At dawn the next day, in the Bai Mansion.
The oil lamp on the table had burned out, and the faint light of dawn shimmered outside. Lingxiu, propping her head up with her hand and dozing off, was startled awake by a muffled thud at the door.
“What’s that noise?” She rubbed her eyes and rose from her seat, puzzled, and went to open the door.
Standing outside was an elegant and graceful beauty, her silhouette slender, her black hair flowing like clouds. She wore a splendid brocade dress with peony patterns from the Yaochi, shimmering in the light. The embroidery on the hem was exquisite, with layers of petals intricately detailed, even the stamens were visible. As she moved, it was as if a breeze had passed through a peony garden, faintly carrying the scent.
Lingxiu stared in bewilderment, cautiously asking, “May I ask whom you seek, esteemed guest?”
Upon hearing her voice, the beauty turned around, yawning, and said, “Are you awake? Come, lend me a hand.”
With almond-shaped eyes and cherry lips, and a porcelain-white face, she looked very familiar. Lingxiu stared at her in astonishment for a while, then suddenly exclaimed, “Miss?!”
Huaiyu smiled at her, “I’m back a bit late, but I should still make it. Hold this for me.”
With that, she thrust a heavy sandalwood vanity case into Lingxiu’s arms and went inside to sip cold tea.
Lingxiu stood dumbfounded, holding the vanity case, and followed her inside with unsteady steps, still shocked. “Where did you get these clothes from?” she asked.
Swallowing the tea and catching her breath, Huaiyu said, “They were gifts from someone else.”
What? Gifts? Lingxiu shook her head repeatedly. How could that be possible? Such fine material, even surpassing what’s in the palace, not to mention the exquisite embroidery. It’s worth at least half a year’s salary of her master’s, who would be foolish enough to give it away for free!
“Let’s not dwell on that for now.” Setting down her teacup, Li Huaiyu got up and walked to the dressing table. “When I came back over the wall, I saw a carriage waiting at the gate of the Bai Mansion. Help me choose some jewelry quickly. Once they leave, we’ll go too.”
Lingxiu was full of doubts, but going to the Jiang Mansion was the top priority at the moment. So she quickly opened the vanity case, intending to pick out a couple of pieces of jewelry to adorn Miss.
But when she opened the vanity case, she was dumbfounded again.
“Hmm?” After a while with no movement beside her, Huaiyu turned her head to look at her strangely.
Lingxiu’s mouth fell open and her eyes widened as she pointed at the contents of the vanity case, her face turning pale. “Miss, did you rob a jewelry store?”
“…,” Huaiyu sighed, shaking her head with a wry smile, muttering to herself, “I told him not to be so extravagant.”
The vanity case contained two sets of precious headpieces, along with some scattered hairpins, hair ornaments, and flower hairpins, a mix of gold and jade, dazzlingly bright. Taking out a golden hairpin with intricate designs, it was crafted with great skill and was undoubtedly valuable.
When Lu Jingxing was picking them out for her, he furrowed his brow and said, “I truly feel sorry for you.”
But even though he said that he didn’t hesitate at all when it came to giving her the things she needed. In the end, when she couldn’t bear it anymore, she punched him against the wall, and only then did he stop.
“Are you crazy?” she asked, glaring at him.
Lu Jingxing rubbed his chest and sighed, “Getting beaten up for giving gifts, that’s unheard of.”
Standing up straight, he inserted the last hairpin into her hair bun and chuckled, “But you, no matter what, you always look elegant and luxurious.”
Li Huaiyu rolled her eyes at him.
Now, thinking back to Lu Jingxing’s expression at that time, Huaiyu felt that this guy probably regretted it immensely after her death, so now he was trying various ways to make up for it.
People, indeed, only realize the value after losing something.
With a sigh, Huaiyu picked out a set of headpieces and a hair ornament, handing them to Lingxiu. “Your young miss is sitting properly and behaving well. No stealing or robbing. You can rest assured.”
This statement didn’t seem very convincing. Lingxiu frowned in worry, but still followed her instructions to tidy up her hair and put on the jewelry.
The fourth Miss of the impoverished Bai family, after being dressed up like this, immediately transformed into a princess full of nobility.
Looking at herself in the mirror, Huaiyu was somewhat satisfied. She stood up and pulled Lingxiu out.
At a quarter past dawn, Ba Dezhong ng had already taken Bai Xuanji onto the carriage. Li Huaiyu and Lingxiu hid in the corner outside the courtyard wall, waiting. Only after the carriage left the official road did they step out.
“Miss,” Lingxiu asked hesitantly, “Have you figured out how we’re going to the Jiang Mansion?”
“How else can we go?” Huaiyu chuckled. “We’ll hitch a ride on someone else’s carriage.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Lingxiu shook her head. “The Jiang Mansion guards are strict, especially since it’s Jiang Xiaoyou’s birthday celebration today. Guests coming and going will need invitations. You might hitch a ride, but you can’t hitch an invitation. Without a name on the invitation, you won’t get in.”
Upon hearing this, Huaiyu was dumbfounded. “Why didn’t you say so earlier?”
“…,” Lingxiu sighed. She had been too preoccupied with admiring Miss’s outfit; she hadn’t thought about this.
Taking a deep breath, Lingxiu held her handkerchief and whispered, “Actually, I regretted it as soon as you left last night. I shouldn’t have put Miss in such a difficult position. If we can’t go, then so be it. As long as Miss is well, we can still live our lives.”
Huaiyu glanced back at her.
This little girl cared a lot about this matter, and now she was consoling her, her nose slightly red, her gaze firm.
Sighing, Huaiyu was about to say something when she caught sight of someone approaching from a distance.
“That person…” squinting, Huaiyu pursed her lips. “Look, is there a ‘Jiang’ embroidered on his chest?”
Following her gaze, Lingxiu nodded. “He’s a servant from the Jiang Mansion.”
Her eyes lit up suddenly. Huaiyu pushed her forward. “While he’s not at the main gate yet, quickly, go and strike up a conversation.”
Lingxiu was stunned. “What do you mean by striking up a conversation?”
“Are you daft?” Huaiyu stamped her foot. “You go and engage him in conversation to distract him. Then I’ll sneak up behind and knock him out, strip off his clothes, and then we’ll have a way to sneak into the Jiang Mansion!”
Shocked and tongue-tied, Lingxiu shook her head vigorously. “No, no, no! This won’t work!”
“Oh, stop fussing. With your young miss and me around, everything will be fine. Now go!” Huaiyu pushed her out forcefully, then hid in the shadows, ready to strike.
Lingxiu stood stiffly in the middle of the road.
The servant was hurrying along, holding something in his hand. When he spotted Lingxiu from afar, he approached with a joyful expression. “Are you a maid from the Bai Mansion?”
“…Yes.”
“Do you recognize the fourth Miss?”
“I do, I serve her.”
The servant breathed a sigh of relief and smiled as he handed her what he was holding. “This is a special invitation our young master sent specifically for Miss Bai…”
Invitation.
He couldn’t finish the sentence. The servant felt a sudden impact on the back of his neck, then everything went dark.
Huaiyu blew on her hand, looking pleased with herself. “How about that? Wasn’t I amazing?”
Lingxiu said nothing.
“What’s with that expression?” Huaiyu glanced down at what Lingxiu was holding, raising an eyebrow. “What’s this?”