Chrysanthemum hairpin

Wei Qiao ran to the artificial hill next to the Grand Garden, intending to hurry back to Xuesong Hall, when he bumped into Xi Chun, who was carrying a lantern and heading back to Qingwu Garden.

Xi Chun came here in the middle of the night to look for her pearl chrysanthemum hairpin. She wore that hairpin every day, and after waking up, she remembered that she hadn't taken it out and put it away properly. She reached out to touch it, but found it was gone. Xi Chun immediately turned over, lit a lamp, and searched the entire Qingwu Garden, but still couldn't find it. She remembered seeing Mo Zhi playing in the large garden when she went to get dinner, and since she had taken the path near the rockery to go home with Mo Zhi, she might have left the hairpin on the way.

Carrying a lantern, Xichun carefully searched along the paths she remembered, and finally found the hairpin in the grass beside the artificial hill. Just as she was about to return with the chrysanthemum hairpin in her hand, she ran into Wei Qiao, who looked flustered.

"Uncle, what are you doing here?" Xi Chun was very surprised, not expecting to meet Wei Qiao here in the middle of the night.

As soon as Xichun finished speaking, Wei Qiao saw the flickering flames and noisy voices in the distance. He snatched the lantern from Xichun's hand, blew it out, and threw it into the artificial hill. Before Xichun could protest, he pressed her shoulders down and pinned her against the artificial hill.

Wei Qiao placed one hand on the artificial hill and the other on Xi Chun's shoulder, pulling her into his embrace. Xi Chun was startled by Wei Qiao's sudden action. She tried to push him away but found that she couldn't budge him at all.

Wei Changsong's servant saw the figure by the artificial hill and excitedly shouted to Wei Changsong, who was following behind, "Master, the thief is ahead!" As he spoke, a group of people carrying lanterns ran towards the artificial hill.

Wei Qiao saw that Xi Chun in front of him was still pushing against his chest with her hands, her bright black eyes glaring at him with dissatisfaction and anger.

"You..." Xi Chun couldn't understand what Wei Qiao was going to do. Just as she was about to protest, he sealed her voice with his lips.

The moment Xichun felt the touch on her lips, she froze. She had never done this with any man before. It was something only husband and wife could do. She remembered the stories Wang Mama had told her, the widows who were killed for adultery, and tears welled up in her eyes. She clenched her fists and punched Wei Qiao's shoulder, but Wei Qiao, in pain, grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand into his arms.

Feeling that he was about to catch up with her, Wei Qiao released Xi Chun's lips and whispered in her ear, "Don't talk for a while."

Xi Chun didn't understand what he meant. Just as she was about to speak, Wei Qiao suddenly grabbed her head tightly with his hands.

"Master, master, this is it!" Seven or eight servants surrounded Wei Qiao and Xi Chun.

Hearing the sudden voice, Xichun buried her head in Wei Qiao's chest in fear, her hand trembling uncontrollably as Wei Qiao held it. Sensing her unease, Wei Qiao released Xichun's hand and tightly embraced her waist, shielding her completely from view.

Wei Changsong arrived at the artificial hill, panting, and was about to tell the thieves to surrender when Wei Qiao interrupted him.

"The father is up all night, catching thieves and coming all the way to his son's place?"

Wei Changsong was startled. "Wei Qiao, what are you doing here?" Wei Changsong asked angrily. That wolf cub Wei Qiao always seemed to be going against him. Running into him in the middle of the night while catching a thief was just bad luck.

"Master, there's a maidservant in front of the second young master," Wei Changsong's servant said, approaching him.

Wei Changsong raised his hand and slapped the servant. "I'm not blind."

Wei Qiao chuckled softly, and Xi Chun felt his chest vibrate. He said, "Father, as you can see, I am having a secret rendezvous with someone. If you want to find the thief, you should look elsewhere. Don't frighten the beauty in my arms."

"Wei Qiao, you have utterly disgraced the Wei family!" Wei Changfeng glared at Wei Qiao and then turned to walk towards the front yard.

The servants were still peeking around, trying to see who the maid in Wei Qiao's arms was, and no one noticed that Wei Changsong had left.

