Chapter 244
Chapter 244
Chapter 244 – What Was Wrong With The Carriage?
“Go back to the embroidery store immediately. Miss’ jade pendant is missing!” Jin Ling lifted the curtain and anxiously instructed the coachman.
“It… it’s snowing. We can’t let the Sixth Young Lady catch cold. How about sending the Sixth Young Lady back to the mansion first?” Upon hearing the order, the coachman’s heart skipped a beat and he hurriedly advised.
“How can this be? It was left behind by the Marquise. There can’t be anything wrong with it. If it was really missing, both of us will be in serious trouble!” Jin Ling stamped her feet anxiously in the carriage. “Hurry up and go. If we were late, perhaps it would really disappear!”
Hearing her resolute words, the coachman had no choice but to turn the carriage around and drive towards the embroidery store.
When they reached the door, Wei Yuewu did not get off the carriage. Jin Ling jumped out of the carriage and hurriedly ran upstairs. Not long after, she walked out with a jade pendant. A shop assistant sent her to the door.
Jin Ling boarded the carriage again and the carriage finally headed back to the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang.
Jin Ling turned the jade pendant in her hand and found that it wasn’t something Wei Yuewu usually wore. She asked, “Miss, where did you get this jade pendant?”
“Out of the gifts Concubine Dong sent me earlier!” Wei Yuewu smiled faintly. Of course, this was not what she usually wore, but there was clearly a mark of the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang engraved on it. Even if she wanted to lose it, she would not be able to do so.
“After we are back in the mansion, I will just put this jade pendant back into the gifts! Tonight, you go to the parking place and see if there is anything wrong with this carriage!”
They had traveled such a long way in the wind and rain. If there really was any problem with the carriage, she believed that the problem would be easily identified now.
“Yes, Miss!” Jin Ling nodded and replied.
The carriage returned to the mansion smoothly this time. Seeing that nothing had happened, the coachman wiped the sweat off his forehead and jumped off the carriage.
Jin Ling helped Wei Yuewu out of the carriage. Shufei had been waiting there with an umbrella. Seeing that Wei Yuewu was coming, she hurriedly opened the umbrella and held it for her. They walked to Lotus Courtyard.
Only after everyone had left did the coachman restrain the smile on his face. He hurriedly turned around and examined the wheels. Although there were some signs of wear and tear on the wheels, they were not obvious. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief. If the carriage traveled in the snow for a while longer, he could not guarantee that nothing would go wrong.
No one expected the Sixth Young Lady would go out on the carriage today in such weather conditions!
In Lotus Courtyard, Wei Yuewu had freshened up again and taken a seat with the maids waiting on her.
“Miss, did you find anyone who could repair the screen?” Seeing that Wei Yuewu had finally settled down, Huamo asked anxiously.
“There should be one. Embroideress Yun might come. Shufei, if I’m not here, bring her to see the screen.” Wei Yuewu pointed at the screen that was placed in a corner of the room.
“Miss, is that embroideress skilled enough? This screen has been scratched seriously by the Third Young Lady. If the person’s embroidery skills aren’t good, she won’t be able to repair it! In the worst case, she might even cause more damage to the screen.” Huamo was most concerned about the screen. She had been examining the screen, and she admired the Madam’s embroidery skills more and more. She was afraid that others would cause additional damage to the screen when trying to repair it.
“Look at this!” Wei Yuewu smiled and motioned Jin Ling to take out the handkerchiefs and sachet she had bought.
“Is this embroidered by that embroideress?” Seeing that Jin Ling’s movements were a little slower, Huamo immediately picked up the sachet that had been placed aside and exclaimed. “This… this is too good. If it was embroidered by this embroideress, she would definitely be able to repair the screen!”
Shufei stuck her head and took a look at the sachet from the side. Then, she said in confusion, “Eh, Miss, the flower on this sachet looks a little familiar!”
“What kind of flower is this? I haven’t even seen it before. How come you have seen it before?” Huamo scratched her head and asked.
Jin Ling only glanced at the sachet in the store and didn’t pay much attention. Hearing Shufei’s words, she became a little curious. She took the sachet from Shufei and examined it. Then, she turned around and said, “Miss, since Shufei said that, I also feel that I have seen the flower before.”
Jin Ling recalled what had happened in the private room of the embroidery store, and she realized that Wei Yuewu must have a special purpose!
She directly picked Embroideress Yun without any hesitation.
Moreover, Embroideress Yun acted as if she had a secret that couldn’t be told. In order to get back this sachet, she agreed to repair the screen for Miss even without asking about the pay. Such an act was truly suspicious.
“Try to recall if you have seen it before?” Wei Yuewu held a hand warmer in her hands and smiled meaningfully.
“This… should be very familiar, but I can’t remember the detail for the moment!” Shufei took the sachet from Jin Ling and examined it, but she still couldn’t figure it out.
After hearing what they said, Huamo also felt familiar with the sachet. However, neither could she remember where she had seen the flower before.
“Sachet?” Seeing the bewildered faces of the maids, Wei Yuewu smiled and reminded.
“Sachet?” Shufei repeated, and she suddenly remembered, “That’s right, it was the sachet. When the Third Young Lady came back to the mansion, she sent you a similar sachet!”
She used to be in charge of Wei Yuewu’s personal items, so she was more familiar with the sachet than the other two maids.
“Indeed. I now remember it. Miss, wait a moment. I will go and get the sachet sent by the Third Young Lady for comparison!” Shufei walked to the dressing table and took out a sachet from it.
