On the fifth day of August, Zhao Qinghui got up before dawn, bathed, burned incense, changed into a jade-colored Qilin Palace silk shirt, put on a gauze hat, and applied some powder under his eyes in front of the mirror to cover up his sickly face. Then he went out to the Lotus Temple in the southern suburbs to keep his appointment.
Because he wanted to meet the Crown Princess in private, he was afraid that his mother would get in the way, so he found an excuse to go his separate ways, only bringing a personal attendant and four guards, and the carriage he took had the emblem of the Wu'an Mansion hidden. The wife of the Wu'an Duke had always been obedient to her only son in his old age, so she would not have a problem with such a small matter.
Before the hour of Si, Zhao Qinghui's carriage had arrived outside the gate of Lotus Temple. There were no pilgrims in front of the temple, and no other carriages or horses were seen.
The person who came to greet them was not the monk who was in charge of reception, but a man with a white face, no beard, and a shrill voice, who looked like a eunuch.
It must be an eunuch who is close to my cousin, Zhao Qinghui thought.
"Young Master, please follow me to the Zen temple to rest for a while," the eunuch said to Zhao Qinghui with a big smile on his face, "Young Master, don't worry, there are no strangers in the temple, and the monks are all in the Buddhist hall, so they won't disturb your leisure."
Zhao Qinghui nodded slightly: "Thank you."
His attitude was still arrogant, which was not easy for him, but because the other party was someone close to Ruan Yuewei, he was slightly polite.
The eunuch, with a smile on his face, led the group into the temple, passing through several courtyards, and arrived at a remote, quiet Zen temple surrounded by green trees.
Zhao Qinghui asked the guards to wait in the outer courtyard and only brought a personal follower inside.
The personal attendant was the one who delivered Ruan Yuewei's letter to the study that day. His surname was Zhao and his name was Changbai.
The master and servant entered the Zen temple, and soon a maid served them tea and cakes.
Zhao Qinghui was eager to see his beloved and had no intention of drinking tea slowly. He took a sip from the cup and tapped the tea table with his fingertips impatiently, asking the eunuch, "Is your master not here yet?"
The eunuch said, "Please wait for a moment, sir. I will go outside and take a look."
Not long after, the eunuch returned, bowed and whispered, "My Lord, my lady has arrived. She is in the pavilion one mile away on the mountain behind the temple. Please follow me."
When Zhao Qinghui heard that they had to move again, an unhappy look appeared on his face, but then he thought, his cousin is now the Crown Princess, and having a secret meeting with a man outside her is no small matter, so he should be cautious.
He stood up with a gloomy face and said, "Lead the way."
The eunuch hesitated and said, "My lady doesn't want too many people to know about this..."
Zhao Qinghui glanced at his personal attendant Zhao Changbai and said coldly to the eunuch, "I'll leave the guards behind and only take the personal attendant with me. Is that okay?"
Although was anxious to see his cousin, he was not completely careless. After all, he was in a strange place and he was always worried about being alone. 's followers were all carefully selected. They were highly skilled in martial arts and were as skilled in fists, kicks and swords as the palace guards. As long as they were with , most accidents could be dealt with.
The eunuch said, "Of course, of course. It's okay for this little brother to come along."
After saying this, he bowed and led Zhao Qinghui to the small garden behind the Zen temple and opened the northwest corner gate: "Please come in, my lord."
Zhao Qinghui and his servant followed him out of the corner gate. In front of them was a winding goat path that meandered into the mountains and forests. The eaves could be vaguely seen poking out from the trees.
The two walked up the mountain, one in front and one behind. After less than half a mile, Zhao Qinghui felt dizzy. He thought it was because of his recent illness, so he said to his attendant, "Carry me on your back."
The attendant immediately bent down, bent his legs, touched the ground with his hands, and let Xi ride on his back like a mule or a horse.
Zhao Qinghui "rode" with his personal followers to the pavilion and took a look, but found that there was no one inside.