"Where is he? He's dead!" Wei Changsong walked ahead alone, without a servant coming to light his lamp.

Hearing Wei Changsong's angry roar, they all turned around and followed in his footsteps.

"Master, should we still look for that thief?" the servant asked.

"I'm not going to look anymore. A mere ledger can't do anything to me. I'm going back to sleep." Besides the evidence of his embezzlement, this ledger also contained evidence of what he had delivered to Prince Cheng's residence. If he just asked Prince Cheng to give him a heads-up, the thief couldn't do anything. Wei Qiao, that wolf cub, didn't marry or take concubines, making him seem like a virtuous man who was indifferent to women. Turns out, he's also someone who seduces maids at home—indeed, he's somewhat like him.

Once Wei Changsong and his group had walked away, Wei Qiao finally let go of Xi Chun's hand. Xi Chun was still trembling in his arms like a frightened rabbit, her warm breath brushing against Wei Qiao's chest. He said gently, "Alright, they're gone."

Upon hearing this, Xi Chun looked up and glanced around to make sure no one was there before pushing him away. Wei Qiao also wisely took a few steps back. Xi Chun's eyes, clearly wet with tears, stared at him intently, and Wei Qiao saw grievance and disappointment in them. He was about to say something to ease the tense atmosphere when Xi Chun slapped him across the face.

Xi Chun had a strong grip and used all her strength, causing Wei Qiao to hiss and grimace in pain. The pain did not subside for quite some time.

"Wei Qiao, I hate you!" Xi Chun never expected Wei Qiao to treat her so lightly; he was clearly a good person who had once helped her. She wiped her tears with her sleeve, then walked past Wei Qiao toward Qingwu Garden.

She had just taken a step when Wei Qiao grabbed her sleeve. She turned around and glared at him, her voice still trembling with tears, "What else do you want to do?"

Wei Qiao walked up to her, tilted his head and saw that Xi Chun was holding a hairpin. Taking advantage of her inattention, he snatched the chrysanthemum hairpin from her hand. Xi Chun was still a little confused, but when she realized that Wei Qiao had taken her hairpin, she glared at him resentfully. Wei Qiao smiled and said, "I've taken this hairpin from you, sister-in-law. I hope you'll keep quiet about what happened tonight."

After speaking, Wei Qiao looked up at the sky, which was a deep blue in the dead of night. He turned and went to the artificial hill, found the lantern, and lit it with his tinderbox. Seeing that Xi Chun looked like she was about to hit him, he quickly took a few steps forward before turning back to Xi Chun and saying, "It's so late, are you planning to spend the night here, sister-in-law?"

Xi Chun stamped her foot and followed, snorting incessantly. When they reached the entrance of Qingwu Garden, Wei Qiao handed the lantern to Xi Chun.

"Uncle, please give me back the hairpin. I swear I won't tell anyone," Xichun pleaded.

Wei Qiao smiled and shook his head. "It's getting late, sister-in-law, you should rest early." Then he turned and left.

Watching his dashing figure disappear into the distance, Xichun was furious and wanted to yell, but she snorted heavily, turned around, and closed the gate of Qingwu Garden. She only had one hairpin, and Wei Qiao had snatched it away! Wei Qiao was truly a scoundrel; you could know a person's face but not their heart.

Back at the palace, Wei Qiao placed Xi Chun's chrysanthemum hairpin into a small box in his study. He then perused the account book, which contained evidence of officials and merchants from various regions bribing Wei Changsong through Zhang Yunyao's shop. It also contained records of Wei Changsong bribing the Prince Cheng's residence by purchasing cheap antiques from Zhang Yunyao's shop at inflated prices. The methods of bribery were the same as those used by the Yangzhou merchants, but the amounts involved were staggering.

Although a single account book cannot bring down King Cheng and Wei Changsong, it can arouse Yan Zhongyou's suspicion. Once the emperor is suspicious, everything becomes easier. Wei Qiao ordered A Gui to secretly deliver the account book to Zhang Zheng's residence. Given Zhang Zheng's temperament, he would surely hand the account book over to Yan Zhongyou truthfully.

