Chapter 445 - Chapter 445 Your Highness, I Have Someone to Marry

Jin Ling was back.

Wei Yuewu picked up her skirt and went near the window to listen to the movements downstairs.

“Fourth Young Lady, our Miss has been looking for you all this time. You were in the courtyard for so long that our Miss couldn’t wait any longer. She thought you were having a good chat with Miss Lin, so she left,” Jin Ling imparted in a composed manner while staring at Wei Qiufu whose face had darkened in anger.

While Wei Qiufu was at a loss for words, her face turned pale. Under the crowd’s suspicious gaze, she wanted to shut Jin Ling’s mouth up.

“I… I came out of the courtyard a long time ago, but I didn’t see your Miss. I waited nearby. It was only when Eldest Miss Jing entered the courtyard that I followed into the courtyard again.” Wei Qiufu had no choice but to explain.

Previously, she had claimed that she followed Jing Wenyan into the courtyard. But now, Jin Ling mentioned that she entered the courtyard earlier than Jing Wenyan. Jing Wenyan’s maid was set up by someone. Before this, no one had been able to guess who it was. But, if Wei Qiufu had entered the courtyard earlier, then she was most likely to be the one setting up the maid.

At the thought of that, the young ladies looked at Wei Qiufu with doubt.

If Wei Qiufu had indeed entered that courtyard early on, then her possibility of being the suspect was really great.

Jin Ling did not argue with Wei Qiufu but asked with a smile, “Oh, Fourth Young Lady, so you had left early. Did you not go through the back door? Miss had been waiting at the back door all the time.”

Seeing that Jin Ling was not pressing for more, Wei Qiufu breathed a sigh of relief and followed Jin Ling’s words. “Well, I was walking around and did not recognize the way. When I saw a door, I came out. Then, I ran into Eldest Miss Jing.”

Meekly, Jin Ling agreed with Wei Qiufu. “Ah, it turns out that you came out the wrong door, so you missed Miss. In this case, would you like to go meet Miss now?”

“Sure. Let’s go.” Sensing the suspicion in the eyes of the surrounding young ladies, Wei Qiufu felt a little embarrassed. Of course, she wouldn’t want to stay any longer.

“Fourth Young Lady, please come with me. Miss is waiting in front.” Jin Ling led the way with a smile.

Wei Qiufu took Ming Yan with her and left.

There were only a few young ladies and guards left now. They exchanged a few awkward glances. Those young ladies came from noble families and knew how to maintain their good images. Although they really wanted to see Yan Huaijing, they understood that if they continued to stay, they would be criticized. Besides, it was obvious that the heir-apparent upstairs had no interest in seeing them.

Thus, one by one, they scattered like birds, each leaving with their maids.

It was at this time that Wen Tianyao arrived with his eunuch.

A guard had long spotted Wen Tianyao from afar and urgently went upstairs to report.

“Invite the Crown Prince to come upstairs!” Yan Huaijing smiled faintly and put down the wine glass in his hand. Then, he took out a veiled hat from the bottom of the table and handed it to the flustered Wei Yuewu.

Wei Yuewu wasn’t surprised at the preparations done by Yan Huaijing. She silently took the hat and wore it.

It seemed that Yan Huaijing had expected the Crown Prince’s visit.

The veil of the veiled hat was very long. It almost covered her entire petite figure. Behind the light blue veil, which was not transparent like a white one, Wei Yuewu was perfectly disguised. No one would be able to see the color of her clothes.

“Come, let’s greet the Crown Prince,” Yan Huaijing said with a smile, reaching out to hold Wei Yuewu’s slender waist. They went downstairs and came to the stairs.

Wen Tianyao only brought a eunuch with him.

“Please come in, Your Highness!” Yan Huaijing greeted Wen Tianyao. With Yan Huaijing’s arms around her waist, Wei Yuewu bowed slightly as well. It could be considered a salute.

