Si Han, who was well aware of the complex relationships among the various factions in Zhongzhou, was shocked. He instinctively craned his neck to look across, only to see a tiny crack in the window.
Si Han stated that he was no longer shocked by how people from the Lan and Fan families could dine at the same table, but rather by how they had recognized each other from such a small window crack.
There were only four people in the room, and they all had their own hidden agendas.
As they were all deep in thought, the door was pushed open, and in stepped an old acquaintance whom Lu Qing Wan found somewhat familiar.
The newcomer was slender and wore a tea-green Hezi dress that exuded a gentle and virtuous feminine aura. She performed a deep curtsey to Lu Qing Wan and Feng Xi Wu.
She then said softly, "I did not expect distinguished guests to visit, and Yuan Niang regrets not being able to welcome you sooner. Mistress Wu Ying is not here, so Yuan Niang dares to host you on her behalf. May I trouble you to move to another room for a chat?"
Lu Qing Wan looked at the newcomer calmly. "Wu Ying told me that the person she sent to Zhongzhou would be extremely reliable. Knowing her meticulous nature, I didn't ask further. I never expected it to be you, Yuan Niang. Why did you think of changing our room?"
When the female attendant had come and gone, Lu Qing Wan had not asked Si Han to withdraw, so Yuan Niang knew that Si Han was one of their own, at least someone they didn't need to guard against. This was why she dared to reveal that she knew Lu Qing Wan and her husband.
Upon hearing this, she lowered her head obediently. "I am grateful for Mistress Wu Ying's trust, and I have brought people here. When I came to fetch you just now, I noticed the people in the opposite room using a thousand-mile mirror to spy on us, which is why I dared to suggest that my master and the Prince switch rooms. I was negligent and only realized someone was spying on my master and the Prince after they had been sitting there for a while. I beg my master to punish me."
He Yuan Niang, the woman who was once almost swindled out of her entire fortune by her mother-in-law and faced the ordeal of being drowned in a pig cage, had now become an indispensable aide to Lu Qing Wan. Not a trace of her past desolation could be seen on her. If it weren't for her insistence on dressing like a married woman, she would have looked like a young girl of sixteen or seventeen. However, compared to ordinary young girls, she possessed a few more qualities of resilience and courage. Lu Qing Wan was extremely pleased with this transformation.
Shaking her head, she said, "They boarded the pleasure boat after us and must have followed us from the Prince's mansion. It's not your fault." She then pointed to the seemingly ordinary glass mirror on the dressing table. "We won't change rooms. You must have a mirror room here, right? Take Li Jin to see it."
Yuan Niang naturally complied with Lu Qing Wan's arrangements, but she added, "Ah, master, earlier in the main hall, a young lady was inquiring about your and the Prince's whereabouts. She didn't give her name, only described your appearance, as if she were tracking you and the Prince. The sisters downstairs said she was the second daughter of the Grand Tutor's mansion, and she had a strange young lady with her, who looked very arrogant. You must be careful."
Lu Qing Wan raised an eyebrow. "They've caught up so quickly? My Prince, it seems our secret passage was for naught?"
Feng Xi Wu stroked her nape soothingly. "It's normal. You and I are new here, and everyone in Zhongzhou is watching us. Going through the back door wasn't to avoid their gaze, but purely to avoid the hassle with those people in the front courtyard. You enjoy yourself. I'll handle these people."
Hearing his magnanimous tone, Lu Qing Wan played along. "Alright, then I'll have to trouble my Prince." With that said, she leaned back on the chaise lounge, completely carefree, and focused on her own enjoyment.
Not long after Yuan Niang left, a female musician was summoned to sing for Lu Qing Wan to entertain her. The musicians who performed in the Unnight Continent were naturally of high caliber. Lu Qing Wan, lying on Feng Xi Wu's lap, almost fell asleep.
She was woken up by Feng Xi Wu in a daze, and after satisfying their appetites, the two embarked on their journey back. Lu Qing Wan, nestled in Feng Xi Wu's arms, listened to the carriage creak and felt a little dissatisfied. "So, why did we come out this time?"
"Didn't you say it was to get some fresh air?" Feng Xi Wu gently pinched her chin and explained, "There's a custom in Da Qin of hazing the newlyweds. With the Emperor and Empress indulging it, who knows what those people will do. For our wedding, I don't want it to be too unpleasant, so I brought you out to avoid the commotion." Usually, if anyone dared to provoke them, Feng Xi Wu would retaliate without hesitation. However, on their wedding night, he did not want a group of irrelevant people to ruin their mood, so he took the initiative to suggest a outing with Lu Qing Wan.
Lu Qing Wan, nestled at his neck, glared at him. "Then if we go back now, won't those people stop causing trouble?"
"It's getting late. If they don't want to violate the curfew, they should be going home by now." He timed their return to the mansion perfectly. As he had said, by the time they arrived, the guests had all left. Li Yang and the others were directing the household servants to clean up everything in the courtyard. Lu Qing Wan was in a wonderful mood, eager to have a passionate embrace with her beloved bed. However, Feng Xi Wu unceremoniously carried her into the bathhouse. It was still a passionate embrace, just with a different partner, and Lu Qing Wan ended up more exhausted. Thanks to Feng Xi Wu, Lu Qing Wan's first day in Zhongzhou was peaceful and worry-free.
However, the very next morning, as soon as she got up, an impudent person arrived. Before the person even entered the room, a loud voice directly assaulted Lu Qing Wan's still groggy mind.
"I want to see just how stunningly beautiful that Southern barbarian girl is to make my cousin abandon Yun Yi and marry her, willing to be a mere idle prince. Get out of my way, all of you! Where is that vixen? Come out for me..."
As the arrogant shouts grew closer, a young girl dressed in a pink resplendent gown and adorned with jewels barged into the main hall. The guards followed her in, and one of them cupped his fists and apologized to Lu Qing Wan. "Your Highness, please forgive us. Miss Yan the Second forced her way in, and we couldn't stop her."
"Couldn't stop her, or didn't even try?" Before Lu Qing Wan could speak, Li Su, standing beside her, reprimanded the guard coldly, "Is that a fire poker in your hand? You can't even stop a pampered young woman, how can we expect you to protect the Prince and Princess?"
The guard had expected that by revealing the girl's identity, Lu Qing Wan, a newly arrived princess, would be unable to do anything to him. To his surprise, even the maids around Lu Qing Wan were so spirited. He stood there stunned, not daring to speak. Seeing this, the young girl in pink flicked her wrist and whipped a whip towards Li Su, shouting, "Who do you think you are, telling people to stop me?!"
As she spoke, the whip lashed out. Lu Qing Wan and Li Su both sensed that the force of this whip was not something an ordinary woman could generate. This young girl was a practitioner of martial arts.
A hardened steel whip swiftly extended out, entangled the snake-skin whip the girl was wielding, and with a pull, the girl's whip flew out of her hand. Lu Qing Wan's wrist flicked slightly, and the handle of the whip quickly rebounded, striking the pink-clad girl on the knee. The pink-clad girl's knees buckled, and she fell to one knee on the ground. Only then did she belatedly cry out in pain.
However, after a brief, sharp cry of pain, she glared at Lu Qing Wan as if she had seen an enemy and exclaimed, "Bitch, you're looking for death!"