Chapter 69

Zhao Jie stopped walking, slowly turned around, and maintained his composure as he looked at Zhao Zhang.

Zhao Zhang had his own ideas and his calculations were exceptionally meticulous. With the relationship between Count Zhong Yi and Noble Consort Ning, if Song Hui could score first place in the court examination, Song Hui would definitely stand on Zhao Zhang's side. By playing matchmaker for Wei Luo and Song Hui's wedding, Song Hui would harbor thoughts of gratefulness towards him and loyally serve him. In addition, after gaining a layer of relationship with Wei Luo, he wouldn't have to worry about gaining Duke Ying's family as his supporters. This was a brilliant scheme that would kill two birds with one stone.

Although he had calculated everything properly, he unfortunately didn't know about Zhao Jie's feelings towards Wei Luo.

While he was there frankly speaking with assurance, Zhao Jie didn't show his emotions as he listened.

Once Zhao Zhang was done speaking, Zhao Jie calmly asked, "Fifth brother is so concern about a marriage for Count Zhong Yi's family. Is it because you have other intentions?"

Hearing Zhao Jie being so blunt about point this out, Zhao Zhang was slightly stunned and his face was stifled for a moment before he raised the corners of his lips to smile and say, "Second brother is thinking too much. What kind of intentions can I have? I was only casually mentioning this in consideration for imperial father's reputation."

Zhao Jie raised his eyebrows and exasperatingly slowly said, "Oh." His entire self became imposing. Although he didn't show any signs of anger, he gave off a sense of indescribable oppression, "For imperial father's reputation? It doesn't seem that simple. Fifth brother already has a good relationship with Count Zhong Yi and now you want to draw over Duke Ying's family to your side?" His thin lips were faintly smiling, but a trace of imperceptible coldness flashed through his phoenix eyes. "If this prince remembers correctly, "Duke Ying's family's fourth miss is only thirteen years old. Fifth brother, you're being too hasty."

Zhao Zhang's face changed. Zhao Jie had guessed all of his thoughts and mercilessly said them out loud. He was temporarily dumbstruck and speechless.

Emperor Chong Zhen's expression subtly changed and his grip on the purple brush tightened. He stared at both of them. His gaze was chaotic and penetrating.

A long time later, he asked Zhao Zhang, "Old five, is this true?"

The emperor's greatest taboo was the princes secretly pulling the officials to their sides and privately conspiring about imperial court matters. It gave him the feeling that his sons wanted to replace him before he died. Although Zhao Jie and Zhao Zhang were drawing official to their sides, they were extremely secretive with their actions and would never let him know. Now that Zhao Jie said these words, he would be more vigilant against Zhao Zhang.

Zhao Zhang's face was panic-stricken. He hurriedly lifted his robe, kneeled down, and said, "To respond to imperial father, this isn't true."

Although he said this, he did have private contact with Count Zhong Yi, Song Bai Ye. Not only did they have contact, he had recorded each meeting in a book. He had also recorded the names of all court officials that he meetings with. Originally, he had only created this as evidence to be used against them just in case. He hadn't expected that it would become his own Achilles' heel.

He had secretly hidden that book. No one else knew its location other than him. Zhao Jie's tone had been so assured. Could he know something?

Zhao Zhang was very unsettled.

Both of them had their own supporters. When Zhao Jie was secretly meeting with court officials, he never left behind evidence. The whereabouts of these meetings were indeterminate and elusive. Even if Zhao Zhang wanted to find information to use against Zhao Jie, there weren't any traces of it to be found.

In this aspect, Zhao Jie had outsmarted his opponent and Zhao Zhang was in disadvantageous position.

Emperor Chong Zhen's expression had slightly relaxed. After thinking it over, he said, "Since it's not true, then know your place and behave yourself. As for Song Hui's marriage, let's reconsider this after the court examination...."

After saying this, he waved his hand to indicate for the two of them to leave.

Zhao Jie and Zhao Zhang left the imperial study and walked in the direction of the palace gates.

