Chapter 194 Miss Wei the Second Arrives
In the evening, the death knell tolled in the palace, and Prince Xuan ordered that the emperor had been poisoned by the Crown Prince and Consort Su, and that the Crown Prince and Consort Su had been executed.
Subsequently, King Xuan dispatched a large number of imperial guards to arrest all those associated with the crown prince and imprison them in the imperial prison, seal off their residences, and send all of the old emperor's concubines to temples.
In the imperial court, Princess Ruyi, Prince Qing, Prince Shuo, and the other six princes, along with the court officials, jointly recommended Prince Xuan to ascend the throne. Prince Xuan politely declined for a moment, but gladly agreed. However, he could not ascend the throne immediately; the enthronement ceremony could only be held after the emperor's funeral.
Three days later, Furong returned from outside: "The snow outside is falling heavier and heavier. It's springtime, why is it snowing? I'm covered in mud. I heard that some houses have collapsed under the weight. Miss, what would you like to eat for lunch?"
Liu Ye was lying on her side in bed reading a book, not because she loved studying, but because it was really boring: "You do whatever you want. It's been three days, why hasn't Brother Bai come back yet? What's he busy with in the palace?"
This time it was Furong's turn to tease her: "Miss, you don't need to worry about your Brother Bai. He'll be fine in the palace. Royal funerals are very troublesome, with many formalities. Then comes Prince Xuan's ascension to the throne. Your Brother Bai will be very busy."
Liu Ye sighed and said, "I know all that. What's the situation outside now?"
Furong pouted and said, "As always, the common people don't care who dies or who becomes emperor, and they don't dare to discuss it."
"Miss, I saw several suspicious men at the entrance of the Su family's house. It looks like they're going to go in and steal something."
Liu Ye waved her hand dismissively, "The Su family mansion has already been raided by the authorities, what else could they possibly have? Let them be, we won't interfere."
One month later, an unexpected guest arrived at Liu Ye's house. After serving tea to Miss Wei, Fu Rong stepped back to Liu Ye's side and secretly glanced at Miss Wei out of the corner of her eye. She was none other than Prince Xuan's fiancée.
Miss Wei has an oval face, willow-leaf eyebrows, cherry lips, fair skin, and a few freckles on her face. She doesn't have many hair ornaments; there are only two jade hairpins in her black hair. She wears a black dress, making her look very low-key.
Liu Ye didn't understand why Miss Wei Er had come to her house. She had seen her at Consort Su's banquet, but she didn't know who she was then. So she simply asked, "Miss Wei Er, what brings you here today?"
Miss Wei said cheerfully, "I came to bother Princess Wushuang for no reason. Princess Wushuang is the younger sister of Prince Xuan and the goddaughter of the Empress. According to what we say outside the palace, you are also my sister-in-law. I came here specifically to cultivate a relationship with you. Please call me by my name, Princess. My name is Wei Ziwei. You can just call me Ziwei. That way, it will seem like we are close. Anyway, we will be family sooner or later."
Liu Ye smiled and said, "Ziwei, what a beautiful name..." Ziwei by Daming Lake had a tragic life; after a brief romance with the Emperor, she died after giving birth.
Wei Ziwei said happily, "I also think my name sounds very nice. I also love crape myrtle flowers. My garden is full of crape myrtle flowers, all colors. When they bloom, I will invite the princess to the garden to admire them."
Liu Ye nodded politely, picked up her teacup and took a sip. Now she felt a little scared at the mention of flowers. Was there a corpse buried under her crape myrtle? She put the teacup on the table: "I also have quite a few peonies in my garden. I will invite you to come and admire the flowers then."
Wei Ziwei looked around the room, glanced at Furong, and said in confusion, "The princess's mansion only has one maid? That's too few. I have plenty of maids and servants in my mansion. I'll send some over for you to use."
Liu Ye thought to herself, "I don't want to. The people you sent are all your spies. Do you think I'm stupid?" She said, "Thank you for your kindness, Miss Ziwei, but no need. I just like peace and quiet. I'd be annoyed by having another person. Furong is perfect to serve me. She's very capable; ten people can't compare to her."
Wei Ziwei looked at Furong with a scrutinizing gaze. Furong was quite pretty, and her demeanor was more like that of a mistress than that of the princess. Even the maids were prettier than her, which made her a little jealous. Her words were also a bit sour: "So the princess's maid is named Furong. It's the same flower name as me. Furong flowers are pretty, but they are too difficult to grow. They are delicate, and even if they are grown, their flowering period is short. They are not as easy to care for as crape myrtle flowers, which only need to be pruned every autumn..."
Liu Ye sensed something in her words. Did she know Furong's identity? Logically, that shouldn't be the case. She nodded perfunctorily, "Really? I don't really like growing flowers, so I didn't know."
The murderous intent in Furong's eyes vanished in an instant, as if it had never appeared.
Wei Ziwei smiled, picked up her teacup, took a sip, and put it down, saying casually, "That's right. Next time I come, I'll bring you a pot of hibiscus flowers. What color do you like, Princess?"
Wei Ziwei spent the morning chatting idly. When it was almost lunchtime, she left with her maid. Liu Ye politely invited her to stay for lunch, but she declined.
Liu Ye looked at the pile of gifts on the table: "Unsolicited kindness is always suspicious, isn't it, Furong?"
Furong nodded in agreement, took the gift and unwrapped it: "I think Miss is absolutely right. Wei Ziwei, no, Miss Wei the Second, seems poised and elegant, and her words are generally fine, but I always feel there's something strange about her. Anyway, I don't like her!"
After Furong finished speaking, she added, as if to say something inappropriate, "Miss, please don't misunderstand. I don't like her, not because of Prince Xuan. I just simply don't like her as a person..."
Liu Ye nodded, suppressing a laugh, and took the golden toad from Fu Rong. The toad had two ruby eyes and its body was inlaid with colorful gemstones. It was also quite large, about the size of an adult's palm, and was obviously priceless.
She liked it very much: "What a beautiful golden toad! Wei Furong is quite generous. What kind of official is her father again?"
Furong snorted and said, "His father is Minister Wei, a second-rank official. His annual salary is only a little over 1,000 taels. How could he afford such an expensive golden toad? Besides, it's covered in gems, and the gems in its eyes are so big. Just one gem is worth a thousand taels."
Liu Ye nodded and continued to fiddle with the golden toad in her hand. Fu Rong was right. The rubies in the toad's eyes were indeed quite large, about the size of glass marbles. "You're absolutely right. Open the other gifts too, and let me see what they are."
Soon, Furong opened all the gifts. Wei Ziwei had given more than a dozen gifts in total, and each gift was extremely valuable. Among them, there was a complete set of gemstone headdress, which was the most valuable. In ancient times, a set of jewelry was not a four-piece set.
Liu Ye counted on her fingers, then swallowed hard in shock: "25 pieces? That's way too many! Is Furong's collection of jewelry normal?"
Furong didn't know how to say it: "It's normal in a way, but it's also not normal in a way. The number of pieces in the set is not counted. They can make as many as they want. But such an expensive set of gemstones and gold, and it's made of an extremely rare pink color, is a bit abnormal. With the other gifts and this set of jewelry, it's obvious that Miss Wei is giving you gifts. I just did a mental calculation, and this pile of gifts is worth 100,000 taels of silver..."
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