Back to the marriage proposal, helping the incompetent husband to rise to the top

Chapter 57: Wrong Play

Looking at the uneasy girl in front of him, Ye Wanqing's expression faded a little: "What are you afraid of me thinking too much?"

Liao Fuyu met her gaze and said boldly, "I'm afraid you don't like Chu Xiaoyan, and I'm afraid you don't want me to associate with him."

Ye Wanqing stood up from the embroidery frame, poured a cup of hot tea herself, and handed it to Liao Fuyu, whose fingers were cold: "I don't dislike Chu Xiaoyan."

Liao Fuyu hesitated.

Ye Wanqing's voice was very light, and her emotions were very calm: "That night outside Tingxue Pavilion, you told me that Chu Xiaoyan had told you in person that he had a lover. His lover was not you. That's why I advised you to find another good husband."

Liao Fuyu's eyelashes drooped slightly: "The wife of Prince Duan told me that the prince has no lover. He just said that on purpose because he was too annoyed by being urged to get married."

Ye Wanqing opened her mouth.

How could she tell Liao Fuyu that all the approaches to Prince Duan's Mansion were long-planned conspiracies, and that once they stepped in, there would be no escape?
Looking at the girl with frowned eyebrows and a sad face, Ye Wanqing spoke slowly: "I regard you as a good friend, so I hope you live a good life. Compared with men, as a woman, you can have fewer things in your life. If the person you choose is unwilling to give you even a little warmth, what can you use to support yourself for the rest of your life in the deep courtyard? While you still have the initiative in your hands, you should think about it carefully."

Liao Fuyu was in low spirits: "So, Wanqing, you still think that I shouldn't choose Chu Xiaoyan, right?"

Ye Wanqing pursed her lips.

She vaguely felt that there were some things that shouldn't be said.

It seems like something bad will happen if you say it.

Seeing her like this, Liao Fuyu forced a smile: "Okay, I get it."

She came and went quickly, like a gust of wind.

And then he didn't show up for several days.

It’s getting colder in the twelfth lunar month.

That day, after class, Ye Chenxi ran to Jinghong Garden with great enthusiasm: "Sister, Chu Xiaoyan is going to host a dinner at Yipinju today! An Lan asked me to tell you that he is going too."

Chu Xiaoyan?
It’s Chu Xiaoyan again.

Ye Wanqing pressed her eyelids, which had been twitching since early morning, and asked, "Why is Prince Duan inviting us to dinner?"

Ye Chenxi was surprised: "You don't know? The emperor has granted him a marriage with Fu Yu!"

Ye Wanqing was shocked when she heard this.

"I won't talk to you anymore!" Ye Chenxi said, "I'm going to change my clothes. I won't go home tonight. The same goes for An Lan! I'll take good care of him, so don't worry!"

After saying this, he ran away happily.

"Chen Xi..." Ye Wanqing's eyelids twitched even more violently.

After Ye Chenxi left, Ye Wanqing still couldn't calm down.

She sat in front of the embroidery frame for a long time without sewing a single stitch. Instead, her eyelids twitched more and more violently, and even her heart felt a little panicky for no reason.

At this time, a servant hurriedly walked into Jinghong Garden.

Yingxiang came back after going out for a while and said, "Miss, Miss Liao sent a visiting card saying that she wants to invite you to have dinner at Liuxiang Pavilion."

Liao Fuyu?
Ye Wanqing suppressed her twitching eyelids and nodded, "Okay, I understand."

She packed herself up, put on her cloak and went out.

There were two heavy snowfalls in Jindu, and they haven't melted yet.

The sun was setting and the snowy wind was howling.

The private rooms in Liuxiang Pavilion are as warm as spring.

Before Ye Wanqing entered the room, Liao Fuyu stood up and looked at her with joy and anxiety: "Wanqing, I thought you wouldn't come!"

Ye Wanqing took off her cloak and handed it to Yingxiang, then took a box from Qianxi and handed it to Liao Fuyu: "This is a gift, congratulations."

Liao Fuyu didn't dare to answer: "Wanqing, you don't have to bring me anything... I'm very happy that you can come to the banquet today."

