This chapter has been provided to you by me, ororomunroe90, and leecherleechleech.
This chapter is a sweet one, and He Heng’s feelings start to come through. In fact, he starts to get more bold about it from now on in future chapters.
Chapter Fifty One Shameless Woman
Qu Qing Ju sat high up in the side hall, calmly looking down at the two women sitting beneath her. She had seen Wei Ran Shuang before, and as for this Wei Qin shi who'd wanted to meet her, Qu Qing Ju strangely felt that she looked somewhat similar to Liang shi.
"His Highness Duan Wang, when he was younger, had actually piggy-backed our yatou. It's been so many years now. His Highness Duan Wang has already gotten married and our yatou is almost grown up and ready for marriage herself," Wei Qin shi sighed and reluctantly said to Qu Qing Ju: "Time passes by so quickly."
Qu Qing Ju smiled and motioned for Wei Qin shi to continue speaking.
Wei Qin shi hated that Duan Wang Fei could sit there so calmly, unmoved by her words. She took a sip of tea before continuing: "At the end of last year, our entire family had finally returned to Jing from the outside post. It was all thanks to His Highness Duan Wang's kindness that our family received an adequately good job here. Ran yatou, as his cousin, always thought about the boon His Highness Duan Wang gave us but since there is a separation of sexes, they were unable to meet each other. Today, I will give my thanks to wang fei. If I'm lucky, we'll get to personally thank wang ye as well."
Wei Ran Shuang seized the opportunity to stand and bow to Qu Qing Ju, "Ran Shuang thanks biao ge, thanks biao sao."
Qu Qing Ju felt her teeth were getting a bit sore. She looked at the color of the sky outside and then at the mother and daughter duo who had been sitting there for almost four hours. These two were most likely waiting for He Heng to return to the fu. She smiled and replied: "Biao mei doesn't have to be so courteous. As gegeand saozi, it's proper to treat meimei and family members well."
"Wang fei is virtuous," Wei Qin shu took advantage of her words, and shamelessly proclaimed, "Shuang yatou has always really liked His Highness Duan Wang, her biao ge. Just speaking about it, I'm afraid you will laugh. Even now, she still remembers how His Highness Duan Wang cared for her in the past."
How thick did a person's skin have to be that she could say to a woman that her daughter liked the woman's husband? Qu Qing Ju jerked the corners of her mouth. She heard that this Wei Qin shi was of the same clan and branch as Qin Bai Lu, but just more distant in relation. The Qin Family was a well-educated noble family, how did it produce a woman such as Wei Qin shi?
Yin Liu, who was standing behind Qu Qing Ju, heard her words. The rage on her face was barely hidden. It was only the fact that she was more afraid of making it difficult for wang fei that made her suppress it. But her gaze, as she stared down at the mother and daughter pair of the Wei Family, became increasingly cold.
"He he," Qu Qing Ju raised the teacup for a sip to hide the mirth that nearly surged up within her, "wang ye had never mentioned biao mei to me."
The smile on Wei Qin shi's face froze. She instantly replied: "Wang ye is occupied with a myriad of state affairs. He wouldn't have remembered to discuss such minor things when he returns to the fu."
"What does Wei furenmean?" Qu Qing Ju's face darkened, "Wang ye is just an imperial son. Where does this myriad of state affairs come from? Furthermore, wang ye usually resides in zhengyuan and he always talks about the household matters with me. Why does it seem like you mean that wang ye has matters he doesn't like discussing with ben wang fei?"
Wei Qin shi was in shock. She didn't think that Duan Wang Fei could change faces so quickly without a hint of warning. She paused for a second before regrouping and said: "Please forgive me, wang fei. Chen fu meant no such thing."
Wei Ran Shuang bowed to Qu Qing Ju with a pale face as she joined in: "Please wang fei, don't be angry. Mother wasn't being deliberate and didn't mean it like that."
"We are all related here. There's no need to be so strict," Qu Qing Ju's face softened and she smiled again. After she motioned for Wei Ran Shuang to sit down again, she continued, "If Wei furen didn't mean it, then it's naturally good."
Wei Qin shi had never seen someone who could change expressions so fast. Right now, as Qu Qing Ju smiled, she could only follow: "Chen fu doesn't know how to speak. It's lucky that wang fei doesn't object, wang fei is really tolerant."
"The thoughtless words of normal people, I won't get angry at," Qu Qing Ju replied calmly, "Why isn't biao mei attending in front of mufei, and also left the palace?"
Wei Ran Shuang answered in a small voice: "Guifei niangniang was worried that my family missed me so she sent me back to the fu." Was wang fei implying that they were normal people and not worth bothering with?
"En, mufei is always very considerate," Qu Qing Ju examined Wei Ran Shuang from head to toe: "I see your bones are thin and weak. When you return to your fu, you should eat more." She then let Rui Xiang and Shu Kui bring out some quality medicinal herbs for Wei Qin shi to take back.
"We shouldn't let wang fei spend so much," Wei Qin shi stood and gave her thanks. She saw the sky was becoming darker and darker and no one had reported wang ye's return to the fu. She was getting impatient but she still wanted to wait. She could only rudely sit and not bid farewell.
Qu Qing Ju wasn't in any rush either. She was waiting for He Heng to return. These two women were so interesting that if He Heng didn't experience this for himself, how would the suffering she underwent this afternoon be justified?
Wei Ran Shuang was unable to sit still in her seat. She might've been interested in Duan Wang but her face was much thinner. Seeing wang fei staring pointedly at her, she felt her face heat up and didn't dare to meet Qu Qing Ju's eyes.