The attendant put the master on the ground. Zhao Qinghui held onto the green painted pillar and asked the eunuch, "Why hasn't anyone come?"
The eunuch smiled slyly and pointed to the opposite hillside: "Isn't there someone coming?"
Zhao Qinghui followed the direction pointed by the police and saw a man in black walking down the mountain path.
Although his head was dizzy and his eyes were blurry, he could still see that the man was tall and strong, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. Judging from his figure and stature, it could not be Ruan Yuewei, but a man.
Zhao Qinghui's heart skipped a beat, and he looked at the eunuch: "Who are you?"
I had already guessed it in my heart, but I just didn't want to believe it. How could Huan Xuan attack me for a woman from outside the house and make an enemy of the entire Wu'an Mansion? Was I crazy
"Hasn't Prince Zhao already guessed it?" The eunuch put his hands in his pockets, still with a kind smile on his face.
Zhao Qinghui said sharply to his attendant: "Zhao Changbai, what are you waiting for?"
However, 's personal attendant also had his hands in his pockets like the eunuch, looking at with a leisurely smile.
"You traitorous dog slave!" Zhao Qinghui understood what was happening, cursed, turned around and ran, but he had not run ten steps when he felt dizzy, his legs went weak and he fell to the ground unconscious.
The man in black came closer and turned out to be Guan Liulang, the commander of Huan Xuan's guards.
Guan Liu gave Zhao Qinghui a light kick and said to the eunuch, "Tie his hands and feet together, put him in a sack, gag him, and move him to the carriage."
"Yes, Commander Guan," said the "eunuch."
Guan Liu glanced at Zhao Changbai again, his expression somewhat complicated: "Come with me, His Highness has other instructions."
Zhao Changbai said: "Yes, thank you, Commander Guan."
…
The eldest princess' Nanshan villa is located in the Nanshan Valley, stretching for several miles. It is surrounded by beautiful mountains and rivers, and is dotted with pavilions and terraces, all connected by corridors. It is not much different from the emperor's palace, which shows how favored Princess Qinghe was.
This time she proposed to hold a Mid-Autumn Festival chrysanthemum-viewing banquet. The emperor allocated many gold, silver and silk scrolls from his private treasury to cover the expenses of the banquet, and specially sent people to transport hundreds of baskets of crab roe from the south by express horses.
With the full support of her father, the eldest princess invited many high-ranking families in the capital, almost all the prominent families in Chang'an.
The banquet for admiring chrysanthemums with crab claws started at noon, and carriages and horses began to arrive one after another since morning.
At three quarters past four, a servant came in and reported to the eldest princess, "His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi has arrived."
The eldest princess straightened her clothes and went out to greet them in person.
The King of Qi's carriage entered the gate, passed the screen door, and stopped in front of the outer courtyard.
Huan Xuan got off the carriage and told the guards, "Carry the gifts in."
The eldest princess took a look at the cart full of boxes and said to her brother, "Why do you bring so many things to a banquet at my sister's house?"
Her eyes fell on a large bamboo basket. Something was squirming inside, making muffled groaning sounds from time to time.
The eldest princess guessed what it was and her expression changed slightly.
Huan Xuan said nonchalantly, "I went into the mountains early this morning and hunted a wild boar in the forest. This is not for my sister. I have other uses for it. I'll ask my sister to lend me a quiet place to put it for now."
The eldest princess' smile froze slightly, and she ordered her servants, "Let's carry it to Xiuhuang Pavilion first."
After that, she took her brother to the side room in the main courtyard, asked the eunuch to make tea and bring it over, then dismissed the servants and whispered, "Just now..."
Huan Xuan straightforwardly admitted: "It was Zhao Qinghui."
The eldest princess felt her temples throbbing. "You really tied someone up. How is this going to end?"
Huan Xuan said, "Don't worry, sister. I have a plan."
The eldest princess suspected that he was crazy, but the other party looked surprisingly calm and composed, as if he had everything planned out.
