Chu Wang Fei

The surrounding sounds of wine toasting gradually faded as all the gazes were focused on the two men in anticipation of their next move.

But they were disappointed see that Chu Fei Yang only calmly lifted the wine cup in front of him. Facing Chen wang with his cup in the air, both of them then lifted their heads to take a drink.

Those who had been waiting in anticipation of something suddenly felt bored.

After all, these two men both had been engaged to Yun Qian Meng, but after Chen wang and Yun Qian Meng's engagement had already been withdrawn, Chu Fei Yang had voluntarily sought permission to be married to her. This incident had not only shocked all the people, but it might also gotten Chen wang out of sorts.

Since these two persons' actions did not show any peculiarities, it had dispelled everyone's doubts, causing them to disappointedly shift their gazes and continue on their activities.

Hai Tian's eyes had not settled on Chu Fei Yang and Chen wang just like all the others. Those cold and beautiful eyes had instead been watching Yun Qian Meng. Seeing her normal expression, Hai Tian's heart turned ice-cold, immediately she turned around, smiling as she spoke to Qi Ling'er beside her, "Princess, have you seen the eldest daughter of Yun xiangfu today?"

Following Hai Tian's words, Qi Ling'er took a glimpse at Yun Qian Meng. Seeing the opposite side had noticed her gaze, she smiled back with a simple yet elegant smile. Qi Ling'er recalled her appropriate responses moments ago, and immediately faced Hai Tian. "This Yun xiaojie is a very bright-minded person."

Hai Tian did not expect that Qi Ling'er would praise Yun Qian Meng, so she felt somewhat upset as she continued, "Yes, Yun xiaojie has a meticulous mind, she's a rare intelligent woman. During the imperial banquet last time, the way the Tenth Prince looked at Yun xiaojie, I thought that she would become the Tenth Prince's wife. Unfortunately, the two weren't brought together by fate, and quite unexpectedly after cancelling her engagement with Chen wang, she was again granted marriage with Chu xiang."

Hai Tian slightly lifted her eyes to shoot a glance at Qi Jing Han as she spoke. She saw him drinking wine with some gongzi from Western Chu, so she gradually retracted her gaze.

Based on her words, Qi Ling'er had the impression that Hai Tian rather disliked Yun Qian Meng, or else why would she discuss Yun Qian Meng's personal matters in this public gathering?

With the lily-white hands lifting a wine cup, Qi Ling'er and Hai Tian slightly bumped the edge of their cups, with smiles the two of them swallowed down the excellent wine.

"Yun xiaojie, are you angry with me?" Wu Qin Qin asked with remorse as she sat on the other side of Yun Qian Meng, as her hands pinched at her sleeves, seemingly uneasy.

Yun Qian Meng just smiled and comforted, "Wu xiaojie, you didn't do anything wrong, why would I be mad at you?"

"But, I've not seen you touch the meal in front of you." Even with Yun Qian Meng's guarantee, Wu xiaojie was still not reassured. Her gaze fixated directly at the untouched meal in front of Yun Qian Meng, her eyes full of apprehension.

Yun Qian Meng only giggled before she explained, "I'm just thinking about the osmanthus forest that Wu xiaojie mentioned a while ago. Now that it is already the ninth month, those flowers must be extremely beautiful, I would very much enjoy looking at them."

Hearing these words from Yun Qian Meng, the other ladies also expressed their intentions, which started everyone to engage in an animated discussion.

"Yes, a while ago when we were standing beside the lake, there was a faint smell of osmanthus flowers. The osmanthus forest must be extremely spectacular, I would like to personally see it with my own eyes." Qu Fei Qing actually did not understand why Yun Qian Meng would mention the osmanthus flowers for no reason, but she still followed after her.

"Yes, I also smelled it a while ago. Oh right, aren't you quite familiar with Chen wangfu, Wu xiaojie? You must be considerably familiar with Yuan de taifei, why don't you ask permission from taifei so we can go see?" Su Qian Yue deliberately said.

Today, all the ladies invited by the Chen wangfu were all the daughters of the officials above the second rank.

