Chapter 67

In the ox cart carriage, Luo Qionghua racked her brains but still couldn’t figure out how things had come to this.

Why would Mother want to go out with her? This was something that had never happened before!

Furthermore, even she had noticed that recently, Mother seemed to be deliberately maintaining a state of not going out. For example, some time ago, the neighboring Madame Chen had invited her to a Taoist temple to seek divinations, and she had refused.

Luo Qionghua stealthily glanced at her mother and saw her pulling open the carriage curtain a crack, looking at the scenery outside without blinking, and suddenly had a flash of understanding.

Mother must also be tired of being cooped up.

She thought to herself with considerable emotion: Actually, Mother is just like me—she really likes going out too.

If Chang Min knew what Luo Qionghua was thinking, she would certainly be a bit embarrassed. After all, before leaving the house, she had been intent on checking whether Luo Qionghua and that Huo girl had developed a bond that exceeded mere friendship. But once they were out, she found that she indeed breathed a sigh of relief.

Staying inside the manor day after day was truly not something a person could endure.

But while freedom was precious, the tongues of others were fearsome. With the Duke of Ying still seriously ill, being discovered accompanying her daughter out to play would inevitably appear inappropriate. So upon reaching the foot of Ying Mountain, Chang Min hesitated: “I won’t go up the mountain. Has that Huo girl arrived?”

Luo Qionghua stuck her head out: “I can’t see.”

She thought to herself, she wondered if Ping’an would come together with the Huo household.

Chang Min then told Er Ya to go look. Er Ya soon found the Huo family’s ox cart. Driving outside was Huo Pingsheng, who was currently cursing up a storm: “Too stingy to hire a driver, doesn’t want to drive himself, making me lose face like this. How could I have a brother like you?”

From inside the carriage came Huo Zhengmao’s voice: “Look at all the civil and military officials of the court—which one drives his own cart? Sorry for the trouble, Little Sister. Big Bro will make you a new target when we get back.”

Huo Pingsheng clearly wanted to curse more, but looking up, she saw Er Ya and quickly greeted, “Er Ya! Where’s Ah Hua?”

Er Ya approached: “Pingsheng, my lady wants to see you.”

Huo Pingsheng was blank: “Who’s ‘lady’?”

A hand stretched out from behind the carriage curtain and smacked her head. A crisp voice came out: “You idiot, ‘lady’ means Ah Hua’s mother.”

Shen Zhuojun had also come.

But she wore a gauze hood that covered her face, because she was afraid of the sun darkening her skin. Many noble daughters did this, so it wasn’t particularly conspicuous.

Huo Pingsheng suddenly understood: “Oh, oh. Wait for me to park the cart.”

After she parked the cart, she followed Er Ya to the Duke of Ying Manor’s ox cart. In the past, Huo Pingsheng didn’t have much concept of the quality of ox carts. After all, in the West Market, having a board to sit on was considered good enough. But a few days ago, because she had specifically gone with Huo Zhengmao to rent a cart, she learned that there were so many nuances to carts—made of nanmu wood or pine wood, with or without doors, with or without carvings, lined with brocade or not.

Also, although horses were more expensive than oxen, horse-drawn carriages were not necessarily more expensive than ox carts, because horse carriages were usually simpler, while ox carts could be decorated very lavishly.

At a glance, the cart belonging to Ah Hua’s family had a rich wood color, glossy and shiny, clearly not cheap.

Ah Hua’s family could actually rent such an expensive cart. It seemed they were very wealthy.

She was just thinking this when the carriage door opened. Luo Qionghua smiled radiantly and waved at her. Beside her sat a noble lady with a high chignon, symmetrically wearing six gold hairpins, dressed in purple brocade layered garments, sitting upright with a stern expression.

Huo Pingsheng was startled. She thought: This is Ah Hua’s mother?

Huo Pingsheng hesitated whether to enter, but Luo Qionghua had already reached out her hand to pull her in. Huo Pingsheng had no choice but to get into the carriage, feeling the noble lady beside her scrutinizing her up and down. Then the lady spoke: “Are you Pingsheng?”

Her voice was still fairly gentle.

Huo Pingsheng nodded, suddenly recalling the etiquette Zhang Qixing had taught her before. She performed a half-bow and said, “Greetings, Madam.”

Chang Min smiled, but seeing that Huo Pingsheng hadn’t looked up at all, felt the smile seemed rather pointless.

She then asked Huo Pingsheng how old she was, how many people were in her family, and whether she had attended school. Huo Pingsheng answered each question, though her speech was somewhat halting.

She was a bit disappointed, feeling that Huo Pingsheng was a little unsophisticated. But on second thought, Luo Qionghua herself didn’t have much sense of rules either. Matching her with a small, humble household might just be perfect.

