6 Cherry Forest
◎Which girl can catch his eye◎
"Don't be afraid of Miss Wei laughing at you. Yu'er's family has fallen on hard times, and her relatives have passed away. I had no choice but to come to Beijing alone to seek refuge with distant relatives."
"But my aunt wasn't too happy about it and wanted to find someone to marry me off to. I just happened to hear about Master Yan's reputation, so I found an excuse to invite him to the boat."
"Yu'er really didn't know that Young Master Yan was already engaged. My selfish thoughts caused you to misunderstand him, and it almost..."
Liu Yu'er wanted to say something but stopped herself, with a look of guilt on her face.
"I was shocked and terrified at the time, hiding in the cabin and not daring to come out. This incident has left me feeling uneasy, and I've been thinking that I owe Miss Wei an explanation and an apology."
As she said that, Liu Yu'er stood up and was about to bow and apologize, but Wei Ziyan quickly stood up to stop her.
"No, no, just explain it clearly."
How could she have the nerve to ask others to apologize for the play she had acted in?
What's more, Liu Yu'er has her own difficulties.
Wei Ziyan sympathized with her situation and persuaded her to sit down. She asked with concern, "Miss Liu, do you have any relatives at home?"
Liu Yuer shook her head gently, and the sadness on her face became more intense.
Seeing such a young girl living under someone else's roof, dependent on others and at their mercy, Wei Ziyan felt even more pity for her.
"It's fate that I met Miss Liu. If there's anything I can help you with, please feel free to tell me."
She really wanted to help. Liu Yuer raised her almond-shaped eyes, and a gleam of light flashed in them.
"Thank you, Miss Wei! I'm a newcomer and I'm fortunate to have made friends with you. I'm grateful for your support. Yu'er is already very satisfied."
The self-pity in her words was not self-pitying, which was more measured than her rash offer of help.
Wei Ziyan curled her lips awkwardly: "Then let's be friends and take care of each other in the future, okay?"
"I couldn't ask for more!" Liu Yu'er agreed cheerfully.
After a few conversations about the past, the two happily turned to talking about flowers, and unexpectedly had a great time talking to each other.
After leaving the teahouse, they went to the flower market. Wei Ziyan, under the pretext of giving Liu Yu'er new clothes as a gift, selected dozens of pots of flowers and sent them to Liu's residence. She was reluctant to leave and urged Liu Yu'er to visit the Wei residence another day to see the flower garden she had tended.
Hearing this, Liu Yu'er suggested, "I heard there's a cherry blossom forest outside Beijing. It should be in bloom soon. Why don't we go there together someday to enjoy the flowers?"
"That's wonderful!" Wei Ziyan loves going out for an outing and appreciating flowers the most.
But in the past, being with the daughters of wealthy families who couldn't get along with each other was really not fun. This time was different. She and Liu Yu'er felt like a kindred spirit, as if they could have a good time talking about anything.
On the way back home, Wei Ziyan was already looking forward to her cherry blossom date with Liu Yu'er. Qiu Luo was very puzzled: "This Miss Liu has intentions towards Master Yan, does the young lady mind?"
"Why do you mind? It's not like I really have feelings for you."
Didn’t Liu Yuer explain it all? Since she already knew that he had a fiancée, she would never have any delusions about him.
"Miss, do you believe anything she says?"
Qiu Luo pouted, and Wei Ziyan felt amused.
Even if I can't trust Liu Yu'er, I can always trust Yan Qizhen.
Just as Madam Yan said, her son was of upright character and would never do anything sneaky or dishonest. If he liked someone, he would definitely do it openly and honestly.
He said he has no interest in anyone, so it's useless for you to pester him.
It was like she had been performing a one-man show for two years, but Yan Qizheng was still cold and ruthless to her.
Having said that, I didn't expect that such an unromantic person would have such a wide reputation that even a foreign girl who had just arrived knew him.
Wei Ziyan couldn't help but click her lips as Yan Qizhen's arrogant and aloof look appeared in her mind.
I wonder which girl will be able to catch his cold eyes and melt his hard heart...
Wei Tingshuang, frustrated at the flower market, hadn't spoken to her brother for days. This day, at a tea party for the young ladies, she couldn't help but pour out her frustrations privately with a close friend.
"Tell me, what brother wouldn't stand up for his sister? This really piss me off!"
