Chapter 45 Meet the Mountains and Rivers
Edited By: Mim
Chu Jinyao walked for a long time and finally reluctantly admitted that she seemed to be walking around in a circle.
She frowned; she couldn’t even see a person in this place. How could this be good? It was strange to say that even in a relatively remote garden there was not a single servant who was waiting. Why weren’t there any maidservants around here?
Chu Jinyao quietly looked around, unexpectedly startled by the voice behind her. “This young lady.”
Chu Jinyao was so frightened. She turned her head in shock and saw a smiling young man in a green round-neck gown standing behind her. He looked young; his face was fair and clean; he didn’t even have any stubble.
Chu Jinyao calmed down and asked with some caution, “Who are you? Why are you here?”
“Not to hide from the young lady, this little one thought you must be lost when I saw you walking around here, so I volunteered to show you the way.”
“You will show me the way?” Chu Jinyao was surprised, then raised her heart; her eyes became extremely defensive. “No need; I can find it myself.”
Xiao Linzi thought, if you could find the way, why would our Crown Prince stand at the window in the cold wind for so long? Although I don’t know why the prince was watching this young lady go out with his own eyes, masters’ minds are always so complicated, and the Crown Prince was one of the best.
Xiao Linzi was not surprised; as long as the prince wanted something, there was nothing that couldn’t be done. What difficulty was showing the way to a young lady for him?
Thinking of this, Xiao Linzi smiled more kindly on his face. He happened to have a white round face again, which was almost like a white dough: “Young lady, I only want to help you. You see, you have been here for so long. If you walk around, you will get lost eventually. Or else this little one walks in the front and you follow from a distance. As long as you find something wrong, you can get out of it. ”
Chu Jinyao thought for a while, then reluctantly nodded, “Okay.”
Xiao Linzi turned around, really kept his promise, and led the way honestly, never looking back and trying to talk about it all the way. Chu Jinyao thought, could it be that he is really a kind servant? But, looking at his clothes, why is it different from the maids I saw before?
When she was about to walk out of the yard, Chu Jinyao seemed to feel something and turned her head back without warning. A loft stood quietly in the corner of the garden. Just at this moment, a gust of wind blew by, raising the window screens covering the window.
“Young lady?” Xiao Linzi also stopped. He saw Chu Jinyao turn her head; his eyes flashed, but there was no clue in his voice. He just said tentatively, “Young lady, it’s time to go.”
Chu Jinyao shook her head. She was really funny. She really thought she was a soldier. Why would she think someone was looking at her there? Chu Jinyao turned her head and nodded to Xiao Linzi with a smile: “Okay, let’s go now.”
Chu Jinyao confirmed that Xiao Linzi was a good person and felt ashamed when she thought that she had just been so defensive and smiled brightly and undefendedly at Xiao Linzi. Xiao Linzi was caught off guard; he was taken aback when he saw Chu Jinyao smile.
But soon, Xiao Linzi reacted and turned to lead Chu Jinyao forward. Xiao Linzi secretly said that this young lady was not well-known, but she had a beautiful appearance, and she did not give in compared to the nobles in the palace.
Thinking of this, he spurned himself. What was he thinking about? It was important to send her back and go back to the prince.
Chu Jinyao soon arrived at the moon gate she came from, and she could recognize the flower hall where the banquet was as she looked at the maids coming and going outside the gate.
Xiao Linzi said behind her, “Young lady, you go forward first; I will leave after you go there.”
Chu Jinyao was full of joy and didn’t pay attention to what Xiao Linzi said. She looked back and waved goodbye to Xiao Linzi, and then walked forward briskly.
Xiao Linzi avoided the crowd, hid behind the moon gate, looked for a while, and then walked back after making sure that there was nothing unusual.
However, he only took two steps this time, and he heard a rush of footsteps behind him. Xiao Linzi turned his head in amazement and saw Chu Jinyao running back anxiously: “This… I don’t know how to call you. It’s really rude. Please wait first; can you see my purse?”
“Purse?” Xiao Linzi was also confused. “What’s going on?”
