Chapter 269 : A Trip To Jing Wangfu (1)

The end of the fourth lunar month was the end of spring and the beginning of summer. It was the best time of the year, with neither the craggy cold of the first spring nor the hot and furious heat of the height of summer.

Yuchen, wearing a green palace dress, was lazily reclining on the chaise longue. At this time, Shiqin came in and announced, “Niangniang, Momo Tian asks for an audience.”

Yuchen sat up and said, “Let her in.” Fortunately, Momo Tian knew how to be sensible. Otherwise, it would have been depressing to have such a person around.

Momo Tian reported, “Niangniang, the feast menu has been revised and will be delivered directly to you the day after tomorrow.” The day after tomorrow was the 10th Prince’s twentieth birthday banquet, and this arranged menu was for that day.

Yuchen smiled and said, “Momo, thank you for your hard work.”

After Momo Tian left, Yuchen curbed her smile and said to Momo Gui, “Momo, what do you think the Guifei Niangniang means?” Her pregnancy had not yet reached the first three months, and Song Linger was still in confinement, so there should not be any birthday banquet held at the wangfu. However, Guifei Niangniang had personally asked her to hold a birthday banquet for her husband here. Yuchen always felt that something was wrong with this matter.

Momo Gui had been in the palace for so many years and was very sensitive. She also sensed that something was not quite right with this. For such an important event as His Highness Jing Wang’s twentieth birthday, with how much Guifei Niangniang doted on His Highness, she should have held the birthday feast at the Imperial Palace. Song Guifei’s movement this time was a bit out of the ordinary, which made it seem so odd. “We don’t have anyone in the palace, so we don’t know what the exact reason for this banquet is. We can only wait and see what happens next.” No matter what Guifei Niangniang wished to do, it should not be so bad as to harm Wangfei. After all, Wangfei was still carrying His Highness Jing Wang’s flesh and blood in her belly.

The Han family naturally received the wangfu’s invitation. Since Yuxi’s wedding was in the middle of the fifth lunar month, she would not attend any banquet, no matter whose family it was. Yuxi felt strange when she received a separate invitation from Jing Wangfu asking her to participate in the birthday feast of the 10th Prince.

Yuxi told Momo Quan, “I’m getting married in half a month. How come San Jie is asking me to go to His Highness Jing Wang’s birthday feast?” Girls didn’t go out in public until they got married, and there was no way that Yuchen didn’t know this. Since she was supposed to have knowledge on this, she still asked her to come, which made Yuxi feel strange about this situation.

Momo Quan didn’t think much of it and said, “Niangniang should be thinking of Miss and wanted Miss to come because she wanted to talk with Miss.” What Momo Quan said must be right. Yuchen just wanted someone to talk to, and Yuxi was the best candidate.

Yuxi argued, “But I don’t want to go.” There was one thing she couldn’t say to Momo Quan. For the past two days, she had had a restless feeling in her heart that something was going to happen. This kind of feeling was so baffling. After all, she was about to get married. What bad things could happen in this period? (A looooooottt can happen, Yuxi. A lot.)T

/N

Momo Quan did not expect that Yuxi would not want to attend His Highness’s birthday feast and urged, “Miss, since it is Wangfei Niangniang who has personally invited you, if you don’t go, you won’t give her any face.”

Yuxi didn’t listen to Momo Quan’s advice but went to the Main Courtyard and told Qiu Shi that she didn’t want to participate in Yuchen’s birthday feast.

Qiu Shi was okay with it. “If you don’t want to go, then don’t go. After you are married, you can go to the wangfu to visit Wangfei Niangniang. I believe Wangfei Niangniang will not mind.” There was no need to find any excuse for not going to the wangfu. Just say that Yuxi didn’t have time to go. She would be getting married in half a month, and she had to prepare for the wedding, so it made sense that she would be swamped.

Yuxi smiled and nodded her head in agreement.

