Chu Wang Fei

In the blink of an eye, Yun Qian Meng had stayed in Fu Guo gongfu for over two months. In between, Yun Xuan Zhi and the old madam only sent several people to make token visits once or twice. After that, they didn’t seem to show any further concern for her!

On the other hand, Liu yiniang and Yun Yan came to spend time with her every now and then. Liu yiniang, worried that Yun Qian Meng would find it inconvenient to stay at Fu Guo gongfu, even especially invited a tailor shop owner from Jiangnan over to make a few sets of fashionable summer clothes for her!

These actions left Gu laotaijun very satisfied with them. Hence, whenever Yun Yan went over, Fu Guo gongfu’s servants didn’t obstruct her very much, happily letting her pass.

Currently, Yun Qian Meng only had one maid, Mu Chun, by her side. Mi mama was busy at the xiangfu, taking care of everything in Qi Luo Yuan. However, she still came every day, reporting all the happenings in the xiangfu to Yun Qian Meng. This way, even though Yun Qian Meng stayed at Fu Guo gongfu, she still knew the xiangfu like the back of her hand.

From early spring to early summer, the weather in June already started to become scorching hot. Yun Qian Meng, wearing thin summer clothes made of ice silk, sat around the loft in Ting Yu Xuan. Looking peacefully at the lush water lilies in the garden pond as she lightly fanned herself with a flowery circular fan, the atmosphere she gave off caused others to feel that she had a certain dynamism within her quiet peace, showing off a unique charm.

“Oh my, the weather today is really vicious! I just went out for a bit, but my body is already covered in sweat. This sticky feeling is just so uncomfortable!” With the sound of light footsteps, a dripping wet Qu Fei Qing appeared before Yun Qian Meng, vigorously fanning herself with a circular fan as she complained about the heat.

Yun Qian Meng saw that she couldn’t endure the heat and smiled, passing her a bowl of iced pickled plum soup that Mu Chun made to her, “Who asked biaojie to be blessed with such great fortune? Even Han xiaojie didn’t forget to bestow some antiques to you after she entered the palace.”

But Qu Fei Qing only felt the scorching heat at the moment. She immediately picked up the ice-cold porcelain bowl and drank all of the pickled plum soup in one go. Finally feeling the heat dissipate from her body, she answered with a helpless expression, “Han xiaojie is really too kind, even bothering to remember me with her busy schedule! Not just that, the emperor just gifted these antiques to her, but she turned around and passed them on to us sisters from the former days. It really made us feel embarrassed to accept her gifts.”

Seeing that Yun Qian Meng felt cool and refreshing, Qu Fei Qing sat down beside her and looked at the lotus pond downstairs, lightly saying, “Han xiaojie has already received the Emperor’s favor. It’s already fixed, on the ninth of September, there will be an official ceremony to confer her the title of Jieyu!”

Hearing this from Qu Fei Qing, Yun Qian Meng slightly raised her eyebrows, finding the matter slightly surprising.

Even though Han Ying Bo was the daughter of the Minister of Personnel, getting raised to a third-rank Jieyu after just serving the Emperor in bed one or two times seemed somewhat against protocol. She couldn’t help but find this matter unusual.

“Han xiaojie really does have a saintly heart, no wonder the Emperor seems to favor her so much!” Yun Qian Meng lightly exclaimed as she lightly fanned Qu Fei Qing with her circular fan.

Only, this caused Qu Fei Qing to frown slightly. She waved her hands for the other servants to leave before whispering, “When we were receiving the imperial decree, I heard the palace gonggong tell zumu that this time, the Emperor is planning to confer the title of guifei to the eldest miss of the Rong family! The rest of the chosen candidates all skipped several ranks too!”

When she heard this, Yun Qian Meng also felt that something fishy was going on.

However, what she didn’t expect was that the Rong family’s eldest miss, raised in Rong fu since a young age and had never taken part in any feasts or parties, had suddenly climbed to the position of guifei overnight! It really seemed that Yu Qian Di was willing to spare no effort to strengthen his rule over the country!

In order to attract the wealth of the Rong family, he actually promised to take an imperial consort. It was exactly like the way the previous Emperor, Xi Jing Di, who granted the title to Rong Xian taifei. Sure enough, this was the path of a monarch!

However, she wished that the Rong family’s eldest miss won’t share the same fate as Rong Jian taifei. Back then, she was given a medicine to make her infertile by her husband, the Emperor. From then on, she was never able to be blessed with children!

Of course, young ladies like themselves didn’t have much to do with the matters of the inner palace. Seeing that Qu Fei Qing’s emotions were unsteady, Yun Qian Meng asked with concern, “biaojie, what happened? Why do you look so ill-at-ease?”

