Chарtеr 3 (5/19)
“Quitе dерrеssing…” Jin Fan didn’t darе lооk tоо closelу.
Gоng Zishang, beаming with pride аnd сhееks flushеd likе peаch blossoms, was about tо furthеr elаborаtе whеn shе heаrd а соmmоtion bеhind her. A largе grоup оf armed Hоuse of Gоng guards rushed intо thе Муriаd Flоwеrs Paviliоn. Тheir stерs wеre hurriеd, their ехpressiоns grаve. Jin Fаn noticed thе leader wоrе а yеllow jade оn his hаnd.
Jin Fаn’s faсе dаrkеnеd аs he muttеrеd under his brеath, “Yеllow Jadе Guard?”
Gоng Zishаng glаncеd аt thе grеen jade оn the back of Jin Fan’s hаnd, her own faсe turning evеn greеnеr. Yellоw Jade Guards were a higher rank than Green Jade Guards. Leaning on the railing and frowning, she looked utterly weak: “What’s going on? Gong Ziyu comes here every day and no one bats an eye, but the first time I come, they send Yellow Jade Guards to drag me back? That’s overkill, isn’t it?”
Jin Fan said with a hint of annoyance, “Probably because Gong Ziyu doesn’t dress like you, Young Miss.”
The guard captain approached Jin Fan and announced solemnly, “By urgent order of the Elders, we must bring Young Master Yu back to the House immediately.”
The Elders?
The Elders Council of the House of Gong rarely mobilized. The two exchanged bewildered glances.
A bird’s cry sounded, and something rustled in the bushes, startled from its hiding place.
In the Female Guests Courtyard, the bride selection had concluded. Some were overjoyed, others disheartened. The courtyard, devoid of the daytime clamor, was so quiet that not even a ripple stirred when an apricot leaf fell into the pond.
Yun Weishan sat alone by the table. She had not been chosen and was now lost in thought, gazing at the golden token in her hand.
She recalled the question she had asked Han Ya Si that day in the Wufeng training room.
“What if I am not chosen by Gong Huanyu?”
At the time, Han Ya Si was applying vibrant rouge to Yun Weishan’s nails.
His words carried a profound meaning: “Then you’ll have to rely on yourself to find a way. I believe you are clever and ‘dexterous’—you will think of something.”
Yun Weishan snapped back to the present. Her lashes still lowered, she was no longer looking at the golden token in her hand but at her nails, made even more conspicuous against the token’s gleam. The red rouge resembled an indomitable, poisonous flower. She put away the token, took out a sheet of letter paper from the desk, smoothed it flat, and pulled a hairpin from her hair. Using the tip of the pin, she gently scraped off a layer of the rouge from her nails. Soon, a small pile of red powder accumulated on the white paper. She then folded the paper and poured the powder into the long crevice under her nail, packing it tightly with the pin’s tip. From the outside, her hand appeared completely normal.
Afterward, her rouge-painted nails lightly tapped on the wooden door of another room.
Yun Weishan arrived at Jiang Lili’s door and called out, “Miss Jiang.”
The room was dark, and no one answered.
At that moment, Yun Weishan noticed that the lights in the entire row of rooms along the corridor were extinguished, except for Shangguan Qian’s room, where a faint candlelight still glowed, and hushed conversation could be faintly heard.
Yun Weishan then walked toward Shangguan Qian’s room.
Tap, tap, tap—she knocked, and the door opened quickly, revealing Shangguan Qian with a smiling face.
Yun Weishan glanced inside and saw, to her surprise, Jiang Lili was also there.
Perfectly aligned with her intentions, Yun Weishan curtsied and said, “Apologies for disturbing so late. I couldn’t sleep and noticed your light was still on, Miss Shangguan, so I came to chat… Have I interrupted you?” As she spoke, she shifted her gaze to Jiang Lili in the room.
Jiang Lili shook her head. “Oh, not at all. I couldn’t sleep either and came to chat with Miss Shangguan.”---
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