But to her surprise, the next day after speaking to Qiu Shi about the matter, the Old Lady summoned her over. When the Old Lady saw Yuxi, she first asked why she did not want to go to the wangfu.

Yuxi did not know why the Old Lady had to interfere in this matter. So she could only use the same excuse that Qiu Shi had given her. “I have a lot of things to do for the wedding, and I don’t have time to spare.”

The Old Lady said, “His Highness Jing Wang’s birthday is on the second day of the month, which is more than ten days before your wedding date. It won’t delay you. Besides, you won’t lose much even if you’re not being busy for a day.” Seeing that Yuxi was bowing her head silently, the Old Lady continued, “Over the years, you know how Yuchen has treated you. For her to request you to come to His Highness’s birthday banquet this time is also her way of doing a favour for you.”

Yuxi’s heart felt a little blocked. What did she mean her attendance at the birthday banquet was also doing a favour for her? However, Yuxi could not refute her grandmother’s previous sentence because Yuchen did help her a lot over the years, which could not be denied.

The Old Lady was aware of Yuxi’s nature. Thus she simply stopped being reasonable with her. “When the time comes, you will properly accompany Niangniang and talk with her.” The meaning of this statement was clear. Yuxi had to go even if she didn’t want to.

Even though she was reluctant, she did not dare to disobey the Old Lady. At this juncture, she was not willing to carry such a reputation: “Yes.”

When she returned, Yuxi’s expression looked heavy. When Zisu and the others noticed this, they were alarmed. “Miss, what’s wrong?” It was rare for Miss to have such a look. Something big must have happened to her.

Yuxi shook her head and said, “It’s nothing.”

Momo Quan was very perceptive and asked Yuxi, “Does the Old Lady want Miss to go to the wangfu?” In fact, Momo Quan wondered why Yuxi would be so averse to going to the wangfu.

Looking at Momo Quan’s expression, Yuxi knew what she was thinking and told her what was on her mind.

Momo Quan smiled at this and said, “Miss is being too nervous.”

Yuxi was a little surprised. “Nervous?”

Momo Quan nodded and said, “The uneasiness Miss is talking about is the feeling of having too much nervousness. Anyone would be nervous when one has to move from one’s home to an unfamiliar environment. In a situation like Miss, nine out of ten, it happens because of the approaching wedding date.”

Yuxi remembered how Yuchen looked before she got married, and she did seem to be nervous too. “Maybe it’s indeed because I’m being too nervous.”

Momo Quan said, “Miss, Wangfei has invited you over to speak with you and is not going to draw you in. So you will certainly be fine if you go to the wangfu.” Although Chen Ran was the second di son, he was full of talents, and his future was bound to be limitless. Despite Yuchen being a wangfei, she also needed help, or else she would always be suppressed by Song Ce Fei.

Yuxi let out a cry of agreement. She had a terrible experience in her previous life. She was able to get married into the Chen family in this life. She had also gotten along so well with Chen Ran, and the Lady of Taining even recognised her. Everything had gone so well that she felt a sense of surrealism. Perhaps that was why she was so unsettled and afraid that something would change. But when she thought more about it, this life was different from the last. In her last life, she and the Second Young Master Qiu, Qiu Lei, were only in the process of discussing marriage. They were not yet engaged, and even if they did, there would have been no follow-up. And now, with half a month to go before she married into the Chen family, it was impossible to have another accident.

For Jing Wang’s birthday banquet, not all people from the Han family would attend it. Ye Shi would take the lead, then there was Yuxi and Yurong, but no one else went. Wen Shi wanted to go too, but the Old Lady was afraid she would embarrass Yuchen. She found her mistake and punished her by instructing her to copy scriptures.

Yuxi started dressing up early, and after she had taken care of everything, she took Zisu and Zijin out with her. Zijin had been out of the sun for a while. By using whitening products, she didn’t look as dark as before. Of course, she didn’t look any whiter either. With Zijin beside her as a companion, it made Yuxi’s skin glittered and translucent as jade and beautiful beyond comparison.