Qu Fei Qing had originally been warned by Gu laotaijun and the others not to tell Yun Qian Meng about some things in order to allow her to recuperate in peace. But Qu Fei Qing couldn’t help but feel extremely worried about the matter. She sent even Mu Chun and her closest servants away before whispering, “According to the reports from one of the generals that used to work under Hai Wang, the Bei Qi country at the north seems to be undergoing some strife. The Emperor privately wants to send dage to investigate the situation!”

Yun Qian Meng was immediately shocked at the news. But, after just a short while, she quickly felt relieved.

Qu Zhang Qing might be a young noble lord, but he grew up in the army camp, and was extremely skilled at military tactics and formations as well as acquiring enemy intelligence. Since the movements from Bei Qi country couldn’t be determined easily, and because the report came from one of Hai Wang’s former subordinates, Yu Qian Di naturally wanted to send someone he trusted himself to investigate!

If you were to look at the imperial court, the ones that Yu Qian Di trusted the most, other than the Ruan family, was Fu Guo gongfu. Since the Ruan family were scholars, he naturally couldn’t send them on this task. Hence, only Qu Zhang Qing could bear this responsibility!

However, according to rumors, the people of Bei Qi had fierce customs. The crown prince of Bei Qi was known to be a ruthless and cruel person. If Qu Zhang Qing was not careful and got captured, there was no guarantee on his life.

Qu Zhang Qing and Qu Fei Qing had a deep relationship as siblings, so it was hard to blame Qu Fei Qing for being down after hearing about this news.

Yun Qian Meng put down the fan and pulled Qu Fei Qing hands into hers. Feeling her cold palms, she consoled her by saying, “biaojie shouldn’t think too much about it. biaoge’s martial arts and military tactics are top notch, so it’s natural for the Emperor to entrust him with such a heavy duty. Besides, men have to go out and achieve their ambitions. They can’t be like us women, staying at home and in the courtyard our whole lives. The Emperor certainly chose biaoge for this task because he was sure of his ability; he must be certain that biaoge can accomplish the mission successfully! Since the Empress Dowager hasn’t shown any objections, there is no need for us to have these groundless fears. Otherwise, aren’t we causing more worry for laotaijun and jiumu?”

Yun Qian Meng’s words managed to persuade Qu Fei Qing and make her calm down slightly. After letting out a heavy sigh, she finally smiled and agreed, “You’re right, there is no need to doubt gege’s ability! The Empress Dowager must have just wanted laotaijun not to worry, that’s why she sent her trusted Lan gugu over to break the news!”

Qu Fei Qing’s statement gave Yun Qian Meng a sudden revelation, leading her to whisper, “We should obviously keep this secret close to our stomachs!”

“Greetings to gongzi!” At this moment, they heard the servants outside bow in greeting.

In a minute, they saw Qu Zhang Qing, wearing a light white robe walk in. He looked at his two younger sisters cooling off by the window and said smilingly, “You two sure know how to laze off. Only I was left behind to listen to laotaijun’s nagging at Rui Lin Yuan.”

Yun Qian Meng and Qu Fei Qing couldn’t help but giggle when they heard Qu Zhang Qing who usually never cracked any jokes say something like this. Qu Fei Qing also naughtily replied, “gege should take some more responsibility, that way, Meng’er and I can goof off some more!”

Yun Qian Meng also followed along and said, “biaoge has always spoiled biaojie. Why are you making a fuss about it now?”

Qu Zhang Qing turned to look at Yun Qian Meng. Her pink ice silk dress had water lotus flowers embroidered on the sleeves and collar with golden thread, as well as light green embroidery of lotus leaves. As Yun Qian Meng’s dress slightly flowed along with her movements, it the lotus looked almost lifelike!

And at the moment, Yun Qian Meng’s slanted eyes and light smile made her dimples fairly more pronounced, losing her usual calm and unflustered expression, even adding a slight hint of a young girl’s mischief. Her beauty was so soul-absorbing, that Qu Zhang Qing couldn’t help but burn the scene into his memory.

“Why did you come here now, gege?” Qu Fei Qing asked when she looked outside and realized, from the position of the sun, that it was not yet time for lunch.

“Just passing through, so I just came over to take a look. I was actually going to go back to Chu Yun Pavilion!” Qu Zhang Qing retrieved his gaze from Yun Qian Meng and quickly turned to his sister while answering warmly.

“If that’s the case, gege should stay here and have lunch with us. That way, you don’t have to go back and eat alone!” Qu Fei Qing usually didn’t have many opportunities to spend time with Qu Zhang Qing. Since they were all here now, she naturally didn’t want it to go to waste.

