On the second day, Shen Miao received an invitation. This invitation was not from others but from Qin's Princess Ming An, inviting her to have a gathering at the residence on Yan Qing Lane.
This invitation was sent by a close servant of the house and was brought in by Gu Yu to Shen Miao. Initially one thought it was Feng An Ning that sent it over to invite her out to play, thus she did not want to open it but it was Princess Ming An instead. Jing Zhe said worriedly, "This is fake right? Else why would Ming An Gōngzhǔ send an invitation over without rhyme or reason? Ming An Gōngzhǔ does not have any friendship with Xiǎojiě, is this not being pretentious?"
Gu Yu shook her head, "There is the Gōngzhǔ's seal on the top, one thinks that it is not a fake." She looked towards Shen Miao, "This Ming An Gōngzhǔ was humiliated during the tribute banquet by Xiǎojiě, one fear that she is finding an opportunity to get revenge. It is better for Xiǎojiě to push it away, else it would be bad if that Ming An Gōngzhǔ has ill-intentions."
Jing Zhe also nodded repeatedly, "Yes. Yes. Yes. It is better to tell Lǎoyé and Fūrén of this matter and let them decide."
Shen Miao thought about it for a while and shook her head, "Do not tell anyone of this matter. With Fùqīn and Mǔqīn's temper, they are bound to use tough tactics, but the current relationship between Qin and Ming Qi is sensitive. If it was only a fight between me and Ming An Gōngzhǔ, it would still be alright, but if it involves Fùqīn and Mǔqīn, one fear that it would also involve the court and it would be shooting oneself in the foot."
"Do not tell Lǎoyé and Fūrén..." Jing Zhe then asked, "Can it be that Xiǎojiě wants to accept this invitation?" Jing Zhe was very unwilling in her heart. To be together with a Princess with ill-intent and it was not at one's territory, if Shen Miao were to suffer, it would be too late to save anything.
"No harm in it." Shen Miao said, "Since Ming An Gōngzhǔ gave me an invitation, and the invitation is in my hands. If something went wrong with me, Ming An Gōngzhǔ will be involved. When Qin's Tàizǐ knows of it, he would also block it. She will not dare to do anything, and it will be nothing more than some small tricks and means. I am not afraid."
"But." Gu Yu was still very worried.
"No more buts. Just do it. The date of the invitation is two days later, so I will take a trip down two days later and do not let others know about it." After pausing she continued, "I will let Mo Qing follow. The invitation will remain in the residence and if anything really happened, let Bai Lu and Shuang Jiang look for my Dàgē with the invitation."
Even if Jing Zhe and Gu Yu have ten thousand of unwillingness, they could only promise Shen Miao helplessly.
Coincidently, in the outermost mansion of Yan Qing Lane, where Qin's Imperial family was residing, Princess Ming An received a reply from a servant. She opened it to take a look, and suddenly became a little angry and threw that letter down on the table. She said coldly, "Really courageous indeed."
"Why are you angry again?" A male pushed open the door to enter from behind and asked with a frown when he saw Princess Ming An's appearance.
When Princess Ming An saw the oncoming person, she stood up and walked over before handing the reply over to the other person and threw a tantrum, "Tàizǐ gēgē, you see that Shen Miao! I sent her an invite, she actually replied and agreed to the meeting. She is really not afraid of death."
"You gave her an invitation and if she really did not accept then she is really gusty. Now she accepts it and you are not happy, do not be so unreasonable." Even knowing Princess Ming An's temperament, Huangfu Hao still did not follow her line of conversation, and instead poured cold water over Princess Ming An's head.
"Tàizǐ gēgē..." Princess Ming An stomped, "Are you helping me or helping her? On that day during the tribute banquet, she humiliated me and deliberately got me to bite that apple. It was clearly to embarrass me and let our Qin lose face. Now not only you are not helping Qin to regain one's face, but still blame me. What is the meaning of this? Even if one goes to Fù Huáng upon returning to Qin, it still does not make sense."
