Chapter 53: An Unexpected Encounter
Chapter 53: Chapter 53: An Unexpected Encounter
Liang Wan moved aside the fan that was covering half her face. The person who had been impatient a moment ago was now all smiles, their eyes lighting up with pleasant surprise.
"Well now, my little beauty?!"
Liang Wan blinked, a smile playing on her lips. "It was getting a bit stuffy in my carriage. Come down and get some air with me!"
She had barely finished speaking when the person inside scrambled out of their carriage.
"I can’t believe it was you! What a ridiculous mix-up!" The newcomer, dressed extravagantly, rushed toward her in an embrace. "I haven’t seen you in ages, and you’ve gotten even more beautiful than last time!"
"Not as beautiful as you!"
This was no empty compliment from Liang Wan. Everyone in Jinye City knew that Princess Lanling had a male favorite she doted on called Tan Lang, whose beauty was so great it blurred the line between male and female.
As soon as she said this, the newcomer’s face fell into a pout of mock anger. "I’ve asked you for your beauty secrets so many times, but you’re just too stingy to tell me!"
"It’s not that I’m being stingy! I’ve just been swamped with things lately. I’ll deliver them to you personally later!"
"Oh, I couldn’t bear to let you do that!"
The noisy dispute had suddenly turned into a warm and affectionate reunion, leaving the crowd of onlookers astonished.
The newcomer shot a disgusted look at the crowd, then grabbed Liang Wan and started toward the Treasure Pavilion across the street. Halfway there, they turned back and commanded, "Let them keep arguing. My beauty and I have many secrets to discuss!"
Qiuxi stared at the dumbfounded coachman and onlookers, her lips parting as if to speak. Unsure what to say, she simply turned and hurried after the two departing figures.
What they didn’t know was that while this Tan Lang was Princess Lanling’s most beloved male favorite, the person Tan Lang admired most was the Third Lady.
Inside the Treasure Pavilion, the owner saw the distinguished guests arrive and immediately began buzzing around them like a fly that couldn’t be shooed away.
As soon as Qiuxi entered, she saw Song Tan trying to wave away the owner with a look of utter disgust. She quickly stepped forward and sent the owner away before Song Tan could truly lose his temper.
Only then did Liang Wan have a chance to speak with Song Tan in peace.
Song Tan rested his chin on one hand while the other idly stirred through a jade plate piled with jewelry. His eyes flickered toward her. "Did you just realize it was me, or did you think I was someone else?"
Liang Wan wanted to laugh. "Are you trying to say Feng Qingyue?"
"Oho, why are you using her full name now? Didn’t you always used to call her Qing Yue, Qing Yue?" He lifted his eyelids, a hint of complaint in his gaze.
Liang Wan laughed. "Aside from that face of yours, is there anything you actually care about? I bet your carriage could be smashed to bits, and as long as your face wasn’t harmed, you’d sit there as steady as a mountain.
That coachman was yelling his head off, and people were either trying to mediate or just adding to the commotion. There was plenty of noise. But you? Were you doing anything besides finding it annoying? That’s how I knew it was you!"
Song Tan chuckled. "No one knows me better than the Third Lady!"
He was in the middle of laughing when he suddenly stopped and became serious. "Did you two have a fight?"
’A fight?’ Liang Wan shook her head and just laughed. ’That’s something ignorant children do. With Feng Qingyue and me, it’s a matter of life and death.’
Song Tan had been leaning back, but seeing her reaction, he immediately sat up straight, his interest piqued. "What on earth happened at the Peach Blossom Banquet the other day? The Princess came back and threw a massive tantrum. She even had Feng Qingyue locked up."
Song Tan’s skin was fair and delicate. For a few days at the beginning of every spring, he would break out in a rash. It would heal after seven or eight days of recuperating indoors. Being as vain as he was, he would absolutely refuse to leave the house during those flare-ups, which was why he hadn’t attended the Peach Blossom Banquet.
But even though he wasn’t there that day, Liang Wan didn’t believe for a second that he was truly clueless. After all, the man who could monopolize Princess Lanling’s affection among all her male favorites couldn’t possibly be an empty-headed pretty boy who paid no attention to the world outside.
’He’s a sharp one, that’s for sure.’
Song Tan, knowing Liang Wan had seen right through him, dropped the act. "Did you two really have a falling out over that Cui Hao fellow?"
