Chapter 18
Afterwards, Qi Yu instructed the craftsmen to begin making hairpins. After reviewing the hairpin designs presented by the palace servants, she selected several and made a few modifications based on her impression of Zhao Wanyi before giving her instructions.
That afternoon, Qi Yu spent her time dealing with this matter and inquiring about what Zhao Wanyi liked.
Zhao Wanyi rarely leaves the Pei residence, and Wu Shiyan had said that Zhao Wanyi and Pei Jin were almost inseparable outside the palace. It would be fine if the couple were more affectionate, but what I saw today was not the case.
Since Zhao Wanyi was staying at the estate, she naturally wanted to fulfill her duties as a hostess.
After subtly inquiring about the matter, the palace maids serving in Zhao Wanyi's courtyard ran over and told Qi Yu.
Qi Yu heard from the palace servants that Zhao Wanyi enjoyed admiring flowers and playing with birds at the Pei residence, so she ordered the gardeners to transplant the rare and exotic plants from the estate to Zhao Wanyi's courtyard.
There are no birds in the village.
At most, sparrows might pass by and try to peck at the grain, but they would be chased away by the servants.
Qi Yu sent someone to the capital to search for birds and fowl, regardless of price, and to buy them back.
After finishing all this and having dinner, she rested.
On the other side, Zhao Wanyi looked through the window at the fresh soil under the moonlight in the courtyard, where flowers were in full bloom, their branches stretching out in the moonlight, creating a unique tranquility.
This is the thought and effort Qi Yu put into her.
However, she seems to be this kind to everyone.
When the palace servants jokingly asked her about her preferences, she guessed that it was Qi Yu's order. So she instinctively asked the palace servants for information and learned that Qi Yu treated Princess Yunping no worse than she did. She gave Wu Shiyun the rarest horses in the world and even taught her to ride horses, which she loved.
So much so that Wu Shiyun would go to the estate almost every day to pester Qi Yu, and his enthusiasm was so great that it made those who knew the princess feel uneasy.
Royals are cold-hearted, and Wu Shiyun is no exception. However, she is used to presenting herself as gentle and dignified, which makes people think that she is easy to climb the social ladder.
In fact, Princess Yunping's coldness is exactly the same as Wu Shiyan's.
Suppressing the various distracting thoughts in her mind, Zhao Wanyi finally began to ponder how to see the birthmark on Qi Yu's body.
The birthmark, about the size of a fingernail, is on the right shoulder blade and can be seen when the clothes are slightly removed.
There are many ways to get someone to change their clothes...
If Qi Yu really were her younger sister, she wouldn't know what to do. She would try every means to push Qi Yu far away, hoping that she could remain carefree and undisturbed as she is now.
That night, Zhao Wanyi stood by the window for a long time.
The next day, while feeding the fish, Qi Yu listened to the palace servants talk about what was happening on the estate, and watched the koi splashing water as they fought for the food.
At this moment, a palace maid from Zhao Wanyi's side came over and said, "Your Highness, Madam Zhao said that she has nothing to do today and would like to invite Your Highness to play mahjong in her courtyard."
Qi Yu paused in her movements. Although she knew that mahjong had already spread from the palace, it was only circulating in a small circle to pass the time and had not yet caused a stir in the capital. She did not expect that Zhao Wanyi would know about it.
Having not played for a while, Qi Yu was immediately tempted when she heard the invitation.
She coughed lightly and said, "I'll go and have some fun with Madam Zhao."
She happened to have brought a mahjong set with her when she left the palace, just in case she was bored at the estate.
But during her days at the manor, she found it interesting all the time, completely forgetting about mahjong, and she didn't even think of it when Wu Shiyun came.
Qi Yu had the palace servants bring the mahjong set, while she went ahead to Zhao Wanyi's courtyard.
When I arrived, the scene in the courtyard was very different from yesterday morning. The courtyard was full of beautiful flowers, and in addition to the original path, there was a small path for watering.
Inside the room, Zhao Wanyi had already arranged for tea and refreshments to be prepared.
When she saw Qi Yu, she smiled and said, "This humble woman knew Your Majesty would come."