Huangfu Hao looked coldly at Princess Ming An and remembered the events during the tribute banquet and his face became solemn. Although Princess Ming An's words were not entirely true. After all, the archery competition with Shen Miao was initiated by her. But when later Shen Miao made Princess Ming An bite the apple, she was somewhat overbearing. So much so, that even the last few light and soft words had a ridicule meaning in them. He was not sure if Shen Miao did it intentionally or not, but once the matter gets relayed back to Qin, the Emperor of Qin would definitely criticise him. Huangfu Hao did not know why, but he felt that Shen Miao was very special, as others would take many days to get used to Princess Ming An's bow but she was so skilled as if she had pulled it thousands of times. Sometimes when she looked over, there was a touch of hostility.
It was not the time for the Ming Qi and Qin to be hostile, and they were not previously acquainted, so why did Shen Miao treat both him and Princess Ming An that hostilely? Shen Miao's revengeful heart was just too heavy if it was merely because Princess Ming An made things difficult for Shen Miao.
Seeing Huangfu Hao not speaking and thinking of something, Princess Ming An widened her eyes in surprise suddenly, "Tàizǐ gēgē, it cannot be that you are fascinated by that kind of slut? You better not forget that before this, she was obsessed with Ming Qi's Ding Wáng, and this was spread all over and she was an out and out idiot. She was only being this calm and level headed because there was guidance by someone behind. You must not be bewitched by her."
Huangfu Hao waved his hands somewhat impatiently, "What are you talking about? On the contrary, it is you. Do not forget about what Huángfù instructed to do during this trip to Ming Qi. I do not care about what you want to do to Shen Miao, but no action is to take place in this residence. It does not matter if it is somewhere else, as long as no one has anything to hold against you. One Shen Miao does not matter, but currently, Ming Qi's Huángshàng rely on Shen Xin and by touching Shen Miao, Shen Xin will definitely fall out and the alliance between Ming Qi and us would be considered ruined. You better put the interest of the bigger picture above everything else."
Even though Princess Ming An was directly torn into with such a warning, she looked calm on the surface. However if one were to carefully observe, the anger in her eyes was even more intense. She smiled, "Do not worry, Tàizǐ gēgē. I will not find trouble for ourselves. I invited her over to take a look at what kind of person this Shen Miao is. When one really takes action, one will not use the name of our Great Qin. You had forgotten that our favourite pastime when we were young was to watch dogs biting dogs. There are so many dogs in Ming Qi, it is not difficult to find one to do things for us."
Huangfu Hao also smiled, "It is good that you have a sense of propriety."
-------------------
As the skies gradually dimmed, in the Shen Residence of Ding Capital City, there was a lamp lit in the Western courtyard as Chen Rou Qiu and Chang Zai Qing were talking.
Chen Rou Qiu smiled and said, "This handkerchief that is embroidered with poetry, really looks good. Even the scholarly Gūgū cannot compare to Zai Qing Gūniáng's poem. Originally, one did not know what dexterity was but after seeing Zai Qing Gūniáng, one thoroughly understood."
Chang Zai Qing pressed her lips into a smile, "Fūrén has flattered. It is just that Zai Qing could not be of any help here, and felt very apologetic about living and eating for free here, so one can only embroider some handkerchiefs. It is not worth much money, hope that Fūrén will not despise."
"Do not dislike." Chen Rou Qiu looked at that handkerchief and carefully folded it before putting it into her sleeves and smiled gently, "This kind of good stuff, I must hide it well. Else, when Yue-er sees it, she would take it away from me. She would always pester me for anything that she likes from me. This handkerchief is exquisite, I am reluctant to give it to her."
Chang Zai Qing laughed, "As long as Fūrén does not despise. If Èr xiǎojiě likes, I will embroider another one."
"That will be good." Chen Rou Qiu also laughed, "Like this, one will not fear of Yue-er doing as she likes." She smiled as she looked at Chang Zai Qing, "Speaking of which, previously those things that I have said to Zai Qing Gūniáng, have Zai Qing Gūniáng consider it?"
Previously, when Chen Rou Qiu chatted with Chang Zai Qing, she spoke about Shen Xin's matter. Currently, Chang Zai Qing had seen that everyone in the Shen Residence accepted that the First Household moved away. So Chen Rou Qiu proposed that since she was the daughter of the Old General Shen's subordinate, and since Chang Hu was also the Old General Shen's benefactor, naturally Shen Xin would not reject seeing Chang Zai Qing. Moreover, Shen Xin was the Old General Shen's eldest Di-son, be it be the situation or reasoning, Chang Zai Qing should go and pay a visit.
