“Yes, just dye it this way. I’ll ask Huamo to fetch the dress early in the morning the day after tomorrow. However, if someone else vies to have the dress that day, you can sell it to them too.” Wei Yuewu blinked her long eyelids. She stood up and uttered those words meaningfully with a smile.
“Then do you want the dress to be smaller, Mistress Cousin?” The shopkeeper looked at Wei Yuewu and asked.
The dress obviously didn’t fit Wei Yuewu. Ready-to-wear dresses often fit the general body shape. As Wei Yuewu hadn’t grown up yet, her figure was a bit smaller for the dress, and the lower hem would even be on the ground when she wore the dress…
“No need for that. It’s fine to me.” Wei Yuewu shook her hand.
The shopkeeper was really puzzled about Wei Yuewu’s intentions. However, observing that Wei Yuewu acted like an adult despite of her young age, he somehow agreed. He immediately asked a worker to dye the dress and finish the job the next day so that Huamo could see the new dress tomorrow.
By now Wei Yuewu had gotten back into her carriage. She took away a dress that looked similar but was actually different upon close inspection. The carriage was slowly driven towards the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang. Yan Huaijing hadn’t forced her to go along with him. Since he had left with his servants, Wei Yuewu was able to get on her carriage without being surrounded and watched by passers-by.
After that, she went to a pharmacy and bought some medicinal ingredients. She was going to make some medicinal powder by herself!
After entering the gate, the carriage stopped at the parking place of the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang. The two maids followed behind Wei Yuewu, looking very excited.
“Miss, that scarlet dress is really beautiful. It looks really nice on you. You’re the first daughter of the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang. Who else in the mansion deserves to wear such a dress except you?” Shufei persuaded with a smile.
“That’s right, Miss. That dress is truly beautiful. It’s even prettier than the one the Madam Dowager made for you. If you wear a dress like that to the banquet, you will definitely impress all the people with your beauty.” Huamo also took a few quick steps forward and chimed in, nodding her head vigorously.
“But grandmother…” Wei Yuewu looked like she was in a dilemma.
“Miss, it doesn’t matter. You just need to bring along the dress the Madam Dowager asked you to wear. You can wear that beautiful set first and bring with you the set made by the Madam Dowager. In this way, you are also obeying the Madam Dowager’s wish.” Huamo came up with such an idea.
It was a custom of aristocratic young ladies to take a spare set of dress with them when they went out to a banquet, in case they would encounter accidents at the banquet and had to change their clothes.
“Is that appropriate?” Wei Yuewu was still hesitant, but she looked inclined to agree.
“Yes, absolutely, miss. I heard that the other young ladies would also go to the banquet. This is your first time attending such a banquet. You must outshine all the other young ladies. And you will definitely look extremely glamorous in that dress.” Shufei took special care to look around when she said those words…
It seemed as if she didn’t want to be overheard by anyone else. However, they were walking along the main road to the backyard and it was really not a place where her words would be neglected by others. Especially when Shufei mentioned “the other young ladies,” a few maids who were passing by slowed down their paces.
“Miss, if you wear that dress, you will at least be more beautiful than the Second Young Lady.” Huamo was even more straightforward. Seeing that Wei Yuewu didn’t agree in a while, she went straight to the most effective point. “If you appear in front of people in that dress, Marquis Jing Yuan must bitterly regret what he had done.”
Nobody knew whether it was because Wei Yuewu wanted to be prettier than Wei Yan or because she wanted to make Mo Huating regret. Finally, she nodded her agreement after thinking for a while, saying softly, “Alright. Huamo, you go and buy that dress for me in the morning the day after tomorrow. Be sure to go there earlier.”
“Yes, Miss. Don’t worry, I won’t have a moment of delay.”
The banquet was on the very day after tomorrow. So Wei Yuewu would put on that dress as soon as she had it and wouldn’t even compare that dress with other ones. It was obvious how much she loved that set of dress or how beautiful that dress was in her eyes.
Therefore, when those words reached Wei Yan’s ears through some maid, Wei Yan immediately exploded with anger. Prettier than me? She even wanted to make Mo Huating regret? Where did that little bitch get such confidence to say those words? Wei Yan threw away the Buddhist scripture she had been transcribing and was about to look for Wei Yuewu. However, she was tightly seized by her nanny and Shuiyue beside her.
‘”Second Young Lady, you can’t get involved in any trouble now. The Madam Dowager has become more lenient by now, but if you cause trouble again at this time, it’ll be really impossible for you to go to the banquet. And you will be at a disadvantage again if the Sixth Young Lady says something bad about you before the Madam Dowager.” The nanny, whose surname was Xu, tugged at Wei Yan’s sleeve for fear that Wei Yan would rush out recklessly.
The nanny knew Wei Yan’s temperament very well, so she used those words that would be most persuasive. “Second Young Lady, just think about it. If the Sixth Young Lady goes to the banquet this time but you don’t show up, you will be in real trouble if some new rumors about you and Marquis Jing Yuan are spread. So you must suppress your anger right now. You must go with the Sixth Young Lady together that day. The Sixth Young Lady won’t dare to speak nonsense when you’re there too.”
Nanny Xu tried her best to persuade Wei Yan.
“What does that little bitch have to compare with me?” Although Wei Yan was persuaded, she still uttered those hateful words. She had always been conceited about her appearance and was widely acknowledged as a beauty in the capital. How could she swallow her wrath when she heard that skinny little girl claimed to be more beautiful than her?