But before Qu Zhang Qing could reply, Mu Chun called from outside, saying, “xiaojie, Mi mama has arrived!”

Yun Qian Meng had a slightly puzzled look in her eyes when she heard Mu Chun’s announcement. Mi mama had already visited once during breakfast. Only two hours had passed since then, why did she come again? She quickly answered, “Quickly, let her come in!”

With the clear, rustling sound of the bead curtains, Mi mama anxiously tushed inside.

“laonu greets biaogongzi, biaoxiaojie, xiaojie!” Mi mama saw them inside and quickly went into a bow.

Her anxiety was quickly noticed by all three of them. Yun Qian Meng had rarely ever seen Mi mama in such a nervous state. She immediately asked, “Did something happen at the xiangfu?”

Mi mama originally planned to tell Yun Qian Meng in secret, but since Yun Qian Meng openly asked her about it in front of the others, she understood that her young miss did not consider them as outsiders. Without stalling further, she stood up and answered, “xiaojie, Hua yiniang had a miscarriage!”

The news made all three of them wrinkle their eyebrows before they returned to their usual expressions. Yun Qian Meng played around with the fan in her hands and lightly asked, “What are laotaitai and father’s instructions?”

“laotaitai is currently hosting a party for si xiaojie with a few other young misses at Bai Shun Tang. When she got the news, she just discretely sent the person away, acting like nothing happened at all! xiangye is still at the Imperial Court, so he might not know about this yet! And when Hua yiniang knew about her miscarriage, she caused a ruckus in Fu Liu Yuan. After that, she even took a sedan over to the entrance of Feng He Yuan and started shouting at Su yiniang from outside! Liu yiniang couldn’t stop her no matter what, so san xiaojie came to laonu to ask da xiaojie to go back and keep things under control!”

Qu Fei Qing couldn’t help but feel angry when she heard this explanation. She pulled Yun Qian Meng’s hands and said, “All of them are being gutless and chicken-hearted! Just because they are scared that xiangye will punish them, they are trying to shirk their responsibilities! Meng’er, you can’t go back! It was so hard for you to enjoy these peaceful days, how can you go back there and suffer through all of that trouble?”

Yun Qian Meng, knowing that Qu Fei Qing was outraged on her behalf, smiled and replied, “Liu yiniang usually doesn’t treat me too badly, always thinking about me and tries to give me the best. This time, if not because she really couldn’t calm Hua yiniang down, she wouldn’t go so far as to ask for my help! Besides, when it happened, I was still here. Even if I go back, I’m just going to ask Hua yiniang to go back to her courtyard. Father definitely won’t blame me too much! biaojie, please don’t worry too much!”

As she said this, Yun Qian Meng stood up and gestured for Mu Chun to help her pack her things, and ready herself to go to Rui Lin Yuan to bid farewell to laotaijun.

“Since I am also going to go back to Chu Yun Pavilion, let us leave together!” Qu Zhang Qing saw that Yun Qian Meng had a resolute expression and understood that there was no use in advising her otherwise.

Yun Qian Meng saw that he was trying to support her and smiled warmly, nodding slightly. When Mu Chun swiftly finished packing her daily goods, Yun Qian Meng spent a few moments bidding her farewell to Qu Fei Qing and left Ting Yu Yuan behind with Qu Zhang Qing.

When they reached Rui Lin Yuan, Gu laotaijun naturally didn’t want to let her go. She pulled at Yun Qian Meng’s hands and said angrily, “xiangfu is that Yun Xuan Zhi’s responsibility. For these two months, while you were sick and resting at Fu Guo gongfu, did he ever come to visit even once? Now that his own backyard is in trouble, he dares to ask you to go back and clean up the mess? Just think, that Hua yiniang is just a concubine, now that she is venting because of her lost child, how can a young lady like you go and stop her? Just be content and stay here for now, let wai zumu take care of this!”

Saying this, laotaijun glanced at the mama by her side for her to snatch away the luggage in Mu Chun’s arms.

But Yun Qian Meng had made up her mind to return to the xiangfu. So, she kneeled in front of laotaijun and hugged her waist, acting like a spoiled child as she said, “Meng’er understands more than anyone else that wai zumu cares for me! But still, Hua yiniang is usually a cautious and prudent person. There’s no way she will start a fight with Su yiniang for no reason! In the end, sunnü is still a di daughter of the xiangfu. Sometimes, I naturally have to lighten the burden for my father!”

While she spoke, Yun Qian Meng tightly grabbed onto laotaijun’s hands, making her look down. Looking at her astute eyes, Gu laotaijun finally managed to wipe away her anger and gradually understood why Yun Qian Meng was so insistent on going back.

