"Oh… Is that so? Then say that benw.a.n.g has a severe illness and is unable to entertain visitors. Tell Hai Tian to go back. Set the carriage in front of the side door. Benw.a.n.g will leave from there." While speaking, Chu w.a.n.g stood up, yawned, and thought of the taste of the cold noodles a while ago as he walked towards the side door.
While the housekeeper called the servants over and told them to clean up the utensils on the table, then he immediately went to the carriage of Hai w.a.n.gfu and replied to Hai Tian inside the carriage, "Junzhu, w.a.n.gye is not feeling well today. He might be unable to see you. Please go back and come another day."
Inside the carriage, Hai Tian coldly laughed, her hands suddenly twisted her handkerchief tightly, but her voice was still unexpectedly kind and polite, "Then I will not bother w.a.n.gye today. Many thanks to housekeeper. I hope you can express Hai Tian"s concern to w.a.n.gye."
"Naturally. Goodbye, junzhu." He then moved three steps backward, giving way for the carriage to turn around and went back inside once the carriage had left.
"Junzhu, that Chu w.a.n.g isn"t even injured before like our w.a.n.gye, how come he"s sick all the time?" Yuan Zhu, Hai Tian"s personal yatou, asked. And then, she complained to Hai Tian, "It"s such a loss for junzhu to leave Hai w.a.n.gfu so early and even bring delicate food and snacks from Hai w.a.n.gfu. This Chu w.a.n.gye is really unreasonable. Even if he"s sick, there"s still no reason for him to not even let us go in the gate. If his wife knew about this, she would surely feel sorry for junzhu."
Hai Tian coldly laughed, and said with cold voice, "Chu w.a.n.g"s position in Western Chu is specially high, even higher than my father"s. Even though he didn"t let me enter w.a.n.gfu today, I still cannot complain about it. Next time, do not ever mention these kind of words in front of others; otherwise, if you offend Chu w.a.n.g because of that, I will be the one to punish you first!"
Yuan Zhu originally meant to curry favor with Hai Tian, but she actually did the wrong move. Instead of getting commended, she was scolded.
Thinking of the methods Hai Tian used to manage Hai w.a.n.gfu, Yuan Zhu could not help but feel scared. She immediately lowered her head and replied, "Yes, nubi understands."
But Hai Tian did consider Yuan Zhu"s words. A while ago, as they were nearing Chu w.a.n.gfu, she had not been able to see the outside clearly from the carriage, but Hai Tian was sure that the person who went past their carriage was Jiao Da, who was always beside Chu w.a.n.g. But at that time, Jiao Da was escorting another carriage and because Jiao Da"s body cover the carriage, Hai Tian was not able to see the symbol on the carriage clearly.
"Junzhu, are we going back to Hai w.a.n.gfu?" Yuan Zhu looked at Hai Tian"s dark expression and asked carefully.
"Proceed to Jing Zhao Fu!" Hai Tian was thinking seriously in her heart.
[Note: we aren"t sure about this. it might mean the capital or a specific place in the capital. we wiki-ed it and its also an actual place in the Tang dynasty]
Yun Qian Meng thought that what she did was flawless, but how could there be something totally unnoticeable? People only needed to inquire with those taiyi who did check-ups for Qu Ling Ao in Fu Guo Gong Fu to know that Qu Ling Ao was waiting for hu ge to save his life.
Jiu Xuan"s hu ge was stolen, Chu w.a.n.gfu"s hu ge was burnt, and now, the only box left was in Hai w.a.n.gfu. If Yun Qian Meng was sensible, then she should stay away from Chu Fei Yang. Otherwise, if Yun Qian Meng really caused her jiujiu"s death, how could she be happy to live the rest of her remaining life?
Yun Qian Meng brought Jiao Da and Mu Chun to the third floor. She whispered to Jiao Da some important points then turned around and left with Mu Chun.
They did not expect to see Rong Yun He going up while they descended the stairs. Seeing the shopkeeper of Tian Fu Lou behind him, Yun Qian Meng understood the reason and bowed to Rong Yun He while smiling, "Rong gongzi."
Rong Yun He also did not expect to meet Yun Qian Meng again so quickly. Seeing that she was still rather lively, he felt somewhat relieved that the incident during the Qi Qiao Festival had not left her with any trauma. He turned his head and spoke a few words to the shopkeeper who politely left soon after.
"I didn"t expect you to be the owner of Tian Fu Lou." Seeing the manner of the shopkeeper towards Rong Yun He, Yun Qian Meng realized that Rong Yun He was surely the owner of Tian Fu Lou. Remembering the time when Mu Chun and Si"er fought over of a box of Fei Cui mung bean cakes, she felt rather amused right now. Why had Rong Yun He even had his servant come and line up to buy a dessert when in fact the whole restaurant was his.
