C78: Fifteen-years-old Birthday Ceremony (Part2)
She sat in his arms, digesting, her eyes open, not knowing what to say.
She didn’t know much about these things, but she had heard Madam Leng mention them. Daddy and brother were going to the border gates and would leave in the spring next year. Mum had prepared their clothes early. She had heard that they would be gone for a long time. The weather there was very different from the capital, so she didn’t know if they would be able to get used to it.
Yan Yu held her tightly in his arms, his head resting on her shoulders. He didn’t say anything for a long time.
He had to go, but he couldn’t bear to part with her.
After a long time, he called out to her, “Lamb?”
“Ah?”
He buries himself in her neck. “Hold me.”
She always felt that he liked to act coquettish with her recently.
This wasn’t excessive, but now she didn’t wear any clothes. She hesitated, then wrapped her arms around his waist and burrowed into his chest. “you won’t leave if I hug you?”
He stiffened. “You don’t want me to go?”
She shook her head. “I didn’t say that.”
Her voice was soft and her body soft, and his heart was soft with it. He lowered his head to block her pink lips and savor the taste of her mouth. Every part of her was sweet enough for him to taste.
She was not a thin-skinned girl, but her face was red from his kisses. She could not help but grumble, “Don’t bite my tongue …”
Unfortunately, before she could finish her words of protest, the words were swallowed by him.
After the fifteenth birthday ceremony, she could finally return to the Sixth Prince’s Mansion.
Yan Yu said goodbye to Madam Leng and Xie Liqing and took her home. She had lived in the Duke Dingguo’s Mansion for nearly a month, and had not brought much when she came. When she left, she had brought with her two extra cages, all of which were the new clothes and accessories she had brought in the past few months. The Madam Leng had arranged for two other mammy to be assigned to her: Mammy Wang and Mammy Gui. Mammy Wang was an old mammy who had served the Madam Leng for many years. She helped to manage the backyard in a neat orderly.
Madam Leng felt that Xie Zhen was too young to know what to do when something happened, and the two mammy could come up with ideas for her.
For example, if she had had Mammy by her side, she wouldn’t have been so lonely and helpless when it was Qing Xia and Ouyang Yi’s matter.
Xie Zhen happily accepted.
When she returned to the Sixth Prince’s Mansion, the carriage stopped before the gate of the Zhanyue Courtyard.
After a month of not coming back, the servants in the yard all came out to greet her. The moment Hong Mei and Tan Mei saw her, their eyes turned red. Ever since she had returned to the Duke Dingguo’s Mansion, they had been severely punished and knelt in the courtyard. No one was allowed to get up. At that time, the weather was extremely cold, and a few of them were so weak that they didn’t kneel for long before they collapsed. It was still Xie Zhen who carefully knew that Yan Yu would punish them, and let Yan Yu release them all that day.
Only now did they escape.
They had cleaned up the yard in the absence of Xie Zhen, and there was no sign that they had not lived in the house for many days.
“Ouyang Yi is still living there?” she asked, after having her things taken away and taking a look at the back of the room.
Yan Yu said, “Wu Ze has already found a yard in the west side of the city. She said she wants to pack up her things and move there the next day.”
Why would she need so many days to pack her things?
However, she wanted to stall for time.
In this short period of time, cries could be heard from the Pavilion Changqing from time to time. None of the servants were willing to pass by, and after listening for a long time, they were too lazy to even bring ingredients in. Originally, they only gave the ingredients once a day, but gradually it became once every two or three days. Seeing that the steward didn’t say anything, the servant became even lazier.
In just a few days, Ouyang Yi had lost a lot of weight.
Now that Yan Yu had found a good house for her outside, she should be thankful for that, but she didn’t expect to be grateful.
On the day Ouyang Yi left the mansion, the snow had not yet melted. She reluctantly watched her servants carry her things onto the carriage. The Pavilion Changqing had quite a few jade vases, but she was reluctant to part with any of them. She actually wanted to move them all to the courtyards outside the city.
