Hidden Shadow – CH 042

Chapter Forty-Two: The Marriage Proposal

Mei Jiu panicked. “An Jiu, An Jiu.”

Still no response.

Mei Jiu raised her hand to her chest. Because of her previous fall, even a light touch caused excruciating pain. Was this why An Jiu…disappeared?

This thought tormented her.

An Jiu was just a soul, never truly belonging to her. She was even terrified of An Jiu’s existence.

At first, An Jiu’s threats nearly terrified her, but later she gradually realized that her words were barbed and harsh, and she found her to be genuine. Gradually, she stopped being afraid. However, when did she develop a dependence on An Jiu?

Now that An Jiu was gone, she felt like she had lost her pillar of support.

Thinking this, Mei Jiu could not stop her tears. She had lived in a small courtyard since childhood, rarely going out and having limited contact with people. Therefore, she cherished everyone around her. Suddenly, someone had disappeared from her life without a trace, as if they had never existed. This feeling was like a pillar supporting her heart, collapsing. Her weeping aggravated her injuries, causing her body to go numb with pain, and she unconsciously drifted into a deep sleep.

An Jiu remained silent.

Severely injured, she felt unprecedentedly weak and temporarily unable to control Mei Jiu’s body. Besides, she felt an urge to tear Mei Jiu to pieces and did not want to pay any attention to this idiot.

But Mei Jiu’s tears extinguished An Jiu’s anger. She despised herself; how cheap were Mei Jiu’s tears? She cried her heart out over a fright!

After calming down, An Jiu realized why, despite sharing the same body, her soul was severely damaged after the injury, while Mei Jiu cried so freely, clearly unaffected.

What was the reason?

The night was deep, and An Jiu, pondering this question, unconsciously fell asleep.

She never imagined that she would sleep for over forty days!

Mei Jiu, due to her severe injuries, was bedridden and missed the clan school’s end-of-month exams. Mei Tingyuan also took leave due to an injury to her right hand.

At that time, Mei Tingyuan encountered danger in the mass grave. Her brother and sister, however, abandoned her to obtain the dagger. After a fierce struggle, she was heartbroken and had no energy to cause trouble, which gave Mei Jiu a few days of peace.

Winter had arrived, and the plum blossoms were covered in snow, ten miles of red plum blossoms in full bloom, welcoming the most vibrant season of the year.

High-ranking officials and nobles from Bianjing flocked to the area. They strolled through the snow, admiring the plum blossoms and composing poems, and the lifeless plum blossoms seemed to suddenly come alive.

In the study of Yuwei Residence, a brazier was lit. Mei Jiu, holding a brush, bent over the desk and carefully sketched a painting of a lady amidst red plum blossoms.

After she put down her brush, Yao-Ye said… “Young Lady’s painting is even better than the Sixth Master’s!”

In the painting, a cluster of lush plum blossoms was partially hidden. Under the eaves, a woman in a fur coat looks up at the flowers. This woman was not the typical delicate beauty of a lady in paintings, with willow-leaf eyebrows. Although she was also dressed as a noblewoman, her brows were serene from admiring the flowers, yet she exuded a striking and spirited air.

Yao-Ye asked, “Who is this, Young Lady?”

Mei Jiu studied the painting for a long time before replying, “The one in my heart.”

Yao-Ye was surprised for a moment, then covered her mouth and laughed. “Young Lady is not thinking of a husband!”

Mei Jiu smiled slightly, picked up her brush, and wrote the poem in the blank space: “Unresolved longing for Chang’an.”

An Jiu followed her gaze to the person in the painting for a long time, then saw the poem and said disdainfully, “Utterly bored.”

Mei Jiu was signing her name when she heard this. Her hand paused, a drop of ink blooming after the character “An,” and tears suddenly welled up in her eyes.

“Young Lady?” Yao-Ye called out hastily, but seeing her smiling through her tears, she felt a slight sense of relief and asked in confusion, “What’s wrong, Young Lady?”

“It’s just… a sudden feeling.” Mei Jiu took out a handkerchief to wipe her tears.

Mei Jiu asked in her heart, “You are back?”

“What do you think?” An Jiu had no patience for her pointless opening questions.

Mei Jiu felt a joy of something lost and then regained, completely ignoring the sarcasm in her words.

A real sense of peace returned to her heart, and Mei Jiu clutched her chest, feeling extremely happy.

Although Yao-Ye found it strange, Mei Jiu had been looking worried for many days, and it was always a good thing that she could be happy.

“Young Lady,” a maidservant said from outside the door, “Third Madam sent someone to say that someone from the Hua family is coming to admire the flowers and will be staying at the Mei Garden for a few days. Please do not go to the Great Plum Garden for the time being.”

“I understand,” Mei Jiu replied.

Yao-Ye opened the door and, seeing the person had already left, could not help but say, “Young Lady, aside from going to the clan school, rarely leaves the house. Why did she specifically send someone to instruct her? There must be a reason.”

Mei Jiu said, “The Third Madam is the headmistress; it’s not surprising she’d give a routine notification.”

“This servant should go and inquire,” Yao-Ye advised. “The Third Madam is shrewd in important matters but forgetful in trivial ones. Besides, our household is not very strict with the young masters and ladies. Under normal circumstances, she would not have taken such a small matter to heart.”

Mei Jiu thought about it and agreed. Since she arrived at the Mei household, apart from the clan school, she had never heard of any rules being enforced. “Then go ahead, but be careful not to give anyone cause for trouble.”

“This servant understands,” Yao-Ye told two maids to wait outside and then left Yuwei Residence.

“Is the Hua family very famous?” An Jiu recalled the young man she had met in the mass grave who seemed quite confident when he introduced himself as “Hua.”

Mei Jiu said, “Yes, everyone in the Song Dynasty knows the Hua family. They have a prime minister and a privy councilor in the court, and many of their members hold high-ranking positions; they wield immense power.”

“Even someone as ignorant as you knows them, which shows how famous they really are,” An Jiu concluded.

Mei Jiu rarely went out and indeed lacked experience, but she could not help but retort softly, “You do not know?”

“Idiot, I am not from your Song Dynasty!” An Jiu asked again, “How many sons of theirs hold particularly high positions?”

“How would I know?” Mei Jiu blushed slightly. “Why would I bother asking about their sons?”

An Jiu could not understand what was so shameful about this!

After a while, Yao-Ye returned, dismissed the maid outside the door, and mysteriously closed the door.

“Young Lady, this is wonderful news!” she said, her face beaming. “I heard that the Hua family intends to form a marriage alliance with our family this time. I must tell Lady Yan about this.”

An Jiu and Mei Jiu both felt something was amiss. If they had been sharing one body all along, then…

Seeing Mei Jiu’s strange expression, Yao-Ye assumed she was shy and did not pay much attention, continuing, “It’s a marriage proposal for the eldest son of the Hua family. The eldest son’s name is Zihong, courtesy name Rongtian, ​​twenty-six years old this year. He was previously married and had a son and a daughter. Although it’s for a second wife, being a second wife for the Hua family is not something an ordinary family can compare to.”

An Jiu vaguely sensed something was amiss. She had just met a member of the Hua family at the mass grave that day, and now their family was coming to propose marriage to a Mei woman. Was that not too much of a coincidence?

Or was it that the young man from the Hua family went there specifically for the Mei family?

If that were the case, how did the Hua family know that someone was practicing their secret arts at the mass grave that night? Did the Mei family have a traitor within?

Why was the Hua family investigating the Mei family? Many questions suddenly arose. An Jiu could not guess the reason, but she was certain that Hua’s marriage proposal was not simple.