Chu Wang Fei

by Ning er

  Yun Qian Meng was immediately shocked at the news. But, after just a short while, she quickly felt relieved.

  Qu Zhang Qing might be a young noble lord, but he grew up in the army camp, and was extremely skilled at military tactics and formations as well as acquiring enemy intelligence. Since the movements from Bei Qi country couldn’t be determined easily, and because the report came from one of Hai Wang’s former subordinates, Yu Qian Di naturally wanted to send someone he trusted himself to investigate!

  If you were to look at the imperial court, the ones that Yu Qian Di trusted the most, other than the Ruan family, was Fu Guo gongfu. Since the Ruan family were scholars, he naturally couldn’t send them on this task. Hence, only Qu Zhang Qing could bear this responsibility!

  However, according to rumors, the people of Bei Qi had fierce customs. The crown prince of Bei Qi was known to be a ruthless and cruel person. If Qu Zhang Qing was not careful and got captured, there was no guarantee on his life.

  Qu Zhang Qing and Qu Fei Qing had a deep relationship as siblings, so it was hard to blame Qu Fei Qing for being down after hearing about this news.

  Yun Qian Meng put down the fan and pulled Qu Fei Qing hands into hers. Feeling her cold palms, she consoled her by saying, “biaojie shouldn’t think too much about it. biaoge’s martial arts and military tactics are top notch, so it’s natural for the Emperor to entrust him with such a heavy duty. Besides, men have to go out and achieve their ambitions. They can’t be like us women, staying at home and in the courtyard our whole lives. The Emperor certainly chose biaoge for this task because he was sure of his ability; he must be certain that biaoge can accomplish the mission successfully! Since the Empress Dowager hasn’t shown any objections, there is no need for us to have these groundless fears. Otherwise, aren’t we causing more worry for laotaijun and jiumu?”

  Yun Qian Meng’s words managed to persuade Qu Fei Qing and make her calm down slightly. After letting out a heavy sigh, she finally smiled and agreed, “You’re right, there is no need to doubt gege’s ability! The Empress Dowager must have just wanted laotaijun not to worry, that’s why she sent her trusted Lan gugu over to break the news!”

  Qu Fei Qing’s statement gave Yun Qian Meng a sudden revelation, leading her to whisper, “We should obviously keep this secret close to our stomachs!”

  “Greetings to gongzi!” At this moment, they heard the servants outside bow in greeting.

  In a minute, they saw Qu Zhang Qing, wearing a light white robe walk in. He looked at his two younger sisters cooling off by the window and said smilingly, “You two sure know how to laze off. Only I was left behind to listen to laotaijun’s nagging at Rui Lin Yuan.”

  Yun Qian Meng and Qu Fei Qing couldn’t help but giggle when they heard Qu Zhang Qing who usually never cracked any jokes say something like this. Qu Fei Qing also naughtily replied, “gege should take some more responsibility, that way, Meng’er and I can goof off some more!”

  Yun Qian Meng also followed along and said, “biaoge has always spoiled biaojie. Why are you making a fuss about it now?”

  Qu Zhang Qing turned to look at Yun Qian Meng. Her pink ice silk dress had water lotus flowers embroidered on the sleeves and collar with golden thread, as well as light green embroidery of lotus leaves. As Yun Qian Meng’s dress slightly flowed along with her movements, it the lotus looked almost lifelike!

  And at the moment, Yun Qian Meng’s slanted eyes and light smile made her dimples fairly more pronounced, losing her usual calm and unflustered expression, even adding a slight hint of a young girl’s mischief. Her beauty was so soul-absorbing, that Qu Zhang Qing couldn’t help but burn the scene into his memory.

  “Why did you come here now, gege?” Qu Fei Qing asked when she looked outside and realized, from the position of the sun, that it was not yet time for lunch.

  “Just passing through, so I just came over to take a look. I was actually going to go back to Chu Yun Pavilion!” Qu Zhang Qing retrieved his gaze from Yun Qian Meng and quickly turned to his sister while answering warmly.

  “If that’s the case, gege should stay here and have lunch with us. That way, you don’t have to go back and eat alone!” Qu Fei Qing usually didn’t have many opportunities to spend time with Qu Zhang Qing. Since they were all here now, she naturally didn’t want it to go to waste.

  But before Qu Zhang Qing could reply, Mu Chun called from outside, saying, “xiaojie, Mi mama has arrived!”

