On Xiao Mingyue’s side, Pei Yanli had long since investigated and proven that the letters implicating the Xiao family in treason were forged. All that was needed now was to gather the evidence to clear her father’s name and present it to Xie Changsu.
However, there had been no opportunity to deliver the evidence into Xie Changsu’s hands recently; that madman Feng Buji was still keeping a tight watch over the area with his men.
That day, Pei Yanli returned to the manor with anger written across his brow. When Xiao Mingyue asked what had happened, he told her that Feng Buji intended to hold a wedding in one month’s time.
“That’s good,” Xiao Mingyue murmured softly under her breath.
“However, he also said he will hold a netherworld marriage with you at the exact same time,” Pei Yanli said.
“What?” She was already dead, yet Feng Buji still refused to let her go?
The forged letters had originated directly from the Regent Prince’s manor. To avenge Hua Heng, he had gone so far as to frame her father for conspiring with the enemy and committing treason, seeking to drive every last member of the hundreds-strong Xiao family to their deaths.
At this moment, Xiao Mingyue’s heart was completely dead to Feng Buji. In place of her former feelings, only hatred remained.
“Are you sad?” Pei Yanli suddenly asked, a look of desolation gracing his features.
“What?” Xiao Mingyue was sad, of course. Right now, the Xiao family was still waiting for her to save them, and Xie Changsu was still waiting for her to win him over. Feng Buji had better wait and see.
“Wait for me in the manor. I am going out for a few days.”
Before Pei Yanli could say anything more, Xiao Mingyue put on her veiled bamboo hat and stepped out the door.
Since Feng Buji was to marry Hua Heng, there would inevitably be many preparations to make during this month. Hua Heng might not leave the Prince’s manor, but Baoyu certainly would, wouldn’t she?
Sure enough, on Red Sleeve Street—the most bustling street in the Imperial Capital—she spotted Baoyu out shopping.
A mere maid of an orphaned girl was draped in gold and silver, trailed by several handmaidens, acting with an imperious, domineering air that hardly befitted a servant.
Xiao Mingyue watched as she entered the Exquisite Pavilion—a place accessible only to the family members of third-rank officials and above in the capital.
The five-story pavilion towered into the air, its entire structure built upon a base of white jade and supported by golden-thread nanmu wood. It featured flying eaves, interlocking brackets, green tiles, and red roof ridges.
The grand doors were carved from a solid piece of rosewood, inlaid with a pattern of “A Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix” crafted from mother-of-pearl and gemstones of various colors. Above the doorway, the four gilded characters for “Exquisite Pavilion” shimmered radiantly under the sunlight, making it almost impossible to stare at directly.
Standing at the entrance were several armored, expressionless guards in black clothing, forming a stark contrast against the glittering, majestic pavilion.
Xiao Mingyue followed her inside, where the air was thick with a luxurious and tranquil fragrance.
By a stroke of pure coincidence, the moment she walked in, she bumped into two familiar faces: Gu Liyu and Shen Wanxin.
One was the Zhao’an County Princess from the Duke’s Manor, and the other was the eldest legitimate daughter of the Minister’s Manor. Neither was to be provoked, and both had been her close friends for many years. Baoyu was truly unfortunate to run into them.
As soon as Xiao Mingyue entered, she saw them gathered together, locked in a heated argument.
Gu Liyu: “Oh, look who it is! Turned out to be the little vixen’s servant girl. Why didn’t your mistress come? Oh~ I see, she simply lacks the qualifications to step inside! And here I thought she just didn’t feel like coming.”
“Where are your manners? Is a place like this somewhere you are allowed to enter?” Shen Wanxin chimed in from the side.
Unable to stomach the insult, Baoyu retorted with a red face and a flushed neck: “My mistress will be the Regent Princess in a month’s time! How could she not be allowed into this Exquisite Pavilion?”
Hearing this, Gu Liyu scoffed, mocking her mercilessly: “Sigh, like mistress, like maid! Your mistress had the thick skin to follow him all the way to the capital, so what else can we say? We’ll just yield the way to you then.”
“Hahaha~”
Xiao Mingyue could not hold back a sudden burst of laughter, prompting others nearby to laugh along.
Who in the capital did not know that Feng Buji had brought back an orphaned girl from the frontier? Not only had she bewitched the Regent Prince into raising her to the status of principal wife, but she had also driven Miss Xiao Mingyue to her death. Her methods of snatching another’s love were formidable indeed.
This was hardly news in the capital, but Xiao Mingyue and Feng Buji had been childhood sweethearts who should have become a young couple. For things to end like this was truly a tragic sight.
The noble ladies surrounding Xiao Mingyue shared deep ties with her, so they naturally favored Xiao Mingyue. Seeing a mere servant like Baoyu act so arrogantly, they could not resist mocking and suppressing her—lest more seductresses like her appear in the future, leaving everyone fearing for their own positions.
Though Baoyu was arrogant, the crowd around her was simply too large. How could a single mouth compete against so many? Her face flushed red with anger, and she left in a hurry.
Xiao Mingyue deliberately walked past, brushing shoulders with her, and silently yanked off the pendant hanging from her waist.
Gu Liyu and Shen Wanxin had won a complete victory, yet there was little joy on their faces; instead, they looked somewhat desolate.
Both Gu Liyu and Shen Wanxin had their eyes on a begonia gold hairpin. Crafted from pure gold with exquisite workmanship, its stamens were inlaid with rare, tiny gemstones, giving it an aura of elegance and magnificence.
“Shopkeeper, I want this gold hairpin,” Xiao Mingyue spoke up, her familiar voice catching their attention.
Gu Liyu’s brows furrowed in displeasure: “This County Princess took a liking to it first. Do you not understand the rule of first come, first served?”
Shen Wanxin glared with cold eyes: “Don’t think that putting on a bamboo hat to play mysterious means we’ll yield to you. You had better be a princess; otherwise, the two of us wouldn’t mind teaching you a lesson in etiquette.”
Xiao Mingyue chuckled softly. Through the veil cascading down from her bamboo hat, she said: “Young ladies, please calm yourselves. I take it this gold hairpin is meant as a gift for a friend. How about we make a deal?”
Begonias were her favorite flowers. Were these two fools planning to give it to her?
“Sorry, not interested,” Gu Liyu waved her hand impatiently, about to tell the shopkeeper to wrap it up, when Shen Wanxin nudged her arm.
“Don’t you think her voice sounds very familiar?” Shen Wanxin asked Gu Liyu in a whisper, and only then did Gu Liyu realize it.
Gu Liyu looked puzzled: “A little bit.”
“Could it be…?”
Gu Liyu said: “Take off your bamboo hat and let me see your face. If I’m pleased, I’ll give you this gold hairpin for free. How about it?”
Like I’d believe you, Xiao Mingyue thought to herself. Gu Liyu was the shrewdest of all, trying to trick her into taking off her hat only to back out afterward—a trick she used often. In any case, owing to her noble status, no one could do anything to her anyway.