klisemfg Chapter 182 A Dream of Yellow Millet
Chapter 182 A Dream of Yellow Millet
"Miss Yunzhi, it's time to get up."
Someone gently called my name a few times, and I gradually woke up from my sweet dream.
"What time is it now?"
“Miss, it is the first quarter of the morning. The head of the family eats breakfast at the exact time of the morning every day.”
"The head of the family instructed us to help the young lady get up. Yu Chen is going over to have breakfast with the head of the family."
Several people came in to serve them, and the one who spoke was a young girl who looked quite young.
Although she was young, she was very efficient and clean in her work, handling the curtains and carrying the basins without any hesitation. So I had no choice but to get up, rinse my mouth and wash my face, and let them do their work.
Because he came to the capital in a hurry, he didn't even bring a change of clothes, except for the pipa.
But nothing in Changqing Tower belongs to me. I didn't even have time to return the pipa, so what else could I possibly bring with me?
The people who came in to serve me seemed to know this, so quite a few people came in at the beginning. Apart from the two people who were arranging my hair and doing my makeup, the rest of them all stood in a row, each holding something, waiting for me to choose.
Because I was still putting on makeup, I didn't look closely, but I could tell that there were several sets of clothes and several sets of jewelry.
I never imagined that one day I could choose what to wear and what to adorn myself, just like those daughters of officials, and no longer have to wear the clothes and accessories that Mama Liu picked out for me every morning, even if they weren't things I liked.
I love bright and eye-catching red, whether it's deep red or orange-red, as long as it's bright enough, I like it. But my mother always forces me to wear those bland and tasteless plain-colored clothes and those boring hairpins and jewelry.
But when we met yesterday, he seemed to only see my plain clothes and assumed that I liked them. Among the several sets of clothes he sent, none of them were the bright colors I had expected. Instead, he gave me more choices for headwear.
But I still pretended to be overjoyed and chose the most boring dress. I hesitated for a long time before finally picking out a jade orchid hairpin and a tassel hairpin with pendants to wear.
I wear an orchid hairpin behind my head and a pearl hairpin at my temple; this is my choice.
After I finished dressing, there was still a long time before dawn, so I asked the servants if I could go out for a walk.
Yesterday's journey was tiring, and since it was my first time visiting someone's home, I didn't feel comfortable wandering around looking around. Now, however, is the perfect time.
"Yes, that's fine. But the mansion is spacious, and since it's your first time here, you might get lost and be late. Would it be alright if I led the way for you?"
This was the answer from the maid who was doing my hair. I had no problem agreeing, so I asked her to lead the way to explore this huge mansion, and also to take the opportunity to find out the preferences of the mansion's owner.
The Imperial Brother-in-Law's Mansion is truly vast; even after walking around for a quarter of an hour, I only saw a small portion of the scenery.
"By the way, I still don't know your name?"
"Miss, my name is Qiuju."
"Oh, it's Sister Qiuju."
Qiuju was immediately terrified: "Miss, this is too much! Please just call me Qiuju."
"Oh, I'm sorry, I misspoke. From now on, I'll call you Qiuju."
"Hey."
"Hey, Qiuju, can you tell me about Young Master Wei?"
I stopped and stared at a pavilion in the distance, somewhat lost in thought, as if I were making a routine inquiry when visiting someone's home.
"Of course it's okay."
"The patriarch comes from the Wei clan of Heyang in Lingxi, and is also the younger brother of the current Empress Xiruo. The patriarch is brave and has led troops into battle before he was even 18, repelling several invasions by the Qianyue people and making great achievements. However..."
Qiuju paused for a moment, her eyes filled with helplessness and regret: "When the head of the family came of age, he was poisoned by someone who also cruelly broke his legs."
"The head of the family has become increasingly depressed since then, and his health has deteriorated day by day. In order not to upset the head of the family, the family rarely mentions this matter. Miss, you should also pay more attention to this in the future."
After hearing this, I didn't know what to do. I opened and closed my mouth several times, but in the end, I could only say one sentence:
“Young Master Wei… it is truly heartbreaking that you have suffered such a fate. Thank you for your reminder.”