——-

Near the palace gates, Zhao Jie held the reins, flipped onto his horse, and quietly ordered Zhu Geng, "Figure out a way to obtain old five's book, transcribe a copy, and deliver it to this prince. Remember to secretly proceed without letting anyone else find out."

Zhu Geng had followed him for a long time. Now that he was finally asking him to do something slightly difficult, he immediately readily agreed, "Prince, be assured. This subordinate will accomplish this task beautifully."

——-

At Duke Ying's residence, it was drizzling today. The raindrops landed on the verandah's glazed roof tiles and fell into the soil. The rain wasn't heavy, but it felt as if it were unending. Wei Kun had gone to the imperial academy. After Wei Luo washed up and changed into a moon white and sky blue top with short sleeves, a gauzy honey yellow skirt, and gao die er shoes, she walked in the direction of the study.

(T/N: Below is picture of gao die er shoes.)

The study was behind Pine Courtyard's main hall. It was the room that Wei Kun did his work. Normally, Wei Luo rarely came here. If it weren't for Jiang Miao Lan's painting, she probably wouldn't be stepping foot into here.

There wasn't anyone at the study's doors. She pushed open the doors and walked to behind the black table inlayed with golden spirals and engraved with clouds. Last time, she saw Wei Kun putting the painting away in the bookshelf here. She tried looking for it and in the innermost shelf, she found the painting sealed up for safe keeping inside a Chinese cedar box. She took the painting out of the box and slowly untied the red silk around the scroll. It was the woman she had seen last time.

She didn't discover anything on the painting, so she could only store the painting back in the box, put the box in the bookshelf, and leave the study.

When she returned to Pine Courtyard's main hall, there was servant girl wearing a bluish green top and skirt waiting for her. At the sight of her, the servant girl hurriedly came forward to say, "Fourth Miss, you finally returned."

Unclear about the reason why the servant girl was waiting for her, Wei Luo tilted her head and asked, "What happened?"

The servant girl nodded and hurriedly said, "Someone came to invite you to the palace."

Wei Luo froze for a moment and subconsciously asked, "Was it Princess Tianji that invited me?"

"It wasn't Princess Tianji." The servant girl shook her head and continued, "It was Empress Chen that invited you to the palace."

Empress Chen?

This was even more puzzling. From the time she stopped being Zhao Liuli's study companion, she hadn't seen Empress Chen in a long time. Every time she went to the palace, she would directly go to Chen Hua Hall and rarely went to Zhao Yang Hall. Why did Empress Chen invite her to palace? Was there some urgent matter?

Although Wei Luo was startled, she didn't delay with going to her room. She had Jin Lu redo her hairstyle, add water crystal and jasper hairpins to her hair, take out a pair of turquoise and gold earrings from her trousseau, and put them on her ears before going into the palace carriage.

The carriage steadily headed towards the palace. An hour later, the carriage stopped at Qing Xi Palace's entrance. At the door, there was a mama wearing autumn colored clothes waiting for her.

Wei Luo came out of the carriage and followed behind the mama as they walked to Zhao Yang Hall.

After they passed through the long verandah in front of Zhao Yang Hall, they arrived at Zhao Yang Hall's doors. Wei Luo lowered her head as she entered the hall, saluted to Empress Chen while saying, "This subject greets Her Majesty."

Empress Chen was wearing an imperial golden top with wide sleeves and a golden skirt with blue sea serpent pattern. She was sitting on Chinese cedar chair with carved roses. After looking Wei Luo over, she smiled and said, "Rise, let this empress take a good look at you."

Wei Luo straightened and looked up.

She was suddenly startled when she looked up. Zhao Jie was sitting next to Empress Chen!

Zhao Jie was wearing a deep black robe with a persimmon pattern. He was supporting his chin in his hand and smiling as he looked at her.

She froze for a moment, then hurriedly looked away from him and went to properly sit in the chair below Empress Chen's. Unfortunately, the orientation of this chair wasn't good. It was directly across from Zhao Jie's. As soon as she looked up, she would be meeting his eyes. Unexpectedly, he didn't exercise restraint. His dark eyes kept looking at her and made her feel slightly uncomfortable.