Hearing those words, Chang Zai Qing hesitated for a bit before shaking her head with a smile, "Now that I came over and disturbed Fūrén, one already felt very apologetic about it, so how would one dare to disturb General Shen? Moreover, Zai Qing is here in the capital to avoid that gentleman from an official family. Once the matter passes, Zai Qing will leave. It is better for General Shen not to know of the matter."
"I did say, Zai Qing Gūniáng is good at everything but just overly polite." Chen Rou Qiu feigned an exasperation, "The relationship between the Chang and the Shen family is this good that you are a family to us. What is disturbing or not? One heard that when Zai Qing Gūniáng was young, Dà bǎizi had seen you before, so you are Dà bǎizi's mèimèi, so how would Dà bǎizi be awkward in seeing you? If you are in the capital and really did not go and see Dà bǎizi, when he is aware of this, one fear that he would be angry instead."
Chang Zai Qing did not speak as Chen Rou Qiu patted her hands, "Moreover since you want to hide from that Liu province's family, it is more convenient over at Dà bǎizi. There are more soldiers in their residence and they guard the place very securely. Even if that Liu province's family chased till to the capital, they would not dare to act rashly on the account of Dà bǎizi. I take you as one's own people, so I will tell you clearly that Dà bǎizi's place is the place where you will be truly protected."
At the mention of Liu province's family, Chang Zai Qing's face changed colour and her expressions started to waver constantly. Chen Rou Qiu said, "Zai Qing Gūniáng, just take it as though one goes to one's own Gēgē's residence as a guest for a period of time. What is there to worry about?"
"Sān Fūrén does not know." Chang Zai Qing forced a smile, "After all, so much time has passed, it would be inevitable if General Shen does not remember Zai Qing. Moreover, Shen Dà Fūrén, Wǔ xiǎojiě and Dà shàoyé are there, so one fear that it would be a burden for one to stay without a good cause."
"This is something you need not worry about." Chen Rou Qiu smiled upon hearing this, "That Dà bǎisǎo of mine has the best temperament. Because she is from a military lineage and a heroine General, she is straightforward and sincere without any intentions. She also treats others kindly so upon knowing of your matter, she would be compassionate. Moreover, there are no other females in Dà bǎizi's family, and it would be difficult for Dà bǎisǎo to find someone to talk to. Upon meeting with you, she would definitely treat you very well. As for Dà Gē'er (Shen Qiu) and Wǔ jiě'er, they are both sensible kids and would not have any dispute with you."
Chen Rou Qiu saw Chang Zai Qing's wavering expression and smiled, "How about this, if Zai Qing Gūniáng feels alright, upon my return, I will let Zai Qing Gūniáng write a card over and not mention our Shen Residence. With Zai Qing Gūniáng's name, this would not cause any misunderstanding. Zai Qing Gūniáng can go and pay Dà bǎizi a visit first, and see what is Dà bǎizi's attitude. If one thinks that it is inappropriate, then one can just return."
Chang Zai Qing thought for a long time before nodding her head upon deciding. She gratefully smiled to Chen Rou Qiu, "Sān Fūrén considered everything for Zai Qing. Zai Qing is very thankful to Sān Fūrén."
"Now you are being too polite." Chen Rou Qiu smiled as she stood up, "The skies are getting darker and I must not bother your rest. Tomorrow I will write a card to send over. Zai Qing Gūniáng does not need to bother about anything. You are an intelligent and pleasant person, there will not be anyone who will dislike you. One fear that after Sān and Dà bǎisǎo sees you, they would be happy to have gained a younger sister like you."
Chang Zai Qing smiled and declined. After sending Chen Rou Qiu away, Zhou Māmā came over to tidy up, and since she heard the conversation between Chen Rou Qiu and Chang Zai Qing just now, she asked, "Xiǎojiě, why does that Shen Sān Fūrén suddenly mention about General Shen without rhyme or reason? Could it be that she is driving Xiǎojiě out of the house?"
Chang Zai Qing sneered, "At first, I still did not understand what exactly Shen Sān Fūrén wanted me to do, but now I understood. Shen Sān Fūrén really schemes very well, and actually wants me to deal with others."
