A Secret Rendezvous by the Rockery

After a summer rain, the sky cleared again.

Two days later, at the coming-of-age ceremony, in the rear courtyard of Duke Xu's residence.

Su Luoqian wore a pale lavender satin dress. She truly had a graceful forehead and delicate brows, a lovely, alluring face, a willow-slim waist, and the bearing of a flower.

Led by a maid from the duke's residence, she came to the garden in the rear courtyard.

For today's coming-of-age ceremony, Duke Xu had invited an opera troupe. Their lilting singing filled the garden, and against the summer flowers in full bloom and the clear blue sky, it gave the place a lively, harmonious air.

Quite a few female guests had already gathered. Ladies and young noblewomen kept one another company in twos and threes, some chatting merrily and others listening intently to the opera.

Someone in the garden recognized Su Luoqian and murmured, "This is Princess Consort Cheng'an's first time attending a banquet like this. The duke's household must have a great deal of prestige."

"I had never seen her before, but I had heard of the princess consort's city-toppling beauty. Seeing her today, I can tell she truly is extraordinary."

"She's only a merchant's daughter. Isn't it thanks to Prince Cheng'an's glory that she has what she has today? Before flying up onto a branch, she should think about whether she's a crow or a phoenix."

"Shh... keep your voice down. Whatever else she is, she's a princess consort now."

"Even if you don't respect the monk, you must respect the Buddha. Prince Cheng'an himself asked for this marriage. If you offend him, you'll be in for more than you can handle."

Another woman muttered indignantly, unable to understand, "Look at that vixen's face. Who knows what tricks she used in private to bewitch Prince Cheng'an so?"

The opera continued in the garden, partly drowning out the remarks, but Su Luoqian was close enough to catch fragments.

She did not much care, though.

No matter how much they disliked her, there was nothing they could do to her.

Duke Xu's principal wife, Lady Xu Wang, was attending to the female guests in the rear courtyard. When she saw Su Luoqian standing alone to one side, she hurriedly invited her to sit at a table.

Regardless of Su Luoqian's origins, now that she had married and become Princess Consort Cheng'an, she was an honored guest whom the duke's household needed to treat with the utmost respect.

Su Luoqian smiled softly and gave a slight nod, readily taking a seat at the table. As she chatted with Lady Xu Wang, she raised her eyes and casually surveyed the garden.

She had heard that the crown princess would also be coming today, though she had yet to see her.

Noticing her gaze wandering, Lady Xu Wang smiled and asked, "The flowers in the rear garden are all in bloom. It is the perfect time to admire them. Would Your Highness be interested?"

Su Luoqian could not appreciate opera, so when she heard Lady Xu Wang's suggestion, she replied, "Then thank you, my lady."

Lady Xu Wang knew how to read people's expressions; otherwise, she could not have held her position as principal wife. Seeing Su Luoqian's interest, she led her deeper into the garden.

As they walked, she spoke with her about the flowers and when they bloomed, and there were no awkward silences between them.

When they reached a spot behind a rockery and a stream, a maid suddenly came hurrying over and whispered a few words in Lady Xu Wang's ear.

It was clear that Lady Xu Wang was needed elsewhere.

Su Luoqian smiled amiably. "There must be a great many things to attend to in the residence today. Please, go ahead without worry, my lady. I'll have a look around here and return the way we came in a little while."

Seeing how accommodating she was, Lady Xu Wang nodded and curtsied, then left with the maid.

It was quiet here, with few people around, and the scenery was quite lovely.

In someone else's rear courtyard, Su Luoqian could hardly wander about as she pleased. After lingering for a moment, she decided to take Zelan back to the garden where the female guests had been listening to the opera.

But just as she turned to leave, she heard a man and a woman speaking on the other side of the rockery.

Zelan's heart gave a guilty jolt, and the hand she had been holding lightly against Su Luoqian's arm tightened unconsciously.