  Yun Qian Meng had a slightly puzzled look in her eyes when she heard Mu Chun’s announcement. Mi mama had already visited once during breakfast. Only two hours had passed since then, why did she come again? She quickly answered, “Quickly, let her come in!”

  With the clear, rustling sound of the bead curtains, Mi mama anxiously tushed inside.

  “laonu greets biaogongzi, biaoxiaojie, xiaojie!” Mi mama saw them inside and quickly went into a bow.

  Her anxiety was quickly noticed by all three of them. Yun Qian Meng had rarely ever seen Mi mama in such a nervous state. She immediately asked, “Did something happen at the xiangfu?”

  Mi mama originally planned to tell Yun Qian Meng in secret, but since Yun Qian Meng openly asked her about it in front of the others, she understood that her young miss did not consider them as outsiders. Without stalling further, she stood up and answered, “xiaojie, Hua yiniang had a miscarriage!”

  The news made all three of them wrinkle their eyebrows before they returned to their usual expressions. Yun Qian Meng played around with the fan in her hands and lightly asked, “What are laotaitai and father’s instructions?”

  “laotaitai is currently hosting a party for si xiaojie with a few other young misses at Bai Shun Tang. When she got the news, she just discretely sent the person away, acting like nothing happened at all! xiangye is still at the Imperial Court, so he might not know about this yet! And when Hua yiniang knew about her miscarriage, she caused a ruckus in Fu Liu Yuan. After that, she even took a sedan over to the entrance of Feng He Yuan and started shouting at Su yiniang from outside! Liu yiniang couldn’t stop her no matter what, so san xiaojie came to laonu to ask da xiaojie to go back and keep things under control!”

  Qu Fei Qing couldn’t help but feel angry when she heard this explanation. She pulled Yun Qian Meng’s hands and said, “All of them are being gutless and chicken-hearted! Just because they are scared that xiangye will punish them, they are trying to shirk their responsibilities! Meng’er, you can’t go back! It was so hard for you to enjoy these peaceful days, how can you go back there and suffer through all of that trouble?”

  Yun Qian Meng, knowing that Qu Fei Qing was outraged on her behalf, smiled and replied, “Liu yiniang usually doesn’t treat me too badly, always thinking about me and tries to give me the best. This time, if not because she really couldn’t calm Hua yiniang down, she wouldn’t go so far as to ask for my help! Besides, when it happened, I was still here. Even if I go back, I’m just going to ask Hua yiniang to go back to her courtyard. Father definitely won’t blame me too much! biaojie, please don’t worry too much!”

  As she said this, Yun Qian Meng stood up and gestured for Mu Chun to help her pack her things, and ready herself to go to Rui Lin Yuan to bid farewell to laotaijun.

  “Since I am also going to go back to Chu Yun Pavilion, let us leave together!” Qu Zhang Qing saw that Yun Qian Meng had a resolute expression and understood that there was no use in advising her otherwise.

  Yun Qian Meng saw that he was trying to support her and smiled warmly, nodding slightly. When Mu Chun swiftly finished packing her daily goods, Yun Qian Meng spent a few moments bidding her farewell to Qu Fei Qing and left Ting Yu Yuan behind with Qu Zhang Qing.

  When they reached Rui Lin Yuan, Gu laotaijun naturally didn’t want to let her go. She pulled at Yun Qian Meng’s hands and said angrily, “xiangfu is that Yun Xuan Zhi’s responsibility. For these two months, while you were sick and resting at Fu Guo gongfu, did he ever come to visit even once? Now that his own backyard is in trouble, he
dares to ask you to go back and clean up the mess? Just think, that Hua yiniang is just a concubine, now that she is venting because of her lost child, how can a young lady like you go and stop her? Just be content and stay here for now, let wai zumu take care of this!”

  Saying this, laotaijun glanced at the mama by her side for her to snatch away the luggage in Mu Chun’s arms.

  But Yun Qian Meng had made up her mind to return to the xiangfu. So, she kneeled in front of laotaijun and hugged her waist, acting like a spoiled child as she said, “Meng’er understands more than anyone else that wai zumu cares for me! But still, Hua yiniang is usually a cautious and prudent person. There’s no way she will start a fight with Su yiniang for no reason! In the end, sunnü is still a di daughter of the xiangfu. Sometimes, I naturally have to lighten the burden for my father!”

