"Heh~" Wei Shuyao sneered: "Wei Shuwan, are you determined to see me make a fool of myself?"
"What a joke! I saw it when Du Xun came to the Wei family."
"you!"
"Third Miss, we're about to cross the Jinshui River," the coachman's voice suddenly broke the argument between the two people in the carriage. After crossing the Jinshui Bridge was Fengyang Gate, and then the Daye Palace.
Wei Shuyao couldn't care less about arguing with Wei Shuwan anymore. She regained her obedient and charming demeanor, sat up straight, and thought about how to handle her every smile and frown after getting off the carriage.
Wei Shuwan was too lazy to argue with her, and just hoped that she would make a fool of herself today and not embarrass the Wei family too much.
After passing through the palace gate, the carriage traveled a short distance before stopping at its designated stop. Wei Shuwan alighted from the carriage and saw several palace servants waiting there to guide the young ladies from various households who were entering the palace that day.
She handed over her name card, and an auntie politely nodded to her: "Miss Wei, please follow me. To make it easier for everyone to enter the palace today, Her Highness the Imperial Concubine has kindly granted you a sedan chair for the journey."
Wei Shuwan followed her aunt to change to a sedan chair. After she sat in the sedan chair, Wei Shuyao, who was left outside, was dumbfounded. Was she supposed to walk?
Wei Shuyao felt her feet hurt before she even started walking.
Although women in the Great Ye Dynasty did not bind their feet, small feet were still considered beautiful. Therefore, on this occasion, she specially wrapped her feet with silk cloth several times so that she could wear these exquisite and small silk shoes. In a way, she had bound herself with her own hands.
As the sedan chair was being lifted, Wei Shuyao couldn't help but ask, "Excuse me, Aunt, how far is the place where the Imperial Concubine is holding her banquet today?"
The aunt glanced at her and said with a smile, "It's not far. After crossing the long street ahead and turning into the palace alley, passing the Qilin Hall, and then going through the six palace gates, you'll reach the Plum Garden where the Imperial Concubine is holding her banquet. If you walk quickly, it will only take the time it takes to drink two cups of tea."
Wei Shuyao looked stunned, but her aunt didn't care about a mere maid like her. After saying that, she ordered the sedan chair bearers, "Let's go."
Wei Shuyao had no choice but to grit her teeth and follow.
For the first half of the journey, she could barely keep up with the sedan chair, but after turning into a palace alley, the ground was paved with bluestone, which made her already sore feet even more unbearable! Gradually, Wei Shuyao fell more than ten steps behind the sedan chair, but no one paid any attention to her.
Just as Wei Shuyao was walking slower and slower, almost unable to walk any further, she suddenly heard footsteps behind her. Turning around, she saw another sedan chair approaching, so she had no choice but to move aside to avoid it.
The sedan chair that arrived today belonged to the daughter of an official of the fifth rank or above, while she was just a maid. To avoid arousing suspicion, she lowered her head slightly and respectfully escorted the other party over.
However, the sedan chair bearers seemed drunk; despite the wide alley, they insisted on bumping into her! Wei Shuyao was knocked to the ground and rolled twice...
A mocking laugh came from inside the sedan chair, and Wei Shuyao, who was lying on the ground, shuddered and her hair stood on end!
It's Princess Yun'an!
She always remembered that laughter.
Just as Wei Shuyao was worried that the collision wouldn't end the matter, she looked up and saw that the sedan chair hadn't stopped at all and had already gone far away.
It seems that Princess Yun'an came to the palace today with a purpose, and she doesn't have time to deal with me for the time being.
Wei Shuyao felt a sense of relief and tried to get up, leaning against the wall, but her feet were in so much pain! After hesitating for a long time, she finally untied the white silk binding her feet. But after untying her feet, she couldn't put on her silk shoes anymore, so she had to walk in them.