“I just planned to go back and suddenly found that the purse hanging around my waist was missing. This is a purse that I usually carry, and it might not be appropriate to lose it.”
Needless to say, Xiao Linzi also thought of what was wrong. He looked down and found that there was a distance in Chu Jinyao’s belt, and it looked like something was missing. Chu Jinyao walked under Xiao Linzi’s nose along the way. Xiao Linzi was sure that it wasn’t Chu Jinyao doing tricks. When he first saw her, she was dressed like this, and she never moved her belt along the way. That being the case, I am afraid that this purse really fell on the road.
When it comes to the reputation of the lady, Xiao Linzi dared not delay and said quickly, “This young lady, come with me. Let’s go back and look for it as soon as possible.”
In the flower hall, Chu Jinyao had not come back for a long time. Although the ladies in the flower hall don’t say anything, they still remembered this in their hearts.
Chu Jinmiao stood up, walked over to the County Princess, and said, “County Princess, my fifth sister has not come back now. As an elder sister, I am worried about her.”
When Chu Jinmiao said these words, she didn’t control her volume and didn’t think about avoiding the people around her, so many people heard it. The County Princess waved her hand indifferently: “Okay, let’s go.”
After speaking, the County Princess whispered, “Weren’t you and her were exchanged at birth? You shouldn’t be the real sister. Why are you so worried then? ”
Chu Jinmiao’s face turned red when she heard this, and she quickly took two steps, pretending that she hadn’t heard it.
When Chu Jinmiao went out, she happened to pass the seat of the Third Young Lady. The Third Young Lady also stood up and said, “Are you going out to find Fifth Sister? I’ll go with you.”
Chu Jinmiao didn’t speak and nodded as promised. She suddenly remembered something and quickly turned back to see Sixth Young Lady. When Chu Jinmiao saw the table where the Sixth Young Lady had been sitting was empty, her heart sank.
It’s over; it’s spoiled by the Sixth Young Lady!
Chu Jinmiao and the Third Young Lady looked at each other, no longer delayed, and hurried out with the maid.
On the other side, Lin Xining walked along the corridor with Lin Xiyuan. Lin Xining asked, “Brother, you are walking in a hurry; who are you going to see?”
Lin Xiyuan didn’t speak but just said, “To meet an important guest. This is not something you should know; don’t ask about it now.”
Lin Xining quietly shut up; his hand accidentally touched something in the cuff; his expression was startled. Lin Xining glanced at Lin Xiyuan silently, and in the snow all over the ground, he could only see his elder brother’s face like jade, and his eyes were dark.
It was really expected that such a man would be liked by the younger maternal sister.
Thinking about this, Lin Xining took out the stuff from the sleeve and handed it to Lin Xiyuan.
“What?” Lin Xiyuan glanced at it and asked puzzledly.
Lin Xining sighed and said, “This is from my cousin. Mother called me for something. So I can’t go to the back. Anyway, big brother, you drop in. When you see my cousin, hand it to her for me.”
Lin Xiyuan glanced at this lotus-colored purse, gave Lin Xining a helpless look, and stretched out his hand to accept it.
He is also a man, older than Lin Xining; how could he not understand Lin Xining’s thoughts? The cousin in his mouth must be Chu Jinmiao.
In front of Lin Xining, Lin Xiyuan couldn’t say much. The fourth young lady from the Chu family was cunning in mind and had an improper temperament. I’m afraid it was not a good match. However, if he said these words in front of Lin Xining, Lin Xining would definitely rush up to fight him regardless, so Lin Xiyuan had to press on and planned to take the time to mention it to the Old Princess Consort in the future.
The two brothers separated at the fork in the road. Lin Xining walked in the other direction, while Lin Xiyuan walked towards the attic in the garden.
Lin Xiyuan thought of the lord in the attic, and his steps became more and more hurried. However, before he arrived, he was stopped by an unexpected person.
Lin Xiyuan looked at the person in front of him unexpectedly and asked suspiciously, “Sixth Young Lady, what are you doing here?”
“Shizi, you can’t go any further.”