The two sachets were placed on the table in front of them. However, they didn’t look similar at the first sight. One of them seemed to be a scene looked from afar, while the other was from nearby. Although the colors of the flowers were similarly fiery red, due to the difference in the scenes, people wouldn’t find they were the same flower without careful examination.
“Look at the flowers underneath that eagle! That’s it!” Huamo, who had always been concerned about the screen, gestured and pointed at the flowers on the sachet sent by Wei Yuejiao and exclaimed in surprise.
“Yes, they are the same!” Although Jin Ling wasn’t good at embroidery, she immediately noticed the similarity thanks to Huamo’s remind.
Shufei was more thoughtful. “Could it be that this embroideress is connected with the Third Young Lady?”
“Miss, are you still going to let the embroideress come if she is connected with the Third Young Lady and Concubine Dong?” Huamo immediately felt unsafe and asked.
“No, she isn’t connected with them. However, I can inquire about some things with her!” Wei Yuewu smiled faintly, and her watery eyes fell on the dancing snowflakes outside through the window.
Although there was an introduction to the flower in the book that Jing Wenyan sent to her, the introduction was very brief. Now that there was such a person, why not ask her for more details? Wei Yuejiao’s sachet was not given to her casually. There was definitely a vicious plot behind it. It seemed that Concubine Dong was really determined to deal a deathblow to her…
Perhaps it was because of this sachet that Concubine Dong was so confident!
It snowed all night. The next morning, when Wei Yuewu was ready to go, the ground was already covered with a thick layer of snow. Fortunately, the weather in the morning was good, and the sky was actually less gloomier.
The snow on the ground was too thick to walk on. The Madam Dowager had already sent someone over to send a message that Wei Yuewu did not need to go to Tranquility Courtyard today. She could go to the mansion of Duke of Jing on her own when she was ready.
She also said that Wei Ziyang and his brothers had planned to go with Wei Yuewu, but bad news came from the Li Mansion that Lady Li was ill. Therefore, Wei Ziyang and his brothers would go to the Li Mansion first to see Lady Li. That was why the Madam Dowager let Wei Yuewu go to the mansion of Duke of Jing by herself.
Lady Li was sick. As her son, Wei Ziyang naturally had to go and see her. It was reasonable for the other two brothers to follow him. However, it was such a coincidence that Lady Li became ill at this time! According to the previous schedule, the three brothers would go to the mansion of Duke of Jing with Wei Yuewu.
Now, no one would go with her…
Seeing that it was getting late, Wei Yuewu walked outside of her courtyard with Jin Ling.
The carriage had been waiting there early. It was still the same coachman from yesterday. There was no other coachman. It was obvious that this was the one assigned to her by the mansion today.
Wei Yuewu lifted her foot and walked over.
Jin Ling stretched out her hand and pulled Wei Yuewu’s hand. She looked sideways at the wheels and whispered, “Miss…”
“It’s fine!” Wei Yuewu nodded and looked at her with comforting eyes. She walked to the stool in front of the carriage and stood still.
Jin Ling hurried over to help Wei Yuewu onto the carriage. Then, she also got onto it.
“Miss, can we go now?” Seeing the two of them were both in the carriage, the coachman’s face revealed a hint of complacency, but his voice sounded respectful and courteous.
“Let’s go!” In the carriage, Wei Yuewu’s voice was soft and gentle.
The carriage set off for the mansion of Duke of Jing. The road had been swept clean, but piles of snow could be seen by the roadside from time to time.
There were large and small snowdrifts along both sides. As a result, the road was also a little narrower than usual. The carriages and horses traveling on the road were all very careful. In addition, the road condition was not good and the surface was a little slippery after the snow was removed. It was really not a good time to travel.
But today, the mansion of Duke of Jing was holding a grand banquet. A lot of people were going there. Therefore, there were quite a few carriages on the road.
After Wei Yuewu’s carriage left the street in front of the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang, it turned and headed towards the mansion of Duke of Jing. Along the way, they encountered quite a few carriages, and there were also quite a number of young masters of aristocratic families riding horses along with them.
Whereas unmarried ladies had to travel on carriages, young masters of aristocratic families preferred to riding horses.
Moreover, there were quite a few noble young masters heading towards the mansion of Duke of Jing today. From time to time, they could see noble young masters in groups of three or five.
Wearing light fur coats and riding swift horses, they formed quite a scene after the snow.
“Miss, why are there so many noble young masters going to the mansion of Duke of Jing today? Isn’t it Eldest Miss Jing’s birthday? She’s still unmarried. How come so many noble young masters are invited?” Jin Ling looked out of the window and couldn’t help but turn around and ask when she saw several more horses riding by.
If it was the birthday of the Heir-apparent of Duke of Jing, it was reasonable for so many young masters to be invited. However, Eldest Miss Jing was still unmarried. Now that so many young masters were invited and going to the mansion with such a great fanfare, was it really harmless to her reputation?
“Nothing!” Wei Yuewu understood what was going on. She smiled slightly and shook her head. Since Duke of Jing had created such a huge momentum, his goal was naturally not the birthday banquet on the surface. Perhaps many aristocratic families also knew about it. That was why there were so many young masters wearing gorgeous clothes and riding swift horses there.
Even the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang sent three young masters.
The carriage suddenly jolted violently.
“Miss, be careful!” Jin Ling suddenly cried out in a low voice. She reached out and grabbed Wei Yuewu’s hand. Meanwhile, she pulled open the curtain of the window and clasped it tightly.
Wei Yuewu raised her head and her gaze landed sharply on the scene outside the window…