At noon that day, when the Wei family gathered in the dining hall for lunch as usual, Wei Shuwan noticed the shimmering blood jade bracelet on Cai Die's wrist and couldn't help but ask curiously, "Where did you get this bracelet, sister?"
Although her grandmother would give Wei Ping and her mother some pocket money on weekdays, and Cai Die would use that money to buy some jewelry, a bracelet of this quality was not something she could afford.
The others at the table also looked at Cai Die. Feeling guilty, Cai Die covered the bracelet with her left hand and quietly tucked it into her sleeve, explaining awkwardly, "It was...it was a gift from someone."
"A gift?" Madam Wei, with her sharp eyes, immediately recognized that the gift was quite valuable, not something that could be given out by an ordinary friend. She pressed on, "Who gave it to you?"
"This bracelet must be worth at least a hundred taels of silver. What kind of friend has Sister made?" Wei Shuwan chimed in, stirring up trouble.
When Cai Die asked for the bracelet, she hadn't expected it to be so valuable, which would arouse everyone's suspicion. Unable to explain herself, her face flushed red. Frowning, she slammed her chopsticks down and pushed her bowl and plates forward, exclaiming, "Ouch, my stomach hurts! I need to go to the toilet!"
After saying that, he got up and quickly fled the dining hall.
Her outburst immediately caused everyone else to lose their appetite. Madam Wei put down her chopsticks, gave Wei Ping a look, and said, "I've finished eating. I'm feeling a bit unwell, so I'll go back to my room to rest. Please enjoy your meal."
Wei Zheng, Sun Lurong, and Wei Shuwan, siblings, quickly got up to see the old lady off.
Wei Ping understood that the look in her eyes just now meant that her mother wanted to ask her something in private, so she smiled awkwardly and said, "I'm done eating, you guys continue eating."
Wei Zheng and Sun Lurong exchanged a glance and then looked at Wei Shuwan.
"Could it be that Cai Die already has someone she loves?" Sun Lu Rong guessed. A few days ago, Wei Wen Shi had privately approached her, asking her to help Cai Die keep an eye out for a suitable husband.
“Ordinary friends wouldn’t send such an expensive gift.” Wei Shuwan was also a little suspicious, but she just smiled and said, “Father and Mother, don’t worry. Let her be. Cai Die isn’t the type to suffer losses outside.”
"That's true." Sun Lurong smiled and continued to pick up food with her chopsticks. Now that everyone had left, the family of four returned to their most relaxed state.
Back at Songhe Residence, Madam Wei instructed her daughter, Wei Ping, to inquire with Cai Die. If she truly had someone she was compatible with, they should inform them as soon as possible. It would also be good to have someone investigate the other party beforehand to avoid being deceived. If it was a good family, then they should be engaged sooner rather than later, so that Madam Wei, as the grandmother, could have peace of mind.
That evening, Wei Ping wanted to have an open and honest talk with Cai Die about the matter, but Cai Die's words were evasive, neither admitting nor denying, and she refused to explain the other party's situation in detail. In the end, Wei Ping got nothing out of it.
*
Although Wei Shuwan had been coming to the Prince's Mansion every morning to blend incense for Li Qingchen as promised, she hadn't seen him these past two days. He had to leave the mansion at noon, so she was more comfortable blending incense alone in the quiet room, avoiding the anxiety and distraction that came with him sitting across from her.
Because she had successfully adjusted it once before, this time it went much more smoothly. She only made slight changes based on the previous one and successfully adjusted it.
She placed the prepared mixture in a box and put it on the sandalwood desk where Li Qingchen usually wrote his memorials, intending to leave and not to come back the next day. Unexpectedly, as soon as she turned around after putting the things down, she bumped into someone.
Startled, she took two steps back before leaning against the desk to steady herself. Looking at Li Qingchen, who had appeared without a sound, she complained, "Why did you come back so suddenly? Without making a sound."
Li Qingchen gave a helpless smile: "This should be my home, so it's not surprising that I'm back anytime. As for the lack of movement, martial artists are used to walking lightly."
Although his explanation made a lot of sense, Wei Shuwan still believed that he was deliberately trying to scare her. She pointed somewhat irritably at the box on the desk: "I've done what I promised you."
Li Qingchen stepped forward, took the box of incense, brought it to his nose and smelled it, then took off the sachet from his waist and smelled it again, teasingly saying, "You call yourself a master of perfumery? The little lady went to so much trouble to make these boxes, but they're not as good as the ones I just picked up."
Wei Shuwan couldn't help but sneer, thinking to herself that different professions are like different worlds; if you give someone who doesn't understand incense, even the best incense is just a waste of their time. Although she had been a little perfunctory with the incense she sent this time, she wouldn't believe it was inferior to that of just anyone.
As she was thinking about these things, a faint fragrance wafted to her nose. Wei Shuwan immediately recognized that this was not the fragrance she had just mixed, but rather...
Her gaze involuntarily fell on the sachet in Li Qingchen's hand. "Where did you get this?"
As she spoke, she reached out to grab it, but Li Qingchen raised his arm and easily avoided the height she could reach.
"Didn't I just say I picked it up randomly?"
"This is clearly mine!"
"Yours? Didn't you say it hadn't been transferred out yet?"
Wei Shuwan realized she had fallen into a verbal trap, so she withdrew her arm and stopped trying to snatch it. She made a rough guess in her mind, thinking that Li Qingchen had probably secretly gone back to her courtyard after leaving that day and taken the incense she had thrown away.
Feeling dissatisfied but also embarrassed by having her lie exposed, she glared at Li Qingchen and ran out of Shen Garden.
*
In the past few days, Cai Die has been going to the inn to deliver a letter to Wei Shuyao almost every two days. The first few times she was on time, but later she always dragged her feet and often delivered a letter the day after the day before.
However, some of the things in the letter had a time limit. For example, once Wei Shuyao mentioned Xue's Cake Shop in the east of the city, saying that when she first came to Shengjing, she loved to eat the fruit from his shop. However, as his reputation grew, the shop had become the kitchen outside the mansions of powerful families. Now, he only makes fruit for those famous officials and noble families, and ordinary people can't buy it even if they have money.
Upon hearing this, Du Shao immediately ordered a servant to order two cartons of fruit and pastries from Xue's shop. However, after hearing Wei Shuyao's words that she did not want to publicize their relationship, he did not dare to deliver them directly to her door. Instead, he left a secret signal for Wei Shuyao's maid to pick them up the next day.
Cai Die delivered the letter to Wei Shuyao two days late, so by the time Wei Shuyao sent Cai Zhu to Xue Ji to get the cakes, they were already too cold and hard to eat.
Wei Shuyao was anxious because Cai Die wasn't doing her best, but she didn't want to urge her too directly. So she picked out another ruby dogwood hairpin from the jewelry Du Shao had given her and gave it to Cai Die.
Having received the bribe, the subsequent letters were indeed delivered promptly.
Although Cai Die arrived in time, Du Shao's replies became increasingly frequent, from one letter every two days initially, to one every four or five days later, and now, a full seven days have passed without a single letter in return.
If he doesn't reply, she can't keep sending him letters.
Wei Shuyao started to panic and asked Caizhu to secretly inquire with the maid who had received the bribe last time. The maid, however, pretended to be mysterious and smiled, saying, "Tell your young lady to wait patiently. Good things will come to your door in the next few days!"
After saying this, the maid returned to the mansion without explaining anything further to Caizhu.
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