With so many of highly respectable status, Su Qian Yue naturally took advantage of it arrogantly.

Although Wu Guo Gongfu's position was somehow higher than Su fu, Su Qian Yue had similarly received the invitation from Chen wangfu, which could be taken that Chen wangfu considerably valued Su Family, or else why had Xing Jin Die not been allowed to set foot through the gates of Chen wangfu?

With this analysis, Su Qian Yue's eyes flickered brilliant rays of confidence. As long as Chen wang had not declared her position, then she was still on even grounds and did not need to feel intimidated just because Wu Qin Qin was quite familiar with Chen wangfu.

"Wu xiaojie is Chen wangfu's honored guest. If you look, a lot of xiaojie and gongzi are here, yet only Wu furen has been invited over. Now, she is even having a great time talking with Yuan de taifei, this proves that Wu xiaojie is greatly favored by Yuan de taifei. This is trivial matter, if Wu xiaojie was the one to ask the permission, taifei would certainly agree to it." Qu Jing Qing also said leisurely.

Although Qu Yan was the concubine born son, he had become an ally of Chen wang, so Qu Jing Qing had also naturally become an honored guest of Chen wangfu.

Moreover, although Qu Yan was not the son of the first wife, since Fu Guo Gongfu was an outstanding family, even though he was just the son of the concubine, his status was certainly greater than other sons of first wife of any influential family; multiple times greater even. He could be considered as someone with a reputable position.

The more people tried to link her and Chen wang together during the conversation, the more Wu Qin Qin's face grew anxious and eventually she turned to Yun Qian Meng, appealing for help. Yet the receiving party just demurely smiled and shifted her gaze away, so Wu Qin Qin could only summon up her courage and reply, "Since that is the case, then I'll try it."

She slowly stood up and somewhat unwillingly approached Yuan de taifei.

"Humph! Look at her frivolous manners. Why is she so afraid of letting people know that she has gained taifei's favor?" after Wu Qin Qin had left, Su Qian Yue scorned her.

Although the other ladies did not speak up, but majority of their gazes appeared to be mocking her.

Yun Qian Meng took a glimpse at Su Qian Yue, she was dressed in a beautiful and noble manner, but her envious looks had destroyed her look, making her appear malevolent instead.

"I believe for this trivial matter, taifei would certainly agree to Wu xiaojie's request. Let's go to the doorway of the garden and meet her there." Yun Qian Meng stood up and spoke to everyone after seeing from a distance that taifei was smiling at Wu Qin Qin as she nodded her head.

At witnessing Yuan de taifei's pleasant countenance towards Wu Qin Qin, those xiaojie who were watching felt unreconciled in their hearts. Furthermore, they were not pleased to see the delighted look on Wu Qin Qin's face, so all of them put down their chopsticks and followed Yun Qian Meng's suggestion of leaving their seats.

Yun Qian Meng took out a handkerchief as she wiped her hands, then placed it on the table. She turned towards Wu Qin Qin who was coming back, took her hands and together the they walked towards the assembled group of xiaojie.

The gongzi who were still drinking wine while admiring the beauties, they lost their joy of drinking once the xiaojie began leaving their seats. They also stood up and followed after the xiaojie who were proceeding towards the osmanthus forest.

For a moment, only Yuan de taifei, Chen wang, Wu furen, Chu Fei Yang, Hai Tian and a few people from the Northern Qi were left in the garden.

Although Hai Tian was already bestowed a marriage for the peace treaty, she still had yet to successfully restrain her eyes from looking at Chu Fei Yang, and they still flickered with complicated emotions.

Qi Ling'er caught a glimpse of her expression inadvertently, and both looked at Chu Fei Yang. Seeing his handsome face, his tall figure, and his wise impressive manners as he spoke, for a short moment Qi Ling'er became curious of this Chu Fei Yang.

Qi Jing Yuan was drinking wine alone, seeing Hai Tian, who would soon become the Crown Princess, having affection for someone else, the corner of Qi Jing Yuan's mouth hooked up in a cold smile.

Qi Jing Han looked at the cold and cheerless atmosphere of the garden. Unable to endure the loneliness, he stood up, and also followed everyone to the osmanthus forest.

