Chapter 19
Qi Yu wanted to go home, but going home meant she couldn't avoid the plot. She needed to switch places with Zhao Wanyi at the palace banquet, and then fake her death after arriving at the Pei residence and deceiving Pei Jin.
But so far, no one has mistaken her for Zhao Wanyi, let alone Pei Jin, who is with her day and night.
Qi Yu had no hope that Pei Jin would be blind and unable to notice for dozens of days, so she had to impersonate Zhao Wanyi flawlessly and deceive him in front of Pei Jin.
However, we are still far from that point in the story, so there's no need to rush. But as she looked at Zhao Wanyi, this thought suddenly came to mind.
From now on, she needs to pay more attention to Zhao Wanyi's style of doing things, so as not to ruin things at the last minute.
After changing her clothes, Qi Yu did not leave, but sat down and continued playing.
He would occasionally glance at Zhao Wanyi out of the corner of his eye.
Whether it was her imagination or not, Qi Yu felt that Zhao Wanyi, who came out of the house behind her, had a bitter look on her lips and her eyes were not as bright as before.
Fortunately, after two rounds, Zhao Wanyi's eyes gradually hardened, and she seemed to be thinking about something, her previous bitterness gone.
It was as if he suddenly understood.
Qi Yu quickly stopped thinking and focused her attention back on Zhao Wanyi's behavior.
If she continues to think aimlessly like this, she'll miss today.
Zhao Wanyi was only staying at the estate for three days. She didn't know when she would be able to talk so freely again, so she naturally couldn't waste this great opportunity.
The morning was spent secretly learning from Qi Yu amidst her busy schedule.
She is so different from Zhao Wanyi that such a short time is only enough for her to learn the basics and fool those who don't understand.
Even under these circumstances, Qi Yu still won the most games.
The other two were her palace maids, which was understandable, but why did Zhao Wanyi seem to be feeding her cards as well? Because it wasn't obvious, Qi Yu only had some suspicions.
Of the four of them, Zhao Wanyi lost the most, having played several good cards by mistake.
But Zhao Wanyi was not short of money. Not only was the Zhao family a century-old prominent family with a profound heritage, but the Pei family's wealth was also beyond the reach of others.
It is said that when Pei Jin's mother, Madam Pei, married into the Pei family, she brought a generous dowry, not to mention the Pei family's accumulated wealth over the years.
Now that only Pei Jin remains in the Pei family, Zhao Wanyi, as the sole mistress of the Pei household, reveals her extravagance.
After returning to the main courtyard, Qi Yu did not change her clothes first. Instead, she dismissed the palace servants and stared blankly at the bronze mirror.
She adjusted her expression little by little, slowly refining Zhao Wanyi's demeanor from the smallest details.
After a long while, it finally began to resemble the subject.
But Qi Yu was quite satisfied, after all, there was finally progress, and she had more confidence when the plot unfolded.
In the afternoon, Qi Yu met with a skilled painter who had accompanied Pei Jin up the mountain the previous evening in her study, and asked him to draw the wounds on the bandits' corpses.
After receiving the drawings, Qi Yu carefully compared them.
The guard added, "The bodies were scattered on the ground that day, each with only one fatal wound on the neck. After examining them, Lord Pei said that it was likely that these rebels were drugged with sleeping potion and then found here by another group who killed them."
This is not surprising. The remnants of the rebel king had offended many people, and often they were all killed before the court could even take action.
The king's surname was Qi, and he was the only king of the Great Yan Dynasty with a different surname, hence the title King Qi.
King Qi was over fifty years old, but he began planning and scheming when he was twenty. He spent thirty years laying out his plans, planting spies in the palace, royal residences, aristocratic families, and officials' mansions, and privately raising a large army. He also annexed land from the people under his rule to support his troops with grain.
When the King of Qi was at the height of his power, the court was embroiled in a heated debate over who should be made crown prince. Officials were forming factions and eliminating dissidents. The emperor, being old and powerless, failed to detect the King of Qi's intention to rebel.
Finally, the Prince of Qi colluded with officials at all levels and stormed into the capital, while the emperor and his princes and ministers remained unaware of the gravity of the situation.
Even though Wu Shiyan regained everything and sacrificed the King of Qi to appease the heavens, the spies he left behind were still a major headache, and could launch a surprise attack from the shadows.
Therefore, the powerful families that were targeted hated these people to the core, and the remnants of the rebellion began a life of hiding. But once they showed themselves, it foreshadowed the outbreak of conflict.
During their most active year, Wu Shiyan had to keep a sword by his pillow when he slept.
Qi Yu confirmed that the wounds on the corpse were indeed caused by the hairpin, which meant that Zhao Wanyi had killed all the bandits on the mountain.
Cold and efficient were another impressions Qi Yu had of Zhao Wanyi.
It's likely that after Zhao Wanyi drugged the people and was about to leave, she remembered the previous grudge and killed them to prevent future trouble.
Qi Yu was shocked. After dismissing the guards, she sat in the armchair in the study, holding her forehead, lost in thought.
Until Pei Jiu brought Lan Lan over and asked her if she wanted to roast a goose.
His listless face finally regained its vitality.
It turned out that Lanlan felt ashamed to accept ten taels of silver, since she hadn't done anything wrong, so she caught one of her own goose, hoping that the Empress would eat it.
Qi Yu readily agreed and, along with Pei Jiu, two palace maids, and Lan Lan, arrived at a stove made of mud and straw. She watched as Lan Lan plucked the goose's feathers, cleaned it, stuffed spices into its belly, and hung it in the stove to roast.