After hearing what happened, her sisters were a little suspicious: "Could it be that your brother is... interested in that Miss Wei?"
Wei Tingshuang was startled.
"Impossible! My brother has never had any contact with her."
"It must be because of Yan Qizheng's face that he doesn't want me and that person to get into an awkward situation." Wei Tingshuang guessed. After all, they all worked under the Crown Prince.
The sisters were surprised: "Isn't Master Yan about to cancel the engagement?"
"Then it hasn't been solved yet!" Wei Tingshuang became more depressed when he said this.
"Forget it, let's not talk about these bad things..."
The topic changed direction, and Miss Wu Er, who was a few steps behind the two of them, quietly left.
The second young lady, named Guan Shu, was the fifteen-year-old sister of Wu Guanyi. She overheard some gossip and, upon returning home, could not help but seek out her brother to verify its truth.
"How should I know?" Wu Guanyi was puzzled. "Wei Tingzhou is usually a taciturn person. Who knows what he's up to?"
"So will Young Master Yan cancel the engagement or not?" the little girl asked.
"Retreat."
Wu Guanyi has been busy with the new recruits in the training camp recently and has no time to ask about his friends. I only remember saying this last time.
"Hey," he finally realized something was wrong and asked his sister, "Did you just say Miss Wei was visiting the flower market?"
"Yes! Then the two Miss Wei (Wei) bumped into each other to grab the flowers, and when Wei Tingzhou arrived..."
"Okay, okay, I understand." Wu Guanyi raised his hand to stop his sister from repeating herself, feeling puzzled.
It seems that Miss Wei has recovered from her illness for quite some time, but that gentleman hasn't gone to the Wei Mansion to cancel the engagement yet?
Two days later, Wu Guanyi went to the palace for something and went to the East Palace on the way. He slipped some benefits into the hands of the eunuch and wanted to secretly call Yan Qizhen out.
Unexpectedly, he came up empty-handed. The eunuch came out a moment later and replied, "Captain Yan is not in the palace at the moment. He is away on business for His Highness."
"Where are you going to do business?"
"I don't know, and I don't dare to ask."
It is indeed inconvenient to inquire about the prince's affairs.
Wu Guanyi had no choice but to thank the eunuch and leave the palace.
Where did Yan Qizheng go? To the eastern suburbs of Liangjing City.
There is a large cherry blossom forest on the top of a hill over there. It gradually blooms from mid-March every year, and it is a good time to enjoy the flowers until the end of the month.
At that time, the whole mountain is covered with cherry blossoms in full bloom, creating a breathtaking beauty. Not only the common people love it, but sometimes the royal family and nobles will also come here to enjoy the flowers when they feel like it.
Normally, when they come, countless guards will surround the cherry blossom forest so densely that no one can get through, and ordinary people will be blocked at the foot of the mountain and unable to enter.
However, in recent years, Liangjing has become increasingly prosperous and the world has been peaceful, and royal relatives and nobles will occasionally dress simply and keep a low profile when traveling.
A few days ago, the Crown Princess suddenly wanted to go to see the cherry blossoms, but she didn't want to disturb the people too much. So the Crown Prince ordered Yan Qizheng to take people to clear the road in advance and deploy secret guards.
On the day when he was going to accompany the Crown Princess, the Crown Prince did not make a big fuss by bringing many guards to block the roads and mountains. He only sent a guard team to accompany the carriage.
On March 20th, the midday sun was exceptionally warm and bright.
Outside the city gate, on the path leading to the eastern suburbs, two fine horses galloped along. The two young men on horseback were handsome, elegant, and graceful. They were none other than Wei Ziyan and Liu Yuer, women disguised as men.
Since the outing was in the eastern suburbs, Wei Ziyan and Liu Yuer decided to ride there alone because they didn't want the maids and servants and the carriage to be delayed all the way.
Fearing that it would be inconvenient to wear women's clothes, Liu Yu'er suggested dressing up as a young master, and Wei Ziyan applauded in agreement.
But because she was worried that her parents would not allow her to go out without permission, Wei Ziyan did not tell them when she went out to keep the appointment, and repeatedly reminded Qiu Luo not to let anything out.
Qiu Luo had been with the young lady for many years, and while he wanted to keep her secret, he was also worried about her safety. After hesitating for a long time, he finally confessed the truth in response to a casual question from Madam Wei.