Ye Shi didn’t think much of who Yuxi took along with her. It was Yurong who glanced at Zijin and then back at Yuxi as she said with a smile, “Si Jiejie is beautifully dressed today.”

Yurong had put a lot of thought into her outfit today. She wore a pink cloud satin dress with a gold thread pattern of one hundred butterflies strung together with flowers. She had also put on a golden buyao with ruby tassels that would sway with her every movement. According to Qiu Shi, at this age, everything would look good on Yurong. Not to mention the fact that Yurong had gone to all the trouble of dressing up, that even a seven per cent appearance could look one hundred per cent beautiful with the way she was dressing.

This comment was quite harsh as if to say that Yuxi was not good-looking, and even if she did look good, it was all because of her dressing. Yuxi responded indifferently, “I’m not as rich as Wu Meimei.” Yuxi used to like to wear bright coloured and eye-catching clothes and jewellery with pure gold and precious stones. But now, she was no longer able to do so, as she had been immersed in books for many years, and her temperament had changed considerably.

Liuyun Ji

/ Flowing Cloud Bun

Image Credit | The Rightful Owner via Sogou

One who was filled with knowledge always behaved with elegance. Just imagine how weird it would look if such a person suddenly were beaming with jewellery and wearing bright and shiny clothes. Therefore, today, Yuxi wore a long light blue embroidered with magnolia twigs pattern skirt, bound with soft blue motifs on a pale mauve coloured sash, and her hair combed into a flowing cloud bun making her look graceful and calm.

When Ye Shi saw that Yurong had more to say, she immediately urged, “Let’s get on the carriage! We have to get to the wangfu early.” They were Wangfei’s maiden family, and they usually should arrive before the other guests. This way, if the host were too busy, they could also help greet the guests. As Jing Wangfei was pregnant now, it was better to go there earlier.

This time it was one carriage for each person going to the wangfu, so Yuxi went with Zisu and Zijin in the same carriage. When they got into the carriage, Zisu said, “She’s so annoying. When the Third Lady passed away, she always had this pitiful appearance every time she met Miss. I never thought she would instantly turn hostile just by turning her head.” When Wu Shi died, looking at Yurong’s sad face, she still felt pity for the other party, but she never thought that Yurong would change her attitude once she gained even a bit of power.

Yuxi said, “When Wu Shi died, she acted so pitifully in front of me. She only did that because she was afraid that I would retaliate against her. Now that she has gained a good marriage and finally has the strength, she naturally doesn’t need to pretend to be pitiful anymore.” She used to think that Yurong had changed for the better, but it turned out that Yurong was only using the mourning tactic. The only one who was stupid was her. However, she swore she would not make such a foolish mistake again.

Zisu asked, “Is Miss not going to get angry with her?”

Yuxi smiled and asked Zijin, who was nearby, “Zijin, are you angry?”

Zijin was puzzled and answered, “Why should I be angry with her? Fifth Miss has long been at odds with Miss. So it’s normal for her to be acting like this now!”

These words instantly stifled Zisu’s heart, and she didn’t say another word until they reached the wangfu.

Before she got off the carriage, Yuxi whispered to the both of them, “Don’t ever leave me when we get into the wangfu.” Although after Momo Quan’s enlightened talk made her feel that the uneasiness was caused by nervousness. However, in the spirit of caution, she still took Zijin with her. Even if something unexpected happened, with Zijin around, there was no need for her to worry about her safety.

Hearing this, Zijin assured her, “Don’t worry, Miss. I will always be by your side and won’t leave you even for a step.” She would do whatever the girl ordered, despite not knowing the reason for doing so.

But Zisu’s face changed significantly, “Miss, what’s wrong?”

Yuxi smiled a little and replied, “It’s nothing. I just think that San Jie and Song Ce Fei don’t get along with each other. So I can’t precisely say that she will not take this opportunity to cause trouble. Perhaps I am worrying too much, but there is nothing wrong with being extra careful.”

Zisu nodded her head a little.