"This is not a serious business. Only a few people know that this Tian Fu Lou is mine." In the family, only his grandmother and sister did, not even his parents knew about it. Today, if it was not because the shopkeeper had reported to him that someone similar to Yun fu"s da xiaojie had appeared in the restaurant, Yun Qian Meng would not have even realized the truth.
Looking at Tian Fu Lou, which was full of customers but was only regarded by Rong Yun He as something that was not a serious business, Yun Qian Meng felt that Rong Yun He was indeed a gongzi from the wealthiest family. For ordinary people, they would not even have this kind of achievement even if they worked their whole lifetime, but he was able to achieve it at the age of less than twenty. He really should not be underestimated.
"Is there a problem?" noticing Yun Qian Meng staring at him, Rong Yun He shyly smiled while going down the stairs with her.
"Nothing. I was just shocked." But thinking alternatively, the Rong Family had already been the richest family for so long. They definitely had exceptional talents and methods in doing business. Rong Yun He grew up with Chen laotaijun and had surely learned a lot from her in that kind of environment. He surely would be able to not only compare to, but exceed the achievements of Chen laotaijun.
Remembering that day when Rong Yun He had tried to protect her with his life, Yun Qian Meng slightly frowned, "Thank you very much for last time. But if that kind of situation happens, don"t you risk your life again."
All lives were equal. Yun Qian Meng did not want Rong Yun He to lose his life for hers.
Rong Yun He smiled then happily said, "If you are concerned about it, I naturally will be more careful next time."
But if something like that were to happen again, he would surely stay with her and protect her.
Yun Qian Men suddenly thought of what she had just heard a while ago at Chu w.a.n.gfu; thus asked with concern, "I heard that laotaijun was not feeling well today. Is she alright?"
Rong Yun He did not expect Yun Qian Meng to have such quick access to new information to know about his grandmother"s sickness so quickly. His calm face made a satisfactory smile, then he said, "It"s just an old sickness. She just needs to rest more."
"I see. Then I will go visit her another day with wai zumu. I"m going to go back home now." Yun Qian Meng turned around and nodded towards Rong Yun He, then she went into the carriage and told the driver to drive back.
Rong Yun He stood beside the entrance of Tian Fu Lou until the xiangfu"s carriage had disappeared from his sight before went back into the restaurant.
When the carriage was pa.s.sing through the most narrow part of the long street, it encountered the carriage of Hai w.a.n.gfu.
Mu Chun looked at Yun Qian Meng, asking whether they should give way to them or not.
Yun Qian Meng lifted the curtains and looked out the window. She saw that one carriage could successfully pa.s.s through the road only if the other one gave way by reversing. Seeing that the driver of Hai w.a.n.gfu"s carriage did not want to even yield an inch, Yun Qian Meng softly said, "Tell the driver to move and let the carriage of Hai w.a.n.gfu pa.s.s first."
Although Mu Chun did not want to do so, but Yun Qian Meng already ordered it, she could only follow her orders and lift the curtain to tell the driver to give way.
But Hai w.a.n.gfu"s carriage did not immediately pa.s.s. Rather, they saw Yuan Zhu go down the dismount to approach xiangfu"s carriage and make acid remarks, "Yun xiaojie, our junzhu says thank you for giving way."
Hearing Yuan Zhu"s ridicule, Yun Qian Meng did not get angry at all. She calmly replied, "This is nothing. Junzhu doesn"t need to take it seriously. Moreover, Western Chu has always been promoting courtesy. This is what one should do."
Yuan Zhu had not expected that Yun Qian Meng would not only stay calm, but even lightly criticized her. With the light and soft voice of Yun Qian Meng, the citizens around all felt that the daughter of xiangfu was rather educated and reasonable but that of Hai w.a.n.gfu was unreasonable for being pretentious after gaining an advantage.
Thinking of junzhu"s orders when she went out, Yuan Zhu kept her anger and continued speaking, "Yun xiaojie, junzhu said that in order to thank you for your yielding, junzhu asks you to go down the carriage to receive a gift from her."
This was really going too far!
Although Hai Tian was a junzhu, she had no blood relations with the royal family; although Yun Qian Meng was only a chennu, she was still the blood-related niece of Empress Dowager.
The ident.i.ty of the two only varied because of Hai Tian"s t.i.tle as a junzhu, but if they were really compared with each other, Yun Qian Meng"s status was not any lower than Hai Tian"s.
Now, Hai Tian clearly wanted to lower Yun Qian Meng by ordering Yun Qian Meng to come down from her the carriage and receive a gift from her for a small thing such as giving way for her.