Then Yingying bowed.
Qi Yu couldn't help but feel her face burning. Was she really that playful in Zhao Wanyi's eyes?
Qi Yu held Zhao Wanyi's hand and said, "I will certainly not refuse your invitation, Madam."
Because their hands were lightly touching, Zhao Wanyi sat down next to Qi Yu after she sat down.
Mahjong requires four players.
Qi Yu realized that Wu Shiyun hadn't come since Zhao Wanyi arrived at the estate, and she knew that Wu Shiyun was deliberately avoiding situations where she and Zhao Wanyi appeared at the same time. So she didn't insist on having someone call Wu Shiyun, but instead had two palace maids who knew how to play mahjong sit down.
They agreed beforehand that if they won, it would be on them; if they lost, it would be on her.
She couldn't have a palace maid accompany her, as that would only lighten her own purse.
Soon, with the clatter of mahjong tiles and the gentle calling of the palace maids, Qi Yu became completely engrossed.
Fortunately, she hadn't thought of this beforehand; otherwise, staying on the estate would have been just a way to escape the summer heat, and she would have missed out on the things that were truly worth seeing and doing.
Time slipped through her fingers. Suddenly, as Zhao Wanyi raised her hand to pick up the tea, her wrist went awry, and the teacup tipped over, spilling all the tea inside.
Most of the tea spilled on Zhao Wanyi herself, her clothes were wet and covered in tea stains, her hands were also wet and water was still dripping down.
How embarrassing!
Qi Yu was sitting to Zhao Wanyi's right, and having just drawn a good card, she was focused and naturally had no guard up.
As a result, some of her clothes were splashed with water.
But this was strong tea, and even just a portion of it left a brown mark and a lingering tea aroma.
Lin Qi, who was on the roof beam, did notice, but she only saw Zhao Wanyi accidentally spill tea on herself, so she naturally had no reason to make a move.
By the time he realized that Qi Yu had been implicated, it was too late. He could only continue to squat on the roof beam, regretting his dereliction of duty.
Zhao Wanyi's bodyguards were also in the room with her.
The bodyguard's name was Wei Si. He arrived at the manor last night, and Lin Qi only discovered him after noticing the presence of outsiders.
Since they were both secret guards trained by His Majesty, Lin Qi didn't bother with them anymore.
As for Wei Si, he was only instructed to record Zhao Wanyi's daily life and protect her when she was in danger. However, Wei Si did not know what to do in this situation. Since the incident happened in an instant, he did not have time to think it through. Seeing that something had already happened, he could only pretend to be dead.
Zhao Wanyi lowered her eyes and froze, as if she had been startled.
But if you look into her eyes now, you will find a calmness in them, and she is not at all surprised that the tea has been overturned.
Qi Yu was surprisingly calm at this moment. She quickly snapped out of the joy of getting good cards and, with a hint of regret, went to check on Zhao Wanyi's condition, regardless of the tea stains still on her clothes.
Qi Yu said, "Too much water was spilled, and our clothes are soaked. Pei Jiu, go get a handkerchief."
Zhao Wanyi seemed to only then come to her senses, and her face became embarrassed.
But the handkerchief couldn't clean it properly. After trying twice, Zhao Wanyi stopped bothering the palace servants and got up to change her clothes.
Pei Jiu wiped the water stains off Qi Yu's body: "Your Majesty, although there are few places on your clothes that were spilled with tea, there are still some marks."
Qi Yu said nonchalantly, "I'll just go back and change."
Pei Jiu frowned; she didn't want the Empress to be disrespectful in any way.
Just then, Zhao Wanyi, having changed her clothes, came out of the room and said, "Your Majesty, I have another set of new clothes here. Why don't you change into them first, and then take a bath and change again when we get back?"
She earnestly added, "I made a mistake and ended up soiling Your Majesty's clothes."
The two women were of similar build, and Qi Yu could also wear Zhao Wanyi's clothes.
Pei Jiu also joined Zhao Wanyi in persuading them.
It takes a quarter of an hour for a palace maid to go to the main courtyard to fetch clothes and back. It would be a dereliction of duty for a noble concubine to have to wear clothes stained with tea for an extra quarter of an hour.
