Chapter 17 Down the Mountain (2)

  The three of them discussed it here and decided that it was suitable, so Xiao Cheng called out to Qiao Lan and had her quietly go invite Xiao Cheng Ye and Ling Yuanqing to the West Flower Hall to talk. The three of them tidied up a bit before getting up and heading over to the West Flower Hall.

  When the three of them arrived at Xihua Hall, they found that Xiao Chengyan and Ling Yuqing had already arrived.

  After everyone had seen the courtesy, Xiao Chengye looked at his sister with a wry smile and asked, "Have you all discussed it?" As he spoke, his eyes secretly swept over Ling Yuexuan, apparently somewhat surprised that Xiao Chengyan had brought her along after all.

  Xiao Cheng nodded naturally: "Of course it's already been discussed!"

  Xiao Chengye also fell silent, turning his head to look at Ling Yuancheng for a moment, as if seeking his opinion. Ling Yuancheng's face was calm and unruffled, seemingly ignoring Xiao's gaze, and instead spoke directly to Yuan Dai: "I have a few words I'd like to say to Ninth Sister alone!"

  Yan Dai had long known that he must have something to say. At this time, she smiled lightly and stood up, raising her hand in a gesture: "Sixth Brother, please!"

  Ling Yuqing didn't say a word, and took the lead to step out of the flower hall. Yan Dai followed closely behind him. After exiting the flower hall, Ling Yuqing didn't walk too far before stopping under a plum blossom tree outside the hall, but he remained silent for a long time.

  Standing still beside him for a long time, finally Far Chai broke the silence: "Sixth Brother, just speak your mind!"

  After a moment of silence, Ling Yuancheng suddenly asked: "Wei Ying, what brings you here, is there something on your mind?"

  Unexpectedly he asked this question, Yuandai looked at him in surprise: "Sixth brother... you..."

  Ling Yuancheng looked at her steadily for a long time before sighing and saying, "I should have guessed it earlier! To say the least, I owe my sister an apology!" Although Yan Dai didn't say anything, her expression and reaction had already confirmed what Ling Yuancheng was thinking.

  She shook her head slightly and said, "Sixth brother is overthinking! This matter has nothing to do with you, and you don't need to blame yourself!" She said this out loud. But in her heart, she couldn't help but sigh silently. She had long suspected the purpose of Lu Weiying's visit, but she had never intended to tell Ling Yuqing about it. However, Ling Yuqing's sharpness far exceeded her expectations. He had actually guessed so much from just this matter alone.

  After a faint smile, Ling Yuancheng changed the subject: "If it weren't for the matter of Prince Rui's relatives, sister would have had the intention to choose a husband from the list, and I should have made an effort to assist. But now that there is Prince Rui, why must sister necessarily get involved in this matter? It will only bring trouble."

  She looked at Ling Yuancheng with a hint of hesitation, and after a brief moment of indecision, she finally spoke frankly: "This time down the mountain, one reason is for Sister Xiao, and two... I also have some things to take care of!" Whether it was the Ling Manor or the future Rui Qin Wang Manor, as a woman, going out wasn't very convenient, so she wanted to take this opportunity to go down the mountain once and discuss future matters with Yuan Zhen.

  Although she spoke bluntly, it was clear that she didn't intend to elaborate. After gazing deeply at her, Ling Yuancheng also didn't ask much and simply said: "Since that's the case, let's head down the mountain! However, when you're with Tenth Sister, you need to be more careful!"

  Yuandai smiled gratefully at him, opened her mouth to speak, but the words still stuck in her throat.

  The two returned to the flower hall. Although three people in the hall were curious about what the two had said when they went out, after all, no one asked them face to face.

  Xiao Chengye gazed at Ling Yuancheng and asked, "Yuancheng, what do you think?" This time, besides Xiao Chengye, the two young ladies of the Ling family were also involved in this matter of selecting a son-in-law. Xiao Chengye naturally couldn't make decisions for Yuandai on his own, so he had to ask for Ling Yuancheng's opinion.

  Ling Yuancheng nodded slightly, indicating that he had no objection. However, he turned to Ling Yuanchen and said: "Tenth sister, you have a marriage contract in place, originally it was not suitable for you to come down the mountain. It was Ninth sister who took on this responsibility and was willing to vouch for you, so I agreed to this matter!"

  Ling Yuexuan and Yuan Dai were both his sisters, but if one were to make a distinction, Yuan Dai was his paternal half-sister, while Ling Yuexuan was merely his cousin. Therefore, what he said this time around was reasonable and did not arouse suspicion.

  Ling Yuexuan was originally puzzled by Ling Yuanqing's behavior of calling out Yuedai alone, but now that she heard this, she suddenly found a suitable explanation. She hastily said: "Sixth brother, rest assured! I understand!"

  Xiao Chengye saw that there was no problem with the Ling family, and only then did he turn his head to look at Xiao Chengxian and say: "Chengxian, you can talk about your plans now!"

  For this day, Xiao Chengyan had actually thought for a long time. Upon hearing the words, he immediately smiled and said: "I plan to disguise myself as a woman, after entering the capital, I'll find an inn to stay in, and every day I'll go to the wine tower and teahouse to sit around!"

  At the time of the imperial examination, many candidates from various places lived in the capital. Among these candidates, there were those who studied hard and diligently, but also those who socialized and engaged in lofty discussions. Even the most diligent ones could not avoid some socializing.

  Xiao Chengye frowned upon hearing this, and after a long while, he said: "The three of you disguising yourselves as women is fine, but I have many acquaintances in the capital with Far Qing. If we show our faces, we'll likely be recognized. If this gets out to the manor, Father and Mother will surely be furious!"