Zhao Māmā was surprised, "Xiǎojiě, what does Shen Sān Fūrén wants Xiǎojiě to do?"
Chang Zai Qing sat in front of the table and her expression became unfathomable. She was not a fool so she could hear the implied meaning in Chen Rou Qiu's words. She said that only Shen Xin could protect and shelter her, and if one could stay in the General residence one's entire life, then one does not need to fear that those Liu province's people will come knocking for one's entire life. By saying that Luo Xue Yan has a military lineage and is a heroine General with a straightforward and sincere personality, it meant to say that Luo Xue Yan was stupid and easy to deal with. As for the lack of females in Shen Xin's courtyard, the hint was even more obvious. If Chang Zai Qing could enter, other than a not so smart Luo Xue Yan, one would not need to worry about anything else.
She said, "Since Shen Sān Fūrén values me so much, I should first go over to check out what is going on."
"Xiǎojiě want to go to General Shen's residence?" Zhao Māmā was stunned for a moment, "Even knowing what kind of ill-intention Shen Sān Fūrén has, Xiǎojiě still want to go?"
"It is not a bad idea if one can use it well." Chang Zai Qing waved her hand, "It is not a long term plan to stay in the Shen Residence. I must make plans for myself. It is of no harm. I am only going to take a look. If there is anything wrong, naturally one will not jump in."
"If…" Zhao Māmā looked at her carefully.
"If one finds that it is not bad." Chang Zai Qing smiled lightly, "Then Shen Sān Fūrén can be considered as knowing my heart."
As the night spread to the entire capital, every household started to lit the lamps, providing a somewhat prosperous scene. However, other than the Palace, the most flourishing road was probably still the southern part of the city where the restaurants were filled with sounds of eating and drinking, and men and women laughter and music intertwined, making it sound particularly moving.
In the residence of Prince Rui, the lights were done extremely well that even the lanterns were embroidered with gold. When it was lit up at night, it shone so brightly that it caught one's eyes. Those who passed by would drool over it and would want to steal one to unravel the gold thread in exchange for money but when they saw the unsmiling, fierce and vicious-looking guards, they could only suppress their thieving hearts and leave with their tails between their legs.
That belonged to Great Liang's Prince Rui's residence. Who dared to steal?
It was all quiet in the residence as if no one was around. Towards the end, there was a huge courtyard and there was a beautifully and intricately decorated pavilion next to a clear pond. The water on the pond was greenish in colour, making the moonlight sultry. If it was during the summer, the winery yard and lotus pond would give a different type of charm but unfortunately, the weather entered early winter, thus when one sits in the pavilion, there would be a whistling chill.
At this moment there was a person sitting in the pavilion, the large flow of gold and purple almost covered the benches in the pavilion. That was a very handsome youth. Under the gentle moonlight, the normally handsome features became softer and his facial features also appeared warmer. He lowered his head and teased the tiger cub in his embrace.
The tiger cub was forcefully pressed onto his chest by him and it wiggled its head uncomfortably, trying to turn around and bite the hand that was holding on to its head. Unfortunately one did not know that her neck was too short or the force that was pushing was too vicious, each try was without any achievement. But this tiger cub did not give up and continued to hold the sleeves of the purple-clad youth in her mouth.
Xie Jing Xing pulled out his sleeve from the tiger cub's mouth and stared at the area that had been made wet by the tiger cub's saliva. After looking for a long while, he flicked the tiger cub's head. The tiger cub started whining and finally managed to wring out, and started to play with Xie Jing Xing's fingers with her paws.
Among the grass at a distance, two heads suddenly appeared. Ye Ying stared foolishly at the person and tiger in the pavilion with incredulous eyes. One needed to know that Xie Jing Xing had a severe habit for cleanliness and normally did not like any animals. Even people close would not touch his things, but now not only having his sleeve soaked with a beast's saliva, but he was also still this calm. She said, "Is Zhǔrén insane these days? Else, why is there a need to keep on carrying a tiger? Hugging her when eating, hugging her when sleeping, one even hear that when showering he was also hugging her. It cannot be that he really wants to bring this tiger back to Great Liang to be Rui Wángfēi." Seeing that the person beside did not move, Ye Ying turned her head, "Huo Long, say something."
