The Princess Wei Yang Chapter 87 part2

Chapter 87: Jealousy Part 2

苍松 cāng sōng - known as the Armand pine or Chinese white pine tree

百蠹之虫死而不僵 bǎi zú zhī chóng, sǐ ér

bù jiāng - insect with hundreds of legs, dead but not stiff, saying that even

when powerful people or groups fall, their power and influence still exist

After the New Year was hunting season.

Every year, during this time, the Emperor gave the

decree permitting members of the Imperial family and civil and military

officials to participate. Li Wei Yang had become Xianzhu, and with Li Xiao

Ran’s intervention, her name was among those invited. A glorious honor, it was

the first time two nu haizi of the Li family were invited. Such a great honor,

making others curious and enthusiastic. However, Li Wei Yang seemed concerned

and unhappy.

Li Min De curiously asked: “San jie, why do you look

unhappy?”

Li Wei Yang said: “What is there to be interested it?”

After all, it was an opportunity for nobles to kill each other. It was

meaningless and a waste of time, and she would also have to be in the presence

of undesired company like Tuoba Zhen or Wei Guo Furen.

Li Min De blinked and said: “Think of it as going out

to relieve your frustrations then. Since you will be going to the north this

time, there are great plains set aside for the Imperial family to hunt. It is

said to be wild grasslands, cao yuan (mountainous regions), and an endless

expanse, the scenery will be a refreshing change from the Capital.”

Li Wei Yang nodded, looking at the cang song tree in

the garden: “I don’t know why I always feel a bit uneasy.”

“Why? Da Bofu is taking you along, so you should take

your mind off of things!”

“Take my mind off of things?” Li Wei Yang suspected Li

Xiao Ran had only begun to involve her in his schemes. Li Wei Yang shook her

head, then turned to Zhao Yue and asked: “Has your Dage returned?”

Zhao Yue frowned: “Dage has been gone for over half a

month this time but still no news from him.”

Zhao Nan’s martial arts abilities were exceptional. Li

Wei Yang let him take care of Li Min Feng in the middle of the road. Find a

chance to fabricate an accident and eliminate him, this was not a difficult

task, so there was no need to worry, but - if he had taken precautions, then it

will not be easy. Da Furen, Li Chang Le, Li Min Feng, between the three, Li Wei

Yang had chosen to eliminate Li Min Feng first. Acting outside the residence

was much more convenient and will not be easily discovered by others.

“San jie worries that something happened to Zhao Nan?”

A cold gleam flashed across Li Min De’s eyes, too quickly for anyone else to

notice.

Li Wei Yang nodded: “Although Li Min Feng has been

abandoned by Fuqin, I still feel Da Furen has something up her sleeve.”

Li Min De flatly said: “An old woman frightened to

insanity still has means of doing so? Besides, she cannot even leave the Li residence

-- ”

Li Wei Yang laughed: “Bai du zhi chong si er bu jiang,

you think she hasn’t made preparations beforehand? Dage studied abroad for many

years, if Da Furen had not arranged enough forces around him, how could she let

him go like that? We have only seen her struggle and underestimated her

cautious nature. I’m afraid Zhao Nan is in danger.”

Zhao Yue had strong confidence: “Rest assured,

Xiaojie, even if Dage is not successful, he will not be reduced to a

life-threatening state.”

Li Wei Yang turned back to look at her, seeing the

confidence on her face, she smiled and said: “I hope that is the case.”

The day they were to embark from the Capital to the

hunting grounds, the main road was to be sealed off to commoners, shops and

stalls along the roads had to be closed. A great brocade was stretched above,

from one side of the road of the Imperial capital to the other, vivid colors of

clothing signifying rank and region, the procession organized according to

rank, banners flying everywhere.

This time, the Emperor brought many concubines with

him. The Empress stayed back at the palace because of her health while Mei Gui

Fei, Wu Xian Fei, Zhang De Fei, Rou Fei, and some other favored pin fei came.

Among the Huangzi, aside from Taizi who stayed behind to manage court affairs,

everyone else came.

The Imperial edict allowed some officials to bring

their families, but he had personally selected who would be able to attend, for

example, Li Wei Yang, someone who had caught the Emperor’s, a few officials for

political reasons, and families chosen with careful consideration. Li Wei Yang

noticed the Xiaojies that came along were the most outstanding of each family.

There were also three thousand Imperial guards, five hundred regular guards,

and physicians, palace servants, totaling to almost a thousand people.

Li Wei Yang sat in a horse-drawn carriage towards the

end of the procession. Bored, she lifted the curtain to look outside. She saw a

young man with a long cloak, the hood over his head hiding his face, the gold

embroidery on the hem of his clothes signifying his noble status. He had been

pressing ahead, but then he pulled the reins and stopped in front of Li Wei

Yang’s carriage and looked back, revealing a handsome face. Li Wei Yang

recognized it was Tuoba Yu. She felt generous and smiled at him, he politely

raised the riding crop and waved before pulling the reins and leading the

guards behind him away, racing ahead.

