Zhao Jie had guessed correctly. Wei Luo knew what happened at Qian Temple.
Not only did she know, she had also decided to maintain a distance from him.
She knew that not only had he kissed her near Qian Temple's gate, he had also licked her lips! She clearly remembered that day. The hot spring near the peach tree grove had been too comfortable, so she had fallen asleep as she soaked in the hot spring and became drowsier and drowsier. Later, she had a faint impression of Zhao Jie carrying her onto the horse. When they were almost at Qian Temple, she had heard him when called out her name, but she was tired and didn't want to wake up. Who could have expected that he would lean over and kiss her forehead?
She was too startled and didn't dare to open her eyes, so she kept her eyes closed and pretended to still be asleep. But, his following action made her even shocked. He actually kissed her mouth!
On the surface, she acted as if she was sleeping so deeply that she couldn’t perceive anything. In her heart, Wei Luo felt as if she were in a perilous position.
Why did Zhao Jie kiss her?
She wasn't stupid. Having already lived one lifetime, she had more experience than other people and knew what his action meant.
In the past, she had been unwilling to think about this. Zhao Jie treated her very well. He looked at her with single-minded devotion and his hands were always scorching hot when he hugged her. She had chosen to believe in her own lies and ignored his behavior. After all, he was nine years older than her. He had watched her slowly grow up. How could he have these feelings towards her?
But, now, she couldn't continue ignoring this. He had kissed her when she was sleeping. When he was holding her that day, the scalding heat from his body almost melted her body.
Her big brother liked her. It was the like that a man had towards a woman instead of simple sibling affection.
For now, Wei Luo didn't know what to think. She deeply respected Zhao Jie and felt grateful towards him. It was probably because he had always taken care of her, protected her, and cleaned up her messes. But, she wasn't able to suddenly accept his feelings, so she decided to keep a distance between them.
Previously, they had been too close. Zhao Jie was a man. She was an unmarried girl. Men and women should keep their distance from each other. It wasn't good for them to be so close.
This was the reason why she was avoiding Zhao Jie today.
After Wei Luo came back to Duke Ying's residence, she was originally going to fourth branch's courtyard to pay Qin-shi a visit. However, just as she passed through the gate, Bai Lan walked towards her and said, "Miss, Marquis Ping Yuan's daughter is here."
Liang Yu Rong often visited here to play with Wei Luo, so this wasn't uncommon. The servant girls had already become accustomed to her visits, so they would directly bring her to the reception pavilion to wait.
Wei Luo nodded to show that she understood. Hearing that Bai Lan said Liang Yu Rong was at the reception pavilion, she lifted her skirt and went there herself.
Liang Yu Rong was sitting on a rosewood chair and drinking the tea in fascination. The tea was recently delivered in spring and called e mei xue ya. The tea was translucent and had a strongly fragrant spiciness. She looked up and saw that Wei Luo had arrived. She quickly stood up and asked here, "I heard from Bai Lan that you went to the palace. What happened? Was Princess Tianji looking for you?"
(T/N: E mei xue ya is a type of green tea. Below is a picture of the tea.)
Ch 71 - Green tea.png
Wei Luo shook her head and said, "It was Her Majesty that invited me to the palace."
Liang Yu Rong froze while she was pouring tea. She knew that Zhao Liuli often invited Wei Luo to the palace. But, did Her Majesty also often see Wei Luo? She curiously asked, "Why did Her Majesty invite you to the palace?"
Wei Luo explained that Princess Tianji would soon reach a marriagable age and had ordered her to be Princess Tianji's zanzhe for her hairpin ceremony.
As Liang Yu Rong listened, she showed an expression of realization, "So, it was like that."
This was a good thing. She turned her head as she carefully looked at Wei Luo on both sides. Her expression showed that she was really proud of Wei Luo and felt as if she also shared her honor. In a very pleased tone, she said, "Isn't this great? There will definitely be many young women attending the ceremony. For Her Majesty to select you instead of them, it must be because she likes your well-behaved deportment. It means you're the best person out of all the other young women. After Princess Tianji's hairpin ceremony, your reputation will definitely significantly increase."
Wei Luo agreed that this was true after thinking about it. But, she wasn't familiar with the customs related to the hairpin ceremony, so she felt somewhat anxious. It wouldn't be good if she messed up.
Luckily, Empress Chen had said she would have someone carefully teach her. After hearing those words, her heart felt much more at ease.
After they finished talking about this, Wei Luo picked up the lotus pattern teacup, tilted her head, and asked, "Why were you looking for me today?"
Liang Yu Rong wasn't a bashful girl. She had a straightforward personality. Normally, she would directly speak her thoughts. But, this time, she blinked and asked in a roundabout way, "Did older brother Chang Yin say anything when you gave him the pastries and candy?"
So, she had come here to ask about this.
Wei Luo's good mood diminished. She held her cheeks and deliberately stretched out saying, "Well." Then, she pretended to think and after a long time, she slowly replied, "He didn't say anything."
Liang Yu Rong’s face showed her disappointment.
Actually, she was lying to her. When Wei Chang Yin accepted the pastries and candy, his smile was very warm and he joked, "I only gave her candy, but she gave me three bags of pastries and candy in return. This transaction was very profitable."
But, she wouldn't tell Liang Yu Rong this. Before Wei Chang Yin's leg was healed, she didn't want them to become too involved.
Liang Yu Rong's large, bright eyes had immediately dimmed. A moment later, she didn't give up and continued to asked, "Did he say if there were tasty or not? Or, did he say if he liked them or not?"
Wei Luo's face didn't redden or twitch as she continued to lie. She seemed sincere as she said, "I left right after delivering the pastries and candy to eldest cousin Chang Yin. I didn't see if he ate any or not, so I naturally don't know if he like them."
Liang Yu Rong's spirit was deflated. She listlessly sat back in the chair and didn't say anything else after this setback.
As they were talking, a servant boy hurriedly rushed past them. Behind him, there was an old man with a white beard. The old man was carrying a medicine box. He was probably a doctor. Wei Luo walked out of the reception pavilion and called out to the servant boy, "What happened? Who's sick?"
Hearing her voice, the servant boy stopped, saluted, and said, "To respond to Fourth Miss, its Banyan Tree Courtyard's First Young Master. His leg is hurting.”
This wasn't a big or small thing. After all, so many years had passed. He had long become used to this pain. However, every time his leg ached, it was still difficult to endure the pain.
Hearing that the matter wasn't good, Liang Yu Rong couldn't resist asking, "Is his leg illness... serious?"
The servant boy replied, "It's probably because the weather has been too humid lately, so his illness is slightly serious than usual."
Seeing that he had been delayed for too long and worried that this would interfere with Wei Chang Yin's treatment, he hurriedly took his leave with Wei Luo and Liang Yu Rong and continued leading the doctor to Banyan Tree Courtyard.
Liang Yu Rong was still worried. She walked forward, grasped Wei Luo's hand, and said, "Let's go visit older brother Chang Yin, okay?"
Wei Luo originally didn't want to let Liang Yu Rong go there. If Liang Yu Rong saw him again, then she wouldn't be able to break their connection. However, when she thought about it again, if Liang Yu Rong saw the injury on Wei Chang Yin's leg, then she would clearly see the obstruction between them and wouldn't continue having thoughts that she shouldn't have. At the thought of this, Wei Luo nodded and said, "Okay."