"Did you know that, the Empress' brother got thrown out of the city gates a few days ago?" along the way, a well-informed xiaojie said in a low voice during their idle gossip.

"Yes. Based on the information divulged by the person who found Ruan Yu Xiao, that Ruan gongzi was thrown out of the city gates absolutely naked. Many common people who passed by had seen him, so the Empress might already feel humiliated. I heard that Jiang laotaijun was furious and she had Ruan gongzi placed under house arrest." Another xiaojie remarked in great detail, as if she had personally witnessed it.

"Aside from that, it seemed like Ruan gongzi had been poisoned into becoming mute. He will no longer be able to speak again in this life." A third xiaojie went on gossiping with her own information. Soon after, she even spoke about her own suspicions, "Who else could be heartless enough to curse Ruan gongzi into such a…"

Before she could finish, her mouth was covered by another xiaojie as they looked at the mama leading the way. Using their eyes, they silently rebuked the xiaojie who had spoken so carelessly.

To examine the situation, the Yuan Family seemed to be the likely suspect of the Ruan Family's misfortune.

But some people only had the brains but are not capable of thinking. Standing on another's territory while expressing her own opinions. Being stupid was quite enough for just one person, but involving those around her in the discussion was really annoying.

Yun Qian Meng walked behind the crowd, quietly listening to their discussions, while the corner of her mouth could not help forming into a cold smile.

Heartless?

If it was not for Chu Fei Yang's timely appearance, the one who would have encountered bad luck would have been her. That Ruan Yu Xiao disregarded another's life for his selfish desires. Even if a person like that was killed, it would not be that heartless.

Seeing Yun Qian Meng's antisocial behavior, Qu Fei Qing worriedly gripped her hand. She recalled the events if that day at Feng Xiang Palace and her heart suddenly skipped a beat. She looked incredulously at Yun Qian Meng, who had already regained her usual flat expression. With some difficulty, she also suppressed the worry in her heart.

And during this time, Yuan Qing Zhou had quickly caught up to them. When he passed by Yun Qian Meng, he turned his head around and gave Yun Qian Meng a once over before he immediately he quickly followed the other gongzi's pace as the crowd headed towards the osmanthus forest.

As they moved closer to the osmanthus garden, the fragrance of the osmanthus flowers became increasingly stronger.

Crossing the rock garden, everyone followed Yuan Qing Zhou into the the osmanthus forest. Everyone was suddenly stunned by the magnificence of the osmanthus flowers.

Those osmanthus trees gently swayed along with the wind. Tiny golden-yellow flowers were scattered all over the trees, decorating the tender and beautiful red autumn leaves. Furthermore though the fragrance was strong and heavy, seeping into one's head, it had a bit of sweetness to it, making people not tire of smelling it.

Small pieces of yellow petals carrying the strong fragrance sprinkled to the ground. For that moment it the wind gradually blew the petals into an osmanthus flower rain, creating an incredibly beautiful scene.

Seeing the beautiful scenery ahead, the xiaojie all quickly rushed into the forest, stretching out their arms trying to catch the gold colored petals. They brought them to their noses to quietly smell, and their graceful actions stunned a lot of the gongzi. Not knowing whether it was the petal shower or the the beautiful women that made them stop and stare, they were all simply unable to take a step.

"I didn't expect Chen wangfu to have such beautiful scenery. I presume this might be the most suitable place in the capital to find all the varieties of osmanthus flowers." Qu Fei Qing remarked indifferently as she watched the scenery.

At her words, Yun Qian Meng looked the garden over, seeing all the different kinds of osmanthus flowers: orange osmanthus, gold osmanthus, silver osmanthus, and all four season osmanthus were here. The autumn trees signified "harvest", so it was no wonder that Chen wangfu was so fond of them.

"Yun xiaojie, Qu xiaojie, let's rush over to get some osmanthus flowers. Look at those xiaojie, they are so delighted to see them." Wu Qin Qin said at seeing Yun Qian Meng and Qu Fei Qing staying motionless. Grabbing one of them in each hand, she pulled them into the osmanthus forest.

