Where the Mask Ends - Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Since it concerned herself, Wei Rao heard the gossip from the outside world even while staying at home.

She truly had not expected that three completely unrelated events would be strung together by those people, and that they would stumble upon the truth of her mind at the time—she had indeed wanted to marry Qi Zhongkai.

The conclusion was correct, but the evidence used to reach it was all wrong. She had wagered on Qi Zhongkai simply because she did not want to bet on Lu Zhuo or Han Liao, and saving Qi Miaomiao had absolutely nothing to do with him.

Most importantly, that was then; now, Wei Rao no longer had any interest in Qi Zhongkai.

Once the Dragon Boat Festival passed, the weather grew hotter by the day. The Earl of Chengan’s mansion was famously frugal and did not buy ice in the summer. Furthermore, Old Madame Wei suffered from rheumatism and could not use it.

Wei Rao had money of her own, but she worried that if she bought ice to use, Wei Chan would see it and suspect that their grandmother was being partial. The mother and daughter would then go and bother the old lady, so Wei Rao preferred to fan herself more rather than spend her own purse to be comfortable.

That evening, her cousin Huo Jue arrived at the Earl of Chengan’s mansion with a basket of large watermelons.

Old Madame Wei asked a maid to wash one, dice it, and serve it on several plates for everyone to eat with bamboo picks.

"Hmm, this melon is sweet, and the texture is sandy and soft; it’s perfect for us old folks." Old Madame Wei ate two pieces in succession and praised it with a smile.

Huo Jue, sitting below the Old Madame, laughed, "Grandmother has a patch of sandy soil at home specially for growing watermelons. This one was picked by someone Grandmother sent, and she told me to bring it over for you to have a fresh taste."

Old Madame Wei truly envied Old Madame Shou’an—having fields and estates, living a carefree life, and enjoying peace of mind.

Huo Jue was very good at coaxing his elders; ever since he sat down, the smile on Old Madame Wei’s lips had not faded once.

Wei Rao knew her cousin’s purpose and waited patiently. When her grandmother finally ordered her to see him out, the siblings stopped in the courtyard corridor. Bitao stood not far away; she was Wei Rao’s confidante, so there was no need to keep secrets from her.

"A tea house on Tianshun Street is up for transfer. The price is quite reasonable. Do you intend to handle the purchase yourself, or should I find an intermediary?" Huo Jue lowered his head slightly, looking at the cousin he had not seen in half a month.

Wei Rao swayed her round fan slowly. The silk screen embroidered with landscapes blocked her face—which was as vibrant as a peony—only to shift away again. Each movement of the fan sent over a faint, elusive fragrance of a young lady, similar to sweet osmanthus but not as heavy; it was sweet at just the right level.

Was it the perfume on her dress, or the legendary scent of a young woman?

Facing a beauty like Wei Rao, few men could guard their hearts; at most, they could restrain their bodies, but they dared not overstep their bounds.

"Cousin must have heard about what happened at the palace banquet, right?" Wei Rao said, not without self-mockery. "Let’s ask an intermediary. I will privately transfer the deed with them later. Otherwise, if those noble families find out that the restaurant is mine, I fear they won’t deign to patronize my business."

Huo Jue said, "That works, too. I will pick a reliable manager for you later, and you only need to collect the money regularly."

Wei Rao asked, "And the chefs...?"

Huo Jue replied, "They will arrive in the capital by the end of the month at the latest. It will take time to renovate the tea house into a restaurant, but if everything goes smoothly, it can open by the middle of the sixth lunar month."

Wei Rao breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at Huo Jue. "To open this restaurant, besides the money, I have done nothing at all. It is all thanks to you, Cousin, managing it for me. I don't know how I should thank you."

Huo Jue smiled heavily. "Between us, why be so polite? Cousin only hates that he is useless and cannot help you with the big matters."

Wei Rao did not think so. "What do you mean by big matters? Making money is the most important thing. Can one eat a reputation?"

She said this, and she felt this way in her heart, so her smile was broad. Her phoenix eyes were as clear and bright as a spring, without a hint of reluctance.

Huo Jue could not help but ask, "You no longer want to marry into a high-ranking family?"

Wei Rao’s charming eyes flashed with a hint of wildness. "My uncle is the Earl of Chengan, my maternal grandmother is Old Madame Shou’an, and my mother’s brother-in-law is the Emperor. I am a daughter of a high-ranking family myself. If there is a suitable man from a high-ranking family, I will marry him; if there isn't, I will follow Grandmother’s example, buy a piece of land outside, and build a garden to enjoy my life."

Huo Jue lowered his voice and said, "The Empress..."

Wei Rao winked at her cousin and held up one hand, spreading five fingers. Five years. She estimated that the Empress would live for five years at most.

Huo Jue was infected by her confidence, and a tender sprout named 'hope' grew in his heart.

If his cousin really did not care about status, and he waited another five years, would he have a chance if she were still unmarried?

