Zhou Yuncheng had always claimed that he had never seen Miss Zhao Si. It was not until Xie Nanjia helped Zhao Lanzhi out that he suddenly realized that the little white rabbit was Miss Zhao Si.
In this way, he actually implicated the girl.
He wanted to step forward and apologize, but Zhao Lanzhi kept her head down and didn't even look in his direction, then hurried away with the maids.
Zhao Jingyu knew that his fourth sister was feeling uncomfortable at the moment, and she would definitely be even more embarrassed if she faced him, so he just stood by silently, letting them leave, and then left with Zhou Yuncheng.
As soon as Zhao Lanzhi left, there was no need for the girls in the locker room to stay any longer, and they walked out in groups of three or four.
The girl who came out first noticed the back of the man walking in front of her, and recognized him as the second young master Zhao by his bright red clothes.
The girls were all excited and quickened their pace at the same time, wanting to catch up with him and have a chance encounter with him.
He was quick-witted and immediately tried to win over sisters Zhao Lanya and Zhao Lanshu, thinking that it would seem natural with them greeting him.
Influenced by their mother, the two sisters were not close to Zhao Jingyu, but Zhao Lanshu was born to be the limelight-seeker. Unable to resist a few nice words from her female companion, she took the initiative to run over and call Zhao Jingyu.
"Second brother, what a coincidence, you are here too." She called out in a tender voice. In order to show off her unique status as the younger sister, she deliberately acted in a coquettish tone so that other girls would envy her.
Sure enough, the girls all cast envious glances at her.
Zhao Lanya was disgusted by her sister's behavior and deliberately lagged behind, thinking that she would talk to her mother later and ask her mother to educate her sister and tell her not to be so frivolous.
As a result, when Zhao Jingyu stopped after hearing the sound and looked back at the same time as Zhou Yuncheng, her eyes suddenly lit up and she took two steps forward.
Unfortunately, she was not as quick as the second lady of Ning'anbo. Before she reached the place, the second lady of Ning'anbo was already greeting Zhou Yuncheng.
Although there is a difference between men and women, Zhao Jingyu and Zhou Yuncheng are both famous playboys in the capital, and they are always unconventional. In addition, there are many girls and they are all acquaintances, so they stopped to bow and greet them.
"Second brother, where are you from and where are you going?" Zhao Lanshu asked with a sweet smile.
Zhao Jingyu didn't understand why she was so enthusiastic about him all of a sudden. He was stunned for a moment and replied, "Mr. Zhou has drunk too much. I am taking him to the garden to sober him up. What are you guys doing in a group?"
"We... we are also out here to get some fresh air." Zhao Lanshu said, "Why don't you take us with you, second brother?"
"Lan Shu, don't be rude." Without waiting for Zhao Jingyu's reply, Zhao Lanya walked forward and pulled her behind her. She looked at Zhou Yuncheng with bright eyes, bowed, and said to Zhao Jingyu softly, "Since Mr. Zhou is drunk, Second Brother should send him to the guest room to lie down and rest. It's cold and windy outside. If he walks around for too long, he might catch a cold."
Zhao Jingyu: “…”
What's wrong with these two sisters today? They both seem to be very familiar with him. One wants to go around the garden with him, and the other teaches him how to take care of guests.
It's really weird.
"Then may I ask my two sisters, should I continue to visit the garden, or should I take Young Master Zhou to rest?" he asked with a smile.
Zhao Lanshu was only interested in showing off in front of the other young ladies and was very dissatisfied with her sister's meddling.
However, Zhao Lanya thought that if Zhou Yuncheng went to the guest room to rest, she could take advantage of the host's status to ask him about his well-being.
"Of course, we should take care of Mr. Zhou's health." She spoke before her sister, "Our garden is not going to run away. If Mr. Zhou wants to visit, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future. Now he should rest. Second brother is in charge of entertaining the guests. It's not good to neglect the guests at the banquet. You should go back to Zhiwei Garden quickly. I will help you to properly place Mr. Zhou."
