Eight Treasure Trousseaus

Chapter 7: The Beautiful Wang Fu

Chapter Seven: The Beautiful Wang Fu

After visiting the three great personages of the palace, the pair came out of the palace. When they got onto the carriage, Hua Xi Wan put the token in front of Yan Jin Qiu. "The Empress Dowager's token is very valuable. It is safer for it to be in Jin Qiu's care."

Yan Jin Qiu looked at the token but did not reach out to take it. "The Empress Dowager likes you and naturally hopes that you will take the token and visit her. I feel safe having it in your care."

Hua Xi Wan did not persist and put away the token with a smile. She adjusted the adornments at her waist and said wryly, "The Empress Dowager is really a friendly elder."

"When I was young and Mother was frail, I grew up for a few years under the Empress Dowager." Yan Jin Qiu's smile was harmonious. "She treats everyone benevolently."

Hearing this, Hua Xi Wan recalled a rumor. The rumor was that Xian Wang Fei had been from a scholarly family and birthed Yan Jin Qiu's older sister one year after marrying Xian Wang. Two years later, she became pregnant with Yan Jin Qiu. But who knew that when she was pregnant, Xian Wang got a ceshi[1] pregnant, and half a year after Yan Jin Qiu was born, a shu son was born as well.

The outside did not know if there had been conflict between Xian Wang and Xian Wang Fei due to this matter; they only knew that after Xian Wang Fei gave birth, her health was not good. When Yan Jin Qiu was two years old, he was sent into the Imperial Palace to be reared by the Empress Dowager. Only when he was six years old and Xian Wang Fei was heavily ill did Yan Jin Qiu come out of the Imperial Palace to care for his mother. Before Xian Wang Fei died, Xian Wang asked to title Yan Jin Qiu the Heir to the Wang Fu.

She didn't know if Xian Wang Fei had felt hatred, but Hua Xi Wan felt that, if a female discovered that her husband had gotten another woman pregnant during her pregnancy, she would not be unaffected.

Hua Xi Wan wanted to say that he was fortunate to be reared by the Empress Dowager, but looking at Yan Jin Qiu's smile, she suddenly did not want to speak. The carriage quieted down. She listened to the sound of the hoofs, and adjusted to a comfortable position reclined against the back of the carriage to wait for the carriage to return to the wang fu.

Yan Jin Qiu waited for a few moments and did not hear Hua Xi Wan's voice. When he looked at her, he found that she had fallen asleep against the back panel of the carriage. Thinking back to his uncontrolled actions of last night, a small but sincere smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

"Junwang Ye, Junwang Fei, we have arrived at the wang fu." Mu Tong announced from outside the carriage.

Yan Jin Qiu turned and saw that Hua Xi Wan was sleeping. Just as he was planning to reach out and carry her, Hua Xi Wan opened her eyes.

"We've arrived?" Hua Xi Wan touched the hairpin in her hair and lifted the curtain to look outside the window. She slowly massaged her waist. "It is not yet time for the noon meal. Will Jin Qiu accompany me to tour the wang fu?"

"A request from a beauty cannot be refused." Yan Jin Qiu raised the curtain and stepped out of the carriage. Then, under the gaze of everyone, he supported Hua Xi Wan's hand. Only when she got off the carriage did he release her hand. "There are some good places in the wang fu. I'll accompany you on the walk."

Mu Tong saw that the two seemed to want to tour the wang fu and hurriedly told a servant to order the servants within the second door and lower to stay away so they would not coincide with Junwang Fei.

Even though Yan Jin Qiu had locked some places in the wang fu which were over his rank when he succeeded the position, what was locked was the buildings at the edges. The attractive places were still left open.