“zumu, you should let Meng’er go back and take a look! Otherwise, they might say that the eldest miss didn’t care at all even when a yiniang had a miscarriage. That won’t be good for Meng’er’s reputation!” At this moment, Qu Zhang Qing suddenly voiced his opinion, leading Yun Qian Meng to finally understand why he had followed her along to Rui Lin Yuan.

laotaijun took a look at the scorching sun outside, but could only reluctantly say, “If that’s the case, at least let Zhang Qing send you back. If there are any difficulties, you must send someone to report back to me. Don’t try to take it on by yourself!”

Feeling laotaijun’s genuine affection for her, Yun Qian Meng smiled and nodded before standing up, bowing to laotaijun and leaving the room.

Outside Rui Lin Yuan, Qu Zhang Qing went ahead to prepare the carriage while Yun Qian Meng led Mu Chun and Mi mama out to the main yard. When they passed by the garden, the flowers were all in full blossom. Without much wind, the place was suffused with the fresh fragrance of flowers.

However, the artificial smell of cosmetic powder suddenly floated over, carrying a thick, heavy fragrance. Yun Qian Meng couldn’t help but frown as she turned to look at the other side of sidewalk with her clear eyes.

There, she saw Qu Yan’s eldest daughter, Qu Jing Qing. She was wearing a flowing, bright red dress, with countless peony flowers embroidered on the skirt with orange thread. Her hair was put up high and adorned with eight golden butterfly buyao pins, their jade-inlaid flower ornaments dangling as she swayed about. Her bright and vivid appearance created a somewhat arrogant and overbearing atmosphere.

Behind her, she had four maids as well as two older mama, displaying her status as a rich young lady.

Now, seeing each other, Qu Jing Qing looked at Yun Qian Meng’s plain makeup and turned to share a mocking smile with her servants. Before she even came close, she started saying, “Isn’t this Meng’er biaomei? Your servant seems to be carrying some luggage, are you going back to the xiangfu already? Well of course, no matter how goof Fu Guo gongfu is, it still isn’t biaomei’s home! If even a proper young miss of Fu Guo gongfu like myself has to live elsewhere, there’s no way an outsider has enough face to stay here any longer!”

Yun Qian Meng heard the mockery in Qu Jing Qing’s words but did not get angry at all. Instead, she smiled and returned a greeting, “Qian Meng greets er biaojie! But I don’t understand. If er biaojie has already moved out of the fu, why did you appear in this garden? Qian Meng just came out from Rui Lin Yuan and Ting Yu Xuan, but didn’t hear a word about er biaojie’s visit!”

Qu Jing Qing did not expect Yun Qian Meng to have such a sharp tongue. She thought that she had gained the upper hand by striking first, but with just a simple question, Yun Qian Meng turned it around and pointed out that she was not welcome at Fu Guo gongfu!

But because Qu Jing Qing’s parents were people that often dealt with money, she was used to being calculative since she was young. Naturally, she wasn’t going to anger easily over Yun Qian Meng’s provocation.

After she listened to Yun Qian Meng’s rebuttal, she gradually calmed down the anger in her heart and smiled coldly, answering, “Of course I came to visit laotaijun! Even though I’ve moved out, my filial piety isn’t something mere distance can interfere with! biaomei shouldn’t criticize my filial regard for laotaijun. Remember biaomei, while you were here at Fu Guo gongfu for over two months, you didn’t even go back to the xiangfu to pay respects to the old madam! This kind of unfilial behavior will definitely be looked down on by the public if they knew about it!”

Hearing this, Yun Qian Meng laughed slightly. Her laughter sounded as pleasant as pearls on a plate, resounding throughout the winding corridors of the pavilion.

After laughing, Yun Qian Meng slowly stopped right in front of Qu Jing Qing and said slowly and unhurriedly, “biaojie should know that I was sick for a while. wai zumu felt pity for me and let me stay here to recover. All of this, zumu knew and even sent people to visit me. She also didn’t blame Meng’er for lacking in manners over this time. But biaojie really makes other people laugh. After not coming to visit for over ten years, you even came here in such a formal dress. If you parade around town like this, are you not worried that other people will misunderstand your current status with that of the past?”

Qu Jing Qing heard this from Yun Qian Meng and felt like she knew something she should not. Her eyes immediately put on a guarded expression as she bitterly asked, “What does biaomei mean? I am a young miss of Fu Guo gongfu, and I will always be one! The way biaomei keeps beating around the bush is really making me, the biaojie, feel confused!”

Watching her put on an ignorant act, Yun Qian Meng only smiled without replying. She had Mu Chun and Mi mama bow lightly before they all passed by Qu Jing Qing to leave.

