A-Man said, "Miss, the Young Madam really cares about you. She stayed by your side the whole night yesterday."
Bai Yuwei replied irritably, "She’s just putting on a show for my grandfather, like all those won who used to get close to my brother! They treat well on the surface but secretly badmouth . I’ve seen plenty of won like her!"
A-Man said, "I feel the Young Madam is different from them."
Bai Yuwei angrily said, "A-Man, have you been bribed by her too?"
A-Man explained, "No, Miss!"
"Where’s my brother?" Bai Yuwei asked.
A-Man said, "The Young Master has gone to et the Miao King."
In the Miao King’s courtyard, Bai Qingchen spoke about being approached by soone, "I suspect they are from the Pri Minister’s Mansion."
The Miao King frowned, "Suspect? Haven’t you seen them in the Pri Minister’s Mansion?"
Bai Qingchen shook his head, "The Pri Minister’s Mansion has many retainers. I’ve only seen one nad Gongsun and another with the surna Yu."
The Miao King’s expression grew colder, "The Pri Minister’s Mansion has quite an appetite, unafraid of overstuffing themselves!"
-
The matter of Bai Yuwei being sold into a brothel had not been publicly disclosed. The Miao King, worried it might be connected to the Pri Minister’s Mansion, investigated repeatedly but found that it was rely Bai Yuwei’s bad luck, encountering two human traffickers.
The traffickers had already been dealt with by the owner of the workshop, their deaths exceptionally miserable.
Initially, the Miao King wanted to teach the Wan Hua House a lesson, but considering Lady Yan had once saved ng Qianqian and had cared for Bao Shu for two months, he decided to let Lady Yan off for now.
In the following days, ng Qianqian kept pondering her connection to Lady Yan, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t rember.
She originally wanted to ask Chen Long, but Chen Long had disappeared sowhere.
Before long, it was the eve of the Empress’ grand wedding.
The Duke Mansion was brightly lit. Servants were busy hanging lanterns, laying red silk, and setting up a theater stage—a scene of bustling activity. In Yao Qingluan’s courtyard, chaos reigned as well.
Lady Wen repeatedly checked the dowry list and the wedding dress.
Yao Qingluan’s two sisters-in-law also ca to keep her company, bringing various items to add to her trousseau.
Yao Qingluan urged them, "Mother, Elder Sister-in-law, Second Sister-in-law, you should go rest."
Lady Wen scolded softly, "You’re getting married tomorrow morning. Your mother and your two sisters-in-law will sleep here tonight."
"Ah?" Yao Qingluan looked at the three of them in surprise.
Her elder sister-in-law smiled, "Little sister, do you not want us to stay with you?"
Yao Qingluan lowered her head, "How could I not want that?"
Lady Wen held her daughter’s hand, reluctant to let her go, and said, "This will be your last night at ho. After tonight, it will be so hard for to see you again."
"The last night...," Yao Qingluan murmured, before falling silent.
At midnight, Lady Wen and the two daughters-in-law finally succumbed to sleep.
Yao Qingluan gently lifted the quilt, got out of bed, and tiptoed out of the room.
The night wind howled, making the red lanterns under the corridor sway gracefully.
She lifted the hem of her gown and ran towards the back courtyard against the wind.
The grass, the large tree, the rooftop—everything was empty.
"Are you there?"
She whispered to the endless night.
The only reply was the lonely sound of the wind.
"I’ll be entering the palace tomorrow morning!"
She looked around.
"Thank you for protecting for nine consecutive nights!"
"My na is Yao Qingluan!"
"I don’t an anything else. I just wanted to thank you face-to-face!"
"Can you show yourself?"
Yao Qingluan waited for a long ti, her clothes soaked by the coolness of the night.
"He’s really gone."
Drooping her head, Yao Qingluan dejectedly walked back.
But after a few steps, she turned back again.
The servants had just finished hanging the lanterns, and the ladder had not yet been removed.
She bit her lip and, with great effort, moved the ladder to the eaves.
Terrified, she stepped onto the ladder, painstakingly climbing to the rooftop.
The rooftop was empty—no sign of anyone.
"Not here... then how did he sense assassins appearing every night?"
Unable to think of an answer, Yao Qingluan carefully climbed back down the ladder step by step.
"Miss, why are you climbing a ladder in the middle of the night?"
Her personal maid had co looking for her and was alard by the scene.
Yao Qingluan said, "Just wandering around. Don’t tell my mother."
The maid draped a cloak over her shoulders.
Yao Qingluan gave the rooftop one last glance before resolutely vanishing into the night.
On the rooftop, two tall and strong figures appeared.
Ji Li opened his folding fan with flair, "Not going to say goodbye to her?"
Si Snake, resting one hand behind his head, gazed up at the starry sky, "No need."
Ji Li clicked his tongue, "Heartless as always. Let ask you again: if she and Little Yin Hu fell into the water at the sa ti, who would you save?"
Si Snake replied, "Yin Hu would save her."
Ji Li: "..."
-
At dawn, having completed the task ng Qianqian assigned to him, Si Snake used Qinggong and left the Duke Mansion without looking back.
The Empress’ wedding day was a nationwide celebration. Not only were all officials granted a three-day holiday, but even the Imperial College had a short break.
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