Chapter 20 - Dinner

The night passed quietly, and the next day, Wei Liuying came to visit her younger brother for another practice.

Tak!

"Second Brother, there'll be family dinner later. We shouldn't stay outside too long," Wei Liuying reminded her brother.

Wei Hong Zheng frowned. "You just have to make sure that you're not wounded. It'd be hard for them to see your bruises if you covered it."

"Second Brother, it'll be better to be careful."

"Will you even attend the dinner?"

Wei Liuying smiled. "We will never know what will happen."

Wei Hong Zheng groaned. "Fine…one more then."

With a swift movement, Wei Hong Zheng switched his stance and thrust his wooden sword forward. Wei Liuying was prepared as she side stepped to the side. Her wooden sword parried away her brother's thrust so that it didn't hit her.

Wei Hong Zheng frowned. "That didn't get in."

"Your movement is too big, Second Brother," Wei Liuying analyzed calmly.

"Right…"

Putting the wooden sword away, Wei Hong Zheng stretched his hand and looked at his sister. "Yesterday is quite a large banquet."

"Did something happen on your side?"

"Not really." Wei Hong Zheng never used polite words when he was only with Wei Liuying. If there were other people, he would fix his language. "The four princes are hard to approach. They're only talking with the older ministers. I can't even get close to them at all."

Wei Liuying nodded. She had expected that the princes were not going to make it easy for them to approach them. Besides, talking in front of the crowd about such a sensitive matter was clearly a big no.

"All princes are present?"

"Yes. It's a big celebration, so it should be obvious that all four of them attend the banquet," Wei Hong Zheng said simply. There were a total of four princes who were still alive until now. As for the number who died in the harem, no one knew for sure. After all, there were several of them who died even before they were born because of the schemes of the concubines.

But this kind of news never leaked out.

"Did Father do anything?"

"Father?" Wei Hong Zheng frowned. "He only greeted them one by one. I'm not sure what he's talking with other officials, but they all talked for quite some time before it was time for us to go back."

"I see."

"So, what can you say from that?"

Wei Liuying arched her eyebrows slightly, but she kept her expression neutral. "There's not enough information for me to give any conclusion, Second Brother. However, I can say for sure that they're not giving anything out in the event."

Wei Hong Zheng groaned. He hated that his sister was far smarter than him, but at the same time, he needed Wei Liuying if he wanted to survive. She could analyze things better and even guessed other people's plans correctly. That way, they would have enough preparation in case something bad happened.

"We'll have dinner together tonight. You can ask Father for more."

"I doubt it. Anyway, finish the book sooner. Teacher Luo planned to test me after the New Year's celebration is over," Wei Hong Zheng reminded.

"I understand, Second Brother."

New Year celebration usually lasted for 15 days, which would give her more than enough time to finish reading all the material. However, Wei Liuying knew that she had to finish it much faster to give Wei Hong Zheng enough time before the celebration was over to memorize and understood it all.

The two siblings returned back to their courtyard, and Wei Liuying busied herself to read again until it was the time for dinner.

"Miss, it's evening. Master will send a servant to fetch you soon," Xiao Qing reminded.

Wei Liuying put away the book that she was reading and nodded faintly. She changed her clothes and asked Xiao Yu to do her hair. The decoration was even simpler to the point that she could be easily mistaken as a servant.

Xiao Yu pouted. "Miss, if you keep on dressing so simple, people will never be able to guess that you're part of the Wei Family Household."

"Isn't it fine that way?" Wei Liuying stood up and looked at her appearance in the mirror.

"But if you remain unknown, there won't be anyone who proposed to you," Xiao Yu whined.

This time, Xiao Qing nodded. "Yes, Miss. Miss will be 14 soon, so it's already the time to start searching for a partner."

Wei Liuying was speechless. In the Han Shi Kingdom, women were categorized as an adult when they were 16 years old. Most of the time, the women would get engaged when they were 15 years old, so Wei Liuying still has more than enough time to find a potential partner. Though, she highly doubted that her father would let her do that.

He would undoubtedly try to find an official who could grant him better access.

"Don't talk nonsense. Marriage is determined by one's parents," Wei Liuying said helplessly and walked out of the room. She fixed her appearance as she waited at the front door.

Xiao Yu still pouted, but she didn't press Wei Liuying any longer. The two of them stood obediently behind Wei Liuying as they waited for the servants to call them to the main hall to eat together.

The sun started to set as the temperature dropped. A chilly wind blew on the courtyard, yet the servant was nowhere to be seen.

Wei Liuying glanced to the sky with a faint smile on the corner of her lips. "Let's go back in."

"But Miss…."

"He's not going to invite me," Wei Liuying said faintly. Even though the size of the residence was large, she could see the merry light from a distance away. It was the mark that the family dinner had already started.

Xiao Qing bit her lower lips with aggravated expression. This was not the first time Wei Liuying was not invited to family dinner. It was as if her existence alone was not included in the family, which made them unwilling to invite her.

"Miss, should this servant…"

"Xiao Qing, take some meat buns from the kitchen. I'll be having a simple meal for my dinner."

"Yes, Miss."

Even though Xiao Qing felt that it was wrong, she couldn't do anything. Her heart was bleeding with grievances. Wei Liuying was clearly the Miss in this residence, but she was treated worse than the servant. No, not just worse than a servant. It was even worse than an animal.

Wei Liuying never had any hope for her so called family members anymore. Her birth status is low, and she didn't have anyone to rely on. All she could do was just making sure that she continued to learn and making use of the situation on hand to ensure her own safety.

As for her future… she didn't have any idea yet.

Though, she did start to plan for her future.

"Miss, this is the meat buns." Xiao Qing returned not long afterwards with seven large meat buns. It was definitely more than enough for Wei Liuying to eat.

"Good work. Let's get inside."

"Yes."

Xiao Qing tried to ask the servants in the kitchen just now and found out that the other ladies were invited to have dinner together. Only Wei Liuying was left out and not allowed to come.

The difference in treatment broke her heart.

Wei Liuying took the meat buns and ate calmly. Her black eyes were staring into a distance as she thought of the events that occurred lately. It seemed that it was already the time for her to start making her move.

Before anyone realized her cards, she had to use them to make sure no mishap occurred to her.