But Qu Jing Qing wasn’t quite ready to let her go. She moved sideways to block Yun Qian Meng’s path and asked again, with a dangerous expression, “There are some things that biaomei needs to say clearly!”

Yun Qian Meng’s lips curled into a smile at her fierce expression. Hiding a secretive look in her eyes, she kindly replied in a low voice, “Third uncle has been running to Chen wangfu a lot lately, even brining biaojie along. I’m sure you’ve already met Yuan De taifei niangniang quite a few times!”

Finishing, Yun Qian Meng didn’t say more and just smiled lightly and left the yard past Qu Jing Qing.

Hearing this statement from Yun Qian Meng, Qu Jing Qing suddenly turned around and glared treacherously at Yun Qian Meng’s back, staying in her position for quite a long time.

“I told you to obediently take a sedan, but you just won’t listen. How about it, you must be tired after walking so far!” At this moment, Qu Zhang Qing had already finished preparing the carriage and was standing by the side, waiting for Yun Qian Meng.

Yun Qian Meng only smiled in reply and explained the situation in a rather good mood. “In the middle of the road, we came across a barking dog that delayed us for a bit. Sorry for making biaoge wait so long!”

As the eldest young master of Fu Guo gongfu, Qu Zhang Qing was naturally privy to everything that went on. Just now, he didn’t come out and lend his aid to Yun Qian Meng because, on one hand, he trusted that Qu Jing Qing was no match for Yun Qian Meng, and, on the other, he firmly believed that Qu Jing Qing did not have the guts to make mischief inside Fu Guo gongfu just yet.

Still, seeing how good Yun Qian Meng’s mood was, he added, “Since it’s just a mad dog, next time, you should just ignore it.”

Yun Qian Meng lowered her head and smiled, then let Mu Chun help her onto the carriage.

“xiaojie is so amazing, you left that Qu xiaojie completely speechless!” On the carriage, Mu Chun broke out in radiant delight.

Even Mi mama was having fun on the side, saying, “At first, laonu was worried that Mu Chun wouldn’t be able to keep her cool and push down that young lady! I didn’t expect that she was able to stay calm and cool-headed today.”

Hearing this, Mu Chun wrinkled her nose and defended herself, saying, “nubi has followed xiaojie for so long, so of course I understand xiaojie’s thoughts! Even when that er xiaojie speaks aggressively, our xiaojie’s words always poke directly at her weak spots, naturally leaving them speechless! xiaojie, is nubi right about this?”

Yun Qian Meng took a look at her cute face and flashed a knowing smile.

Did Qu Jing Qing really expect no one to notice that she was coming and going from Chen wangfu even if she kept a low profile?

She should remember that even though Chen wangfu was rather big, it was still situated in the capital, closely to all the other official’s homes. And Chen Wang’s status was still extremely honorable, even if Yun Qian Meng’s narrowly avoided marriage with him had caused most of the girls in the capital to give up at the time.

But ever since their engagement was called off, Yuan De taifei naturally started to look for another wife or concubine that would be beneficial for her son’s career. Naturally, all of the young girls in the capital would have their interest rekindled. Every day, at the entrance to Chen wangfu, there would be an innumerable amount of carriages. And all of the officials and their families would pay attention to this, just to prevent other people from being the early bird that catches the worm.

As long as you asked around within the cliques that were around Chen wangfu, you would easily find out which carriages stopped at the main gate, and which families had their sedans going in and out of the side door. Just how did Qu Jing Qing think she could hide anything from anyone?

What’s more, just from her overbearing and arrogant demeanor, it was easy to figure out that her father must have managed to get a promotion. Otherwise, why was Qu Jing Qing showing off at Fu Guo gongfu?

But those were only small matters to Yun Qian Meng. She was currently far more interested in Hua yiniang’s miscarriage. She asked, “mama, Hua yiniang should have already passed through the three month danger period. How could something like this happen?”

Mi mama immediately answered Yun Qian Meng’s question, “This morning, the weather was quite cool, so Hua yiniang brought her servants along to take a walk in the garden. Just coincidentally, Su yiniang also brought Wang mama and her servants along on a walk! When they crossed paths on the cobblestone walkway, Hua yiniang considered that xiangye had been treating her more favorably recently to stand her ground in front of Su yiniang. On the other hand, Su yiniang considered that xiangye had always cared for her over so many years and didn’t want to step aside either. Neither of them were willing to let the other pass! After that, Hua yiniang brought you up and said that you had passed on to her some of the gifts that Rong fu and Chu wangfu had given you a while ago, making Su yiniang so angry that she gave her a slap to the face! That was not all, Hua yiniang was naturally unresolved and both of them started to hit each other! But all of a sudden, someone hit Su yiniang from somewhere, making both her fall into Hua yiniang! As a result, Hua yiniang couldn’t keep her balance and hit her tummy on a flower pot! All of the servants were frozen in shock and panicked to bring Hua yiniang back to Fu Liu Yuan! By the time Liu yiniang managed to get a doctor, the child was already no more! Hua yiniang went crazy and shouted for someone to bring her to Feng He Yuan, where she started shouting and scolding at the people inside! The things she had to say were definitely unpleasant to hear. xiaojie, this kind of woman from a small family really can’t understand how to survive on a grand stage. Just because she was slightly favored, she thought that she could strut around with something precious in her belly. How can she not realize that there are plenty of jealous and bitter people hiding around in the corner?”