As expected, on the second day after A-Gui was placed in Zhang's residence, Zhang Zheng presented the account books to all the officials at the court assembly. Although Prince Cheng and Wei Changsong tried their best to explain that they had been framed, Yan Zhongyou still fined them half a year's salary. Although the fine was small, it reflected Yan Zhongyou's attitude. Privately, when Wei Qiao went to the Yuanhe Hall to accompany the emperor, Yan Zhongyou also told him about his dissatisfaction with the two men.

October arrived in the blink of an eye, and to Wei Qiao's surprise, Xi Chun didn't come to ask him for the hairpin. He once saw her in the small garden after work; she gave him a cold glare and turned away. Sometimes, Wei Qiao would think back to that night, as if he could still smell Xi Chun's hair—a scentless yet pleasant one. Kissing Xi Chun was also his first time; her lips were incredibly soft, a taste he still couldn't forget. Remembering Wei Changsong's words about him disgracing the Wei family, he sometimes thought that if it were with Xi Chun, he wouldn't necessarily refuse.

In early October, news arrived from the northwest: the war was progressing smoothly, the crown prince of Xihai Kingdom had suddenly died, and the Xihai Kingdom was in turmoil. The prime minister, on behalf of the emperor of Xihai Kingdom, was willing to sign a letter of cessation of war. The army would soon return to the capital.

The matter of the chrysanthemum hairpin had been over for a long time, and Xichun had forgotten about it. Her simple attire didn't affect her life, since she couldn't go anywhere anyway. November arrived, and the weather turned bitterly cold. A chilly north wind blew constantly through the capital. Xichun put on a new cotton-padded coat and cloak. These clothes were something Wang Mama had mentioned a few days earlier when Zhang Yunyao was distributing winter clothes to the maids in the mansion. Wang Mama had mentioned that Xichun hadn't had new clothes made for several years, and Zhang Yunyao, in a good mood at the time, had waved for Zhang Mama to bring some old fabric to have some clothes made for Xichun.

The tenth day of the month was the anniversary of Grandpa's death. Xichun took some paper money and incense from the ancestral hall, and when night fell, she went to the crossroads of the small garden to burn paper money for Grandpa when no one was around. As she burned the paper money, Xichun recited Grandpa's name and place of origin. Grandpa had taught her to do the same when burning paper money for Grandma, saying that it was important to say the correct name and place of origin, otherwise the deceased would not receive the paper money burned by their loved ones.

Zhao Yu helped Qing return from shopping at the West Corner Gate. Passing by the small garden, he saw someone burning paper money. He went closer and found it was Xi Chun. Seeing the sadness on Xi Chun's face, he didn't go up to greet her. He only mentioned it casually when he met A Gui at Xue Song Tang.

Ah Gui felt a pang of emotion; his mother's death anniversary had only recently passed. His father had also died young, and his mother had raised him alone by washing clothes for others. When he was eight, his mother also contracted an epidemic and died. The master of the household who often hired his mother to wash clothes had some connections with the steward of the Wei family and introduced him to the Wei family as a servant. He initially cleaned the stables, but later, when the second young master passed the imperial examination at the age of fourteen and found that he didn't even have a servant, the master assigned him to the second young master, and only then did Ah Gui have a home again. Recalling the past, Ah Gui's eyes welled up with tears.

"A-Gui, come in and eat." Fu Qing, who had set out the meal in the small kitchen, noticed that A-Gui looked somewhat sad and quickly invited him to eat.

"Let's go, Brother Gui." Zhao Yu felt that it was his words that made Gui sad, so he grabbed Gui's arm and pulled him into the small kitchen.

Fu Qing had already set out Wei Qiao's meal in the main room, but Wei Qiao had been busy with official business in the study, and the food had gotten cold. Fu Qing then took it to the small kitchen to reheat it. Now, after setting it out in the main room, Fu Qing was about to go to the study to call Wei Qiao for dinner when he saw Wei Qiao come out, but instead of going to the main room, he headed towards the front door.

"Second Young Master, the food is all heated up. Where are you going?" Fu Qing asked loudly.

"I'm going out for a bit," Wei Qiao said, and walked out of the gate of Xuesong Hall.