Chapter 408
“What is Wei Yuewu doing over there?!” The Fourth Princess, who was sitting in the private room of the opposite building, raised her eyebrows angrily and snapped.
“It should be a coincidence. Your Highness, Eldest Miss Jing said that she would speak up for you!” The palace maid, who was standing next to the Fourth Princess, comforted her in a low voice.
“If it was a coincidence, she could leave. Why is she so shameless as to stay with them? Oh my, the upbringing of all the young ladies of the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang is infamous for being lousy. Doesn’t she see that Jing Wenyan has something to say to the heir-apparent?!” The Fourth Princess grunted hatefully.
She sneaked out of the palace and dressed like an ordinary young lady of an aristocratic family. In order to avoid being recognized, she specially wore a veil.
The waiter brought tea and snacks into the private room and then left. At this moment, she secretly lifted the curtain of the window and looked out.
The teahouse and the gold store were separated by a street, facing each other from a distance. Coincidentally, the two private rooms were directly opposite each other, so the Fourth Princess could clearly see everything in the private room of the opposite store. In order to not let the people opposite spot her, the Fourth Princess only lifted the corner of the curtain to peek.
“Princess, don’t worry. In a while, Eldest Miss Jing will definitely be able to talk to the heir-apparent. Didn’t you say that Eldest Miss Jing and the heir-apparent were childhood friends? They grew up together, so they must have a strong friendship. Although they didn’t get married in the end, with their friendship, Heir-apparent of Yan will certainly listen to Eldest Miss Jing!”
The palace maid consoled.
“Hmph, I want to see how shameless this Marquis Hua Yang’s legitimate daughter is. She’s also one of the sluts who is stunned by the heir-apparent’s looks to such an extent that she can’t move!”
The Fourth Princess was very upset. She felt as if someone wanted to snatch her things. Heir-apparent of Yan was clearly her future husband, yet these women couldn’t stop casting greedy eyes on him.
Wen Caidie was her rival-in-love in the palace, and there were so many love-struck fools outside the palace.
As soon as she thought of those aristocratic daughters’ shy and affectionate expressions when they saw Yan Huaijing, the Fourth Princess was extremely indignant. She couldn’t stand it anymore. She decided to urge Mother Empress to talk to Father Emperor again after returning to the palace.
She was the most suitable person to go to the State of Yan. Mother Empress only had her. Wen Caidie was no match to her.
“Your Highness, we can observe them for a bit longer. Look, do you think Eldest Miss Jing is talking about you to the heir-apparent?” The other palace maid suddenly whispered.
The Fourth Princess hurried over, lifted the curtain, and continued to peek outside.
On the opposite side of the room, Wei Yuewu had already stood up and said her goodbyes, “Your Heir-apparent, I have something to do, so I have to take my leave now. Excuse me.”
After saying that, she bowed and wanted to leave. However, Eldest Miss Jing was unusually enthusiastic today. She pulled Wei Yuewu back as if she didn’t want her to leave.
“Sixth Young Lady, don’t go. Let’s leave together later. I have a few more words to say to the heir-apparent. I’ll be done soon.”
“No, thanks. I have something urgent to tend to. I’m afraid I can’t wait for you any longer, Eldest Miss Jing.” Wei Yuewu refused once again.
“Okay then. I will go with you.” Jing Wenyan held Wei Yuewu’s hand and stood up, looking like she was going to stick with Wei Yuewu no matter what. She acted as if she had a close-knit friendship with Wei Yuewu.
“Well. Then I will wait for you to finish speaking before I leave.” Wei Yuewu could only stand still and sit down again.
The private room was not big, but it was similar to the private room just now that had good lighting. The only thing she was dismayed about was that Jing Wenyan stopped her every time she expressed her intention to leave.
However, this room was obviously reserved by Jing Wenyan. She ordered the waiter to take them directly to this room after going upstairs. Wei Yuewu chose a seat by the window, where she could directly see the street. It was much more lively compared to the room that Wen Tianyao had chosen just now. It was a great place to kill time by sitting here, drinking tea, and looking at the lively streets below.
This was indeed a very good place for leisure, but she was skeptical about Jing Wenyan’s decision to choose this room. Jing Wenyan had always been a low-profile person, hadn’t she?
Judging from the room that Wen Tianyao chose, she could clearly tell that he did not want anyone to know about his presence in the shop because the view outside the window of the room was the small alley behind the shop. However, this room had a clear view of the street, which meant that the people on the opposite could see the situation in the room clearly.
The people on the opposite? At the thought of this, Wei Yuewu arched her eyebrows cheekily and looked at the opposite side.
The curtains of the opposite room were down, and there seemed to be no one there.
However, looking at the surrounding private rooms of the opposite building, she noticed that the curtains of the rooms were slightly lifted at this moment regardless of whether there were customers or not. The location of the rooms was extremely good as the sun coincidentally shone in their directions. It was perfect timing for being able to bask in the sun at this moment.
This was most probably the reason why the tea house was set up here. Compared with the private rooms in the gold shop, the tea house was more leisurely and casual as it was a place for resting and drinking tea.
Due to her suspicion, Wei Yuewu paid close attention to the room opposite, and indeed, she noticed that the curtains on the opposite side moved from time to time. She secretly curled her lips into a sneer. Sure enough, there was someone in that private room, and from the looks of it, that person was secretly watching them.
On one hand, Jing Wenyan emphasized her close friendship with Yan Huaijing, yet on the other hand, she wanted Wei Yuewu to be with them to avoid arousing suspicion. Was she worried that the person on the opposite side would see them and suspect her?
