Chapter 69 - Departure

The next day, Wei Liuying woke up early and dressed herself up. She had already ordered Xiao Yu to give excuse to her that she wouldn't participate in the hunt today because she was still feeling unwell. Some people would think that she was simply afraid of Prince Ji Shu while others were thinking of how weak she was, but Wei Liuying didn't really care.

Her reputation was already bad enough, so it didn't matter if she added something more. Besides, what was more important was the fact that the news of her getting punished by Prince Ji Shu could leak out as some people already knew about this.

Wei Hong would never do that because he valued the family's reputation the most. Because of that, Wei Liuying knew that the one who did it would be either Wei Xiao Hua or her own mother and Wei Hong Zheng. They were the only ones who would make use of this matter to tarnish her reputation even further.

Wei Xiao Hua simply hated her while Wei Hong Zheng just wanted to make himself looked better. Though, the news were fairly suppressed as no one openly talked about it so far.

"Miss, it's time."

"Yes."

Wei Liuying wore light blue robe and strapped her hand. The women would be riding on carriages when they were departing, but the males usually rode horse. Some of them would use carriage, but then there were some people who looked down on them because they picked the same method as the women.

As hot blooded as youngster could be, they were unwilling to accept such insult thrown to their faces.

"Xiao Qing, Xiao Yu. Take care of this place."

"Yes, Miss!"

After ordering the two young girl, Wei Liuying slipped to Wei Hong Zheng's residence and noticed that her brother had just woken up. It seemed that he was trying hard to study just the night before.

"Second Brother."

"Go."

"Yes."

Wei Liuying heaved a sigh and changed her aura around her body as she slowly made her way out of the room. Huo was already waiting and patiently followed behind Wei Liuying. His eyes were looking at Wei Liuying's back with complicated emotion.

For the next three days, five days if counted the journey to South Plum Mountain, the one he served would be the young lady. He tried to push the thoughts from his mind as he had to pretend that Wei Liuying was genuinely his young master. Though, just the thought alone left a bad taste in his mouth.

"Second Brother," Wei Yijun greeted when he saw Wei Liuying who had dressed up as Wei Hong Zheng.

Wei Liuying smiled. "First Brother. Are we going to depart now?"

"Wait a bit more, Second Sister is slow."

"Ah, I see."

They had already gotten used with Wei Zilin being slow. It was almost every single day that they had to wait for Wei Zilin when they had to go to the academy. Wei Xiao Hua was also nowhere to be seen, so Wei Liuying could only wait patiently.

Wei Hong and his concubines appeared not long afterwards. Only the concubines who had children were allowed to come in order to watch over their children as many of the younger and underage participants were there.

"Where's Xiao Hua and Zilin?"

"Sorry, Father. I was making the last preparation," Wei Xiao Hua said from a distance away. She was wearing light dress that seemed to be easy to move in. Even though so, it didn't reduce the elegance and beauty that she exuded naturally.

Behind her, Wei Zilin was wearing thicker dress that she usually used on daily basis. Her expression looked bad, as if she wanted to take a large bite from Wei Xiao Hua. However, she still forced a smile out when her father was looking her way.

'What did Wei Xiao Hua do this time?' Wei Liuying was confused as she thought to herself.

There would be no way Wei Zilin would show this much hostility without Wei Xiao Hua did something before.

"Shall we depart?"

"Let's go."

They all gathered to their respective carriages. Wei Liuying could see her mother from a distance away, giving a fake smile to the other concubines who also participated in the hunt this time. They were only coming to take care of the children, but this was also a great chance for them to socialize.

Wei Liuying who didn't come had missed out big time.

The journey to South Plum Mountain would take nearly a day of journey based on their pace. Wei Liuying climbed on the horse back and slowly made it walk. She didn't show her nervousness at all as her teacher had warned her that the horse could know what she was feeling.

If she's afraid, it would be restless.

So, no matter what, she had to act as if everything was fine.

As they started their journey, Wei Liuying also adapted to stay on the horse back for a long period of time. She could feel her lower half started to feel numb, so she shifted position every few incense sticks' time. It was quite uncomfortable, but she needed to do it or she wouldn't be able to last that long.

Wei Yijun was also in the same situation as he had to switch position a bit to make sure that his legs were not numb.

Their journey would take some time, so it was important to take care of themselves.