Because Wei Chengxiu usually prefers quiet, there are not many servants serving him in Yizhu Garden. At this moment, his two personal servants have gone out with him, so the entire Yizhu Garden is very quiet.
A servant was sweeping inside the house, and another was tidying up a dead tree in the courtyard. When they saw Wei Shuwan approaching with her friends, the servant tidying up the dead tree came over and bowed: "Miss, the young master went out early this morning and said he would not be back until noon."
"It's alright, I didn't come to see Ah Xiu. I just brought a friend to see Ah Xiu's tricolor koi. You can go about your business."
The servant agreed and went inside to sweep and clean, so as not to disturb the host's enjoyment of entertaining guests in the courtyard.
Wei Shuwan pointed to the granite fish tank in front of the artificial hill, which was decorated with carvings of sea creatures, and said, "Sister Pan, look, that's the tricolor koi my brother keeps."
Pan Wenjun walked over excitedly and sure enough, he saw three plump koi swimming freely in the huge fish tank. Two of them were bright red, which was the most festive color, and one, just as Wei Shuwan had said, was a rare variety with black, white and red colors.
The northern region is arid and has a harsh climate, so fish species are particularly rare, especially ornamental fish like these. Pan Wenjun was immediately delighted with these few koi carp and praised them repeatedly.
Wei Shuwan had long been tired of these guys and didn't care. She just fell into deep thought as she looked at Pan Wenjun's overly excited expression.
She wasn't quite sure when exactly the Ziyi Kingdom came to negotiate peace and seek a marriage alliance in her previous life, but she remembered that the princess who was to be married off died at the young age of twenty-six, which would be next year.
This also excludes the time it takes for the emperor to draft the decree, for the Ministry of Rites to prepare for the marriage, for the princess to enter the palace to learn etiquette, and for the journey to the border to take so long.
Therefore, the marriage proposal should have taken place at the beginning of next year, or even earlier.
As she calculated the progress, Wei Shuwan felt that time was running out for her uncle, Pan Wenjun, and herself; it was extremely urgent. If she really wanted to help them, she had to seize every minute.
Since there was no time to lose, she had to set a time for her next meeting with Pan Wenjun today, and then try to get her uncle to agree to arrange their date as soon as possible.
Pan Wenjun stared at the fish for a while before coming back to her senses and asking in confusion, "I've heard that this tricolor brocade is extremely rare even in Shengjing. How did your Wei family obtain it?"
"Oh, this was given to Ah Xiu by Yun'er from the Sheng family next door. Her grandfather was the Crown Prince's tutor, but he was an honest man who never accepted vulgar gifts. Therefore, His Highness the Crown Prince would send him some unusual items every now and then."
Wei Shuwan answered with a quiet smile, then asked, "By the way, Sister Pan, are you free in three days? How about we go on a trip to the outskirts of Beijing together?"
Pan Wenjun was a straightforward person. Feeling that she got along well with Wei Shuwan, she nodded in agreement without thinking. After agreeing, she asked her with a curious look, "What are we going to do in the outskirts of Beijing?"
Startled by her question, Wei Shuwan suddenly paused. Yes, what to do? In the dead of winter, neither a spring outing nor a lake trip was possible. After racking her brains for a while, she finally thought of a suitable place:
"I heard from my uncle this morning that Sister Pan is quite skilled in riding and archery. Why don't we go to the hunting grounds in the northern suburbs for a winter hunt?"
The statement that Pan Wenjun was "quite skilled in riding and archery" was purely a wild guess by Wei Shuwan. Her uncle had never mentioned Pan Wenjun in his previous letters, let alone anything related to her. However, Wei Shuwan thought that Pan Wenjun's father was, after all, a regional military governor who led troops into battle for many years, and his daughter had always been by his side. How could she not be skilled in martial arts at all?
Even Zi Qiao, who only spent a short time with her uncle back then, learned a few rudimentary kung fu moves to protect herself!
Wei Shuwan's prediction was correct; Pan Wenjun was indeed skilled in riding and archery. However, upon hearing Sun Xingjian praise her behind her back, she became somewhat awkward and modest, saying, "Not at all, not at all. Don't listen to your uncle's nonsense."
Wei Shuwan smiled apologetically, secretly thinking that if she could persuade her uncle to agree to go, then the matter would be half successful!
Hunting in the countryside, on a cold day, we'd set up a fire and roast some venison, or at the very least, some rabbit or pheasant. The three of us would sit around the fire, have a few drinks, and I'd pour my uncle a few more bowls of wine. That would be the perfect way to start a relationship.
Men are most likely to open up when they are drunk. She just couldn't believe that her uncle had never been moved by such a lively and beautiful woman as Sister Pan!
Wei Shuwan originally intended to have Pan Wenjun stay for lunch at the mansion, but Pan Wenjun felt it was inappropriate and insisted on leaving. Since the plan would proceed as scheduled, Wei Shuwan did not force her to stay, politely seeing her off and warmly reminding her not to forget what happened three days later.
Pan Wenjun readily agreed.
The two who were saying goodbye outside the door were unaware that someone else had already gone into Yizhu Garden.
Wei Ping had previously left Fuquxuan and gone to the kitchen before heading straight to Yizhuyuan. However, she didn't enter openly; instead, she hid to the side and waited for Wei Shuwan and Pan Wenjun to come out after watching the fish. Once they were out of sight, she tiptoed into Yizhuyuan.
The two servants were unaware that the people outside had been replaced and were still lingering inside. Wei Ping stood in front of the fish tank, staring at the fish for a moment, then a sinister glint flashed in her eyes. She then picked up the kettle and poured boiling water into the fish tank.
The three fish, which had been swimming freely, soon began to suffer from the sudden rise in water temperature. They thrashed violently a few times, then all of them turned belly up and remained motionless.
Wei Ping looked around twice to make sure no one had noticed her coming in, then quickly slipped away along the corner of the wall and left.
...
Noon is the time when the Wei family gathers in the dining hall to have lunch together.
Since the day she fainted from anger, Lady Wei's health had been poor. She hadn't come out to eat with everyone for the past few days, instead staying in her own courtyard.
Two days ago, Wei Ping accompanied the old lady to Songheju for a meal and did not come to the dining hall. However, today she unexpectedly appeared in the dining hall and ate with the second branch of the family.
The Wei family rules dictate that one should not speak while eating or sleeping. At first, everyone ate their meals quietly. When they were almost finished, Wei Ping asked, somewhat knowingly, "Wanwan, why didn't Axiu come to eat today?"
Wei Shuwan wasn't in the mood and casually replied, "Axiu had something to do at noon and went out."
“But I heard he came back before noon.” Wei Ping raised her eyebrows, her eyes revealing a hint of inquiry.
Seeing that Wei Shuwan didn't want to speak, Sun Lurong explained on her behalf: "Oh, it's Ah Xiu's koi fish. For some reason, they all floated up today. He was in a bad mood, so he didn't come over."
"Oh, that three-colored brocade one is dead too?" Wei Ping looked surprised.
Wei Shuwan pretended not to hear and continued to put food on her plate. But Wei Ping was still going on and on, saying, "Wanwan, didn't you just go to Yizhu Garden with that Lady Pan?"
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