Yun Qian Meng listened to Mi mama’s take on the matter and lightly nodded in agreement. She continued, “Hua yiniang is certainly quite foolish, but Su Qing is just too shrewd for something like this! This incident might be someone trying to pin the blame on Su Qing! Did anyone else appear in the fu today?”

Mi mama thought for a while before exclaiming in realization, “Today, Pan Lan returned to the xiangfu to visit Su Qing! Does xiaojie suspect that it was her doing?”

Yun Qian Meng made a mysterious smile and asked instead, “Why shouldn’t we suspect her? The incident before had definitely caused Pan Lan to hate Su Qing to the bone! Even if we don’t talk about that, Pan Lan already had someone she loved, but Su Qing forced her to become a concubine for her brother, Su Yuan. With that kind of disgrace, as well as how long Pan Lan had served Su Qing before, it’s not farfetched for her to be so vicious and merciless. After all, how can she not be familiar with these kinds of dirty tricks?”

Hearing her explanation, Mi mama immediately felt that it was extremely likely!

However, Yun Qian Meng was now quite interested in Liu Han Yu’s attitude at the moment. She continued to question, “When did Liu yiniang receive the news? And when did the doctor arrive at Fu Liu Yuan?”

As Yun Qian Meng’s smile became wider, Mi mama carefully tried to recall all the details before finally answering, “As soon as they started fighting, some maids already went to report the matter, but Liu yiniang only showed up after Hua yiniang was hurt! And it was probably half an hour before a doctor entered Fu Liu Yuan!”

“It seems that she also had some dissatisfaction in her her heart!” After something like this happened, Su Qing will definitely be treated coldly by Yun Xuan Zhi. And Hua yiniang probably wouldn’t receive any favor after this either. In the end, only Liu Han Yu gets all the benefits without even needing to expend a single pawn of her own.

If she didn’t purposely tarry in finding a doctor, perhaps Hua yiniang’s child wouldn’t have been lost so easily.

The carriage steadily journeyed until they reached the gate to the xiangfu. After Yun Qian Meng got off and said goodbye to Qu Zhang Qing, Liu yiniang immediately came over and welcomed her, “da xiaojie, you are finally back! nubi has waited for a long time!”

Yun Qian Meng looked at her worried frown and smilingly said, “What’s troubling Liu yiniang so much? Are the servants not doing their jobs properly?”

Liu yiniang knew that Mi mama would have definitely explained the entire story about Hua yiniang to Yun Qian Meng. And, knowing Yun Qian Meng’s intelligence, she would definitely have figured out everything. Hence, she didn’t hide anything and approached Yun Qian Meng with a whisper, “da xiaojie, nubi was definitely selfish at the moment! But they still have a place in xiangye’s heart. If nubi rushed in headfirst, the only one who loses will be nubi!”

Yun Qian Meng saw that Liu Han Yu was actually telling her the truth through her pained expression and didn’t bother to criticize her harshly. After all, she also knew that Hua yiniang had become more and more brazen recently. If she hadn’t expected that Liu Han Yu wouldn’t dare to do anything to her, Hua yiniang wouldn’t have acted so rampantly in front of Feng He Yuan. Letting out a sigh, Yun Qian Meng just helplessly said, “Fine, let’s go to Feng He Yuan. I also want to see just how crazy Hua yiniang is acting! Oh, that’s right, does father know about this matter yet? When will he be coming back?”

“Butler Zhao is already rushing to the Imperial Court to inform xiangye, so he might be back in about half an hour!” Liu Han Yu was visibly relieved when Yun Qian Meng promised to go over to Feng He Yuan and immediately sent for a sedan to be carried over. Helping her on, they quickly set off towards Feng He Yuan.

However, before they even reached the gate, they could hear a sharp voice shrieking non-stop. Everyone also couldn’t help but frown at the words they heard.

