Chapter Fifty-One: Solo Journey (Part One)

  Ling Yuahua did not lie, at this moment, Lu Weijie was indeed standing with his hands hanging down in the Buddhist room where he had cleaned up for Mrs. Lu and others to rest, looking very uncomfortable. And standing beside him, Lu Weiying was jumping and bouncing around.

  Two people stand together, the more arrogant one becomes even more arrogant, and the duller one also feels increasingly tasteless.

  Ran Luo watched Lu Wei Jie from the side, but in her heart she felt very satisfied. Ling Yuan Xuan's personality was spoiled and naive, but because she had been pampered since childhood, she also had a bit of a temper. But Lu Wei Jie was a man who seemed to have a sense of propriety and could tolerate others at first glance.

  Luo Shi had actually met Lu Wei Jie before, but that was four or five years ago. This time, when Lu Wei Jie came to the capital for the exam, he also paid a visit to Ling Yun at the Ling manor as courtesy. However, Ling Yun thought that since Lu Wei Jie would be taking the exam soon, it wasn't a good idea to distract him, so he didn't let him go see Luo Shi. Instead, he told Luo Shi about it afterwards. When Luo Shi heard this, she was naturally very displeased and even stayed angry with Ling Yun for several days because of this, but in the end, she could only let it go.

  She smiled silently on this side, while Mrs. Lu had already spoken on the other side: "Since it's so coincidental today, you two might as well stay and have a vegetarian meal with us before returning to the Wenxuan Hall to study! The imperial examination is important, but it can't be more important than family relationships! You two are now in Pingjing, so you should come to our mansion every now and then! Do you understand?"

  Lu Weijie nodded in agreement. On the other side, Lu Weiying smiled and said: "Aunt is absolutely right! However, Third Uncle Ling has high hopes for Fourth Brother, but he doesn't allow him to wander around every day, fearing that he will neglect his studies and become a laughing stock next year!"

  He had only said half of what he wanted to say, but on the other side, Lu Weijie's face was already flushed with embarrassment. He wanted to reach out and pull his brother back, but was afraid of losing manners in front of his elders. Torn between two difficulties, he ended up turning his clear and handsome face bright red.

  Just then, a shout came from outside: "Mother! Eldest Sister and Ninth Sister are back!"

  As soon as the clear and tender voice of a child was heard inside the house, others might not have noticed, but Lu Weijie on the other side couldn't help but shiver. This subtle movement caught the attention of Luo Shi, who had been paying close attention to her. After a moment of amusement, Luo Shi became even more satisfied with this son-in-law.

  It wasn't until a long while later that the Eldest Young Miss and her sister finally came in from outside. At this moment, Ling Yu Xuan was no longer her usual self, walking in with her head hung low, almost dragging her feet. After paying her respects, she stood silently to one side, not even daring to lift her head slightly, let alone sneak a glance at the Lu brothers on the other side.

  Luoshi smiled and said, "As it happens, today is indeed a coincidence! We came to Mount Guanyin to burn incense, and Wei Jie and Wei Ying brothers also happened to be here! Being relatives, we can't pretend not to know each other, or else people will laugh at us!" She pointed to the Lu brothers and said to Yuan Dai and her sister, "These two brothers, the taller one is Wei Ying, and the one with an average height is Wei Jie!" Then she pointed again to Yuan Dai and her sister for the Lu brothers.

  Lu said so, and the two of them couldn't help but exchange a glance. Ling Yuexuan took advantage of the moment when they were exchanging greetings to steal a glance at Lu Weijie, but unexpectedly Lu Weijie was also quietly looking up at her. Their eyes met, and both of them were startled. Both of their faces turned red all the way to their ears.

  Yuan Dai watched from the side, but secretly smiled in her heart. As for Lu Weiying, she didn't care about him at all. And Lu Weiying also showed no interest in her, after a brief courtesy, he turned away and didn't even want to take another glance.

