Chapter 37 Hatred in the Heart
Xie Rongying pondered for a moment: "I want Shangguan Yan's portrait now."
"This is not easy to do." The woman frowned. "The young lady wants it so urgently. Even if I have Shangguan Yan's portrait in the South Tower, I won't be able to find it in a short time."
"Add another thousand taels." Xie Rongying curled her lips and said, "I want Shangguan Yan's portrait in half an hour."
The woman looked at Xie Rongying with a slightly changed expression. She slowly stood up and said, "Please wait here for half an hour, young lady."
"Then I'll have to trouble the manager to hurry up." Xie Rongying said casually.
After hearing this, the woman nodded and walked out of the room.
After arriving at the lobby, the woman waved her hand, and then a tall and strong man walked out from the other end: "Miss Luo, what's the matter?"
"Go to the third row of Room C in Building A, in the early eleventh month of the fourth year of Chengde, and look for a portrait of Shangguan Yan." Luo Jin instructed, "When you find it, wait for me in front of the courtyard of the master of the East Building."
"yes."
After Luo Jin finished speaking, he walked out of the lobby and headed towards the east building.
At this time, in the huge room on the third floor of the East Building.
After Nanny Li came back to report, the room was immersed in a low-pressure atmosphere. Princess Zhaozhen's mood had been getting worse day by day since her birthday. Perhaps it was the backlog of so many years that she couldn't help but secretly return to Bian Jing.
She originally thought that meeting the King of Wei would allow her to see the person she had been thinking about, but she didn't expect that things were not as simple as she thought.
"Your Highness, don't worry. Xie Ting has always been a little willful. He will come to see you when he figures things out." King Wei smiled and comforted him.
Princess Zhaozhen looked towards the King of Wei and said, "It has been hard for you these past few years, trying to get close to him for me."
"Your Highness is too polite. This is what I should do." The young man spoke in a gentle tone, and his handsome face seemed to always be so easy-going.
Princess Zhaozhen was about to continue asking about Xie Ting when she heard a knock on the door. King Wei glanced at the guard in the room, and the guard understood and walked towards the door.
Princess Zhaozhen saw this and asked: "Am I disturbing you?"
"How could that be?" The King of Wei's dark eyes sparkled with a smile. "Your Highness can stay with me for a day or two. I will try to persuade Xie Ting."
"Then I'll trouble you." Princess Zhaozhen said as she stood up. "You have things to take care of, so I'll just stroll around your courtyard first."
"Let me accompany Your Highness." As the King of Wei spoke, he stood up and was about to move.
Zhao Zhen stopped him and said, "Take care of your business first."
Upon seeing this, the King of Wei ordered his guards, “Take His Highness for a walk in the back garden.”
"yes."
After Princess Zhaozhen left the room, Luo Jin walked in and bowed, "Master."
"What's the matter?" The cold light in the King of Wei's slanted phoenix eyes condensed, and he was completely different from the person who had just met the eldest princess. He walked towards the main seat at the other end.
Luo Jin said, "Just now a girl came to the South Tower and said she wanted to buy Shangguan Yan's portrait."
"Shangguan Yan?" The tall silhouette in the dim light revealed arrogance and indifference.
Luo Jin walked forward and waited until King Wei sat down before continuing, "Yes, Shangguan Yan."
——
Half an hour later, Luo Jin brought his men back to the South Tower.
He placed the brocade box containing the scroll in front of Xie Rongying and said, "Miss, I am quite punctual, right?"
Xie Rongying's eyes fell on the brocade box in front of her and she smiled, "It's almost as long as a cup of tea."
"This portrait was painted by my boss himself in the third year of Chengde. At that time, the General of the Cavalry was still in great glory. You can open it and take a look," said Luo Jin.
Xie Rongying looked at Gu Xun standing beside him and said, "No need. I believe that Fenglelou can do such a big business, so it must be honest."
Gu Xun walked forward, placed a stack of banknotes on the table, and then picked up the brocade box.
Xie Rongying also stood up: "I'll take my leave now after paying the bill and handing over the goods."
"Goodbye, young lady." Luo Jin picked up a stack of banknotes with a smile and watched Xie Rongying leave.
Only after Xie Rongying and her servant disappeared did Luo Jin say, "Follow them. Be careful not to get discovered. The man next to that girl is no ordinary man."
"yes."
It was already dark when we returned to the Yongyi Marquis' Mansion.
When Yunniang and Cuizhi saw Xie Rongying coming back, they immediately talked about what happened after Xie Rongying left the mansion.
"Madam and the young marquis have set the date for marrying a concubine, which is at the end of March." Cuizhi stepped forward and said.