Huo Long was holding her face with her hands and looking at the person in the pavilion, "Zhǔrén really treats that tiger very well. Just look at his gentle expression when looking at the tiger. With Zhǔrén's magnificent style, if it was up to me, I would be willing to be the tiger so that I can sleep and shower with Zhǔrén." When Huo Long said those words, she remained calm, not even half ashamed. In the end, she shook her head and sighed, "Unfortunately, a person is not as good as a tiger."
"I think you are bewitched." Ye Ying looked down upon her.
In the pavilion, Xie Jing Xing rubbed the tiger cub's head into his chest. The tiger cub struggled desperately, and accidentally pounced onto Xie Jing Xing's neck and licked Xie Jing Xing's face.
"You still steal a kiss." Xie Jing Xing chuckled and his hands went to the tiger cub's neck to lift her out and looked at the tiger cub struggling in mid-air as he raised his eyebrows, "Person and tiger have the same morals."
That tiger cub opened its claws and looked at him and Xie Jing Xing gave a kiss to its head, "Be good."
Among the grass, Ye Ying leaned forward, "Zhǔrén is crazy."
"I want to kill that tiger!" Huo Long said ferociously.
Just at this moment, Tie Yi's figure suddenly appeared in the pavilion. Xie Jing Xing placed the tiger cub back into his embrace and asked, "What is the matter?"
"Replying Zhǔrén, today Ming An Gōngzhǔ send an invitation to Shen Wǔ xiǎojiě."
"Oh." Xie Jing Xing's fingers which were scratching the tiger cub paused slightly.
"Ming An Gōngzhǔ invited Shen Wǔ xiǎojiě for a trip to the residence, and Shen Wǔ xiǎojiě accepted it. She will be going in two days' time." Tie Yi bowed and replied.
"Got it." Xie Jing Xing waved his hand. Tie Yi looked at the tiger cub in Xie Jing Xing's embrace, and his mouth twitched a bit before he turned around and withdrew into the night.
"One's nerves are actually very great." Xie Jing Xing placed his finger in the mouth of the tiger cub. The tiger cub had grown familiar with Xie Jing Xing after eating, bathing and sleeping with him so it just held his finger in her mouth, but did not really bit it and just cling onto it to play.
"Go or not?" Xie Jing Xing asked.
The white tiger cub whined and looked at him with bright eyes.
"Want." Xie Jing Xing raised his brows, "Listen to you."
*****
In a blinking of an eye, it was two days later.
In the morning, Shen Miao also woke up early and Jing Zhe and Gu Yu helped her to put on warm clothes, as the weather was slowly entering early winter. Ming Qi's winter days were always early and especially cold. During the days before, it was continuously raining and Shen Miao's thicker clothes were all damp, thus it was hard to find a piece. Gu Yu found a cloak from the chest and said, "This piece is quite dry. Although it is somewhat thick, it is very cold today, so it would not be unexpected for Xiǎojiě to wear it."
Shen Miao looked at the cloak in Gu Yu's hands. That was a piece of snowy white cloak made from fox from the top to the bottom. It was a rare white fox as there was not a single fur of a different colour. Even after a few years, it was still as new as before, apparently a piece of good fur.
This cloak was the piece of cloak that mysteriously appeared on the second day after staying in the farmer's house when Shen Miao accompanied Shen Xin to leave Ding Capital City two years ago. That farmer's household did not have this piece of cloak before, and Shen Miao also did not know where this thing came from. At that time, she thought to exchange it for money but Shen Qiu strongly objected, saying that this white fox fur was difficult to get even with thousands of gold taels, and it was good to keep it.
Even though it remained, that cloak was not fitting at all. It was too big for Shen Miao so it was kept at the bottom of the chest, and had not been taken out to wear before. If Gu Yu did not take it out today, Shen Miao would not remember about it.
As she looked at that cloak, she thought about one matter. Previously, Xie Jing Xing came to her chambers at night, he mentioned that he met up with her two years ago at the farmer's house, but she could not remember as she was drunk. Now thinking about it, this cloak should be left behind by Xie Jing Xing. Since she could not remember anything from that night and only knew of the nonsense that Xie Jing Xing said, her face turned a little red.
When Jing Zhe and Gu Yu saw that Shen Miao was somewhat uncomfortable, they looked at one another as they did not know what was going on with Shen Miao. Jing Zhe reminded, "Xiǎojiě."