Soon, the landscape around the Capital transformed

into fields. Rolling hills appeared beyond the window, both sides of the road

framed with farmlands. Li Wei Yang gazed out for a while. Feeling even more

bored, she opened up a book to read. She had lost track of time until Zhao Yue

said: “Xiaojie, we have arrived at the campgrounds.”

The procession had stopped, a chorus of neighing

horses rang out. Noblewomen stepped down from the carriages and stood off to

one side. People began to set up tents and collect branches for a fire. Li Wei

Yang saw everyone bustling around and noticed that one tent had been set up.

There were gold markings at the center, along with an emblem of a golden dragon

with its claw bared, the Emperor’s tent.

The noblewomen had gathered to socialize, clamoring in

excitement, especially when discussing which tents each Huangzi will be in. Li

Wei Yang had been to hunting grounds before, so there was nothing new to see.

She left Bai Zhi to arrange their belongings and brought Zhao Yue with her as

she walked around. She wore cotton riding clothes and leather boots, walking

across fresh grass, exuding a different air to her.

A piece of mud suddenly flew towards them, Zhao Yue

deflected it with her sword. The mud flew back from where it came from and a

xiao guniang jumped out of the bushes, her face splattered with mud: “Li Wei

Yang!”

Li Wei Yang looked up, wasn’t this Jiu Gongzhu?

Although she looked furious, she was still adorable. Beside her, a young boy

stood, blinking as he curiously looked at Li Wei Yang, she could immediately

guess who he was: “Greeting Ba Huangzi, Jiu Gonzhu.”

Ba Huangzi cheerfully smiled and said: “You are the

Xianzhu that infuriated Huang mei? Huang mei mentions you seven or eight times

a day ever since she returned to the palace!” Every time she had, it was with

clenched teeth and fury.

Li Wei Yang walked over and pinched Jiu Gongzhu’s

cheek: “Gongzhu, it has been a while, had I known Gongzhu had missed me, I

would have come to the palace to visit.”

Jiu Gongzhu suddenly leapt up, putting distance

between them: “Li Wei Yang, you are too much, don’t think I won’t do anything

to you, I will go and tell Fu Huang—”

Li Wei Yang gently reminded her: “Indeed, Jiu Gongzhu

can tell Fu Huang that I had bullied Jiu Gongzhu, so you ran to him to cry.”

Jiu Gongzhu wrinkled her little nose. She originally

came to find Li Min De, but when she saw Li Wei Yang, Li Min De was forgotten,

replaced by her anger. Ba Huangzi’s manner of speaking was still childish:

“Huang mei, do not tell the world you were scolded by a noble lady two years

older than you, wouldn’t saying this implicate Mufei and make others laugh?”

Li Wei Yang noticed he had the mind of an old sage:

“Ba Dianxia is right.”

Jiu Gongzhu scoffed, turned and walked away. Ba

Huangzi ran after her, not sparing Li Wei Yang a second glance. A sudden laugh

rang out behind a tree beside her. Li Wei Yang turned around and saw Tuoba Yu

emerge from behind the tree, brightly smiling: “An adult picking on a child,

you truly have no shame.”

Li Wei Yang arched her eyebrows: “Qi Dianxia is older

than me too, isn’t Qi Dianxia also picking on the little ones because of

seniority? Not to mention, I am only fourteen years old, not considered an

adult yet.” Not old enough for romance, she wanted to convey.

She could pretend to be a xiao haizi, but a woman, no

matter how old she was, still paid close attention to her age. Like many

others, she did not want others to say she was old. Li Wei Yang had suffered

quite a bit before being reborn and was particularly concerned with her age.

Considering her age in the past life, she had lived to be thirty six, and now

she was fourteen years old, almost half a lifetime of difference. In any case,

she was still an old woman, the thought was enough to make her shudder...

Hearing this, Tuoba Yu laughed, although he wasn’t

sure why he was laughing. He came closer, eying the tents in the distance and

said: “Why are you not with the others?”

From a logical perspective, she should be with the

other prestigious, noble ladies.

Li Wei Yang indifferently said: “I am not interested

in discussing what Qi Dianxia is wearing today, neither am I interested in

listening to them talk about a Xiaojie from some house that Wu Dianxia helped

the other day.”

Tuoba Yu smiled. He discovered that around Li Wei

Yang, he would always be amused by the slightest things she said, while this

was not her intention, she was quite an interesting person.

“Let’s go and walk around then.” Tuoba Yu tentatively

proposed.

Li Wei Yang frowned: “Right now?”

Tuoba Yu nodded, “Yes, right now. Can you?”

Li Wei Yang laughed: “I think you should be displaying

your hospitality to the Emperor.”

Tuoba Yu smiled: “Hospitality and well wishes can be

offered any day, but having the opportunity to see Xianzhu are not many.”

He immediately went ahead, softly saying: “There’s a

beautiful stream behind the forest. I used to fish there in the past, it’s

really interesting.”

