73: Exit Through The Back Door
Xiao Ting’s hand shook and almost dropped the fan on the ground, “How’s that possible? This was bought by YuChi XinHan, and wangye just gave it to me since it’s useless to him.”
“You also said that this consort gave him useless things, but didn’t he do the same? And this consort gave him so much but he didn’t appreciate it. Then he gave this consort a broken fan, and expect this consort to accept it?”
“Hmph, I don’t want it either.” Xiao Ting snapped and threw the folding fan into the box. Seeing Hong Shao’s passionate eyes, she said to her: “If you like it, take it.”
Hong Shao quickly stepped back. Don’t joke around. She knew that the folding fan in front of her was very valuable, so how could she dare take it?
“This fan is too expensive, this servant dare not take it.”
“Wangye said, if this consort is not happy with it, I can throw it away and he won’t look for it. Isn’t it just a lousy fan?”
Xiao Ting hmphed, feeling that Jiu Wangye was nothing special.
Hong Shao quickly explained, “Wangfei, this is not a lousy fan. If this servant isn’t wrong, this fan is worth thousands of gold.”
“T-thousands?” Xiao Ting almost bit her tongue.
“The handle is made from Jiangnan’s famous Moso bamboo. It’s very precious and could only be used by the Imperial family. The silk surface is probably from the ShuiXian Pavilion. As for the inscription of the painting above, this servant doesn’t know. But this piece of jade is very shiny. I can feel a sense of warmth and coolness in my hand, which meant it’s not an ordinary object. This servant had seen a piece of jade like this from Seventh Concubine and heard that it’s her family heirloom!”
Hong Shao explained one by one, and the more she looked at it, the more she became frightened.
With a ghostly cry, Xiao Ting hugged the folding fan directly in her arms, her eyes forming crescent shapes, her expression brightening, and her mouth muttering: “It turned out to be a treasure, now I’m rich.”
“Wangfei, it seemed like wangye especially looked for you to send you this.”
Xiao Ting glared at her, “How’s that possible? He said that YuChi XinHan sent this to him. He didn’t want it so he gave it to me. Hmph, now I found that it’s a treasure.”
She didn’t believe that the blockhead would suddenly be good to her.
“Then, did wangye suddenly wanted to be nice to you?” Hong Shao felt that this was the truth.
Xiao Ting hmphed, “En, even if that’s the case, it’s just as Xiao Yun said. No matter how gallant, he wouldn’t give this for no reason.”
Ah’San and Ah’Si, who were guarding outside, had been petrified. If wangye heard this, he’d be angry!!!
In fact, Jiu Wangye didn’t go far at all. After he threw the fan to Xiao Ting enthusiastically, he couldn’t move away, wanting to see what she would do.
When he heard her say this phrase, “no matter how gallant, he wouldn’t give this for no reason”, his breath became a little uneven before he walked away.
Ah’San and Ah’Si suddenly saw their master come out of the dark and they were a little dumbfounded. Before they could greet him, the master disappeared.
But Housekeeper Mu mysteriously appeared behind them, shocking Ah’San and Ah’Si.
“Remember, on July 12, wangye and wangfei clashed, and wangfei finally won! Wangye became angry once and courted wangfei once!”
The secret guards’ hands shook, but Housekeeper Mu ignored their panic and left with a smile and hands behind his back.
In the second half of the night, there was a misty drizzle, and Xiao Ting woke up with a sneeze.
Looking out the half-open window, she rolled her eyes and ran to the window barefoot to look outside.
“Huh? It’s raining so it’s cool now.”
When Hong Shao came in, she saw her master barefoot and tapping on the ground very happily.
“Wangfei, what made you so happy?”
Xiao Ting twisted her body and ran over with a smile while saying, “It’s raining!”
Hong Shao was speechless. So you suddenly felt better just because of the rain?
“By the way, where’s wangye?”
Xiao Ting’s mind returned to reality, realizing what had caused her headaches yesterday and decided to resolve it immediately.
Hong Shao twisted the towel and wiped her face, before replying: “Wangye entered the Palace early in the morning, and told you not go to the Palace today.”
“The Palace?” Xiao Ting hmphed then suddenly said, “Could it be that he finally found his conscience and was going to investigate the case for this miss?”
“No way. Did he go to make this miss see what he’s capable of?” Xiao Ting wasn’t convinced, and while talking, she took a quick wash, changed her clothes, and went out.
“Wangfei, it’s raining so please don’t go out.” Hong Shao could only persuade her like this.
But she couldn’t stop Xiao Ting. However, when she walked to the gates, Housekeeper Mu stopped her.
He still had a smile on his face, “Wangfei, good morning!”
Xiao Ting looked at him strangely, “Housekeeper, this consort finds that you’re always laughing secretly recently. Tell me what made you so happy and let’s be merry together!”
Housekeeper Mu’s smile didn’t diminish as he said: “Wangfei is joking, this old servant has always been like this.”
Xiao Ting nodded, “you’re truly cheerful.”
After saying that, she raised one foot to leave.
“Wangfei, where are you going?”
Housekeeper Mu stepped forward and blocked Xiao Ting, but kept his distance so as not to be rude.
Xiao Ting indifferently said: “This consort wants to go the Palace and see if your wangye could solve the case.”
“It’s our wangye.” Housekeeper Mu emphasized with a smile.
