Chapter 231
Chapter 231
Chapter 231 – A Warning Note Folded Into An Exquisite Flower
Wei Yuewu hesitated for a moment, but she still pushed open the window resolutely and nimbly. It was dark outside, and she couldn’t see anything clearly. The surroundings were very quiet. Only when she pushed the window was there a faint sound, which seemed a little too abrupt in the night!
There was no one outside. Thanks to the faint starlight, Wei Yuewu suddenly saw a folded piece of paper on the desk beside the window. She reached out to pick it up and closed the window again.
She walked to the bed and lit up the lamp on the table. Then, she looked at the paper that was folded into a flower in her hand.
It was an exquisite method of paper folding. Wei Yuewu had never seen such a method before! The folded flower was also exceptionally beautiful. Moreover, this paper was not an ordinary piece of white paper, but was pink. Perhaps a young lady from a noble family had dyed it with flower petals when she had nothing to do in her boudoir. With this kind of folding method, it was as lifelike as a real flower!
It was very unique and original, and it had never been seen elsewhere before!
After carefully examining the folded flower, she found a corner and slowly opened it. Only then did she see the handwriting on it. The calligraphy was very beautiful. It looked like a woman’s handwriting.
“United, sisters are fearless of no difficulty! Divided, they are sure to be taken advantage by others!”
Apart from these words, there was nothing else on the paper. There was no signature or anything special about it.
Needless to say, the so-called sisters here definitely referred to her and Wei Yuejiao. Under the light of the lamp, a trace of sharpness flashed in Wei Yuewu’s eyes. She didn’t expect that the clash between Wei Yuejiao and her would alert others to such an extent that this person specially sent her a note.
On the one hand, the person was advising her to compromise, but on the other hand, the person was warning her!
Moreover, judging by the looks of the note, it should be from the same person who delivered the jade thumb ring to her hand!
If that person could send a thumb ring or a note freely, did that mean the person could take her life with ease?
The so-called united sisters should refer to her dispute with Wei Yuejiao at the city gate. Or perhaps, the person saw Wei Yuejiao wearing a gorgeous dress and pushing her out of the carriage. That was why the person asked her to bear with it and make peace with Wei Yuejiao as sisters!
As a legitimate daughter, she had been “bullied” by a concubine-born daughter to such an extent, but this person who spied on her in the darkness repeatedly warned her and asked her to endure it. As she thought about the meaning behind it, Wei Yuewu’s face was covered with a layer of ice-cold hostility.
Did that mean her mother, Marquise Hua Yang who was murdered by Concubine Dong and Lady Li, must also bear with it, and if she couldn’t endure it, death was the right thing that she deserved?
She squeezed the note into a ball, stood up, walked to the dressing table, pulled out a drawer, and threw the paper ball inside.
She had endured all these in her maternal grandparents’ mansion for several years. But in the end, she was greeted with an assassination on a snowy night. In this life, she would no longer simply believe that tolerance would bring her peace. Moreover, there was also her mother’s blood feud. Even if she had to suffer the harshest punishments in hell, she would not let those people get away!
“What? Yan Huaijing is choosing beauties and sending them as birthday gifts for that minister of the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang?” Chu Fangnan, the Heir-apparent of the Duke of Chu State, woke up from the performance of the actresses below the stage. His expression went cold as he turned to Qi Yunhao, the Heir-apparent of the Duke of Qi State. “What does he mean? Wei Luowu’s birthday has already been celebrated. Why is he sending gifts now?”
Qi Yunhao furrowed his brows and he was also puzzled, “Why didn’t he send gifts back then? Why is he sending gifts after Marquis Hua Yang entered the capital? Furthermore, he isn’t sending gifts to Marquis Hua Yang. Why?”
“Could it be that Yan Huaijing has some sort of conspiracy?” Chu Fangnan thought for a moment and asked seriously.
“I don’t know, but I think it’s very likely!” Qi Yunhao clapped his hands on the table. He stood up and began to walk with his hands folded behind his back.
Of course, the two of them would not think that Yan Huaijing had really forgotten to send birthday gifts to Wei Luowu. Given Yan Huaijing’s character and the boldness of the State of Yan, it was impossible for these mistakes to occur. Moreover, wasn’t Yan Huaijing trying to win over Marquis Hua Yang?
Although Wei Luowu was also an important official in the court, Wei Luowen was the most important one to the State of Yan. He was guarding the gateway to the State of Yan and the State of Lu.
“Well, I’ll also pick two beauties and send them over!” Qi Yunhao was baffled. After walking two rounds, he made up his mind to follow Yan Huaijing’s example.
“Then… should I also follow suit?” Chu Fangnan asked hesitantly.
“Yes, of course! We’ll both send gifts. No matter what Yan Huaijing plans to do, we’ll send our gifts to the mansion as well. In this way, the beauties he sends won’t be able to achieve anything in the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang!” Qi Yunhao nodded forcefully.
Chu Fangnan also stood up. He knocked his palm twice with the folding fan and asked, “Then…for what reasons are we sending the gifts?”
“We just say that the dukes of the four major dukedoms have to be consistent in their actions.” Qi Yunhao sneered as he looked out of the window. How could Yan Huaijing do something without special purposes?
“Should we send beauties to Wei Luowen?” Chu Fangnan suggested. “No matter what, I feel that sending beauties to Wei Luowen is more reasonable and more appropriate. After all, the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang doesn’t have a marquise yet! If Marquis Hua Yang doted on the beauties we send…”
He stopped in the middle of his sentence, but Qi Yunhao immediately understood his meaning. He waved his hand and the actresses singing and dancing on both sides silently retreated.