Why was Zhao Jie here? Was it Empress Chen intention to invite her to palace or was it his? Was there some urgent matter?

While Wei Luo was puzzled, Empress Chen took the initiative in answering her doubts, "Liuli will soon turn fifteenth and have her hairpin ceremony. There needs to be a zanzhe This empress has thought about this for a while, but couldn't think of a suitable person. This empress remembered you after Chang Sheng mentioned you. You and Liuli are similar ages and are as close as sisters. There isn't another person more suitable than you." In the end, Empress Chen was smiling as she looked at her, "Would you be willing to attend?"

(T/N: Zanzhe is the person that assists the person in charge during the hairpin ceremony).

Wei Luo tilted her head and subconsciously asked, "Chang Sheng?"

(T/N: Chang Sheng literally means longevity)

Empress Chen covered the smile on her lips, "This is my son's childhood nickname. I'm too used to calling him by this nickname, so this empress temporarily forgot to modify my previous remark."

Oh... Wei Luo raised her her head to look at the person across from her and saw a slight change on Zhao Jie's face. She hadn't expected that such an imposing person would have such a cute childhood nickname. It was really unimaginable.

After thinking about it, Wei Luo nodded and said, "Since it Liuli's hairpin ceremony, I would definitely be willing to attend. But, I haven't been the zanzhe before and there are many things I'm not familiar with. I'm worried that I'll mess up the ceremony..."

Empress Chen gently comforted her, "There are still many things to prepare for the hairpin ceremony. Once everything else is done, come to the place and there will be a person who specializes in this ceremony to teach you the steps. You don't have to worry."

Wei Luo felt reassured after hearing this. She nodded her head and met the Empress's gaze. She faintly smiled and said, "Okay, then I'll have to bother Your Majesty for this."

She was a well-behaved and lovable girl. Empress Chen had seen her when she was child. And now, she saw that Wei Luo had grown up extremely beautifully. When she had just entered into the hall, Empress Chen had been startled for a moment.

Empress Chen frequently saw Gao Dan Yang and Li Xiang. They each had their own style of beauty and Empress Chen originally though they had very beautiful faces. But now, after meeting Wei Luo, she felt that they were slightly inferior. This young girl appeared perfect. Her eyebrows were as beautiful as peacock's feathers. Her skin was as white as snow. Her waist was as delicate as tied silk. Her teeth were as white as seashells. Her posture was as beautiful as fairy immortal's. In the end, she was extravagantly beautiful. In addition, her voice was milky soft and would make people's hearts soften when they heard it. It wouldn't be too much to say she was stunningly beautiful girl.

Empress Chen reminisced about past events as she held a snuff bottle with a brightly colored floral pattern outlined in gold. She couldn't help lament, "Time really doesn't spare anyone. Back then, you and Liuli were so small..." She gestured a short height with her hand. "And now you both have already grown up."

Wei Luo curved her lips into a smile and said, "But Your Majesty still looks the same as before without any changes."

This small mouth was so sweet. There wasn't any woman that didn't like to hear these types of words. Empress Chen's smile deepened and her gaze became more affectionate, "Child... This empress has always felt very grateful towards you. Back then, Liuli refused to drink her medicine and only you had a way to make her drink it. Now, her body is much healthier and most of that credit goes to you. When I called you to the palace, I also had the intention to give my thanks."

Wei Luo naturally couldn't bear the empress's thanks. She quickly said, "The energy that Your Majesty expended was far greater than mine..."

A single sentence caused Empress Chen's eyes to become teary.

In the past years, Empress Chen had spent so much energy and thoughts on Liuli. Sometimes, she couldn't sleep at night because she was worried that when she woke up Liuli would become seriously sick again. During that period of time, she felt apprehensive every day. She didn't know how she passed that time and felt sorrow when she thought of those years. Fortunately, Liuli was now sensible with taking care of herself and she also had Yang Zhen at her side to protect her. So, she currently felt very reassured.

