Chapter 2: An Unexpected Encounter

  Xiao Chengxian walked shoulder to shoulder with Ling Yuexuan out of the house where they currently lived, and Yuexuan looked up at him, taking a long deep breath.

  The sky was clear and bright after the heavy snow, with a dark blue vault above, dotted with twinkling stars. Being on the mountain, the stars seemed unusually low, as if they could be plucked down with just a lift of one's hand.

  Xiao Chengxian looked at her with a smile and said, "You really don't mind about Shi Miao's affair?"

  She faintly raised her lips and Far Dai didn't answer but instead asked: "If I were your sister, would you be angry with me?"

  Xiao Chengxi lowered her head and thought for a moment: "Maybe! But since she has acknowledged her mistake, forgiving her is only a matter of time!"

  Yuan Dai heard this and burst out laughing, saying: "Yes! Sooner or later we'll have to forgive her anyway, so it's better to do it sooner rather than later!"

  Two people were talking when someone came rushing over from the front. Xiao Chengyan saw the person coming and couldn't help but frown. The person who came was Yunying. Yunying rushed over and whispered to Xiao Chengyan, "Miss, Pusu Shadow Mountain Villa just sent someone to apologize, saying that they were rude today! And also sent an invitation, asking the two ladies to please come over no matter what!"

  Xiao Cheng raised an eyebrow and turned back to look at Yuan Dai. Yuan Dai slightly raised her eyebrows, but did not express any opinion.

  Xiao Cheng whispered to Yunying, "Tell whoever comes that it's too late and we've all gone to bed!"

  Yun Ying heard this and didn't say much more, just nodded in response before turning around and going back to pass on the message.

  Watching her leave, Xiao Cheng couldn't help but sigh again and say: "Just now I said it's better late than never. It was supposed to be a matter of forgiving, yet another person came seeking forgiveness! What's going on lately!"

  Yan Dai said calmly, "Tenth sister has been waiting in your house for a long time, asking you to mediate on her behalf. Eldest sister must have spent a lot of effort! But I don't know why this princess is so quick to show humility, and who is persuading her from behind the scenes?"

  Xiao Chengxian couldn't help but laugh and said with a hint of embarrassment, "I had wanted to say it was Rui Qin Wang. But thinking about Rui Qin Wang's mediating expression made me involuntarily want to smile!"

  After hearing her words, even Yuandai couldn't help but laugh. As they approached the entrance of their small courtyard, Xiaocheng suddenly stopped in her tracks and turned to ask Yuandai: "Sister, are you still sticking to your original decision?"

  Far away, Dai nodded calmly and said: "Yes!"

  She thought for a moment, then softly said: "I've said it before. Rui's uncle is actually not a bad choice! And if what happened just now was his idea, then this marriage should be no problem! The only thing you need to strive for, sister, is the title of legitimate wife. You're well-read and knowledgeable, so you shouldn't be unaware... Throughout history, there has never been an illegitimate daughter among the principal consorts of a prince..."

  She nodded calmly and said, "Thank you for reminding me, sister!" Although she expressed gratitude with her words, her face showed no surprise at all, clearly indicating that what Xiao Chengyan had just said was something she had already known about beforehand.

  Seeing her like that, Xiao Chengyan also didn't say much more. After stepping into the small courtyard, the two bid each other farewell and returned to their respective rooms to rest.

  It's not too late at this moment, but Yuandai is inexplicably feeling exhausted in body and mind. Since she had already eaten dinner with the Guo family and Ling Yuexuan earlier, after returning to her room, Yuandai summoned Cuiyi and others to serve her as she washed up and rested.

  That night, Wenping was still keeping watch. After sending Du Ruo and Cui Yi back to their rooms to rest, she saw that Yuan Dai was still leaning against the head of the bed, lost in thought. She quickly made some tea and presented it to Yuan Dai while asking with a smile: "Miss, what are you thinking about again?"

  Yan Dai smiled faintly and took a sip of tea before saying lazily, "I'm thinking about how to speak!"

  This remark was strange, Wenping heard the sound and couldn't help but repeat: "How should I speak?"

  Wan Dai nodded slightly, but didn't explain much, only saying: "Wen Ping, you don't know, I'm really tired!" Because she was tired, she also didn't bother to spend more energy carefully thinking things through, and just finding a big tree to hide under from the wind and rain was enough.

  Wen Jing obviously didn't catch the meaning behind Yu Dai's words and just smiled: "Miss is worried, but is it because of tenth miss?"

  She never expected that she would suddenly mention Ling Yuexuan, and after being stunned for a moment, she couldn't help but laugh, shaking her head, saying: "The tenth miss is just a child!" A child who has been pampered and loved since childhood.

  From birth, Ling Yuexuan had never tasted the feeling of being neglected. Later, she met Yuan Dai and Xiao Chengyan. Yuan Dai and Xiao Chengyan were naturally good to her, but Ling Yuexuan's naivety and shallowness made them only see her as a younger sister who needed care, rather than a friend with whom they could share their hearts. In this situation, Ling Yuexuan inevitably felt a sense of loss.

  At the same time, Luo's praise for Yuandai also made her heart secretly jealous. And compared to her unsatisfactory fiancé and Yuandai's so-called "noble son-in-law", it made her even more resentful. In Ling Yuanshuang's view, even if she couldn't compare to Xiang Chengyan, another proud daughter of heaven, she shouldn't be inferior to Yuandai, who was a concubine-born daughter and had an ordinary appearance.