Shen Miao recovered to her senses, and looked at the cloak in Gu Yu's hands and said in a bad mood, "Find a time to pawn it away."
"But Dà shàoyé said that the fur is very good and did not let Xiǎojiě pawn." Gu Yu found it strange.
"No matter how good the fur is, one does not want it." Shen Miao said, "When you pack it up, send it to the Feng Xian Pawnshop. Since the Feng Xian Pawnshop collects valuable things all the time, Manager Ji would definitely like it."
Seeing Shen Miao like this, Gu Yu and Jing Zhe dare not say anything more. They shrugged their shoulders and continued to find another cloak for Shen Miao.
At the end, a lilac coloured rabbit fur cloak was chosen and after Shen Miao washed up, they found a reason to go out. It was easy to send Luo Tan away, and Shen Xin and the rest would only return in the evening after staying in the Ministry. Without all the eyes and ears of those original Shen family members, there was lots of freedom.
Mo Qing once again became the coachman. Even though he was currently one of Shen Qiu's people, he still did things for Shen Miao. In fact, most of the time, Shen Miao would not let Mo Qing tell her things to others. He seemed to be more like Shen Miao's confidant. However, he seemed to be accustomed to this identity of his, Mo Qing himself had gotten used to accompanying Shen Miao when she leaves the residence to do things.
But when Mo Qing knew where Shen Miao was going today, he was also shocked as the place turned out to be Qin's Crown Prince's residence. Shen Miao's actions during the tribute banquet had spread out to the entire Ding capital, and naturally, Mo Qing was aware of them. It was obvious that Princess Ming An had ill-intentions thus Mo Qing was somewhat worried, but Shen Miao had an expression of a thought-out plan, so he could not say anything more.
Upon reaching the Qin's Crown Prince's residence, when the guards saw the invitation in Shen Miao hands, they let Shen Miao wait outside and mentioned that they would report it up, and took the invitation before disappearing.
After a long time, Jing Zhe was somewhat unable to tolerate and spoke, "It is almost half a Shichen, these people have yet to report back. This is obvious that Qin Gōngzhǔ deliberately making things difficult for Xiǎojiě. Even if there is a brazier in this carriage, it is cold outside. If Xiǎojiě catches a cold, what would this Gōngzhǔ say?"
Gu Yu also said, "This is really too much. Since one takes the initiative to invite others, what is with the snub treatment at the residence's door?"
Normally when others send out an invitation, one would welcome the person into the residence to wait. Even if it was the Imperial family with its many rules and regulations, they would not hang someone out to dry for half a shichen. Moreover, in the half shichen, no one approached at all.
Mo Qing said, "Xiǎojiě, it is better to return."
Shen Miao shook her head, "Since one has come, then wait. It is always better to keep up appearances and not let others get a hold of one on manners."
When she was in Qin, Princess Ming An liked to treat others like this. In the severe winter, she would pass a message early in the morning to let others wait at the icy cold garden, and once that started they would be waiting for a few shichens, and at times one was unable to see anyone for up to a day. Afterwards, a servant would be sent over to say that something cropped up and she was unable to attend. This was waiting in vain for a day. Princess Ming An's methods were as always and it was also shallow on the surface. She had already tolerated in her past life so what did half a shichen count in this life?
In the Qin's Crown Prince's residence, Princess Ming An was sitting in the room at this moment as the servant added silver strands of coals into the brazier. She picked up the tea on the table and took a little sip with a carefree expression on her face.
She asked the servants outside, "Have that slut left?"
"Replying Gōngzhǔ Diànxià." The servant said, "Shen Wǔ xiǎojiě's horse carriage is still outside the residence's door and has yet to leave."
A trace of unhappiness flashed on Princess Ming An's face, "Unexpectedly this patience." She initially thought to let Shen Miao dry by the sun for a while, and the proud and arrogant official's daughter would return to her residence in a huff. After that happens, she would have a reason to call Shen Miao out for being disrespectful to her.
However one did not think that Shen Miao was able to keep her composure but she smiled, "After waiting for so long, one thinks that one's patience is almost there. It would not be bad to change in another way. Someone come and pass Běngōng's instructions to invite Shen Miao in."