Chapter 12 (Revised)
At dusk that day, Wei Xun and his younger brother Wei Zhi had just returned home from studying at Bailu Academy when they received news from the Eastern Palace.
This surprised her. Although Crown Prince Wei Zhen was her distant cousin, the relationship between the two was not very close. They only exchanged a few polite greetings when they met occasionally.
Only after she read the letter written by Wei Zhen did she understand a little bit.
The ladies of the capital were saying that the Crown Prince was a banished immortal, and that no woman in the world could possibly tempt him. But now, in Wei Zhen's view, it wasn't that the banished immortal couldn't tempt mortals, but rather that the woman who could tempt him had yet to appear.
Princess Pingyang has only been in the capital for a short time, but she has already caught the Crown Prince's attention so much that he even asked her to meet Bai Xiaochen.
She didn't believe that Wei Zhen, after all these years in the palace, would be completely unaware of the feud between her and the Anchang Marquis's residence. She couldn't even avoid the Bai family, so how could she give them the chance to get close to her?
However, the prince rarely spoke, so she went to see Bai Xiaochen, even if it was as if the prince owed her a favor.
After Wei Xun made up his mind, he sent someone to secretly pass the message to Bai Xiaochen and arranged the time and place for the meeting.
Speaking of kinship, Wei Yan and Bai Xiaochen are cousins with close blood ties.
Her father, Prince Yu, was the younger brother of the current sage and held the sage's deep trust, a figure unrivaled at court. Her mother, born into the Anchang Marquis' household, was Prince Yu's first consort. Unfortunately, her beauty suffered a tragic fate. The circumstances surrounding Wei Yu's birth were dire, and her health deteriorated steadily thereafter, leading to her death within a year.
At that time, the Prince of Yu's Palace was under the control of Prince of Yu's concubine, Aunt An. As the son of the original wife, Wei Xun suffered a lot at the hands of Aunt An.
But the Anchang Marquis's Mansion seemed to have forgotten that their deceased daughter's flesh and blood still existed in this world, and they ignored Wei Yu. Since his biological mother's death, no one from the Anchang Marquis's Mansion had ever entered the gate of Prince Yu's Mansion again.
But when the current sage ascended the throne and Prince Yu became a popular figure in the court, the Anchang Earl's Mansion took the initiative to re-establish this relationship and was obviously much more enthusiastic about Wei Zhen, their granddaughter.
Back then, when she was tortured to the point of near-death by a concubine in the deep mansion of the prince's palace, she had never met a single person from the Anchang Marquis's residence, nor had she heard a single word of comfort from them. Now, her father had become a figure above all others, the once powerful Concubine An was gone, and the current Princess Yu was a beautiful, kind, and well-mannered woman. The Anchang Marquis's residence had once again come to her, offering their regards and care.
Wei Yan found this behavior ridiculous. In this world, not everyone is a family member just because they are related by blood. Sometimes, it is these relatives who can make one feel even more heartbroken.
But the Anchang Marquis's Mansion was her biological mother's family, and with so many eyes on the Prince of Yu's Mansion throughout the capital, Wei Zhen couldn't act arbitrarily. She just tried to maintain a respectable relationship with the Anchang Marquis's Mansion, but if she was asked to establish any close relationship with the Marquis's Mansion, she would feel extremely nauseous.
Therefore, if there was nothing to do on weekdays, Wei Zhen would never have any deep personal relationship with the people in Anchang Marquis' Mansion, so her invitation also surprised Bai Xiaochen.
However, Bai Xiaochen did not think too much about it. Wei Yan's initiative made him think that his cousin was interested in him. Otherwise, why would she, who had always avoided the Anchang Marquis's Mansion, secretly meet with him in private?
Bai Xiaochen, who had seen too many such private meetings between men and women and the love stories they fell in love with, happily dressed up and went to the appointment. He wore a long robe of azure color with silver auspicious cloud patterns, a jade belt around his waist, a jade hairpin that was all shiny and glossy that tied up his black hair high, and a fox fur coat on the outside, which further highlighted his wealthy and noble status as the second son of the Earl's Mansion.
*
In a private room on the third floor of Yuhe Teahouse, a girl with skin as white as jade and delicate eyes and eyebrows was using a tea needle to pick up the dried and cooled tea cakes into small pieces and pouring them into a grinding mortar, then slowly crushing the small pieces of tea cakes bit by bit.
Her movements were full of flowing beauty. Her bright eyes remained quietly on the objects in her hands as she concentrated on preparing the tea.
When she finished sifting the crushed tea powder and was about to pour it into the red clay tea stove that was already roasted by the flames and was making a tiny gurgling sound, the door of the private room was pushed open and Bai Xiaochen walked in with a cold air.
"Long time no see, cousin."
Bai Xiaochen greeted Wei Yan with a smile.
Wei Yan didn't respond, nor did she even glance at Bai Xiaochen, simply continuing with her own business. Bai Xiaochen felt slightly embarrassed by this attitude, so he sat down across from Wei Yan and watched her movements intently.
Steam rose from the teapot, adding a touch of warmth to the cold winter day. Behind the white mist, the beautiful face of a young girl loomed, like the bright moon half-obscured by clouds in the night sky, or like the lotus flowers hidden in the rain on a summer day, revealing their hazy beauty.
In terms of appearance, Bai Xiaochen felt that this cousin was indeed a beauty, but in terms of temperament, his cousin was not even one-tenth as good as the maid in his room.
His expression was cold, his words were indifferent, his temperament was icy. He was like the white snow on the top of a snowy mountain, looking holy and inviolable.
Which man in the world doesn't like a woman who is as gentle as water and as sweet as a flower? An icy beauty like Wei Zhen should be kept at a distance.