"These osmanthus flowers are quite delicate, why don't we put them inside the embroidered pouch? It wouldn't smear onto our dresses, and while we walk it will bring a fragrant smell, wouldn't that be nice?" Yun Qiang Meng suggested as she crouched down to pick up a few osmanthus flowers.

"That's a great idea!" Wu Qin Qin immediately clapped her hands delightedly. Even Yuan Qing Zhou nodded his head a ways away, and immediately a bright idea suddenly occurred to him. Taking out a handkerchief that had a delicate fragrance, he then headed out to somewhere secluded.

The other xiaojie also felt that this idea was quite acceptable, so they removed the embroidered pouches hanging on their waists. Taking out the contents and keeping them away, they then put some osmanthus flower inside the pouches and the faint fragrance started to float out.

As the others were already packing up some osmanthus flowers, Wu Qin Qin had yet to start, so she immediately took out her embroidered pouch from her waist. She opened the knot to empty the pouch into her left palm as her right hand poured out the pouch, and two distinct items rolled out.

The two items were both jade ornaments, one was jadeite ornament for luck, while the other one was a Hetian jade ornament.

But the Hetian jade was just a half circle, and it suddenly attracted Yun Qian Meng and Qu Fei Qing's attention.

Yun Qian Meng smiled and said, "Wu xiaojie, you store a piece of broken jade in your embroidered pouch? What kind of treasure is it that you store it in your personal pouch?"

After Yun Qian Meng said these words, those who had been enjoying the flowers were quick to surrounded them.

Wu Qin Qin's heart trembled and before she could close her palm, Su Qian Yue quickly grabbed the broken piece of jade, which she meticulously studied in her hand, before she muttered, "This isn't a jade ornament used by women, it seems like jade worn by men."

At that, the surrounding xiaojie's expressions immediately transformed, one by one they carefully observed that piece of jade, as Wu Qin Qin's face turned pale white. She had absolutely no idea why it would have been in her personal pouch. She was certain that she only placed the jadeite ornament for luck that her grandmother had given to her, why would there be another piece of jade inside?

"This piece of jade was originally circular. Could it be that the other half is still worn by a man?" Qu Jing Qing said, observing the expensive Hetian jade.

Everyone now looked at Wu Qin Qin disdainfully. How unexpected that this xiaojie, who barely step outside of her residence, would be so vulgar as to engaged in a secret relationship with a man.

They suddenly felt disgusted at attending the feast today with a frivolous and unconventional woman like her. For no reason, they were being implicated by this shameful person, their pure and innocent reputations were almost ruined by Wu Qin Qin.

With these thoughts, they all looked at Wu Qin Qin with looks full of hatred.

"No! This piece of jade is not mine. I also don't know how it got inside my pouch, you must believe me!" Wu Qin Qin panicked at all the resentful looks fixated at her. Her lips trembled, seeking everyone's understanding, but the gazes from all directions made her face turn deathly pale and her body tremble uncontrollably. Suddenly, she remembered that she practically stayed with Yun Qian Meng the whole day, so she immediately grabbed Yun Qian Meng's hands and asked for help, "Yun xiaojie, you would know, I was with you the whole day, you must bear witness for me!"

Yun Qian Meng, feeling some pain from the grasp, awkwardly responded, "Wu xiaojie, I believe you are innocent. But I only stayed with you today, but we have never met any other time."

Yun Qian Meng clearly distinguished her relationship with Wu Qin Qin by indicating that they had only met each other today. She also vaguely pointing out that this jade might not have been obtained today, but perhaps a long time ago that Wu Qin Qin might have already done some immoral things before now, and Yun Qian Meng was being involved by Wu Qin Qin for no reason at all.

Although Yun Qian Meng had not thrown any culpable words, but with just a simple statement she accused Wu Qin Qin of being immoral. Suddenly, Wu Qin Qin's eyes turned white and she fainted.

And yet, the xiaojie still kept their distance. Aside from Chen wangfu's mama and Wu Qin Qin's yatou, most of the ladies kept themselves far away from her for the fear of ruining their own reputation by association with Wu Qin Qin.