Lanlan doesn't use spices when making it herself, but since it's for the Empress, she can use whatever she wants from the kitchen, so she can make it as exquisite as possible.
Qi Yu personally brewed a pot of flower tea, then had someone pick some fruit and made thin pancakes on the side.
Her mood brightened as the aroma of roast goose wafted from the oven.
If Lanlan, who is so young, can kill geese, then it's perfectly normal for Zhao Wanyi to use a knife.
Even a rabbit will bite when cornered. Combined with Pei Jin's words, it shows that Pei Jin was also aware of this, which is why he fabricated another group of people.
If that's the case, why should she be so surprised?
After a while, the aroma of the roast goose grew stronger, and Lanlan nodded with a serious expression: "It's ready."
The palace servants took the roast goose down and brought out a knife for cutting meat.
Qi Yu said, "Cut a portion and send it to Madam Zhao."
The palace maid agreed and began to cut it finely.
Qi Yu's mouth watered at the sight of the food, so she didn't wait for the palace servants to help her. Instead, she picked up a knife, cut off a small piece, and began to taste it herself.
It's a little hot, but it's incredibly fragrant with oil, with a crispy outer layer and tender, smooth meat inside.
She was reluctant to even open her mouth to eat.
After finishing her meal, Qi Yu nodded to Lanlan, "Delicious!"
Lanlan then smiled.
Qi Yu only brought three people, just the right number. The whole roast goose was almost completely consumed by the group, along with fruit, and they also finished the meat wrapped in pancakes.
Afterwards, each of them held a cup to cleanse themselves of the grease.
Qi Yu sat on the recliner and enjoyed the sunset view for a while before returning to the main courtyard.
Shortly after returning to the main courtyard, she received a sachet from Zhao Wanyi, containing a few dried flower petals, as a thank you for the roast goose she had sent.
Qi Yu asked the palace maid Zhao Wanyi what she had been doing that afternoon.
The palace maid replied, "Madam Zhao is tending to the flowers and plants, and the petals inside were personally selected and placed there by Madam Zhao."
Qi Yu lowered her head and put the sachet on her waist.
Inside the palace, Wu Shiyan's cold poison flared up again, forcing him to move back into the Greenhouse Palace, where he had just moved out.
Tian Wenshan kept berating Xiao Cong's secret guards, asking what they were good for. Xiao Cong was speechless, while Meng She continued to skillfully insert needles as usual.
It was cold. Wu Shiyan felt as if his bones were soaking in ice water. The cotton quilt was useless, and the effect of the steaming hot greenhouse was also diminishing.
He felt an overwhelming sense of malice, but his heart skipped a beat when he thought of Qi Yu.
He longed for Qi Yu's warm and delicate skin, wanted to taste her soft lips, and wanted to hold her in his arms to cool her down from the heat of the palace.
He wanted to wipe away her sweat, kiss her forehead, and take her hand inside his shirt.
Just thinking about Qi Yu's slender, delicate hands gently caressing his body fills him with excitement.
Wu Shiyan once thought he liked Zhao Wanyi, but he would never lose his composure like that with Zhao Wanyi. He only felt that such close attention meant he liked her, and therefore felt he had to have her.
Upon closer reflection, however, he hadn't truly given anything; he hadn't even carved a single piece of jade to give away.
But now, he wants Qi Yu to play with him.
He had a genuine desire in his heart and was no longer an ice person devoid of any desire.
This kind of emotion was undoubtedly unfamiliar to Wu Shiyan, but as he thought about it so despicably, he felt much better when his bones started to hurt violently as Meng She pulled out the needles.
On the other side, Qi Yu had a dreamless night.
The next morning, the servant she had sent to the capital to buy birds and poultry returned. Because he had traveled to several places, it had only taken two days.
The servant brought back a parrot.
"Your Majesty, this is not an ordinary parrot, but a clever parrot that can mimic speech."
Which parrot doesn't mimic speech? Qi Yu glanced at it but didn't take it to heart. She originally wanted to buy a beautiful bird, but although this parrot was very beautiful, with its feathers gradually changing from orange-red on its head to dark blue on its tail, bright in color and with a fluffy feel, she was afraid it would disturb Zhao Wanyi.
The parrot, now in its new environment, hopped around, looked at itself, and then exclaimed, "Greetings, Your Majesty! Greetings, Your Majesty!"
The servant chuckled awkwardly and scratched his head.
Qi Yu raised an eyebrow, kept the parrot, taught it to say "Hello, Madam" indoors, and then sent it to Zhao Wanyi.
When Zhao Wanyi saw the parrot, and Qi Yu with a gentle smile next to it, she blinked in confusion.
Qi Yu said, "I heard you like feeding birds, but there are no birds on the estate, which is why it's two days late. If you don't like this parrot, I'll have someone go find another one."
"Greetings, Madam! Greetings, Madam!"
Qi Yu looked at the parrot with admiration.
A smile appeared on Zhao Wanyi's lips: "This humble woman really likes this beautiful little fellow."
Qi Yu handed the cage containing the parrot to Zhao Wanyi, and naturally stayed behind herself.
This afternoon, a carriage from the Pei residence will come to pick up Zhao Wanyi, and Qi Yu plans to take this time to review what she has learned.
Zhao Wanyi was still tending to the flowers and plants, and occasionally feeding the parrot.
The sunlight shone on her, dispelling any trace of her chilly aura.
Qi Yu sat by the window, openly watching her.
Zhao Wanyi noticed Qi Yu's gaze, but only paused for a moment before continuing to tend to the flowers and fill the soil with a hint of indulgence.
A note from the author:
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