Chapter 23: Fortune Cat
As soon as Wei Yang returned to her compound, Mo Zhu came up with a smile.
“San xiaojie, lao furen has invited you over to her place.”
Li Wei Yang grinned. Her eyes slightly shifted and immediately noticed a shadow lurking behind the sycamore tree in the yard. Bai Zhi furrowed her brows but didn’t speak. That la.s.s, Hua Mei, was always spying on xiaojie like a stubborn spirit. She was bestowed by Da furen, so if they were to get rid of her, others might start saying xiaojie was displeased with Da furen. Yet if they let her be, eventually it was going to bring calamity.
Li Wei Yang pretended she didn’t see and turned to Zi Yan. “Bai Zhi and Mo Zhu will come with me. You will stay here.”
Mo Zhu was bestowed by lao furen so she obviously had to go, but Bai Zhi and Zi Yan herself both came with xiaojie from Ping Cheng. However, lately, xiaojie was close to Bai Zhi. Zi Yan subtly furrowed her brows that it was hard to decipher. When she noticed Li Wei Yang calmly staring at her, she suddenly came to realization.
“Xiaojie, please go. I will look over the compound with care.”
With her two servants, Li Wei Yang made her way towards He Xiang Yuan.
She had just arrived and had noticed the doors were wide opened. The laughter of the n.o.ble women could be heard. Li Wei Yang blinked and quickly entered. In the hall, Lao furen as well as all the other furens and xiaojie were present. Everyone looked extremely cheerful.
Li Wei Yang had just entered when Li Zhang Le stood up with a smile. “San mei, take a look. Our Da ge hadn’t yet returned but his gifts for all of us has already arrived.”
Li Wei Yang followed Zhang Le’s gaze and noticed all the servants had displayed the endless brocades of silk and hand-embroidered fabrics of different varieties on the table. The hall was radiating like the afternoon sun, causing everyone’s eyes to become blurry.
The stewardess Sun niangzi was smiling to the point her eyes had disappeared. She said, “Everything Da shaoye sent are of high quality. Lao furen, look, this is Jin Qiao silk from Yunzhou. The colour is exceptional. This is Yanzhi silk woven from Chengzhou. The colour is bright and beautiful. It was dyed well. Apparently, the seamstress was said to have embroidered clothes for the Empress Dowager. This is the hand-embroidered peony silk from Linzhou. The seamstress is known as the expert in this field. Also, there’s Bi jiangxia silk, Ziluo silk from Mozhou; Haiyun hong silk, Luoxiu jin silk, golden oriole silk from Ningzhou. All the niangniangs and n.o.bles in the palace wore this kind of material. Truly, it makes one’s vision dizzy!”
Da shaoye was studying and traveling the world outside, it was natural that he had visited many places. However, he wouldn’t send these gifts for no reason. These gifts were obviously from someone else, using Da shaoye’s name, in order to gain favours with the Prime Minister’s estate.
There was no need to guess who this person was. Li Wei Yang already knew.
Li Zhang Le lowered her gaze. Her slender fingers stroked the patterned silk. “Even though the Capital’s silk are gorgeous but it can be too exuberant. Yet this silk is different, it is a lot more elegant.”
Everyone’s eyes were on Li Zhang Le. Her unrivaled beauty caused others to be in a daze, just like all those gorgeous and magnificent silk brocades, as if she was the flower embroidered on the silk. It was completely delicate, ingenious and admirable, making it hard for anyone to look elsewhere. But that kind of beauty was a needle p.r.i.c.kling Wei Yang’s eyes as she slowly looked away. There were some people in this world who were born with their parent’s love and affection, incomparable talents and skills and the fortune of having an unrivaled beauty. All she had to do was slightly look and she could steal someone else’s hard-earned effort.
Lao furen said, “I don’t wear this color, so just let the young misses take whatever they want!”
Er xiaojie, Li Chang Ru, was immediately filled with happiness as she gracefully stood up to say her thanks before quickly going over to pick her silk. Perhaps it was accidental, or on purpose, but her hands stopped at the silk brocade that Li Zhang Le liked. With a fake smile, she said, “Da jie, I really like this silk brocade and even the color is quite suitable for me.”
