Di Daughter's Strategy - Chapter 44

Chapter 44

That night, when Luo Yi’er arrived at Fang Yun Hall, Madam Chu was seated on the kang bed waiting for her. Seeing the slight curve of Luo Yi’er’s lips, she ultimately said nothing. She merely had the longevity noodles brought from the kitchen and personally watched her finish eating before sending her off to rest.

On the sixteenth day of the eighth lunar month, Prince Wen and Princess Qingya both sent gifts to the Marquis of Qi’s residence. Madam Chu had the gifts delivered directly to Yunxia Courtyard.

The matter of Prince Yu and Princess He Yi had already been settled. The grand wedding ceremony was to be held on the tenth day of the tenth month. Naturally, Emperor Jing would not deny the Xiliang Kingdom even this bit of dignity. He gave special orders to the Ministry of Rites to conduct the wedding with full honors. As for whether the Princess Consort of Prince Yu was happy about it—no one else cared.

A month later, Prince Jing did return to the capital. However, he entered quietly. It wasn’t until the next morning’s court assembly that the ministers realized he had already arrived. Later, Emperor Jing kept him behind in private.

No one knew what the two discussed in the imperial study, but by the following morning court session, the case concerning the prefect of Wuzhou had already concluded. The charges of embezzlement were confirmed to be true. The final outcome—execution of the entire household.

What was unexpected, however, was that Marquis Jianyi had not returned to the capital. Prince Jing simply said that there were still matters in Wuzhou that required attention and that the Marquis had stayed behind to wrap them up. He would certainly return to the capital before the New Year’s banquet.

The other ministers exchanged looks—wasn’t the Wuzhou matter already resolved? What else could possibly delay them for over two months?

But since even Emperor Jing did not question further, naturally the rest of the officials dared not discuss it excessively. Whether they would investigate privately afterward, however—no one could say.

—

The days that followed passed quickly. It seemed that the blazing summer had only just ended, yet now even the plum grove beside Yunxia Courtyard carried a faint floral fragrance. Luo Yi’er leaned out of the window, gazing outside. From the eastern side of Yunxia Courtyard’s wall, one could just spot a few blooming plum blossoms.

Inside, high-quality coal was burning, keeping the room warmly cozy without a trace of smoke. Still, Luo Yi’er felt a bit stifled, so she opened the window to let in some air. As soon as the cold wind swept in, Linglong gave a shiver, prompting Luo Yi’er to cover her mouth and chuckle softly.

Half her body was leaning out the window. She took a deep breath; her fingertips were frozen red. She brought her hands to her lips and blew on them. A thin wisp of white vapor rose, vanishing in an instant. She’d been in a good mood lately—even her eyes were laced with a hint of a smile.

Pansi entered with a bowl of ginger tea. Seeing that the window was opened wide, she hurried over and put down the tea, scolding with slight annoyance,
“Miss, you just caught a cold two days ago. You’ve only just recovered, why are you letting the wind in again?”

As she spoke, she closed the window. The room instantly grew warmer.

Luo Yi’er didn’t blame her for the abrupt action. After all, the brief cold breeze had cleared her head. She lifted the ginger tea, her bright-red fingertips pressing against the warm bowl, and said with faint interest:

“It’s getting colder and colder… I wonder when the snow will fall?”

Linglong went to check the brazier, then walked over with a bitter smile.
“Miss, don’t hope for that. Madam would never allow you to play in the snow.”

Luo Yi’er’s smile faltered at Linglong’s remark. Pansi chimed in with an additional reminder,
“Just the other day, Miss stayed in the plum grove for only half an hour and caught a chill. And now you’re hoping for snow? Don’t tell me you’ve already forgotten how bitter that medicine tasted?”

Luo Yi’er was most afraid of bitter medicine. Hearing the teasing in Pansi’s voice, she grew annoyed and playfully plucked a leaf from the nearby potted plant, tossing it at her. The leaf floated lightly and fell to the ground before it could even reach Pansi. She didn’t mind, and the three of them broke into laughter.