Hearing this, Xie Rongying's eyes flashed with surprise, but she looked at Yunniang and said, "Hand this portrait to father tomorrow morning."
Yunniang looked at the brocade box in her hand and said, "Yes."
"Tell father to give this painting to second uncle, and let second uncle go to Longxi in person to secretly investigate the person in the portrait." Xie Rongying's eyes were cold when he said this.
If it was really as she guessed, it would make sense that Qin Jun in his previous life had the ability to fake his death and become a deserter, living a carefree life without fear of returning to Bian Jing.
"Also, tell father not to get angry about Qin Junyi's plan to marry a concubine, and don't go to the Qin family to ask for an explanation. I will find a chance to go back and explain it to him."
"Yes, girl."
Xie Rongying just stood up and was about to walk towards the inner room, but seemed to have thought of something, so she walked out of the main house and headed towards the outer courtyard.
Gu Xun lived in the west wing of the outer courtyard. He was wiping the short knife that had left a reflection when he heard a knock on the door.
"Gu Xun."
When Gu Xun heard that it was Xie Rongying, he immediately stood up.
After opening the door, he looked at the woman standing in front of him and asked, "Master."
"Starting tomorrow, keep an eye on Shangguan Yao in Guixiang and the people around her."
Gu Xun nodded: "I understand."
Late at night, a strong wind suddenly arose.
In the courtyard on the east side of Fengle Tower, the sound of pine leaves rustling in the wind was heard, and a graceful figure walked quickly towards the main house on the dim curved corridor.
Luo Jin came to the main house, looked at Luo Ning who was guarding the door, and asked, "Master, have you not rested yet?"
Luo Ning shook his head.
Luo Jin understood and went forward to knock on the door: "Master, it's me."
"Come in."
Upon hearing this, Luo Jin pushed the door open and walked in.
Looking at the young man's attire behind the desk, Luo Jin knew that her master was waiting for her reply.
"The person who bought Shangguan Yan's portrait was the young lady of the Yongyi Marquis's Mansion." Luo Jin was also confused when he said this.
The King of Wei raised his eyebrows slightly: "Young Lady of the Yongyi Marquis's Mansion?"
Isn’t that Xie Ting’s elder sister?
The King of Wei thought that during the day, Nanny Li who was by Princess Zhaozhen's side only said that Xie Ting met an acquaintance and had something to deal with after she came back, but did not say who it was. It seemed that the acquaintance Xie Ting met during the day was the eldest daughter of the Xie family.
"I'll have someone keep an eye on this young lady." Luo Jin thought that buying a portrait of a traitor would definitely be useful.
The King of Wei asked, "Has Xie Ting returned to the Xie family?"
Luo Jin was stunned and said, "The young master's whereabouts have always been uncertain. I wonder if he has returned to the Xie family."
"Then let your people keep an eye on the Marquis of Yongyi's mansion." The corners of King Wei's lips curved slightly.
"yes."
——
At the end of March, the news that the young marquis of Yongyi Marquisate married a concubine really became a topic of conversation among many people after dinner, just as Jiang had guessed.
However, the public opinion was not that Qin Junyi was so impatient to take a concubine just after getting married.
It was because Xie, the woman Qin Junyi had just married, was possessed by an evil spirit, making it impossible for Xie to have children for the Qin family. Qin Junyi could only marry a woman from a small family as his concubine to help him take care of the rear house.
These news are very credible.
What's worse, there are rumors that Xie has gone mad, and the courtyard where Xie lives is surrounded tightly. The Qin family is afraid that Xie Rongying will come out and do something evil.
The rumors became more and more outrageous, and even on the day when Qin Junyi married Shangguan Yao, people who were close to Qin Junyi started to make jokes in public and invited Taoist priests to go to the Yongyi Marquis's mansion to exorcise evil spirits.
Guixiang is bustling with activity.
Today is the day Shangguan Yao marries into the Yongyi Marquis’s mansion, and red silk fills the sky.
In the main room, Shangguan Yao looked at herself in the bronze mirror, wearing a bright green wedding dress and looking beautiful. She said to Xue Qing beside her, "Are you all ready?"
"Everything is ready, ma'am." Xue Qing said respectfully, "The Taoist priest is from Longxi. He is highly skilled and will surely kill the evil spirit with one blow."
"Killing someone with one strike isn't fun." Shangguan Yao continued to study the figure in the bronze mirror and said with a smile, "It would be best if that woman were despised by everyone and forced into a desperate situation. That would relieve the hatred in my heart."
How dare you compare her with those lowly concubines?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com