Hearing Yuan Zhu"s taunt, Mu Chun"s face has already flushed with anger. Mu Chun was almost about to lift the curtains but was stopped by Yun Qian Meng. Then Yun Qian Meng coldly smiled, "Many thanks to the kindness of your junzhu, but please ask junzhu to quickly pa.s.s through the road; otherwise, all the carriages behind will be stuck here. If this small incident causes traffic jam in the capital, then it would be the fault of junzhu."
At that moment, there were looks of reproach from all around. Yuan Zhi bit her lip, glared at the carriage, then ran back to her own carriage and exaggerated the story to Hai Tian.
But even without Yuan Zhu"s report, Hai Tian had already heard the conversation. She relaxedly held a fan on one hand but her face was cold as ice. She then coldly said, "Let"s go."
Getting the permission to leave, the driver immediately whipped the horse. When the two carriages met, Hai Tian suddenly ordered, "Stop!"
Hai Tian lifted the carriage curtain and looked at the carriage of xiangfu. Hearing the sound of Hai Tian"s carriage stopping beside theirs, Yun Qian Meng also lifted the curtain. Seeing that Hai Tian was already looking at her, she gave Hai Tian a light smile and greeted her, "Junzhu, how are you?"
Seeing that Yun Qian Meng was still able to smile happily, Hai Tian"s hand holding the fan suddenly tightened, but her face maintained a perfectly dignified expression. She lightly turned around and replied, "Yun Xiao Jie, how are you recently? Is everything well?"
Hearing that there seemed to be a deeper meaning in Hai Tian"s words, and looking at the direction she came form, Yun Qian Meng thought of the map of the capital in her mind. Recalling a few directions, she replied, "Thanks for junzhu"s concern. Everything"s alright. It"s just that recently, a lot of things are happening. Why didn"t junzhu bring more bodyguards out?"
Seeing that Yun Qian Meng also had meanings in between her words—pretending to show concern to her, but most probably doubted that the events were related to Hai w.a.n.gfu, so she she would have no need to be scared of being harmed and thus did not need more bodyguards.
Hai Tian wanted to see Yun Qian Meng"s smile disappear and her pride collapse, so she made an unnoticeable cold smile then asked with concern, "How"s houye"s condition now? It has been two months already. If this situation continues, I"m afraid that houye"s life…"
How could Yun Qian Meng not know her intentions? She wanted to use this to threaten her. Just like Jiu Xuan s.h.i.+tai"s reminder last time, Hai w.a.n.gfu might be the only place now with hu ge. No wonder Hai Tian was so brazenly arrogant today. Hai Tian might have gotten the information already and was now waiting for her to beg for the hu ge.
"Jiiujiu is still recovering. Thanks for Junzhu"s concern. But looking at the direction where junzhu came from, did you just visit Yuan de taifei? Then Chennu once again congratulates junzhu and wishes that junzhu can have your wish come true!" Yun Qian Meng had lowered her head and sincerely spoke, but her lips had a sneering smile.
Hai Tian did not even agree to visit when Yuan de taifei had personally sent someone to invite her. Why would she go there herself for others to make rumors about her?
But if Yun Qian Meng"s words were spread by the citizens, Hai Tian and Hai w.a.n.gfu might be troubled for quite a while. Maybe Yuan de taifei would even thank her for helping in advancing in her plan.
Swis.h.!.+
The bamboo curtains were smashed down by Hai Tian. She coldly ordered the driver, "Back to w.a.n.gfu!"
Yun Qian Meng, in the meanwhile, told the driver to go to Fu Guo Gong Fu. Seeing that the Fu Guo Gong Fu"s housekeeper had already been changed, Yun Qian Meng could not help but admire Gu laotaijun"s speed of action.
Yun Qian Meng went straight towards Gu laotaijun"s Rui Lin Yuan. On the way, she encountered Qu Zhang Qing in the hallway. After a month of recovery, Qu Zhang Qing had already regained his vigor. Moreover, because of the advantage of young age, he seemed to be totally the same as before.
Yun Qian Meng immediately went over and bowed, "Greetings to biaoge."
After experiencing a life and death situation, Qu Zhang Qing naturally knew that his biaomei had done a lot for him. Now, he treated Yun Qian Meng totally the same as Qu Fei Qing.
Qu Zhang Qing lightly lifted his tightly closed lips and smiled, "Quickly get up. Zumu is currently in Rui Lin Yuan. I"ll encompany you there."
Yun Qian Meng nodded. The two of them walked side by side and talked about things that happened recently. But Qu Zhang Qing was sharp-eyed and noticed that Yun Qian Meng looked serious today, as if something bad has happened. He immediately calmed himself down and went into Rui Lin Yuan with her.