Qiuju glanced at the sky with her hands clasped together, and said, "Miss, it's almost time. The head of the family is still waiting."
"Yes, let's go. Don't keep Young Master Wei waiting."
"this way please."
The place where they ate was not far from where they were enjoying the scenery, and they arrived there in no time.
At that time, the meal had just been prepared and Wei Qing had just taken his seat; the two had arrived at just the right time.
Qiuju bowed to Wei Qing and then stepped aside to wait. I also curtsied to him: "Greetings, young master. I have never seen such an exquisite mansion before, so I wanted to take a look around. I didn't expect that I would be so engrossed in the scenery that I would be late. Please forgive me, young master."
"It's alright, I just sat down myself. Please sit down, don't be too formal."
Wei Qing added, "These are usually made by my subordinates according to my preferences, but I don't know if they will suit your taste. Please try them and see. If you don't like them, I will ask them to change them."
I chose a seat that wasn't too close to him, but not too far either, and looked at the table full of different dishes with a bitter smile.
"I don't have any dietary restrictions. In the past, in order to keep me in good shape, Madam Liu never allowed me to eat too much for breakfast. I was lucky if I could have a dish of stir-fried vegetables occasionally..."
Wei Qing seemed to be silent for a while, but instead of answering, he personally scooped a bowl of crab porridge for me and placed it in front of me.
"Try it, it's all fresh and in season right now. If you like it, eat more."
"Thank you, sir."
He must already know about my past and that what I said is true. What I need is something that can evoke his sympathy.
Whatever the reason, as long as I can stay, that's fine.
The crab congee was delicious, and all the dishes on the table were also delicious, but I only ate a few bites before stopping, though I finished the crab congee in my bowl.
Wei Qing stopped eating after only a few bites, coughing several times in the process, his face still pale.
I looked at him with great concern, not knowing what I could do: "Young Master..."
"Cough, cough... It's nothing, it's just an old ailment..."
"My lord, the medicine is ready."
Just then, Thirteen came in from outside carrying the medicine. I left my seat and stood aside, watching him drink the large bowl of thick, dark, steaming medicine without spilling a drop. Only then did his coughing stop for a while.
After putting down the medicine bowl, Wei Qing said, "Remove all of these, and get everyone out. I have something to say to Miss Yun."
"Yes."
Everyone in the room responded and left, and the things on the table were also removed without the slightest hesitation.
Only when the room returned to silence, leaving only him and me, did he speak again: "Sit down. I told you, you don't need to be reserved in front of me, and you don't need to call yourself 'slave' anymore."
“…Young Master Xie.”
I sat down again, but this time I sat in the seat opposite him, the one furthest away from him.
Wei Qing seemed to be silent for a while before letting out a soft sigh and saying, "Miss Yun must have many questions in her mind right now, right?"
"This humble woman has many questions, and hopes that you, sir, will answer them."
"...Have you ever heard of the Luo family of Qinshui in Lingxi?"
I looked up at him with a puzzled expression, then shook my head to indicate that I didn't know.
"The Luo family and my Wei family used to be on very good terms, but fifteen years ago, for some unknown reason, the entire family was wiped out, leaving only the third daughter of the main branch who came to the capital to study, who is now Consort Duan."
I was completely confused by what I was hearing, so what did it have to do with me?
"What do these things have to do with me?"
“Consort Duan and my elder sister were very close friends since childhood, but… two years ago, Consort Duan also died.”
Wei Qing paused for a moment, then looked up at the woman opposite him before continuing, "Consort Duan died in childbirth. Before she died, she told her elder sister something."
"Although the truth about the massacre of the entire Luo family has long been found out and all the culprits have been brought to justice, Consort Duan still couldn't believe that she was the only one left in the Luo family. So she secretly conducted many investigations and finally learned that there was a younger sister in the family who had been fostered on the estate since childhood and had also survived the calamity."
"But when Consort Duan sent someone to fetch her aunt, the girl had already disappeared without a trace."
"Before Consort Duan died, she entrusted her elder sister to find her missing sister-in-law and bring her back. She was the only remaining descendant of the Luo family, and her elder sister agreed."