Chapter 5

Chapter 5

I spent a fortune to buy the estate right next to the Guangping Marquis Manor.

I moved into the room directly adjacent to Wei He’s.

Separated by only a single wall.

Wei He’s inner thoughts could now drift clearly into my ears.

[Damn it, Zhao Shu’an can clearly hear my thoughts, so why hasn’t she fallen for it?]

[Could it be that my acting wasn’t convincing enough?]

[Curse it all, my mother fell for it, so why can’t she?]

[That bitch… one day, I’ll make sure you die by my hand.]

Me: “…”

He’s as ugly as his dreams are beautiful.

[I wonder if Eldest Brother and that maid have sealed the deal yet.]

[If they really did, Mother will surely loathe Eldest Brother to the core!]

[A son lusting after his mother’s personal maid-that little beauty even Father has praised before.]

[Hahahaha, Eldest Brother is finished.]

[What a pity my backside is injured and I can’t go watch the show myself.]

Me: “…”

He certainly knows how to stir up trouble.

When my Shadow Guard arrived at the scene, Wei Xiao had already knocked out the drugged maid and placed her in a vat of cold water.

He himself had stumbled out into the courtyard and jumped into the pond without hesitation.

I felt a sense of relief.

Wei Xiao was much smarter than I had imagined.

This saved me quite a bit of trouble.

However, since he wanted to play games, it was only fair that I played back.

I had someone catch a snake and quietly release it into Wei He’s room.

The weather was a bit chilly, so the snake instinctively sought out a warm place to burrow.

Before long, I heard Wei He’s miserable shrieks:

“Snake, snake, snake, snake, there’s a snake…”

“Don’t crawl in there!”

“Ah, it hurts…”

“Help…”

I rested my chin on my hand, deep in thought.

Where exactly was the “there” he was talking about?

It couldn’t be *there*, could it?

“…”

Well now!

I couldn’t tell when we caught it that it was such an improper snake.

The Wei household was in an uproar.

First, the Eldest Young Master fell into the water.

Then, the Second Young Master was violated by a snake.

The Lady of Guangping Marquis was in tears, lamenting the family’s misfortune and planning to go up the mountain tomorrow to pray to the Bodhisattva.

Listening from next door, I felt a twinge of regret that I couldn’t witness the drama with my own eyes.

It was quite frustrating.

But as they say, things often go from bad to worse.

While the Guangping Marquis Manor was in a state of chaos, rumors were spreading like wildfire outside.

Everyone was saying that the reason Second Young Master Wei broke into the Buddhist temple that day wasn’t for the Princess.

Instead, it was for a young palace maid by the Princess’s side.

The two were said to be childhood sweethearts who grew up together.

Alas, one was a fine young master of a Marquis’s manor, while the other was a lowly palace maid.

Their statuses were worlds apart, making it impossible for them to be together.

In the end, the young master could no longer endure the pangs of longing and broke in just to catch a single glimpse of his beloved.

Though he was beaten for it, his lovesickness was finally soothed.

As these rumors swirled, I couldn’t help but frown.

As expected, scandalous tales of romance travel the fastest. Even though I had ordered other rumors to be spread, this was the only one that truly took off.

That’s what experience teaches you!

Next time, no matter what I’m spreading, I should make sure to include a bit of private romance.

When Xue Ling heard the rumors, she was a bit panicked at first.

She was likely afraid that Wei He would think she was the one who started them.

But she soon calmed down.

Things had reached this point; she understood she had no other way out.

Bringing everything into the light was the best course of action.

If the Lady of Guangping Marquis was truly sensible, she should send someone to explain the situation and arrange for Wei He to marry Xue Ling.

After all, lusting after a Princess and being childhood sweethearts with a palace maid carried very different levels of guilt.

The former was a bold and impudent lecher, while the latter was a devoted romantic.

Xue Ling waited with bated breath.

During those few days…

Her mood was visibly excellent.