Just as the room was filled with warmth and joy, the sound of movement came from the gate of Yunxia Courtyard. Luo Yi’er’s smile froze slightly. She opened a slit in the window and looked outside, lifting her eyes to see who it was.

It seemed someone had arrived outside the courtyard. Hongdou was speaking with the visitor. After a few exchanges, she gave a slight curtsy and then ran toward the room.

Luo Yi’er raised an eyebrow slightly, and the next moment, she heard a knock at the door. Resting her head on one hand, her voice was a mix of casualness and curiosity as she called out,
“Come in.”

Hongdou stepped in lightly. Her round cheeks were red from the cold, and she wore a cheerful smile.
“Miss, Sister Jinsu from Madam’s courtyard has come.”

Luo Yi’er was a bit surprised.
“Quick, let her in.”

“Alright.” Hongdou replied and quickly ran out. Not long after, she returned leading Jinsu inside.

Luo Yi’er straightened her posture a little, graceful and composed, and smiled gently.
“In this freezing weather, why would Mother send you out?”

Then she turned to Linglong and said,
“Pour Jinsu a cup of hot tea.”

As the legitimate daughter of Madam Chu, Luo Yi’er naturally had a close relationship with Jinsu from Yunxia Courtyard. After bowing in greeting, Jinsu accepted the hot tea that Linglong had already prepared. Her face beamed with delight.
“Jinsu thanks Third Miss.”

After drinking the tea in one go, her body finally felt warm. Then she heard Luo Yi’er’s questioning voice from above,
“Mother sent you—what for?”

Jinsu first covered her mouth with a soft laugh before answering, “Just now, Prince Jing sent someone to the residence.”

Luo Yi’er’s expression paused slightly. Seeing the curiosity in the eyes of Pansi and the other maids, she gave a faint laugh and asked again,
“What did Prince Jing send someone for?”

“His Highness sent an invitation,” Jinsu said with a teasing glint in her eyes. “He invites Third Miss to the Prince’s residence to admire the plum blossoms.”

She added, “His Highness also specifically noted that he has invited Princess Qingya as company.”

A flicker of surprise flashed through Luo Yi’er’s eyes, and her cheeks took on a faint blush. She recalled the words she had said to him when he came to the marquis’ residence that day—she hadn’t expected that he would actually remember. Her fingertips tapped lightly on the desk, moving ever so slightly.

Just then, more sounds came from the courtyard gate. Before Luo Yi’er could ask, Jinsu slapped her forehead and said, “This maid nearly forgot, His Highness also sent over quite a few gifts. Madam had them delivered to Miss, and they should be arriving right about now.”

Just as she finished speaking, Hongdou’s voice rang out from outside again.
“Miss, Fang Yun Hall has sent over many brocade boxes.”

“Let them in,” Luo Yi’er said.

She then took Pansi’s arm and stepped down from the soft couch. Linglong smoothed the slight wrinkles in her robe. As they finished, several maids entered carrying the brocade boxes. After performing their salutes, they stood in a row, opened the boxes in their hands, and raised them for their mistress to admire.

The maid at the front held a piece of clothing in her hands. Following behind her in order were a fox-fur cloak, embroidered shoes, jewelry, and other items. The last person held a small brocade box. Luo Yi’er stepped forward to take a closer look, inside was a box full of pearls. At a glance, each pearl was nearly identical in size, full and lustrous. The maid promptly whispered:

“His Highness Prince Jing said that Miss favors using pearls to adorn her embroidered shoes, so he specially sent this box of pearls.”

A blush crept onto Luo Yi’er’s face. Behind her, Linglong and the others couldn’t help but laugh. She turned and lightly glared at them, then looked back at the box of pearls and couldn’t help but smile as well.
How extravagant was this?

This box of pearls was already worth a fortune—and he meant for them to be used just for decorating shoes?

She tried to recall—was she really always wearing embroidered shoes with pearl trim whenever she saw him?
Most of her daily attire was coordinated in advance by Pansi and the others, and she rarely paid attention herself. For a moment, she truly couldn’t remember what she had worn.

Lightly pressing her pink lips together, she turned to Jinsu and asked, “Did His Highness mention the time?”