“Stop the sedan!” Yun Qian Meng commanded before Mu Chun immediately helped her off. They stood at the bend looking at the woman shouting towards Feng He Yuan while sitting on a sedan and covered with a thin quilt. She had a hand on her waist and was pointing with the other as she shouted, causing all of the servants who passed by to stop and watch from the sidelines.

As she noticed that more and more people were gathering, the disheveled woman’s shouting became more and more unpleasant, invoking disgusted expressions from everyone there.

Yun Qian Meng saw that Hua yiniang was really being too ridiculous. Even if everyone understood the pain of losing a child, since she had married into the xiangfu, she should know that she couldn’t be so unbridled. She didn’t even think twice before spouting vulgarities, even blurting out insults for all to hear. Not just the young ladies and young maids that haven’t married, even some of the seasoned and elderly maids couldn’t help but blush in embarrassment at her terrible language!

In just a moment, everyone’s sympathy for Hua yiniang gradually transformed into disgust. Some of the servants even started gossiping amongst themselves, saying that someone who could scold and curse so vigorously didn’t seem like a person who just suffered a miscarriage. They even wondered if her prior pregnancy was all just a ruse!

At this moment, the tightly closed gates to Feng He Yuan opened suddenly. Pan Lan, dressed completely like a concubine walked out. When Hua yiniang saw her, she immediately sat up straight, almost pouncing directly at Pan Lan. Fortunately, the servants beside her quickly grabbed onto her tightly and stopped her. Otherwise, there was surely going to be another violent fight!

Pan Lan only looked coldly at Hua yiniang’s exaggerated actions and said dismissively, “Did yiniang take a proper look at your surroundings? Is this the right place for you to cause such a scene? If xiangye knows about this, you should know what serves you right!”

Pan Lan’s voice was not particularly loud, but the people who had gathered to watch the excitement all heard her clearly. Those who had come just to watch Su Qing get embarrassed quickly remembered how important Su Qing was to Yun Xuan Zhi as well as how Su Qing used to handle the fu in the past. Terrified, they dispersed immediately.

When they turned to look back, they realized that the eldest miss was actually watching the entire scene from a short distance away. Trembling in their hearts, they all bowed slightly before running away as if their lives depended on them leaving this no man’s land.

Hua yiniang watched as the people she had managed to gather together with her big display got easily dispersed by just a few words by Pan Lan. Feeling extremely angry, she was just about to flare up when she noticed that Pan Lan was looking behind her and had respectfully bowed, saying, “nubi greets da xiaojie!”

Hearing this, Hua yiniang quickly turned around to see that Yun Qian Meng was leisurely walking over. Her heart tightened for seemingly no reason before she thought to herself that the eldest miss had given her some of the gifts that had come from Rong fu and Chu wangfu. Hence, she started sobbing and said, “nubi greets da xiaojie! da xiaojie must help nubi find justice, help nubi’s dead child find justice!”

Yun Qian Meng saw that she still didn’t understand when to restrain herself and only felt annoyed at her desperate acting. Still, her eyes remained clear as she calmly asked, “What’s the matter that can’t be properly discussed? Did you need to cause such a big scene so that everyone in the fu knows about it before you are satisfied? Also, as servants, do any of you even know how to do your jobs? Your master is still ill, but you let her come out in such a disheveled state, how could you do that? Do you want me to call the middleman and send you all out to find another place to work?”

The servants by Hua yiniang’s side had thought that Yun Qian Meng was easy to bully, and were all looking at the eldest young miss that they heard was sick for two months with mocking smiles, acting haughtily without bowing.

However, with Yun Qian Meng’s direct, severe criticism, they couldn’t help but tremble in terror. When they heard that she was going to call the middleman, they even kneeled down on both knees shamelessly, begging tearfully for Yun Qian Meng not to sell them off from the xiangfu.

After all, even though they only served a concubine, it was more or less the same thing as serving a master. Hua yiniang was also someone who tried hard to rise up in status, and had managed to gain some of xiangye’s favor in just a few months. This allowed them to pass their days rather happily. Besides, saying that they worked in the xiangfu actually gave them some dignity. But if they were sold off, and the other families heard that they were let go from the xiangfu, no one would be interested in hiring them!

With these thoughts, the servants’ sobbing only became louder, even gradually obscuring Hua yiniang’s noise!

At the moment, Hua yiniang was also completely stunned. She had thought that the eldest miss had given her the gifts to curry favor from her. But from what she had seen today, it seemed that Yun Qian Meng didn’t particularly like her at all, otherwise, why would she be scolding her servants?

