“Of course I know all that! I just didn’t expect that the wife I happened to pick out for Sanlang would turn out to be such a lucky star.”
“Isn’t it so! If Third Young Madam continues her friendship with Prince Wei’s estate, it’ll be tremendously beneficial for our estate.”
Prince Wei was extremely close to the current emperor, yet he wasn’t involved in politics. His house was also known for being morally upright. Having connections with Prince Wei’s estate would only bring them benefits, and no harm at all.
“Matriarch, this old servant isn’t sure whether to speak freely…”
Matriarch He glared at Senior Servant Liu. “You silly servant. There’s nothing that you can’t say freely in front of me.”
Senior Servant Liu paused her massage and moved over to face the matriarch. “Matriarch, this old servant wonders if you noticed Eldest Young Madam’s expression today. This old servant is afraid that Eldest Young Madam’s thoughts may be straying towards the wrong path…”
Matriarch He sunk into silence.
Dalang’s wife!
When Chu Lian returned to Songtao Court, she had a quick meal with some snacks before returning to her bedroom. It had been a physically and mentally taxing day for her, so she intended to go to bed early and get a good night’s sleep.
Regardless of the troubles currently plaguing her mind, Chu Lian determined that leaving the pondering to tomorrow was a better course of action than keeping herself up the entire night today.
Fuyan pushed aside the gauze curtains on the bedchamber. First, she glanced at Xiyan, who was standing ramrod straight as she guarded the chamber. Next, she peeped at Chu Lian, lying on the bed.
Although nothing showed on her expression, her curiosity was burning. She hated that she couldn’t immediately question Xiyan about what had happened today.
She wanted to know if Third Young Madam had met Mister Xiao today while out of the estate. Was she secretly having an affair with Mister Xiao?
That high-quality dress that Third Young Madam had changed into was also suspicious. She couldn’t possibly have changed into it after meeting Mister Xiao, right?
All sorts of scenarios played out in Fuyan’s mind. When she thought of Third Young Master’s cool and handsome face, she pinched her palm for courage.
Third Young Master was so good-looking. If Third Young Madam had betrayed Third Young Master, she… she wouldn’t let it continue!
Though Fuyan was so hung up over He Changdi’s looks now, if she could see what He Sanlang looked like as he roughed it out at the northern border, she probably wouldn’t be using the word ‘handsome’ to describe him any time soon.
Xiao Bojian had already escaped Defend Teahouse long before the city guards’ arrival, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t close by.
Standing inside a fabric store opposite the teahouse, Xiao Bojian repeatedly clenched his hands into fists at his side. His eyes were murky, as if he were struggling inside. Finally, he turned and spoke to One in a low voice. “Why don’t you go to Defeng Teahouse and see how Lian’er is doing?”
The expression on the bodyguard’s average-looking, forgettable face seemed to flicker for a bit. However, in the end, he didn’t disregard his master’s request. He grunted in acknowledgement and merged back into the crowd on the street.
After an hour, One was back.
Xiao Bojian had already moved to a room on the second floor of the fabric store. He sat behind a desk, a calm expression on his face. However, his voice betrayed the anxiety he felt inside as he asked, “How was it?”
One cupped his fists. “Reporting to master. Sixth Miss Chu is already safe. Master can relax now. The city guards have already taken down all the assassins.”
Xiao Bojian caught the thread of hesitation on One’s face as he spoke. His expression darkened. “What are you trying to hide? Speak!”
One was most afraid of the darkly sinister look that sometimes graced his master’s face, and it was this exact expression that he was wearing right now. One’s body trembled a little as he pulled out an exquisite piece of jade from his sleeve. He respectfully offered it up to his master with both hands. “Master, this subordinate found this in Sixth Miss Chu’s private room.”
Xiao Bojian reached out and took the jade amulet in hand. His slender fingers caressed the surface of the amulet. He recalled that this was the amulet that Chu Lian had been wearing today. It was a quality piece of jade, and the carving was finely detailed. He could tell that it was of great value at one glance.
The carving on this jade amulet was beyond compare. It was also perfectly sized so it could be worn by either gender. The embroidered string that it hung on was a bright pink, perhaps since Chu Lian had been wearing it. If it were changed to a dark blue or green string, it should be fine for a man.
Xiao Bojian didn’t think that Chu Lian would carelessly leave behind such a valuable piece of jade in the room. There was only one possibility… That she had done it on purpose…
As for who this jade amulet had been meant for, he was the only man who had visited that room today, so the conclusion was clear.
With a burst of emotion, Xiao Bojian’s clenched the amulet in his hands, a glint flashing through his eyes.
When he heard One’s report, the longing he felt in his heart grew even stronger.
He never knew that his Lian’er could be so smart and calm. Even if it had been him in that situation, he might not necessarily have been able to make the same bold and brave decision that Chu Lian had.
Saving the Fourth Prince and building ties with Prince Wei’s estate — his Lian’er was truly one of a kind.
The light in Xiao Bojian’s eyes shone even brighter. Every time he discovered another one of her merits, it was even harder for him to let go of her. Even though she was already married to someone else, his covetous heart had never loosened its claws on her; not once!
He was the only one fit for his Lian’er!
He had been planning on approaching Chu Lian slowly, creating more chances for the two of them to meet. However, that He Sanlang had wisely backed out and left for the northern border all by himself.
Heh! Then he didn’t need to act recklessly. He had all the time in the world to come up with a plan, to make his beloved woman walk step by step into his carefully prepared trap, and finally become his.
