Perchance to Dream

15: Planned Pretexts

Soon enough, the banquet came to an end. After the guests paid their respects to the departing royals, they were free to leave themselves. Mei Yanran made her parents linger about the hall until she caught the person she was waiting for.

"Miss Wei!"

At the sound of her name, Wei Wanru looked up, somewhat surprised to see Mei Yanran approaching her. She managed a smile and slightly inclined her head. "Congratulations on your win, Miss Mei."

"No, no, it was a honor to hear you play," Mei Yanran waved off the compliments with a grin. "Where did you learn to master the zither so well?"

Wei Wanru modestly lowered her gaze. "I simply had the fortune to find a skilled teacher, that's all." She kept her hands inside her sleeves, another servant girl having arrived by now to carry her instrument for her.

"Then the teacher was lucky to have a talented student!"

"I should say the same for you, Miss Wei. It was a truly stunning dance."

I'm getting praised by the female lead, ahh~

Mei Yanran took a second to bask in the glory before getting down to business. "Miss Wei, there's a special type of incense that's specially made in my hometown, popular with all the noble ladies. They use it to keep time when they're drinking tea or playing their instruments. It's called South Heaven Fragrance, have you ever heard of it?"

Wei Wanru shook her head. "It does sound lovely."

"Then I'll bring a sample for you sometime," Mei Yanran said casually before her eyes lingered on Wei Wanru's sleeves. Faint specks of red could still be seen on the fabric near her wrists, subtly hidden by the wavering lantern light. If Mei Yanran wasn't looking for it on purpose, she might not have noticed them at all.

"And this is good for small injuries, so please accept it as well!" Mei Yanran withdrew a small porcelain bottle from her sleeve and tucked it in the female lead's waistband. "Miss Wei, take care!"

Then she grabbed her mother and dashed off before Wei Wanru could react. Left somewhat at a loss, the female lead carefully withdrew her hands from her sleeves to gingerly take the bottle, wondering what that was all about. It wasn't until Wei Wanru reached the estate and entered her rooms that she opened the bottle---and found high quality ointment inside.

Good for small injuries... Wei Wanru mused. She glanced at the faint specks on her sleeves, then back at her cut fingers, before shaking her head with a smile. Mei Yanran, you really do have sharp eyes! She wasn't sure why the girl had approached her, or where her enthusiasm stemmed from, but as for now...she seemed harmless.

Just in case, Wei Wanru had the estate physician check the quality of the ointment before trying it herself. It turned out to be a first-class salve, which moved her quite a bit.

Really, there was no need to take such pains...

--

Naturally, Mei Yanran had ulterior motives---and that was to befriend the female lead!

Sure, the female lead was always getting into scrapes in the novel, but being on her side was infinitely better than becoming cannon fodder or allying with the enemy! The female lead's so-called halo of immortality always made sure she won her gambles and triumphed over her foes. It also had the unwanted side effect of leaving the protagonist woefully devoid of female friends, which was where Mei Yanran came breaking into the story.

After all, if the female lead was destined to hook up with the male lead, who was the close friend of Mei Yanran's love capture target, then sticking with Wei Wanru was her best chance of seeing Ling Fengxiao more often! She was sure a strategy like this existed in some war manual somewhere, though she couldn't recall the name at the moment. In fact, Mei Yanran's original plan was to congratulate Wei Wanru after she won the competition, then notice her wounds and gift her the medicine. As things stood, this worked out even better---it was less likely that she'd be labeled a suck-up if she, as the contest winner, went to get friendly with another contestant.