Li Wei Yang was somewhat intrigued hearing him say

this and took Zhao Yue with her and followed him. As it turned out, Tuoba Yu

was not exaggerating. Half a shichen later, a jade-like stream, shimmering

under the sunlight, appeared before her eyes, gently trickling. In every

direction were native plants, even if some had no name, the bright dew drops on

the leaves and flowers made them even more captivating than precious gemstones.

Li Wei Yang looked for a large rock to sit down on,

“The scenery here certainly makes one want to reminisce.”

Tuoba Yu was startled by her observation: “Isn’t this

the first time you have been here?”

Li Wei Yang smiled, a wary light flashing across her

eyes: “I have seen a painting of this stream here, did Qi Dianxia think you

were the only one to have come here?”

Tuoba Yu did not mind it: “Whether this is your first

time here or not, you must be careful, it seems calm and peaceful, but there

are many wild animals out here, you should let the Yatou by your side protect

you.”

Li Wei Yang looked at the little fish swimming in the

stream, becoming more comfortable and open: “Of course I know this.”

Then, she suddenly remembered: “Has Tuoba Zhen taken

action recently?”

Tuoba Yu laughed aloud: “Despite the fact that I’ve

eliminated more than half of his people, he suspects it’s Wu ge’s doing. Now,

he’s always encouraging Taizi to put pressure on Wu ge. Wu ge asked Fu Huang

for permission to make your Dajie his Zheng fei. The result was the Empress had

secretly intervened, emphasizing Li Chang Le’s wrongdoings. It was even more

serious than the Empress Dowager, who called Wu ge over to scold him, saying he

could not marry a woman like that and would only bring havoc upon himself.

However, I see Wu ge still has not given up that idea, he was searching

everywhere for your Dajie earlier.”

Looking for Li Chang Le? She was still in the

mountains, abstaining from eating meat and praying to Buddha, Li Wei Yang

solemnly said: “Wu Dianxia is genuinely lovesick, I hope he and Dajie, being in

love, will belong to one another.”

Tuoba Yu broke out into laughter: “No need to pretend,

why act as if I didn’t know you despised Li Chang Le? But I can understand why

you do, anyone who has a Dajie like that certainly would not be in good

spirits.”

Li Wei Yang realized that he had misunderstood her

reason for despising Li Chang Le, but she only smiled. The young man before

her, how could he understand her sentiments? Perhaps no one in this world could

possibly understand.

Not far away, the sound of footsteps registered,

causing the two to look up. Tuoba Zhen was walking over to them, leading two

guards behind him.

His face was calm and reserved, a frosty look in his

eyes and a vague smile on his lips. Li Wei Yang recognized this expression and

knew he was not in a good mood.

“San Dianxia.” Li Wei Yang knelt and ceremonially

greeted him.

Tuoba Zhen nodded as he would for formalities, then

said: “You two seem rather at ease, especially Qi di. Aren’t you supposed to be

by Fu Huang’s side, protecting him, why did you run to this place?”

Tuoba Yu naturally responded: “San ge is worried over

nothing. There are more than three thousand guards around Fu Huang, how could

he be in danger?”

Li Wei Yang subconsciously broke into a cold smile.

Tuoba Zhen saw this and slightly narrowed his eyes.

Tuoba Yu laughed and said: “Besides, Xianzhu and I

happened to run into each other, but San ge, did San ge know about this place?”

Tuoba Zhen heard the four words ‘run into each other’

and uneasy crept up in his mind, but he did not reveal any of his discomfort,

faintly smiling: “I only heard there is a stream here with beautiful scenery,

so I came to see for myself.”

From the moment Tuoba Zhen appeared, Li Wei Yang had

grown impatient. She coldly said: “Qi Dianxia, my belongings have not been

unpacked, forgive me for being the first to retire.”

Tuoba Yu chuckled and said: “Xianzhu go ahead.”

He had just arrived, but she wanted to leave. Tuoba

Zhen noticed this and his face quickly became grim.

However, Li Wei Yang had not left the forest yet when

someone stopped in her way.

Gao Min stood, blocking Li Wei Yang’s path, angrily

glaring at her.

Li Wei Yang looked to her with raised eyebrows,

feeling something was odd. Why did Gao Min look like she wanted to devour her

alive?

Seeing Li Wei Yang made Gao Min even more furious,

quivering as her eyes widened, you little, what is it exactly, what gives you

the right to do this!

Zhao Yue vigilantly stood by Li Wei Yang’s side, she

saw that Gao Min’s face was particularly unnatural.

It seemed like half a day had passed before Gao Min

would say anything, Li Wei Yang ignored her, turned and walked off.

Gao Min saw this and was reminded of when Tuoba Zhen

was amiably talking to her, but then he saw Li Wei Yang walk by and immediately

left her. The flames of fury rushed up to her head, she could not stand it

anymore and blurted: “Li Wei Yang, why are you turning away?”

Li Wei Yang scoffed, paused and turned around to look

at her: “What Biaojie is saying is really strange, why would I have to feel

guilty?”

Normally, Gao Min prided herself in her status, and

although she despised Li Wei Yang, she only threw a few scathing words, but at

now Gao Min looked as if she wanted to devour her, clearly provoked.

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Translator: Chau

Editor: Jaslynn

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