Chongfei Manual

Chapter 53

After Wei Luo wrote down a few words, she placed the note inside an envelope and sealed the envelope with red ink paste. She called Jin Lu to her side, “Deliver this letter to a servant girl from the western courtyard, then have her give it to Li Xiang.”

After Wei Luo said this, she thought about it again and repeatedly warned Jin Lu, “Actually, don’t personally send the letter. Borrow one of Yu Rong’s personal servant girls. Tell her that I don’t have enough servants here and ask her to send the letter. After you hand the letter to Yu Rong’s personal servant girl, don’t do anything else. Just come back here.”

She had a good relationship with Liang Yu Rong and it was only servant girl, so she was sure that Liang Yu Rong would definitely lend her one.

Even if Liang Yu Rong knew her plan, she was sure that she wouldn’t do anything without first asking her why. They had a mutual understanding and affection from many years of being as close as sisters.

Jin Lu nodded her to show her agreement, turned around, and left the room.

After Li Xiang received the letter, her first reaction would be to ask which servant girl had delivered the letter. If she found out that it was Wei Luo’s servant girl, she would definitely think something was wrong and wouldn’t fall for her trap. However, it wouldn’t be the same if Liang Yu Rong’s servant girl delivered the letter. That letter was written with Liang Yu’s handwriting. It wouldn’t be convenient for Liang Yu to send her a letter, so it would be justifiable for him to have his younger sister’s personal servant girl deliver a letter for him.

It would still be okay if this didn’t fool Li Xiang. She had other methods she could try during the banquet.

A short time later, Jin Lu returned to Wei Luo’s room and reassured her that she had properly finished her task.

——-

At western courtyard, Li Xiang was sitting on a rosewood couch and leaning against a bright red pillow that was embroidered with flowers. She took the envelope that her servant girl her had brought her, opened the envelope with curiosity, and read the letter.

The writer of the letter invited her to meet him by the rear courtyard’s lakeside after the banquet. Marquis Ping Yuan’s heir, Liang Yu, signed the letter. She was extremely surprised. She couldn’t help but think about the young man she had seen during the day. She hadn’t been able to get rid of the image of his elegant and yingwu (valiant) figure from her mind.

In the letter, Liang Yu wrote that he admired her beauty. She didn’t feel the slightest amount of suspicious about this part. Li Xiang had confidence in her appearance. She had inherited Elder Princess Gao Yang’s beauty. Her skin was as milky as cream and her teeth were white and straight. She had received a lot of praise and approval since she was a child about her appearance. So, she wasn’t surprised that Liang Yu could fall in love with her at first sight.

But, for him to send her a letter without careful consideration, wasn’t this too abrupt? As it turns out, did he also notice her when she was looking at him with interest?

Li Xiang carefully thought about this. Just in case someone was trying to trick her, she called the servant girl that had brought her the letter to ask, “Who gave you this letter? Where is that person?”

The servant girl in front her respectfully and cautiously said, “To respond to Miss, it was delivered by a servant girl that had been assigned to Marquis Ping Yuan’s daughter. That person has already left.”

Hearing these words, was this letter really from Liang Yu?

He didn’t want to reveal this secret, so he used his younger sister’s servant girl to fool other people? This wasn’t impossible.

Li Xiang pursed her lips, and then she showed a clear and obvious smile. This Liang Yu could be considered to have good eyesight. He had only seen her once and had known to write “as beautiful as a celestial immortal” to describe her. It seemed that he wasn’t a warrior that only knew martial arts.

She folded the note and put it into her sleeve. As for whether or not she would go, she would have to see… After all, she didn’t know Liang Yu. What if he was only playing a trick on her? She had to wait and see. She would decide after the banquet.

——-

The sun was setting in the west. The sunset glow was multi-colored and gorgeous.

The banquet had already started in the front courtyard. The men were sitting in the receiving room. It was arranged for the women to have their dinner at the reception pavilion.

It was slightly cold at the top of the mountain. Wei Luo had put on a beizi (a type of outer robe) embroidered with begonia flowers and twining branches. She was walking to the reception pavilion with Liang Yu Rong.

