by Ning er
A flame of anger puffed out from Yun Qian Meng's eyes, and she immediately retorted, "I am not getting away with it. On the contrary, xiangye is repeatedly being disrespectful towards me. Because xiangye has a high authority, as a woman, I have no way to complain and can only express my true feelings in a few statements. Yet they have caused xiangye to fly into a rage and even make threats."
After speaking, those watery eyes took a glimpse at Chu Fei Yang. Unknowingly, the look she gave him was one of her rare pouts, making Yun Qian Meng's extremely calm face increasingly more elegant and attractive.
Chu Fei Yang gently laughed because of Yun Qian Meng's words. His unsophisticated laughter transmitted outwards from his chest, vibrating through Yun Qian Meng's ears until they felt numb. She inadvertently distance the two of them, which Chu Fei Yang did not mind too much. Chu Fei Yang lowered his head to watch her slightly frowning and delicate face attentively, following which he said, "Guileful and insinuating, but clever and eloquent."
No wonder those other xiaojie could not rival her, and even he himself whom he considered eloquent was not her equal, as her extremely clever responses were something to be admired. It truly made her different from those xiaojie who were only jealous of another receiving affection.
At Chu Fei Yang's not-so-good assessment of her, Yun Qian Meng wrinkled her elegant nose incredulously. She disapprovingly shot a cold glance at Chu Fei Yang, and immediately retorted, "Better than remaining silent after being bullied by others."
Her words startled Chu Fei Yang, his hand gently patted Yun Qian Meng's shoulder, as he exclaimed, "As long as I'm here, nobody will ever bully you!"
Yun Qian Meng was touched by his words, she had not expected that Chu Fei Yang would ever say such words. She shifted her face in discomfort, but her blushing ears exposed her true feelings.
Yun Qian Meng expressing her rare lady-like shyness had not escaped from the scrutiny of Chu Fei Yang's bright eyes. Although he enjoyed watching her calm confidence as she bashed out all her enemies, he admired her her shyness and feminine posture too much that he was not ready to part with them. But, he refrained from commenting so Yun Qian Meng would not fly into a rage out of embarrassment, that was after all, detrimental to him.
"Regarding Xia mama, I will have people investigate it, so you need not be constantly on the move between Tian Fu Lou and xiangfu. Allow Mi mama and the others to return, or else I will not feel at ease with only Mu Chun serving you." Chu Fei Yang said after a long moment, his eyes looked sincerely concerned.
Yun Qian Meng realized that Chu Fei Yang must have known the matter regarding Xia mama. So she did not bother to hide anything. "It seems that the one who had Xia mama and Ying Qiu attacked are against Fu Guo Gongfu. Or else, how could a common thief know about the priceless Hu Ge? And then why would they intentionally destroy the herbal medicine, which would have been of no use for them, during the robbery?"
Chu Fei Yang quietly listened to Yun Qian Meng's analysis. He attentively watched her earnest and meticulous profile and it hit a soft spot in the corner of his heart, causing him to expose a faint smile and his gaze became more and more gentle.
"Since that is the case, then Xia mama must be handed over to me for protection. With you always appearing at Tian Fu Lou, someone with bad intentions might discover them. What if something were to happen? How can I not be worried?" especially since Tian Fu Lou was part of Rong Yun He's property and Chu Fei Yang always had a bad feeling about him. After all, it was only today that Yun Qian Meng said she would try to accept him, so that meant that she still had not completely accepted him. This matter kept Chu Fei Yang's confidence on tenterhooks for fear of not being able to capture her heart.
While Yun Qian Meng had not even been thinking about Rong Yun He when she heard Chu Fei Yang's question. She only analyzed Xia mama's situation and finally arrived at a conclusion. "Since that is the case, then we'll do as you say."
Seeing her in glowing spirits, for a moment, Chu Fei Yang was somehow curious about Yun Qian Meng's way of thinking. His brows raised as he observed her slightly excited face, his own mood went up and down following Yun Qian Meng's expression.
Yun Qian Meng then gestured for Chu Fei Yang to lower his head, so she could muttered some words in his ears.
Chu Fei Yang's brows wrinkled at her suggestions, his eyes showed some disapproval as he said, "This won't do!"