When the boiling tea was like waves, Wei Lu poured the ladle of water he had just scooped out into the teapot to stop the boiling. Then he took the teapot off the stove, scooped out two bowls of clear tea soup, and handed one bowl to Bai Xiaochen.
Bai Xiaochen quickly took the tea bowl and thanked her. He took a sip of the hot tea and praised her, "My cousin's tea-making skills are the best in Beijing."
Listening to Bai Xiaochen's compliments, Wei Yan didn't show a trace of smile on his face, and his expression remained stern.
This lack of reaction was why Bai Xiaochen felt this cousin was so boring. Yet, she was the most distinguished of the imperial ladies in the capital. If he could gain her favor and achieve a happy marriage, both he and the Anchang Marquisate would be blessed with endless wealth and glory.
Thinking of this, Bai Xiaochen felt that he could endure any unhappiness he felt.
"I wonder why my cousin asked me to meet her alone today?"
"I heard that you took Princess Pingyang to Yiheju the day before yesterday?"
The question was asked suddenly. Bai Xiaochen was stunned for a moment and then asked, "How do you know?"
Wei Yan then raised his eyes to look at Bai Xiaochen: "From now on, if there is any news about Princess Pingyang going to Yiheju, I will only blame you."
Bai Xiaochen snorted coldly: "I wasn't the only one who took her there that day, why are you only looking for my faults?"
"It's up to you to figure out how to shut them up."
Wei Xi spoke nonchalantly, the slender tea needle in his hand already sunk deep into the table.
Princess Yukang was a skilled martial artist. She once beat a scoundrel who had teased her in the street, leaving him black and blue. By the time the military officers in charge of maintaining public order arrived, the man had been beaten to death.
Bai Xiaochen swallowed nervously, then looked at Wei Yan with a hint of fear in his eyes. This was a threat, a naked threat!
"One last thing," Wei Zhen said calmly, "regardless of your purpose in approaching Princess Pingyang, from today on, you must remember one thing."
"—stay away from her."
*
It goes without saying which is more important, freedom or her brother. In the end, Chu Miaomiao, with a bitter face, chose to move into the palace with her family.
Although Chu Canglang was surprised by this decision, after weighing the pros and cons, he felt that entering the palace was a good choice. Apart from anything else, the strict access control alone would probably make his sister calm down.
The Chu family then petitioned the sage to allow them to live in the palace, and the sage generously arranged accommodation and servants for them. It just so happened that this palace was only separated from the East Palace by a wall.
Chu Canglang couldn't help but sigh, "Now I'm only separated from the Eastern Palace by a wall. I never thought I'd have such a connection with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. I don't know whether this is good or bad."
"It's a bad fate." Chu Miaomiao sighed.
"Yes, if you hadn't provoked the prince, how could we have the troubles we have today?"
Chu Canglang covered his lips and coughed twice, his face showing an unconcealable fatigue. Chu Miaomiao looked at her brother, her heart filled with guilt and apology.
Before leaving, her mother had specifically instructed her to take good care of her brother, but after arriving in the capital, she was so preoccupied with her own affairs that she neglected to seek a doctor for her brother. The prince was right; she was indeed being thoughtless, forgetting that her own instability would only bring trouble to those she cared about.
Just as the brother and sister were talking, Wei Zhen came in with five or six palace maids carrying several baskets of silver charcoal.
"Your Highness."
The Chu family bowed slightly, and Wei Zhenxu supported them, saying, "The Crown Prince is not well yet, so there's no need for formalities. This palace is separated from the East Palace by only a wall, and my father has specially ordered me to take care of the Crown Prince, his wife, and the princess. The Crown Prince is frail, and I'm afraid he might catch a cold, so I've sent a few extra baskets of silver charcoal. If you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask."
"Thank you, Your Highness, for your concern!"
If Chu Canglang wasn't afraid of being rude and offensive, he would have wanted to shake Wei Zhen's hand and express his gratitude again and again with tears in his eyes. In Pingzhou, Miaomiao had offended His Royal Highness the Crown Prince because of her ignorance, but His Highness had put aside the past grudge and taken such good care of them. How could one not be filled with gratitude?
Chu Miaomiao raised her eyebrows. She didn't expect that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was so considerate.
"Also, I have something I would like to ask Princess Pingyang for help with."
Chu Miaomiao's eyes lit up. Wasn't this a chance to express her sincerity and ask for forgiveness from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?
"Very well, if there is anything I can do, Your Highness, please just give me your orders."
Chu Miaomiao, who was eager to improve Wei Zhen's favorability, didn't hesitate for a moment and agreed without hesitation. She was so eager as if she was afraid that Wei Zhen would change his mind in the next second.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince expressed great satisfaction with Chu Miaomiao's attitude.
"The New Year is approaching, and the entire palace needs to be decorated. However, the closer it gets to the New Year, the more things I have to do, and I'm not able to handle them all myself. So I'd like to ask Princess Pingyang to help decorate the East Palace."
“…”
At this time, Chu Miaomiao regretted agreeing too quickly.
"After all, this is the internal affairs of the Eastern Palace. It's not appropriate for an outsider like me to interfere, right?"
Hearing this, Wei Zhen's face showed a hint of displeasure, and his words became more pointed: "It seems that Princess Pingyang's sincerity is only this good."
This is to remind Chu Miaomiao that he has not forgotten the grudge in Pingzhou. Whether she can make him completely forget the grudge between them depends on her sincerity.
In this case, even though she felt it was inappropriate, Chu Miaomiao still agreed reluctantly.
"But there are some shortcomings, Your Highness, please forgive me."
"Your Highness is being modest. I believe you will not let me down."
"..." Could you please stop flattering her?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