Lin Xiyuan raised his eyebrows, and a star-spotted smile appeared on his face: “Why?”
The Sixth Young Lady bit her lip and seemed to have made a very difficult decision. She said without a word, “I accidentally learned that Fourth Sister and Third Sister have set a trap and have included you.”
“Included me?” Lin Xiyuan shook his head, amused. No matter how bad he is, he is also the prince’s son. With Chu Jinmiao and the Third Young Lady, two boudoir ladies, how can he be calculated? Lin Xiyuan was about to say something, and suddenly his expression changed: “Why did they both set me up? Who is the other person?”
The reaction was really quick. The Sixth Young Lady looked at Lin Xiyuan and said softly, “My Fifth Sister.”
“Fifth Cousin?” Lin Xiyuan was taken aback. At the moment, he didn’t want to report to the Crown Prince and said quickly, “Take me!”
For fear that things might change, Chu Jinmiao and Third Young Lady hurried to the changing place. The place for the lady guests to change clothes was naturally strictly guarded. The place Chu Jinmiao was going to go, of course, it was not the place for changing clothes in the palace.
The two of them ran to a place in small steps and rushed to one person unpreparedly. The Third Young Lady looked sharply at the people and yelled, “Who are you? You are a young man; why would you come to such a place?”
The young man lowered his head, as if he wanted to go out as soon as possible. The Third Young Lady grew up with Concubine Huang. She was very familiar with these business activities. When she saw the attitude of the other party, she became more reluctant to let go.
Chu Jinmiao also felt that this person was suspicious, but she thought it was bad to get involved, so she took a step back and let the Third Young Lady hold the person while she stood aside, picked up her hands dignifiedly, cleared her throat, and was about to question.
But before Chu Jinmiao could speak, an unbelievable voice came from behind her: “Fourth sister? ”
Chu Jinmiao was shocked and immediately turned around, and Third Young Lady also panicked and let go of the person in her hand. She was extremely surprised: “Sixth Sister, what are you doing here?”
Chu Jinmiao panicked for a moment and soon calmed down. She lifted her chin slightly and asked, “Sixth Sister, what are you doing here?”
The Sixth Young Lady gave them both a fierce look, and she was about to run inside: “Where is Fifth Sister? What did you do with her?”
Hearing this name, Chu Jinmiao felt inexplicably embarrassed. She seemed to be frightened. There were a lot of goose bumps on her arm, but Chu Jinmiao still pretended to be calm and said, “What are you talking about? I don’t understand at all. Oh, I see, you are here to ask about Chu Jinyao. I am afraid it’s takes a thief to catch the thief, right?”
Sixth Young Lady was stopped by Third Young Lady when she tried to run in several times without success. The Third Young Lady wondered; she thought it would take a lot of effort to stop her, but why did she stop her so easily? Was she delusional?
As soon as the Third Young Lady’s thoughts fell, she saw Sixth Young Lady raise her head, and a strange smile appeared on her face while a strange light in her eyes flashed.
Third Young Lady wanted to open her mouth. But before she could think of anything, she heard a voice behind her: “These are my family affairs; I don’t need your permission to take a look. As for whether it takes a thief to catch a thief, I will know by myself.”
Chu Jinmiao and the Third Young Lady turned back in horror at the same time: “Shizi?”
Lin Xiyuan stood at the door with a cold face. He had always been gentle and smiled at everyone, but now his non-smiling appearance made people shiver from the heart. Lin Xiyuan didn’t even bother to pay attention to these people. He walked quickly to the closed door and was about to push the door to enter, but the movement of his hand stopped.
The three Chu ladies watched Lin Xiyuan raise his hands and pause for several moments. Finally, he flexed his knuckles and gently knocked on the door.
“Is someone here?”
No one answered; Lin Xiyuan’s heart sank. He straightened up and turned to the Chu trio with a cold expression: “The rest is the internal affairs of my palace. It’s not good to keep you young ladies here. Please go out first.”
Out? Chu Jinmiao and the Third Young Lady looked at each other and felt something was wrong at the same time.