"Over Cui Hao?" Liang Wan scoffed. "Perhaps she did. But I didn’t."
Song Tan pouted. "Of course you didn’t! That Cui Hao has the face of a destitute scholar. He’s not even worth one of my fingernails. If you were going to fall for someone, it should have been me!"
Liang Wan decided to stop beating around the bush. "I need to ask you for a favor."
Song Tan raised an eyebrow and shot her a sideways glance. "You’re not going to ask me to keep helping Feng Qingyue, are you?"
Feng Qingyue had never been favored by Princess Lanling, ever since she was a child. Later, by a chance encounter, Liang Wan saved Song Tan. Who would have thought their next meeting would be at the Marquis Mansion? At Liang Wan’s request, Song Tan would occasionally lend Feng Qingyue a hand to keep her life from becoming too difficult.
After all, a single word from Song Tan to the Princess was worth a hundred from anyone else.
A small smile played on Liang Wan’s red lips as she slowly nodded. "That’s right. And not just help her—it would be best if you could help her get exactly what she wants!"
A strange light glinted in her dark eyes, a soul-stealing mixture of allure and danger.
Song Tan showed only a flicker of surprise before nodding with a light laugh. "Alright, my little beauty!"
...
After they finished discussing important matters, Song Tan wanted to drag Liang Wan off somewhere else, but unexpectedly, Princess Lanling heard he had run into trouble on the road and hastily sent people to fetch him. Song Tan had no choice but to go back with them.
Liang Wan casually picked out a red coral bracelet, intending it as a gift for Liang Zhang’s new bride. Just as she was about to get up and pay, a lovely, delicate young woman in a peach-blossom pink dress stepped through the door.
She was flanked by a female servant on each side, with two more maids following behind. They escorted her over with such caution, it was as if they were afraid she’d be kidnapped halfway across the room. It looked rather comical.
"It’s Lady Yao!"
Qiuxi’s heart jumped in alarm, but she saw that Liang Wan had already gone to greet her.
"It seems the new bride and I are truly fated to meet!" Liang Wan said with a beaming smile, looking at the delicate young lady.
One had to admit, Yao Jinse was truly sweet. When she smiled, two dimples appeared on her cheeks, and her sparkling eyes curved, making her look sickeningly sweet.
’What a waste for her to marry Liang Zhang!’
Meeting Liang Wan’s smile, Yao Jinse’s cheeks flushed red instantly. She looked down, a little embarrassed. "Sister Liang."
"My lady, you mustn’t address her like that after you enter the mansion. You don’t want to be made a laughingstock," the mammy by her side promptly corrected.
Yao Jinse, her face still red, obediently acknowledged the correction.
Liang Wan glanced at the rigid mammy, unconcerned. Yao Jinse had only just come of age and was a year younger than her; there was nothing wrong with being addressed that way in private.
"The wedding isn’t for another two days. What’s your hurry?"
As she spoke, Liang Wan glanced at them and stepped forward. "I was just picking out a wedding gift for you. Why don’t you choose one yourself?"
Yao Jinse felt a warmth on her wrist as Liang Wan patted it. Realizing this was a signal that Liang Wan had something to say to her, she, though puzzled, told her maids and servants to wait aside and followed Liang Wan to sit elsewhere.
Once seated, Liang Wan looked at her and got straight to the point. "Lady Yao, do you truly wish to marry Liang Zhang?"
Yao Jinse was stunned.
"If you’re willing, Lady Yao—"
Before Liang Wan could finish, Yao Jinse interrupted her with a smile. "Third Lady, please say no more. Since I have already lost my virtue to him, I can only belong to him from now on. Besides, the wedding is in just two days, isn’t it?"
Yao Jinse stood up, her previous shyness and warmth gone, her tone now laced with distance. "Since you have already chosen this red coral bracelet, there is no need to look at anything else."
She turned her head and said to her waiting maids and servants, "Let’s go look at the next shop."
Yao Jinse left, but Liang Wan stayed. She went ahead and bought the red coral bracelet.
"As the saying goes, it’s better to tear down ten temples than to ruin a single marriage. My lady, you mean well, but that may not be what she wants."
In the long-eaved carriage, Qiuxi looked at the silent Liang Wan and couldn’t help but try to comfort her.
Liang Wan propped up her head and smiled at her. ’What is it that Yao Jinse truly wants, then?’