by Ning er
Unlike Hai Chen Xi who had a more soft and feminine appearance, half this man's features was similar to Hai wang while the other half was similar with Hai wangfei. Moreover, based on his extraordinary manners and the strength of his voice when speaking to Hai Chen Xi, this man was undoubtedly the Hai wang's heir, Hai Yue.
"Nothing. I was just laughing at a funny clown." Hai Chen Xi said with a smile, in spite of the angry glare from Hai wangfei, as Hai Yue entered the room.
"Xi'er!" suddenly, they heard Hai wang's steady voice that contained reproach.
The three people looked at Hai wang at the same time, only to see that his eyes were staring at Hai Chen Xi. Although it contained some reproach, the deep love hidden underneath his eyes made Hai wangfei unconsciously crumple the handkerchief she was holding as she tried her best to control her emotions.
Noticing the reproach in Hai wang's voice, Hai Chen Xi's smile somewhat faded, but he still did not apologize for his offensive words to Hai wangfei. Instead, he only stood silently at one corner of the room.
Seeing that his youngest son had already made a concession, Hai wang did not force him to apologize to Hai wangfei. He turned a blind eye and changed the topic, "Why did Yue'er come over?"
Hai Yue was already used to seeing Hai wang's favoritism over Hai Chen Xi ever since he was a child, but he did not expect that his father would allow this concubine born son to actually insult his legal wife. This made Hai Yue extremely angry, but he still kept his face calm and smiled, "Father, your son heard that little sister had been appointed by the Emperor to be married to the Crown Prince of Northern Qi, so I came to see if there was anything I could help with."
"Yue'er, what are you saying? Do you still remember that she is your own sister? If she was married to Northern Qi, then we won't be able to see her again for the rest of our lives!" hearing even her own son had said so, Hai wangfei was driven into rage. She pointed at Hai Yue out of anger while severely scolding him.
"Are you done yet?" the plain question from Hai wang made Hai wangfei immediately shut up.
But Hai wangfei still could not take it. Ever since she entered the room, Hai wang had not looked straight at her even once, Hai wangfei felt heartbroken. And thinking of the tolerance he showed Hai Chen Xi , Hai wangfei became even more upset and she glared at Hai Chen Xi with cold eyes. When she saw the face that was almost an exact duplicate of that Qin cefei, hatred and bitterness grew stronger in her heart.
"Mother, please go back and rest first. Also, take time to try and straighten sister out. Qi Jing Yuan has a rather high standing in Northern Qi. Sister will become the the crown princess once she arrives at the Northern Qi. In the future, she will become the Empress. This kind of rank and honor isn't something that anyone can have. If this incident were to make the Emperor unhappy with Hai wangfu, it would be our biggest mistake." Hai Yue approached Hai wangfei and escorted her out up to the door of Shu Yuan.
"Yue'er, it is not that mother doesn't want to let your sister enjoy the luxurious life. It's just that in Northern Qi, Tian'er will have nobody to rely on. Even if she is the Crown Princess, how long would she be able to stay in that position? Moreover, our two countries had just had a war, who knows whether or not Crown Prince will vent his anger on your sister?" Hai wangfei tightly held onto Hai Yue's hand as she told him of her worries.
Hai Yue looked around then approached Hai wangfei and whispered to her, "Mother, there is no need to bother about trifles if one wants to accomplish something great. Once sister reaches Northern Qi, she will be the Crown Princess, and in the future, the Empress. And if she was lucky enough to give birth to a son, then the whole Northern Qi will be in our hands! At that time, do you think there will still be any space for Hai Chen Xi in Hai wangfu?"
Hearing that, Hai wangfei was deeply shocked. In the past, Qin cefei had been a thorn in Hai wangfei's heart. When she had finally been able to pluck that thorn out, she had not been able to get rid of Hai Chen Xi. Hai wang even ordered that Hai Chen Xi to be personally raised by him. Through these years, it was near impossible to find the chance of getting near Hai Chen Xi. She did not know whether Hai wang noticed something or Hai Chen Xi was just too cunning, but regardless of the reason, he was able to grow up safely. Now, he not only became Hai junwang, but even held a large number of troops.
After watching the young child from before grow into the biggest threat to her at present, how could Hai wangfei remain calm? But recently, she had been too bothered by the fact that she might be separated from her daughter, Hai Tian, that she had almost wasted such good opportunity!