Qi Yu didn't really think there was anything wrong with it, but she couldn't stand Pei Jiu's increasingly pitiful look, so she sighed slightly and said, "I'll go change my clothes."
She got up and walked into the house.
Pei Jiu then cleared her brow of gloom, went to get her clothes from Zhao Wanyi, and then followed her.
Upon entering the room, Qi Yu first glanced around, and just as she was about to step behind the screen, she saw a hairpin placed in front of the bronze mirror. It was the hairpin that Zhao Wanyi had worn yesterday. She walked closer, and before she could react, she had already picked up the hairpin in her hand.
She originally wanted to touch the sharp end of the hairpin to see if it could pierce someone.
To his surprise, the hairpin felt unusually heavy in his hand, like iron.
A subtle premonition rose in Qi Yu's heart.
She examined the hairpin closely. The hairpin was entirely brass-colored, with four petals on the head and a small bud in the center. Its overall appearance was simple and antique.
Qi Yu touched the petals on the hairpin, her fingers finally stopping on a petal with dark patterns. After rubbing it for a moment, she pressed it down hard.
With a soft click, a slender knife suddenly popped out from the end of the hairpin. It was shorter and thinner than the hairpin, but its sharpness was undeniable.
With a light slash, it seems capable of cutting through the skin; if the angle is right, a fatal blow is not difficult to achieve.
Qi Yu's gaze froze for a moment, but she did not disturb Lin Qi. She restored the hairpin to its original position and then walked behind the screen.
She needs to calm down.
Pei Jiu and a palace maid entered to help Qi Yu change her clothes.
Qi Yu was absent-mindedly thinking about what had just happened.
She naturally didn't notice the jade pendant on the wooden table beside her. If she had glanced at it, she would have recognized that it was the one Zhao Wanyi had just worn.
The clothes were very complicated to put on, at least for Qi Yu.
Therefore, when Zhao Wanyi approached, Qi Yu just barely lifted her shirt, and her thin, slender, white back, as white as a handful of snow, slid past Zhao Wanyi's eyes.
In an instant, Zhao Wanyi's once calm eyes seemed to freeze, then shattered, and her heart plummeted to the bottom.
She felt cold all over and slowly began to tremble.
There's nothing on Qi Yu's right scapula, how is that possible?
She was bewildered and at a loss, and only belatedly lowered her head.
In fact, back in the palace that day, when Qi Yu heard Pei Jin mention this matter without any reaction, she should have thought of the worst possible outcome.
But Qi Yu's behavior was so much like her younger sister in her memory that she lost her composure and had to verify it.
Now that the result is in, it's hard to accept.
Qi Yu turned around and saw Zhao Wanyi. Her eyes darkened, filled with complex emotions.
Normally, it wouldn't be unusual for the wife of an official in the capital to have a hidden weapon to save her life, but the fact that so many corpses had died on the mountain at this time made it hard for her not to make connections to this matter.
"What are you doing here?" Qi Yu asked, rubbing her forehead in exasperation.
Zhao Wanyi kept her head down, looking lost yet trying to remain calm, her voice hoarse: "This humble woman forgot to take her jade pendant."
Qi Yu then noticed the jade pendant placed beside her, and seeing her like this, she did not suspect anything.
Pei Jiu picked up the jade pendant and handed it to Zhao Wanyi.
Zhao Wanyi then looked up. She had already suppressed the redness in her eyes when she looked down. Apart from her slightly abnormal voice, she was no different from the dignified Madam Pei she had been in the outer room.
Qi Yu and Zhao Wanyi locked eyes. Zhao Wanyi looked away first, and Qi Yu's gaze returned to herself before turning back to Zhao Wanyi.
After a few times, she suddenly realized that when she changed into Zhao Wanyi's elegant style of clothing, she looked very much like Zhao Wanyi!
They look alike, but at this moment, the resemblance makes it even easier to mistake her for Zhao Wanyi.
If you adjust your expression and get a little closer to the target... even Pei Jiu might not be able to recognize you.
It was as if the door to a new world was slowly opening in front of Qi Yu.
A note from the author:
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