Behind the veil, she raised her watery eyes slightly and could tell that Wen Tianyao’s expression was grim. He was a guest at the Duke of Yan State Mansion, but the host left without notice. Of course, he wouldn’t be happy. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

With a cold face, Wen Tianyao followed Yan Huaijing up the bamboo building. Little Dezi had already come in to tidy the place and set a small tea table on the bed. Yan Huaijing invited Wen Tianyao to sit, whereas Wei Yuewu sat down at Yan Huaijing’s side.

“Heir-apparent of Yan, was there something wrong just now?” Wen Tianyao asked with an unfriendly expression. If Yan Huaijing left for no reason, it would be disrespectful to the royal family. Wen Tianyao would have a reason to be angry at him.

“Your Highness, please forgive me. Yuewu isn’t feeling well. She suddenly fell ill, and there are people spying on her from time to time in the backyard. Hence, I brought her here so she could have a quiet rest.” Curling his lips, Yan Huaijing then pulled Wei Yuewu into his arms.

Wei Yuewu hurriedly leaned her entire body on him, appearing weak and tired.

To be fair, Yan Huaijing’s excuse wasn’t very solid. But since he had repeatedly expressed Miss Lin’s specialness before, Wen Tianyao couldn’t say anything but just studied Wei Yuewu.

With the long veil as a cover, Wei Yuewu’s facial features were almost indiscernible. Wen Tianyao could only vaguely tell that she was a good-looking young woman. He had inquired Jing Wenyan about Miss Lin before and learned that there was only one prominent aristocratic family with the surname Lin in the State of Yan. However, none of the Lin family’s young ladies looked like this Miss Lin who was in front of him.

Moreover, no one had ever heard that Yan Huaijing had an engagement with the daughter of the Lin family from the State of Yan.

“Oh, what kind of illness does Miss Lin have? Perhaps I can ask an imperial doctor in the palace to take a look at Miss Lin later,” Wen Tianyao said with a poker face.

Smilingly, Yan Huaijing declined Wen Tianyao’s offer, reaching out to stroke Wei Yuewu’s hair lovingly. “Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. It’s not a big deal. It’s just an old tickle. Yuewu has had it since little. Because of it, she’s afraid of strangers and prefers peace and quiet.”

“She’s had it since childhood?” Wen Tianyao frowned. The young ladies of aristocratic families were well-protected. How could any of them get an illness since childhood?

“Well, Yuewu went through some hardships when she was a child. After she was found, her family was afraid that she would be disturbed, so she hardly met any strangers. Seeing so many strangers suddenly in the mansion today, not to mention that many came to spy on her, she was scared. So, her old tickle returns,” Yan Huaijing explained, smiling.

At this time, Little Dezi made two cups of tea from downstairs and came up to serve the tea. Then, he respectfully retreated to the side.

Wen Tianyao received the tea and took a sip. “From the looks of it now, Miss Lin should be fine. Let’s go back. Otherwise, it will be troublesome when my sisters come later and can’t find you. Fourth Younger Sister’s temper has always been bad.”

There seemed to be a bit of a joking tone in Wen Tianyao’s words. But if one thought about his words carefully, one would realize that it was not just that. Wei Yuewu was glad that her face was concealed behind the veil. Otherwise, be it the Fourth Princess or Third Princess, they would be mad at her.

As if he didn’t understand the meaning behind Wen Tianyao’s words, Yan Huaijing smiled and responded, “Your Highness is right. Let’s go back.” Then, he gently instructed Wei Yuewu, “Yuewu, you can rest here. I’ll have someone guard the place. I’ll know if someone barges in.”

In other words, no one else could come into this place. Even the two princesses would not dare to go against Yan Huaijing.

Wei Yuewu nodded obediently. It was best to use this method to get away. Jin Ling definitely wasn’t able to put Wei Qiufu on hold for too long. With her shrewdness, Wei Qiufu would definitely cause trouble when she found out that Jin Ling was dragging her around.