Seeing that Hai wangfei was already somewhat convinced, Hai Yue continued further, "Mother, Tian'er is endowed with both beauty and talent. She is one of the rare intelligent ladies in the world. I believe that she will surely do a great job."
Between his words, greediness and cruelty appeared in Hai Yue's eyes.
"You are really such a good brother to me. From your position as the heir, do you not even care about the life of your sister anymore?" suddenly, Hai Tian appeared and shot Hai Yue a cold glare, as she approached them with a sneer.
"Tian'er!" seeing her daughter's pale face, Hai wangfei instantly became worried. She moved towards Hai Tian, wanting to help her, but was pushed away.
Hai Tian coldly looked at her mother and brother in front of her and suddenly laughed, "Daughters are indeed inferior to sons. No matter how deep mother loves your daughter, your son's fortune is still more important. How could you still expect me to help you in the future if you treat me this way now?"
Hearing Hai Tian's words, Hai Yue frowned. He then pulled Hai Tian over and angrily said, "Tian'er, you are wasting your intelligence! You can't even figure out such a small trick? If it wasn't for Yun Qian Meng, why would Chu Fei Yang suddenly ask for a decree of marriage? Think about it yourself. Do you want the people who love you to suffer while your enemies are delighted? Or will you take the opportunity for power and rank to take revenge against those who have hurt you?"
Afterwards, Hai Yue shoved Hai Tian's arm away, flung his hands up, and went back into Shu Yuan.
On the other hand, Hai wangfei looked away from her son then walked to Hai Tian. She pulled over her daughter and comforted her, "Tian'er, your brother's words are reasonable. Do you want to defy the imperial decree? You would also get Hai wangfu into trouble, and no one would be able to protect you anymore. Go back and think about it thoroughly."
Listening to Hai wangfei's words, Hai Tian knew that her mother had already made her choice between her son and her daughter. She could not help but coldly smile deep inside her heart. On the surface, she regained her calmness, but her expression was even colder than usual.
Chapter 101: Part 2: Wouldn't Let You to Easily Marry Him | Chu Wang Fei
Three days went by rather quickly. After Yun Qian Meng had her breakfast and read for a while, it was almost noon, so she brought Mu Chun along to attend the party.
But just when she stepped out of the xiangfu gate, she immediately saw Xi Lin, along with six guards, approaching her. Seeing Yun Qian Meng, they immediately addressed her, "Greetings to Yun xiaojie."
"Xi shiwei, is something the matter?" seeing capable looking men assembled in front of her, Yun Qian Meng thought of Chu Fei Yang's words from before; thus, she knew that these people would surely follow her in and out of xiangfu in the future.
"Xiaojie, these bodyguards are from xiangye. They are to ensure your safety. I have to trouble xiaojie to please bring them along when going out." Xi Lin said levely.
Yun Qian Meng carefully examined the six in front of her. She saw that all of them were rather young, but they all looked reliable. The look in all of the six's eyes were also calm, but still had hidden brightness, so she knew that the people Chu Fei Yang had picked for her were all good ones. She then smiled and said, "Thanks xiangye for me."
Hearing Yun Qian Meng say so, Xi Lin knew that she had accepted the six guards. He then saluted Yun Qian Meng again, mounted his horse, an
d left the xiangfu.
The six people already had their own job assignments. Two of them went up the carriage as drivers, another two had their own horses and followed behind the carriage, while the remaining two stayed in front to lead the way. Like that, Yun Qian Meng's carriage was completely protected.
Seeing the quick and clean actions of the six guards, Yun Qian Meng was impressed. She also admired Chu Fei Yang for being able to train these people so well. She then went into the carriage with Mu Chun and felt the carriage slowly moving forward.
The trip was safe and peaceful. When Yun Qian Meng dismounted from the carriage, she heard someone lightly calling her name.
"Yun xiaojie!" looking to the side, she saw that Wu Guo Gongfu's carriage had coincidentally stopped at the entrance of Chen wangfu as well. While Wu Qin Qin did not even wait for the carriage to stop, she lifted the curtain and waved her hands at Yun Qian Meng.
Seeing her smiling face, Yun Qian Meng nodded in greeting. She turned back and told the guards to wait for her at the entrance then walked a few steps forward to wait for Wu Qin Qin to get down from her carriage.