Their original plan was to wet Chu Jinyao’s clothes and then lead her to this place to change clothes.
Chu Jinmiao was supported by Chu Zhu and Lin Xining. She casually squeezed a lie, and it was not difficult to get the maid to cooperate. However, these were not many. With the help of the maid, Chu Jinmiao was ready to destroy Chu Jinyao’s reputation among the people in the palace today.
Chu Jinmiao watched Chu Jinyao go out to change clothes with the arranged maid, and then she brought the Shizi over. Chu Jinmiao knew that she couldn’t really ruin Chu Jinyao’s reputation; otherwise, she would be hurt too, but for the moment of choosing a companion, in the eyes of the Old Princess Consort and Princess Consort, as long as Chu Jinyao has a little bit of taint, it is enough for Chu Jinyao to be completely eliminated, and there is no chance of turning over.
What is the most taboo for the elders, especially the Princess Consort ?
Naturally, given the woman’s reputation, she shouldn’t be a low-minded one who is attempting to gain possession of the elder son. As long as someone dares to fight the idea of the seducing Shizi, Chu Jinmiao is sure that this person will disappear forever from the list of the Princess Consort.
So Chu Jinmiao discussed with Momo Sun in advance and asked Momo Sun to stuff a note in Chu Jinyao’s purse. Afterwards, Chu Jinmiao arranged for someone to secretly take Chu Jinyao’s purse at the beginning of the banquet and hand it to Lin Xining, and said vaguely, “Fifth Sister admires the Shizi very much. This is something for the Shizi.”
When Chu Jinmiao came forward, Lin Xining naturally had something to do. Although he felt this was inappropriate, he still said that it was from a “cousin” according to Chu Jinmiao’s arrangement and passed it to Lin Xiyuan. Lin Xiyuan mistakenly thought that the cousin in his brother’s mouth was Chu Jinmiao; how could he know that they were playing word games under his nose, and they tried to set up the Shizi himself?
And Lin Xiyuan was really hit. The purse he received was indeed Chu Jinyao’s.
Now, every step of Chu Jinmiao’s plan has been realized, and only the last step is to lead the Shizi to the courtyard where Chu Jinyao changed clothes, and then she and the Third Young Lady would come out early to stop the matter and bring the matter to the Princess Consort.
The Princess Consort didn’t know the inside story. She would see the piles and pieces on the surface and would only feel that Chu Jinyao intended to seduce the Shizi, gave him her purse, and secretly made an appointment to see Shizi while she was changing clothes. When the Princess Consort learned of this, she will be furious and completely disgusted by Chu Jinyao.
Hence, Chu Jinyao’s position as a study companion, of course, would be gone.
This plan was really thoughtful and wonderful. From the beginning to the end, Chu Jinmiao would not leave any words to anyone. It would destroy Chu Jinyao, and it would not harm the reputation of any Chu family lady. As long as the princess’s impression of Chu Jinyao turns bad and the ladies exchange news, where can Chu Jinyao find any good marriages?
Chu Jinmiao’s plan was very good, and now everything was going as she expected. Although she didn’t know why Sixth Young Lady mixed in, it didn’t matter. Her plan was only one move, and she would be done soon.
Chu Jinmiao thought about it this way, ignoring Lin Xiyuan’s words; she pretended to be worried, and after walking a few steps forward, suddenly her feet were soft and her body fell crookedly, but her hand accurately pushed the door open.
Lin Xiyuan’s eyes suddenly became extremely cold. He was afraid that Chu Jinyao would really be set up. Only then did he intend to clear the scene and keep Chu Jinyao’s reputation. However, he did not expect that Chu Jinmiao would be so vicious!
Third Young Lady watched Chu Jinmiao fall down weakly. She secretly said that she was really good at acting, but she unequivocally cooperated with Chu Jinmiao in the act and squatted down to help Chu Jinmiao.
And the Sixth Young Lady stood far away, dismissing the attitude of these two people. She raised her head to look at the door of the house that was pushed aside; her eyes flashed with certainty.