She rubbed her forehead and said helplessly, "You kidnapped someone on the way, right? Why did you bring him here again?"
Huan Xuan said, "Because I have a play that I want to invite him to watch, I'm going to borrow my sister's place to build a stage."
The eldest princess said helplessly: "In short, you should be careful."
Huan Xuan nodded: "Okay."
As he was speaking, a eunuch outside the curtain reported: "Princess, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess have arrived."
The eldest princess stood up and said to her brother, "I will go to greet them. You can come with me."
Huan Xuan and his elder sister went out to greet him. When the prince saw his third brother, he was stunned and said, "Sanlang, you came early today."
The Crown Princess said, "My third brother lives in Chang'anfang, which is close to where I live."
The prince suddenly realized, narrowed his eyes, and smiled at his wife: "Aruan is still careful."
Huan Xuan said, "Sister, the scenery here is beautiful, and I have nothing to do, so I came here early."
The prince nodded slightly, and then asked the eldest princess: "When will Aye arrive?"
The eldest princess said, "I sent someone to the palace last night to ask, and Grandpa's headache has gotten worse in the past few days. He will only come for dinner. Let's play our own games first."
Then he said to Ruan Yuewei, "Ah Ruan, this is your first time here. I'll ask someone to take you around later."
Ruan Yue smiled modestly; "Thank you, sister."
Several people walked into the hall, talking and laughing.
As there were many guests this time, the male and female guests were divided into two seats, the male guests sat in Kaihe Hall and the female guests in Hongyao Pavilion. The two pavilions were located on the north and south banks of the garden, facing each other across the water.
The guests arrived one after another and took their seats in turn. It was time for the banquet to begin, but Prince Zhao of Wu'an Mansion had not yet shown up.
The wife of Duke Wu'an was anxious and sent people to Kaiheguan several times to ask, but the people in the princess's mansion said that they had never seen Prince Zhao come.
She had no choice but to send the guards to look for it along the way they came.
Lady Wu'an was Ruan Yuewei's aunt, and although the two were not very close, they still sat together at the banquet.
Zhao Qinghui was late, and she felt a little uneasy. She tried to comfort her aunt, "My cousin has always been very decisive. Maybe he thought of something else halfway through. Don't worry too much, aunt."
Madam Wu Angong was not at ease: "I'm sorry to make you laugh, but Hui'er is young and weak, so as a mother, I can't help but worry a little more."
Ruan Yuewei shook her aunt's hand and said, "Don't worry, aunt, everything will be fine. Maybe he got lost in the mountains and got delayed for a while."
Even so, cold sweat broke out on her palms, and she had a vague sense of foreboding in her heart.
Although Hongyao Pavilion is called a pavilion, it is actually more like a waterside pavilion. It has no walls on all four sides and is surrounded by vermilion lacquered railings and hung with heavy gauze curtains. Looking at Kaihe Hall from here, one can only vaguely see the eaves and roof, and cannot see the people inside at all. However, she still could not help looking at the opposite bank frequently.
The eldest princess comforted the wife of Duke Wu'an with a few words, and sent guards from the palace to help search the mountains, then continued to drink and enjoy music with the female family members as usual.
Ruan Yuewei had no mood to drink, but people kept toasting her, so she had to drink two glasses. She was not good at drinking, and she was also worried. After two glasses of wine, she felt chest tightness, panic, and hot head. With her aunt chattering in her ears, she could not sit still. She used the excuse of changing clothes and left the Red Medicine House with her maids Shuzhu and Yinglan.
After she came out of the bathroom and took two steps, she found a piece of letter lying on the ground. There was a gold-foil crabapple flower sealed on the lower right corner of the envelope, shining in the sun.
The envelope was not there when she passed by here just now. Apparently, someone had left the envelope here during the short time she was in the bathroom. But Shuzhu and Yinglan were guarding outside the yard, and she didn't hear anyone coming inside. How could a letter appear out of nowhere
Her heart skipped a beat and she looked around, but there was no one there.