Ye Wanqing sighed, "Since I gave it to you, you should keep it. This is a tribute from the palace, a rare and valuable facial cream. You will definitely like it."

Liao Fuyu took it with red eyes and bit her lip tightly.

Seeing her like this, Ye Wanqing couldn't help pinching her face: "Why are you sad? You chose the person you like, shouldn't you be happy? Are you waiting for me to coax you?" "No!" Liao Fuyu hugged her wrist tightly: "You are willing to reconcile with me and send me gifts, you have already coaxed me."

It’s so coaxing.

No wonder, Prince Duan’s wife was able to trick the man into her hands with just a few nice words.

What a silly girl.

Ye Wanqing touched Liao Fuyu's head and said, "Didn't you say you wanted to treat me to a meal?"

Liao Fuyu then let her go: "I have booked a boat in Liuxiang Pavilion. We will not eat in the restaurant, but on the boat."

"Pasture boat?"

Ye Wanqing looked out the window.

In the setting sun, the water in the moat ripples in the snow wind, golden and shining, like a river of broken gold.

There were several beautiful pleasure boats moored near the shore.

Just across the river, Yipinju is on the other side.

Tonight, perhaps because Chu Xiaoyan booked Yipinju, the entire restaurant was already brightly lit before nightfall.

From time to time, laughter and joy could be heard in the snowy wind.

Seeing Ye Wanqing looking over there, Liao Fuyu said, "Tonight, Prince Duan is hosting a banquet over there, so it's a bit noisy. But they make noise while we have fun, and we don't interfere with each other. It just so happens that they are drinking at Yipinju, and the pleasure boats at Yipinju don't enter the moat, so the river isn't so congested."

Ye Wanqing nodded.

Led by the waiter, the two of them went downstairs and into the houseboat.

It was very cold on the water, but there was a raging charcoal fire burning inside the pleasure boat, and the heat was overflowing, so the only way to dissipate the heat was by opening the windows.

On the table, there were two small clay stoves with small copper pots on them. The milky white soup was boiling, bringing with it bursts of fragrance.

Ye Wanqing's eyes lit up: "Mutton soup pot?"

"Yes!" Liao Fuyu helped her down and then walked to her own pot and sat down. "I heard Chen Xi say earlier that you like to eat this. These past few days, I sent people to ask around and finally found out that Liuxiang Pavilion has it."

Ye Wanqing chuckled: "You really have a thoughtful heart."

Liao Fuyu poured a glass of wine and handed it to her: "This is mulberry wine from Northern Xinjiang. I have loved to drink it secretly since I was a child. It tastes great. Come and try it!"

The chilled fruit wine has a cool and smooth taste, sweet with a hint of sourness, and is both appetizing and refreshing. Ye Wanqing rarely drinks too much.

Before I knew it, the wine jug was half empty.

As night falls, the tavern is still bustling.

The sound of stringed instruments from Yipinju on the opposite bank floated clearly on the river.

I don’t know if it was the smoke from the stove or the baking of the charcoal fire, but Ye Wanqing’s cheeks were stained with rouge and her eyes were particularly bright under the light.

She propped up her chin and listened for a moment: "It's 'Spring River Moon Night', but I played it wrong."

Liao Fuyu poured her another glass of wine: "What's wrong?"

Ye Wanqing flicked her fingertips in the air: "This is the wrong place."

Liao Fuyu was at a loss.

She has no knowledge of music and really can't understand it.

At this time, a strange voice came from the barge next door: "The singing girls in Yipinju are all taught by famous teachers. Do you know pipa? What makes you say they played it wrong?"

Ye Wanqing replied: "If it's wrong, it's wrong."

The man refused to accept: "You are wrong, so you are wrong. Aren't you better than the famous pipa teacher? If you are so good, do you dare to tell me your name?"

Liao Fuyu retorted: "Who are you? How dare you ask our names?"

“Heh…” The man sneered, “It seems that she is just that bad. She is a gossipy woman who doesn’t even dare to tell us her name!”

(End of this chapter)