“The Prince has already sent someone to wait outside the residence.”

“What?” Luo Yi’er was a little caught off guard. She glanced out the window. It was already close to noon, why so sudden?
And he hadn’t even sent the invitation ahead of time.

Jinsu knew the timing was tight and didn’t linger further. She curtsied and said, “Then this maid will take her leave.”

Luo Yi’er gave her a slight nod. After she withdrew, Pansi hurriedly said, “Miss, you must quickly change into another outfit!”

She was just about to head to the wardrobe to select something when she noticed the brocade box the maid was still holding. Slapping her forehead, she laughed, “His Highness has already prepared everything. Looks like we won’t need to trouble ourselves.”

Luo Yi’er gave her a sidelong glance.
“All right, enough with the chatter.”

The maids helped her into the outfit. Pansi also carefully applied her makeup. Luo Yi’er had a tiny red mole at the corner of her eye, which would be covered whenever she smiled, so few people had ever noticed it. At the moment, her gaze was downcast, her brows painted with dark ink, giving her a more graceful and alluring appearance.

She looked into the bronze mirror and slightly furrowed her brows.
Was it… too bold?
Too dazzling?

Pansi and the others, however, saw nothing wrong at all. Luo Yi’er was naturally beautiful—slender brows, alluring eyes, hands like tender shoots, skin like congealed cream—so exquisitely delicate it felt almost unreal.

They had only added a touch of makeup, slanted a single jade hairpin into her hair bun, and Pansi praised sincerely, “Miss, you look stunning.”

Luo Yi’er’s eyes carried a soft smile as she allowed Linglong to help her to her feet. She heard Linglong’s gentle urging, “Miss, it’s getting late—we should set off soon.”

Within her sleeve, she lightly tightened her grip on the handkerchief, though nothing showed on her face. With a faint smile, she agreed and walked out of the courtyard with her maids.

She first went to Fang Yun Hall to inform Madam Chu of the situation. Hearing Madam Chu remind her to return early, she slightly lowered her head and replied softly. Only then did she head toward the marquis residence’s main gate.

The vermillion-red gate stood open, a young attendant waiting nearby. He bowed and reminded her to watch her step. As she crossed the threshold, she turned her head slightly, looking for the person sent from the prince’s residence. Her gaze passed over the two stone lions at the gate, and beside one of them, a few willow trees had been planted. Just beyond them, a modest carriage stood quietly.

The canopy of the carriage was a dark red. One corner of it had a string of small bells hanging down, beneath which swayed a tassel that stirred gently in the cold wind. The carriage was parked with its back toward her. Perhaps having heard movement from the marquis residence, someone stepped down from it.

Luo Yi’er recognized him. Her eyes paused in surprise. Only when he bowed deeply in greeting did she come back to herself, taking Pansi’s hand and walking in that direction.

Behind her, the marquis residence’s main gate slowly closed. She turned to glance back, just as Wei Feng spoke,

“Greetings to Miss Luo.”

She quickly collected herself and turned back around, offering a light smile and nodding slightly. Then, a little hesitantly, she asked, “Is there anyone else in the carriage?”

Wei Feng lowered his head and replied,
“Miss Luo will know once you’ve boarded.”

That answer alone told Luo Yi’er all she needed to know. Her fingertips tightened slightly—she hadn’t expected him to come personally. Wei Feng made a “please” gesture. Luo Yi’er gently pressed her lips together and stepped onto the carriage via the small ladder.

Lifting the curtain, she saw—just as expected—a man seated inside.

The interior of the carriage was arranged with three seats, one on each side. In the middle sat a small table, on which rested a teapot, several cups, and some refreshments.

The man sat on the left side. He had broad shoulders and long legs. Today, he wore a black brocade robe, embroidered with a fierce python in gold thread.
The dark fabric draped over the carpet inside the carriage, exuding an unmistakable nobility.

He seemed deep in thought, his expression calm and aloof, with a hint of unapproachability. But at the sound of her entrance, he turned his head. And upon seeing her, a faint warmth finally rose in his eyes.