  While she spoke, Yun Qian Meng tightly grabbed onto laotaijun’s hands, making her look down. Looking at her astute eyes, Gu laotaijun finally managed to wipe away her anger and gradually understood why Yun Qian Meng was so insistent on going back.

  “zumu, you should let Meng’er go back and take a look! Otherwise, they might say that the eldest miss didn’t care at all even when a yiniang had a miscarriage. That won’t be good for Meng’er’s reputation!” At this moment, Qu Zhang Qing suddenly voiced his opinion, leading Yun Qian Meng to finally understand why he had followed her along to Rui Lin Yuan.

  laotaijun took a look at the scorching sun outside, but could only reluctantly say, “If that’s the case, at least let Zhang Qing send you back. If there are any difficulties, you must send someone to report back to me. Don’t try to take it on by yourself!”

  Feeling laotaijun’s genuine affection for her, Yun Qian Meng smiled and nodded before standing up, bowing to laotaijun and leaving the room.

  Outside Rui Lin Yuan, Qu Zhang Qing went ahead to prepare the carriage while Yun Qian Meng led Mu Chun and Mi mama out to the main yard. When they passed by the garden, the flowers were all in full blossom. Without much wind, the place was suffused with the fresh fragrance of flowers.

  However, the artificial smell of cosmetic powder suddenly floated over, carrying a thick, heavy fragrance. Yun Qian Meng couldn’t help but frown as she turned to look at the other side of sidewalk with her clear eyes.

  There, she saw Qu Yan’s eldest daughter, Qu Jing Qing. She was wearing a flowing, bright red dress, with countless peony flowers embroidered on the skirt with orange thread. Her hair was put up high and adorned with eight golden butterfly buyao pins, their jade-inlaid flower ornaments dangling as she swayed about. Her bright and vivid appearance created a somewhat arrogant and overbearing atmosphere.

  Behind her, she had four maids as well as two older mama, displaying her status as a rich young lady.

  Now, seeing each other, Qu Jing Qing looked at Yun Qian Meng’s plain makeup and turned to share a mocking smile with her servants. Before she even came close, she started saying, “Isn’t this Meng’er biaomei? Your servant seems to be carrying some luggage, are you going back to the xiangfu already? Well of course, no matter how goof Fu Guo gongfu is, it still isn’t biaomei’s home! If even a proper young miss of Fu Guo gongfu like myself has to live elsewhere, there’s no way an outsider has enough face to stay here any longer!”

  Yun Qian Meng heard the mockery in Qu Jing Qing’s words but did not get angry at all. Instead, she smiled and returned a greeting, “Qian Meng greets er biaojie! But I don’t understand. If er biaojie has already moved out of the fu, why did you appear in this garden? Qian Meng just came out from Rui Lin Yuan and Ting Yu Xuan, but didn’t hear a word about er biaojie’s visit!”

  Qu Jing Qing did not expect Yun Qian Meng to have such a sharp tongue. She thought that she had gained the upper hand by striking first, but with just a simple question, Yun Qian Meng turned it around and pointed out that she was not welcome at Fu Guo gongfu!

  But because Qu Jing Qing’s parents were people that often dealt with money, she was used to being calculative since she was young. Naturally, she wasn’t going to anger easily over Yun Qian Meng’s provocation.

  After she listened to Yun Qian Meng’s rebuttal, she gradually calmed down the anger in her heart and smiled coldly, answering, “Of course I came to visit laotaijun! Even though I’ve moved out, my filial piety isn’t something mere distance can interfere with! biaomei shouldn’t criticize my filial regard for laotaijun. Remember biaomei, while you were here at Fu Guo gongfu for over two months, you didn’t even go back to the xiangfu to pay respects to the old madam! This kind of unfilial behavior will definitely be looked down on by the public if they knew about it!”

  Hearing this, Yun Qian Meng laughed slightly. Her laughter sounded as pleasant as pearls on a plate, resounding throughout the winding corridors of the pavilion.

  After laughing, Yun Qian Meng slowly stopped right in front of Qu Jing Qing and said slowly and unhurriedly, “biaojie should know that I was sick for a while. wai zumu felt pity for me and let me stay here to recover. All of this, zumu knew and even sent people to visit me. She also didn’t blame Meng’er for lacking in manners over this time. But biaojie really makes other people laugh. After not coming to visit for over ten years, you even came here in such a formal dress. If you parade around town like this, are you not worried that other people will misunderstand your current status with that of the past?”

