Cui Huan showed Lü Kou around the courtyard and introduced her to all the uncles. After the two of them had breakfast and cleaned the yard, Wei Dongling finally staggered out of her room, still sleepy.
"Good morning, Miss Wei!" Cui Huan was using a bamboo pole to fish out the fallen leaves in the carp pond. Seeing Wei Dongling coming out, she waved to greet her.
Lü Kou, who was helping Cui Huan, still had swollen red eyes, but her mental state was much better than the previous day. When she saw Wei Dongling approaching, she quickly put down the bamboo pole and curtsied. "Good day, Miss Wei. Did you sleep well last night?"
Thanks to Wei Dongling's timely rescue last night, otherwise the consequences would have been unimaginable. Lü Kou was full of gratitude towards her. So, unlike before when she called her the young steward, she now called her Miss Wei, just like Cui Huan.
Wei Dongling looked at Lü Kou's slender chin and said with a smile, "Why did you get up so early? Why not sleep a little longer?"
Cui Huan rolled her eyes and replied, "Everyone has gone to the shop to do business. Who's going to sleep like a little piggy like you?"
This remark made Lü Kou burst out laughing. Seeing that Wei Dongling didn't mind and just carelessly tied up her hair in a messy bun, Lü Kou quickly stepped forward to help her.
Cui Huan then asked, "Did you find Young Master Yu last night? He wasn't at the Yu Mansion."
Only then did Wei Dongling remember Yu Zixi, who had been completely forgotten by her. She immediately broke out in a cold sweat and beat her chest and stamped her feet. "Oh no! I forgot about Zixi! Huan Huan, quickly go to the Night Fragrance Pavilion with me!"
Cui Huan was speechless. The three of them got into a carriage and rushed straight to the Night Fragrance Pavilion.
Lü Kou stayed in the carriage and didn't get out. Wei Dongling and Cui Huan went to knock on the back door of the Night Fragrance Pavilion.
The young servant who opened the door turned pale with fright when he saw Wei Dongling's face and quickly tried to close the door. Wei Dongling jammed her foot in the door crack and asked in surprise, "Why are you not receiving guests?"
The young servant was sweating profusely as he couldn't close the door. He quickly waved to call a group of servants over and blocked Wei Dongling and Cui Huan at the door, not allowing them to enter.
Wei Dongling and Cui Huan glanced at each other and asked in surprise, "What do you mean by this?"
The young servant replied with a bitter face, "Young Master Yu has expressly forbidden Miss Wei from setting foot in the Night Fragrance Pavilion. Please don't make things difficult for us!"
Wei Dongling's face instantly darkened. Judging from the way the Night Fragrance Pavilion was guarding against her like they were guarding against thieves, it seemed that she had completely offended Yu Zixi. Wei Dongling said speechlessly, "Fine, fine. I won't go in. Can Cui Huan go in then?"
The young servant replied with a look of despair, "Young Master Yu said that Miss Cui Huan is also not allowed. Please don't make things difficult for us, Miss Wei."
Wei Dongling was stunned. Even Cui Huan wasn't allowed in? It seemed that Yu Zixi was really angry with her this time. Sigh!
Cui Huan said unhappily, "Where is Young Master Yu now?"
Wei Dongling sighed silently. Yu Zixi was clearly trying to prevent them from knowing his whereabouts by blocking them from entering. Was there any need to ask?
Unexpectedly, the young servant replied, "The young master was taken back to the Yu Mansion early this morning by the second young master of the Yu family."
Wei Dongling: ...
Cui Huan: ...
The young servant added, "At that time, Lord Yu and the County Mistress of Rong'an were blocking the door. Lord Yu personally tied up the young master and took him back."
Lord Yu and He Yao had tied up Yu Zixi and taken him back?
Wei Dongling felt a chill in her heart and quickly turned around to go to the Yu Mansion. Cui Huan grabbed her and whispered, "How dare Lord Yu disobey the imperial edict of the Empress Dowager? Moreover, the young master is still angry with you. What can we do if we go there now? Watch them walking hand in hand in person?"