"The weather"s so hot today. Why did you come?" seeing her granddaughter, Gu laotaijun naturally felt happy. But realizing that she came over despite the high temperature, she still felt somewhat sorry for her and immediately let the mama beside bring her a bowl of iced sweet and sour plum juice.
Yun Qian Meng was not in the mood to taste it now. After she greeted laotaijun, she frowned and briefly told her about the matter of the hu ge right away.
"Wai zumu, it"s all Menger"s fault. I shouldn"t have presumptuously let the yatou make the medicine and end up losing the most important ingredient." Yun Qian Meng had felt rather guilty for the incident. If it wasn"t because of her relaxed vigilance, Ying Qiu would not not have sufferer this crisis and the hu ge would also still be stored properly; moreover, her jiujiu"s poison would also be cured!
But she was too careless to think that just by hiding Xia mama and the others, the hidden enemy would not be able to discover them. Who would have known that in a place as big as the capital, one could still find Xia Mama by searching carefully. She was too confident in herself.
Gu laotaijun did not expect Yun Qian Meng to silently do so many things for Fu Guo Gong Fu. Although the medicine was lost, she could not blame Yun Qian Meng for it regardless.
If they gave the hu ge to the tai yi, who would know if there was also someone among them who was a.s.signed by the enemy? Even if they gave it to doctor Xiao Nie, with so many people in Fu Guo Gong Fu, they still would not be sure that all of them were loyal. These kind of things were really impossible to guard against.
Yun Qian Meng"s method of silently taking it to somewhere else to refine was actually the best
But the person behind it was really too cunning to even find out this small piece of information. This made Gu laotaijun"s expression suddenly darken and become fierce. Her hands softly patted Yun Qian Meng"s and comforted her, "There is always a way out! Since you"ve already found two boxes, then there should also be more."
But this was exactly what Yun Qian Meng was worried about. Thinking of Hai Tian"s att.i.tude a while ago, she was sure that Hai Tian would not easily give the hu ge to her.
Everyone knew what Hai Tian wanted. Aside from letting her marry Chu Fei Yang, Yun Qian Meng was afraid that nothing else could persuade her to give the hu ge.
The problem was, Hai Tian had long contracted enmity with her. Even if she was able to marry Chu Fei Yang, why would she give the hu ge to her enemy?
It seemed like the only solution now was to secretly steal the hu ge; otherwise, jiujiu"s life would be in danger.
"Menger, leave this to wai zumu. You"ve been busy for a long time now. Go home and take good care of yourself."
Yun Qian Meng suddenly felt that her heart skip a beat. She felt that although laotaijun had found a way, it was a decision against her will. Just when she wanted to say something, laotaijun smiled at her comfortingly then ordered Mu Chun to accompany Yun Qian Meng to Qu Fei Qing.
Only Gu laotaijun and Qu Zhang Qing were left in the room. Laotaijun coldly said with gloomy expression, "Zhang Qing, send more loyal guards to protect Meng"er secretly."
Qu Zhang Qing lowered his head and agreed, but thinking of laotaijun"s words a while ago, just like Yun Qian Meng, he also felt rather worried. "Zumu, could it be that you want to marry Fei Qing to Hai Chen Xi?"
Laotaijun slightly closed her eyes with pain, then slowly opened them again and said firmly, "Or do you want to see Hai Tian marry Chu Fei Yang? At that time, the power of Hai w.a.n.gfu will greatly increase and it will be impossible to suppress them."
"But if we do that, Fei Qing"s whole life will be…"
Totally ruined...
Qu Zhang Qing did not finish his sentence. He realized that he could not say that now. She was the sister he had been watching after since her birth. She was simple, cute, kind, and gentle. If she really married Hai Chen Xi, who was experiencing hards.h.i.+ps in Hai w.a.n.gfu, she might even die without her corpse buried.
But it seemed like Gu laotaijun had already made the decision now and would not tolerate any objections from Qu Zhang Qing. But Qu Fei Qing was still her most beloved granddaughter! How could she have the heart to marry her into the dangerous Hai w.a.n.gfu?
"Zhang Qing, your sister is the eldest legal daughter of the family. She wasn"t born just to enjoy glory and wealth, she also has her own mission to accomplish. Even if she wasn"t married to Hai Chen Xi, she would still be married to other people. This is her responsibility, you should understand it." After saying that, laotaijun stood up and walked out of Rui Lin Yuan with the help of the yatou to go and look at Qu Ling Ao.
Qu Zhang Qing stood steadily with his eyebrows knitted. His hands at the his sides had already become fists. He hated himself for being unable to be more powerful and unable to even protect his own family.
Yun Qian Meng went to Ting Yu Ge with the yatou. Qu Fei Qing was sitting up beside the window doing embroidery. Looking at her gentle figure, she immediately thought of laotaijun"s expression a while ago and suddenly realized...