Chapter 577 Identify the Prettier One!
It was the early autumn, and the maple forest was scenic. Commandery Prince Qing, Chu Qing, stood under a maple tree with his hands clasped behind his back and looked at the mountains in the depths of the maple forest.
The mountain against the red leaves filled his sight. Hearing the leaves rustling, he was enjoying the scenery leisurely. Compared with the blooming flowers in spring, the scenery in front of him now was more peaceful and relaxing. The aggressive scenery in spring made him feel cheerful at first glance, but the red sea of maple leaves made him feel more peaceful.
Chu Qing had been standing under the tree for a long time. Looking toward the back of the mountain from here, he had a wider vision and a more active mind than looking from a small mountain within the high wall.
A young and handsome aristocratic childe stood quietly under the maple trees. The fallen maple leaves, which were as red as fire, fell on his shoulders from time to time, making others consider that he and this maple forest looked like the beautiful scenery in a painting.
Plenty of young ladies couldn’t help stopping and sneaking a peek at this handsome young man when they pa.s.sed by. Not long after they walked away lightly with a red face, they returned. Even the twists and turns on the steepest mountain path were no more than those in their mind.
“Your Highness, there come two Misses dressed in black clothes with a veil!” A guard appeared behind him and reported.
“Two?” Chu Qing, who had been indifferent, asked with his face changing a little.
“Yes, there are two of them. They are both dressed in black clothes and entered the forest one after the other.” The guard nodded and said. Although the two Misses were not far away from each other, they didn’t go the same way. One of them entered the maple forest through the left entrance, while the other entered the maple forest through the right entrance.
“What about their hair accessories?” Chu Qing asked with an indifferent look, as if he had expected such a surprise. After being raised in the nunnery for so many years, he had grown into a composed person. No matter how shocked he was, he could still maintain a calm and peaceful look.
“Both of them wear a simple jade hairpin. I can’t tell any difference between them!” The guard, who had observed carefully, said with certainty after hearing Chu Qing’s question and thinking for a moment.
“Do they wear a veil or a curtain hat?” Chu Qing remained a natural look and asked, reaching out to catch a maple leaf falling from the sky and twirling it in his hand.
“Both of them wear a veil,” the guard said.
“Which one looks prettier?” Chu Qing asked casually.
“Uh… I think it should be the one in front… Although they both wear a veil, the one in front seems… to have prettier eyes…” the guard said, seeming to be unable to describe it.
In fact, both of them had pretty eyes, and it could be seen that both of them were ravis.h.i.+ng ladies. Nevertheless, the one in front had a pair of charming eyes, which were amazing at first glance but others would find them gentle and pure when looking at them carefully. They were fluid, natural and attractive like gurgling water.
The lady behind also had extremely pretty eyes and was obviously a beauty. However, beauties could be cla.s.sified into various grades and ranks. Without the spirit, which could almost be considered contradictory, the lady behind was inferior to the one in front. The eyes of the lady in front enabled her to attract most of the attention if she showed up with the lady behind.
“Let’s go and meet the lady behind!” Chu Qing, who made a decision after pondering, said with a smile.
Everyone knew that the most beautiful lady in the capital city was the First Miss of Duke Xing’s Mansion, so the relatively less beautiful lady should be the Fifth Miss. At the thought that the Fifth Miss sent him a note in private, he showed a hint of interest across his eyes.
If it weren’t for Rui’an Great Elder Princess behind the Fifth Miss, he wouldn’t have come to meet her. He had heard that the Fifth Miss was an ill-behaved girl, who was a wilful bully.
But she had Rui’an Great Elder Princess as her backing, so Chu Qing couldn’t ignore her.
He would like to see why the Fifth Miss asked him to come to the maple forest. Her “observing mourning for three years” seemed to be merely a cover.
During the period of time the Fifth Miss stayed in the Yuhui Nunnery, he had never come into contact with her, but there was someone else around him who had come into contact with her. After hearing of what the Fifth Miss Shao had done, Chu Qing didn’t have any good impression of her. Moreover, she intended to have a private meeting with a man now.
Shao Wanru and Shao Yanru did enter the forest one after the other and have made an appointment to enter the forest through different entrances. It was Shao Yanru’s suggestion.
The two of them went out together at the beginning. But not long after they set out, Shao Yanru suggested that they should enter the maple forest through different entrances and see how long it would take for them to meet each other, because she heard that there were plenty of paths in the maple forest.
Later Shao Yanru said that she had sprained her ankle, and told Shao Wanru to go first and that she would go there slowly with Shuqi. At the thought that they were going to take different routes into the forest, at the sight that Shao Yanru had difficulty in catching up with her and couldn’t keep up with her even if she slowed down, Shao Wanru entered the forest through a distant entrance without waiting for Shao Yanru and left the near entrance to Shao Yanru as Shao Yanru asked.