They had given birth to Luo Qionghua too late in life. Now their years were already advanced, and they didn’t know how long they could protect her. Compared to marrying into a high, prestigious family, perhaps such a kindred spirit she could truly play with was even better.

When parents thought about their children’s affairs, they always thought far ahead. In just that brief moment, Chang Min had already imagined that if Luo Qionghua had children, she could bring them to the Duke of Ying Manor to raise. Looking down again, she saw the two small children huddled together, whispering secrets.

She didn’t know what Huo Pingsheng said, but Luo Qionghua showed a somewhat disappointed expression.

Honestly, it didn’t seem like there were any romantic feelings.

Chang Min had to admit that she was most likely overthinking it. So she waved her hand and said, “You two go on out. Don’t run around wildly on the mountain either. You’re not allowed to go to places with few people, understood?”

Luo Qionghua shouted: “I understand!”

Chang Min added, “I might go back first. If the cart doesn’t come back in time, you can ride home in the Ministry of Ceremonies’ cart.”

Luo Qionghua looked at Chang Min expectantly: “Can I go back by myself?”

Chang Min: “…Have the servants follow you. You must be home before dark!”

Luo Qionghua nodded repeatedly, then pulled Huo Pingsheng and got out of the carriage.

Once out of the carriage, Luo Qionghua asked again the question she had already secretly asked in the carriage: “Ping’an really didn’t come with you?”

She was still holding the flowers she had picked from the manor, but now she was unconsciously plucking the petals, looking very nervous.

Huo Pingsheng said, “I told you, she didn’t come. Granny Zhang said not to get your hopes too high; most likely she won’t come.”

Luo Qionghua pouted: “What does Granny Zhang know to say that?”

Huo Pingsheng said, “How would I know? You’re all so annoying. That Ping’an, she’s… ahem, do you think she can play with you every day?”

Luo Qionghua was also convinced and felt it was indeed so. Her spirits immediately dampened by half. Dejected, she followed Huo Pingsheng towards her family’s ox cart.

By now, the people in the ox cart had all come down. Besides Huo Zhengmao and Shen Zhuojun, Zhang Qixing had also come. Zhang Qixing hadn’t wanted to come originally, but thinking that Shen Zhuojun had a special status and worried the child might cause trouble without understanding limits, she came along.

Seeing Luo Qionghua approach, Shen Zhuojun intimately came over and looped arms with her. Seeing the flowers in her arms, she said delightedly: “Such beautiful flowers! Can I pick one?”

Seeing that Fu Ping’an indeed wasn’t there, Luo Qionghua gave up hope. She nodded and picked an orchid, pinning it on Shen Zhuojun’s hood, then followed the group up the mountain.

…

Fu Ping’an arrived rather late.

It was Wang Ji who suggested she arrive late, to avoid the time when carriages and horses were concentrated, as it would inevitably cause trouble.

【Li Si: This is called off-peak travel. Avoid the morning rush hour; traveling is easier.】

The advice was indeed reasonable, but the result was that by the time they arrived, there was no place left to park, unless they parked very far away. So they circled around and returned to the original spot. They happened to see an ox cart preparing to leave, and Chen Yan hurriedly drove closer. But they were a moment too slow; another horse carriage also came from the opposite direction, and the two sides faced off.

The driver of the ox cart in the middle said helplessly, “Could the two of you retreat a bit? This humble one can’t get out.”

A voice came from inside that horse carriage opposite: “Is that the Duke of Ying Manor’s carriage? This humble one is Wang Huaiyu, a junior of the Wang Clan. May I ask who is inside? Can you come out for a brief chat?”

The ox cart remained silent. After a moment, the carriage door opened and a robust woman came out, bowed, and said, “The Mistress is feeling unwell and it is inconvenient to exchange pleasantries. She bids this humble one to convey her regards to Young Master Wang.”

Wang Huaiyu pushed open the door and poked his head out: “Then this spot should be given to us.”

Chen Yan, seeing that he obviously wanted to use his connections to steal the spot, was naturally dissatisfied and said coldly, “We clearly arrived first.”

Wang Huaiyu pretended not to hear. His driver spoke up to respond to Chen Yan: “What ‘first’? I think we were here first. Our master’s family is acquainted with the Duke of Ying Manor, so naturally, we go first.”

Chen Yan was fuming inside. Because Wang Huaiyu apparently considered her just a driver and disdained to speak with her. But she also couldn’t reveal her own status at this moment. So she clenched her fists in anger, even more unwilling to yield: “You say you’re acquainted, so you are? Did anyone inside the carriage speak?”

The opposite driver then curled his lip: “Well, said like that, naturally it’s not me who’s acquainted—it’s the master’s family that’s acquainted.”

Seeing that the opposite carriage had no decorative emblems, he assumed it was certainly not a prominent household, and his attitude naturally became arrogant.

