good season

Before Master Wei and his entourage arrived in the capital, the Wei family mansion in the capital only had two masters: Wei Ya'er and Wei Wubing. Although Wei Wubing was a male, Wei Ya'er had the title of county princess. Therefore, the largest and best courtyard in the mansion was where Wei Ya'er lived, and Wei Wubing lived next.

Although Master Wei threw Wei Ya'er into the dungeon, the Wei family did not want to give up the title of county princess. Therefore, Wei Ya'er's courtyard was preserved, and everything in the courtyard was also preserved, except for the items that were secretly sent out of the mansion by Granny Guan.

Although there were two burly old women guarding the courtyard, this did not stop Little Demon and Big Fatty; the two cats entered the courtyard without much effort.

This is a small courtyard with three sections. The first section is planted with some flowers and plants. The second section has no side rooms. The main house has bedrooms and a study on the sides. One side room is a washroom, and the other side is a storeroom. The third section is the rear courtyard, where all the maids and servants live.

Wei Ya'er's maids either died or fled, and Granny Guan didn't want to live in a room where dead people had lived, so she moved from the back room to the front room of the first courtyard.

Little Demon and Big Fatty entered the courtyard and saw two little maids, about seven or eight years old, watering the flowers. Big Fatty meowed, his voice full of sweetness.

The two maids were indeed drawn to him: "Hey, there are cats! Two of them! They're so chubby and cute!"

The little demon jumped to a high place, but the fat man walked over and rubbed against the little maid's skirt, making the little maid extremely happy.

Just then, a girl in pink, about fifteen or sixteen years old, came out from the second courtyard. Seeing the girl playing with the cat, the girl frowned and said, "I told you to do some work, but you're shirking your duties and playing with the cat. You have no manners at all. I don't know how Granny Guan taught you."

The two maids were startled and quickly continued watering the flowers.

The maid in pink gave the fat man a disdainful look, then turned and left.

Seeing that the girl in pink had walked away, the two maids dared to whisper, "Sister Lanlan is so fierce, much fiercer than Sister Mengqing and the others."

"Shh, stop talking. Sister Lanlan is from our clan. The county princess values ​​her highly. Haven't you noticed that the county princess only has her serve her now?"

“Yes, the county princess used to have such a grand entourage, and her sisters each had their own duties. Some served her by combing her hair, some by washing her face, and some by dressing her. But now, all of these things are done by Sister Lanlan alone.”

"The county princess no longer needs Granny Guan. Granny Guan wanted to see the county princess this morning, but the county princess refused to see her."

Xiao Yao overheard something and went to the second courtyard. The pink-clad maid named Lanlan was taking down the clothes that were drying on the line. This was something that the maids usually did, but now she was doing it all by herself.

Lanlan put away her clothes and went into the east side room.

The second courtyard was very large, three or four times the size of the first, but it was completely empty. Once Lanlan entered the house, there was no one else in the courtyard.

The little demon went around to the back of the house. The front and back windows of the east side room were all open. The little demon jumped onto the windowsill of the back window. The window was covered with soft gauze. Cats are born with good ears, and they could hear the woman's soft whispers clearly.

"Lanlan, you've done all the work by yourself. You've worked so hard."

“I’m not tired at all. As long as I think that from now on, you will be a county princess, I’m happy from the bottom of my heart. It’s all worth it, no matter how tired I am.”

The woman's voice, however, betrayed no joy. She sighed, "Yesterday, my father said I couldn't save my face. I'm so scared. I'm sure I'll be left with scars. I'm sure the second young master of the Liang Prince's mansion will look down on me."

Lanlan advised, "Miss, what's there to be afraid of? Think about it, as long as you endure it, you'll be a county princess. Compared to a lifetime of wealth and honor, what are a few scars? Besides, the master said that the Liang Prince's mansion is sickly and weak, and your sister-in-law comes from a humble family. But you have the powerful Consort Li behind you. If you marry into that mansion, the entire mansion will have to be subservient to you. That second young master has nothing. He's marrying you; he's climbing the social ladder. Does he even deserve it?"

The woman was still very uneasy: "But it will hurt a lot, right? I'm most afraid of pain."

"The pain will only last for a while. The master dotes on you so much, he will definitely ask the imperial physician to treat you," Lanlan comforted her.

The woman sighed again. Lanlan said, "Let me help you get some rest and recharge. We have a tough battle tonight."

There was a rustling sound coming from inside the room; it must be the woman lying down on the bed.

With a few leaps, Xiao Yao returned to the first courtyard, leaving Xiao Pang there to guard the place, while she went out of the Wei residence to meet up with Zhao Shiqing.

Xiao Yao seemed to understand what she was hearing, but Zhao Shiqing understood it perfectly.

