Chapter 57 Wei Qiuju Had Her Own Idea
“Miss, I saw the Fourth Young Lady going to the Fifth Young Lady’s place. It’s late now, and the Second Young Lady is in such a chaotic situation. Why would the Fourth Young Lady have the mood to go to the Fifth Young Lady’s?” Shufei had been out on errand and happened to see Wei Qiufu going to Wei Qiuju’s courtyard with her maid.
“Fourth Elder Sister went to see Fifth Elder Sister instead of Second Elder Sister?” Wei Yuewu blinked her eyes and asked softly. Among the three sisters in the mansion, the Fourth Young Lady Wei Qiufu was the most enigmatic. Shouldn’t the Fourth Young Lady, who always appeared gentle in front of people, go to see Wei Yan who was now in trouble?
“I saw with my own eyes that she went to see the Fifth Young Lady. She arrived at the gate of the Fifth Young Lady’s courtyard at the time.” Shufei said with certainty after thinking for a while.
What urgent matter did Wei Qiufu have so that she must meet Wei Qiuju at this time of hour? A sense of vigilance rose in Wei Yuewu’s heart and her eyes glowed with slightly rippling light. Although this Fourth Young Lady always smiled at her on the few occasions when they met, Wei Yuewu could sense the disdain and coldness hidden in the bottom of her eyes.
Wei Qiufu was not a simple person! It seemed that she needed to pay more attention to this Fourth Miss Wei.
Wei Qiufu left in the early morning the next day. She departed in a modest manner, riding an ordinary carriage and accompanied by only two personal maids. However, everyone in the mansion knew that the Fourth Young Lady went to pray for the Madam Dowager, the Third Master and the Third Lady. She was considered truly filial. Compared to the other young ladies who caused trouble, the Fourth Young Lady was a role model for an aristocratic young lady because she observed the proprieties and had the cardinal principles in her mind.
Early in the morning, Wei Yuewu went to the Madam Dowager’s place to pay respects. When she arrived, she saw that Wei Qiuju was already there. In usual days Wei Qiuju always came with Wei Qiufu.
“Grandmother, Fourth Elder Sister went to pray for you. I wanted to go too but she asked me to stay. She said that the banquet was coming soon and hoped you could allow Second Elder Sister to come out for the time being. The banquet is going to be held in our mansion. If Second Elder Sister wasn’t there, people might think something really went wrong.”
Wei Qiuju said cautiously with a gentle expression.
Although she was not as good-looking as Wei Yan, she was dainty and pity-inspiring. She was the type that could easily arouse men’s desire to protect her.
“Speaking of the banquet!” The Madam Dowager frowned and glanced at Wei Yuewu with a troubled expression. “The banquet was hosted by Wei Yan and Wei Qiufu in the past. Now, neither of them can do it. Only the two of you are left...”
“Grandmother, what kind of banquet is it?” Wei Yuewu blinked her eyes and asked with confusion.
“Sixth Younger Sister, at this time of year, the young ladies of aristocratic families will organize a flower-appreciation banquet. We get together and enjoy ourselves. The last one was held half a month ago. This banquet was scheduled to be held in our mansion, right on the day after tomorrow. The invitations were already sent out, but now...”
Wei Qiuju explained to Wei Yuewu and then added with an anxious look, “Fourth Elder Sister has gone to the temple to pray for grandmother. If Second Elder Sister is grounded, what... what are we going to do?”
In other words, if Wei Yan was grounded and could not appear in front of the guests, it would be difficult for the mansion to explain the reason to the aristocratic young ladies who were invited. Although this matter was not a big deal, the invitations had been sent out, and more importantly, in the name of the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang. Thus there was no way for the mansion to cancel or delay the banquet.
Wei Yuewu’s eyes flashed with a hint of coldness, yet a faint smile was slowly shown on her face. She said softly, “Grandmother, what happened to Second Elder Sister is an accident. Who would have thought that those aristocratic young masters would suddenly rush in? Second Elder Sister was unlucky but it was not her fault. Grandmother, it’s better to let Second Elder Sister host this banquet.”
Since the Madam Dowager, Wei Qiuju and even Wei Qiufu who had left because of this banquet were all in favor of releasing Wei Yan, if Wei Yuewu deliberately expressed her opposition, she would only make the Madam Dowager displeased. She was a newcomer in the capital and hadn’t established herself firmly yet. Her engagement was still in the air, pending a final decision. And there were many suspicious things she must investigate. Therefore, she had to follow Madam Dowager’s wishes on the surface at present.
“Is this... appropriate? Wei Yan was just involved in such a scandal after all.” The Madam Dowager looked a little worried.
“Grandmother, that’s no problem. Indeed, Second Elder Sister is much wronged.” Wei Qiuju obediently followed the old lady. The Madam Dowager revived her spirits at last. She nodded and said, “Alright, both of you also get prepared. Although the guests were invited by your second elder sister and fourth elder sister, only your second sister elder can take the role of a hostess. You two must stand by her and help her. You must not let anyone look down on the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang.”
“Yes, grandmother.” Hearing the old lady mentioning them, the two young ladies nodded in agreement.
“Yuewu, you just came to the capital and many people haven’t seen you before. Dress yourself up this time to let them see that you are a true beauty.” Having solved Wei Yan’s problem, the Madam Dowager seemed to be in a good mood and joked about Wei Yuewu.
Wei Yuewu was a beauty from every perspective. Even though this beauty was still a little young, one could predict from her exquisite eyebrows and watery eyes that she would be a delicate belle in the future.