Yun Qian Meng's enthusiasm stopped short and her face suddenly went serious as she stubbornly said, "Let's just settle it this way."
Chu Fei Yang's lips opened and closed wordlessly, while Yun Qian Meng's face was radiant with delight. He had originally planned to persuade her, yet he was unable to speak out. He was contemplating whether or not to strengthen his protection on her, in order to avoid her going too far and provoking those vicious and merciless people.
For a moment it was quiet inside the carriage as it had already been traveling for quite a long while, then a voice of the guard echoed from the outside, "Master, we have arrived at Yun xiangfu."
The carriages from Fu Guo Gongfu arrived just then in front of xiangfu, but before Yun Qian Meng had dismounted, Mu Chun had rushed towards the carriage to place a foot stool on the ground, and waited for Yun Qian Meng to come out.
Collecting her thoughts, Yun Qian Meng lifted her eyes to look at Chu Fei Yang, she slightly nodded to him and made to step out of the carriage.
Unexpectedly though, her wrist was quickly grabbed by Chu Fei Yang's huge hand that slightly exerted some force. Yun Qian Meng was back in his embrace once more, his deep and low yet concerned voice echoed beside her, "Remember my words, don't get yourself involved in danger."
Recognizing his good intentions, Yun Qian Meng immediately nodded, following which she pushed Chu Fei Yang away. She then quickly lifted the curtain and stepped down from the carriage.
"Xiaojie, why are you blushing slightly? Could it be due to the weather?" Mu Chun asked in puzzlement. She then stretched her head back to check the weather, feeling the clear and refreshing autumn weather without so much heat, she grew even more curious.
Upon hearing Mu Chun's words, Yun Qian Meng quickly shot a cold glance at her. Then, with a calm and cold expression, she took her seat inside the palanquin.
Being glared at for no reason, Mu Chun scratched her own nose, thinking that she might have said something wrong that angered xiaojie. Without thinking further, she followed behind the palanquin as it entered xiangfu.
Meanwhile, inside the horse carriage, Chu Fei Yang's eyes were following the palanquin as it entered xiangfu, afterwhich he commanded the guard to drive the horse carriage away.
At night, the moon was cold as water, as summertime gradually passed. The autumn night became cooler and more refreshing, making people less jittery under the scorching summer heat.
Yun Qian Meng was holding scrolls as she sat beside the window, yet she was not in the mood to read. Her thoughts wandered back to the conversation she had with Chu Fei Yang earlier.
Her heart could not refrain from smiling. She had never expected anything to happen with this strange and ancient man, but her very own experience explained that anything was possible.
What really amazed Yun Qian Meng was that Chu Fei Yang indeed had the ability to distract a person's mind, no wonder Hai Tian became so obsessed with him.
"Xiaojie!" Mu Chun called out in a low voice as she quietly stepped into the bedroom when she saw Yun Qian Meng deep in thought.
"What's the matter?" putting down the scrolls in her hands, Yun Qian Meng neatly stood up and moved about, so as to avoid her body from becoming stiff.
Mu Chun watched as Yun Qian Meng stretched her limbs. She had an amazed expression, yet she already knew that her xiaojie was different from all the others. She did not show her doubt, and simply responded to Yun Qian Meng's question, "Xiaojie, based on the report from Su yiniang's yatou, she said that the date of the childbirth will be arriving soon. Su yiniang was planning to let Wang mama invite yiniang's sister-
in-law from the Su Family over here to accompany her."
Yun Qian Meng slightly nodded, she had Mu Chun lean closer in order to whisper instructions in her ear…
Chapter 103: Part 2: Emotional Breakthrough | Chu Wang Fei
"Furen, please think before acting. Even bengong has never seen this jade pendant. Furen shouldn't make random guesses out of others' one-sided comments to avoid wronging someone and falling into their trap." Yuan de taifei cut her off and spat coldly. People saw that she had a cold and murderous look in her eyes, as if she was battling in war, completely different from her usual noble and proud image.
Everyone feared this side of Yuan de taifei and even Wu furen could not help but tremble, not bothering to finish whatever she had started to say.
But after Wu Qin Qin had suffered this kind of injustice for no reason, how could Wu furen just give up so easily? She thought quickly and searched in the crowd. When she saw Yun Qian Meng, she immediately voiced out, "Yun xiaojie, since entering wangfu, you had already been with Qin Qin. Tell us what happened! Why was Qin Qin blamed for the incident?"