“Miss, the maple forest is really large with beautiful scenery. When I was in Jiangzhou, I also saw a maple forest in the Jingxin Monastery, but it was much smaller than this one. How big is the Yuhui Nunnery actually? Such a forest seems to have covered a large area,” Yujie said in surprise as she walked.
They saw plenty of people at the entrance. However, as they got inside the maple forest, they saw only a few people probably because of the broadness of the forest. Along the way, they only saw a few ladies in front in a distance, but none of the ladies walked past them. It could be seen that there were many paths in the forest.
Shao Wanru stood still, stretched out her white and tender hand, looked at a red leaf falling on her palm and said, “If we head for the entrance, through which Shao Yanru walks, we won’t take a long walk, right?”
They had just come in through the entrance and were less than a hundred meters away from the entrance. So they should not be too far away from the entrance, through which Shao Yanru walked. If they crossed the forest directly, they could take a shorter walk.
“Miss, let me take you there!” Yujie nodded and said. She, who grew up on a mountain, was quite capable of telling directions in a dense forest and not afraid of losing her way. After looking around for a while and identifying the direction, she took Shao Wanru to cross the forest.
She led Shao Wanru to a slightly slanted path instead of a path completely parallel with the entrance, through which they had just walked. In this way, they could catch up with Shao Yanru without making Shao Yanru think that they were standing in the parallel place and waiting for her.
Shao Yanru must be going inside.
The maple forest was very dense. If Yujie didn’t make a sound in a few steps, Shao Wanru could almost be unable to see her. Without Yujie leading the way, Shao Wanru thought that she would definitely lose her way.
The two of them just walked quietly without talking. Occasionally, they could hear other people’s voices, but they avoided those people silently.
“Miss, the First Miss is sitting there and having a rest!” Yujie, who was walking in front, suddenly stopped and said in a low voice.
It was a conspicuous path, beside which there was a pavilion. Shao Yanru was sitting in the pavilion for a rest with Shuqi. Standing in a distance, they could only see Shao Yanru and Shuqi, but could not hear their conversation. It seemed that Shao Yanru was not in a hurry to hit the road.
“Miss, is the First Miss really injured or not?” Yujie asked in confusion, “Shouldn’t she go back if she’s injured? It’s unreasonable to stay here.”
From this point of view, Yujie thought that it was unreasonable for the First Miss to claim that she had sprained her ankle.
“Let’s wait and see!” Shao Wanru said with a smile. She put down the leaf in her hand, picked up a redder leaf from the ground, held it in her hand and crouched down. There happened to be a small stream beside her. The mottled sunlight shone through the shade of trees and made the stream look glittering. With maple leaves at the bottom of the water, the stream looked ruddy and characteristic.
There was a big stone on the side of the stream. Shao Wanru crouched down beside the stone and put the maple leaf in her hand into the water. The water was cold, clear and made her feel comfortable.
The red leaf first floated, and then was soaked in water and fell on her palm. She found it slippery and her tender palm looked red in the sunlight s.h.i.+ning through the red leaf and the water.
Yujie also crouched down beside her. The stone was helpful. It not only hid them, but also enabled them to have a clear view when they popped out their heads. It was a good place to watch Shao Yanru and Shuqi.
Seeing Shao Wanru playing with water with her hands, Yujie involuntarily put her hands into the cool stream, but she still kept an eye on the pavilion and focused on the First Miss Shao’s movements.
Shao Yanru sat in the pavilion, not seeming to be leaving. Shuqi even took out a pot of tea and a cup from the bag she carried with her. She was well-prepared. After pouring a cup for Shao Yanru, she handed the cup to Shao Yanru.
Shao Yanru took the cup and took a sip unhurriedly.
“Miss, someone is coming over there!” Yujie, who suddenly found a tall and straight figure appear in her sight, immediately reminded Shao Wanru.
Shao Wanru put down the water in her hand and looked back in astonishment. She, who also saw the man, blinked her watery eyes and turned around to look at the man.
Was the man who Shao Yanru was waiting for? Since Shao Yanru had invited a man to meet here, why did Shao Yanru bring her here? Did Shao Yanru want her to cover for her? It was unreasonable for Shao Yanru to do so. Otherwise, was the man really a pa.s.ser-by, whose showing up was not arranged by Shao Yanru?
But the man had just shown up, and they couldn’t see him clearly. Shao Wanru pinched the red leaf in her hand calmly, slightly tilted her head and focused on Shao Yanru.
There must be something going on, and the one behind it must be Shao Yanru. She just wondered what Shao Yanru was up to!
The man had his back to them, so they couldn’t see his face. Nevertheless, he bowed to Shao Yanru out of the pavilion and didn’t get inside immediately, seeming to have good manners.
Shao Yanru suddenly stood up and seemed to be shocked. Obviously, she did not expect that this man would come to meet her. Although Shao Wanru could not see her face, her reaction suggested that something went wrong!
Was it really not arranged by Shao Yanru? Otherwise, with no one around at the moment, how could Shao Yanru be so calm?
Was it an accident? She really didn’t believe it…