Wei Qian'er arrived quite quickly; she had already reached the capital.

To be on the safe side, after arriving in the capital, she did not allow anyone else in the Wei household to serve her except for Lanlan, and those people did not see her.

The maids and servants in the mansion all thought she was still Wei Ya'er.

Tonight, a pre-arranged accident will occur, in which Wei Qian'er will be disfigured, completely dispelling everyone's doubts and transforming her into Wei Ya'er.

As long as she is disfigured, those in the capital who have seen Wei Ya'er will not suspect anything. They will only think that this county princess is unlucky, that her beautiful face has been ruined at such a young age.

Of the maids and servants who had served Wei Ya'er since childhood, only Granny Guan remained.

Nine times out of ten, the Wei family will be silenced.

They could abandon or kill Wei Ya'er at will, let alone an old nanny.

Zhao Shiqing spun around twice, and on the third spin, she thought of Xiao Zhen.

The Wei residence wasn't far from the Ruyi Pavilion, so Zhao Shiqing took Xiao Yao there.

Xiao Zhen was talking to Fatty Si when he saw Zhao Shiqing arrive. He was overjoyed and dismissed Fatty Si with a few words.

Zhao Shiqing recounted everything the two cats had overheard. Xiao Zhen frowned deeply. He was raising money and supplies for the Tongzhou flood relief efforts, and upon hearing this, he naturally thought of the Tongzhou flood again.

That night, under a bright moon and few stars, a fire suddenly broke out in the Wei residence, and the source of the fire was the courtyard of the Changling County Princess!
Wei Wubing's coffin is still in the mansion. Master Wei and the Wei clan have been exhausted these days and sleep very soundly at night. After being released from the Ministry of Justice prison last time, more than half of the servants of the Wei family escaped. The remaining servants are mostly old, weak, sick and disabled. They can hardly carry water, let alone put out a fire.

By the time the Five City Division heard the news and rushed over, the Changling County Princess's courtyard was already almost completely burned down.

Fortunately, the people from the Five City Division were experienced and quickly brought the fire under control, preventing it from spreading to other courtyards.

Master Wei cried his heart out because Wei Qian'er did not run away as originally planned.

After the plan was completed, Wei Qian'er was hit in the face by a beam used for cooking, burning her face, but she escaped with the help of her maid.

Master Wei waited outside, but only two maids came out.

Wei Qian'er did not come out! The people of the Five Cities Division did not find any bodies in the ruins. Whether it was Wei Qian'er, her maid Lanlan, or Granny Guan, whose leg injury had not yet healed, none of them were found alive or dead.

After confirming that no body had been found, Master Wei could no longer cry.

He had originally intended to cry for the Five City Division, believing that Wei Qian'er's inability to escape meant she had been burned to death. However, since no body had been found, there was only one possibility: Wei Qian'er and the other two were not in the courtyard when the fire broke out.

The two maids knew nothing when asked. They had noticed the fire and ran out. They lived in the back room, which was closest to the door, so it was easy for them to get out. They didn't notice whether Granny Guan was still there.

One of Master Wei's trusted confidants rushed over: "Master, Master, don't worry. The county princess went to Zizhu Temple yesterday to pray for the young master. It was too late and she didn't come back. She stayed overnight at the temple."

Master Wei breathed a sigh of relief. That's why he's called a confidant. This confidant deserves a bonus—no, a bonus of silver.

He slapped his forehead: "Oh dear, I was just too worried. Ya'er went to Zizhu Temple with her maid and wet nurse. I forgot in my haste. Please forgive me."

The people of the Five Cities Bureau were used to it. They had long heard of the Wei siblings' reputation. Relying on the favor of Consort Li, they were arrogant and domineering. Not long ago, Wei Wubing died, and Wei Ya'er was even arrested and imprisoned. Their reputation had long been ruined. Who knew whether they went to the Purple Bamboo Temple or went to meet their lovers? Anyway, no one knew. The Purple Bamboo Temple was not a place that just anyone could go. There was no way to investigate.

The man from the Five Cities Division gave a forced smile: "Alright, alright, then we'll take our leave."

Master Wei had a tray of silver ingots brought out and invited the brothers of the Five Cities Division to have a late-night snack.

After dismissing the Five City Division men, Master Wei gazed at the ruins and fell into deep thought.

Only the Five City Division and the onlookers believed what the confidant had just said.

Of course, it could also fool the people in the clan.

But he knew perfectly well that he had arranged the fire today, and he had discussed it with Wei Qian'er. Wei Qian'er was in the courtyard and had not gone to the Purple Bamboo Temple at all.

But where are they now?
Where have people gone?
And even that Granny Guan has disappeared.

Granny Guan was Wei Ya'er's wet nurse, and even though Wei Qian'er was disfigured, it couldn't hide it from Granny Guan.