Even when Shuangwei spoke to her with biting sarcasm, she accepted it with equanimity.

She openly showed me the letter she had written to Wei He.

In it, she recounted memories of their childhood and spoke of her current plight within the palace.

If Wei He truly had feelings for her, he would understand her meaning.

She was brimming with confidence.

Her cheeks were even flushed with a faint pink.

“Your Highness, I am a selfish person.”

“But I truly cannot stay in the palace any longer.”

“I am seeking a future for myself, but I never intended to harm you, Princess.”

“I am merely playing the role of the Matchmaker. I beg your forgiveness.”

The Matchmaker!

That was a character who betrayed her own mistress.

She had learned all the wrong lessons.

The corners of my lips curled slightly as I looked at her with pity.

“Then do you know that the original version of The Story of the Western Wing was called The Tale of Yingying?”

“In The Tale of Yingying, the young lady, with the help of her maid, exchanged tokens of affection with a scholar and pledged her life to him.”

“But that scholar later had a change of heart. He claimed Yingying was a peerless beauty, a seductress who would bring ruin to the nation, and he abandoned her after defiling her.”

“Later generations felt that Yingying was truly pitiable, so they adapted it into The Story of the Western Wing.”

“They rewrote the scholar as a man of honor and affection.”

“But you have lived in the palace; you are well-acquainted with the nature of the human heart.”

“Tell me, do you think there are more scholars in this world like the one in The Tale of Yingying, or the one in The Story of the Western Wing?”

Xue Ling’s expression shifted.

Her gaze turned vacant.

Her fingers tightly gripped her handkerchief.

“I… I do not know…”

“Well, you know now.”

Behind Xue Ling, Shuangwei raised her palm in irritation as if to strike her, but then let it fall.

She raised it, then lowered it again.

Finally, she turned away and let out a long sigh.

“What a sin!”

Xue Ling fell silent.

She waited quietly for news from the Wei family.

Presumably, she wanted to see if Wei He was a scholar from The Tale of Yingying or one from The Story of the Western Wing.

However, she was destined for disappointment.

While offering prayers to Buddha, the Lady of Guangping Marquis drew an “extremely unlucky” fortune slip.

The monk interpreting the slip said the Marquis’s manor needed a joyous occasion to dispel the misfortune.

As soon as the Lady of Guangping Marquis returned from the mountain, she began arranging a marriage for Wei He.

Matchmakers flowed in and out of the manor.

Very quickly.

The Lady of Guangping Marquis found a candidate-the legitimate daughter of a subordinate fourth-rank official.

It so happened that the Eldest Princess was hosting a spring banquet.

I attended the banquet, bringing Shuangwei and Xue Ling with me.

There, I saw the Lady of Guangping Marquis, Wei Xiao, and Wei He.

When Wei He saw me, he hurriedly took a few steps forward.

As he neared me, he retreated shyly, looking like a man feeling “nervous as he nears home.”

He was quite the actor.

[“The Princess is so beautiful…”]

[“Ah, what a pity. It seems the Princess dislikes me very much.”]

[“What should I do to win her favor?”]

[“I really didn’t mean it last time.”]

He put on a pitiful display.

I really should have let Xue Ling hear his inner thoughts as well.

Unfortunately.

Only one person at a time could be designated to hear his heart’s voice.

Once the designation was made, the person could not be changed for three months.

Therefore, it was best to resolve everything within these three months.

I gave him a slight smile, plucked a flower from a tree, dropped it on the ground, and turned to leave.

When I reached a turn in the path, I looked back.

Wei He had already picked up the flower. His eyes were sparkling, looking every bit the part of a man who cherished the bloom.

I felt a cold shiver run down my spine.

In my dream…

Was I won over like this?

It’s a bit disgusting.

Xue Ling’s face was pale.

I wonder how the Matchmaker felt when she watched Zhang Sheng flirting with Yingying?

I couldn’t understand it.

But I respected it.