On the way there, Wei Luo said to Liang Yu Rong, “I heard that older brother Liang Yu had successfully hunted a deer and two rabbits today. When I recently asked Chang Hong, he said he wasn’t able to catch anything.”

Liang Yu Rong nodded. She was quite proud as she said, “My older brother has been practicing archery for about seven or eight years since he was child. This naturally wouldn’t be difficult for him.”

Wei Luo smiled and asked, “Could Chang Hong ask older brother Liang Yu for advice? He won’t be able to learn much from one night, but it would be possible for older brother Liang Yu to pass on some of his experiences. If Chang Hong can’t even hunt a rabbit this time, he’ll feel really bad when we return home tomorrow.”

Liang Yu Rong straightforwardly agreed, “Of course, he can! I’ll send someone to ask my older brother right now. After the banquet is over, I’ll have him teach Chang Hong.”

Ah Luo’s eyes were curved as she said, “That would be great! How about they directly go to the rear courtyard’s lakeside? That area is big and would be a good place to shoot arrows without worrying about hurting anyone.”

Anywhere would have been fine. Liang Yu Rong didn’t have any problems with that spot. She immediately had a servant girl go to the receiving room to tell Liang Yu to go the rear courtyard’s lakeside after the banquet to share with Wei Chang Hong his hunting experiences.

After Wei Luo repeatedly thanked her, they reached the reception pavilion.

Many people were already in the reception pavilion when they arrived. In addition to Li Xiang, there were also Gao Dan Yang and Gao Qing Yang. The young women were cheerfully talking with each other and gathered in groups of twos and threes. The scene was quite lively.

When Li Xiang saw Wei Luo, she quietly snorted and turned her head around without greeting her.

Contrary to expectations, Gao Dan Yang walked forward with a smile to link her arm with Wei Luo’s. With a warm and friendly attitude, she led Wei Luo to an eight-treasure couch to sit, “Come here to sit, younger sister Ah Luo. You two have come too late. All the other seating areas are full. Put up with sitting here for a little while until the banquet begins.”

This level of fondness made Wei Luo feel overwhelmed by favor from a superior. She blinked and asked, “Older sister Gao?”

Gao Dang Yang was wearing a sky blue crepe jacket, an olive green crepe skirt, and a beautiful moon white cloak. She was the oldest woman at this gather. Twenty years old was the age when a woman was her most beautiful. This was the age when a woman’s ignorance and immaturity had faded away and her charm and innocence were harmoniously blended together, and she was as perfect as nature.

She seemed to not mind her age. Gao Dang Yang’s smile was appropriate for the occasion as she said, “I’ve met you a few times before, but I’ve never had the chance to talk to with you. I’m finally able to sit down and have a conversation with you. When I think about it, this opportunity wasn’t easy.”

Wei Luo pursed her lips. Her smiling expression was just right, “Older sister Gao is too polite. I didn’t expect that you would still remember me.”

Gao Dan Yang personally poured a cup of tea and placed the teacup in front of Wei Luo. Hearing Wei Luo’s words, she sighed with sorrow and said, “How could I not remember you? The first time that I met you was in the palace. Older cousin Jing wanted to give you the kittens that I had given him. I was furious at that time and almost had a quarrel with older brother Jing.”

Wei Luo held the teacup. She only smiled without saying anything.

A moment later, she slowly asked, “What about those three kittens? Are they still there?”

Gao Dan Yang glanced at her and unhappily said, “They’ve been gone for a long time. They all died the following year.”

Wei Luo regretfully and sympathetically said, “Oh. What a pity.”

The two of them continued their perfunctory conversation. Most of it was Gao Dan Yang speaking and Wei Luo listening. Wei Luo wasn’t familiar with her and they didn’t have any common interests. So, she only politely accompanied her. During the past few years, Han-shi had done an excellent job in teaching her, so Wei Luo’s face didn’t reveal the slightest impatience. Instead, it seemed like she was earnestly listening to Gao Dan Yang’s words.

Actually, Wei Luo clearly understood that Gao Dan Yang didn’t like her. This type of feeling didn’t need to be confirmed. It was completely dependent on a woman’s intuition.

From the time that she mentioned those three kittens, Wei Luo became aware of the hostility that Gao Dan Yang felt towards her.

