Chapter 342 Wei Wu
The Wei family is large, and this small courtyard only appears quiet on the surface. In reality, separated by a thin courtyard wall, everything outside can be heard clearly.
Qi Yuxuan didn't care how Aunt Meng dealt with the Wei family; she was only staying temporarily and didn't need to get involved in these intrigues.
After having lunch, she took a nap in the afternoon and is now reviewing the remaining dowry list after it has been recounted.
Most of these items came from the national treasury, while the rest were given by the eldest princess and the crown prince. There were so many items that the rare ones couldn't all be stored in the small courtyards, and the larger items were piled up at the Wei family's carriage area. They planned to leave in four days without having to spend time packing them.
Qi Yuxuan looked around at the temporary carriages and horses, thought for a moment, and then called Lanxin over.
"Is anyone guarding the dowry at the carriage and horse storage area right now?"
Lan Xin immediately nodded: "Yes, don't worry, Princess. The guards for the marriage are in small teams of five, taking turns watching over the dowry day and night. They will definitely not let anything happen to the dowry!"
This was after her godmother, Meng Xian, returned in the afternoon and ordered people to prepare for the deployment.
Logically speaking, since this was Wei Changshi's house and the dowry wasn't openly displayed outside the Wei family's residence, how could it attract thieves? However, Meng Xian, having glimpsed the whole picture, discovered many of the Wei family's secrets and decided to be prepared.
Qi Yuxuan was relieved.
In the afternoon, Meng Xian came to deliver the dowry list and told her about the second branch of the Wei family.
Madam Wei the Second was a distant niece of Madam Wei Kang. During one of her visits, she fell in love with Master Wei the Second, who was Madam Wei Kang's youngest son and now held a sinecure in the government office. She was determined to marry him.
At that time, Master Wei already had a wife, but she had been in poor health since giving birth to their eldest son. When she heard that her husband was having an affair with her cousin, she was so angry that she died on the spot.
So, it was only natural that Master Wei married his cousin.
The reputation of remarrying immediately after causing his wife's death was not good. To the outside world, the Wei family claimed that his first wife was too jealous, had no tolerance for others, and had ruined her health so that she could no longer have children for the Wei family, thus committing one of the seven grounds for divorce. The Wei family had always intended to divorce her anyway.
These things were originally kept tightly under wraps, but who is Meng Xian? She is the most reliable and powerful female official by the side of the Princess, so it would be incredibly easy for her to find out these secrets.
Qi Yuxuan listened with great interest, treating it as mere gossip, and at the end even asked Wei Kangshi if she had dealt with her second daughter-in-law.
Meng Xian sneered, "How could that be? She's related to Old Madam Wei's daughter-in-law; they'd be protecting her like crazy."
They put on a good show, saying they would never let any good-for-nothing descendants of their family disturb the princess; but if they did disturb her, they would just smooth things over and get by.
Qi Yuxuan and her maids all realized that it would be difficult to live peacefully in the Wei family for the next few days.
Qi Yuxuan instructed the people around her: "You who are part of the dowry should not use anything from the Wei family. You can buy all the items and food from outside. The money will be deducted from your dowry. If the amount is small, such as a few taels of silver, you can decide for yourselves. If it exceeds ten taels, please ask Aunt Meng for permission. If Aunt Meng feels it is inappropriate, she will explain it to me. Do you understand?"
None of them could refuse.
Having eaten too much at noon, Qi Yuxuan wasn't very hungry for dinner, so she decided to eat later and asked the kitchen staff to start a fire to prepare food for the guards, craftsmen, and maids she had brought.
As the sun gradually set in the west, golden light filled the sky.
She suddenly thought of Qi Jun, wondering how his discussions with the adults in Kuncheng were going.
His left hand has now recovered and he can write with it. Qi Yuxuan wanted to avoid suspicion, and the border war seemed to be improving, so she didn't ask about those things anymore.
She is indeed ambitious, but now she misses the eldest princess and the capital of Qi even more. She wants to leave this place that exhausts her and escape everything related to Yue, Xuanyuanze and Ren Shun.
As she was staring blankly at the sunset, Qin Yuan came in from outside. She smiled and said, "Princess, guess who came to see you?"
Qi Yuxuan was taken aback. In Kuncheng, who else could come to see her?
Immediately afterward, before she could speak, a figure in black appeared at the doorway.
Qi Jun strode in and, seeing her staring at him blankly, playfully flicked the tip of her nose.
"What, you don't recognize me after only half a day?"
Several maids nearby chuckled.
Qi Yuxuan touched the tip of her nose, instinctively avoiding his overly intense gaze:
"No, I'm just surprised. Wasn't my cousin talking about serious business? Has he finished? Why is he at the Wei family's house?"
Qi Jun ruffled her hair, his voice tinged with weariness: "Not yet, but soon. How's the Wei family? Is there anything about this place that you don't like?"
Qi Yuxuan didn't want to talk to him about those unpleasant things, so she nodded and said, "Everything is fine. Cousin, are you going back to the military camp tonight?"
Qi Jun: "No, I'll stay at the Wei family's house tonight, in the front yard."
He tacitly avoided mentioning those unpleasant things, only saying that he would stay for one night and return to the military camp the next day.
Qi Yuxuan: "Cousin, are you hungry right now? Do you want to have dinner?"
Qi Jun shook his head helplessly: "I'm going to have dinner with some officials later. They're waiting for me up ahead. I'll come see you first and then I'll go over."
The two chatted away, while several maids secretly observed them. Seeing the princess showing such a rare expression of affection, how could they not understand?
If nothing unexpected happens, the marriage between the Crown Prince and Princess Chang Le will be put on the agenda after they return to the capital.
A few girls huddled together, giggling. They looked at each other, their tense minds finally finding a brief respite.
After talking for a while, Qi Yuxuan personally saw the person out of the courtyard. After saying goodbye, she still stood at the door, staring at the Crown Prince's departing figure until his back turned around the corner and disappeared completely.
She looked away, neither disappointed nor happy, and prepared to go inside.
"Princess! Princess, please wait!" A shrill female voice suddenly rang out, and Qi Yuxuan turned her head to look.
A young girl in a pink dress, clutching her skirt, ran quickly over, ignoring the maid's attempts to stop her.
She had a delicate and beautiful face, very charming appearance, bright and lively eyes, and an expression that carried a touch of innocent naivety.
"Your Highness!" She ran up to Qi Yuxuan and stopped, still panting.
Qi Yuxuan corrected her: "According to the laws of this dynasty, a princess does not need to address Your Highness. Who are you?"
The young girl replied with a smile, "Alright, Princess, I am Wei Qingqing, the fifth daughter of the second branch of the Wei family. Are you bored staying in the courtyard all the time? Would you like me to keep you company and talk to you to relieve your boredom?"
Qi Yuxuan frowned slightly.
Then she said, "Was that man who just passed by the Crown Prince? He was so handsome and dashing, a perfect match for the Princess!"
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