Chapter 90 – The Maid Who Delivered The Message
Wei Yuewu did not expect that not only did this former Bangyan meet her again and again, but he even lived in her family’s mansion. Now, he actually had something to do with her marriage. Well, it seemed that there were really some deep bindings between them!
“When did he move in?” Wei Yuewu’s face revealed a look of confusion, as if she really didn’t know anything.
“He came here a little earlier than you to pay his respects to Grandmother. Then he went down to have a rest. Sixth Younger Sister, do you want to take a look at him? When he was parading on horseback, many young ladies dropped their handkerchiefs one after another. It was said that it had been so many years since people saw such a handsome top-3-ranking candidate of the Imperial Examination. Even the most indifferent Fourth Elder Sister couldn’t help but go to the event to watch him.” Wei Qiuju’s face was filled with yearning. Who wouldn’t want to marry such a man that had not only a handsome appearance but also a promising future?
However, Wei Qiuju knew very well that she would never be the one to decide on her own marriage.
Wei Yuewu shook her head even though her face showed a hint of hesitation. “Is…is this proper? After all, there should be a prudent reserve between men and women…”
“It doesn’t matter. You just go and take a look. Besides, he had originally proposed to marry you. But who knew that Third Elder Sister reaped the benefits. Third Elder Sister stole not only your screen but also your husband-to-be. Furthermore, the suitor may not take a fancy to Third Elder Sister. The reason why he moved in was to wait for Third Elder Sister to enter the capital and take a look at her before making the final decision.”
Seeing that Wei Yuewu was slightly moved, Wei Qiuju immediately used what had just happened to provoke Wei Yuewu. She did not believe that Wei Yuewu would be indifferent upon hearing this while seeing the screen in front of her at the same time.
“Alright, I’ll go!” Sure enough, Wei Yuewu was really provoked. She nodded after thinking for a while.
Next, the two of them had a brief look at the layout of the courtyard and asked the servants some questions. They found there wasn’t any special need, so they sent servants to report to the Madam Dowager and went back to their respective courtyard!
In the Lotus Courtyard:
“Miss, the heir-apparent’s man followed this Imperial Academician Xie into our mansion’s gate. I had inquired about this Imperial Academician Xie. It was said that he was related to our mansion. Because he is here alone and has no relatives, the Madam Dowager let him stay in our mansion for some time to have a lively Spring Festival with us. After that, he will return to his own mansion.”
Jin Ling stood beside Wei Yuewu and reported to her the information she had obtained today. It was all about this former Bangyan, who was now an Imperial Academician.
This Imperial Academician Xie actually lived in the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang to deal with her! Wei Yuewu revealed a cold smile. Since that was the case, then he shouldn’t blame her for showing no mercy to him.
“Who was he related to?” Wei Yuewu thought for a moment and asked coldly.
“I heard that…it seemed that he had some kind of kinship with the Third Lady, but I’m not sure what kind of relationship it is.” Jin Ling replied after thinking for a while.
Kinship with Lady Zhang? Wei Qiufu who had always been indifferent purposely followed Xie Qingzhao to his residence, but in the end, nothing happened. The moment she entered the mansion, Wei Yan quarreled with her and Wei Qiufu took the opportunity to go to the family temple to pray for blessings. After that, Wei Qiuju and Wei Yan ganged up to plot against her. This Wei Qiuju was wholeheartedly following Wei Qiufu and extremely obedient to her…
“How is the situation in the family temple?” Wei Yuewu turned to Nurse Mei. She had been serving the mansion for many years, so it was much easier for her to inquire about the matters in the mansion than Jin Ling and the others.
Nurse Mei reported with a look of ridicule on her face, “I heard that earlier in the evening, the Second Lady went to the family temple, and the Second Young Lady’s laughter actually sounded in the family temple.”
It wasn’t that Wei Yan couldn’t laugh. The point was that Wei Yan actually had the heart to laugh out loud in her current situation. So, was this Second Young Lady really stupid or not?
Laughing aloud? Her fingers lightly tapped on the table, and a faint coldness flashed in her eyes. They had conspired to plot against her and laughed like this. However, she wondered whether Lady Li and Wei Yan would be able to laugh when they realized that they were the ones who were fooled!
There was a long way ahead. Now they laughed, and of course there would be time when they cried…
This was only the beginning…
“Jin Ling, you go to the outer courtyard a while later to meet this Imperial Academician Xie, to whom even Fourth Elder Sister took a fancy.” Wei Yuewu said indifferently. The corner of her lips curved into a cold smile. She stood up and walked to the window. She picked up the brush on the table, spread out a piece of paper, and began to write.
The maids looked at each other puzzledly, unable to understand the meaning of Wei Yuewu’s words.
Jin Ling saw Wei Yuewu writing and thought about what she had just said. Her eyes lit up and she asked, “Miss, are you asking me to deliver the letter?”
“Yes, I am asking you to deliver the letter.” Wei Yuewu nodded, her hands still busy writing.
“Miss, for what purpose are you asking Jin Ling to deliver the letter? If she was caught by someone when delivering the letter, you would be landed in real trouble.” Shufei advised from the side with a pale face. In her view, Wei Yuewu’s behavior was equivalent to making private contacts with a man. If she was caught red-handed doing such a thing, not to mention Wei Yuewu, even the several of them would be implicated and have a miserable end.