Zhao Jingyu: “…”
Zhou Yuncheng: “…”
Girls have delicate minds and are especially sensitive in emotions. The second daughter of the Earl of Ning'an watched Zhao Lanya and Zhao Jingyu talking coldly from the side. She frowned and saw through Zhao Lanya's intention.
Originally, according to Zhao Lanshu's suggestion, it would be a good thing if the Second Young Master agreed to let them follow him to visit the garden. However, Zhao Lanya said right from the start that the eldest Young Master Zhou should go to the guest room to rest. Even a blind man could see that the eldest Young Master Zhou was not drunk, but she insisted again and again. It was obvious that she wanted to find an excuse to take advantage of the host's position to approach the eldest Young Master Zhou alone.
If Miss Zhao Si's desire for Zhou Yuncheng is like a toad wanting to eat swan meat, then Zhao Lanya is the eldest daughter of the Marquis's family and has more advantages than her, the second daughter of the Earl's family.
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but feel jealous. With the idea of preferring death to disgrace, she stepped forward and suggested, "Forget it. It's their business to do whatever the gentlemen want. Why should we girls join in the fun? We've been out for a while. If we don't return to the banquet, our families will be worried. Let's go back quickly!"
After she made this suggestion, the other girls felt it difficult to continue visiting the garden, so they had to bid farewell to the two gentlemen in disappointment and went back to Zhiwei Garden together.
Zhao Lanshu was angry that her sister blocked her chance to show off, Zhao Lanya was angry that the second young lady of Ning Anbo was meddling in other people's business, and the second young lady of Ning Anbo was angry that Zhao Lanya was ungentlemanly and coveted her lover.
What bullshit sisterly love? She knew that I liked Young Master Zhou, but she still kept thinking about him quietly. Is there any person like her
Just because of her character, if I can't get Master Zhou, I would rather help Zhao Lanzhi than give him to her, humph!
Zhao Jingyu understood the girls' little thoughts after a brief thought. After everyone left, he smiled and teased Zhou Yuncheng: "Well done, Mr. Zhou. I didn't expect you to be such a popular item."
Zhou Yuncheng rolled his eyes and said, "How can I be as popular as you? Didn't you see that except for your two sisters, the other girls wanted to do that to you with their eyes?"
"Really?" Zhao Jingyu raised her eyebrows. "I'm afraid not all of them. Miss Ning'an didn't even look at me the whole time. And my eldest sister... Which of these two do you like?"
"Don't talk nonsense." Zhou Yuncheng interrupted him hurriedly, "My mother is very strict with me. It would be terrible if she knew about it. Besides, my future daughter-in-law must be chosen by her personally. It doesn't matter whether I like her or not."
"Tsk tsk tsk tsk..." Zhao Jingyu exclaimed, "How pitiful! He can't even choose his own wife."
"You can?" Young Master Zhou asked, "If you can make your own decision, why haven't you gotten engaged yet?"
"I just haven't found a suitable one." Zhao Jingyu said. Thinking of the emperor's warning to him in the marquis' study that day, he suddenly lost interest and was no longer in the mood to joke.
The emperor did not allow him to marry a girl without status and position, saying that his future wife must be chosen from the family of princes and important officials. However, he screened all the girls who met the standards in the capital, but could not find one that satisfied him.
The only person who moved him was a girl.
He thought again of Xiu'er's half-seriously false words that day about not wanting to be a concubine, and became even more anxious.
Given her status, the emperor wouldn't even allow her to be a concubine, let alone a concubine.
What should I do
"What's wrong? Why do you suddenly look so sad?" Zhou Yuncheng asked.
Zhao Jingyu rubbed his face with his hands and said worriedly, "Let me ask you, if you like a girl from a commoner family and your mother doesn't allow you to marry her, what should you do?"
"Hmm?" Zhou Yuncheng looked at him thoughtfully, frowned and thought for a while, then said, "If I have to marry her, maybe the only way is to find her a relative first."
"What do you mean?" Zhao Jingyu asked.
"You don't understand this. Aren't you the Marquis's lost pearl?" Zhou Yuncheng said, "For example, the little granddaughter of the Zhenguo Duke has been lost for so many years. Who knows, she might be found one day?"
Zhao Jingyu's eyes lit up and his thoughts suddenly became clear.
