Chapter 533 - 277 Confession of a Naughty Child_1
After overhearing the conversation between Pan Yuanfeng and Maternal Aunt Ye, Qian Yixiu was so angry that her face turned beet red, and she quietly left the courtyard with Monkey Brother in tow.
When they reached the side gate, Blue Bead was already waiting there, anxiously stamping her feet. Seeing Qian Yixiu, she quickly approached and said, "Miss, you’re finally back; this servant was nearly worried to death." Blue Bead had kept a watchful eye on Monkey Sister, but in the blink of an eye, she had lost sight of both her mistress and Monkey Brother.
Qian Yixiu poked Monkey Brother in the head with her index finger and said, "It’s all because it ran off, and I had to go looking for it."
Upon entering the Rongen Earl Mansion, they found the courtyard even more delicate and beautiful, luxurious yet not lacking elegance, as though even the breeze was sweet. At this moment, however, Qian Yixiu was in no mood to appreciate the scenery and followed Blue Bead directly to Pan Yue’s courtyard, Qinghui Pavilion.
Returning to this courtyard stirred in Pan Yue both a sense of familiarity and sadness, but she could not remember why. Upon entering the room, that sense of familiarity grew stronger, yet still she could not recall anything. She simply said, "Yueyue must have dreamt of coming here."
She walked around the room and, approaching the embroidery frame in the west chamber, lifted the silk to reveal a half-finished flower and bird painting on the satin. It felt to her as though she had just embroidered those flowers yesterday, yet she also felt that she had spent the previous day solely in Xiyue Pavilion and had not gone anywhere else. The more she thought about it, the more her head ached, and her heart felt so heavy that she burst into tears, only to be comforted by Qian Manjiang and Sister Gong, who persuaded her to go to the east chamber’s bedroom to sleep.
Mingming and Jingjing were also tired and slept alongside Pan Yue on the canopy bed draped with several layers of gauze and soft Luo silk. Sister Gong and Sister-in-law Huang sat by the window watching over them.
Seeing them sleeping soundly, Qian Yixiu went to the west chamber and leaned against the beauty couch, lost in thought. She felt a vexing tightness in her chest that she could not relieve, almost suffocating her. She felt an overwhelming urge to go and tell Old Master Pan what she had just heard and have him call off the arranged marriage. But she was embarrassed to admit she had been eavesdropping, nor did she want to involve Pan Yuanfeng and Maternal Aunt Ye in the matter. They had only just acknowledged their connection with the Pan family, and she did not know what kind of person Pan Yuanfeng truly was; she did not want to create unnecessary complications.
Another reason was that she found herself reluctant to let go of Uncle Liang. It wasn’t that she had overwhelming feelings of love for him, but she felt that having him as a husband might be better than marrying some other stranger. In ancient times, the opportunity to date before marriage was a rare luxury. She considered herself fortunate to have met Uncle Liang first, been friends for a few years, and found that they got along well. Key to this was that he had good character, health, and family background, and it seemed like Uncle Liang also cared about her quite a bit.