Though he was still in the midst of building up his base of power, there wasn’t any need to fear a small house like House Jing’an. Although the Jing’an Estate was full of military officials, the current emperor heavily favoured the literary officials. The only exceptions to this were the Dragon and Tiger Guards. Other than the border generals, there were hardly any military officials with some sort of influence in the court now.
Once this year’s autumn examinations began, it would be his time to shine and display his ambition!
One was watching the changes in his master’s eyes as he held onto the jade amulet. He coughed twice and carefully asked, “Master, when this subordinate investigated the assassins for a moment, this subordinate noticed that there were black imprints on their left forearms.”
Black imprints? Xiao Bojian’s eyes narrowed slightly.
When One noticed that Xiao Bojian wasn’t speaking, he continued his report. “As far as this subordinate knows, black imprints were a secret imperial technique from the previous dynasty. There are venomous worms in the imprints. When these assassins fail their mission, the person controlling the main worm can activate those black imprints to force the assassins to commit suicide.”
Xiao Bojian waved his hand and didn’t say anything else, simply acknowledging the report.
Upon noticing his master’s expression, One didn’t continue speaking.
However, he did continue that line of thought in the safety of his own mind. Were the mysterious assassins sent to kill the Fourth Prince and Royal Princess Duanjia by someone supporting the previous dynasty?
They had changed to the Great Wu Dynasty for many years now. Even if there was a remaining trace of the old imperial bloodline, they should have slowly faded into nothing by now. How could they have had the power to send assassins after a prince and princess in broad daylight, let alone on one of the main streets of the capital?
The mystery of the assassins would require further investigation to resolve.
The morning after saw Chu Lian rising much earlier than usual, as she had gone to bed early last night.
She had already decided what to make for breakfast the night before. It was going to be refreshing vegetarian wraps, paired with a light and salty vegetable porridge.
After breakfast, Chu Lian noticed it was still early and went back to her little study to practise her calligraphy.
She had some talent in calligraphy already, and she had experience in writing simplified Chinese words with pens. Now all she had to do was learn to use a brush and write in traditional Chinese words instead. She wasn’t used to it at first, but after practising for a few days, she had no problems writing most of the commonly used words. However, it was impossible for her to write exactly like ‘Chu Lian’ had.
Firstly, she wasn’t good at copying. Secondly,there weren’t many examples from the former host of this body that she could reference. Besides, she was herself and she wasn’t going to try to imitate the original ‘Chu Lian’. They were two completely different people in the first place!
Although using a brush and writing in traditional Chinese words were easy enough, she still had a long way to go before her calligraphy could be anywhere close to passable.
Chu Lian was more used to using pens instead of brushes. She got Xiyan to find some goose feathers and made her own feather pens. When she wanted to practise writing fancier characters, or writing for longer amounts of time, she would switch to the feather pens.
After filling up two sheets of paper with her calligraphy practice, Chu Lian made her way over to Qingxi Hall to give her daily greetings to the matriarch. Afterwards, she intended to stop by her mother-in-law’s courtyard for a visit.
Who could have known that Chu Lian would receive something she hadn’t expected at all- a letter from He Changdi all the way from the northern border!
Matriarch He had a wide smile on her face as she passed the letter over. She was acting just like she was watching her cute pair of grandchildren being lovey-dovey right in front of her.
The corner of Chu Lian’s mouth twitched. She kept her expression neutral as she took the letter, but she couldn’t bring herself to speak. The matriarch mistook this as Chu Lian simply being shy, so she dismissed her with a wave of a hand to let her read the letter in private. Matriarch He even reminded her to write a reply after she was finished reading. The man who had brought them the letters was still waiting to send everyone’s replies back together to the northern border!
Seeing Matriarch He’s pleased expression, Chu Lian felt like she was out of her depth. When she recalled what Senior Servant Liu had told her last night while escorting her back to Songtao Court, Chu Lian’s mood took a turn for the worse.
Senior Servant Liu’s words played again in her mind. “Third Young Madam, please don’t blame this old servant for speaking up about this. The countess hasn’t been in the best of health since the birth of Third Young Master, so this old servant was the one who took care of him from childhood. This old servant feels warm just watching the two of you interact so well. But now, Third Young Master must be suffering over at the northern border, and our Master can’t help him either. He’s all alone over there without a companion he can share his troubles with. Although it’s been so hot as of late over here in the capital, it’s actually terribly cold over there, especially at night. I’ve heard that it’s impossible to survive without a jacket on. Third Young Master left in such a hurry, this old servant doesn’t know if he brought enough supplies…”
After Senior Servant Liu had dragged on and on in this vein, Chu Lian instantly understood. She only had one purpose; that was to make Chu Lian, as Sanlang’s wife, send more care for the He Family’s lonely, suffering Third Young Master.
If she could be a caring and considerate wife and prepare some changes of clothing and such for her dear husband, it would be great.
As much as Chu Lian wanted to roll her eyes, she couldn’t say anything to Senior Servant Liu. She could tell that Senior Servant Liu genuinely cared for He Changdi. She treated him like her very own son.
There was nothing wrong with those kinds of feelings.
Chu Lian agreed to it. Despite how terribly He Changdi acted in front of her, she was still his legitimate wife. There were expectations she had to fulfill according to that role. As for that crazy husband of hers, pfft. As long as he wasn’t around to disturb her, there was nothing to worry about.
Chu Lian’s thoughts were plain and simple.
When she returned to her study, Chu Lian sat alone at her desk. She measured the thickness of the envelope with her fingers; it seemed pretty thick. There must be quite a few pieces of paper in there!