The girl’s voice was rather cold. Hidden behind the flowering branches, her appearance couldn’t be seen, but hearing her speak so suddenly carried an inexplicable sense of finality.
Qiao Zhao gently pushed aside the flowering branches with her hand and saw Kou Zimo standing beneath a crabapple tree, conversing with a young lady dressed in lotus-colored robes.
Kou Zimo was facing Qiao Zhao’s direction, while the girl in lotus-colored robes had her back turned, making her features indiscernible.
Having lived in the southern region of Jia Feng for a long time, although Qiao Zhao and Kou Zimo were quite close as cousins, they had limited contact. She did not know what close friends this cousin might have among the inner chambers.
Wei Yu?
Qiao Zhao searched through her mind but found no impression of this name, indicating that even young Miss Li Zhao was unfamiliar with it.
Qiao Zhao stared intently at that lotus-colored silhouette, hearing Kou Zimo’s voice carry a note of sorrow: “Wei Yu, don’t worry too much. Perhaps things aren’t as terrible as you imagine. Uncle is a good official, and no matter how frightening the Jinlin Guards’ office may be, those guards are still human beings. Being human, they cannot be completely without conscience. I’ve inquired through my father—many court ministers are pleading for Uncle’s case—”
The girl let out a cold laugh: “Speaking of conscience is useless. My father submitted a memorial impeaching Chief Minister Lan Shan, only to be accused by the Emperor of slandering important ministers. The Emperor ordered the Jinlin Guards to throw my father into the imperial prison. If you say common people occasionally have a conscience, I believe it. But if you say those Jinlin Guards have a conscience, I don’t believe it!”
As the girl spoke, her voice became choked with emotion. She reached out and grasped Kou Zimo’s hand: “Sister Zimo, my father’s prospects are likely more dire than fortunate. Whether our family members will be implicated remains unknown. This is my last time participating in the Fushan Society’s activities. I wanted to tell you that if something happens to me in the future, you must never get involved, lest you be implicated because of me, which would make me even more uneasy.”
“Wei Yu, what are you saying? If something happens to you, how could I stand by and do nothing?”
“Sister Zimo, allow me to speak frankly. Although you are a young lady from the Minister’s residence, when it comes to matters concerning the adults, what can you do? Those Jinlin Guards all follow the Emperor’s orders, and the Emperor listens to Lan Shan. If you truly offend them, even Minister Kou might—”
Kou Zimo quickly covered the girl’s mouth: “Wei Yu, stop talking! It wouldn’t be good if someone heard you, especially since Lan Xinong is here today too.”
The girl pulled away Kou Zimo’s hand and smiled with tragic resignation: “At this point, I have nothing to fear. Sister Zimo, you’re different from me. Don’t you think about your own family?”
Kou Zimo froze.
From Qiao Zhao’s angle, she could see Kou Zimo’s beautiful eyes filled with tears, sorrowful and helpless, murmuring, “Why do good people always face misfortune?”
The girl reached out and embraced Kou Zimo, weeping softly: “Sister Zimo, you must remember my words. Otherwise, if my family’s affairs implicate you because of me, I would feel even worse.”
The more Qiao Zhao listened, the more something felt amiss. Turning her head, she happened to see a white cat strolling by with lazy steps. Having a sudden thought, she bent down and picked up the white cat.
The white cat was plump and robust with glossy fur. It had been enjoying a stroll when suddenly being picked up was completely unacceptable. It kicked hard with its hind legs and jumped out of Qiao Zhao’s embrace, landing on the ground. It turned around, bristled its tail, and meowed loudly at Qiao Zhao in protest.
“Who’s there?”
Kou Zimo suddenly looked over, and the girl in lotus-colored robes turned around as well. Qiao Zhao finally got a clear look at her appearance.
She was a very delicate and beautiful girl with a pair of dark eyes that appeared particularly bright, perhaps because they held tears.
Seeing her appearance, Qiao Zhao was able to retrieve this young lady’s identity from memory. She was the daughter of Imperial Censor Ouyang. Young Miss Li Zhao had seen her at several flower banquets, though she hadn’t paid attention to this young lady’s name.
Ouyang Wei Yu—her name indeed suited her refined beauty.
Qiao Zhao brushed aside the flower branches and walked over, her lips curved in a gentle smile: “Miss Kou, Miss Ouyang.”
Since Li Jiāo‘s father was a subordinate of Kou Zimo’s grandfather, the two families’ young ladies had considerable interaction. Although Kou Zimo didn’t like having someone suddenly appear, her nature was composed and quiet, so she still smiled gently: “So it’s Third Miss Li. How did Third Miss Li come to be here?”
“I went to the washroom, and on my way back I saw an interesting white cat. I wanted to play with it, so I followed it here.” Qiao Zhao smiled and pointed at the white cat that was still meowing in protest.
The white cat looked wary. Seeing Qiao Zhao point at it, it meowed unhappily once more, then gave Kou Zimo and the other girl a threatening look before swishing its tail and walking away with an arrogant swagger.
“Third Miss Li certainly has good spirits.” Kou Zimo smiled faintly, neither impolite nor warm—the attitude one would have toward a stranger with no connection.
Thinking of how Kou Zimo had once genuinely rejoiced and admired her as a cousin, Qiao Zhao felt endless melancholy. It seemed that today’s attempt to catch Cousin Zimo’s attention and thereby find an opportunity to see her brother would not be so easy.
Miss Qiao wasn’t afraid of difficult situations. For her, even without opportunities, she would create them.
She had already come this far—what could be more challenging than this?
“It’s you.” Ouyang Wei Yu spoke up.
Qiao Zhao looked over, her ink-dark pupils flickering slightly with confusion about where this remark came from.
Ouyang Wei Yu said something even more strange: “You are Scholar Li’s daughter?”
Qiao Zhao nodded: “That’s correct.”
The Li residence had three masters serving as officials at court. Her father was a scholar at the Hanlin Academy, her uncle was assigned to local governance, and the master of the East Residence held the position of Vice Minister of Justice.
On various occasions throughout the capital, when people mentioned the Li residence, they thought of Vice Minister Li, rarely bringing up her father.
Looking at Ouyang Wei Yu’s manner, it didn’t seem like her father had offended the Ouyang family.
Qiao Zhao’s thoughts raced, and she suddenly remembered something.
When she returned from Shuying Nunnery and the carriage broke down, she later heard from He Shi that her father had gone out to look for her, ended up arguing with the Jinlin Guards, and angrily scolded them for harming loyal subjects, which caused him to forget about searching for her.
Fearing Qiao Zhao would be dissatisfied with her father, He Shi had specifically explained: “Your father cares about you very much, otherwise he wouldn’t have gone out in the heavy rain. It’s just that once he focuses on something, he can’t think of anything else. He’s simply too single-minded.”
That day, Miss Qiao gained a profound understanding of what “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” meant.
So forgetting to look for one’s daughter because of arguing with people could be explained this way!
Connecting this to what she had just heard, Qiao Zhao suddenly had a thought: Could it be that the day her father argued with the Jinlin Guards was because of Miss Ouyang’s father?
“Miss Li—” Ouyang Wei Yu called out.
“Yes?”
Ouyang Wei Yu suddenly bent her knees and formally bowed to Qiao Zhao: “I thank Scholar Li on behalf of my father. The day my father was arrested, it was Scholar Li who rushed forward to argue with the Jinlin Guards. Because of this, the Jinlin Guards didn’t bind my father with ropes, preserving the last bit of dignity for him.”
So that’s how it was. Miss Qiao thought to herself.