Wei Rao and her cousin agreed to complete the transfer of the restaurant deed at her grandmother’s quiet country estate.

She did this on purpose; she missed her grandmother, and since there was no hope of marrying into a high-ranking family, why should she restrain herself?

The next day, Wei Rao took Bitao and Liuya and set out from the city by carriage.

Old Madame Wei felt heartache that her little granddaughter had suffered injustice and felt that Wei Rao could relax at the estate, so she encouraged the trip.

Old Madame Shou’an had heard of the happenings in the capital. She knew in her heart that Wei Rao was not that kind of person, but she could not stop others from being jealous of her granddaughter and deliberately spreading rumors. After this turmoil, it would be difficult for her granddaughter to marry this year at least. Instead of suffering that humiliation in the capital, it was better to play to her heart's content at the estate. The person in the palace must be watching the drama unfold right now; once in a good mood, she likely would not send any more assassins.

"Smiling like a flower—I suspect you did this on purpose."

Seeing her granddaughter again, Old Madame Shou’an scrutinized her carefully and found that Wei Rao had neither lost weight nor grown melancholy, so she teased her.

Wei Rao scoffed, "Yes, I did it on purpose—deliberately tarnishing my own reputation so that you would feel heartache for me."

Old Madame Shou’an shook her head helplessly, took Wei Rao’s small hand, and said, "Forget it, we will not force it anymore. This time, I will not urge you to leave as long as you stay at the estate. Look at how hot your little face is. Yan'er, go and fetch a bowl of iced sour plum soup quickly."

The little maid smiled and went to the kitchen, returning shortly with a pitcher of iced sour plum soup.

Wei Rao drank nearly half a bowl in one breath—sour, sweet, and cold; it felt incredibly comfortable.

After seeing her grandmother, Wei Rao took her cousins Zhou Huizhu and Huo Lin to her room to share secrets. An ice pot had already been placed in the room, and Liuya fanned it vigorously. The cold air dispersed through the room, cool and refreshing. Wei Rao comfortably took off her embroidered shoes and climbed onto the bed, inviting her two cousins to join her.

The canopy bed was very large, and the three sisters lay side by side to chat.

"Sister Rao is so unlucky to encounter such a thing. Let me tell you, my sister is still complaining about you, saying it’s all your fault for implicating her, otherwise, someone would have come to propose marriage long ago." Zhou Huizhu pouted, complaining to Wei Rao about her older sister, Zhou Huizhen. She had always been one to help the reasonable, not the family. "Why doesn't she think about it? If there were truly a young noble who liked her, why didn't he come to propose throughout the whole fourth month?"

Wei Rao had long been accustomed to Zhou Huizhen’s unreasonable antics and did not mind.

"Sister Rao, how long do you intend to stay this time?" Huo Lin lay on the inner side of Wei Rao, looking at her from the side. "I am returning to Taiyuan with my brother in September."

Wei Rao smiled, "I will stay until the weather cools down in July. If Linlin misses me, you can come back to the Earl’s mansion with me then."

The three sisters chatted about this and that, as close as if they were born of the same mother.

In another courtyard, Madame Wang stopped her eldest daughter, Zhou Huizhen, forbidding her from going to bother Wei Rao.

"What are you going to her for? You can't win a quarrel against her, and if the Old Madame finds out, you will be punished again." Madame Wang was afraid that Zhou Huizhen would come off worse.

Zhou Huizhen’s eyes were red. "She lost face in the capital and made me unable to get married; I can't swallow this anger."

Madame Wang sighed, "What has happened has happened; what is the use of arguing? It is my fault. If I had known it would turn out like this, the Marquis of Xiting would have..."

Halfway through, Madame Wang realized what she was saying, stopped in time, and tried to cover it up.

Zhou Huizhen, however, held firmly onto "Marquis of Xiting" and demanded her mother explain clearly.

Madame Wang had a headache from being pestered by her daughter. With no other choice, she took her daughter back to her room and whispered about how the heir to the Marquis of Xiting, Han Liao, had wanted to take Zhou Huizhen as his second wife. "Zhen’er, don't blame me or the Old Madame. We were also doing it for your own good. That Han Liao has a cruel mother above him and over a dozen children below him; it would be too difficult for you if you married into that family."

Zhou Huizhen did not care. She only knew that she had almost become the wife of the heir to the Marquis of Xiting. After grinding through ten or twenty years, she would be the Marchioness of Xiting!

She had already been desperate to marry, and now Zhou Huizhen cried even harder, as if she had missed the opportunity to ascend to heaven. "I don't want to live anymore, woo woo woo, what is the point of me living? None of you can bear to see me well!"

Madame Wang desperately held Zhou Huizhen down. Thus, Wei Rao did not know that her good cousin was crying so heartbreakingly over missing out on Han Liao.

The next morning, taking advantage of the cool weather, Wei Rao changed into men’s clothing, put on a veiled hat, and went for a ride on horseback alone.