  Xiao Ceng and Mrs. Du, the reason why they felt at ease leaving their daughter in the Green Hill Villa was precisely because he was there. If they had known that during this time, their son had secretly gone down the mountain, they would have been afraid that the matter would be immediately exposed.

  Xiao Chengxian was taken aback, she considered this matter every time, always standing on her own standpoint, but never thought about Xiao Chengyan. Almost subconsciously, Xiao Chengxian turned back to look at Yuandai: "Does Ninth Sister have any way?"

  Yan Dai heard the words, but couldn't help but smile bitterly again and again. After a long time, she finally said: "There is indeed a way! However, I would like to know when sister plans to come down from the mountain?" Some things, she actually didn't want to take the lead, but now that it has come to this, she can't help but do so.

  Xiao Chengyan was quite pleased with this and said bluntly, "Actually, it's still a bit early now. My intention is that if we can prepare properly, we will set off immediately. If we can make it to Pingjing in time for lunch, that would be the best!" As she spoke, she suddenly remembered something and smiled, saying, "The men's clothes for Ninth Sister and Tenth Sister have already been prepared by me, so you don't need to worry about them!"

  Yan Dai nodded slightly and said: "In that case, we must hurry up!"

  At this point, the three of them returned to the inner courtyard first. Xiao Chengyan was busy ordering Qiaolan to take out the men's clothing that had been prepared long ago. It was clear that for this matter, Xiao Chengyan had made preparations for a long time. In the opened trunk, there were seven or eight sets of men's clothing. Yuan Dai and Ling Yuanshan each chose one set. After putting on their clothes, the three of them walked out separately, exchanging glances with each other, all smiling to themselves.

  Yan Dai smiled and said, "Xiao Jie is okay, but Ling Yu Xuan, this is absolutely impossible!" As she spoke, she raised her hand and pointed to Ling Yu Xuan's obviously bulging chest. Then she taught Ling Yu Xuan how to bind her breasts, and Ling Yu Xuan had no choice but to put on her clothes again.

  When she came out again, Yuandai had already taken out a small box and smiled: "The next step is to cover up her appearance!" She said, then opened the small box herself, pointing at the yellowish paste-like substance inside: "This was something I concocted in my free time. Applying it to the face can make the skin look coarser, and also conceal one's natural glow!"

  Xiao Chengxian heard the sound and couldn't help but carefully raise her eyes to glance at Yuan Dai: "I didn't expect my sister to understand these things too!" There was a hint of surprise in her tone.

  After a faint smile, Yuan Dai said: "Not to deceive sister, in fact I often sneak out of the door to play, these things are often used!" Xiao Chengyan heard this and didn't dare ask more questions. At that time, she and Ling Yuexuan applied some on their faces respectively.

  Yan Dai also used it herself. Afterwards, she personally held the eyebrow pencil and drew thicker eyebrows for the two of them, and slightly applied a small amount of makeup to cover up their tender lip color.

  When they finished dressing, Xiao Xian herself took a look in the mirror and didn't feel surprised at all. The person in the mirror was still handsome, but indeed had a few points of masculinity. Looking at Ling Yuanxuan again, it was also the case. Yuandai himself also made some subtle makeup, disguising himself as a slightly pale and slender scholar, which looked even more pleasing to the eye than when he wore women's clothes.

  Xiao Cheng thought to herself, while on the other side Ling Yuanxuan smiled and said: "Ninth sister looks even better dressed as a man!"

  Yan Dai just smiled and said: "As long as a woman has a decent appearance, when dressed as a man, she can at least be called delicate!"

  It was getting late, so the three of them instructed their respective maids. Originally, Xiao Chengyan had intended not to bring any maids, but Yuan Dai insisted on bringing Wenping along, and Ling Yuanshuang's maid, Yanliu, also asked to go due to concerns about Ling Yuanshuang's safety. Seeing this, Xiao Chengyan felt helpless and could only nod in agreement, deciding to bring Qianlan along as well.

  When they arrived at the flower hall, as soon as they entered, Xiao Chengyan's eyes widened in disbelief, and after a while, she couldn't help but burst out laughing. The Xiao Chengye and Ling Yuqing who appeared in the flower hall had also changed greatly.

  Xiao Chengye became a slightly yellowish, thirty-year-old handsome man with a hint of maturity from his eight-character mustache. Ling Yuqing turned into a dark-skinned, ordinary-looking young man.

  If it weren't for Xiao Cheng's frequent meetings with the two of them, and his familiarity with their physical appearance, at first glance, he really couldn't recognize the two of them.

  "What clever tactics my sister has used! What have they employed here?" Xiao Cheng asked with a smile, glancing back at Yuan Dai.

  She smiled and said, "These are two masks I inadvertently obtained in the past! I thought they would never come in handy, but it turns out today is the perfect opportunity!"

  Xiao Shi siblings and Ling Yuanqing had become more and more accustomed to the strange objects that Yuande occasionally took out, seeing her being vague and unwilling to say more, they were surprised in their hearts but didn't ask much. On the contrary, Ling Yuanshan smiled and said: "This mask is interesting, I wonder if Ninth Sister has any more, if she does, I'd like one too!"

  Bai Shi's eyes widened in surprise as Yuan Dai said, "What are you doing with these things? Be careful not to let Third Aunt discover them!"

  Ling Yuexuan thought of her mother and felt a faint sense of emptiness in her heart, but ultimately didn't say anything more.

  Xiao Chengye said, "It's already late now. Although Pingjing is not far from here, it can't be reached in a short time. It's better to have dinner first and then head down the mountain!" (Your support is my greatest motivation.)