By the time Wei Shuyao slowly made her way to the plum garden, the young ladies from various households had already arrived. She quietly scanned the crowd and finally spotted Wei Shuwan under a plum tree.
Amidst the subtle fragrance and sparse shadows, and the vigorous red plum blossoms, Wei Shuwan, dressed in a simple white dress, sits alone on a stone bench under a tree, neither vying for attention nor competing, yet she herself becomes a beautiful sight.
The noble ladies standing nearby occasionally glanced at them, their expressions complex. In the past, they didn't dislike Wei Shuwan and would chat and laugh with her when they met, but ever since Wei Shuwan offended Princess Yun'an, they dared not openly get close to her.
Although things haven't been peaceful at Prince Jing's residence lately—the second young master has been imprisoned for colluding with bandits, and Princess Jing is seriously ill—their influence still lingers, and no one wants to risk offending them at this time.
While others were reluctant to approach, Sheng Yun didn't care. Upon seeing Wei Shuwan under the tree in the distance, she called out, "Sister Shuwan!" and ran to Wei Shuwan, sitting down on the stone bench next to her.
It was rare to have someone to talk to. After exchanging a few words with Sheng Yun, Sheng Yun asked curiously, "Why don't I see Zi Qiao or Miao Xiang by your side, sister?"
Seeing Wei Shuwan sitting there all alone just now, Sheng Yun felt a little uneasy.
Wei Shuwan smiled helplessly: "I didn't bring the two of them into the palace today."
"And what did Sister Shuwan bring?" Before Sheng Yun could finish speaking, she was interrupted by a voice:
"Wei Shuwan!"
Wei Shuwan and Sheng Yun both turned around and saw Wei Shuyao shuffling over in a disheveled state. Looking down, they saw that her muddy shoes were clearly not on properly and didn't fit properly.
Wei Shuwan roughly guessed what was going on, and turned to ask Sheng Yun, "Ayun, do you have a way to lend her a pair of shoes?"
Wei Shuyao finally got close enough to complain to Wei Shuwan, but when she heard her sister taking the initiative to think of her, she swallowed her complaints for the time being and looked at Sheng Yun with hope.
“Shoes…” Sheng Yun frowned and pondered for a moment, then suddenly had a flash of inspiration: “I’ll go find my brother, the Crown Prince!”
"Your Highness the Crown Prince?" Wei Shuwan couldn't help but laugh out loud: "To alarm the Crown Prince over such a trivial matter is simply absurd."
“But I’m only familiar with the Crown Prince in this palace,” Sheng Yun said with some difficulty, then pointed to the hillside on the west side: “Look, he’s at the shooting range over there, so it won’t be too much trouble.”
Plum Garden faces a lake to the south, and to the west is a small hill made of stone. Halfway up the hill is a small open area where the emperor and several princes practice archery.
Following Sheng Yun's direction, Wei Shuwan looked towards the mountainside. However, due to the higher elevation and the shadows cast by the trees, she could only see a few slender figures moving about.
Indeed, His Majesty and the Imperial Concubine intend to select a consort for the Crown Prince today, so it is only natural that the Crown Prince must be present. Presumably, their every move in this plum garden will be accurately observed by the Crown Prince.
Looking at the noble ladies now, some chasing and playing, others chasing butterflies with fans, it was clear that they had all put in considerable effort. Their commotion was simply a way to attract the Crown Prince's attention, much like the silver bell on Wei Shuyao's head.
Since Sheng Yun didn't feel offended, Wei Shuwan thanked him, saying, "Thank you for your trouble."
Sheng Yun smiled and got up to head towards the shooting range.
On the way here, Wei Shuyao was still worrying about what excuse to use to approach His Highness the Crown Prince. Now that Sheng Yun was asking His Highness for help with his own affairs, she suddenly felt that this was a golden opportunity!
So she said, "Third sister, I'll go and see too," and quickly followed after them in her slippers.
Wei Shuwan sighed softly, thinking to herself that she would eventually have to hit this wall before she could give up.
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