Villain Lady

Gao Ling seemed to be oblivious of Wei Liuying's gaze as she walked out of the residence. Her quarter was located on the other side of the residence since her father would never let them stay too close before their marriage. He was all about it was not proper and so on.

"I'll be having tea party. Apprentice Strategist Liu can watch from the side," Gao Ling said with a smile.

"Yes, Miss Gao."

Hai Yue and the other servant of Gao Ling looked at Wei Liuying with confusion. It was rare to have a male attended the ladies' tea party. However, it didn't seem like Gao Ling was bothered with the arrangement in the slightest bit. In fact, it looked as if she was excited for it.

Wei Liuying followed Gao Ling to the other side of the residence and waited patiently by the side. Not long afterwards, several ladies came. They were all dressed in beautiful dress that didn't seem to lose from the noble ladies back in the capital city.

"Welcome Lady Su," Gao Ling greeted with a smile.

The first lady smiled back. "Greetings to Lady Gao. Congratulations for the victory in the battle yesterday."

"It's all thanks to the reinforcement."

"Young Lady Gao is so gallant when she stood at the front. Many soldiers are singing praise for your bravery."

"Thank you for your compliment. I'm flattered with your praise."

The young ladies were all singing praise for Gao Ling. Gao Ling responded to each of them calmly with the proper manner that she was supposed to have. Afterwards, they were all simply talking about many random things about Gao City that Wei Liuying was unfamiliar with.

Gao City was located quite far from Huang River, but it was like what Wei Liuying thought. They had created a passage of clean water from Huang River to flow not far from their place and reached nearby lake. That way, they would be able to get clean water with just half an incense stick time of journey.

Aside from that, there were also several well that they built deep enough to gain water. Thanks to that, the condition in Gao City was not that bad. But when it was Winter, they would have to face very harsh condition and many people were unwilling to leave their houses at that time.

The tea party lasted for a long time before Gao Ling sent them all out. She stretched her body when there were only her maidservants and Wei Liuying in the garden. "They're putting on so much layer of their faces."

Wei Liuying didn't reply. For her, it was something that was very normal because she had seen how those people in the Capital City acted.

Gao Ling looked at Wei Liuying with a grin. "So, are the people in the Capital City also use face mask?"

"Yes, Miss Gao."

"How about you?"

"One who didn't put on a face mask will not be able to survive," Wei Liuying responded in a roundabout way.

Gao Ling clicked her tongue when she heard how Wei Liuying spoke. She was even harder than Yang Xian to crack back then. After all, Yang Xian was used to stay in the village and talked normally. On the other hand, Wei Liuying had already engraved this way of talking to her bone.

"Can't you speak normally?"

"This is my normal way of speaking, Miss Gao."

"Even when you're alone?"

"Yes."

"Why? Isn't it tiring?"

Wei Liuying smiled. "Mask is the best method if one wishes to survive, especially if there are a lot of enemies around."

Chills ran down the spine of the other three ladies. Wei Liuying's smile looked so dark at that moment as if she had seen the darkest of human's nature. It gave them scare and at the same time, trepidation.

For whatever reason, Gao Ling felt that it would be for the best to not pry any deeper.

"The Capital City is that dangerous?"

"One wrong move might cost the ultimate price, Miss Gao," Wei Liuying spoke truthfully. If she ever made a wrong mistake, she would have to pay with the price. The number of times when she almost died back in Wei Family Residence was simply uncountable now. Besides, she didn't wish to remember those times again.

Let the past be the past. There was no need to bring it all up once more.

Gao Ling looked at Wei Liuying. She had heard from Prince Ji Sheng about the capital city from time to time, but she never thought that the lives of people there would be that miserable. Was it really that hard to live in the capital city to the point that Wei Liuying had to wear a mask in every moment of her life?

Thinking about wearing a mask and not allowed to act freely all the time, Gao Ling shivered. She didn't want to experience it at all.

"Is there no one whom you could trust?"

Trust?

Wei Liuying's eyes flickered. In her entire life, the number of people whom she trusted could be counted with the number of fingers. Even then, the degree of trust she had towards those people were quite low. She never dared to reveal everything about herself because it would be the same as putting her own life in their hands.

While her life might be worthless to many people, she treasured her own life. She wanted to live for a long time.

"The only person whom you could trust is yourself…" Wei Liuying paused for a moment. "Is what I want to say, Miss Gao."

Hearing Wei Liuying's sentence, Gao Ling arched her eyebrows. Looking at the clear eyes that was staring straight at her, Gao Ling could feel some kind of strange feelings. It was as if Wei Liuying wanted to tell her something, but she couldn't.

After a while, Gao Ling spoke out. "You just haven't found the right person."

"You can say it like that, Miss Gao."

Being betrayed by the one who had been accompanying her ever since she was a child, Wei Liuying didn't want to repeat the same mistake ever again. Her eyes stayed calm and there was no emotion resurfaced, but she knew how much her heart was hurt back then.

From the moment she allowed someone to enter her heart, even though it was only at the edge, it would be impossible to not have that person affect her in the slightest bit. Seeing then turning their head back and tried to harm her, it was hard to believe at first because of the long history.

She gave a chance.

Only to be disappointed once more.

Gao Ling tilted her head. "How's life in your household before? I heard from Prince Ji Sheng that you're a noble's son in the capital city, right?"

It was actually daughter, but Gao Ling didn't want to let her two maidservants to know about that. She did trust them, but there were still some things that she couldn't possibly told them.

Wei Liuying smiled lightly. "It's a life that you will never want to experience, Miss Gao. You're very lucky to be able to stay in this place and have a loving father and fiancé."

"You sure know how to talk." Gao Ling rubbed her nose. She had the feeling that if she had to had a contest in debate with Wei Liuying, she would have lost very miserably without any chance to comeback.

"Many thanks for your compliment."

"Back to the main topic." Gao Ling rubbed her chin. "I guess it's good that I don't have to live in the Capital City."

"You might need to visit the Capital City, Miss Gao," Wei Liuying added.

"Eh?"

"Paying respect to your husband's parents would be something that you need to do," Wei Liuying added.

It was then Gao Ling recalled her future marriage with Prince Ji Sheng. When it was the time, she would need to come to the Capital City to pay her respect to the Emperor. Thinking about that alone already made Gao Ling's head hurt. She didn't to come to the capital city after hearing what Wei Liuying said to her.

"Oh well, that'll be for later. Now, it's time for my training. You come too, Liu Ying."

"Yes, Miss Gao."

For the rest of the time, Wei Liuying accompanied Gao Ling on the field. She was practicing her archery and tried to hit the target from longer distance. From the way she ordered her servants to push the target back over and over, it was clear that she was calculating the longest distance she could aim.

When it was dinner time, Wei Liuying excused herself and ate on her own while Gao Ling accompanied Prince Ji Sheng. She didn't want to be the third wheel again because she hadn't mastered the method to disappear into the wall. Afterwards, she could finally rest on her own without the need to be worried that Gao Ling would bother her again.