Chapter 314
Wei Luowen originally wanted to send Wei Yuewu back to her palace, but Wei Yuewu insisted on going with him to take a look and promised that she would see from a distance. Moreover, she said that Wei Fengyao had invited her over there before. If Yan Huaijing hadn’t invited her to play Go, she would have been at the place when the assassination happened.
Her remarks made Wei Luowen’s face darken, but he agreed to let Wei Yuewu follow.
Coincidentally, Wei Fengyao and Wei Qiufu were both there. Although they were standing far away from the crowd, their presence made Wei Luowen even more suspicious.
If Yan Huaijing hadn’t stopped Wei Yuewu and taken her elsewhere at that time, would she have died at the scene too?
At the thought of this, Wei Luowen looked skeptically at his two nieces again, who seemed fragile and gentle, and he began to suspect them…
“Eldest Sister, Fourth Elder Sister, you are indeed here. I’ve been looking everywhere for you!” Wei Yuewu walked over with a confident smile on her lips.
“S-S-Sixth Younger Sister, a-a-are you okay?” Wei Fengyao had been inquiring about Wei Yuewu before, but there was no one around here except the two dead eunuchs, so she wasn’t sure how and where Wei Yuewu was.
Now that she saw Wei Yuewu coming with Wei Luowen, she was so astounded that she became tongue-tied and couldn’t speak properly.
However, in Wei Luowen’s eyes, Wei Fengyao’s shocked reaction confused him even more. The scar on his face twisted twice, revealing a bit of a cold and sinister look.
This expression of his was undoubtedly terrifying. Wei Fengyao was so frightened that her face became even paler.
“Sixth Younger Sister, are you alright? Eldest Sister and I were really worried that something might happen to you, so we rushed over. Thank goodness, you’re alright!” Wei Qiufu hurriedly chimed in after seeing Wei Luowen’s expression.
Although Wei Qiufu was also shocked, she wasn’t the one who prepared the plot, and she did not know Wei Fengyao’s specific operation, so compared to Wei Fengyao, she did not have much fear and guilt.
“I am fine. I’m here with Father to see what exactly happened!” Wei Yuewu asserted vaguely.
She sounded as if she had stumbled upon Wei Luowen before and was taken away before the assassination happened here. Wei Yuewu was certain that Wei Fengyao and Wei Qiufu would never dare to verify her statement with Wei Luowen in person.
“Stay right here and watch from afar.” Wei Luowen’s eyes flashed as he instructed them.
“Yes, Father!”
“Yes, Eldest Uncle!” The three of them said in unison.
Wei Luowen looked at his two nieces in befuddlement again, feeling that it was impossible that the two young ladies were involved in this. Both of them were young ladies who were powerless and vulnerable. It was impossible that they could hire someone to assassinate eunuchs in the imperial palace. From the looks of it, it was just an accident. It was unlikely that the two ladies plotted against Yuewu.
Even so, he could not sweep away the doubts in his heart as Wei Fengyao clearly looked like she had a guilty conscience.
Despite his skepticism, Wei Luowen marched forward with the several palace guards to investigate this matter.
“Sixth Younger Sister, are you really okay?” Without Wei Luowen by their side, Wei Fengyao calmed down and was more at ease. She looked at Wei Yuewu with a surprised expression. Was Wei Yuewu not brought to that palace?
“Eldest Sister, I am fine. I just met a palace maid who knocked over the wine jug and accused me of bumping into her. I was angry, so I argued with her, then…” Wei Yuewu frowned, looking confused.
“Then, what happened?” Wei Fengyao hurriedly asked.
At this moment, her heart fluttered anxiously. She was nervous because she happened to know about that person’s matter occasionally. If he knew what she knew, it would come to no good.
Wei Fengyao was aware of how ruthless the masters in the palace were.
Meanwhile, Wei Fengyao’s face twisted in an indignant grimace when she heard that the palace maid argued with Wei Yuewu regarding the wine jug. She had specifically told that dimwitted wench to take the responsibility to herself and gain Wei Yuewu’s sympathy. Why did she argue with the latter?
Later, she would ask his maid to bring her that useless palace maid. She was truly useless to not be able to execute such a simple task.
“Later, I left angrily and waited for you and Fourth Elder Sister at the rockery. I didn’t know what the palace maid did after I left, but later, a person came from the other side of the road and took her there!” Wei Yuewu exclaimed with a frightened expression.
“T-T-Took her there…” Wei Fengyao gasped in astonishment as if she was out of breath. Her legs went soft, and she almost fell down.
“Yes, there. Father might find out later.” Wei Yuewu pointed to the front. “Eldest Sister, do you want to tell Father that I stumbled upon such a matter when you and Fourth Elder Sister asked me to come over? Maybe the palace maid is still inside.”
“No!” Wei Fengyao and Wei Qiufu shouted simultaneously.
Then, both of them exchanged glances and saw the fear in each other’s eyes.
Originally, Wei Fengyao wanted to plot against Wei Yuewu and had used another person in her plan. However, if someone else knew about this secret, not only Wei Fengyao, but even Wei Qiufu would be suspected of knowing something.
Although Wei Qiufu did not know how Wei Fengyao had schemed against Wei Yuewu, she could still deduce a part of it from their words, and after understanding her plot briefly, she cursed Wei Fengyao for being stupid.
People who knew too much in the palace knew too much would often come to no good.