Qu Fei Qing burned with rage at Wu furen's accusation.
What had she just said? She made it seem like Meng'er was sticking to that Wu Qin Qin. Did she not know that it was her daughter who was forcing herself onto them and following them everywhere? Now she acted so rudely to Meng'er, as if Meng'er owed something to the Wu Family.
Yun Qian Meng patted Qu Fei Qing's hand under the table to abate her anger, then calmly replied, "Please don't panic, furen. Qian Meng also believes that Wu xiaojie is innocent. But Qian Meng just met Wu xiaojie today, and Wu xiaojie had left to go on her own in between. Even if you wanted Qian Meng to prove something, Qian Meng really couldn't do anything. Why don't we invite Wu xiaojie and Yuan Gongzi to come over to explain everything, so we don't go blaming others?"
Compared to Wu furen's rude questioning, Yun Qian Meng's polite and kind reply was more acceptable in everyone's eyes, especially since it had been Wu Qin Qin who was in the wrong. Wu furen had not questioned her daughter but rather shifted her attention to Yun Qian Meng, who had nothing to do with this incident. Did she really think that everyone was easy to bully?
"Yun xiaojie has always been intelligent. How could Yun xiaojie not understand the meaning?" suddenly, Hai Tian coldly spoke up. Her cold eyes stared at Yun Qian Meng as if she wanted to feast on her flesh and drink her blood.
But Yun Qian Meng just answered with a smile, then stood up and replied, "Junzhu, even if Qian Meng is extremely clever, Qian Meng doesn't possess Discerning Eyes* that could easily determine the truth without knowing anything about the situation. Qian Meng is just an ordinary person and cannot accept junzhu's kind praise, please refrain from making fun of chennu."
Afterwards, Yun Qian Meng went back to seat. The light smile on her face made Hai Tian feel that her words were actually sincere. Just when Hai Tian wanted to question her again, a mama rushed into the garden, knelt in front of Yuan de taifei and reported, "Taifei, Wu xiaojie has awoken."
"Since that's the case, then bring Wu xiaojie over. Jiang mama, bring Yuan gongzi over." Yuan de taifei coldly ordered.
Wu furen was worried for her daughter and thus, asked for leave from Yuan de taifei, leaving the garden with the two mama. Now, the garden had regained it silence, it might be that everyone was preparing to see what would happen next.
Although the verbal fights had stopped, the eyes of people were still restless and contained laughter. Their intentions was clear. They were all curious as to how Wu Qin Qin had been able to conquer two men.
The atmosphere grew strange and unfathomable. Although Yuan de taifei and Chen wang bore such cold expressions, they both remained composed and did not lose their minds just because of the suddenness of the situation.
Chu Fei Yang was drinking his wine as if nothing was happening, but his eyes would unnoticeably glanced towards Yun Qian Meng from time to time. Obviously, he already knew of Yun Qian Meng's plans.
On the other hand, the people from Northern Qi put their eyes on what was going to happen next. Especially Qi Jing Han, who was already sticking his neck out towards the entrance, waiting for the two people to emerge.
In just half a cup of tea's time, Yuan Qing Zhou arrived first, brought in by Jiang mama. Right after he saw his aunt and cousin, Yuan Qing Zhou lowered his eyes in fear. Yuan de taifei did not give him the chance to speak and angrily shouted, "Kneel!"
Shocked by Yuan de taifei's sudden command, Yuan Qing Zhou immediately knelt in front of them. Yuan de taifei pointed at Yuan Qing Zhou and scolded him, "Look at what you've done today! Wu xiaojie is an innocent lady from a prestigious family, but you have influenced her negatively! Why don't you learn better things than those exchanging belongings with a lady? What do you want to happen to Yuan Family's reputation? Having done such an act of disgrace today, speak, what do you think we should do?"
Yuan Qing Zhou felt injustice at being scolded by Yuan de taifei.
He saw that it had been Yun Qian Meng who put the handkerchief on the table; thus, he took the opportunity when there no one else was around to secretly take it. He originally wanted to use it to show his love for Yun Qian Meng, but had not expected that the handkerchief was actually Wu Qin Qin's.