  Luoshi smiled and said: "Your sisters have been turning around in the back for a while, have you found any good scenery?"

  Ling Yuexuan still felt a little deer running wildly in her heart, and she didn't dare to speak out loud. She just stood obediently on one side, trying hard to calm down her almost jumping-out-of-her-chest heart. But Yuan Dai had already smiled and said: "As San Shu said, tenth sister really found an excellent scenic spot at the back mountain! However, that scenic spot now belongs not to Bai Yi An but to a certain noble's garden in the palace!"

  He then went on to tell in detail about the matter of the plum blossom sea, and he also brought up every single word that the young nun had said.

  Luo heard that there was such a scenic spot, but he couldn't help but pause for a moment. He turned his head to look at Mrs. Lu and smiled: "Sister-in-law is often in the capital, do you know about this?"

  Madam Lu heard this and, after a moment's thought, shook her head and said: "To tell the truth, I haven't been to Guanyin Mountain very often! As for this matter, I really don't know anything about it! However, if you want to know about it, it's actually not difficult. Just ask the nun who receives guests to come over and ask her!"

  "Ha ha, it's almost noon! If that place is indeed nice and doesn't prohibit people from visiting, we can go take a look after lunch. December is approaching, and admiring the winter plum blossoms would be quite fitting!"

  Mrs. Lu nodded slightly, indicating that there was nothing wrong with it. The crowd chatted for a while, and the nun who had welcomed them earlier came over to invite everyone to go have dinner. Luo thought of Yu Dai's words and couldn't help but ask the nun who had greeted them. The nun smiled when she heard this and said something in response, which was similar to what the little nun had said earlier. This nun was also very enthusiastic, and when she heard the implication in Luo's words that he wanted to go sightseeing, she immediately agreed and even offered to be their guide. Luo smiled and thanked her without declining.

  After having lunch, everyone sat for a while, drank tea, and then got up to follow the nun to the mountain valley. Fortunately, the entrance of the mountain valley was not far away, and everyone didn't spend much time before entering the valley from the entrance.

  Before, from a distance, the sisters had already seen that this plum blossom forest was extremely vast. Now, being in the midst of it, there's also a feeling of being bewildered by the chaotic flowers. Because the snow in the valley hadn't melted yet, everyone couldn't go deep inside, and could only appreciate it for a while at the edge of the mountain valley. Yan Dai knew that Lu Wei Jie came to Guanyin Mountain was all arranged by Luo Shi, so she wouldn't accompany Ling Yuan Xuan's side to be an uninteresting person. As for Lu Furen's cold attitude towards her, she also saw it clearly, but even more didn't intend to go along with Lu Furen's interest.

  After walking for a short while, Yuandai made an excuse that she was physically weak and couldn't continue on, refusing to follow the crowd further. Luoshi saw her determination and didn't want to force her, so he wanted to leave Du Ruo and Wenping behind to accompany her. Yuandai smiled and shook her head, indicating that only leaving Wenping with herself would be enough.

  Du Ruo listened quietly, opening her mouth to say something, but on the other side, Mrs. Lu was already impatient and said a few words in a light tone. Although the words were not sharp or sarcastic, they were full of impatience between the lines. Du Ruo remained silent, after all, she didn't say anything more.

  In fact, although she is now in Yuandai's room, no one in the Ling family thinks that she is really Yuandai's maid.

  Ling Yuancheng watched from the side, and his face didn't show any signs of embarrassment. However, in front of so many people, he couldn't directly point out his mother's mistakes, so he could only comfort Yuedai with a glance. Yuedai smiled back at him, indicating that she wasn't bothered. After the crowd left, Yuedai shook her head slightly and pointed to a nearby spot where the sun was shining and there was no snow, saying to Wenping: "The sun is good over there, let's go rest for a bit!"

  Wen Ping responded and supported Yu Rang as they walked away. He also laughed and said: "It's finally quiet now!"

  Yan Dai lightly laughed and lazily said: "This trip's excitement can be considered as having been seen, it can also be said that it was not a wasted journey!"

