Chapter 303

“Your Highness, we…” Wei Qiufu was befuddled since Beauty Wang dismissed them so abruptly despite her eagerness to see them.

“Leave!” Exasperated to even explain herself, Beauty Wang stood up and instructed the palace maid to go with her. Then, she turned around and walked out of the pavilion without batting an eye on them.

Thus, the two sisters watched helplessly as Beauty Wang stepped onto the bridge and left with her maid.

“Fourth Elder Sister, is Beauty Wang one of the Emperor’s concubines too?” Wei Yuewu asked curiously.

“Yes, she used to be. Forget it, let’s go back. Maybe she was curious about us because we are from the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang.” Wei Qiufu turned around, held Ming Yan’s hand, and headed outside. She looked like she didn’t want to continue the topic.

“Why haven’t I heard of her title?” Wei Yuewu asked in confusion as she followed behind Wei Qiufu.

“I’m not sure either. I only heard someone mention her by chance. Anyway, didn’t you come here directly just now? Why were you so slow?”

Wei Qiufu did not want to discuss the topic of Beauty Wang further because she had a conjecture that made her extremely excited. She did not want Wei Yuewu to know about it or poke her nose into this, so she briefly passed on the topic.

Even some of the young ladies of aristocratic families in the city did not know about Beauty Wang, so Wei Qiufu was certain that Wei Yuewu was equally clueless.

Just now, not only Wei Yuewu, but Wei Qiufu also noticed Beauty Wang’s scrutinizing gaze, which was why Wei Qiufu kept on conversing with Beauty Wang.

“On our way earlier, Jin Ling sprained her ankle, so I slowly walked here with her.” Seeing that Wei Qiufu stayed tight-lipped, Wei Yuewu smiled and did not ask any more questions.

Thus, they chatted casually while walking back to Chu Xiu Palace.

As soon as they reached the palace entrance, they saw that none of the young ladies had left. Upon seeing the sight, Wei Yuewu could not help but sigh. Indeed, people loved gossiping, including the young ladies of aristocratic families who were usually serious and strictly following the traditional paragons of virtue. At this moment, the ladies looked at them with a look of excitement on their faces.

It seemed that there were still people who knew Beauty Wang.

“Fourth Miss Wei, why did Beauty Wang want to see you?” the young lady in pink who had helped Wei Qiufu before asked eagerly. There were a lot of people here who were close to Wei Qiufu.

“Nothing. She seemed to know my Eldest Aunt, so when she heard that my Sixth Younger Sister and I are in the palace, she wanted to meet us,” Wei Qiufu said in an ambiguous tone.

Wei Yuewu’s face turned cold. Wei Qiufu wanted to gain some benefits and push the spotlight onto her. Not a chance!

“No, that’s not what she meant. Beauty Wang only said that she saw my mother from afar, but she did not say that she knew her personally.” Wei Yuewu shook her head and added with a serious face, “But she kept asking if the Crown Prince has taken your tag. What did she mean by that?”

Everyone knew that the Crown Prince had taken Wei Qiufu’s tag, and they started to pay more attention to it since Yang Yuyan entered the Crown Prince Mansion. Everyone was making assumptions about the Crown Prince’s intention. Did he take a fancy to Wei Qiufu or look down on her?

To their surprise, this matter even attracted Beauty Wang’s attention. The young ladies exchanged curious and gossipy looks.

“Fourth Miss Wei, did Beauty Wang ask about you?” Qin Wenyu asked curiously. Although Grand Scholar Qin did not hold a high-ranking position, he was famous among the civil officials, and the Emperor respected him very much.

The Crown Prince Mansion was Wei Qiufu’s target at first, but ever since she was chosen by the Third Princess as her study companion, she wasn’t sure if she was more interested in entering the Crown Prince Mansion or going with the Third Princess when she got married. The four heirs-apparent and the Crown Prince became the standard comparison points in her heart.

How could she not be concerned when the Crown Prince was mentioned?

“Yes, but she only talked about me briefly,” Wei Qiufu blurted nonchalantly since she didn’t want them to inquire about this matter. “Ladies, my Sixth Younger Sister is tired. I’ll take her in to rest.”

Without waiting for Wei Yuewu’s response, she turned around and headed toward their rooms.

It was an obvious excuse, but coincidentally, it was what Wei Yuewu needed. With a faint smile, she followed behind Wei Qiufu, letting the latter take her away.

“What did she mean by that? Does she think she is invincible now?” Seeing that Wei Qiufu excused herself without revealing much information, a young lady shook her handkerchief in annoyance.

“Who knows what the Crown Prince is thinking about? Does she think that she will become a consort once she enters Crown Prince Mansion?” someone retorted with a bit of jealousy once a person started the topic.

There were many young ladies who wanted to enter the Crown Prince Mansion due to the Crown Prince’s unassailable status. Once they entered the Crown Prince Mansion, they were slated for royal concubines once he ascended to the throne. Perhaps in the future, they could become Empress and even Empress Dowager. No one could resist such temptations when they foresaw such a promising prospect.

Ignoring those young ladies’ apprehensive remarks, Wei Yuewu and Wei Qiufu turned around a few corridors and saw their rooms in the distance.

“Sixth Younger Sister.” Wei Qiufu stopped walking. “You should go and rest. Let’s go for a walk together around the yard after dinner. Now that both of us are in the Palace, we should look after each other,” Wei Qiufu said with a gentle expression.