The door creaked and knocked open, then knocked to the back with a soft bang. Several people outside stared at the inside nervously or excitedly, and when they saw the scene inside, their expressions became confounded.
What about the person inside?
Lin Xiyuan froze for a while and quickly reacted. He glanced coldly at Chu Jinmiao, who was still on the floor, and waved to summon the maid without any emotion in his voice: “Is this farce enough for today? Maid, send these three young ladies back. Don’t leave any of the people serving in this yard, and turn them all in front of grandmother and mother later, so that the elders can ask them questions.”
Chu Jinmiao’s eyes widened in disbelief, but no matter how she looked, there was no one in the room, and there was no sign of anyone coming out. When Chu Jinmiao heard Lin Xiyuan’s words, she couldn’t help saying, “Shizi…”
“Enough.” Lin Xiyuan interrupted impatiently, putting his hand behind him, “Send the three young ladies back.”
Chu Jinmiao and the Third Young Lady looked at each other, and they saw the horror in each other’s eyes. What happened; has Chu Jinyao never been here? This is impossible.
Sixth Young Lady who was not far away was also pale.
How can that be possible?
Chu Jinmiao and Third Young Lady supported each other, and when they passed by Sixth Young Lady, Chu Jinmiao snorted extremely coldly.
Okay, so she played with them; she ruined it today. Chu Jinwan, you just wait!
Lin Xiyuan looked at the Sixth Young Lady, and the doubts along the way slowly came to mind. The Sixth Young Lady took a step closer to Lin Xiyuan and whispered with trembling lips, “Shizi, I…”
“Sixth Young Lady.” Lin Xiyuan interrupted her politely and ruthlessly and said, “Please go back.”
The Sixth Young Lady slumped down. When fighting with a smart person, there was no room for error. If she had a chance to be the companion, now it was completely ruined.
She knocked on the side, coupled with her own speculation, and roughly guessed Chu Jinmiao’s plan. After the Sixth Young Lady learned of it, she didn’t change her expression, did not alarm Chu Jinmiao, nor did she intend to warn Chu Jinyao. She let Chu Jinmiao advance step by step, and then when the matter was half done, she ran to inform Shizi.
This was both a whistleblower and a sign of weakness. A weak woman was already alone and helpless, but she had to run out to save the person. When this happened, which man could be indifferent to this? Later, she took the Shizi to this place with a scheming plan, and after she played a scene of saving the Fifth Young Lady with Chu Jinmiao, she waited to watch Chu Jinmiao’s performance. The Sixth Young Lady seemed to have changed only a small part of Chu Jinmiao’s plan but was far more intelligent than Chu Jinmiao.
This is a trick within a trick. ** The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.**
Sixth Young Lady saw through Chu Jinmiao’s plan and modified it slightly so that Chu Jinmiao’s efforts will fall to the side that was beneficial to her. In the future, no matter how hard Chu Jinmiao pushed her plan, she was actually making wedding dresses for others because the biggest beneficiary of this matter had become Sixth Young Lady.
Sixth Young Lady revealed to the Shizi in advance and led Shizi to see the scene of Chu Jinmiao’s secret plan. No matter how seamless Chu Jinmiao’s plan was, would the Shizi allow Chu Jinmiao to be his sister’s companion?
He would not. The moment Chu Jinmiao and the Third Young Lady succeeded in their plan, their way forward was blocked. At this time, Chu Jinyao had been successfully plotted by Chu Jinmiao. All three young ladies lost at once, and the final winner was only the Sixth Young Lady.
Yes, although two people should be selected as the study companion, from the beginning, the Sixth Young Lady did not intend to leave a place for anyone. She was suppressed everywhere, and her parents were stubborn and could not help her. Her brother, the Fifth Young Master, who was entrusted by her parents with all their hopes, was actually spoiled. Sometimes the Sixth Young Lady would take his place and go for his reading exams.
The world only knew that boys were preferred over ladies, but they don’t know how many families have prospered throughout the ages, not because of men’s talents but because of their daughters. When she heard the news about the selection of a study companion, she realized that this was her opportunity. If she became the imperial concubine of the prefectural palace, would Old Madam Chu dare to detain their Third Family in such a blatant manner? Obviously, dared not. In the same way, as long as she became a concubine, the current predicament of the Third Family, such as distress, stretched, and no one paying attention to it, would all be solved.