Zhou Yuncheng added: "This method is feasible, but the prerequisite is to find a family of equal status and willing to cooperate with you. Think about it, is there anyone in Beijing who is willing to take this risk for you? I think Cheng Zhiye's father, you can consider it."
"Yeah." Zhao Jingyu nodded thoughtfully, then suddenly came to his senses and said seriously, "What do I have to think about? It's not my business. I'm just trying to help you find a solution, okay?"
"Tsk!" Zhou Yuncheng curled his lips. "Have you ever learned the phrase 'the more you try to hide, the more obvious it becomes'?"
"roll!"
…
Zhao Lanzhi was besieged by the other ladies and her makeup was ruined by her crying. It was not possible for her to go back to the banquet, so Xie Nanjia took her directly back to Yilan Courtyard.
When Nanny Li saw her like this, she was shocked and hurriedly welcomed her into the house and asked what was going on.
Xie Nanjia wanted to find an excuse to get away with it, but Su He had already told him the whole story.
Nanny Li felt sorry for the injustice her young lady had suffered. She hugged Zhao Lanzhi and tried to comfort her with kind words. She couldn't help but complain about Zhao Lanshu, saying that she was too kind-hearted and didn't care about her own sisters but was in cahoots with outsiders. If this matter really got out, it would not only be the fourth young lady who would be in trouble, but the reputations of several young ladies in the family would be implicated.
After complaining about Zhao Lanshu, she turned around and complained about Su He: "How could you be so careless and let the fourth young lady bump into a stranger? Do you have eyes on the soles of your feet?"
Su He said aggrievedly: "Madam, how can you blame me? If you hadn't insisted on me taking the fourth young lady to the flower wall to peek, this wouldn't have happened. I think Xiu'er is right. Our young lady shouldn't learn from those undisciplined young ladies. Not only will it be easy to get into trouble, but if the truth is revealed, it will be useless without mother's help."
Nanny Li's face turned red as she was choked by her. Seeing that the Fourth Young Miss was crying again because of her words, she said angrily, "You are such a rude girl. I say one thing to you, and you have ten things waiting for me. What else can you do besides losing your temper? If it weren't for Xiu'er's rescue, the Fourth Young Miss would be in a mess right now. I say, you should just let Xiu'er follow you from now on, and you should just stay in the courtyard!"
"You..." Su He was about to lose control of her anger, so Xie Nanjia hurriedly spoke up to stop her, urging Li Mammy, "Mammy, go get some warm water to wash Fourth Miss's face, and let her sleep for a while to calm down."
Nanny Li went out sighing.
Su He was still unconvinced and muttered, "Second Miss is the same. Fourth Miss didn't bump into him on purpose, and the young master didn't do anything rude, but she's making a fuss about it. I really don't know what her intention is."
Just as Xie Nanjia was about to stop her from talking, she suddenly caught a glimpse of Zhao Lanzhi biting her lip shyly.
She hesitated for a moment, then pretended to ask Su He casually, "What kind of person is that young master?"
Su He thought for a moment and said, "He was very tall, fair and handsome, with a nice voice, and he was wearing green clothes. I couldn't see anything else."
Xie Nanjia laughed: "You can say so much after just one encounter, and you still say you didn't see it clearly."
Su He also laughed.
Xie Nanjia looked at Zhao Lanzhi carefully and saw that she looked dazed and her face was flushed, so she asked, "Fourth Miss, is what Su He said true? Is that young master really white, handsome and tall?"
Zhao Lanzhi's face suddenly turned red, and she stammered, "I, I didn't see clearly."
As they were talking, Nanny Li came in with warm water. Xie Nanjia didn't ask any more questions and waited by the side watching Zhao Lanzhi wash her face. Suddenly, an idea flashed in her mind: tall, fair, handsome, wearing green clothes, couldn't this be Zhou Yuncheng
Could it be that Zhou Yuncheng met him before he went to Sijinyuan
Zhou Yuncheng said that he saw a little white rabbit. Apart from the rabbit that Zhao Jingyu caught in the paddock, there were no other rabbits in the Marquis' Mansion. I'm afraid he was talking about the Fourth Young Miss
This Zhao Jingyu, he even claims to have been around many flowers, but why is he so slow today that he actually took Zhou Yuncheng to see real rabbits.
