In a single moment, the side chamber became utterly silent. If a pin were dropped, it would be heard.
Wei Luo could even smell a fishy odor. Her mind was blank. She didn’t know what to do. Her palm had a sticky and hot wetness. She didn’t even dare to move. She was afraid that Chang Hong would hear something and suspect that something was happening inside the bed. She was so tense that she almost wanted to cry. What was this? If it weren’t for Zhao Jie, she wouldn’t have fallen into this type of dilemma…
Wei Luo glowered at Zhao Jie and gritted her teeth. She wished that she could kick him off the bed right now.
She didn’t know what Zhao Jie was thinking about, but he buried his head between her neck and shoulder, tilted his head to lick her ear, and slowly gnawed at her ear as if he still wished to continue.
How could he be satisfied? He had only gone half way before he was forced to come. As a man, he couldn’t accept this setback.
Wei Luo didn’t care about this type of thought. At this moment, who wanted to have a close relationship with him? She moved her head away to avoid him and lifted her hand to block Zhao Jie’s mouth. As she pushed him to the side, she quickly thought about what she would do next.
Outside of the bed curtains, because he didn’t hear Wei Luo’s response, Wei Chang Hong walked to the bedside and asked,
Are you sleeping?
Then, he lifted his hand to move the curtains.
Wei Luo’s left hand hurriedly grabbed the quilt as her right hand pushed Zhao Jie to the inside of the bed, then she lifted the quilt embroidered with golden peony flowers and tightly covered him with the quilt! After she did this, at the moment when Chang Hong was about to move the curtains, she pulled both sides of the curtains slightly open so that only her small, blushing face was revealed. Her big eyes shone brightly. She didn’t seem like someone who had just woken up.
Chang Hong, you came back? Did the palace banquet end? I already feel much better. Let’s go back home.
Chang Hong was momentarily startled by her abrupt actions. His hand was still stretched out halfway. He felt puzzled and felt that Wei Luo was hiding something. He subconsciously tried to look behind the curtains, furrowed his eyebrows, and said,
Ah Luo, I think I just heard a sound from here.
Wei Luo was almost scared to death. With a guilty conscience, she asked,
What sound?
If Chang Hong found out that she actually did that type of thing for Zhao Jie, she wouldn’t have the face to talk with Chang Hong in the future! Wei Luo’s other hand that was hidden behind the curtains viciously pinched Zhao Jie, but Zhao Jie’s skin was as rough as thick meat. He didn’t feel the slightest pain from her pinch. In response, he grabbed her hand and started to lightly stroke her palm. His action made Wei Luo feel a tingling sensation and her body trembled. She hurriedly pulled her hand away.
Chang Hong tried looking inside again. Unfortunately for him, Wei Luo was tightly blocking the view inside and he couldn’t see anything. She didn’t know if he was still suspicious or if he hadn’t discovered anything. In the end, Chang Hong didn’t pursue the matter. He grabbed Wei Luo’s hand to pull her off the bed.
It’s nothing. The palace banquet has already ended. Let’s go home.
He had only held Wei Luo’s left hand for a moment before she hurriedly pulled her hand away. Faced with Wei Chang Hong’s puzzled expression, she smiled and pretended to be calm as she said,
I’ll walk by myself.
Chang Hong didn’t show any reluctance and only asked,
Are you really okay?
At this time, even if she wasn’t okay, she still had to force herself to say yes. Wei Luo casually nodded her head, bent over to put on her socks and shoes, walked past Chang Hong, and said,
I just had a minor nosebleed. I’m fine.
Chang Hong stood behind her. A short while later, he slowly caught up to her.
The two of them walked out the side chamber. Jin Lu and Bai Lan followed after them. Recently, when Wei Luo was lying down in the side chamber, Chang Hong had driven them out of the room and they could only stand outside to wait. Seeing that Wei Luo was fine, they let go of their worries.
After the palace banquet was over, one by one, the court officials and noble guests in Rong Hua Hall bid farewell. Outside the hall, their carriages came by to pick them up. Then, conveying their respective owners, each of the carriages started traveling home.
After they left Qing Xi Palace, Chang Hong stopped walking and said to Wei Luo,
Go to the front to look for father first. I’m going to arrange for someone to bring our carriage over. I’ll go over there soon.
Wei Luo didn’t have any doubts. She nodded and continued walking forward.
After Chang Hong watched her walk far away, he didn’t go through with his words of going to prepare a carriage. Instead, he turned around and walked back to Qing Xi Palace’s Cheng Hua Hall’s side chamber.