Qi Yunhao thought of something and he immediately made up his mind. “We aren’t going to do that. Wei Luowen has made great contributions. This time, his old wounds recurred. The Emperor has to show his concern, such as by granting a beauty to him or entering into a marriage alliance with him. The Emperor hasn’t said anything yet. What’s the point of us sending beauties to Wei Luowen?”
Chu Fangnan nodded. Just as he was about to give the order, he suddenly thought of something and asked, “Should we also go pick some virgin beauties from brothels?”
“We don’t need to do the same as him in this regard. We will choose beauties from our own mansions and send them over. We must act faster than Yan Huaijing. When his beauties are ready, our beauties have already been sent to the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang. Even if he wants to do something, he will be a step behind us!” Qi Yunhao suddenly laughed proudly.
The four of them were heirs-apparent of the four major dukes, and they entered the capital at the same time. Of course, they had the same goal: to marry the two princesses who were about to reach the marriageable age of fifteen. Therefore, they were competitors in every respect. Moreover, the State of Yan seemed to have become more influential recently, and the State of Lu also started to be unruly. As a result, the State of Chu and the State of Qi were under enormous pressure.
These two heirs-apparent each had received orders from their fathers. Even if they couldn’t marry the princesses this time, they must prevent the marriage alliance between Yan Huaijing and the royal family. No matter what, they couldn’t let the State of Yan gain any benefit.
Earlier, the State of Yan seized the territories of a few small dukes with lightning speed. This was quite a surprise to them. As a result, after entering the capital, they were at a disadvantage everywhere. They always felt that their aura was much weaker, and the two princesses’ gazes were also focused on Yan Huaijing. This time, they could not fall behind him.
The two heirs-apparent both felt a lot of pressure, so the two of them, who were relatively weak, had no choice but to join hands to fight against Yan Huaijing!
“Alright! It’s settled!” Chu Fangnan clapped his hands and said. Indeed, if they acted ahead of Yan Huaijing, they could achieve twice the results with half the efforts.
Thus, four small sedans carried four beauties to the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang as gifts to Minister Wei, whose birthday had just been celebrated.
Lu Yeli, the Heir-apparent of the Duke of Lu State, also received news. After thinking for a while alone in his study, he decided to follow suit. He also picked two beauties from his mansion and sent them to Minister Wei. As for the beauties from Yan Huaijing, although they were the first to be picked, they were the last to arrive.
Outside Wei Luowu’s study in the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang, four pairs of beauties knelt on the ground. They were all beautiful and charming. Of course, the two beauties sent by Yan Huaijing were the most seductive.
Inside the study, Wei Luowu had already circled around several times with his hands behind his back. His eyebrows were tightly furrowed, and he was extremely irritated. He did not know what was wrong with these heirs-apparent, who suddenly sent him beauties as supplementary gifts for his birthday.
Besides, each mansion sent two beauties, neither more or less than the norm!
An old maidservant hurriedly came over. Seeing the beauties in the courtyard, she was shocked. She hurriedly entered the room and bowed to Wei Luowu before asking respectfully, “Second Master, the Madam Dowager asked for your opinion on this matter.”
The Madam Dowager had already been alarmed since so many beautiful women were sent to the mansion as gifts. However, this matter was related to the four major dukes. The Madam Dowager did not dare to make any decision on her own. She felt that it was best to ask for her son’s opinion first.
“Accept, accept all of them!” Wei Luowu gritted his teeth. His voice seemed to have come from between his teeth. He couldn’t afford to offend any of them. Therefore, he had no option but to accept the gifts from all the four heirs-apparent.
“The Madam Dowager… Madam Dowager also thinks so. How about letting all of them live in the same courtyard? They came from different places, so they could just keep an eye on each other!” The old maidservant echoed Wei Luowu by conveying the Madam Dowager’s opinion. Of course, the so-called “keep an eye” meant these women would monitor each other.
“Alright, just do as the Madam Dowager said!” Wei Luowu also felt that this was the best way to solve the problem. It would be difficult for these women to cause trouble if the eight of them lived in the same courtyard and monitored each other.
Accepting these beauties was one thing. But Wei Luowu was clear that he dared not touch them!
The Emperor would probably be annoyed if he really got his hands on these beauties from the four heirs-apparent. When the Emperor talked to him about these heirs-apparent, his expression did not seem to be calm at all…
“Yes, Second Master. I will report to the Madam Dowager in a while. But the Madam Dowager also said that if you can’t decide, you can ask Lord Marquis. He will find a way.” The old maidservant added.
Wei Luowu’s face immediately turned pale, and his eyes were involuntarily filled with anger. But he still gritted his teeth and said, “Alright, I know!”
“Then I will take my leave!” The old maidservant did not notice that Wei Luowu could not suppress the anger on his face after hearing her words. She bowed respectfully and left to report to the Madam Dowager in the inner courtyard.
Wei Luowu clenched his hand and smashed heavily on the table. He lowered his voice and said hatefully. “It’s Wei Luowen again!”
“Second Master, the Lord Marquis is here!” A lad servant suddenly ran to the door and reported.
Wei Luowu raised his head with a gloomy expression. What was Wei Luowen doing here at this time? To have a good laugh at him?
“Invite the Lord Marquis in!” Suppressing the hatred in his heart, Wei Luowu slowly relaxed. There was no longer any coldness in his expression, which he failed to control a moment ago. Now, he only looked a little irritated.