Her eyes lit up and a crucial idea suddenly struck her. “Nanny Xu, you ask someone to follow Wei Yuewu’s maid in the morning the day after tomorrow. You must get that dress before her maid buys it. It doesn’t matter if the dress gets broken when you snatch it away. That little bitch actually wants to steal the limelight from me. There is no way for her to think about it!”
Of course, she couldn’t let Wei Yuewu wear that dress that she picked in other shops. It was not only because the dress was said to be very beautiful, but also because her mother and elder sister had made a plot against Wei Yuewu. So how could she allow Wei Yuewu not to wear the dress that they had “carefully selected” for her?
Wei Yan sneered. She couldn’t wait to see Wei Yuewu make a fool of herself on the very day!
“Miss, don’t worry. I understand. I’ll ask someone to keep an eye on the Sixth Young Lady’s maid in the early morning the day after tomorrow and get that dress from the hands of the Sixth Young Lady’s maid.” Nanny Xu nodded. She was Lady Li’s confidant and had been serving Wei Yan since the young lady was a child. She naturally knew what Lady Li and Wei Yan were planning to do this time.
No matter what, the Sixth Young Lady must wear that dress specially made for her.
Two days passed quickly. Huamo left the mansion early in the morning. She ordered a small carriage of the mansion and rode it to the Brocade Clothing Shop. When she entered the store, a clerk came to serve her right away. Wei Yuewu had told the shopkeeper that day to treat Huamo as an ordinary customer when she came to pick up the dress.
The dress was taken out and placed in front of Huamo. With the scarlet color as the background coupled with faint-colored flower patterns, it was indeed exceedingly beautiful. Although Huamo was not fond of the bright red color, she was still impressed by the dress. Moreover, the style was of the latest fashion, making the dress look both lively and gorgeous.
“That’s right, this is the dress I…” Before Huamo could finish her words, a hand suddenly stretched out from her side and an arrogant voice was heard. “This dress is really beautiful. My mistress wants it. How much is it?”
Huamo turned around and saw a maid dressed in the same clothes as her. She became annoyed immediately, “My mistress saw this dress first.”
“You mistress saw it first? Did she pay?” The maid cast a disdainful glance at Huamo and asked the clerk.
“No… Not yet.” The clerk looked at the two maids. He scratched his head and said honestly.
“Then we’ll take it.” The maid didn’t even ask about the price. She took out a silver ticket and handed it to the clerk. Then, she picked up the dress and strode away without looking back. She neither said one word to Huamo nor asked the clerk to help tidy up the new dress.
The clerk looked at the silver ticket in his hand and then at the dress without saying anything. After all, the denomination of the silver ticket was far higher than the price of the dress.
Huamo angrily watched the maid leave. She stamped her foot fiercely and looked at the clerk. She seemed to have something to say, but felt speechless when she opened her mouth. She turned around, ran out with rage and got into the carriage that was parked beside the door of the store. Anyone could tell that she was really infuriated.
The dress was placed in front of Wei Yan. Wei Yan was immediately attracted to the dress the moment she saw it. Both the color was and the flower patterns were her favorite ones. Furthermore, she had never had a dress in such a style.
“I’ll wear this dress today.” Without a moment of hesitation, she took a fancy to the dress after a single glance and proudly raised her head.
She had been trying her best to please the Madam Dowager these past few days. The Madam Dowager finally agreed to let her attend the banquet, but Lady Li wasn’t going. Lady Li, whose face was scalded, couldn’t attend banquets for at least many days.
Therefore, it was Lady Zhang who would take the young ladies from the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang to the banquet this time.
“Second Young Lady, the dress you picked earlier was selected by the Second Lady. It’s the newest and most beautiful in both style and appearance.” Nanny Xu looked at the dress on the table worriedly and felt a little uneasy!
“I’ve decided to wear this one. I will let Wei Yuewu see that I’m wearing the dress that she likes. I’m going to see how she will react.” Wei Yan instantly grew exhilarated at the thought that Wei Yuewu would absolutely tremble with anger upon seeing the dress she liked was dressed by her.
Seeing Wei Yan was determined to wear this dress, Nanny Xu had no choice but to agree. She helped Wei Yan tidy up again and get dressed.
At this moment, Lady Zhang was waiting at the entrance of the mansion with the Fourth Young Lady and the Fifth Young Lady. Wei Yuewu appeared in time. The last one was the Second Young Lady. When Wei Yan saw Wei Yuewu clad in that light pink dress, a trace of triumph flashed in her eyes. She purposely squared her shoulders, and when she saw Wei Yuewu’s face suddenly became gloomy, she grew even more overjoyed.
She threw a glance at Wei Yuewu and directly got into the carriage.
Three carriages were prepared. Lady Zhang and the Fourth Young Lady certainly shared one carriage. Wei Yan took one by herself. The Fifth Young Lady originally wanted to get on the same carriage as Wei Yan. When she looked at Wei Yan’s face, a hint of hatred flashed in her heart. Just because she was born to a concubine, she couldn’t have her own carriage, and had to share the carriage with the first daughter.
She came to Wei Yuewu with a pitiful look and asked, “Sixth younger sister, may I ride the same carriage with you?”
“Sure, fifth elder sister, just come with me.” Wei Yuewu was getting on the carriage when she heard her elder sister’s voice. She turned around and nodded friendly.
Therefore, Wei Qiuju, the Fifth Young Lady, got on the last carriage with Wei Yuewu together.
The three carriages were slowly driven towards the mansion of the Prince of Nan’an that had invited them to the banquet. It was the birthday of the heir-apparent of the Prince of Nan’an, namely Wei Yan’s brother-in-law.