Like this, Hua yiniang only felt that she was being bullied by everyone in the xiangfu. No longer caring about manners or etiquette, she sat on her sedan and slapped her thighs, sobbing loudly while scolding, “That heartless woman has her own child but was still jealous of mine! Just great, my child has been killed, and she can sleep peacefully now! That bitch should just die! Even if she manages to give birth to her child, it will surely be a retard! I curse her to have a painful death, I curse her to have a stillborn child! da xiaojie, if you help that slut, there won’t be any good……”

“Impudent!” But before Hua yiniang could finish cursing, a fierce shout was heard from the distance.

Yun Qian Meng didn’t even need to turn to look to know that Yun Xuan Zhi had just managed to rush over. Everyone hurriedly bowed to Yun Xuan Zhi with terrified expressions, and Hua yiniang’s expression was, needless to say, extremely colorful. After flipping through the various colors of the rainbow, her face finally decided on a deathly pale white.

“xiangye, nubi……”

Smack! Hua yiniang still wanted to explain, but Yun Xuan Zhi had dashed over to give her a slap. Then, he shouted with a face full of rage, “Are you stupid? You can’t even protect your own child and still dared to curse the eldest miss in front of everyone! Why don’t you take another look at your own status. Do you think that you can blame the eldest miss? benxiang sees that you’ve swallowed the gall of a bear and a leopard! Butler Zhao, get the middleman, banish Hua yiniang away from my xiangfu!”

Hua yiniang was just stunned by Yun Xuan Zhi’s slap, but when she heard him say that he was going to banish her, she immediately rolled off the sedan in a desperate plea for her life, hugging Yun Xuan Zhi’s legs while begging profusely, “xiangye, nubi knows her faults! nubi shouldn’t have been rude to da xiaojie! But nubi is innocent, if Su yiniang didn’t purposely push nubi down, nubi’s child would still be fine! xiangye, please think, nubi’s pregnancy has already passed three months, the child was already stable! It was Su yiniang’s fault, otherwise my baby wouldn’t have died so easily! Please, xiangye, think about how nubi has served you! Please have mercy and don’t banish nubi away from the xiangfu!”

After that, Hua yiniang also crawled over to Yun Qian Meng and kowtowed while begging for mercy. Finally, worried that she would be dragged away by Butler Zhao, she forcefully hugged Yun Qian Meng’s legs and cried, “da xiaojie, nubi must have gone crazy today. Please just treat what nubi said as nonsense and don’t take offense with what nubi did! nubi just lost my child and my heart was in too much pain, that’s why nubi misspoke! Please say a few things to help nubi, don’t let xiangye kick nubi out, nubi will work like an ox and a horse to repay you in my next life!”

Yun Qian Meng saw that she was able to flip around faster than one could flip through the pages of a book and sighed in amazement at just how experienced the women from ancient times were at crying and begging.

However, if Hua yiniang was really banished from the xiangfu now, the only person who gained from it would be Su Qing. Yun Qian Meng lowered her head and looked at Hua yiniang who continued crying pitifully. Seeing that her white skirt was still slightly bloody, she spoke up, saying, “Father, Hua yiniang must not have done it on purpose! If she didn’t lose her mind because of the pain of losing a child, there was no way that she would do something like that! Besides, if she was driven out of the xiangfu at such a state, what will the people say about us? They might say that father is a fickle and uncaring person! We should let her recover before we do anything else. What’s more important now is to find out exactly what happened! Liu yiniang, when something so serious happened, why didn’t you go inform zumu? If she was here, there’s no way that the courtyard would be in such a mess, right?”

Liu Han Yu, suddenly called out for questioning, saw Yun Xuan Zhi glare at her with his knifelike gaze and immediately stepped forward to answer with a small voice, “nubi already sent someone to inform laotaitai, but today, laotaitai and si xiaojie were entertaining a few young misses from other families, so she said that she didn’t have time to take care of this matter! nubi had no choice but to send others to Fu Guo gongfu and the palace to seek help from da xiaojie and xiangye!”

Yun Xuan Zhi was already extremely pissed that he had lost a child because his concubines were fighting for favor. But when he heard Liu Han Yu speak about the old madam’s attitude, he suddenly felt his heart become cold like ice. The mother and son relationship he had with the old madam vanished just as easily as his lost child.

Still, the most important thing to him right now was to find out just how everything had gone down. Yun Xuan Zhi lowered his eyes to glance at Hua yiniang who was now powerlessly crawling on the ground, wrinkling his brows to let the servants help her back to her sedan. Then, he flung his sleeves and burst into Feng He Yuan.

Hua yiniang saw that Yun Qian Meng managed to change Yun Xuan Zhi’s decision with just a few sentences and knew not to be rash any more. She also now knew that she should fear this eldest young miss!

Yun Qian Meng just glanced at Pan Lan who had not spoken since she stood to the side before she followed behind Yun Xuan Zhi and entered Feng He Yuan.

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