A trace of resentment flashed stealthily in Wei Qiuju’s eyes. Although she admitted to herself that she was not good looking, she had a pair of most charming eyes. However, ever since Wei Yuewu had entered the mansion, the Fourth Elder Sister had said several times in front of her that Wei Yuewu’s eyes were beautiful and that although she previously thought Wei Qiuju’s eyes were the most attractive, now they were clearly not comparable with those of Wei Yuewu.
The speaker might not have meant it, but the listener had taken those words to her heart. Now hearing the Madam Dowager praising Wei Yuewu for being good-looking, Wei Qiuju felt inexplicably uncomfortable.
Nevertheless, when she recalled Wei Qiufu’s other words to her, a flash of contempt flashed in her eyes. The Fourth Elder Sister had also said that good appearance alone was useless.
The several of them talked about the banquet for a while. Since neither of the two young ladies had received other young ladies alone, the Madam Dowager gave some advice to them before letting them leave.
After they walked out of the Madam Dowager’s courtyard, Wei Qiuju said to Wei Yuewu with a smile, “Sixth Younger Sister, I heard that Second Elder Sister had a big row yesterday. Shall we go and see her?”
Wei Yuewu absolutely did not think it was a good idea to visit Wei Yan at this time. She knew Wei Yan especially would not be glad to see her. However, when she saw Wei Qiuju’s smile, she agreed smilingly, “Okay, let’s go and see Second Elder Sister!”
When the two of them went to see Wei Yan arm in arm, the news of their coming was immediately reported to Wei Yan. When she heard that Wei Yuewu dared to come to see her, Wei Yan smiled coldly and said to Shuiyue on her side, “Go and welcome the Fifth Young Lady and the Sixth Young Lady.”
Shuiyue received the order and hurriedly came out. She was just in time to meet Wei Yuewu and Wei Qiuju.
“Second Elder Sister, grandmother said that you are still going to host the banquet. Sixth Young Sister and I will help you. This banquet won’t be able to take place without you.” Wei Qiuju flattered Wei Yan habitually upon seeing her. Born a person who feared the strong while being prone to bully the weak, she got intimidated whenever she met Wei Yan and would unconsciously put her pride aside.
“Actually it isn’t very hard to hold the banquet, but I will have to need your help to put up enough curtains around the Mid-Lake Pavilion. It is winter now and we can’t let those young ladies get cold.” Wei Yan instructed with a cold expression without even looking at Wei Yuewu. After so many things that both of them knew very well had happened between them, it was already a miracle that they were sitting together and having a peaceful conversation.
Wei Yuewu didn’t intend to take the initiative to speak to Wei Yan either, so she lowered her head and quietly sat there drinking tea.
“Mother told me to prepare the food for the banquet, so I might not be able to offer a helping hand for a while.” Wei Qiuju said awkwardly. She then directed her eyes to Wei Yuewu, who was drinking tea quietly. “Sixth Younger Sister, how about you helping with this matter? You simply need to carry out an inspection. It won’t be much trouble.”
“I’m still sick these days. I might not have the strength to do the inspection.” Wei Yuewu coughed softly. As she uttered those words, she revealed a faint smile on her face under Wei Yan’s cannibalistic gaze.
Even though she had taken some medicine yesterday and recovered a little, it was impossible for her to get back to normal overnight. However, Wei Yuewu’s words reminded Wei Yan of the rumors she had stirred up because she had pretended to be ill. Wei Yan had a hot temper, and she almost flared up at this moment. She snorted coldly.
She pressed her hand on the table and was about to explode when Nurse Xu, who was standing behind her, pulled her back. She regained her senses immediately and the cold smile at the corner of her lips was slowly relaxed into a softer expression. Nevertheless, the smile was very stiff.
‘”Sixth Younger Sister, please help us. You don’t have to do anything yourself. You only need to send for those old maidservants and ask them about the progress. And you must take good care of yourself these few days so that you, as the Sixth Young Lady of the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang, can show the guests how beautiful you are on the day of the banquet.” Wei Qiuju continued the talk with a smile.
However, she revealed a faint disdain at the corner of her eyes when she came to the word “beautiful.”
“Since Fifth Elder Sister has put it this way, I’ll just accept the task.” Wei Yuewu wore a look of reluctance.
Then, Wei Yuewu took her leave first. Since she and Wei Yan were obviously not on friendly terms, it was not at all a pleasant scene with the two of them sitting together against their will. Going through this meeting for form’s sake was already enough.
“Jin Ling, I haven’t recovered yet. You boil the medicine for me with Shufei and Huamo. Leave all other work in the courtyard to Nurse Mei. If anyone insists to see me, ask Nurse Mei to report to me. Let her handle all the other matters.”
Wei Yuewu whispered to Jin Ling when she went out of the door and the corner of her lips revealed a faint smile. Since Wei Yan and Wei Qiuju wanted her to lend them a hand, she might as well do whatever they told her.
Indeed she wasn’t afraid of creating trouble. There were too many things she must investigate! The more chaotic the situation was in the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang, the better and easier it was for her to benefit from risks and obtain the answers that she was looking for...
“Yes, I will boil the medicine with Shufei and Huamo as soon as I get back. Doctor Ming said you need to take more doses. You almost dragged your body along to the Madam Dowager’s when you went to pay respects to Her Ladyship, but now you can’t hold on any longer.” Jin Ling didn’t understand her mistress’s instruction at first, but she immediately got the idea and looked at Wei Yuewu with admiration.
Wei Yuewu smiled faintly, and a mist of coldness came over her eyes as she walked out!
Now that the plan had been started, she would like to see who would fall into the snare in the end...
Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.c(o)m