Chapter 25: The Entire Government is Shaken

  Xiao Chengye burst out laughing and said, "As for what Miss Hua said, she was originally going to come today. Unexpectedly, my cousin suddenly said she wanted to come too. Although she's not happy about it in her heart, she can't very well say anything, so this matter today is really not my fault!"

  Xiao Chengye understood in his heart that these days, no matter how lively it was, Xiao Chengyan would not come to the Ling Mansion. After all, she had just rejected Ling Yuancheng and couldn't immediately run to the Ling Mansion to show off in front of him. However, what his cousin said was not entirely nonsense, thinking of his own cousin, Xiao Chengye also couldn't help but frown slightly.

  Xiao Lao Tai Jun smiled and said no more. But Ling Yuan Qing, who had been listening on the side, grew impatient and asked, "But what is this excitement you're talking about, old lady?"

  Xiao Lao Tai Jun smiled and said, "I don't know what kind of flower has bloomed in Jiu Ya Tou's place, but it smells so good. Look, Shi Ya Tou has already gone to take a look, and I'm afraid she'll be back soon. You've come at just the right time, I was going to wait for the flowers to arrive before sending someone to call you over!"

  Her eyes sparkled slightly, and Ling Yuan Qing laughed: "How did the old lady confirm that it must be the flowers blooming at Jiu Mei's place?"

  Xiao Lao Tai Jun glared at him with a hint of anger, saying: "You children think that just because I'm old and confused, I don't know anything about the things you do in private? Is that right?" She had married into the Ling family at the age of 15 and was now approaching her 70th birthday, having spent nearly an entire cycle of sixty years in the Ling household. At this age, Old Lady Xiao was confident that there was nothing in the Ling household that she didn't know about.

  But the flower that bloomed yesterday, she was certain it did not belong to the Ling family. Moreover, not long ago, Yuandai had just sent two pots of rare moon orchids to Prince An, so when you think about it, the flower that bloomed yesterday must have been from Yuandai's place without a doubt.

  Ling Yuancheng's heart skipped a beat as he listened, and he didn't think that this old ancestor was just talking nonsense. He smiled apologetically and said: "Old lady is going to live to be a hundred years old, how can she have anything to do with being old or confused? It's the grandson who is confused, the grandson apologizes to the old lady!" As he spoke, he quickly stood up and made a bow.

  In front of Xiao Zhen's face, Old Lady Xiao couldn't scold him, so she just hummed softly and said: "It's just that you little monkey, every time you do something wrong, you make this face...". Later on, she ended up laughing herself.

  Ling Yuanchen smiled and said, "This is because I know that although the old lady scolds me on the surface, she actually cares about me in her heart, so she dares to be like this!"

  Xiao Lao Tai Jun looked at him with that expression, and after hearing his words, she was truly both angry and amused. Just as she was about to say a few more words, Du Ruo had already entered the room laughing and said: "The tenth young lady is back!" As she spoke, she shifted her body slightly to one side, revealing the five-colored embroidered silk jacket with a peach-red lining behind her, which made Ling Yuan Xuan's almond eyes and rosy cheeks appear even more radiant and charming.

  Xiao Lao Tai Jun suddenly heard Du Ruo's words, her spirit was shaken, and she hurriedly looked over. At a glance, she couldn't help but frown, only because behind Ling Yuan Xuan there wasn't the person holding a flower pot that she had imagined.

  Ling Yuexuan and others with keen eyes saw the expression of Xiao Lao Taikun, and hurriedly stepped forward to pay their respects: "Old lady, those flowers had already withered yesterday!"

  "Thank you?" Old Lady Xiao's eyebrows furrowed even tighter: "Why thank me so quickly?"

  The fragrance of flowers still exists, yet it is said that the flowers have already withered. This statement is not only unbelievable to Old Lady, but also seems highly unlikely to Ling Yuanqing and Xiao Chengye.

  Ling Yuexian coughed softly and said in a low voice, "I asked Ninth Sister, and she said that the flower was actually a night-blooming cereus. That night-blooming cereus blooms for only two hours from start to finish. Last night when it bloomed, she had also thought of inviting Old Madam over to admire it, but by the time it bloomed, it was already past midnight. At that hour, Old Madam had long been asleep, so how could they disturb her rest just because of a single flower?"

  Xiao Lao Tai Jun slightly furrowed her brow and asked: "Have you seen that flower?"

  Ling Yuexuan nodded hastily and said, "As it happens, yesterday morning I went to the West Wing. Ninth Sister was then in the courtyard tending to that evening primrose. I also told her that when it bloomed, please have someone come over and call me. At the time she said that the evening primrose blooms at night and the time is short, whether or not we can see it depends on our fate. I thought that when it's about to bloom, I could move there for a night. Who would have expected that after saying those words in the morning, that flower actually bloomed in the evening!" There was also a hint of regret in her tone.

  Xiao Lao Tai Jun listened to this speech, and didn't think it was good to say much more. She just sighed slightly and said: "Speaking of which, this flower is strange. It has already withered for some time, but the fragrance in the entire mansion hasn't dissipated yet. I don't know what kind of rare species it is that can do this."

  Ling Yuexuan heard this and explained, "I also asked Ninth Sister about this, and she just smiled and said that the flower has another name, called 'Roumu Xiang'. After the flower blooms, wherever can smell the fragrance will at least be fragrant for a day. As for the West Wing, since it's the source of the fragrance, it'll take around ten days or so for the fragrance to dissipate."

