Chapter 84 – A Strange Prison Carriage At The Gate Of The Plum Blossom Nunnery
Chapter 84 A Strange Prison Carriage at the Gate of the Plum Blossom Nunnery
The coachman knew this Bangyan Xie because many young ladies went to see the top three scholars in the imperial examination, namely, Zhuangyuan, Bangyan and Tanhua, when they rode horses together across the streets for the public to admire them. And of course the three unmarried young ladies in the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang went to the occasion.
He drove the coach for the ladies that day.
Wei Yuewu’s heart skipped a beat. “All the three young ladies went?”
The coachman Old Li said, “Yes, all of them went. Second Young Lady said that there was no fun whatsoever watching the event. But Fourth Young Lady said that they must go and take a look. Later, Second Young Lady and Fifth Young Lady went back first, and Fourth Young Lady stayed and watched them along the way. Later she went to the entrance of the Ministry of Officials with other noble young ladies. When that Bangyan Xie came out, she ordered me to follow him and didn’t leave until she saw him going into the place he lived.”
The seemingly demure Wei Qiufu, who was always an example in front of people, had actually followed the top three scholars like a common infatuated girl all the way to the dwelling of one of them. Wei Yuewu could not imagine what a scene that had been.
Was that just an act of secret admiration for this Bangyan Xie?
Wei Yuewu immediately cast this thought away the moment it came to her mind. She vaguely sensed “ambition” from Wei Qiufu’s calm eyes!
Yet how would this Bangyan Xie who had nothing to do with her get to plot against her? Wei Yuewu leaned back with a cold look on her face. How complicated the situation was in this mansion of Marquis Hua Yang!
No matter who was behind this plot, she would not cut it short here. She would like to see who was planning against her in the dark…
The rest of the way was very smooth. However, when they arrived at the entrance of the nunnery, the carriage was rudely stopped.
Several other carriages in front of them were also stopped bluntly by sword-carrying guards some distance away from the entrance.
The coachman Old Li wanted to argue with the armed guards and tell them that the person sitting inside was a young lady from the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang, but Wei Yuewu stopped him. She could see at first glance that something serious was going on. Before she could know what was going on, she did not feel the need to stand out at this moment.
Some riders in the carriages that were stopped felt offended. A proud shrill voice of a maid came from right behind Wei Yuewu’s carriage, “What guards are you? My mistress is the daughter of Lord Imperial Censor. What blind eyes do you have to dare to stop us?”
Imperial Censor was a position that gave advice to the Emperor. Imperial Censors’ words weighed a lot and they could even speak straight to the Emperor when the latter misbehaved. Although their rank was not the highest, most people were unwilling to offend Imperial Censors.
The next moment, that clever-tongued maid became so frightened that her entire body trembled. When a sword was placed on her neck and the sword wielder was looking at her with a gaze as if he was looking at a dead person, no matter how bold she was, she wouldn’t dare to say anything more. Moreover, she was just a maid, a fox assuming the majesty of the tiger.
How would she dare to say more when she faced true danger?
Seeing the maid becoming speechless, the cold-faced guard waved his hand as a signal for the carriage to retreat to the sides. Now the sword was drawn out, the riders in the rest of the carriages did not dare to say anything else. They obediently pulled over. The carriage from the Imperial Censor’s happened to park at the same side with Wei Yuewu’s carriage.
A large prison carriage was slowly driven out of the Plum Blossom Nunnery.
The reason why it was said to be a prison carriage was this: the carriage was fenced with wooden bars and was locked. However, there was only one person inside, a fat middle-aged man in a luxurious suit, who looked like he did not care at all. There was a case table in front of him with wine and pastries on it. It didn’t look like he was in a prison carriage, but he was on his way to a magnificent banquet.
When he saw the carriages on two sides, the man in luxurious clothes burst into laughter loudly. It was impossible for people not to feel strange to see this fat man in luxurious clothes laughing so heartily at such a solemn moment. As a result, the two sides became strangely quieter.
Behind the prison carriage was a gorgeous light carriage. This carriage was not big and its curtains were half lifted. It could be seen that a young lady and two maids were sitting inside. From Wei Yuewu’s point of view, she could only see them vaguely, as there was quite a distance in between.
Such a strange scene was obviously beyond anyone’s expectation.
Even Wei Yuewu had thought that there must be some very important person in the Plum Blossom Nunnery, such as a prince. She didn’t expect to see a prison carriage that did not look like a prison carriage at all. If it weren’t for the fence and the iron lock, no one would think that this fat man in luxurious clothes was a prisoner.
The fat man suddenly raised his hand and the prison carriage stopped. The carriage behind it slowly caught up. The prison carriage happened to be near Wei Yuewu’s position and the light carriage whose curtains were half lifted approached Wei Yuewu’s carriage.