Su Luoqian looked at her, reassurance in her eyes.

With only the rockery between them, the voices on the other side were perfectly clear.

The woman sounded a little nervous. "Cousin, have you looked into it thoroughly?"

The man lowered his voice as he replied, "Don't worry, Cousin Jia. The person the common people are talking about most now is the heir of Prince Jin. No one has noticed those minor details."

Cousin Jia? The heir of Prince Jin?

Su Luoqian paused inwardly. Had Xu Jia gotten involved with Lin Yonghong?

Before she could think it through, Xu Jia's somewhat reproachful voice came again. "The common people can't see what's really going on, but the Prison Administration certainly can. If they trace it back to me someday, then... then what will I do?"

The man offered a few words of comfort. "When all is said and done, it was an unintentional mistake on your part. Prince Cheng'an will surely know what matters more and what needs attention first."

Xu Jia's tone was venomous as she said impatiently, "What rotten luck."

"If Zhong Qin hadn't said she wanted to leave the residence for some fun, but that Minister Zhong kept her under strict watch, I would never have had her change into a maid's clothes."

"Who would have thought she... that the timing would be so unfortunate? I was less than half a shichen late, and Lin Yonghong had already abducted her and subjected her to such brutality."

"Come to think of it, I'm the one who's been wronged most."

By the end, Xu Jia's words were tinged with resentment, as though she blamed Zhong Qin for bringing all this trouble upon her.

"These past few days, I haven't been able to sleep a single night. It's all her fault."

Hearing Xu Jia's words, Su Luoqian felt uneasy, and then her brow twitched.

That day in the secret chamber at Lin Yonghong's country estate, she had seen a handkerchief embroidered with the character "Qin." Coupled with what Xu Jia had said...

Su Luoqian understood at once.

So Xu Jia had also had a part in the abduction of Minister Zhong's daughter, Zhong Qin.

No wonder.

No wonder the other victims had all been either daughters of ordinary families or maids from wealthy households. Only Zhong Qin...

Only she was the daughter of an official's family.

So this was the reason—

That day, Xu Jia had coaxed Zhong Qin into changing into a maid's clothes, and Xu Jia had failed to meet her at the appointed time. That was how Lin Yonghong had mistaken her for a maid and abducted her.

Su Luoqian's fingers clenched unconsciously. She had to tell Lu Jingsi about this at once.

With that thought, she was about to whisper a few words to Zelan when she heard more movement from the other side of the rockery.

Xu Jia's voice no longer held the same reproachful anger as before. Instead, it took on a coy, coquettish note.

"This is your fault too, Cousin. If you hadn't insisted on pulling me along that day... pulling me along to do that, how could I have missed our meeting?"

As she spoke, there was a faint rustle of clothes rubbing together.

Su Luoqian peered through a gap in the rockery and saw the man pull Xu Jia into his arms and lower his head to kiss her cheek. In a lewd, roguish tone, he said, "You clearly liked it very much too, Cousin Jia. You kept clinging to me that day."

Xu Jia's face turned scarlet at his words. She hit him a few times and said coquettishly, "Cousin, you're so naughty~"

"I've been running around making inquiries for you these past few days, and I'm quite tired. Won't you reward me for my trouble, Cousin?"

With that, the man took Xu Jia's hand and drew it downward.

Su Luoqian's heart pounded, and the tips of her ears turned slightly red. She hurriedly looked away.

Then she heard Xu Jia flirt as though no one else were around. "If you're so tired, Cousin, do you still have the strength to do it?"

The man planted another hard kiss on her cheek. "Try it yourself, Cousin, and you'll know whether I have the strength."

Xu Jia hurriedly held his hand down. "Don't be impatient, Cousin. The coming-of-age banquet is about to begin. Let's come back after the banquet, all right?"

Having received her promise, the man grinned lecherously. "All right, all right, all right. We'll come to the side room here later. You must keep your word, Cousin Jia."