Wei Fengyao must have known some nasty secret that Wei Qiufu was not aware of, but Wei Fengyao actually used this secret to plot against Wei Yuewu. If this matter was exposed, Wei Yuewu might not be in trouble, but they might be. Wei Qiufu was worried that others might suspect her of knowing something too, so she strongly opposed to Wei Yuewu telling this matter to Wei Luowen.
At this moment, Wei Fengyao’s hands in her sleeves were shaking in utter fear as she thought of the master who was related to this secret matter.
No matter what, she couldn’t let Wei Yuewu expose this matter.
“Sixth Younger Sister, the Palace is currently investigating the assassination. I don’t know what kind of person did it, but no matter who he is, he must be someone terrifying as he could come and go in the Palace as he pleased and kill someone. If you tell Eldest Uncle that you saw someone take the palace maid away, others may think that you saw the assassin. Th-They may make a move on you!”
Wei Qiufu calmed herself down and was the first to advise.
“Sixth Younger Sister, we are all young ladies. If they linked you to the investigation, they may bring you to the interrogation hall of the Ministry of Justice. Showing our faces in public will tarnish our reputation.”
Wei Fengyao continued.
Hearing them say this, Wei Yuewu seemed to hesitate. “Are you sure I can’t tell Father about this?”
“Absolutely not! Unless you don’t mind tarnishing your reputation or getting yourself killed!” Wei Fengyao and Wei Qiufu shook their heads decisively, their faces full of fear. It was as if as soon as Wei Yuewu said it, she would die instantly.
“I-I-I can’t say…” Wei Yuewu was also shocked.
“Definitely not!”
“Absolutely not!”
Wei Fengyao and Wei Qiufu confided in unison again.
“Alright!” Wei Yuewu looked reluctant.
“Are you all the young ladies from the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang?” A smiling voice suddenly interrupted their conversation.
Wei Yuewu’s eyes flickered, and she fell silent. The person who spoke to them was Qi Yunhao.
“Greetings, Heir-apparent of Duke of Qi!” Wei Fengyao recognized him immediately as the four heirs-apparent had been in the capital for some time. As the eldest sister, Wei Fengyao composed herself and bowed politely.
Wei Yuewu and Wei Qiufu also bowed together.
“You must be Miss Wu then?” Qi Yunhao turned to Wei Yuewu with a smile on his face. (Wu is pronounced the same as “five” in Chinese, and Miss Wu in Chinese can also be understood as “Fifth Miss”, hence the misunderstanding between the two.)
Wei Yuewu’s heart skipped a beat, but her expression did not change. “Oh, I was ranked sixth in the family. My Fifth Elder Sister did not come today.”
“You misunderstood me, Miss Wu. In the Qi state, we sometimes address others by the last word of their first name. For example, I can address you as Sixth Miss Wei or Miss Wu. As for Miss Fu…”
Qi Yunhao explained politely.
“Me?” Upon the mention of her name, Wei Qiufu was taken aback and asked in surprise.
“Yes. You can be addressed as Sixth Miss Wei and Fourth Miss Wei, but in our Qi State, I may call you Miss Fu,” Qi Yunhao informed with a smile as he looked at Wei Qiufu. He was attuned to her as she was the Fourth Young Lady from the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang, and the fact that she was being selected to enter the Crown Prince Mansion.
However, he did not care too much about her as well as her full name because he speculated that she would not hold a high position in the Crown Prince Mansion. However, to his surprise, there was the word “Fu” in her name.
On the other hand, Qi Yunhao had noticed Wei Yuewu before because of the previous rumors, her completely different appearance from that of her later, and that she was Wei Luowen’s biological daughter. Therefore, he knew that there was a word “Wu” in her name.
“Wu” and “Fu”, but there was only one person there.
Who was it? Was it Sixth Miss Wei or Fourth Miss Wei?
“Oh, I didn’t know that there is such a saying in the Qi State. When I came here with my father just now, he told me about the customs of various places, but he didn’t talk about this custom of Qi State. I think even he doesn’t know about this custom.” A faint smile slowly appeared on Wei Yuewu’s face. She was elegant and refined with a hint of serenity.
Qi Yunhao mentioned the word “Wu” and “Fu”, but Wei Yuewu was sure that he was not the so-called His Highness that she saw in the palace. The man had a unique feminine voice that was unforgettable.
It seemed that the dukes of the four states had actually hooked up with the forces in the capital. They would murder the people who knew their secret!
“Oh, Sixth Miss Wei, were you with Marquis Hua Yang just now?” Qi Yunhao raised his eyebrows and looked at Wei Yuewu with an unfathomable expression.
“Yes. If you were here just now, you should be able to see me coming with my father!” Wei Yuewu said with a relaxed expression. “Eldest Sister, you came early. Did you see me coming with Father?”
Her question made Wei Fengyao extremely uneasy. She was scared that Wei Yuewu would talk about the palace maid, so she quickly answered, disregarding the presence of the Heir-apparent of Duke of Qi who came to talk to them abruptly. “Yes! You came with Eldest Uncle. Fourth Younger Sister and I saw them just now. We just asked Eldest Uncle and confirmed that they were together earlier.”
Wei Fengyao had a guilty conscience and was afraid that Wei Yuewu would accidentally expose her and drag her into it, so she hurriedly covered up Wei Yuewu’s story.
However, she seemed unusually panicked and agitated as if she tried to cover up something.
“Fourth Miss Wei, what about you…” Qi Yunhao smiled and turned around to look at Wei Qiufu…