As for the reason behind this hostility… for now, she didn’t know why.

Soon, the banquet started. Wei Luo stood up and said her good-bye to Gao Dan Yang, “Yu Rong is waiting for me. If older sister Gao has other things to say, let’s talk when we see each other on another day. Today, I’ll have to excuse myself first.”

Gao Dan Yang smiled and generously said, “Young sister Ah Luo can go. Let’s talk another day.”

Wei Luo turned around and left. Gao Dan Yang sat on the eight-treasure couch and looked at Wei Luo’s back as she left. Gao Dan Yang’s smile was gradually put away. She sunk into contemplation and didn’t move for a long time.

During the banquet, Liang Yu Rong and Wei Zheng were sitting to the left and right side of Wei Luo respectively. Li Xiang was sitting to the right of Wei Zheng.

Li Xiang had been somewhat uneasy this entire time. She would frequently give her personal servant girl a meaningful look to have her go outside to check on the situation. That servant girl would constantly leave and return to whisper a few words into her ear. It seemed that she hadn’t found out anything. Otherwise, Li Xiang’s facial expression wouldn’t become more and more ugly.

Wei Luo supported her cheek with her hand. There was a smile on her lips as she pretended to not see Li Xiang’s actions. She picked up a piece of shark fin with her chopsticks to place on Liang Yu Rong’s plate and deliberately asked, “Jin Lu just told me that Chang Hong didn’t see older brother Liang Yu. Where did older brother Liang Yu go?”

Liang Yu Rong paused and asked without thinking, “Didn’t my older brother go to the rear courtyard’s lakeside?”

Chang Hong really did want to consult and ask Liang Yu for advice. But, he didn’t mention going to the rear courtyard’s lakeside. Wei Luo had made up this entire story and she acted out her next part well. With a confused expression on her face, she asked, “He went to the backyard?”

Liang Yu Rong nodded. She thought that Wei Luo didn’t believe her and prepared to call out to a servant girl to look for her older brother, “I’ll have someone look for him…”

Wei Luo quickly stopped her, “It’s fine. It’s not that urgent. Let’s talk about it after we finish eating. It’ll be fine to let Chang Hong wait for a bit.”

Liang Yu Rong could only sit back down, but she felt confused. She had clearly asked her servant girl to go and speak with her older brother. Why didn’t he go?

On the side, Li Xiang heard their conversation. Her heart was fluttering and she wasn’t in the mood to continue eating. She only sat there eating the food without tasting it. After half a cup of tea, she finally stood up and said her good-byes to the nearby people, “I’m already full. I’m going to leave earlier. Sisters, enjoy your meal.”

After she said this, she turned around and left.

Behind her, Wei Luo slowly revealed her smile. Her craftiness was hidden in her smile.

Not even a moment later, Liang Yu Rong couldn’t resist having a servant girl go and ask around about Liang Yu’s location. The servant girl quickly returned and said that Liang Yu was currently eating dinner in the reception room and hadn’t gone to the rear courtyard’s lakeside.

Liang Yu Rong was a little bit angry and said to Wei Lui, “My older brother went back on his word…”

Wei Luo didn’t mind at all. She smiled and said, “It’s fine. Perhaps, he was stopped at the banquet. Older brother Liang Yu shouldn’t be blamed. But, I’m worried that Chang Hong might still be waiting in the rear courtyard’s lakeside. I’ll go over there to look.”

Liang Yu Rong nodded and asked out of worry, “It’s dark out. Want me to go with you?”

Wei Luo said, “No need. It’ll be fine if I go there with Jin Lu. If I haven’t returned in an hour, you can bring people to look for me.”

Jin He Villa covered an enormous area. A large distance separated the rear courtyard from the front courtyard. It would take thirty minutes to go from one place to the other. It was already night now and it was quiet everywhere. It would be really scary to walk on the path alone.

The more that Wei Luo walked, the farther she was. She soon arrived at the rear courtyard’s lakeside. She stopped behind a banyan tree. The moon was covered with clouds and only faintly illuminated the lakeside. There was a person standing there. It was Li Xiang.