–
Inside the side chamber, there was a person sitting on the bed that Wei Luo had recently lied down on. He had wide shoulders, long legs, and a handsome appearance. He was leisurely tidying the clothes on his body. Zhao Jie was currently putting to order his sleeves that were embroidered with auspicious clouds. When he looked up, he coincidentally happened to meet Chang Hong’s eyes. There wasn’t the slightest panic on his face. Without any changes in his expression, he continued with putting on his ink colored boots embroidered with golden thread and his wide belt before standing up and looking at Wei Chang Hong.
At this moment, Zhao Jie wasn’t in a good mood either.
He and Wei Luo’s mood had been so good. Originally, it could have lasted longer. He hadn’t expected that Chang Hong would suddenly return and made him come earlier. How was this good? What kind of image would Wei Luo have of him in her mind? Zhao Jie originally didn’t want to set himself against Chang Hong. He liked Wei Luo. If you liked someone, you would like everything and everyone that was connected to her. He was even polite towards Wei Luo’s family. However, this Wei Chang Hong was an exception. He watched over Wei Luo too closely. It was really outside the range of normal siblings. So what if they were fraternal twins? Did this mean he could hinder the other person from getting married? Zhao Jie had never heard of this type of logic.
In short, Wei Chang Hong didn’t like Zhao Jie and Zhao Jie didn’t show a pleasant face towards Wei Chang Hong either.
Zhao Jie said a short hello before he walked past Chang Hong without even saying a single word of explanation. Someone who didn’t know the truth would think he had a clear conscience.
However, Chang Hong had clearly heard everything. Previously, the movements on the bed had been so obvious. Only a deaf person wouldn’t be able to hear.
He actually forced Wei Luo…
As soon as Wei Chang Hong thought about this, he became angry. For a moment, he didn’t care about the etiquette between a prince and a noble. He turned his hand over and grabbed Zhao Jie’s shoulder. He glared at him as he said,
What did you do to Ah Luo?
Zhao Jie looked at him with calm dark eyes. His lips were slightly curved into a trace of a smile as he asked,
What? You even want to control what we do together?
Wei Chang Hong very fiercely stared at him.
Although Zhao Jie’s lips were curved, there wasn’t a hint of a smile in his eyes. Word by word, he seriously told Chang Hong,
Ah Luo is this prince’s fiancée. No matter what we do, it’s normal. Wei Chang Hong, Ah Luo will become Princess Consort Jing next year. Are you planning on controlling her like this for the rest of her life?
Wei Chang Hong’s fist was clenched so tightly that there was a cracking sound. He gnashed his teeth in anger and said,
She hasn’t married you yet, so I still have the qualification to be concerned about her. You better restrain yourself. If you force her to do something like that again, I definitely won’t let you marry her.
Zhao Jie’s phoenix eyes became heavy.
He wasn’t afraid of Wei Chang Hong doing something. But, he was worried that Wei Chang Hong would say something to Wei Luo. Wei Luo valued her younger brother very much. She would absolutely listen to Wei Chang Hong’s words.
His expression wasn’t as calm as before. He coldly said,
Don’t worry. This prince has a sense of propriety and won’t do anything to damage her reputation.
Wei Chang Hong didn’t believe him at all. There was no way that they weren’t doing anything before. Otherwise, why would Wei Luo have flushed cheeks and slightly swollen lips? Did he think he was a three-year-old child?
In the end, Wei Chang Hong couldn’t resist. He moved his fist to punch him.
(T/N: Yes, the author really ended the scene here. We’ll have to imagine and guess what happened next.)
Chapter: 110.2 out of 171
A few days after the palace banquet, because of a guilty conscience, Wei Luo still hadn’t seen Zhao Jie again. She obediently stayed at home and didn’t go anywhere.
On the tenth of October, people from Prince Jing’s residence came over to Duke Ying’s residence to send betrothal gifts. The betrothal gifts were carried over by two hundred eighty-eight people. Compared to the betrothal gifts sent over for Fifth Miss Wei Zheng, it was like comparing heaven and earth. Just carrying the betrothal gifts through the back gate took a day and a half.
Even fifth branch’s steward’s eyes became blurry from recording everything. There were over five hundred objects. Each item was very valuable. He didn’t dare to be neglectful and had people carefully and gently put everything down. It took him several days before he finished recording everything.
It showed how much importance Prince Jing attached to Wei Luo.
After this matter, House Wei’s reputation also rose. It swept away the humiliation from Wei Zheng’s marriage. One after another, the madams in the inner court sighed. Wei Luo was a blessed person. Look at the entire capital. Was there any daughter from an aristocratic family that received such a huge amount of betrothal gifts? She was unrivaled.
There truly wasn’t any doubt to the status of Princess Consort Jing.