Empress Chen viewed Wei Luo in a new light. The more she looked, the more she liked her. She thought that Wei Luo was a considerate and sensible girl. Wei Luo's words reached the bottom of her heart. She had Mama Qiu bring over a small, carved sandalwood box to Wei Luo. "This Empress doesn't have anything else. My mother gave this head ornament to me when I entered the palace. Now, I'll transfer it you."

Inside the box, there was a head ornament made with golden wires. It had lotus flowers and was embedded with seven transparent rubies. A single glance showed that it was priceless. But, what was even more rare was Empress Chen's intention to show her kindly feelings. When Wei Luo heard about this head ornaments' origins, she felt as if she couldn't accept the gift. She opened her mouth to refuse, "This subject..."

Empress Chen deliberately stopped smiling and looked serious as she threatened, "If you don't accept it, then you're refusing this empress's gratitude."

When did she have such thoughts? Wei Luo felt slightly wronged. She could only accept this gift and sincerely said, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

After they were done speaking about this, Empress Chen had her stay longer to talk for a bit. Her tone was polite and her manner was warm. It didn't seem like a conversation between an empress and her subject. Instead, it seemed like a conversation between an elder and her junior family member.

About two hours later, seeing that it wasn't early, Wei Luo stood up to say good-bye. Empress Chen didn't keep her any longer. After all, it was raining outside and it wouldn't be easy to walk outside when it became darker. Worried that Wei Luo would get wet from the rain, she had Mama Qiu bring an umbrella to take her to Qing Xi Palace's doors.

At the same time, Zhao Jie put down the lid on his teacup, dusted his robe, stood up, and said, "Imperial mother, your imperial son has something to attend to in his residence and will also be leaving."

Empress Chen didn't have any misgivings. She nodded and said, "I remember that you didn't bring an umbrella when you came here? Wait here until Mama Qiu brings back umbrellas."

He nodded in assent.

Mama Qiu soon came out of the warmed room with two umbrellas in her hand. One was for Wei Luo. The other was for Zhao Jie.

Zhao Jie took both of the umbrellas. Underneath the verandah, he said to Mama Qiu, "You can go back. This prince is going the same way as Fourth Miss and will show her out of Qing Xi Palace."

Mama Qiu didn't think anything of Zhao Jie's words. She nodded and glanced at Wei Luo, then turned around and left.

But, why didn't she think about how Zhao Jie had never volunteered to send a girl off?

Wei Luo look at the departing figure of Mama Qiu and felt extremely helpless.

Zhao Jie lowered his eyes to look at the girl. In a few steps, he walked past her, "Let's go."

Wei Luo could only lift up her skirt as she walked faster to keep up. They were walking in the verandah. There was the sound of rain falling from the roof to the ground and splashing on the verandah. There were gusts of moist dampness.

Zhao Jie seemed displeased as he was walking. He was probably paying attention to her steps and wasn't walking fast or slow in front her. He didn't talk to her or turn around to look at her.

After finally arriving at the end of the verandah, the path in front of them led to the palace doors. Wei Luo walked faster to catch up and stopped three steps away from him. "Older brother Prince Jing, give me an umbrella."

As she said this, her small, white hand stretched out towards him without the slightest politeness.

Zhao Jie stopped. He turned to look at her, then he looked at the distance between them. He slightly curved his lips and joked, "You're standing so far away. How can this prince give you the umbrella?"

After thinking about it, she decided that her only option was to walk forward and she walked a few steps closer to him.

Who would have expected that he wouldn't give her the umbrella? He stared at her for a moment, then he slowly leaned over until he was intimately close to her as his dark eyes kept directly looking at hers. There was only a finger's width of a distance between them.

Wei Luo subconsciously retreated. He always seemed to frequently look at her without any reason.

His thin lips easily curved up and he asked, "Are you hiding from me?"

The author has something to say:

Ah Luo: You found out =.=