She did not inform her two cousins, fearing they would follow her. If she encountered assassins and could not protect them well, she did not want to implicate them.

As for Wei Rao alone, she feared nothing.

Wei Rao did not take the road toward the Misty Mountains but galloped along the country paths. As she ran, she unexpectedly arrived at the edge of her maternal grandmother’s watermelon field. Large, green-skinned watermelons lay on the sandy soil like well-fed, laughing Buddhas, looking truly delightful. Wei Rao glanced at the melon shed in the middle of the field, pondering whether to call someone to buy a melon or "steal" one to tease the melon guard, when suddenly, the sound of hooves came from behind her.

Wei Rao looked back and saw a tall, robust warrior riding toward her. Wei Rao squinted and turned her horse around in confusion.

Qi Zhongkai was in a hurry, and beads of sweat the size of beans were rolling down his bronze-colored face.

Since they were acquaintances, Wei Rao lifted the edge of her veil, revealing half her face to speak with him. "Second Master, are you looking for me? Why are you dressed like this?"

Qi Zhongkai panted, his tiger-eyes staring fixedly at Wei Rao’s beautiful face.

War had suddenly broken out at the border, and he had received orders yesterday to set out on an expedition.

Qi Zhongkai wanted to go to the battlefield; he wanted to protect his country, to perform meritorious deeds, and to become famous. The only thing he could not let go of was the heart of the Fourth Miss.

As soon as he left the palace yesterday evening, he impulsively went to the Earl of Chengan’s mansion, demanding to see the Fourth Miss. Old Madame Wei refused to let him see her at first, but only when Qi Zhongkai said that he might not come back and did not want to leave with doubts, the Old Madame told him that the Fourth Miss had gone to the country estate.

The city gates were already closed by then, so Qi Zhongkai had to wait until this morning. Just now, as he was nearing the estate, he had seen a familiar figure running out from a distance and guessed it might be the Fourth Miss, so he pursued her all the way here.

"I am going to the front, Fourth Miss. I am a rough man, so I will say it straight. Rumors outside say you want to marry me. Is it true?" Qi Zhongkai tightened his grip on the reins, trying to steady his breath as he asked. His face was flushed, and his tiger-eyes were scorching hot—hotter than the fiercest sun of midsummer.

At this moment, Wei Rao thought: if she really married Qi Zhongkai, he would likely treat her with the same tenderness as her two grandmothers.

Unfortunately, they were destined to have no connection.

Smiling, Wei Rao said with a hint of injury, "Second Master is a righteous man, yet you also believe in rumors and see me as that kind of frivolous woman?"

The burning fire in Qi Zhongkai’s eyes cooled under her wronged gaze.

Wei Rao could not bear it. Her gaze swept over a watermelon in the field. She dismounted, drew her sword, cut the melon, took a large piece, held it out, and offered it to the man on horseback. "I do not have feelings of romantic love for you, Second Master, but I am grateful that you never looked down on me. In my heart, I view you as a friend. Today, as you are about to depart for the front, Wei Rao has nothing else to give; please accept this piece of watermelon to quench your thirst. I wish you victory and a speedy return."

Qi Zhongkai was stunned. He looked at the watermelon, then at the girl with the bright and sweet smile. Suddenly, it seemed as if he did not feel so bad after all.

If she didn't like him, then she didn't like him. Being able to be friends with the Fourth Miss was enough!

"Okay, then I..."

"Who is stealing our watermelons?!"

An angry, anxious voice suddenly came from the direction of the melon shed. Wei Rao looked back and saw the melon guard running toward them while putting on his shoes!

Wei Rao’s mind shifted. She stood on her tiptoes, shoved the watermelon into Qi Zhongkai’s hand, mounted her horse, and fled.

This was the first time Qi Zhongkai had seen such a side of the Fourth Miss, and a bittersweet feeling welled up in his heart. Just as he was about to take out silver to throw to the guard, he heard the guard say indignantly, "Is being an official something special? This belongs to Old Madame Shou’an’s family. You pay for the melon separately, or we will go and report you to the Emperor!"

Hearing this, Qi Zhongkai’s eyes rolled. With a melon in one hand and his horse under the other, he laughed heartily and galloped away.

Two quarters of an hour later, Qi Zhongkai rejoined his troop.

Lu Zhuo glanced at him, his brows furrowed in disgust, and pointed at Qi Zhongkai’s breastplate.

Qi Zhongkai looked down and saw it was covered in watermelon juice.

Qi Zhongkai wiped it with his finger. Thinking that this was a melon given by the Fourth Miss, he put his finger in his mouth and sucked on it, making a smacking sound.

Lu Zhuo: ...

Qi Zhongkai saw his disgust, gave a cheeky grin, and stretched out a finger, offering it to him. "Taste it? It’s extra sweet!"

Lu Zhuo spurred his horse, moving far away from him.