Just let him die of stupidity!
Zhou Yuncheng actually called the girl a little white rabbit. Such an ambiguous name, could it be that this collision was a real accident
She decided to wait until there was no one around before trying to find out what Zhao Lanzhi had to say.
…
The guests had left, it was already late, and Zhao Jingping's wedding night had just begun.
Qin had been busy and nervous these days. Now everything was finally settled. Although she was tired, she was very happy. Before going to bed, she went to the bridal chamber on purpose. While Zhao Jingping was taking a bath and changing clothes, she had some private conversation with her niece.
She told Qin Wanru not to dwell on the grievances she had suffered, as there would be plenty of time in the future and there would be plenty of opportunities to get back at her. The most important thing now was to get along well with the prince, win his heart, and give birth to the child safely. After giving birth to the child, she would have completely taken root in the Marquis' Mansion. After a few years, she would hand over the power of the household to her, and she would be the real mistress of the Marquis' Mansion and could live in love with the prince until old age.
Qin Wanru was originally furious about this aggrieved wedding, but after being persuaded by her aunt, she felt better and smiled, "I have taken note of what my aunt said. I will live a good life with my cousin. Not only will I be a good wife to my cousin, but I will also be the most caring little cotton-padded jacket to my aunt. When my two cousins get married, I will accompany my aunt on their behalf and enjoy her care."
Qin was so happy that she kept wiping away tears. Despite many setbacks, her wish was finally fulfilled. Moreover, Wanru was so sensible and filial, which was enough to prove that her persistence was right. It was more reliable to marry a daughter-in-law only if she was a relative.
If Xie Nanjia had not intervened at the beginning, all these terrible things would not have happened.
Fortunately, God is merciful and all the hardship is finally over. She will do everything she can to help her son and daughter-in-law live a good life.
Qin was very satisfied. After Zhao Jingping came back, she gave him a few more instructions, asking him to be nicer to his wife and to take care of her stomach when she went to sleep. Then she left happily, leaving Yunying to Qin Wanru to serve her.
Yunying was caught off guard and felt like an object in the lady's eyes, being tossed around without any regard for her feelings at all.
She stood outside the door, watching Qin and Nanny Yunyan walk away together. She remembered that Xiu'er once said that her position in the Madam's heart was not as high as Yunyan's, and that she would definitely ask her to continue serving her once her cousin came. Her heart sank.
The early winter wind whimpered through the corridor, and she immediately remembered Xiu'er's other words and couldn't help shivering.
Xiu'er said, what you have done is known to heaven, earth, ghosts and gods. If you want to know whether you have a clear conscience, it is very simple. When it is dark, open the window and look out. If you dare to look, you have a clear conscience; if you don't dare to look, you have a guilty conscience.
She looked at the shadowy trees in the yard, feeling a chill down her spine, and subconsciously pressed herself against the wall and closed her eyes.
In the room, the sounds of Zhao Jingping and Qin Wanru playing could be heard. Although not loud, they entered her ears very clearly.
The other maids were exhausted after a busy day. Seeing that the lady had left her to serve them, they all went to sleep. She was the only one left guarding the empty corridor.
She didn't want to hear the noise in the house, but she didn't dare go anywhere else, because at least there would be some noise here, and moving somewhere else would make her even more scared.
She closed her eyes tightly, like a person trying to cover her ears while stealing a bell, thinking that as long as she didn't open her eyes, nothing terrible would happen.
She had to cover her ears as the noise in the house grew louder and louder.
At this moment, a dark shadow appeared silently on the roof, crawling on the tiles, and hung a head with long hair from the eaves, straight in front of her.
She closed her eyes tightly and didn't notice.
A gust of wind blew, and the messy hair fluttered across her cheeks.
She felt itchy on her face and subconsciously opened her eyes. Under the dim moonlight, a disheveled head was swaying in front of her.
"Ahh~" She let out a series of terrified screams, her eyes rolled back and she fainted on the ground.
(End of this chapter)