early now and there were many young ladies of aristocratic families strolling around in the garden. However, many of them headed towards the courtyard together. As Wei Yuewu strolled along, the compound grew quieter.
At a tall building, Yan Huaijing was leisurely sitting on the couch with his long hair casually tied behind his head. The wide sleeves of his clothes made him look like an immortal from heaven.
He was entertaining his guests in the tall building in his courtyard.
There weren’t many guests that deserved to be entertained by him. Only Crown Prince Wen Tianyao, Fourth Prince Wen Yi, and the heirs-apparent from the three states were present.
Crown Prince Wen Tianyao was seated high up, and Yan Huaijing was seated below him. Although he looked lazy and casual, he was not inferior to Wen Tianyao in terms of aura.
“I heard that there will be a performance later, but I wonder which young ladies of aristocratic families will perform?” Wen Tianyao gently placed the teacup in his hand on the table and asked with a smile.
“I have no idea either.” Yan Huaijing shook his head with a smile. A gentle and elegant smile appeared on his handsome face as he said indifferently, “I have already entrusted all of the matters regarding the inner courtyard to Eldest Miss Jing. Eldest Miss Jing used to host Mother Consort’s guests in the State of Yan, so she knows some of the affairs of the inner courtyard.”
Many young ladies would frequently be seen competing for fame when State of Yan’s aristocratic family hosted guests. Wen Tianyao had gained some knowledge about this, and that was why he asked the question.
“Are you familiar with Eldest Miss Jing?” Wen Tianyao’s eyes flashed as he asked with a smile.
“Eldest Miss Jing frequently accompanied her father, the Duke of Jing, to the State of Yan in the past. She is quite familiar with the place.” Yan Huaijing bluntly answered without batting an eyelid.
“Why didn’t you invite the State of Yan’s aristocratic lady to host the banquet? Eldest Miss Jing is an outsider after all,” Lu Yeli suddenly looked up and asked. His face had always been cold, and it was difficult to see any smile on his face.
“Miss Lin is not feeling well, and it is inconvenient for her to receive guests. Moreover, she doesn’t hold a significant status in my life at the moment, and it is also inappropriate for her to handle the task on my behalf.” Yan Huaijing smiled leisurely and blocked the conversation from going any further.
“Do you want to give her a status then?” Chu Fangnan glanced at Qi Yunhao and asked curiously after receiving the hint from the latter.
The face of Wen Tianyao, who was sitting in the top seat, sank.
“Of course I must!” Yan Huaijing chuckled lazily and answered without any hesitation, “In fact, in our State of Yan, it is eligible to have two legitimate wives. I wonder if anybody in the capital city has married two legitimate wives before?”
“There is only one legitimate wife. How can there be two?” Lu Yeli was extremely disgusted with Yan Huaijing’s frivolous appearance and said coldly.
“I heard that it is also permissible in the State of Lu. The previous Duke of the State of Lu reportedly married two legitimate wives. He first married the daughter of a noble family from the State of Lu before marrying the daughter of a noble family from the capital. I wonder which of the two legitimate wives is the mother of the Heir-apparent of Duke Lu?” Yan Huaijing continued to smile as if he did not notice the embarrassment on Lu Yeli’s face.
“You…” Lu Yeli was so furious that he was about to stand up and slam the table. However, he slowly sat back down and eased his expression. A trace of coldness flashed in his eyes.
After all, this was not a pleasant matter to mention. The Duke of the State of Lu originally had a wife, but on his way to the capital, he took a fancy to another daughter of an aristocratic family. Thus, he wanted to abandon his first wife. However, his wife’s family was so powerful that they even drew in the entire nobility of the State of Lu to support her.
This was no longer a fight between individual families, but a struggle between the aristocratic families of the State of Lu and the capital.
In the end, they made a compromise. Neither the daughter of the aristocratic family from the State of Lu nor the daughter of the aristocratic family from the capital could be belittled. Therefore, the Duke of Lu ended up having two legitimate wives.
Lu Yeli was the son of the legitimate wife from the State of Lu. He had never regarded the other woman from the capital to be the legitimate wife of his father.
The lady from the State of Lu was considered to be the genuine legitimate wife by the nobles of the State of Lu. Therefore, Lu Yeli had never thought of his family affairs being brought up.
At once, Yan Huaijing’s words immediately caused Lu Yeli’s face to darken. However, he had good self-control, so he immediately steadied his mind and restored his cold expression, making it difficult for others to detect any emotional fluctuations.
“Heir-apparent of Yan, do you want the aristocratic lady from the State of Yan to be your legitimate wife as well?” Crown Prince Wen Tianyao asked sternly, and his face was also darkened.
This concerned the affairs of his two younger sisters. Regardless of which sister Yan Huaijing was going to marry, he would not allow anyone to be on equal footing with them.
“Yes, it has already been agreed upon. Although the State of Yan is remote, it is a country of etiquette after all. No one can abandon their wife. Our families had already agreed to the engagement, and it is only a step away from the final stage. That’s why Miss Lin traveled a long way to the capital after knowing that I was coming here. However, she fell sick later on.”
As Yan Huaijing sighed, a trace of worry could be seen on his handsome face.
“Sick? What kind of sickness?” Wen Yi’s heart skipped a beat. Of course, he was also anxious. Yan Huaijing was the husband-to-be that his sister had taken a fancy to. Moreover, it was more than just his sister choosing a husband.
Yan Huaijing was undoubtedly the most suitable candidate among all the suitors. He was the heir to the powerful Duke of Yan State, so he was completely capable of assisting Wen Yi to rise to a higher position. Therefore, Wen Yi’s concerns were comparable with those of Wen Tianyao.
“I’ve no idea. She has always been sick,” Yan Huaijing sighed and said indifferently.
“Do you need the imperial doctors in the palace to take a look?” Fourth Prince suggested with a sudden thought.
Just as Yan Huaijing was about to speak, a bodyguard hurried in and whispered a few words into his ear.
Under the scrutinizing gazes of the crowd, Yan Huaijing smiled and stood up…
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