Right after Wu Guo Gongfu's carriage had come to a stop, Wu Qin Qin quickly went down the carriage with the help of her yatou and approached Yun Qian Meng, then enthusiastically held Yun Qian Meng's and said, "It must be fate that we even picked the same time to attend the party!"
Yun Qian Meng just smiled in reply. Seeing Wu furen walking over to her direction, Yun Qian Meng unobtrusively pulled out her arm from Wu Qin Qin's hands and slightly bowed to Wu furen, "Qian Meng greets furen."
"Yun xiaojie is being too polite." Wu furen was quite round and chubby; thus, she walked a bit slowly. But when Yun Qian Meng greeted her, she quickly replied with a soft and gentle voice that caused those who heard it to feel at ease.
"Meng'er!" suddenly, another voice called out.
Yun Qian Meng did not need to turn around to know that it was Qu Fei Qing's voice. Accompanying her over was Qu Zhang Qing. Undoubtedly, laotaijun was rather cautious of Chen wangfu.
Seeing them, a sincere smile appeared on Yun Qian Meng's face, "It is so fortunate to meet the two of you at the entrance."
Qu Fei Qing went down the carriage smiling. When she saw Wu furen and Wu xiaojie, both parties greeted each other. Then, Qu Fei Qing approached Yun Qian Meng and said, "I originally wanted to pick you up and come with you, but brother said that there was no need to do so."
While speaking, Qu Fei Qing glanced at Qu Zhang Qing a little resentfully.
Yun Qian Meng guessed that Qu Zhang Qing might have already known about Chu Fei Yang sending over bodyguards to her and was thus, rest assured of her safety.
Seeing that Qu Zhang Qing's seemed to look better than before, Yun Qian Meng's worry lessened.
"How is uncle? Has he fully recovered? Now that there's always a lot of visitors in the fu, I don't have any time to visit anymore." Yun Qian Meng asked, as she had not been to Fu Guo Gongfu in quite a while.
"Daddy can already sit up straight. He will surely recover after some more time. I know that you are busy right now and so we also have not gone and bothered you. After you are done with all that, let's meet again soon. Only, why are you with this Wu xiaojie?" Qu Fei Qing frowned and whispered, after glancing at Wu Qin Qin, who had been sticking to Yun Qian Meng since a while ago.
Yun Qian Meng just smiled and entered the gate of Chen wangfu while holding Qu Fei Qing's arm.
Their impression of Chen wangfu could only be that it was strict and forbidding. None of the servants were talkative people. Even the mama who led the way spoke only when reminding them to look for stairs or edges, and did not say anything otherwise.
And since there was a taifei living in Chen wangfu, it was twice as large as other wangfu. They had walked for around half an incense stick before crossing the front yard and arriving at the garden where the party would be held.
Although it was called a garden, there were very few flowers. Instead, the place was filled with numerous delicate and beautiful bonsai. The neatly trimmed plants were situtated at the right spots, unexpectedly complimenting the beauty of the whole garden by making it look rather unique.
After leading them to the garden, the mama bowed then turned around and left.
At this time, there were already a number of xiaojies and furens gathered in the garden. Everyone was surprised that Yun Qian Meng had also been invited. But then, after recalling her current status, each one of them expressed jealousy. And as if they it had been previously agreed upon,, they all continued on their conversations and clearly isolated Yun Qian Meng.
As opposed to Yun Qian Meng, Princess Qi Ling'er was warmly welcomed and was surrounded by everyone. Various xiaojie wanted to associate with her, which made their group rather lively.
Wu Qin Qin was still stuck to Yun Qian Meng, so Qu Fei Qing then immediately pulled Yun Qian Meng to one side and asked her with a soft voice, "Since when did this Wu Qin Qin become so close with you?"
Looking at the trimmed plant in the shape of a ball, Yun Qian Meng smiled and replied, "I don't know either. Three days ago, Wu furen brought Wu xiaojie to xiangfu to offer congratulations. Today is only the second time we've met. Her enthusiasm is really hard to take."
Although it was good to be enthusiastic, she was afraid that there might be other purposes behind this enthusiasm.
In Western Chu, aside from the Imperial Family and all the various wangfu, the four big clans were the highest in rank.
Wu Guo Gongfu ranked behind the four clans, but although they were incomparable to the Qu, Yuan, Ruan, and Rong families, they were still extremely honorable.