Inside the carriage, Wang Ji was very afraid. She was both afraid that the argument outside would escalate and afraid that Her Majesty would get angry. So she said cautiously, “Your subject will go persuade Commandant Chen. Tell her not to argue anymore.”

She deeply regretted offering a bad idea before the trip and hated how Wang clan members never knew restraint. Every time they ran into this kind of rotten business, it was always Wang clan members.

She secretly glanced at Her Majesty’s expression but saw that Her Majesty didn’t seem angry either, just deep in thought. After a while, when the argument outside was reaching a fever pitch, Fu Ping’an spoke: “Isn’t the Duke of Ying ill? Who came out? I recall the Duke of Ying Manor has a very simple population. Most clan members live on the fiefdom. There is only one daughter at home.”

Wang Ji whispered, “It’s probably that daughter, then.”

Fu Ping’an asked again, “Who is Wang Huaiyu? Do you know him?”

Wang Ji said, “The Wang Clan has many members. Your subject… your subject doesn’t know all of them.”

Fu Ping’an said, “Then he must be from a branch family…”

She seemed to be musing: “Just a branch member, and yet so… like this?”

Wang Ji wished she could kneel down. With a mournful face, she said, “When a clan has too many people, there are always some fools.”

Fu Ping’an laughed: “Don’t be afraid. He doesn’t know who we are, so naturally he won’t take us seriously. Go out and tell Chen Yan to yield. We’ll park somewhere farther away.”

Wang Ji hurriedly pushed open the carriage door and tugged at Chen Yan’s robe, whispering, “Chen Yan, let’s go. Little Sister doesn’t want to make a fuss.”

Chen Yan swallowed a bellyful of anger but couldn’t disobey Fu Ping’an’s order. She pulled the reins to retreat. The opposite side, thinking this side had conceded, laughed: “Now that’s better. Your master is more perceptive than you.”

Wang Ji breathed a sigh of relief and retreated back into the carriage. But suddenly, a cry came from outside: “Eh? Wang Ji? It’s Wang Ji, isn’t it?”

As soon as the words fell, the carriage door was suddenly pushed open. Sunlight mixed with a gust of wind surged into the carriage. At the same moment, Wang Huaiyu was slammed against the carriage by Chen Yan. But the door was already open, and he also saw Fu Ping’an.

Wang Ji hurriedly took out a hood to put on Fu Ping’an. Fu Ping’an couldn’t help frowning and was about to speak when the door of the ox cart at the side finally opened. From inside came a strong, spirited female voice: “This is truly unbearable to watch. What sort of people are the juniors of the Wang Clan? Lawless and utterly lacking in decorum. I clearly saw it was this carriage that arrived first. You, pull your cart away immediately. You, pull your horse over—”

Seeing the other pointing at her, Chen Yan said doubtfully, “Me?”

“What are you staring at? I’m talking about you. Stop holding him down too. Let him roll down.”

The one who had emerged from the Duke of Ying Manor’s carriage was a rather heroic-looking lady. Chen Yan immediately guessed that this must be the Duchess of Ying.

But right now, even the Duchess of Ying didn’t have the final say. She glanced at Her Majesty. Seeing Her Majesty nod, she then kicked Wang Huaiyu onto the ground.

Wang Huaiyu rolled several times on the ground—indeed rolling down.

Just as he was about to get angry, Chang Min said, “Wang family boy, if you make more trouble, I’ll tell Wang Qiong and see if she punishes you.”

Wang Qiong was the current head of the Wang Clan, ranked among the Nine Ministers, serving as Commandant of Justice.

Wang Huaiyu didn’t dare make a sound. Crestfallen, he scrambled into the horse carriage, called his driver, and turned the carriage to leave.

Only then did Chang Min let out a breath. Thinking that she had finally come out for a good time, she didn’t expect to run into this kind of matter. Just as she was about to return to her carriage, a slender figure emerged from that horse carriage. She wore a hood and was dressed in a cyan upper garment and a moon-white lower skirt, looking quite elegant.

The figure bowed to her and spoke: “Thank you, Madam, for your righteous words.”

Chang Min waved her hand: “Enough, it’s no big matter. I’m leaving.”

She entered the carriage, feeling the carriage sway as it slowly moved forward. For some reason, she couldn’t help but push open the carriage window again and look out. She saw that slender figure still standing in place. Although the hood covered her face, it seemed as if she could feel the other watching her go into the distance.

That figure… it somehow felt familiar.

An illusion, perhaps?

Chang Min frowned and pulled her head back into the carriage.

On Fu Ping’an’s side, after watching Chang Min disappear into the distance, she said to Chen Yan, “Arrest that Wang Huaiyu. He saw my face. To prevent trouble, he cannot be allowed to appear in public today.”

Having said this, she turned to Wang Ji and asked, “He recognized you. How come you didn’t recognize him?”

Wang Ji wanted to cry but had no tears: “Your subject doesn’t know. Your subject truly doesn’t know him.”