69 Prince Shaos Birthday Part 1 (1/2)

The walk back was deadly silent for Yu Mei and Chu'mei. Yu Mei had been in the room with Pei Nan for no more than five minutes. Even someone as clumsy as Chu'mei could tell something was wrong. Not to mention the blank look on her lady's face.

Chu'mei softly tugged at the corner of Yu Mei's sleeve. ”Xiaojie, are you okay?” she asked worriedly.

”I am okay. Do I not look okay?” Yu Mei smiled brightly at Chu'mei. Of course she was disappointed at the way Pei Nan acted towards her but why should it affect her. She was going to leave in a few months' time. Why should she care what he does?

Seeing that her lady was okay, Chu'mei finally let out a sigh of relief. ”Xiaojie, what happened? Why did you leave so soon?”

”Fei Ning was there.” Yu Mei casually said.

”Consort Ning was there? Hmph!” Chu'mei was not happy to hear that. Her lady was so excited to see him yet that two faced consort had to ruin it.

”That means he won't be bothering me anymore. I can finally breathe without worrying.” Yu Mei put her hands behind her back and let out a deep sigh. Chu'mei would never have realized how much effort Yu Mei used to hide the disappoint she felt just now. She was the most carefree person she knew, why should she let Pei Nan take that from her. Feeling that she just had a moment of weakness, Yu Mei went back to her room.

She scrunched her brow when she opened the door. On the table was a tray covered with a silver top. Yu Mei slowly walked over and grabbed the note by the dish. After a little while, she let out a silly smile. She put the letter down and proceeded to open the lid. A tasty fried chicken was in front of her.

Chu'mei also caught sight of it and almost drooled. ”Xiaojie, who brought that?”

”A friend.” Yu Mei said slyly as she sat down and began to eat. Chu'mei wanted to read the letter too but it was quickly snatched away by Yu Mei. The mood on this side of the palace had started to lighten up unlike someone else...

In Pei Nan's court, everything that seemed joyous was not as it seemed. Right after Yu Mei left, he sent Fei Ning away, saying that he had work to do. He didn't believe Yu Mei wouldn't come back. And so he waited and waited and waited yet she didn't come back.

He only wanted to make her jealous at first but after seeing her silent earlier, he didn't know what to think or do. Wasn't she supposed to throw a fit or yell at him? So why did she stay silent all of a sudden. Just the thought of it made him stress out.

He wanted to go over to see her but he couldn't. It would have to wait until he came back to the city. Early in the morning, he had to go back and investigate Lian.

Three days had gone by and Yu Mei did not ask once about Pei Nan. She figured he wasn't going to come over anymore and so she had no reason to ask about his whereabouts. If she had just asked Chu'mei, she would have known that he wasn't in the city anymore.

So where was Yu Mei going dressed in a beautiful green gown. Simple. To Gu Shao's birthday party of course. Chu'mei was following behind with a small gift box in hand. Something that Yu Mei had prepared these last few days.

When Yu Mei arrived at Gu Shao's Hua Hu Palace, she was surprised to see that there were only four people there; Gu Shao, Fei Ning, a man she didn't recognize and a familiar face, Nuan Ti Ling. For a flirty and happy guy, it was strange that he only had a few guests. She would never had guessed that he only liked to spend time with people he was either close to or comfortable around.

The closer Yu Mei walked over, the more confused she got. What was Nuan Ti Ling doing here? Ju Ming's second customer. Ju Ming met her six months after she gave her first pill to Lady Gao Ting. Since Ju Ming traveled back two years back, this meant that she should have met Lady Nuan Ti Ling about six months ago.

Nuan Ti Ling was born in the state of Chun, youngest daughter of the Prime Minister. A natural beauty with fair skin, big round eyes paired with long lashes and plump pink lips. One of the most sought out ladies in all of Chun.

Nuan Ti Ling was in love with General Shang Guang. That was a secret no one knew yet Ju Ming stumbled upon that secret from one of Ti Ling's gossipy maids. For Nuan Ti Ling's lotus healing powder, Ju Ming bribed her with a fragrance pouch. It took a while to convince Nuan Ti Ling but eventually she got it. That lotus healing powder was for her master that had gotten bit by a poisonous snake. Otherwise she would never have gone to Nuan Ti Ling for help.

Gu Shao was busy telling a story that he didn't realize Yu Mei had arrived. He stopped in the middle of his story to greet her. ”Yu Mei, you are here.” He said surprised. He originally stopped by her courtyard that day to invite her to his birthday but she wasn't there. He wasn't sure if she was going to come or not. Now that he saw her, his mood had gone up by ten folds.

In the letter it wrote; [Brother Xu, I see that you aren't here. I came to visit at the wrong time. I brought you food like I promised. I wanted to personally ask you to my birthday at my Hua Hu Palace in three days. I hope this message reaches you and I am waiting for you. You must come. Signed, Brother Shao.]

Yu Mei greeted him politely. In front of people, she knew she had to keep up an image so she couldn't act reckless like how she did when it was just the two of them. ”Greetings to brother-in-law.”

”Is your injury better?” he asked. Even though she had told him she was fine, he wanted to make sure. Yu Mei assured him with a nod. She was happy to see him but then she was also very curious as to why Nuan Ti Ling was here. Gu Shao could see she was curious. ”Yu Mei, meet two of my close friends.” He gestured her to go forward. Nuan Ti Ling and Shang Guang immediately got up to greet her. ”Yu Mei, this is Nuan Ti Ling, daughter of Prime Minister Nuan.”

Gu Shao met Nuan Ti Ling a few years ago during his journey to Chun to sign a peace treaty. There he accidentally met the mischievous Nuan Ti Ling and they immediately bonded due to having similar personalities.