But most likely they had taken Yu Zixi back to discuss the auspicious wedding date. How could she wait? Wei Dongling was in a complete panic and said anxiously, "But I can't just sit back and watch He Yao take him away!"
The two of them thought for a while and finally decided that after nightfall, they would take Luo Xunlong and Jing Zhe and climb over the wall to secretly abduct Young Master Yu.
On the way back, Cui Huan bought a few pancakes at the alley entrance and stuffed them into Wei Dongling's hands for breakfast. She also gave one to Lü Kou. With a pancake in her mouth, Cui Huan asked in a muffled voice, "Do you think the young master will be willing to go with you? He won't make our efforts in vain, right?"
Wei Dongling burst into tears. Would Yu Zixi just turn around and marry He Yao because he was angry with her?
It was really possible! After all, he and He Yao had grown up together, and she had been in love with him since childhood. She was also a noble county mistress, fair-skinned, beautiful, and with a good figure. He Yao's father was even Yu Zixi's master, always supporting and following him.
And what did she have? She even stood him up!
The more Wei Dongling thought about it, the more panicked she became. She couldn't take a bite of the pancake in her hand and wished she could fly to the Yu Mansion immediately to find him. Wei Dongling lifted the curtain of the carriage and said to Cui Huan, "Let's go to the silk shop and have a look!"
Cui Huan was puzzled. What was Miss Wei up to? Did she want to make some beautiful clothes to seduce Young Master Yu? But what kind of beauty hadn't the young master seen? Did Miss Wei think that wearing something nice would be enough to move him? Moreover, it was probably too late to make new clothes now! It would take several days to cut and sew them!
To Cui Huan's great surprise, Wei Dongling randomly selected several bolts of fine silk and planned to go back and embroider a sachet!
As soon as she got back to the mansion, she dragged Aunt Liu to help her choose. The four women were bustling around in the yard, drawing patterns, cutting styles, and selecting embroidery threads. They were extremely busy.
Lü Kou held up the drawn mandarin duck pattern and said with a smile, "If we're giving it to a lover, it's more appropriate to embroider a pair of mandarin ducks, right?"
Cui Huan said speechlessly, "We have to finish embroidering it tonight, and we can't ask others for help. Do you think Miss Wei can handle such a complicated mandarin duck pattern?"
Hearing this, Lü Kou was in a dilemma. She had seen with her own eyes that Miss Wei couldn't even sew a torn sock properly!
Aunt Liu drew a peony pattern and handed it to Wei Dongling. "Girl, embroidering a flower is relatively simple. I'll help you choose the colors. Just make the stitches fine."
Fine stitches? Wei Dongling held up the picture of Peppa Pig and said with tears in her eyes, "Well, how about embroidering a Peppa Pig instead? I have some experience with this, and I should be able to finish it before dark."
Everyone was speechless.
So, after a whole afternoon of rushing, with her ten slender fingers pricked like a sieve, Wei Dongling finally almost finished embroidering the Peppa Pig sachet.
Cui Huan was really worried. She clearly thought the previous sachet was not good-looking and wanted to replace it with a more delicate one. But now she ended up making an identical one. Was there any difference?
Wei Dongling looked at her badly injured fingers and sighed silently. It was already quite an achievement to finish embroidering it barely. How could she care about whether it was good-looking or not?
Aunt Liu looked at the crooked Peppa Pig and twitched the corner of her mouth speechlessly. "Girl, should we buy a sachet and give it to him first, saying that it's embroidered by yourself? Then we can spend some time later to learn female handicrafts properly to make up for it?"
Wei Dongling replied with a long face, "No way. He'll be able to tell at a glance if it's not embroidered by me!"
Just as she sewed the last stitch, she heard Jing Zhe calling at the south courtyard gate, "Is Miss Wei here? I have something to tell you!"
Lü Kou looked up and saw Jing Zhe. Remembering how he had killed people like flies last night, she was so scared that she shrank behind Cui Huan.
Wei Dongling hid her horribly injured hands in her sleeves and stepped forward. "What do you want to talk to me about?"
Jing Zhe stepped forward and whispered something in her ear. Wei Dongling's face instantly changed greatly.