On the other hand, Wen Tianyao didn’t expect Yan Huaijing to be so easy to convince. He originally had prepared a long speech, which was useless now. So, he fell silent.

After Yan Huaijing had left with Wen Tianyao, Wei Yuewu and Jin Ling, who had returned, hurriedly exited the small building that appeared to be heavily guarded. They headed to the place where Jin Ling had asked Wei Qiufu to wait.

Unexpectedly, after only a few steps, they ran into Mo Huating and the Fourth Prince.

The two were strolling casually under a tree and saw Wei Yuewu from afar. The Fourth Prince said something to Mo Huating. Mo Huating stayed behind while the Fourth Prince walked toward Wei Yuewu.

Seeing that, Wei Yuewu had no choice but to stop.

The Fourth Prince walked up to Wei Yuewu and sized her up. Seeing that she only looked a little unwell and nothing else, he heaved a sigh of relief and asked gently. “Sixth Miss Wei, how are your hands?”

“Thank you for your concern, Fourth Prince. I’m fine now.” Wei Yuewu bowed.

“Really? That day, I saw that you were injured quite seriously. There were too many people, so I didn’t say anything. Anyway, this is an ointment that I got from an imperial doctor. It helps to remove the scars quickly.” Saying so, the Fourth Prince took out a small porcelain container from his pocket and handed it to Wei Yuewu.

Without one noticing, Wei Yuewu frowned slightly. She believed that she wasn’t very close with this Fourth Prince. However, why did he show her a sense of intimacy through his words?

Wei Yuewu did not want to have anything to do with the Fourth Prince, so she gently refused, “Uh… I’m really fine!”

“Take it. It’s not something valuable.” With great patience, the Fourth Prince extended his palm and acted as if he wouldn’t leave if Wei Yuewu didn’t accept the ointment.

Seeing that the Fourth Prince was insistent, Wei Yuewu had no choice but carefully took the ointment from his hands. Then, she bowed. “Thank you, Your Highness.”

“Jia’nan is just a little hot-tempered. She has no ill intention. It was only because someone instigated her that she did such a thing to you. A few days ago, she fell on the way home and is now back at the Prince Nan’an Mansion to recuperate. If there’s a chance, I can take you there, and you two can talk more. Then, you two will grow closer.”

The Fourth Prince said with a matter-of-fact look.

Meanwhile, Wei Yuewu couldn’t help but roll her eyes secretly. She wondered how the Fourth Prince had so much confidence in believing that she would be interested in such things.

Be it Prefectural Princess Jia’nan or the Fourth Prince, she had no interest in them at all.

“Thank you for your concern, Your Highness.” Wei Yuewu tactfully declined his suggestion. Her eyes turned cold when she drooped her head. Today, the Fourth Prince’s attitude was quite strange.

“Nah, it was originally my responsibility. In the future, when you two reconcile, I’ll be very happy too.” Somehow, the Fourth Prince’s tone became increasingly gentler.

Reconcile? How? Like a wife and a concubine?

Wei Yuewu sneered in her heart, thinking that the Fourth Prince was too self-righteous. Could it be that he was certain that she would marry him as his concubine? How dare he even scheme against her? Did he really think that she was so easy to trick?

“Your Highness, frankly, how Prefectural Princess Jia’nan behaves really has nothing to do with me. In the future, even if Fifth Sister marries into the Prince Nan’an Mansion, I won’t visit the mansion for no reason. There won’t be too many opportunities for me to meet Prefectural Princess Jia’nan. So, Your Highness, you don’t have to explain on Prefectural Princess Jia’nan’s behalf.”

As Wei Yuewu said that, she straightened her body and looked at the Fourth Prince with indifference.

There was only coldness in her clear eyes and no more modesty like earlier. Even though she had gotten help from the Fourth Prince before, she wouldn’t allow him to use her.

“Your Highness, I have someone to marry!”