Of course, Liang Yu wouldn’t have come here at this time. When he arrived at the receiving room, he would met Chang Hong and asked him about his request to go the rear courtyard after the banquet. And, Chang Hong would have told him that he hadn’t made this request. He and Chang Hong wouldn’t be suspicious. They would only think that they were acting unnecessarily and dismiss this matter. Wei Luo’s ultimate goal was only to lead Li Xiang here.

Not far away from Wei Luo, Li Xiang had been waiting at the lakeside without seeing Liang Yu’s figure. She walked back and forth twice. Her eyebrows showed a trace of impatience as she looked forward. Didn’t they say that Liang Yu would be at the rear courtyard? Why was there no one here when she came? Could he have already left after waiting for a while?

The servant girl at her side indignantly said, “Miss, could Marquis Ping Yuan’s heir be tricking you? We waited here for so long and he still hasn’t come.”

Worried that there was something wrong, Li Xiang resolutely said to her servant girl, “I’m not going to continue waiting. Let’s go back. If anyone asks, just say that I happened to pass by here while I walking around.

The servant girl hurriedly nodded.

The two of them were just about to leave when they heard a soft and delicate voice from behind them say, “To walk all the way here just for a stroll, younger sister Li Xiang is really in a leisurely mood. My eyes have been opened to a broader world view.”

Li Xiang suddenly stopped and turned around to look, “Who’s there?”

The limestone-paved lane was illuminated with lanterns that were on stone pillars. The lanterns only illuminated one side. Wei Luo came out from the shadows. Behind her, there was a gentle glimmer of light. Her eyes smiled as she slowly said, “Of course, it’s me. Who else did younger sister Li Xiang think it was?”

Li Xiang’s face became ugly from anger. She coldly asked, “Why are you here? Did you follow me?”

Wei Luo didn’t answer. She walked towards her, “Is it important whether or not I followed you? Right now, isn’t the important issue who you’re waiting for?

She had deliberately avoided everyone on the way here. No one should have discovered her here. How did Wei Luo know? Or could it be that she had known from the beginning?

As expected, Wei Luo stopped and slowly smiled as if she just realized something. Wei Luo looked at her and asked, “Let me guess, are you waiting for older brother Liang Yu?”

Li Xiang gritted her teeth.

Wei Luo’s pink lips slight curved up as she slowly asked, “Did I guess right?”

Li Xiang fiercly glared at her and wished that she could stab two holes into Wei Luo’s body, “Did you write that letter?”

Wei Luo put her arms behind her back. Her tone was relaxed as she casually admitted, “Does it matter if I was the one who wrote the letter? Do you have evidence?”

Wei Luo wasn’t afraid of Li Xiang telling anyone about the contents of the letter, much less showing the letter to anyone else. Because, at that time, even if it was proven that she wrote the letter, only Li Xiang’s reputation would be damaged and not hers. Li Xiang had already eaten this grievance that couldn’t be spoken of the moment she came to the rear courtyard.

As expected, Li Xiang gritted her teeth and didn’t say anything.

Wei Luo held back her laughter. From her peripheral vision, she saw a glimpse of faint light that wasn’t far away. She walked a few steps forward to Li Xiang’s side. She leaned close to her ear and whispered, “You probably have that letter with you, right? What would happen if someone finds that letter? I wonder how sensational it would be if news went out that Prince Ru Yang’s daughter was privately meeting with a man at night.”

Li Xiang was finally at the end of her patience. She raised her hand and fiercely pushed her, “You wretched girl*.”

* (Note: Li Xiang says slut, but she’s intending it as the archaic meaning of immoral woman instead of modern meaning of sexually promiscuous woman.)

Although Li Xiang had pushed very hard, Wei Luo had prepared in advance and could have stayed standing if she wanted. Instead, Wei Luo intentionally staggered two steps back and fell to the ground!

Li Xiang raised her hand and was about to viciously slap down, “Despicable!”

The people that weren’t far away had finally arrived and saw this scene by chance. Liang Yu Rong wasn’t the only person that had come. A sapphire blue-robed figure quickly rushed forward, stopped Li Xiang’s hand from slapping Wei Luo, and reprimanded, “Stop!”

Wei Luo looked up. It was actually Li Song illuminated by the lantern’s light.

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