  Everyone who heard this was amazed at themselves.

  Ling Yuancheng was even more astonished, saying: "So this flower is so rare and precious, no wonder that day Ninth Sister returned from Miaofeng Mountain, she specially instructed the two maids in her house to carefully hold it. At that time, I thought she was being too cautious, but now I understand the reason!"

  Xiao Lao Tai Jun sighed and said: "Such a treasure, it's always right to be careful!"

  The old lady didn't say much, but Ling Yuancheng and the others all felt her low spirits. They exchanged a glance, and after saying a few more words to comfort the old lady, they stood up and took their leave. Old Lady Xiao also did not detain them.

  It wasn't until several people had left that Old Lady Xiao let out a deep hum, and the anger she had been suppressing for so long finally surfaced.

  She was as shrewd as Du Ruohe, and when Ling Yuexuan had spoken earlier, she knew that the old lady was already extremely displeased. However, because of Xiao Chengye's presence, she hadn't lashed out. Now seeing the old lady's change in expression, she hastily made a signal with her eyes to the people inside the house, indicating for them to quickly leave. After everyone had retreated, Du Ruo smiled and stepped forward, handing a cup of hot tea from the table to Old Lady Xiao: "It's just a pot of flowers, after all. You have many more years ahead of you, old lady. Even if we don't see it this year, we can still see it when it blooms next year. Why must you get angry over this and harm your own body?"

  Xiao Lao Tai Jun sighed softly and said slowly, "Two days ago, I was still discussing with Old Three's wife to find an opportunity to move Jiu Mei into Chun Hui Garden. Now that I think about it, since I had this intention, I should have made a decision earlier. Now that this girl has caused such a big commotion, it's not good to move her in, nor is it good not to move her in, and I'm stuck in a dilemma!"

  Du Ruo nodded slightly, her heart filled with a sense of unease. If she had moved in earlier, Ninth Miss would naturally have remembered the old lady's kindness, and their relationship would be greatly different. Now that this incident has occurred, even if Ninth Miss were to move in again, when she gets married in the future, if the old lady were to keep the flower, it might lead to unpleasant rumors. Du Ruo's mind was as clear as a mirror, but for the moment, she couldn't think of a good solution, so she could only follow Old Lady Xiao and sigh, then smile and say: "Not wanting to hide from you, old lady, I'm also very curious about that flower, and I'd like to ask you to take me to Ninth Miss's place to take a look!"

  Xiao Lao Tai Jun heard this, couldn't help but smile, and stretched out her hand to gently poke Du Ruo's forehead, laughing: "Among all the people by my side, only you are the most clever. Go! Take a good look!"

  Du Ru smiled and thanked Xiao Lao Tai Jun, then turned around and walked out the door. As she went further west, the closer she got to the West Wing, the more intense the fragrance became. At first, it was just a faint scent, but as she approached the West Wing, the fragrance seemed to take on a life of its own, becoming incredibly rich and dense. Generally speaking, fragrances should be balanced in terms of intensity, if they're too strong, they can be overwhelming. But this scent was different, it became clearer and more alluring the stronger it got, making people feel drunk with pleasure.

  She couldn't help but take a deep breath, and the word that rose to Du Ruo's mind was: marrow fragrance. This fragrance indeed lived up to its name.

  She was secretly thinking about it when suddenly someone on that side called out: "Sister Du Ruo, how did you come?"

  Du Ruo looked up to see a maid wearing a sky-blue satin jacket standing at the west courtyard gate, looking at her with a smile on her face. Du Ruo recognized that this maid was one of the two maids named Cai Lian who had been given to Yuan Dai by Old Lady Xiao.

  "Lotus!" She laughed and called out, then walked forward: "Why didn't you follow Ninth Miss?"

  Her face turned slightly red, somewhat embarrassed, but she still said: "Now the madam is ill, and the young lady is afraid that the people around her will not take care of her properly, so she sent me to serve by the madam's side." As she spoke, the topic shifted: "How did Sister Du Ruo come here?"

  Du Ru saw Du He's awkward expression and naturally didn't ask any more questions, only saying: "Last night, the entire mansion was suddenly filled with fragrance. After asking around, I finally found out that it was because the flowers in Ninth Sister's place had bloomed. I was curious at heart and couldn't help but come take a look!"

  Cai Lian nodded vaguely and smiled: "To say that this fragrance is somewhat extraordinary! Du Ruo sister, follow me!"

  Du Ruo smiled and followed Cai Lian into the west wing. As soon as they reached the door of the west wing, Hui'er opened it from inside and came out, seeing Cai Lian and hurriedly called out: "Sister Cai Lian!" But she looked at Du Ruo with her eyes, obviously not recognizing her.

  Cai Lian pointed at Du Ruo and smiled: "This is Sister Du Ruo in front of the old lady, she wants to take a look at our pot of flowers!"

  Hui'er didn't mind, and with a smile at Du Ruo, she said: "Our young lady has spoken, that evening primrose likes the cold but not the heat, it can only be placed in the courtyard! If sister wants to see it, I'll take sister to see it!" She was not born into the Ling family, but rather was a maid bought by Yuan Zhen in Pingjing after Yan Dai moved to another courtyard and felt that there were not enough people at her side to order around.

  Du Ruo was taken aback, just as she was about to say something, the inner curtain suddenly moved, and Wen Ping had already walked out, smiling at Du Ruo: "Sister Du Ruo, when did you arrive? Our young lady invites you to sit inside! Hui'er, go take care of your own business!"