As it passed by, Wei Yuewu saw from the window of her carriage a fifteen or sixteen-year-old noble young lady holding a handkerchief to her face as if she was weeping. The handkerchief covered half of her face and Wei Yuewu only saw the other half of her face that was glossy like jade and her rosy lips.
That carriage turned aside and stopped in the front of the prison carriage. The girl inside happened to be blocked from the view of others.
“Father!” The girl’s voice was like beads of jade sliding past, carrying a hint of desolation that filled the hearts of listeners with sympathy.
The middle-aged fat man waved his hand and said impatiently, “There, go back. I’ll be fine. His Majesty is waiting for me to play chess with him!”
“Father, how am I going to be relieved now that I see you like this?” The girl said softly with her melodious voice. Wei Yuewu only caught a glance of the girl, but she believed that the young lady was extremely beautiful.
However, the girl wasn’t among the young ladies Wei Yuewu saw in the palace that day. Such a beauty would definitely attract everyone’s attention if she appeared at the banquet that day.
“What’s wrong with me like this? Alright, alright. If you feel uncomfortable seeing me like this, go to that brat from the Yan Clan and plead for mercy. Isn’t that guy looking for you? You can make it if you talk to him and plead for mercy for me. Don’t whimper here and make me upset.”
The middle-aged man grew increasingly impatient. With those words, he didn’t wait for an answer from the girl but urged the coachman of his carriage to move on. Thus, the prison carriage slowly descended the mountain with two teams of guards. Afterwards, the carriages on the mountain were let free and headed towards the parking lot of the nunnery.
The girl’s carriage did not follow up this time. When Wei Yuewu’s carriage came around, she found that the curtain had been pulled down. However, she could vaguely hear the girl weeping. It was obvious that the person sitting inside was the middle-aged man’s daughter and she was upset right now.
The coachman Old Li skillfully drove around the carriage in the middle of the road and followed behind other carriages into the parking lot of the Plum Blossom Nunnery.
When her carriage stopped, Wei Yuewu got out with the help of Shufei. She looked behind her and saw that the exquisite carriage remained in the middle of the road as if it had been abandoned.
“Miss.” Shufei pulled her hand, wanting to ask something as she pointed at that carriage, but was silenced by Wei Yuewu’s cold glance.
Other people got out of their carriages and pointed at that carriage. However, obviously none of them saw the young lady clearly or knew who she was even if they saw her. As for the fat man in brocade clothes in the prison carriage, they said that they had never seen him before. Moreover, that man did not seem a bit like a prisoner, especially considering that the place he had been to was the Plum Blossom Nunnery.
He was more like a traveler on a sightseeing tour.
A nun from the nunnery was already standing near the parking lot. She pointed in the direction of the plum trees when she saw the nobles getting off the carriages. Most people came here at this time of year to enjoy the scenery. The nunnery hall and the Buddhist hall were also there. It was said that they would see the halls as long as they went along the way.
They didn’t walk on the winding gravel path for long before they saw the forest of plum trees that glowed brilliantly as colorful clouds.
Such a sea of flowers in cold winter was truly an eye-catching sight.
After she walked into the sea of flowers, Wei Yuewu took a turn and did not go further. Instead, she followed Shufei to the verge and went down the mountain. The main purpose of her visit today was to meet Nanny Han.
The plum trees decreased in numbers along the way to the back mountain. Only one or two remained in the end and farther down there were no plum flowers but some tall old trees standing on both sides of the gravel path. The courtyard rented for Nanny Han was down the path. Here were the residences of the tenants of the nunnery, but there were a few vacant courtyards.
Wei Yuewu had asked the shopkeeper of Brocade Clothing Shop to rent a courtyard for Nanny Han. She purported Nanny Han to be an old woman who came to join her family and would take a temporary lodging here before she found her family. Nanny Han could also occasionally help the nuns to take care of the flowers and plants.
Nanny Han was extremely excited when she saw Wei Yuewu entering the room. She knelt down in front of Wei Yuewu and grabbed Wei Yuewu’s sleeves with both hands. She cried, “Sixth Young Lady, Sixth Young Lady, you must avenge Her Ladyship. They killed her. They ruthlessly set Her Ladyship in a death trap.”
Wei Yuewu helped Nanny Han up with her hands and led her to a stool for her to sit. She took a deep breath and suppressed the pain in her heart. She asked, “What exactly happened?”
She still had some memories of her mother. However, perhaps because her mind was not yet fully developed back then, the memory was somewhat blurry. She only vaguely remembered that her mother was a gentle and extremely beautiful woman and that she would carry her to her side and gently hug her even though she was seriously ill at the time.
Her mother would talk to her gently and affectionately, though she could only say some baby words.
She could feel the deep affection from her mother despite her young age.
How could she not feel heartrending now she knew that her mother might die a conspiratorial death? She twisted her handkerchief tightly in her hand, but her expression was calm. Only from the depth of her clear eyes was coldness visible.
She would not let go of whoever that played a role in the death of her mother, even if that person was her biological father…
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