Ruan Yuewei pretended not to see it, ignored it, and walked straight forward, but after taking two steps, she stopped again. The letter was obviously for her. If she didn't pick it up, someone else would pick it up. What else would be inside...
Thinking of this, she turned around again, quickly picked up the envelope, returned to the bathroom, took out the letter and glanced at it hastily, her face turned pale. The handwriting on the letter looked familiar, she thought about it, it seemed to be Zhao Qinghui's handwriting - Zhao Qinghui was an expert in both calligraphy and painting, and his most proud calligraphy was the hairpin flower small regular script.
The content of the letter frightened her: The King of Qi seemed to have discovered what was going on between us. Please come to Xiuhuang Pavilion as soon as possible to discuss it.
Ruan Yuewei was so frightened that her hands and feet were cold, cold sweat broke out on her back, and she stood there in a daze, not knowing what to do.
Shuzhu and Yinglan hadn't seen their master come out for a long time, so they asked from outside, "Is the lady okay in there?"
Ruan Yuewei's soul was finally called back by this voice. She calmed herself down, folded the letter and hid it in her arms, then hurried outside, stroking her forehead and said, "Nothing, just a little uncomfortable."
When they returned to the banquet, everyone noticed that she looked a little off and asked with concern, "What happened to the Crown Princess?"
The eldest princess also asked: "But are you feeling uncomfortable somewhere?"
Ruan Yuewei gently touched her forehead, her eyebrows slightly knitted, as if in pain: "Ah Ruan can't handle the alcohol, I'm sorry to have embarrassed you, sister."
The eldest princess hurriedly said, "I'll ask someone to take you to the back to rest for a while."
Ruan Yuewei's eyes moved slightly, and she pretended to be casual and said, "It's okay, just go out for a walk and drink some wine."
She paused and said, "I heard that there is a pavilion here built deep in the bamboo forest. It is very quiet and picturesque. I wonder if I can go and take a look?"
The eldest princess said, "I think you are talking about Xiuhuang Pavilion. Although it is a little shabby inside, it is still clean. You can rest there."
After saying this, he ordered the maid to take the Crown Princess to Xiuhuang Pavilion to rest.
Ruan Yuewei followed the maid to Xiuhuang Pavilion and said to her, "There is someone serving here." She gave her a silver coin and sent the person away.
She then said to Shuzhu and Yinglan, "I want to rest in my room. You stay outside the door and close it tightly."
Shuzhu and Yinglan looked at each other in confusion, did not dare to say anything more, and retreated to the outside of the yard.
Just as the two maids left, they heard the rustling of the door curtain at the west wing, and a man in brown clothes walked out of the door. Judging from his attire, he was a servant of your family.
Ruan Yue was startled and took a few steps back, but she didn't dare to speak loudly: "You... who are you..."
The man laughed twice, bowed and said, "My Lady Crown Princess, don't you recognize me? I am Zhao Changbai, the personal attendant of the Crown Prince Zhao."
Ruan Yuewei then remembered that she had seen this face before. It was indeed someone who followed Zhao Qinghui. She felt relieved, but then she remembered the contents of the letter and her heart rose to her throat again: "Where is your master?"
Zhao Changbai smiled and said, "Please forgive me, Crown Princess. This letter was not written by Prince Zhao. It was written by me in my own handwriting. I was afraid that the Crown Princess would not want to meet you, so I had no choice but to use Prince Zhao's name."
Ruan Yuewei was horrified and tried to bluff: "You daring slave, do you know this is a capital crime? There are guards outside the door, I can catch you with just a shout..."
Zhao Changbai sneered, "If you, Crown Princess, are not afraid that your affair with Zhao Qinghui will be known to the Crown Prince and the King of Qi, you can just send someone to arrest me."
Ruan Yuewei almost fainted: "I... I don't understand what you are saying..."