  Qu Jing Qing heard this from Yun Qian Meng and felt like she knew something she should not. Her eyes immediately put on a guarded expression as she bitterly asked, “What does biaomei mean? I am a young miss of Fu Guo gongfu, and I will always be one! The way biaomei keeps beating around the bush is really making me, the biaojie, feel confused!”

  Watching her put on an ignorant act, Yun Qian Meng only smiled without replying. She had Mu Chun and Mi mama bow lightly before they all passed by Qu Jing Qing to leave.

  But Qu Jing Qing wasn’t quite ready to let her go. She moved sideways to block Yun Qian Meng’s path and asked again, with a dangerous expression, “There are some things that biaomei needs to say clearly!”

  Yun Qian Meng’s lips curled into a smile at her fierce expression. Hiding a secretive look in her eyes, she kindly replied in a low voice, “Third uncle has been running to Chen wangfu a lot lately, even brining biaojie along. I’m sure you’ve already met Yuan De taifei niangniang quite a few times!”

  Finishing, Yun Qian Meng didn’t say more and just smiled lightly and left the yard past Qu Jing Qing.

  Hearing this statement from Yun Qian Meng, Qu Jing Qing suddenly turned around and glared treacherously at Yun Qian Meng’s back, staying in her position for quite a long time.

  “I told you to obediently take a sedan, but you just won’t listen. How about it, you must be tired after walking so far!” At this moment, Qu Zhang Qing had already finished preparing the carriage and was standing by the side, waiting for Yun Qian Meng.

  Yun Qian Meng only smiled in reply and explained the situation in a rather good mood. “In the middle of the road, we came across a barking dog that delayed us for a bit. Sorry for making biaoge wait so long!”

  As the eldest young master of Fu Guo gongfu, Qu Zhang Qing was naturally privy to everything that went on. Just now, he didn’t come out and lend his aid to Yun Qian Meng because, on one hand, he trusted that Qu Jing Qing was no match for Yun Qian Meng, and, on the other, he firmly believed that Qu Jing Qing did not have the guts to make mischief inside Fu Guo gongfu just yet.

  Still, seeing how good Yun Qian Meng’s mood was, he added, “Since it’s just a mad dog, next time, you should just ignore it.”

  Yun Qian Meng lowered her head and smiled, then let Mu Chun help her onto the carriage.

  “xiaojie is so amazing, you left that Qu xiaojie completely speechless!” On the carriage, Mu Chun broke out in radiant delight.

  Even Mi mama was having fun on the side, saying, “At first, laonu was worried that Mu Chun wouldn’t be able to keep her cool and push down that young lady! I didn’t expect that sh
e was able to stay calm and cool-headed today.”

  Hearing this, Mu Chun wrinkled her nose and defended herself, saying, “nubi has followed xiaojie for so long, so of course I understand xiaojie’s thoughts! Even when that er xiaojie speaks aggressively, our xiaojie’s words always poke directly at her weak spots, naturally leaving them speechless! xiaojie, is nubi right about this?”

  Yun Qian Meng took a look at her cute face and flashed a knowing smile.

  Did Qu Jing Qing really expect no one to notice that she was coming and going from Chen wangfu even if she kept a low profile?

  She should remember that even though Chen wangfu was rather big, it was still situated in the capital, closely to all the other official’s homes. And Chen Wang’s status was still extremely honorable, even if Yun Qian Meng’s narrowly avoided marriage with him had caused most of the girls in the capital to give up at the time.

  But ever since their engagement was called off, Yuan De taifei naturally started to look for another wife or concubine that would be beneficial for her son’s career. Naturally, all of the young girls in the capital would have their interest rekindled. Every day, at the entrance to Chen wangfu, there would be an innumerable amount of carriages. And all of the officials and their families would pay attention to this, just to prevent other people from being the early bird that catches the worm.

  As long as you asked around within the cliques that were around Chen wangfu, you would easily find out which carriages stopped at the main gate, and which families had their sedans going in and out of the side door. Just how did Qu Jing Qing think she could hide anything from anyone?

  What’s more, just from her overbearing and arrogant demeanor, it was easy to figure out that her father must have managed to get a promotion. Otherwise, why was Qu Jing Qing showing off at Fu Guo gongfu?

  But those were only small matters to Yun Qian Meng. She was currently far more interested in Hua yiniang’s miscarriage. She asked, “mama, Hua yiniang should have already passed through the three month danger period. How could something like this happen?”