Weichi Song smilingly said, “It just so happens that I have some errands for Liuyue to run, so I brought her along with me. Surely Eldest Young Master Jiang won’t mind this?”
Despite the smile on Jiang Yucheng’s face, his voice turned a little cold and detached. “It’s just that the zither room… is a rather special place. I’ve already made an exception for you by accompanying you there. I’m afraid I can’t allow outsiders inside.”
Chu Liuyue raised her eyebrows a notch. Outsiders? Jiang Yucheng sure has a way with words now. He hasn’t even truly become a prince consort, yet he’s already throwing his weight around without any care that he might get himself in trouble because of this. The zither room belongs to me in the first place, so why is he acting like he’s the owner of the room now?
What Jiang Yucheng said about Chu Liuyue being an outsider upset Weichi Song greatly, and it showed on his face. “Liuyue is one of my last few disciples, not a random outsider. I hope you’ll be careful with your words, Eldest Young Master Jiang.”
Weichi Song values Chu Liuyue a lot, huh? Jiang Yucheng hadn’t expected Weichi Song to have such a strong reaction over a passing comment he made about Chu Liuyue—someone he didn’t even have any regards for. He laughed it off and offered an apology to the other. “Please simmer down and don’t get offended by the thoughtless remark I made, Master Weichi. I was just trying to protect the late Crown Princess’s zither room…”
“Liuyue is a sensible kid. Besides, I’m the one who brought her here, so you don’t have anything to worry about.” Ever since Weichi Song found out that Jiang Yucheng was most likely the mastermind of the attack on Chong Xu Cabinet, he had little patience for the latter. Even the way he spoke to the latter had gotten much firmer.
At a loss for words, Jiang Yucheng could only say, “Of course. Please follow me…”
Thereafter, he took the lead to walk into Xin Li Garden.
Weichi Song and Chu Liuyue promptly followed closely behind him.
As Jiang Yucheng led the way, he couldn’t help but find it strange that Weichi Song had seemingly changed a lot lately. Weichi Song used to be very decrepit and wasn’t concerned about a lot of things. As long as one didn’t cross the line, the elderly man tended to let things pass. But now, he appears a lot more spirited and sharper than before. Could it be because of the Messed Yuan Gravel?
Based on the news I received, Qiang Wanzhou is from Nan Jiang. If my guess is correct, he’s probably the one who discovered the Messed Yuan Gravel. Then, it boils down to this question: Who dealt with it? Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to come up with an answer even after thinking about it for the entire night. Weichi Song hasn’t recovered from his injuries, so it can’t be him. That leaves only Xia Yi… who is most likely the one that got rid of the Messed Yuan Gravel.
Soon, the trio arrived at Thousand View Garden.
Although Chu Liuyue was calmly following along without turning her head around, she was secretly determining the locations of the guards around them.
Nobody was more familiar with everything about this place than her. She knew best where the guards were stationed and hidden.
The guards stationed around were clearly somewhat fewer compared to last time. That said, the security was still very tight, and it was even more so as they got closer to the zither room.
Chu Liuyue sneered inwardly to herself. Why would Jiang Yucheng even need to guard this place so tightly if he doesn’t have a guilty conscience? He even offered to accompany Weichi Song in person to collect the items. Hah, is he afraid of being discovered?
After walking some distance, a lake appeared in front of them. On it was a winding passage that led to a small, exquisite building on the opposite end.
It was quiet and peaceful there, and that used to be her zither room. Whenever she was bored or feeling down, she would always go there.
However, she felt different when seeing it again this time, for this was the very place she drank the last cup of tea Jiang Yucheng brewed for her. Everything drastically changed from that moment, which also meant that this was the place where Jiang Yucheng had officially started plotting against her. It was why he paid so much attention to this place.
Stopping in front of them, Jiang Yucheng turned around and said, “Master Weichi, the zither room is just further ahead. I’ll accompany you inside, but—”
Chu Liuyue curled her lips into a smile when his gaze landed on her. “Master, just go ahead with Eldest Young Master Jiang. I’ll wait here for you.”
“Alright, I’ll be right back,” said Weichi Song with a nod. After that, he and Jiang Yucheng headed for the zither room through the winding passage.
Chu Liuyue stood in place as she smilingly watched the two of them leave.
All of a sudden, Jiang Yucheng turned his head back upon sensing something.
Right by the lake stood a lady in red. There was a faint smile on her beautiful face as she looked at him from afar. Due to the distance between them, her appearance and figure were a little blurry, but it was exactly because of this that she resembled another person a lot.
Jiang Yucheng’s heart skipped a beat as a similar scene of a smiling, slender woman in an exquisite palace gown came to his mind.
She was elegant and beautiful. Like the dazzling sun hanging high above the clouds, she had a magnetic pull so strong that people couldn’t help but admire her, let alone say anything bad about her. She, too, used to smile at him like that by the lake.
The two figures then slowly overlapped each other, leaving Jiang Yucheng in a confused state. Due to this, he closed his eyes tightly.
When he opened them again, he realized that Chu Liuyue had already sat down on the jade stone wall—which was set with carefully selected clear jade stones that reflected rays of light when the water rippled—by the lake.
Just when the two figures were about to merge, they suddenly separated. Jiang Yucheng shook his head hard in contempt before turning his head away. As expected. A lowborn like her doesn’t have any deportment at all. If it was… Anyway, they’re worlds apart.
Sitting on the jade wall, Chu Liuyue gently swung her legs while caressing the jade stone beside her.