Up until this moment, Yuan Qing Zhou still had no idea what had gone wrong. Why did Yun Qian Meng's belonging suddenly become Wu Qin Qin's?
He originally wanted to have Yun Qian Meng own up to it, but a while ago, both Ning Feng and Jiang mama separately told him to recognize his relationship with Wu Qin Qin, so Yuan Qing Zhou had to hold back his bitterness. He could only lower his head and let Yuan de taifei scold him, and he still needed to apologize in the end, "It's all nephew's mistake! But nephew is really in love with Wu xiaojie. That's why nephew gave her my favorite belonging. Please, gumu, please decide for nephew."
"Decide? How can I decide? The only solution now is for you to marry Wu Qin Qin. There is no other way. Otherwise, even if bengong is a taifei, bengong still wouldn't be able to justify to Wu Guo Gongfu. You idiot! You even need bengong to clean up the mess of your misbehavior! Reflect on this!" Yuan de taifei coldly said with a tone containing anger and resentment towards Yuan Qing Zhou for not meeting her expectations. But he was nevertheless a descendant of the Yuan Family. How could she let Wu Qin Qin ruin her nephew's good fortune?
"Gumu…" Yuan Qing Zhou thought that everything would be fine after he acknowledged his mistake. He had not expected that Yuan de taifei would force him to marry Wu Qin Qin. Thinking of Wu Qin Qin's big and round face, he really did not have a good impression of her. Now, they even wanted him to marry her? Would that not mean that he needed to face that ordinary and boring face forever? That kind of life was not worth living.
But Yuan de taifei already made her decision and she would not tolerate Yuan Qing Zhou questioning it. She immediately said, "Bengong will personally explain this matter to laotaijun. You don't need to say anything else. Get up."
At that, Yuan de taifei looked away, refusing to meet Yuan Qing Zhou's pleading gaze.
At this time, Wu Qin Qin walked in, with the help of Wu furen and her yatou. Her face was as pale as paper and her weak body trembled unconsciously. There were still tears running down her face, which led people to right away assume that it was because she was ashamed to see everyone now that her secret affair with Yuan Qing Zhou had been revealed.
Seeing Wu furen approaching, the coldness in Yuan de taifei's face slowly faded as it changed into a smile. Especially when she saw Wu Qin Qin, she showed her a satisfied expression. Even before Wu furen could say anything, Yuan de taifei already made the first move, "Wu furen, Qing Zhou already told us a while ago about his love towards Wu xiaojie and expressed that he wanted to take Wu xiaojie as his main wife. If furen agrees, bengong will immediately enter the Palace and ask the Empress Dowager for a decree to make this marriage even more grand and honorable."
The reason Wu furen and Wu Qin Qin had arrived later was
because the two of them were discussing solutions in the room. They had not expected that Yuan de taifei's move was faster than theirs. She already made this decision by herself without waiting for them to come, nor giving them any chances of overthrowing the decision.
But this matter also involved Wu Qin Qin's reputation, so even if she would marry Yuan Qing Zhou, they still needed to find out who framed Wu Qin Qin. Otherwise, even if she became Yuan Qing Zhou's wife, she would still carry the reputation of having secret affairs with someone and would be criticized her whole life.
Wu Qin Qin seemed to be shocked and scared by Yuan de taifei's decision. She almost fell to the ground while murmuring, "No, I don't want to marry him…"
Everyone knew that the Yuan Family's Yuan Qing Zhou was a lecher. Almost none of the ladies he fixed his eyes on were able to escape from him. As a lady from a noble family, Wu Qin Qin naturally would not want to marry playboy like him, who had no sense of responsibility or ambition and only wanted to push himself onto women. It was very normal for her to have such reaction.
The xiaojie who were originally enjoying the show and had shown enmity towards Wu Qin Qin now started to feel sorry for her misfortune after hearing Yuan de taifei's decision. Although she was marrying into the grand and famous Yuan Family, she was actually entering a graveyard. Wu Qin Qin might have to suffer her whole life living with jealousy and mistreatment.
But this was actually a good thing for them, who had yet to get engaged. After all, since Yuan de taifei had already said so, then Wu Qin Qin marrying Yuan Qing Zhou was final. They naturally had one less enemy, and an enemy who had a strong family background even, so they secretly rejoiced.