Chapter 138: 137: Settle_1

Chapter 138: Chapter 137: Settle_1

After a while, the side door suddenly opened again, and the same maid who delivered the message earlier came out. Tongji’s heart sank: “Where is Chun Yan? Can she not come out?”

“Don’t worry, Chun Yan will come soon. I just didn’t want you to wait too long, so I came to let you know. You have no idea… it took a lot of effort to avoid everyone’s eyes and deliver your message to her,” the maid said, folding her hands and smiling.

Tongji despised her inwardly. Wasn’t it just for silver?!

Tongji pulled out a few pieces of broken silver from his chest and handed them to the maid, unable to disguise his disdain. He didn’t even bother with polite conversation, his frost-bitten face tensed up tightly.

The maid joyfully accepted the silver and, after thanking him, slipped back through the side door and shut it behind her.

Tongji almost rushed forward to spit at the maid. But when he thought of the letters in his chest and King Liang’s instruction that they must be delivered to Chun Yan, he forced himself to hold back.

...

The maid, having pocketed another bit of silver, returned happily to the blazing fire in the gatehouse to count her silver. Nanny Qin and Nanny Tong had told her that she could keep it and that the manor would still record her merit. Naturally, she was pleased.

After counting the silver, the maid carefully hid it close to her body. Then she took a plate of peanuts and sat by the stove to roast sweet potatoes.

Soon, someone came to inform the maid that she could go notify Chun Yan.

The maid nimbly walked to Qinghui Courtyard.

These past few days, Nanny Tong hadn’t assigned Chun Yan any tasks. Miss Bai and Chun Tao had been in the mourning hall, so Chun Yan didn’t even have a chance to appear before Miss Bai. Anxious and unsettled, she plunged into the kitchen to prepare some snacks that Miss Bai liked, hoping to make Miss Bai think well of her and rearrange her duties to serve by her side.

A maid who had been sweeping the yard ran into the small kitchen, dusting snow off her shoulders. She turned to Chun Yan and said, “Chun Yan, there is a maid outside calling for you.”

Chun Yan frowned and was about to say she had no time, but then she suddenly thought of King Liang. She put down the fan she was using to stoke the fire, tidied her hair, and walked out of the kitchen towards the door. Once outside, she spotted the gate-keeping maid from the previous day, who had relayed a message from King Liang.

Seeing Chun Yan come out, the maid quickly moved to a secluded spot. Chun Yan instinctively followed, feeling uneasy and twisting her handkerchief violently.

“But… does King Liang have any message for me?” Chun Yan’s ears turned red, as her heart sincerely missed that noble, incomparable man.

“Yes, yes!” The maid said, grinning. “I am taking a risk to deliver this message for you! When you climb high, remember the old maid’s kindness!”

Chun Yan hurriedly removed a bracelet from her wrist and pressed it into the maid’s hand, “I know you’re taking a risk. I am extremely grateful! Now, hurry up, before anyone sees!”

The maid weighed the bracelet in her hand and then discreetly hid it in her sleeve. “Master Tong from King Liang’s side is at the door to see you. There were too many people around to come sooner, and he has been waiting quite a while. There is something extremely important he needs to tell you. You’d better go quickly!”

After speaking, the maid looked around again and quickly left.

Chun Yan’s mind was in chaos. She patted the flour off her plain coat, straightened her hair, and hurried towards the door.

Once Chun Yan left, Yingshuang leapt down from a tree and discreetly followed her.

Nanny Tong had instructed Yingshuang to follow Chun Yan as soon as she left Qinghui Courtyard. She was to remember everything Chun Yan said to anyone and would get candy as a reward if she didn’t miss a single word.

Chun Yan jogged all the way and stopped to catch her breath near the side door, smoothing her hair and clothes before stepping out.

Seeing a carriage, Chun Yan panicked, “Did His Highness come too?!”

“Why did you take so long?!”, Tongji exclaimed upon seeing Chun Yan, unable to hold back his complaint.

“Sorry! The gate-keeping maid had to avoid people, so I came out late!” Chun Yan’s eyes couldn’t help but glance at the carriage.

Whenever King Liang came before, he always used the servants’ carriages to keep a low profile. Chun Yan thought King Liang was inside.

“His Highness didn’t come! Stop craning your neck!” Tongji, irritated, spoke with no courtesy. “His Highness has something to convey…”

With that, Tongji took out several letters from his chest and conveyed King Liang’s messages verbatim to Chun Yan.

When Tongji mentioned that King Liang had feelings for her, Chun Yan’s heartbeat quickened with each word, her face reddening.

“After the matter is accomplished, Miss Bai will marry into the prince’s estate. His Highness will then ask Miss Bai for you and take you as a concubine. So this task must not fail… and you cannot open these letters; otherwise, the plan will be exposed! After all, the Duke’s character is such that he would never pry into the private correspondence of his juniors,” Tongji reminded her, “His Highness repeatedly emphasized this. You must remember!”

Chun Yan’s hands trembled. His Highness said he would take her as a concubine… her heart was moved. However, placing these letters in the Duke’s study indeed posed a challenge. But if she could become His Highness’s woman, she must take the risk.

Moreover, what suitable match could her elder sister, who struggled with fertility, possibly find? King Liang was a prince. If he favored her, what better marriage could she hope for than being with him? Doing this… was also for her sister!

Thinking of this, Chun Yan no longer hesitated and took the letters from Tongji’s hand. “Tell His Highness that I will find a way to place the letters in the Duke’s study.”

“His Highness said that today, with the Duke’s family attending the funeral, was the best opportunity. If you miss today, who knows how long the wait will be! If Miss Bai’s marriage arrangement changes, it will be hopeless! Never forget that,” Tongji reiterated, fearing that Chun Yan might waver.

If Miss Bai’s marriage changed, she would never see King Liang again. Chun Yan’s face turned pale, realizing the urgency of the matter.

Clutching the letters tightly in her hand, Chun Yan nodded. “Tell His Highness not to worry; I will definitely get it done today. I will find a way to inform him once it’s done!”

The Bai family’s funeral procession had just turned the corner ahead. Tongji looked back and said hurriedly, “Don’t bother finding someone to send a message! I’ll wait here… the funeral procession has returned. If you delay any longer, there will be no chance. Hurry and place the letters and then come to tell me immediately!”

As soon as Tongji finished speaking, the side door suddenly burst open. A dozen guards and rough-serving maids rushed out, seizing Chun Yan, who was holding the letters, along with Tongji and the coachman from King Liang’s estate!

“What are you doing?! Let go of me! I am King Liang’s close servant; how dare you be disrespectful?!” Tongji shouted.