  Wen Ping heard the words "watching the excitement" and couldn't help but look at Yuan Dai with a hint of confusion. Yuan Dai didn't explain, but walked to a nearby thicket and saw a relatively clean bluestone nearby. Wen Ping followed her gaze and understood her intention, so he took out his handkerchief and wiped the stone clean. But as soon as his fingers touched it, he felt that the stone was icy cold.

  Wen Ping furrowed his brow and said in a low voice, "Miss, this stone is quite cool!" His words were somewhat advisory.

  Yan Dai didn't mind, saying: "Never mind! With this silver fox cloak under my head, what cold can I fear?"

  Wen Ping listened in shock, and after a long time, he said with a hint of regret: "Miss, this silver fox cloak was given by the old lady, saying it's a rare treasure from Northeast China, worth thousands of gold! As for that stone, even if it's naturally formed, it can't be described as smooth. Not to mention cutting through the cloak, even if some fur is scratched off, it's still extremely regrettable."

  Yuandai said, "Don't say that ten thousand gold is not easy to come by, even if it's a hundred thousand gold, it's still just an inanimate object! It's actually nothing to make a fuss about!" As she spoke, she carefully spread out the hem of her cloak on the bluestone and sat down on it with a leisurely air.

  Wen Ping saw this, and couldn't help but shake his head, laughing: "Fortunately, I'm the only one here, otherwise it would be said that Miss is too wasteful, and in vain Old Lady's kindness!"

  Yuan Dai smiled and said, "The old lady gave me this cloak to keep out the cold, not for me to offer it in worship inside the temple! Besides, this big fur coat is usually not worn, and when it's pressed under boxes and trunks for a long time, it will eventually be eaten away by moths or get damaged anyway!"

  Wen Ping couldn't help but laugh and said, "Only a young lady from such a wealthy and noble family as yours could say something like that!" These words were spoken on impulse, and after speaking, not to mention others, even Wen Ping himself felt that he had gone a bit too far.

  Yuan Dai is indeed a member of the Ling family, but she has been away from the manor since childhood, and in fact, she did not grow up in the Ling Manor. Wen Ping thought to herself, but couldn't help but glance at Yuan Dai, and suddenly felt a hint of doubt in her heart. She had been serving Yuan Dai for some time now, and thinking back, the demeanor of this young lady was even more subdued and elegant than those who had grown up in the manor since childhood.

  Yuandai sat on the bluestone for a moment, feeling warm all over her body in the sunlight, and suddenly felt a little sleepy. After covering a yawn with her hand, Yuandai finally stood up, sighing somewhat reluctantly: "Let's take a walk around! If we sit like this, I'm afraid I'll really fall asleep!"

  Miss Wen listened and couldn't help but laugh: "This young lady is used to taking a nap every day, occasionally skipping one day makes her feel extremely drowsy!"

  Yuan Dai nodded lazily, and she didn't intend to walk too far either. With Wen Ping's support, they strolled along the lush shrubs. The shrubs here were also unknown plants, but in winter, they had green branches and leaves, which looked very pleasant. Yuan Dai only thought about walking to the end of this shrub and then going back to that bluestone, but unexpectedly, as she walked on, she found herself having walked a hundred steps or so. Every time she felt like she was already at the end, when she got there, it suddenly opened up again.

  In surprise, Yuandai continued to move forward without stopping, taking about twenty more steps, and saw that he had already reached the front of a cliff. Wenping saw this and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, laughing: "Ah! It seems we've finally reached the end!"

  Yan Dai heard the sound and was surprised. She raised her hand and pointed, saying: "I didn't expect that this place would be a valley within a valley. Look!"

  Wen Ping followed the direction of Yu Dai's finger and looked over, only to discover that on the west side of this mountain cliff, there was actually a small path that was not easily noticeable. From here, it was impossible to see how big it was inside, but it seemed that the flowers and trees were lush and dense, forming a forest.