Unfortunately, Wu Guo Gongfu only had male descendants, which lead to there being no concubines with the surname Wu in the Palace.
It was only until the current generation was there a daughter, Wu Qin Qin. From the rumors that the laotaijun treated her as a pearl in the palm, in order that her granddaughter would not suffer any grievances, she rarely allowed her to join parties.
But this was the thing that was the hardest to understand.
Since they already had this girl in the family, why did they not send her to the Palace? Based on the Wu family's status, Wu Qin Qin would surely be able to receive the title of an imperial concubine. But now, it was rather funny that Wu furen had brought her daughter to Yun xiangfu to deepen their relationship with Yun Qian Meng.
"I heard that Yuan de taifei loves taking care of plants. Presumably, these were all pruned by her!" Qu Fei Qing suddenly changed the topic when Yun Qian Meng felt that her arm was being held by someone. She mysteriously smiled at Qu Fei Qing then turned around.
"Why isn't Wu xiaojie accompanying furen?" as expected, Wu Qin Qin was boringly holding onto her arm, and Yun Qian Meng felt somewhat irritated. She took the opportunity to point at Wu furen so that her arm might be free again.
But Wu Qin Qin seemed to not notice it at all. She only held onto Yun Qian Meng's arm tighter and murmured, "I don't like places with a lot of people. It's more quieter here with Yun xiaojie."
Glancing at the overly lively situation at the other side, Yun Qian Meng smiled and said, "As long as you remain calm."
It seemed like Qi Ling'er felt Yun Qian Meng's gaze as her eyes went past the layers of people in the crowd and met with Yun Qian Meng's eyes. Both of them politely nodded. Qi Ling'er then stood up and walked towards Yun Qian Meng with a group of brightly dressed ladies.
"Greetings to Yun xiaojie, Qu xiaojie, and Wu xiaojie." Qi Ling'er said with her clear and attractive voice that seemed to fit in very well in this garden filled with plants.
Qi Ling'er had come with a smile, and hearing after she had immediately recognized Wu Qin Qin, Yun Qian Meng knew that this princess was not someone who only had looks. She might have already carefully sorted out the relationships between the families and clans before even coming to Western Chu. That was likely how she had been able to face all the situations, as well as gain the favor of all the other xiaojie in jus
t a short while.
"Greetings, princess." The three of them immediately bowed to prevent people from thinking that they lacked manners.
"I didn't expect Yun xiaojie to also be invited today. We all thought that Chen wangfu wouldn't send an invitation to Yun xiaojie. Now I'm curious, what status does Yun xiaojie come with?" Before Qi Ling'er had said anything, Su Qian Yue, who was part of the crowd, had been the one to speak up. The ridicule in her words caused most people in the crowd to secretly laugh.
Yun Qian Meng only smiled lightly all throughout. She patiently waited for Su Qian Yue to finish before she calmly said, "Since Su xiaojie could come, why couldn't I? Does Su xiaojie have a higher status than me?"
With just one sentence, Yun Qian Meng reminded Su Qian Yue to be aware of her own rank, as well as reminding everyone of her current status. Although she was just the xiaojie of a xiangfu, but ever since Emperor Yu Qian granted the marriage, she would soon be the legal wife of Chu xiang. With this kind of status, even the old furen of the Su Family would avoid offending her.
Suppressed by someone of her status, Su Qian Yue was immediately shamed.
But remembering that it was all Yun Qian Meng's fault that she could not enter the Palace as a consort, hatred sprang from her heart. She coldly and harshly said, "My status naturally couldn't be compared to Yun xiaojie who, after being rejected by Chen wang, now uses Chu xiang to oppress us. It's so impressive that Yun xiaojie has been able to gain advantage from both."
Wu Qin Qin's face turned red at Su Qian Yue's words. She was immediately outraged by this injustice, "Su xiaojie, what are you saying? All of that has been out of Yun xiaojie's will. How could you take pleasure in her misfortune? If it had been you, do you wish that other people would say the same things to you?"
Hearing that, Yun Qian Meng raised her eyebrow and glanced at Wu Qin Qin. She felt even more suspicious. She thought that her relationship with Wu Qin Qin so far was not enough for the other to speak up for her. Moreover, the Su Family now had ties with Chen wang. With that statement, it seemed like she was only offending the Su Family, but she was actually speaking against Chen wang.
