Chapter 16
Inside the pavilion, seeing Tang Lingxiao gazing intently at a certain spot, someone asked, “Who is that?”
Tang Lingxiao sighed, “That is Song Ran’s sister, Miss Song. She has now become the second wife of Lord Wei, which has certainly brought honor to her family.”
The other person scoffed, “But she’s only the second wife.”
“In principle, she shouldn’t be here. It’s so sunny outside,” Tang Lingxiao remarked.
Someone else replied, “It shows she has little standing in front of Lord Wei. Otherwise, why would she be here? Don’t you know? I’ve heard Lord Wei lost his wife eight years ago and has never remarried. He still visits his mother-in-law, a testament to his deep affection.”
“But Miss Song is quite attractive, and newly married. Can Lord Wei truly be indifferent?”
The group discussed this at length inside the pavilion. Tang Lingxiao finally said, “After all, we know each other. Why not invite her in to sit with us?”
Sure enough, everyone was curious about Song Yan’s new life as a second wife and eager to probe further. They quickly agreed, “Yes, yes, let her come in. We’ll ask her.”
Tang Lingxiao then instructed her maid to fetch them.
On Song Yan’s side, she saw Tang Lingxiao’s maid approaching, puzzled, until the maid stopped before her and said, “Madam, my mistress says the sun is strong outside. She asks if you and Miss Gong would like to come inside the pavilion for a rest.”
Song Yan knew perfectly well what Tang Lingxiao was up to. Those inside the pavilion were all her own people. With a cold snort, Song Yan replied, “Thank your mistress for her kind offer, but we’re fine here. We won’t go in.” With that, she took Gong Yulan by the hand and left.
After a few steps, Song Yan fumed, “She actually has the nerve!”
People act, and Heaven watches. Tang Lingxiao felt no guilt at all, still daring to provoke her!
Gong Yulan said, “If she were sensitive, she wouldn’t have done such things. The fact she did proves she’s shameless and even proud of it.”
Song Yan angrily struck a nearby shrub, “Heaven must be blind!”
Gong Yulan gently pulled her arm to comfort her, “Let it go. Life is long. She might get unlucky later. Next time we visit Puan Temple, we’ll curse her.”
Song Yan was amused, “The Buddha is merciful. Is it right to curse others there?”
“There’s a Zhong Kui Temple on the outskirts, isn’t there? Praying there should work.”
“But Zhong Kui catches ghosts, not people.”
As they chatted idly, Song Yan distracted herself by plucking a leaf from a hollyhock, unrolling it to reveal a fat green caterpillar.
Gong Yulan recoiled, “Ugh, that’s disgusting!”
Song Yan stuck out her tongue, “It’s a habit. I forgot.” When she was little, her brother loved to climb trees and raid bird nests, catching birds and searching everywhere for worms to feed them. She couldn’t climb trees but was expert at finding insects, so even now she couldn’t resist checking leaves for caterpillars, and hollyhocks were especially popular with them.
While the two continued their banter, a group of servants carrying tea and pastries passed by, heading toward the long corridor. At the fork ahead, one servant separated from the group and came toward them, presumably to deliver tea to the pavilion.
Suddenly, an idea flashed in Song Yan’s mind to vent her anger. She said to Gong Yulan, “Recently I read a saying in a book: ‘A man is not truly a man unless he has a bit of poison in him.’”
Gong Yulan shook her head, “I’ve never heard that one. I only know of venomous women.”
Song Yan whispered a few words in her ear, making Yulan laugh and agree, “That’s perfect. It’ll make her sick all day!”
Song Yan glanced at the approaching servant, “But won’t she blame the servant for bringing the tea?”
Gong Yulan shook her head quickly, “No, the Dragon Boat Festival is co-hosted by Prince Xin, the Ministry of Rites, and the river authorities. I heard they were short on staff, so Prince Xin even lent his own servants. Tang Lingxiao wouldn’t dare get angry at these servants—she might offend someone important!”
Song Yan was delighted, “That’s good!” The two plotted together—Gong Yulan took out a few copper coins, Song Yan a piece of broken silver. Gong Yulan scattered the coins beneath a peony bush, while Song Yan swiftly plucked several fat green caterpillars from hollyhock leaves and placed them on a leaf.
The servant carrying the tea was a young eunuch. Passing the peony bush, he spotted something glinting in the sunlight—silver and copper coins. Today’s West Garden gathering was attended by nobles, and people often found lost items. Last year, his friend found a fan pendant and pawned it for a good sum. Now fortune smiled on him.
He looked around, saw a stone by the path, set his tray down, and went to pick up the coins beneath the peonies.
Song Yan emerged from the foliage, slipped a caterpillar into one teacup, and added several to the first cup. Then she and Gong Yulan hid.
The eunuch lingered searching for more coins, but finally, finding nothing else, retrieved his tray and departed.