“Tonight?” Wei Yuewu’s eyes flashed as she looked at the sky. At this time, the sky had already darkened.

“Yes. Let’s take a stroll tonight and familiarize ourselves with the environment,” Wei Qiufu explained with a smile. Then, she looked at Wei Yuewu’s leg with concern. “But we can do it tomorrow if your leg is hurt.”

“It’s okay. Let’s go for a walk after dinner.” Wei Yuewu shook her head. She knew that Wei Qiufu was playing tricks, and she was curious to see what Wei Qiufu wanted to do. Furthermore, there should be no difference between tonight and tomorrow night.

After returning to the room to rest for a while, the eunuch brought dinner over. After Wei Yuewu finished eating, she spruced up her attire and went to Wei Qiufu’s room on her own accord.

After knocking on the door, Ming Yan came over to open the door. When she saw Wei Yuewu standing outside, she hurriedly opened the door wider and smiled. “Hi, Sixth Young Lady. Fourth Young Lady was just saying that she was going to your room, but you beat her to it. Please come in and have a seat. She will be ready soon.”

With a smile, Wei Yuewu entered the door. “Don’t mind me. I’ll sit here for a while. Go and help my elder sister.”

Since Wei Qiufu was not in the outer room, she should still be dressing up in the inner room.

“Sixth Younger Sister, please make yourself at home. I’ll be ready in a minute!” Sure enough, Wei Qiufu’s voice came from the inner room.

Wei Yuewu hummed with a smile while gazing across the room. Today, she intended to take a look at Wei Qiufu’s room after hearing Jin Ling say that Wei Qiufu’s room was very similar to hers.

It was indeed very similar. If Wei Yuewu hadn’t been meticulous, she would have thought that this room was her own. It had the same layout structure and almost the same decoration. Everything here was almost exactly the same as her room, and it was difficult to distinguish.

Seeing Ming Yan enter the inner room, Wei Yuewu got up and walked to the window. As soon as she opened it, she saw that there was also a small patio outside the window, as well as several bamboos. They were cleaned up tidily. Even the patio outside the window looked very similar to the view in her room.

Then, she picked up a writing brush washer that was placed on the table, which had the same color as the one in her room. Wei Yuewu had once seen the writing brush washer in her room with someone’s name engraved on it. The person was not particularly popular. At that time, she had specially taken note of it. Now, the signature on the writing brush washer in Wei Qiufu’s room was also the same as the one on her writing brush washer.

Even the details were so similar.

Suddenly, Wei Yuewu’s eyes fell on the inside of the writing brush washer, and her pupils contracted. There was a paper inside, which she did not have in her own room.

The reason why Wei Yuewu was shocked was that the flower shape of the folded paper was similar to the shape of the paper that she had received under the window in the Plum Blossom Nunnery asking her to reconcile with Wei Yuejiao.

“What are you looking at, Sixth Younger Sister?” Suddenly, Wei Qiufu’s voice, as well as the sound of footsteps, came from behind.

With a slight change of expression, Wei Yuewu quickly picked up the paper and put it into her sleeve. At this time, Wei Qiufu had already arrived by her side. Looking at the empty writing brush washer, Wei Qiufu asked in confusion, “What are you looking at? You’re so focused just now.”

“It’s nothing. I just feel that the layout of your room is very similar to mine,” Wei Yuewu turned her head and uttered with a smile.

Ming Yan had already told Wei Qiufu that the two rooms were quite similar. Wei Qiufu did not care. After all, it wasn’t Wei Yuewu who arranged the rooms. Even if they were similar, so what?

However, why was Wei Yuewu standing in front of her window in a daze? Wei Qiufu looked at Wei Yuewu suspiciously, and her gaze fell on the writing brush washer on the table. She had just moved into the room, so she did not have the time to check the room’s layout properly.

“This hairpin is indeed beautiful. Concubine Dong has good taste!” Wei Yuewu’s gaze fell on Wei Qiufu’s hair bun as she praised.

The long wooden hairpin that pierced through her silky black hair bun was simple, unadorned, and exquisite. At first glance, it looked distinctive, and it emphasized her fair skin even more.

“I have to thank you for lending it to me!” Hearing the mention of the hairpin on her head, Wei Qiufu immediately turned to the side and thanked her, but she did not want to pursue the topic. She did not want to return such a nice hairpin at all, so it was best not to mention it.

“Let’s go.” Wei Qiufu smiled and extended her hand to Wei Yuewu.

“Alright.” Wei Yuewu nodded, and the two of them left the room one after the other.

At this moment, it was still early in the evening, and Chu Xiu Palace was brightly lit as there were people living here. It did not feel much darker all the way to the door as they walked under the flickering light.

There were also a few young ladies, who were strolling not far away from the door. It was still early at this time, and everyone came out for a stroll after dinner. Moreover, these young ladies were curious and excited since they had just lived in the Palace. They would not feel sleepy at this hour.

“Let’s go take a look at the Orchid Courtyard,” Wei Qiufu suggested when they reached the door. “We haven’t been to other places. The only place we’ve been to was the Orchid Courtyard, which our eldest sister took us there. It’s quite beautiful and nearby, and we won’t bump into any noble. Let’s go there and have a look. Maybe there’ll be something exciting awaiting us.”

“Okay. Let’s go,” Wei Yuewu, who had already speculated something, replied with a smile while hiding the ridicule in her eyes.

Wei Qiufu really couldn’t bear it any longer…