Xiao Ting was speechless: “En, it’s our wangye. You’re always busy so leave me alone.”
“Wangfei, you can’t enter the Palace without an edict!”
Xiao Ting: “…” So how did she get in yesterday?
After thinking about it for a while, it seemed like that rule really existed. Yesterday, she took out Jiu Wangye‘s booklet, so they let her in.
Did they treat her as someone sending a memorial?
“This consort was ordered by the Emperor to investigate the case, so they won’t stop me, right?”
If it weren’t for her Aunt Guifei, how could she go to the Palace? She never wanted to go to that boring place!
Housekeeper Mu replied kindly, “Wangye ordered this old servant to tell wangfei this morning. He has already taken over the matter. Wangfei was overworked and fell into the water again yesterday and needed to rest.”
Nani?
Overworked?
Need to rest?
Frick, rest my ass!
Xiao Ting was very depressed at the moment and scolded Jiu Wangye to high heavens, but Housekeeper Mu still smiled and escorted her back to her courtyard.
He didn’t complain.
Before leaving, he looked at Xiao Ting meaningfully, and suddenly said, “Wangfei, please rest, wangye is very concerned about your body.”
Xiao Ting couldn’t digest it for a long time. What does this mean?
So she made Hong Shao call Lu You over.
Lu You listened and with a smile on her face, she said solemnly: “Wangye is very concerned for wangfei.”
“Concerned? What the hell?”
This surprised Xiao Ting. How did she feel like these people understood everything but she didn’t? So annoying.
Lu You explained, “According to rumors, Jiu Wangye is very low-key and almost like an immortal. He wouldn’t talk about worldly affairs, let alone be nosy. He wouldn’t ask about the government, let alone communicate with foreign ministers. There are even rumors that he’s cultivating, dislikes the female gender, and many more. Even wangye wasn’t willing to marry the former Jiu Wangfei. He once said that he wouldn’t marry in this life.”
Hong Shao continued, “Wangye gave wangfei a fan yesterday.” As she said that, she showed the fan to Lu You.
“T-this is the work of Great Master Jing Yue, Water Moon Cave Sky. It’s said that this masterpiece is painted on a folding fan. Is it this one?” Lu You’s eyes widened in astonishment, then looked at Xiao Ting.
Xiao Ting knew that this was a treasure last night, but now listening to Lu You talk about it, why did it feel more valuable.
She shook her head, “Wangye said that YuChi XinHan bought it for him, and then said that it’s useless for him so he threw it to me.”
“How is that possible?” Lu You shook her head adamantly, “If it’s really this fan, it would be too expensive.”
Xiao Ting was speechless, “How much is it worth?”
The excitement on the two maids’ hearts instantly cooled. Did their master only think about the money?
Did she even know what the point is?
It’s the thought behind it. Isn’t that the rare treasure?
“If it’s true, then it’s priceless.”
Xiao Ting widened her eyes and smiled instantly. She then made up her mind to wait for Zhao Hua to come and see her next time, then ask if she knew about it.
After all, even though Lu You is very knowledgeable, she could still be mistaken.
As a result, the two maids, under Xiao Ting’s infection, focused on the rare treasure and forgot the business they were discussing.
As for entering the Palace? Xiao Ting already forgot.
Wangye treating her well? She also forgot.
This treasure fan is the only thing in her eyes.
As it approached noon, the drizzle stopped and the air was cool. After lunch, Xiao Ting madly looked at the doors.
She didn’t know when Jiu Wangye will come back.
Seeing her so listless and not even eating the fruits she liked, Hong Shao stepped forward and asked: “Wangfei, what’s wrong?”
Xiao Ting turned over and became lazy, “It’s okay, I’m just too lazy to move.”
Then she slept for an hour. When she opened her eyes, the red sun was already high above her. The water stains on the ground had all evaporated, and only a few hints of cold remained in the air.
Xiao Ting got up from the soft couch, adjusted the clothes on her body, then looked for the two little ones. Seeing that they were studying seriously, she wandered around the mansion aimlessly.
After a while, she arrived at a side gate, where there were guards on duty. Xiao Ting walked over curiously.
“This subordinates has seen wangfei.”
Yi?
“You know me?” She had never walked here before, and she didn’t even know there’s a door here.
The two guards looked at a loss on how to answer this.
Fortunately, when they were just about to speak, Xiao Ting had already observed the situation here and found an exit.
“Where does it lead outside?”
This place seemed very remote.
“Replying to wangfei, behind is ShiZi River!”
As soon as she heard it’s a river, Xiao Ting’s eyes lit up. Then she lifted her skirt and walked out.
The two guards didn’t stop her and they couldn’t. One quickly went to tell Housekeeper Mu, while the other stood by the door, half his body guarding inside and the other half outside, looking at the distant figure of wangfei.
Xiao Ting walked out of the alley and saw a small river under rows of willow trees.
The river wasn’t wide and there are only a few small boats on it.
It seemed to be transporting passengers.
Three to five people were coming off the boat. Xiao Ting hurriedly walked closer and jumped up with a few women without saying a word.
The boat was very beautiful and also very long. After boarding the boat with a few women, she then looked up.
The hull was divided into two floors. Someone was laughing on the second floor while Xiao Ting stared at the people on the first floor.
They were all women, each wearing blue gauze and looking much more exposed than her.