At this moment, Yuan Qing Zhou approached with something in his hands, but when he saw Wu Qin Qin lying on the floor, his brows wrinkled and he asked without thinking, "Jiang mama, what happened here?" immediately, he swept his gaze around looking for Yun Qian Meng's figure.

The Yuan Family's gongzi was clearly up to something so Jiang mama only coldly replied, "Wu Guo Gongfu's xiaojie fainted because she is not feeling well."

Though the incident had only occurred moments ago, the other xiaojie blocked her view so Jiang mama was not able to witness the entirety of the incident. She only knew that the discussion had been about a piece of jade. The only reason she replied that Wu Qin Qin was feeling unwell was to avoid affecting the xiaojie's reputation.

"Oh, in that case we must quickly carry her back. Her lying in front of the beautiful scenery is quite an eyesore." Yuan Qing Zhou glanced at Wu Qin Qin on the ground and the disgust in his eyes was quite obvious. As he tried to cross over Wu Qin Qin's body, he unexpectedly tripped on a rock and his body flew forward. Luckily, he was able to quickly stabilize himself, but the silk wrap of osmanthus flowers in his hand bursted out, sprinkling everything to the floor.

"Eh? Isn't this a woman's silk handkerchief?" Qi Jing Han had been watching everything from afar and suddenly rushed over. Before Yuan Qing Zhou could move, Qi Jing Han already picked up the silk handkerchief and looked it over. Somewhat teasingly, he said, "I've heard that Yuan gonzi is a outstandingly casual and free. Who could have thought that seeing it myself is better than hearing it from others. Now, I have clearly witnessed your romantic side."

Yuan Qing Zhou was angered at seeing that silk handkerchief that he had obtained from Yun Qian Meng with great difficulty being snatched off by Qi Jing Han and being mocked on top of it. He advanced forward to try to take back that silk handkerchief, but Qi Jing Han just ignored him as he threw out the silk handkerchief before the ladies, as he coldly laughed and walked away.

He wanted to see if Yuan Qing Zhou, a person of highly respectable status as the son of an influential family, would pick up this silk handkerchief in front of all the women.

Like tiny startled birds the surrounding xiaojie retreated, but they still had the courage to take a glimpse at the handkerchief of high quality material. Immediately, Qu Jing Qing inquired the yatou who was trying to support Wu Qin Qin up, "Where is your lady's handkerchief?"

The yatou was intimidated by Qu Jing Qing's cold voice, and immediately searched around Wu Qin Qin's body. Indeed the handkerchief that her lady brought with her today was missing. That along with the fact taht she had an additional piece of jade with her, the yatou face suddenly became distressed and her body started to tremble violently.

Qu Jing Qing kicked the silk handkerchief as her delicate hands pointed at it. Wearing a cruel smile, she said, "Is this the one?"

The yatou looked in the direction Qu Jing Qing was pointed to, and her legs immediately turned weak, with a plop sound she knelt to the ground.

Seeing her like this, it became clear that the jade had belonged to Yuan Qing Zhou.

Yuan Qing Zhou might have been afraid that their affair would be exposed and thus appeared to be fed up by calling people to carry Wu Qin Qin away.

But unexpectedly, Yuan Qing Zhou forgot that he was holding the silk handkerchief he had gotten from Wu Qin Qin. Now that evidence of their exchange of personal belongings was laid bare, the xiaojie now wanted to know how close Wu Qin Qin was to Chen wang.

"Quickly report this matter to taifei and wangye." Jiang mama had finally understood the whole story and she immediately waved her hand to summon a yatou over. Whispering something in the girl's ear, she then personally lifted the passed out Wu Qin Qin and handed her over to other servant girls. "The wind in this osmanthus garden is too strong, would xiaojie and gongzi follow after me back to the garden."

Although Jiang mama was also a servant, she bore a commanding tone in her voice. Perhaps after serving Yuan de taifei for so long, she had acquired some of Yuan de taifei's character.

And although those ladies were quite reckless and pampered, but they had their own schemes and add to that, Jiang mama was the closest to Yuan de taifei, so one by one they followed behind her and left the osmanthus forest without objection.

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