Chapter 271 - 271 Admiration

271 Admiration

Translator: Atlas Studios

Editor: Atlas Studios

Wei Jiaoniang laughed so hard that tears welled up in her eyes. She leaned against Gu Yanfei and chimed in excitedly, “Guess!”

“If you can’t guess, you can find someone to calculate it.”

Wei Jiaoniang didn’t hide her dislike for Yu Chaoyun.

“Why? Do we need a reason to hate someone?” Lu Qin continued with a smile. “I don’t like barking dogs. Do I need to answer to someone?”

Yu Chaoyun gripped her handkerchief tightly. Her face was pale, and her eyes were uncertain.

At this point, this was no longer as simple as her being slapped in the face in public.

She was representing an aristocratic family by playing the zither today. If she lost, it would hurt the aristocratic family’s face, but as long as she could maintain the integrity of the aristocratic family, she could still obtain the approval of others.

But now, Gu Yanfei, Wei Jiaoniang, and Lu Qin had simply stepped her into the mud. If she returned dejectedly, what would the other women of the aristocratic families think of her?! In the future, who would think highly of her?!

“The snow has stopped!” Wei Jiaoniang shouted happily out the window. She suddenly stood up from her chair and pulled Gu Yanfei and Lu Qin up. “We can play hide-and-seek now.”

“Alright, alright, alright. I’m almost stiff from sitting.” A girl in green jumped up excitedly. The others were also eager to try.

Lu Qin shrank back. She had yet to leave the water pavilion, but she could already feel the bone-chilling cold.

She didn’t want to go out into the cold wind at all, but she couldn’t beat the enthusiasm of the others. Just like that, she half-reluctantly followed the other ladies out of the water pavilion.

No one paid any more attention to Yu Chaoyun, leaving her standing alone at the table.

The girls’ brisk chatter and laughter faded.

On the west side of the water pavilion, Miss Zeng and the others were still sitting in the distance. They looked at Yu Chaoyun with complicated expressions. No one stepped forward for a long time.

There was dead silence.

Yu Chaoyun’s hand, hidden in her sleeve, tightened on the fragrant ball inside, almost crushing it.

After an unknown period of time, she heard a gentle female voice. “Chaoyun.”

The voice came from a few steps behind her. A slender and graceful shadow fell beside her, the silhouette of a butterfly orb swaying slightly on the ground.

Even without turning around, Yu Chaoyun knew that it was Gu Yunrong. Her fingers tightened in her sleeve, and the haze in her eyes was so thick that it was about to overflow.

She had known since she was young that her cousin, Fang Mingfeng, was betrothed to Gu Yunrong of the Dingyuan Marquis Household. She could only hide her thoughts well.

After coming to the capital this time, she learned from her aunt, the Duchess, that Gu Yunrong had an affair with Kang Wang. For this reason, she pushed her cousin to the second daughter of the Gu family, Gu Yanfei, who had been wandering outside for more than ten years.

And Gu Yanfei actually told the Empress Dowager in public that she didn’t acknowledge her marriage to the Fang family.

This news was like a lightning strike for Yu Chaoyun.

Her cousin, whom she loved with all her heart, was actually pushed around by the Gu sisters like a hot potato. What did they treat her cousin as?!

“Chaoyun?” Gu Yunrong called out again from behind, and the shadow on the ground took a step forward.

Yu Chaoyun closed her eyes. When she opened them again, her eyes were calm.

She slowly turned around. When her face met Gu Yunrong’s, who was a few steps away, her expression was filled with grievance. Her eyes were watery, and her slightly pale cherry lips were pursed in forbearance and embarrassment.

It looked as if the bright and dignified peony had been rudely broken from its branch, and a few petals fell from the crown.

Gu Yunrong couldn’t bear to see Yu Chaoyun like this. Yu Chaoyun was just a young lady who had just reached adulthood. How could she know that winning or losing in this world was often just a word from the people in power? There was no fairness to speak of.

‘Chaoyun, you didn’t lose, and you don’t have to admit defeat. Don’t take it to heart.” Gu Yunrong gave Yun Chaoyun a comforting smile. The dimples on her lips were like honey, making her look amiable.

“Rong Rong, thank you.” Yu Chaoyun nodded at Gu Yunrong and took a step closer to her. She forced a smile that was a little bitter.

She reached out and took one of Gu Yunrong’s hands. She moved like an unworldly white rabbit, fragile and innocent, with a childlike dependence.

Gu Yunrong felt the coldness in Yu Chaoyun’s palm and felt even more pity for her. She sighed in her heart.

She shook Yu Chaoyun’s hand reassuringly, trying to give her strength and warmth.

Yu Chaoyun turned her gaze to the sparkling lake outside the window and said softly, “Rong Rong, I was actually sent to the capital by my family.”

“I won’t hide it from you. They’re doing this for the selection of the Eldest Princess Consort.

Her voice was fleeting and weak. When she spoke, her long eyelashes fluttered and her chest heaved violently.

She seemed to have been suppressed for a long time, and no one could tell her, so she could only confide in Gu Yunrong.

‘Plop!”

A tail of gold and silver carp in the lake outside the window flew up from the water and fell again. Water splashed everywhere, and a few drops of water splashed through the window onto their dresses. Yu Chaoyun’s cuffs were wet, as if they were stained with tears.

‘Chaoyun…” The pity in Gu Yunrong’s words deepened. She wanted to persuade her.

In this era, whether it was commoners or girls from noble families, they all had no choice. Their marriage was in the hands of their families, so they could only go with the flow and find a marriage of equal social status. From then on, they would be husband and wife, and would respect each other for the rest of their lives.

It was really pitiful to go from a brilliant pearl to a boring dead fish eye.

However, before Gu Yunrong could finish her sentence, she heard Yu Chaoyun say gently, “Rong Rong, I’m actually very happy.”

Gu Yunrong’s cherry lips parted slightly as she looked at Yu Chaoyun in shock.

Yu Chaoyun looked at Gu Yunrong again and smiled faintly. Her smile was half gentle and half sweet. She continued, ‘Tm very happy. I’ve admired the Eldest

Prince since I was young.”

“When I was young, I came to the capital a few times…”

“When I was seven years old, I followed my aunt into the palace once and met the Eldest Prince in the imperial garden. At that time, I was admiring lotus flowers by the lake with a few girls. Two girls got into an argument and accidentally bumped into me when they were pushing each other. I was just short of falling into the lake. Fortunately, the Eldest Prince saved me.” ‘To me at the time, he was like a hero… He’s really a very gentle person.’ Yu Chaoyun was half telling the truth, but her emotions were real.

When she was seven years old, she did follow her aunt into the palace once.

However, she hid someone from the story, which is her cousin, Fang Mingfeng.

Back then, the person who stopped her in the palace was her cousin, and the person she fell in love with was also her cousin.

There was no one else but her cousin..