Just then, Xiao Gan Zi hurriedly walked in and bowed to Qu Qing Ju. He said lightly: "Wang fei, wang ye has returned."
Wei Ran Shuang's eyes were immediately filled with light. She raised her head slightly and saw the other woman reveal a bright smile. Even though she was a woman, she had to admit that Duan Wang Fei was attractive.
"Since wang ye has returned, why don't we greet wang ye?," Wei Qin shi positioned herself as an elder by sitting on the chair and commented, "Chen fu hasn't seen His Highness for so many years."
Xiao Gan Zi was still standing, his body bent at the waist. Upon hearing Wei Qin shi's words, he twisted his mouth in disdain. No wonder this Wei xiaojie looked so petty-minded. With such a mother, how good of a daughter could she raise?
A not even closely related jiumu had the nerve to posture as an elder in front of wang fei. If you gave them an inch, they would take a mile. They should take a good look at their rank before acting.
"Wang ye is here."
Qu Qing Ju stood and saw He Heng striding towards her. She smiled and went forward, their two hands naturally coming together, "Today, you're later than usual."
"There were more matters to attend to so you had to wait a bit longer," He Heng brought her along and they sat before looking down at Wei Qin shi and Wei Ran Shuang standing below, "Wei furen and Wei xiao jie have enough free time to visit ben wang's fu?" He didn't need to use courtesy towards these kind of people. The imposing manner of a wang ye came out naturally.
Wei Qin shifelt an indescribable sense of awe. She gave He Heng a bow of greeting, "Since returning to Jing, I haven't seen wang ye and wang fei, so today I brought my daughter here to greet wang fei."
"It must have been great trouble for you to come. Wang fei has already met Wei xiaojie at the palace," He Heng raised Qu Qing Ju's teacup to take a mouthful. He calmly remarked, "Based on mu fei's ancestors, you are ben wang's elders. How can it be that you came here to meet us?"
"Wang ye isn't someone we can compare to," Wei Qin shi's tone, as she spoke, became politer. She carefully said, "Shuang yatou kept talking about her memories when you were younger so chen fu had to come here with this yatou."
The hand that held his teacup stilled. What did those words mean? He turned his head to look at Qu Qing Ju. As expected, he saw that there were hints of ice in the other's mirth. He slightly furrowed his eyebrows and commented, "Wei xiaojie had only met with ben wanga few times during our younger years. These words Wei furen has spoken are perhaps too inappropriate."
Wei Qin shi heard that Duan Wang didn't have any interest in her daughter. The smile on her face became ugly. After a beat, she replied: "Wang ye is too serious. You are cousins, there's no need to care too much?"
He Heng expressionlessly stated: "Protecting females when the males are older is human nature."
"Yin Liu, get someone to bring hot water for wang ye so that he can wash his hands," Qu Qing Ju stood to look outside, "It's late now and almost time for the evening meal. How about you two stay for the meal?"
Wei Qin shi saw that Duan Wang wasn't currently interested in her daughter and lost her desire to stay. She smiled and stood, bidding farewell: "Then I won't disturb wang ye and wang fei any further. Chen fu will say her goodbyes."
"Take care. We won't bother seeing you out." He Heng nodded slightly, not saying a word to detain them. This caused Wei Qin shi's heart to become colder and she understood that the matter was most likely closed for discussion.
Coming out of Duan Wang Fu, Wei Qin shi and Wei Ran Shuang went inside their carriage to go back to their fu. Wei Qin shi sighed and said to her daughter sitting beside her: "I haven’t met this Duan Wang Fei previously. Now that I've seen her, the matter of you entering Duan Wang Fu will most likely be a struggle." She wanted her daughter to enter Duan Wang Fu, but from the moment Duan Wang came in to when they left, he hadn't even properly looked at her daughter once. He had completely disregarded her daughter.
"Daughter knows," Wei Ran Shuang bit her lips as she pleaded, "But mother, daughter wants to enter Duan Wang Fu."
Wei Qin shi sighed. After a long time, she said: "We'll think of some other way."
Inside Duan Wang Fu, Qu Qing Ju focused on washing her hands, not saying a word.
"Angry?" He Heng looked at her dark face and her unwillingness to speak. After he dried his hands, he moved to sit next to Qu Qing Ju, "Don't be angry over such a muddle-headed woman. In the future, we won't allow them to enter the fu."
"If you don't let them enter, how will you be able to look at your childhood sweetheart biao mei?" Qu Qing Ju glanced from the corner of her eye, gently snorting, "Otherwise, tomorrow there will be some other biao mei who will also be saying how much she thinks of you."
Men usually didn't value women who pushed themselves upon others. Inside, there was even a hint of looking down at them. Qu Qing Ju knew that He Heng had that hint when he looked at Wei Ran Shuang. This was one of the reasons why she wanted the two women to stay until He Heng came back to the fu.
"I don't want her so she can't be forced in," He Heng saw that she still had a dark face and could only comfort her, "Didn't we already say there's only Qing Ju? You are peerless. Ben wang doesn't even want to take a second look at other women. Don't be angry, it's not good for the body, en?"
Reaching out with her hand to gently twist on his forearm, Qu Qing Ju turned her head to state: "You said it, I didn't force you."
"These are the words of my heart," He Heng smiled as he caressed her hair, "Let them serve the evening meal. Didn't you want to play weiqi? Later, I'll play a match with you."
Qu Qing Ju reluctantly nodded.
Standing in the corner, Xiao Gan Zi thought that the members of the Wei Family were blind to not know how much importance wang ye placed on wang fei. This ingratiating manner, if he told anyone, he was afraid no one would believe it.
It was most likely that wang ye had, after today, marked a strike against the entire family of Wei Qin shi.