Once he left, Gong Yulan dashed out from behind the rockery, saying, “Shall we go see?”
Song Yan nodded. Together, they circled around to hide behind the rockery behind Tang Lingxiao’s pavilion, watching the scene unfold.
The eunuch delivered the tea. Tang Lingxiao took the first cup, precisely the one Song Yan had prepared, followed by the other ladies—wives of officials. Though thirsty after sitting so long, they didn’t immediately drink, but took their cups and continued chatting. Only when the conversation paused did they finally drink.
This delay meant the eunuch had already left. Tang Lingxiao lifted her cup, skimmed off the tea leaves with the lid, took a sip, and commented, “The tea here is just barely passable.”
Someone replied, “You’re used to good tea, so you say that. I find this tea fragrant and sweet—quite excellent!”
Song Yan and Gong Yulan could barely contain their laughter.
She had expected Tang Lingxiao to notice at once, but she drank a whole sip without realizing—an unexpected delight.
Then, one lady peered into her cup to drink, but her expression suddenly changed. She glanced around, hesitated, then quietly covered her cup.
Gong Yulan whispered, “She’s seen it.”
Song Yan laughed, “But she doesn’t dare say anything.”
Gong Yulan, “Of course. Everyone’s praising the tea—she doesn’t want to spoil the mood.”
Their laughter grew.
It wasn’t until Tang Lingxiao drank several more sips that she finally noticed something moving in her cup—not a tea leaf, but a wriggling green caterpillar, still alive.
“Aah—” Tang Lingxiao screamed, dropping the cup to the ground. The caterpillar struggled to crawl, and she remembered she had just swallowed two leaves, wondering why there were so many in her tea.
Now she thought—could it be she had just drunk...?
“Ugh...” Her face turned green as she tried to vomit out the tea.
Another lady exclaimed, “There’s a bug in mine!”
“And in mine too!”
They all threw their tea onto the stone table, unable to stop retching, their faces drained of color.
Song Yan and Gong Yulan laughed until they couldn’t stand straight. Song Yan said, “Some leaves had bug droppings, I tossed those in too.”
Gong Yulan laughed and grimaced, “Stop, you’re making me want to throw up!”
Just as they laughed, they heard voices from the pavilion, “Someone did this on purpose!”
“Where’s that Song girl? Why isn’t she here?”
“Look, is there someone behind the rockery?”
Hearing this, Song Yan and Gong Yulan hurriedly ducked behind the rockery, planning to escape. Turning, they suddenly found Wei Qi standing behind them.
Song Yan was startled, unsure what to say, when voices from the pavilion grew closer. She heard footsteps coming their way.
Desperate for a hiding spot, she spotted a low platform beside them, its base shrouded by thick wisteria, almost invisible from above. Seeing Tang Lingxiao and the others approaching, she jumped down without a second thought. Gong Yulan, equally flustered, followed her, and they hid among the wisteria.
Tang Lingxiao and several ladies stormed over from the pavilion, furious. “Whoever did this is despicable! If I catch them—” Before she finished, she bumped into Wei Qi behind the rockery.
Tang Lingxiao was stunned, then finally recognized him and composed herself, softly saying, “Lord Wei... What brings you here?”
Hearing voices above, Gong Yulan looked at Song Yan. Song Yan realized she had forgotten to ask Wei Qi to cover for them, but trusted he wouldn’t be so foolish as to give them away.
Wei Qi’s voice came from above, “Who are you trying to catch?”
He answered their question with another. Tang Lingxiao, compelled by his presence, replied honestly, “Someone secretly put bugs in our tea! We meant to catch them, but didn’t expect to run into you, Lord Wei.”
“The Emperor is in the waterside pavilion. The West Garden is a place of importance. Surely no one would dare such a thing. It must be an accident,” Wei Qi replied.
With his words, Tang Lingxiao could only acquiesce. She glanced back; the others hung their heads like quails, silent. Wei Qi’s stern and imposing demeanor cowed them further.
After a moment, she said, “Lord Wei is right.” Hesitating, she added, “Then... we won’t disturb you further.” She hurriedly bowed and returned to the pavilion, the others following close behind.
Once they had gone, Wei Qi looked down at the wisteria below. After a long pause, there was movement. Song Yan cautiously poked her head out, glanced upwards, then quickly ducked back down. She whispered to Gong Yulan, “She’s left.”
Then she climbed out of the flower thicket toward the platform, only to find it difficult to ascend.
At that moment, Wei Qi approached, bent down, and held out his hand.
Bathed in sunlight, his figure was tall and imposing, his hand exuding a powerful strength.
She, meanwhile, was rather disheveled and embarrassed...
Her face flushed crimson as she silently placed her hand in his palm. He gripped her hand, and with a slight pull, she stepped up onto the stone ledge.