Li Zhang Le grinned. “Then Er meimei should go ahead take it.” Obviously Li Zhang Le didn’t want to give away that particular silk brocade but she wanted to appear generous and kind-hearted. Li Wei Yang quietly laughed as she lowered her head to drink her tea, acting like she didn’t see anything.
Li Zhang Le’s hands stopped on the sparkling Hayun hong silk brocade but at the same time, Li Chang Ru’s hands also reached for it. It happened again for the next three times. Even if Li Zhang Le had self-composure, her smiling face was long gone.
Er furen giggled and said, “Da xiaojie has always been greatly taken care of but your meimei is still a child. She finds everything new and refreshing so you should tolerate her a little. In return, I will gift you a set of jewelry made of gems.”
Zhang Le had plenty of jewelries made out of gems but didn’t have much of these rare silks. Her face slightly turned red but she couldn’t talk back to the seniors.
Li Wei Yang lowered her gaze. All of these silk brocades were brought by Da shaoye. Although it was supposed to be for everyone in the family but in reality, all the good stuff would be given to Da furen and Li Zhang Le. However, Er furen and Er xiaojie were being shameless and thick-skinned. As a result, it made Li Zhang Le angry but she had to hold it in.
Da furen casually said, “Zhang Le, they’re just silks. If you like something in the bunch, just tell your Da ge to bring a few back.” Despite speaking in a casual manner, her words were meant to pressure Er furen.
Er furen’s expression changed as she immediately retorted.
Dafang and Erfang over there were acting the two warring sides. Meanwhile, San furen was sitting to one side, grinning as her eyes stopped on Li Wei Yang. The Li’s had Da xiaojie who was known for her G.o.ddess-like beauty, Er xiaojie with her dazzling charms, Si xiaojie and Wu xiaojie who were both cute and adorable, yet when it comes to Li Wei Yang, she possessed a unique, individual charm.
Right at this moment, Li Wei Yang looked up and caught San furen’s eyes. The two of them exchanged a smiling look. There was a special, silent communication between the two of them.
After Li Wei Yang had rescued San shaoye, she and San furen had developed a secret, implicit agreement to be allies. This was something that Da furen had absolutely no knowledge of. All Da furen knew was that her two mumus had been careless, which caused their failures. They didn’t check to make sure the body was dead before disposing the body. She believed that San shaoye had good fortune and was able to escape death but didn’t realize it was Wei Yang who had saved him.
The room was filled with gorgeous and splendid silk. It was hard not to be tempted. Even Si xiaojie, Li Chang Xiao, who was generally simple-minded couldn’t help but browsed through the numerous brocades of silk. Only Li Wei Yang remained in her seat, not moving an inch.
Lao furen suddenly spoke up, “Wei Yang, don’t just sit there. You should go and pick out a few that you like.”
Li Wei Yang stood up and said, “Wei Yang thanks Lao furen.”
She had just picked up a brocade of golden oriole silk to examine when suddenly, a strong breeze from the outside blew in. Following it was the sound of a servant’s scream. Wei Yang promptly felt there was something sharp and curvy on her shoes. She was taken by surprise and instinctively took a step backwards.
It was a snow-white Arabic cat. One of its eyes was blue and the other was yellow. It was looking at her arrogantly.
Li Zhang Le’s slender hands reached down to pick up the Arabic cat. “Did it scare you, San mei? This is the fortune cat that Da ge sent me. Take a look, isn’t it pretty?”
Of course Li Wei Yang recognized this particular cat. In the previous lifetime, it had been Li Zhang Le’s most adored pet. It had entered the palace with her. Not only was it arrogant and proud, it had once used its claws to scratch Yu Li’s small hands and drew blood.
Wei Yang could never forget the moment when Li Zhang Le was hugging her cat and said to her, “San mei, my fortune cat likes to sunbathe in the flower garden but it does not like strangers. It’s better if you could keep an eye on the Crown Prince and don’t let him get too close to Yuhua Yuan.”
Underneath her sleebes, Li Wei Yang’s hands clenched into tight fists. Her smile grew brighter. “Da jie, it’s such an adorable cat!”
As she spoke, a plan was already established in her head.