The carriage slowly came to a stop on the outskirts of Tai'an Lake. The coachman gently knocked on the door, "The front is all filled with carriages, I'm afraid the master and madam will have to walk from here."
"Okay."
Ah Xiu pulled back the curtain, but as soon as she stepped out, she quickly drew it back down, giving Li Mingwei a signal.
"Who's up front? Murong Yu?"
"Who else could it be?" Ah Xiu hummed, "Meeting an ominous star, not auspicious, not auspicious."
"Why be afraid of him?" Li Mingwei pulled the curtain and walked out directly. Unless they wanted to turn back, they would have to run into him sooner or later.
She glanced forward and saw that Murong Yu had already entered with his entourage. She was puzzled, "Why is he alone? Didn't he bring Cheng Ruoruo?"
"Cheng Ruoruo has given birth to a son, so she's no longer the concubine. The Cheng family has abandoned her, so being a concubine is useless. That man has never taken her out with him. I heard that a while ago, he accused one of the maids of poisoning someone and sent her to a nunnery for atonement, she probably won't be coming back."
Tsk.
The three handed over their invitations, and the steward, after a quick inspection, immediately bowed and invited them in. A maid came forward to lead them to their respective places.
Li Mingwei glanced back at Liu Yizhu, "Do you have any acquaintances here?"
Liu Yizhu nodded, "I've been in the capital for over a year now, not close friends, but I can still chat with a few people, and I sometimes run into your ex-husband in the palace."
Hmph!
Li Mingwei led Ah Xiu with confidence, following the maid to the area where the female guests gathered. The first thing they did upon entering was to pay their respects to the hostess.
Ya Yin was seated in the high position of the pavilion on the lake. Seeing Li Mingwei approaching across the bridge, she was somewhat disbelieving. She turned her head and glanced at the maid beside her.
The maid took a few steps forward, leaning out from the pavilion to take a look, and reported back, "It's Miss Li."
Ya Yin sat up a little straighter, waiting for Li Mingwei to come greet her.
"Mingwei pays respects to the Princess."
"I see, so the Li family has been busy with celebrations lately. Turns out it's because you've returned."
She didn't have the maid bring an extra chair, just shifted over a bit, gesturing for Li Mingwei to sit beside her.
Li Mingwei smiled as she stepped forward, explaining, "The celebrations at home are not for me, but for my son, who is about to turn two."
Also to welcome Liu Yizhu and Lady Wang.
"Your son?" Ya Yin paused for a moment.
"Yes, after I left the capital, all the doctors said my health was excellent, and now I have a son and a daughter." Li Mingwei sighed, "I don't know how those two incompetent doctors became imperial physicians. Princess, you must be careful not to use them in the future."
Ya Yin furrowed her brow, looking at her helplessly, and lowered her voice, "Don't you put me on the spot, I can't offend that man."
"Since when did you two become so close? Can't even talk about it." Li Mingwei pouted.
"It's not for his sake?" Ya Yin said irritably, "It's for my own..."
She cleared her throat lightly, "Whenever they're short on money, someone will come accuse me. They say the court is in a time of crisis, and as a princess, I'm not setting an example by wasting money on all these maids. It's so annoying. As soon as news of the disaster came, I immediately went to the palace just to shut their mouths."
After this, let's see them say her maids are useless.
Li Mingwei rolled her eyes. She knew it, when has Ya Yin ever cared so much about state affairs? Even when raising funds, it's still the Empress and the others who do the work.
The two conversed quietly up above, the ones below couldn't hear clearly and didn't dare to interrupt. The atmosphere became quiet for a moment.
Ya Yin glanced at them, smiling, "You all just continue your conversation, I'm just catching up with Mingwei."
"I heard you were talking quite animatedly when I arrived. What were you discussing?" Li Mingwei looked up at Ya Yin, smiling, "I haven't been back to the capital for a long time, so I don't know what's new."
"Nothing much." Ya Yin cast a glance at the young lady to her right, telling Li Mingwei, "This is Yue Rong from the Lin family. Do you remember her?"
Li Mingwei thought for a moment, not quite recalling, but still said, "I've seen her a few times before, but she was still young back then."
"That's right." Yue Rong stood up and greeted, "Yue Rong pays respects to Sister Li."
"No need for formalities."
"Okay."
Ya Yin waved her hand, signaling for Yue Rong to sit back down, sighing, "This girl has taken a fancy to last year's new imperial scholar, but I heard his wife has already arrived in the capital. She's still refusing to give up, and the other day she begged me to send her an invitation, I don't know if she'll be able to come."
Li Mingwei choked a bit, taking another look at Yue Rong.
Seeing that she didn't say anything, Ya Yin thought she must not have heard about it since she just returned, and continued, "You know I never get involved with married men, but I have a bit of a connection with her brother, so I couldn't really reject her."
Li Mingwei's eyes widened, "How old is her brother? You have a 'connection' with him?"
This Yue Rong looks only sixteen or seventeen, and Ya Yin is eight years older than her.
"Ah!" Ya Yin lightly patted Li Mingwei's shoulder, still maintaining an air of restraint, "Since when do I care about age?"
No need to say more, he's probably not much younger. Suddenly, Li Mingwei felt a pang in her heart. This woman really knows no bounds.
But then again, if someone comes knocking on your door, it's not necessarily your fault.
The two chatted for a while, and it was almost time for the banquet to begin. Yue Rong was getting anxious, frequently glancing towards Ya Yin. Ya Yin could only instruct the maid beside her, "Go check in front, see if Liu-daren has arrived, and if he's brought his wife."
Li Mingwei put down her teacup, stopping her, "No need to check, he's here."
"You ran into him on your way here?"
"I came with him."
Ya Yin blinked her eyes, taking a moment to comprehend her meaning, "The Lady Liu?"
"That's me!"
"You, I..." Ya Yin was at a loss for words, sympathetically glancing at Yue Rong, her chances were gone.
Knowing that she was Lady Liu, Ya Yin suddenly became interested. Murong Yu and Liu Yizhu should both be out front by now, I wonder if they'll get into a fight?
Ah, she just found out, Murong Yu probably doesn't know about this yet.
"How many people know about your return?"
"By the time today is over, the whole capital will know."
Ya Yin gestured to the maid, pulling Li Mingwei along as she headed to the front. She hadn't seen any excitement in a long time.
Li Mingwei was tugged by the wrist, meeting Ya Yin's mischievous gaze. She gently pushed her hand away, quietly reminding her, "Princess, mind your manners."
Ya Yin gave a slight nod, straightening her posture, and walked in front, though she couldn't help but quicken her pace a bit.
She specifically had the maid place a small table next to her main seat, so that Murong Yu would be able to see Li Mingwei as soon as he entered.
Li Mingwei held back, whispering, "You really aren't afraid of trouble."
"He's been pestering me lately, don't hold back with him."
Sure enough, as soon as Murong Yu walked in, his gaze landed on Li Mingwei. He paused for a moment, then strode forward, his voice slightly trembling, "Weiwei, you..."
Li Mingwei avoided his line of sight, she had no desire to talk to him.
Ya Yin raised her hand gracefully, "Take your seats, it's about to start."
Murong Yu came to his senses, "Yes, Sister."
His seat was just below Ya Yin's, so he would be able to see Li Mingwei by just lifting his eyes. Li Mingwei felt his gaze on her, and gritted her teeth, she was going to kill Ya Yin.