  And this is the ultimate reason for her dispute with Yuandai.

  Wenping was not very clear about this, so after hearing the answer, she smiled and said: "Although Miss Ten is a bit childish, her temper is extremely good. Third Aunt is also a kind-hearted person, if Madam had half of Third Aunt's kindness, that would be great!" When it came to Lu Furen, even though they were currently in the Xiao family's villa, Wenping couldn't help but look back nervously at the outside.

  Yan Dai listened to her evaluation of Mrs. Lu and Luo's wife, couldn't help but smile, yet didn't say anything.

  Luoshi and her mother not only did not have conflicting interests, but also looked up to her, hoping that in the future she would be able to surpass Lingyuan Xian. In this situation, Luoshi took great care of them, and Yuandai was also grateful to her.

  "... Wenping..." She suddenly spoke up: "I remember I seem to have a purple jade flute in my trunk!"

  Wen Ping was taken aback for a moment, thought for a while before answering: "There is such a flute! However, since the young lady never plays the flute, she didn't bring it with her on this trip!"

  Yan Dai lightly said "oh" and instructed: "Du Ruo has a zither, tomorrow you see her, ask to borrow it, just say I borrowed it!" She didn't expect Wen Ping to bring the zither with him anyway, so she asked just in case. For her, bringing the zither was the best, not bringing it wouldn't hurt anything either.

  Wen Ping looked at Yuan Dai with some surprise and astonishment that she actually knew there was a zither in Du Ruo's place.

  Yan Dai waved her hand at her and stopped talking, quietly lying down and closing her eyes.

  The next day, Ling Dai had just gotten up and finished washing her face when Du Ruo led a maid in and said, "Miss, this is Cai Xia, who currently serves at the side of Sixth Master!" The maid hastily came forward to pay her respects. Ling Dai didn't seem

  Yan Dai nodded slightly and put down her tea cup, asking: "Sixth Master had you come over, is there something he wants to instruct me about?"

  Cai Xia pursed her lips and smiled, saying: "Sixth Master, please ask Ninth Miss to go to the pavilion in the South Head Garden at noon to talk!"

  Yuan Dai heard this and nodded slightly, raising her eyes to give a signal to Wen Ping beside her. Wen Ping understood and quickly turned around to take out a purse and reward Cai Xia. After Cai Xia declined slightly, she accepted the purse, thanked Yuan Dai, and then left.

  At this moment, someone outside also sent breakfast over. After having breakfast, Yuandai looked at the sky and thought that although it was still early, if she went slowly, it wouldn't make much difference. With this in mind, she got up, called Wenshu to follow her, and instructed Du to go to Xiao Chengyan's place to explain her whereabouts, so as not to add more trouble when Xiao came looking for her and couldn't find her.

  Along the corridor pointed by the maid of the other courtyard, Yuandai walked slowly. On the side of the corridor, evergreen shrubs were planted all over, and after the heavy snow, a layer of ice and snow covered the green branches and leaves, making them look even more spirited. The slightly cool cold wind blew on her face, causing Yuandai to frown slightly in discomfort. Wenping stepped forward in time, standing at the forefront of the wind, slightly blocking it for her.

  She glanced at her silently, but didn't say a word. After turning two corners, the South Garden of the other courtyard finally came into view. This south-facing garden was obviously not suitable for winter visits, although there were also many evergreen shrubs and pines planted inside, but there were no plum blossoms or other flowers that should be in bloom during winter, so at this moment it looked somewhat desolate.

  Yuandai walked down the long corridor with Wenshu, and had only taken a dozen steps on the white stone path when someone suddenly appeared from the side. The person came in a hurry and didn't notice that there was already someone coming from the opposite direction, and almost collided with them head-on. Fortunately, Yuandai was very agile, and seeing him rush over, she quickly dodged to the side, barely avoiding being touched by him.

  That person seemed to be startled as well, and before he could even lift his head, he hastily said: "Sorry! Sorry! I..." As he spoke, he had already lifted his head up, and upon seeing Yu Daiyu in the distance, a look of surprise and delight suddenly appeared on his handsome face: "It's actually Ninth Sister! Brother is being polite!"

  She looked closely at the person, and was taken aback for a moment. The man had a golden crown on his head, a light fur cloak, and a slow belt around his waist. Although it was freezing cold outside, he still held a fan and gently swayed it back and forth. His face was pale, his hair was dark, his lips were red, and his teeth were white. He was truly a handsome and elegant person, wasn't he exactly Lu Weiyin?

  Her eyes slightly dimmed, but the corners of her lips curled up slightly, and she returned a faint smile, saying: "So it's Brother Lu! What a coincidence!"

  Lu Weiying smiled and said, "Isn't it a coincidence! I was just about to go over and look for Xiao Brother. I asked the servants in the house, and they all said that going through this garden is the closest way to his courtyard. Who would have thought that Ninth Sister would also pass by here!"

  Yan Dai smiled and said, "So that's it! I came here to meet Sixth Brother in the pavilion ahead to talk. Since Lu's eldest brother is going to look for Xiao Da Ge, then hurry up and go, don't let Xiao Da Ge wait too long!"

  Lu Weiyin heard the voice and hastily smiled, saying: "This is nothing to be afraid of! I'll go find Xiao Brother, originally it was just a sudden impulse, actually it wasn't that I had an appointment with him! Now that we've met Ninth Sister, naturally I should escort Ninth Sister ahead first! When Eldest Cousin arrives, I can still go find Xiao Brother, it won't be late!"