When Mrs. Wei woke up in the morning, her eyelids kept twitching. When she heard that her daughter had gone to the suburbs alone, she was really scared. She immediately ordered people to ride at full speed to the eastern suburbs to find the young lady.
So, more than a dozen family guards followed in a row...
It’s a beautiful spring day today. Under the blue sky and white clouds, snow-like cherry blossoms are spread all over the mountains.
With such rare weather for an outing, there should have been many tourists. However, after Wei Ziyan and Liu Yu'er entered the mountain path, they saw no one.
This is strange!
For the past two years, the two groups of people coming down the mountain and those going up have almost become one. The cherry trees are filled with people, noisy and chaotic, making it difficult to appreciate the flowers. Could it be that they were lucky today and came when there were fewer people?
Wei Ziyan was secretly wondering in her heart, and she walked side by side with Liu Yuer, going up the mountain slowly and leisurely.
The soft sunlight fell through the gaps in the dense shade of the trees, illuminating the disguised Liu Yu'er, reminding Wei Ziyan of a word: gentle and smooth as jade.
He is dressed in black men's clothes, with his hair tied up in a high bun and a leisurely and elegant posture. How can he not be a handsome young man?
"Miss Liu, do you have any brothers? If so, they should look very similar to Miss Liu right now." She spoke hastily, but she realized her rashness the moment the words came out. How could she mention her relatives to Miss Liu?
Even if there is, it should be...
Sure enough, Liu Yu'er turned her head and wore a slightly wry smile on her face: "It happened once."
Wei Ziyan felt sorry and apologized quickly.
"I shouldn't have mentioned that."
Liu Yu'er didn't care much and leisurely took the initiative to talk about family matters: "I have two brothers. One is strict, the other dotes on me. They both love me very much."
"Every time they come back from an outing, they bring me lots of interesting little gadgets. My parents passed away early, and my two brothers are like my father and mother..."
As she spoke, Liu Yu'er's eyes turned red and she choked with sobs: "It's a pity that I have a bad fate. Now I don't even have a brother..."
"Miss Liu..." Wei Ziyan felt that Liu Yuer's life experience was even more pitiful.
Although she has lost her brother, her parents are still alive and she still has a warm home.
"Miss Liu, if you don't mind, would you like to become my sister?"
Not knowing how to comfort an orphan of her age, Wei Ziyan could only think of this clumsy method.
Hearing this, Liu Yu'er tilted her head and looked at her with a faint smile: "Miss Wei is innocent and kind, Yu'er is not worthy of her."
"What do you mean by 'matched'?" Wei Ziyan was a little unhappy. "We get along well and I like you. Unless, you don't like someone as reckless as me and don't want to make friends with me."
Liu Yu'er curled her lips again and said, "When I saw you about to jump into the river for Master Yan that day, I knew you were a foolish girl."
"Why are you talking about that for no reason?" Wei Ziyan curled the corners of her mouth downwards, and her good mood was immediately dampened.
I acted foolishly that day and later felt that I was extremely stupid.
In frustration, the other party gave me a piece of advice: "Don't be too hasty to be nice to someone."
What does she think of Yan Qizhen?
"I'm not being nice to him either, I, I..."
Wei Ziyan stammered, hesitating on how to finish her words, when suddenly a loud roar came from the depths of the forest on the mountain: "Protect His Royal Highness the Crown Prince—"
This sound was like a bolt from the blue, and Wei Ziyan was suddenly startled!
No one would assassinate the prince in broad daylight, right?
Damn it!!
Wouldn't they just run into the assassin if they went up now?
"What should I do?" Wei Ziyan's face suddenly showed panic.
Liu Yu'er was obviously shocked as well, but she was much calmer than her. After a moment's hesitation, she spoke in an unusually calm voice, "Let's go."
After saying this, he raised his whip and galloped forward.
Wei Ziyan: "..."
They were halfway up the mountain. Shouldn't "walk quickly" mean turning around and running away? Why were they running up the mountain?
Or was it that Liu Yuer was so frightened that she even ran in the wrong direction?
"Miss Liu——"
Wei Ziyan stared anxiously, not caring about it anymore. She quickly squeezed her legs together, spurred her horse and chased after him...
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