Wei Luo had become the most popular person in Duke Ying’s residence. No matter where she went, no one would dare to slight her. Second Madam had even especially called her to her second branch’s courtyard to heap a pile of praise onto Wei Luo from top to bottom. Wei Luo’s every aspect was pleasing. Wei Luo finally experienced the idiom; one must change according to the overall trend.
Today, Old Madam called her to the central room.
Wei Luo remembered that when she was younger, Old Madam didn’t like her or Chang Hong very much because of Jiang Miao Lang. Although she wasn’t close to them, she was never harsh towards them either. However, her impression from childhood was too deep, so at the moment, Wei Luo was still slightly unfamiliar with meeting Old Madam.
Old Madam took off a pair of golden bracelets with bluish-green gems and pearls that she was wearing, personally put them on Wei Luo’s arm, and said,
Paternal grandmother doesn’t have anything good. My mother gave this pair of bracelets to me when I got married. Now, I’ll give this you as part of your dowry.
(T/N: Below is a picture of that type of bracelet.)
Wei Luo was surprised. She remembered that Old Madam treasured this pair of bracelets very much. Even when First Miss had gotten married, she couldn’t bear to part with them. Why would she give them to her?
She made a move as if she was going to take them off.
Granddaughter can’t take this…
Old Madam stopped her hand and said,
Accept what I’ve given you. You and Chang Hong didn’t have a mother since you were both young and have suffered. Paternal grandmother hasn’t properly taken care of you either. Now, you’re getting married. Just treat this as my kindly intentions.
Wei Luo pursed her lips and accepted.
After she had stayed in the central room for a quarter of an hour, a servant came into the room to say that Marquis Ping Yuan’s daughter had come over. Wei Luo and Liang Yu Rong had previously discussed that they would go to Ci Temple to burn incense in worship. Hearing these words, Old Madam didn’t try to stop her. She waved her hand and said,
You can go.
So, Wei Luo left the central room.
When she arrived the reception pavilion, she didn’t see Liang Yu Rong and could only walk around the outside area to look for her. Coincidentally, she saw Liang Yu Rong and oldest cousin Wei Chang Yin underneath a gingko tree.
Wei Chang Yin had just returned home. The two of them had somehow met and started talking.
Liang Yu Rong’s cheeks were pink and she was smiling. Both of her hands were behind her back as she simply greeted Wei Luo. Wei Luo didn’t know what they had previously said.
The two of them were standing underneath the gingko tree. The leaves were falling like raindrops. The ground was covered in a thick layer of golden yellow. The sun shined down and the two of them were almost hidden by the bright light. Wei Chang Yin collected himself. There was a smile in his pure eyes. He had never looked as good as he did in this moment.
I’m already fine. Thank you for asking.
So, Liang Yu Rong was still worrying from seeing the recurring pain of his leg injury.
Liang Yu Rong continued speaking without hesitation,
My daddy knows many doctors. If older brother Chang Yin is willing, I’ll ask daddy to have them treat your leg. Perhaps, they might be able to fix your leg.
Wei Chang Yin shook his head and tactfully declined,
No need to waste your energy.
He was very clear about his leg’s injury. It had already been so many years. If it could be cured, then it would have already been cured. He had also seen many doctors. They were all known as excellent, brilliant, and highly skilled doctors, but none of them could heal his leg. Wei Chang Yin had already accepted reality and no longer had any hopes. As a result, he no longer experienced the feeling of disappointment.
Liang Yu Rong was very regretful. She quietly said,
oh,
and didn’t continue speaking.
She turned her head and saw that Wei Luo was standing in the verandah. She immediately smiled and started walking over to Wei Luo.
Ah Luo, you came.
Wei Luo smiled and also greeted Wei Chang Yin.
Wei Chang Yin nodded. Seeing that the two of them were busy, he didn’t bother them and ordered a servant to push his wheelchair away.
Wei Luo saw that Liang Yu Rong’s line of sight was stuck on Wei Chang Yin and knew that things weren’t well. She quickly changed the topic by saying,
Weren’t we going to Ci Temple? Chang Hong said he wanted to go with us. If you don’t started walking soon, the sky will be dark.
Hearing these words, Liang Yu Rong finally returned to her senses, looked away, and followed Wei Luo to leave the residence.
After Chang Hong had found out that Zhao Jie had taken advantage of Wei Luo in Chen Hua Hall, he was even more nervous about her going outside even if Liang Yu Rong was with her. He had finished his assignment for today early and handed it in to Mister Xue to check. After Mister Xue nodded his head, he went with Wei Luo to Ci Temple.
Liang Yu Rong had long become used to Wei Chang Hong’s habit of following Wei Luo and didn’t have any suspicions.