There weren’t many people in the capital whom Jing Wenyan would be apprehensive of, and this person they were now with was Yan Huaijing, so the answer was obvious.
No wonder Jing Wenyan insisted on pulling her hands and whatnot, making it seem as if they were very close. It turned out that it was because of the person in the opposite room. It seemed that she had appeared at the right time and bumped into Jing Wenyan’s trap…
“Your Heir-apparent, I’ll have someone send the screen to the Duke of Yan State Mansion tomorrow.” As Jing Wenyan was talking to Yan Huaijing, they heard a loud cry behind them and hurriedly turned to look. It appeared that Wei Yuewu was fidgeting with the cup in her hand and accidentally dropped it to the floor.
The cup smashed on the floor. It seemed to have smashed next to her skirt, and the tea splashed on her skirt.
“Eldest Miss Jing, I-I need to go now!” Wei Yuewu stood up frantically and shook her skirt.
“Why don’t you take a seat first? I’ll have someone…” Jing Wenyan insisted on keeping Wei Yuewu here.
“Eldest Miss Jing, I’m sorry but I can’t stay any longer. In my current state, it’s not nice for me to stay outside and get changed. I’ll take my leave first.” This time, Wei Yuewu said decisively without giving Jing Wenyan a chance to think of a solution.
“Miss, I will help you out.” Huamo reacted quickly and helped Wei Yuewu to walk by Yan Huaijing’s side.
Even if Jing Wenyan wanted to pull Wei Yuewu, she could not, because Wei Yuewu had circled around Yan Huaijing and walked towards the door.
Yan Huaijing leaned back and revealed an ambiguous smile. He glanced at Wei Yuewu and raised his eyes slightly. There were some emotions in his eyes, but his words stopped Jing Wenyan from making any movements. “Eldest Miss Jing, when you return to the capital this time, have you found anything different from the State of Jing?”
This question was quite profound, so much so that Jing Wenyan was startled when she heard this. At this point, Wei Yuewu had already walked out of the door, and Huamo even closed the door for them before leaving.
“Alright, Your Highness, Eldest Miss Jing finally has a chance to be alone with the heir-apparent. The annoying Sixth Miss Wei has left!” The palace maid, who was in the opposite private room, excitedly told the Fourth Princess.
The anger on the Fourth Princess’ face receded. She felt pleased when she looked at the private room from her location. Now, there were only two people in the room. If Yan Huaijing really cared about Jing Wenyan, he would definitely listen to Jing Wenyan and take the initiative to propose to marry her. This was a much more satisfying result than an imperial decree from Father Emperor declaring her marriage with Yan Huaijing.
Wen Caidie had always been a head above her. Even Royal Brother had said that Wen Caidie was better than her. At the thought of this, the Fourth Princess was frustrated. She was the daughter of the Empress. How could she be inferior to a daughter of a concubine?
Although Zhaoyi Tu was her mother’s sister, their statuses were different from the beginning due to their positions in the palace. How could Wen Caidie be nobler than her?! Why did Eldest Brother think highly of Wen Caidie, so much so that all the people now looked up to her?! In fact, Mother Empress even secretly told her that Father Emperor actually liked Wen Caidie more.
This made the Fourth Princess angry and anxious. Because of this, she met with Jing Wenyan, who was said to have grown up with Yan Huaijing since childhood. The two of them almost got married. If it hadn’t been for the Duke of Yan State’s obstruction, Jing Wenyan might have been the Heiress-apparent of Yan now.
But even if the Duke of Yan State stopped their engagement, he could not stop their friendship. The Fourth Princess even promised to help Jing Wenyan realize her big wish if she could get what she wanted.
“Your Heir-apparent, actually, I haven’t been in the capital for a long time. I have always been in the mansion and lived in seclusion, and I don’t know much about anything! I-I have something to do, so I…” Jing Wenyan stood up uneasily. She was just testing the water today. How could she really persuade Yan Huaijing?
“Eldest Miss Jing, who do you think is more suitable to be State of Yan’s future duchess, the Third Princess or the Fourth Princess?” Yan Huaijing looked at her. Although his smile was gentle, there was a flash of dark light in his eyes.
“I…” Jing Wenyan had not expected such a question from Yan Huaijing, and she was taken aback. She was now stepping on two boats. It was inappropriate no matter which side she took.
In fact, she would be in a difficult position if either princess heard her answer.
“Do you not have an idea? I heard that you are on good terms with both princesses. Can you tell which princess is more suitable as the future duchess of the State of Yan?” Yan Huaijing smiled slightly. His handsome face revealed an amiable expression. He even waved at her as if he was very close to her.
“Your Heir-apparent, I… I don’t know…” Jing Wenyan remembered that the Fourth Princess was still watching her from the opposite room, so she gritted her teeth and retreated instead of moving forward.
She keenly felt that she could no longer stay here. The longer she stayed, the more suspicious the Fourth Princess would be. “Your Heir-apparent, I need to take my leave now. Excuse me.”
After saying that, she respectfully bowed deeply to Yan Huaijing and then retreated. When she reached the door, she was already sweating on her forehead.
“Miss…” Her maid called her in a low voice.
“Let’s go!” Jing Wenyan gritted her teeth in dismay. She had originally thought that it would be best if she could use Sixth Miss Wei as a shield, but she hadn’t expected her to be so astute.
“Stop the carriage of the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang first, and then investigate who the person is in the opposite room. Remember, don’t be too harsh with the attack.” Inside the room, Yan Huaijing held the cup in his hand and leisurely spun it twice. The smile on his face gradually faded, and his handsome eyes were suffused with a deep, cold light.
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