Many of the sisters, such as the Third Young Lady, were shocked and mesmerized when they saw the elder son of the Prince Huailing’s mansion. But the Sixth Young Lady was different. She had the concubine’s idea long before she saw him. She didn’t care what the Shizi looked like. Even if he was a middle-aged man with a big belly, the Sixth Young Lady would not have frowned. If one more person went to the palace, it would be more difficult for her to implement the plan. It was better to nip everything in the bud. The companion, and the concubine, as long as she was alone, she was enough.
What a smooth plan, but now it fell short. The Sixth Young Lady had the intention to manage her image as a smart, kind, but not valued, weak woman, and she had repeatedly shown herself in front of the Shizi. This time, through Chu Jinmiao’s plan, she had shown it even more. It stood to reason that her plan was almost successful, but it fell short.
It was the distance of this millimeter that made the Shizi suspicious.
Sixth Young Lady didn’t dare to despise the heir of Huauling Prince’s Mansion. Once the elder son became suspicious, it would be a matter of time before he wanted to understand all the links. Sixth Young Lady sighed; all her actions were in vain, just like a ten thousand-foot-tall building, only the last piece of wood, but it just collapsed because this last piece of wood was corrupted.
Chu Jinmiao and the Third Young Lady left grievously, and the Sixth Young Lady realized the exposure and left too. Lin Xiyuan stood in the empty courtyard and glanced at the room again.
He couldn’t help sighing.
Lin Xiyuan didn’t know whether this was good or bad. He could only hope that Chu Jinyao saw through all this early, and now it was better to hide.
In fact, the plotted protagonist is now desperately looking for her purse.
Chu Jinyao was really going to die in desperation. A private conviction was a serious crime that could drive a woman to death, and what was lost was her purse. It was okay if it was picked up by a woman, but if it was picked up by a man… Chu Jinyao didn’t dare to think further.
She didn’t know that her purse had been stolen by Chu Jinmiao unknowingly, and now it was passed by many people to Lin Xiyuan’s hands.
Just like this, Chu Jinyao and Xiao Linzi walked all the way to look for them. After going through it several times, they didn’t see any purse. Because of the different routes, Chu Jinyao happened to avoid Lin Xiyuan and the Sixth Young Lady passing by the garden. Up to now, neither group of people knew of the other’s existence.
Xiao Linzi looked at Chu Jinyao worriedly: “Young Lady Chu, we have searched for it several times, but we can’t find it. Maybe it fell somewhere else?”
“This is the only possibility.” Chu Jinyao frowned with worry.
Although Chu Jinyao looked pitiful, Xiao Linzi was helpless. The two were talking, and suddenly, Xiao Linzi’s eyes widened.
“What’s the matter?” Chu Jinyao looked back in surprise and saw a group of people looking around, walking away in a hurry. Among them, there seemed to be a young man dressed in ocher red.
Chu Jinmiao felt familiar inexplicably, and she wanted to look at him again, but the opposite person seemed to be a well-trained guard. Although he walked quickly, the person in the middle was guarded tightly during the action. Chu Jinyao looked around for a long time but did not see the face of the man in the middle.
In a blink of an eye, they are about to walk out of this garden. Chu Jinyao was frustrated and gave up the pursuit. However, at this moment, the person who had been tightly protected took the initiative to turn around and glanced backwards with a funny look.
At that moment, Chu Jinyao almost felt that her blood was frozen. After a long time, she regained her ability to speak: “Xiao Lin, who are they?”
Xiao Linzi was stunned. Before he could figure out how to reciprocate, he heard this Chu Lady continue to ask, “You look at them; are they human?”
T/N :- The Chinese idiom The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind (螳螂捕蝉，黄雀在后):- The story behind the idiom comes from Shuo Yuan(说苑), refers to those who are attracted by immediate interests without thinking about the possible dangerous results.