Chapter: 110.3 out of 171
Liang Yu Rong wanted to go to Ci Temple to ask for protection charms for her parents. Her parents were advance in their age and their health was worsening each day. Liang Yu Rong was a filial child. Not only did she take care of them every day, she also thought about going to a temple to ask Buddha to bless and protect them. Coincidentally, Wei Luo was bored at home, so she decided to go with her and ask for protection charms for Wei Kun and Chang Hong in the passing.
Sitting inside the black-lacquered flat-roof carriage, the group of people arrived at Ci Temple and followed the grey-robed monks to the main hall. Inside the hall, it was currently the peak time of the day for burning incenses.
There was an endless stream of people here to worship the bodhisattva. The bodhisattva here had a famous reputation for being very effective, so many people had come here to visit.
When it was Wei Luo and Liang Yu Rong’s turn, the two young girls kneeled down on the praying mats and faced the stately bodhisattva statue. Holding three incense sticks in their hands, they bowed before putting the incense sticks into the incense burner. Then, they kneeled down on the praying mat again, put their hands together in prayer, and respectfully kowtowed three times.
Liang Yu Rong wanted to request three protection charms, so she had to repeat these actions three times.
Wei Luo originally only intended to ask for the two, but from time to time, Zhao Jie’s face appeared in her mind. After hesitating for a while, she continued to bow with Liang Yu Rong.
After they finished, a monk gave them three protective charms. Liang Yu Rong curiously glanced at Wei Luo and asked,
Weren’t you only going to ask for two? Who are you giving the third one too?
At this time, Chang Hong wasn’t with them. He was currently outside waiting for them. Wei Luo pursed her lips and confidently said,
I asked it for older brother Prince Jing.
Liang Yu Rong’s expression suddenly became ambiguously and she deliberately dragged out saying,
Ohhh. You sure think about Prince Jing a lot…
Wei Luo angrily glanced at her. She really wanted to cover Liang Yu Rong’s mouth.
As the two of them were walking out of the main hall, they kept talking and didn’t notice the people walking into the hall. Wei Luo almost crashed into someone. Fortunately, her reaction was prompt. She moved a step to the side and firmly stopped.
She turned her head to look and saw that the other person was a middle-aged woman with exquisite black eyebrows and beautiful eyes. Although there were fine lines at the corners of her eyes, they didn’t have the slightest effect on her beauty. In all details, her elegant bearing was outstanding. It could be clearly seen that she must have been a beauty when she was younger. Wei Luo didn’t pay too much attention and only felt that she looked very familiar. She smiled and politely said,
Excuse me.
The woman stopped and stared at her without any expression. A long time later, she returned to her senses and somewhat helplessly said,
It’s fine. Young lady, be more carefully when walking…
Wei Luo nodded and left with Liang Yu Rong.
After they left the main hall, Liang Yu Rong curiously looked at her, then turned her head to look at that woman. She asked,
Ah Luo, that woman looks so similar to you.
Wei Luo was very disapproving of her remark. She faintly said,
Really? Perhaps, it’s a coincidence.
Seeing that Wei Luo didn’t care, it wouldn’t be good for Liang Yu Rong to continue pursuing the topic,
Maybe…
However, in her mind, she thought that they were exactly the same in appearance and temperament.
Wei Chang Hong was standing underneath a large elm tree in the courtyard while waiting for them. Liang Yu Rong wanted to continue to ask, but Wei Luo had already walked over to Chang Hong to show off the protective charms that she had recently requested. She proudly said,
I heard that these were personally made by the abbot. They’re very effective. Chang Hong, I’ll put it on for you.
Wei Chang Hong curved the corner of his lips and didn’t refuse.
Okay.
Wei Luo stood on her tiptoes and took out one of the protective charms to tie it around his neck.
Wei Luo was too short. It was still difficult for her to do this even if she stood on her tiptoes. Chang Hong cooperatively leaned over so that it would easier for her.
There was a woman silently standing at the entrance of the man hall. She was wearing a red cloak with a rounded embroidery lotus flower design. Seeing those two children that seemed very close underneath the tree, her eyes turned red without her noticing. As it turns out, a long time had already passed. They had already grown up…
After Wei Luo helped Chang Hong with tying the protective charm, they didn’t linger and prepared to leave the mountain.
Seeing that they were leaving, the woman couldn’t help taking a step forward. She opened her mouth and almost called out their names.
The servant girl next to her asked,
Madam, didn’t you want to come here to worship Buddha?
She froze and immediately stopped. Right, she was here to worship Buddha today. At the moment, she hadn’t even seen Buddha’s statue… But, how could she still be in the mood? She hesitated for a moment. In the end, she walked a few steps and absent-mindedly said,
Not today, I’ll come back another day.