Therefore, in this fire, Granny Guan had to die. If she died, no one would know that Wei Qian'er was not Wei Ya'er.

However, Granny Guan's body was never found.

Master Wei grew increasingly frightened. Could it be that Granny Guan sensed something was wrong, knew she was about to be silenced, and had kidnapped Wei Qian'er?

But Granny Guan needs a cane to walk now. How could an old woman like her kidnap Wei Qian'er?
Oh, and Lanlan too. If Granny Guan and Lanlan cooperate, kidnapping Wei Qian'er won't be difficult.

This evening, several large boxes were indeed moved out of the mansion. They were all Wei Wubing's old belongings. According to the customs of his hometown, after a person dies, personal items such as bedding and clothing cannot be kept; they must be taken to the crossroads and burned.

Master Wei had been reluctant to burn these things, but since they were about to return to their hometown, he only sent someone to deal with them yesterday.

Could it be that Granny Guan and the other two hid in those large trunks to leave the mansion?
Master Wei immediately went to investigate, only to find that none of the people who carried the boxes out of the mansion yesterday had returned.

In fact, ever since Wei Wubing died, the Wei family mansion in the capital has been riddled with problems. Although Master Wei came to the capital, he has always been a hands-off manager and doesn't know how to manage the household at all. Therefore, he only found out now that those people left the mansion yesterday and haven't returned.

Master Wei was struck dumb!

Oh no, something terrible has happened!
When Wei Ya'er went missing, he was searching for her, but he still felt confident.

His confidence stemmed from Wei Qian'er, who bore a resemblance to Wei Ya'er; otherwise, he wouldn't have sent Wei Qian'er to the capital so early on.

But now, even Wei Qian'er has disappeared, leaving Master Wei heartbroken and speechless.

Is it really possible that the title of county princess will slip through the fingers of the Wei family?
And then there's the marriage proposal from the Prince of Liang's mansion—what a wonderful marriage proposal!
He hated that he didn't have a third daughter.

There are quite a few nieces and cousins, but firstly, those nieces don't look like Wei Ya'er, and secondly, why should they be given the title of her own daughter?
"My lord, the most urgent task is to find the county princess. We cannot lose her; it concerns the reputation of the Wei family."

The voice of his confidant rang in his ears, and Master Wei shuddered. He was truly confused. What was he thinking about now? Of course, he should be looking for someone, finding Wei Qian'er!

The reason why Granny Guan dared to do this must be because someone was backing her up. If Wei Qian'er were to die, that would be one thing, but if she fell into the hands of someone with ulterior motives, it would not only harm the Wei family, but also Consort Li in the palace.

"Find it! Go find it quickly!"

Master Wei secretly sent people to search for three days. They found Willow Tree Alley and learned that Granny Guan's son had moved away, but no one knew where he had moved to.

Granny Guan's husband died years ago, and apart from her son's family, she had no other relatives.

Master Wei even had his men search every brothel in the capital, but they still couldn't find Wei Qian'er.

At this very moment, the Liang Prince's Mansion in the capital came to visit with people from the Ministry of Rites. The second young master would be leaving the mourning period next year, and the chief steward of the Liang Prince's Mansion, on the orders of the Liang Princess, took advantage of the fact that Master Wei was still in the capital to discuss the wedding arrangements.

Master Wei's heart sank.

If the Liang Prince's Mansion were to find out that Wei Ya'er had disappeared at this time...
No, absolutely not.

Moreover, it wasn't just the Prince Liang's residence; there was also the Ministry of Rites.

The marriage between Wei Ya'er and Zhao Tingxuan was bestowed by the emperor, and officials from the Ministry of Rites had to be present at every stage of the marriage negotiations.

Master Wei had no choice but to say that he was too busy these past few days and asked them to come back later. The people from the Ministry of Rites did not want to make another wasted trip and asked them to set a specific time. Master Wei said seven days later. The Chief Secretary of the Prince of Liang’s Mansion felt that the Wei family was not sincere enough and insisted that it be three days at the latest. After some back and forth, they finally settled on five days later.

Although Wei Ya'er didn't need to personally appear when discussing the marriage with the Liang Prince's Mansion, this five-day agreement was of paramount importance to Master Wei.

This is only the Liang Prince's residence; there is also the Empress. Now we need to discuss the specific details of the marriage, which will inevitably have to be reported to the Empress. What if the Empress suddenly decides to let Wei Ya'er enter the palace?
Master Wei was restless; he even regretted throwing Wei Ya'er into the dungeon.

No, he regretted even more that he had silenced that crazy woman.

Couldn't he have waited until Wei Qian'er married into Liang before killing that madwoman?
What is he anxious about?
"My lord, my lord, there's a letter here!" (End of Chapter)