Not too far away, Xie Zhen waited for the servants to carry everything up before speaking slowly, allowing Mammy Wang to take the ledgers to the Pavilion Changqing to inspect them.
Mammy Wang led two maidservants away, returning after a short while. She respectfully said, “there are two vases missing from the room, two gold-painted Man Mu boxes and a set of inkstones …”
There were around twenty to thirty items in total.
Ouyang Yi’s face turned green.
Xie Zhen retracted her gaze and smiled, looking at Ouyang Yi with severity, “Cousin Guning, are you planning to empty the Pavilion Changqing?”
Ouyang Yi stood beside the carriage and tightly clenched the handkerchief in her hand.
When she and Madam Li came in, they were poor and only had a change of clothes. Afterwards, when Madam Li left, Madam Li’s things also followed her to the grave, and there wasn’t anything else in Pavilion Changqing either. In fact, the things that belonged to her were the only clothes that the steward had make for her … But how could she be willing to just leave like this?
She was reluctant to part with anything in this room filled with gold and silver.
She had only wanted to take away a few things secretly, since Yan Yu was a prince, he probably wouldn’t mind her too much. But who would have thought Xie Zhen would stop her midway.
She was unwilling to give up. “Cousin did not say anything …”
“Who’s your cousin?” she asked her.
Her eyes were red with anxiety. “Naturally, it is the Sixth Prince.”
That was reasonable.
“You are Li Yu’s cousin, not Yan Yu’s cousin.”
With that, she turned to Mammy Wang and said, “get back everything on the carriage. Leave everything registered within the mansion. Ouyang Yi can only take her things away.”
Mammy Wang and Mammy Gui replied and left.
Although these two Mammy had only been here for a few days, because they were old and could do things, the servants in the mansion quickly submitted to them. It didn’t take long for the servants to once again bring down their belongings and sort the items with Mammy Wang and Mammy Gui.
The items were divided into two sides. One side was the Pavilion Changqing’s, and the other side was Ouyang Yi’s.
What belonged to Ouyang Yi was only a small bundle containing a few pieces of clothing and jewelry, as well as two boxes of dowry prepared by the steward under the orders of Yan Yu.
Ouyang Yi saw that only a small portion of her things were left, she glared at Xie Zhen and said, “You…”
“You can take these dowry. This is the Sixth Prince’s last favor to the Li family. However, you must sign this agreement. After you marry, you will no longer have any relationship with the Sixth Prince.”
In fact, if she didn’t sign the agreement, there wouldn’t be a big problem. Ouyang Yi wasn’t Yan Yu’s cousin and only they ignore her. Naturally, she had no other choice.
But signing the agreement would save them a lot of trouble.
Ouyang Yi looked at her in disbelief and subconsciously shook her head. “How can it have nothing ralationship? I am…”
Xie Zhen didn’t wait for her to finish. “Then leave the dowry. I am your sister-in-low. Since your mother is gone, I will help you decide what kind of person you want to marry in the future.”
Ouyang Yi stared wide-eyed.
That would be even worse!
Who knows what kind of person she would marry herself? If that man was half pockmarked and half puckered with bad manner, how did she do?
Ouyang Yi gritted her teeth and took the agreement from her. She angrily signed her name and then sighed it with a handprint.
Xie Zhen didn’t even look at her and let Mammy Wang keep it.
Mammy Wang put it away and asked the crowd, “Did you all see it?”
This was the path that between the gates. What happened here would spread throughout the entire mansion in less than half a day.
The servants nodded in unison.
Mammy Wang nodded. “Since you’ve seen it, then go and do your own thing.”
In this way, even if Ouyang Yi returned to the prince’s mansion in the future, there probably wouldn’t be anyone who would interfere in her matters. Ouyang Yi knocked off her teeth and swallowed her blood. Annoyed, she got into the carriage and took the two boxes of dowry to the yard in south of the city.