Unlike the Second Young Lady who always had people to protect her in the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang whatever trouble she caused, her mistress was in a helpless situation. If something happened to her, there was no one protecting her. Therefore, how could Shufei not be worried?
She and Huamo had been in the mansion for a while, and they could clearly feel the coldness of people in the mansion towards their young mistress. Not to mention the Second Lady and Second Young Lady, even the Third Lady who had always carried a smiling face had always treated their mistress in a lukewarm manner, as if she was an onlooker watching a play.
As for the Madam Dowager, whose way of dealing with Wei Yuewu looked pretty good on the surface, in reality, her real attitude was obvious judging by how much importance she attached to the Third Young Lady whom they hadn’t met yet.
Rather than caring about the real first daughter of the mansion, the Madam Dowager showed far more concern for the Third Young Lady who was born by a concubine. This really made Wei Yuewu’s maids indignant!
“It’s alright. Even if Jin Ling was caught when delivering the letter, nothing bad would happen.” Wei Yuewu shook her head and put down the brush in her hand. She looked at the words she had written on the paper and dark light flashed in her eyes. She wanted to see whom this Imperial Academician Xie was related to.
Was it Wei Yan? Was it Wei Qiuju? Or was it Wei Qiufu, who looked so clean and stainless and didn’t seem to care about such mundane matters? There were always people in the family who knew this Imperial Academician Xie very well. Actually, Wei Yuewu had already made her judgement. She was using the letter to prove it and explore the way. Of course, it was also for the sake of carrying out her subsequent plan more easily.
The characters in the letter were carefully and neatly written, almost one stroke at a time. They looked neat but not outstanding. Although they were written in the Small Seal Script style favored by young ladies of aristocratic families, nobody could tell that they were written by her. Normally, her calligraphy was much better than this letter.
Fortunately, many people could write in the Small Seal Script style. Anyone who had read books and practiced calligraphy for a few days was able to write in this style.
Judging by the style, it was impossible to tell who had written this letter…
A maid gently and silently walked towards the study in the outer courtyard. She didn’t look conspicuous in the night. Besides, she stopped and then continued to walk from time to time. She was very careful. It could be seen that she was a cautious person.
There were several study rooms in the outer courtyard, and the one that the maid was heading to was obviously not big, and it was also close to the guest courtyard.
“Is your young master in?” The maid carefully walked to the door of the study and asked a lad servant standing there.
“Our young master is reading inside.” The lad servant replied.
“Go report to your young master and tell him that our young lady has a message for him delivered by me.” The maid looked left and right and spoke to the lad servant in a lowered voice.
“Your young lady…” The lad servant hesitated for a moment and was a bit suspicious.
“The other elder sister who used to come here to deliver messages is ill today. That’s why our young lady asked me to come here.” The maid waved her hand nonchalantly.
“Alright, wait a moment. I’ll report it to our young master immediately.” When the lad servant heard this, he was delighted and all his suspicions disappeared. After all, it was impossible for others to know about the correspondence between his young master and the young lady of the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang.
“Hey, wait a moment.” The maid suddenly pulled the lad servant to the side mysteriously. She took out a piece of broken silver from her pocket and handed it to the lad servant with an embarrassed expression on her face, “Brother, it is the first time I’ve come here. I don’t know if Young Master Xie has any taboos. Tell me now so that I won’t offend your young master later. Otherwise, our young lady will blame me again.”
The lad servant had thought that the maid was going to ask him something extraordinary. Hearing that, he immediately laughed. He took the broken silver from the maid’s hand and put it into his own pocket. “It’s fine, no worry. Our young master is always polite as long as he is receiving people sent by your young lady. He won’t be angry with you for a trivial matter.”
The lad servant was clear how much his young master valued this young lady. Even if it was an ordinary servant who had come casually to deliver a message, his young master would treat the servant sincerely, not to mention a maid of the young lady who had come personally. No matter what, it was impossible for his young master to carry a long face despite his current awkward situation.
That was why the servant said this boldly and confidently.
“That’s good, that’s good. I’m afraid that I’m not as good as the older sister who used to come here so that Young Master Xie will be angry if he sees me.” Jin Ling said articulately. “Our young lady’s identity is different. After all, she is the first…of this mansion.”
Jin Ling paused for a moment and peeked at the lad servant. Seeing that his expression was the same as before and that he took what she said for granted, she sneered in her heart. It was indeed like what her mistress had said.
“Miss is not in the mansion now,” she continued, “and some things aren’t suitable to be communicated verbally, so this time Miss asked me to deliver a letter.”
Jin Ling spoke very slowly. She looked at the lad servant’s expression to make sure she didn’t find anything unusual before she finished her sentence. At this point, she was basically sure that what her young lady had said was correct. She felt even more admiration for Wei Yuewu in her heart.
She took out a letter and handed it to the lad servant. “Just pass it on to your young master. I won’t go in.”
“Don’t, sister. Since you’re here, why don’t you go in? Our young master has been thinking about your young lady. Now that he can’t see your young lady, it’s good for him to see you.” The servant was unwilling to receive the letter. He pushed away Jin Ling’s hand and quickly went in to report.
Jin Ling waited for a while. Then she saw the lad servant appearing at the door again and waving at her.
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