Murong Xue went into the carriage and slowly sat down by the window. Ouyang Shaochen followed her in and sat down opposite her gracefully.
Yuan Fangfeiâs rough voice came from the outside, âItâs getting late. Murong Ji, weâve got to go now. Hurry up!â
âMother, Iâm leaving.â Murong Ji secretly cast a stern glance at Yuan Fangfei and bade farewell to Mrs. Zhou with reluctance. Then he walked up to the carriage, stepped on the footstool and slowly climbed up to the carriage.
Yuan Fangfei was fed up with waiting for him. She grabbed him by the collar and threw him into the carriage with a bang. âCanât you move faster? You are as slow as a tortoise.â
Murong Ji was caught off guard. In the next second, he was thrown to the floor and every bone in his body seemed to ache. His eyes reddened within a second. From small to large, his parents loved and spoiled him, and were never hard on him. Yuan Fangfei was not his wife yet. How dared she bully him?
Yuan Fangfei said sulkily, âDonât block the way. Just move down inside and make room for me.â With that she reached out and gave Murong Ji a push.
Murong Ji, who was thin and weak, lost his balance and fell forward. With a bang, his head hit the wall of the carriage. He saw stars and felt dizzy, as his ears began humming. Seized with uncontrollable rage, he raised his hand and wanted to give her a hard slap. âYuan Fangfei, Iâm going to kill you!â
This vicious woman had been tormenting him since last night. She scolded him for trifles and hit him from time to time. Now he was covered with bruises. âIâve had enough of her insolence. She is a totally tomboy. I canât bear it anymore. Iâm going to teach her a lesson so as to restore my dignity,â he thought.
The wind from his motion whipped her hair around her head. Yuan Fangfei gave a snort of derision and swiftly gripped his wrist. Then she began to swing her arms with all her might. Her rough voice resounded to the skies, âMurong Ji, how dare you hit me back! Do you want to die?â
âBang, bang, bang!â
Although they were in different carriages, Murong Xue could hear the sound of Murong Ji crashing against the floor and walls of the carriage. Even the sturdy carriage in which they two were staying, was shaken slightly by the crash.
Murong Xueâs eyelids twitched and she asked in astonishment, âIs Yuan Fangfei swinging Murong Ji fiercely as if he is a sandbag? She seems to want to kill Murong Ji. Can he survive?â
âYuan Fangfei grew up in the military camps. She knows how far to go and when to stop. Murong Ji wonât die in her hands. But heâs bound to get hurt,â said Ouyang Shaochen carelessly. He picked up a book on the red sandalwood table and read it carefully.
As Yuan Fangfeiâs parents-in-law, Murong Jian and Mrs. Zhou would also have a hard time in the future. Yuan Fangfei was a woman of strong personality and had the powerful Yuan family behind her, so Murong Jian and Mr. Zhou didnât dare to tyrannize her.
As a ray of light passed before her eyes, Murong Xue immediately came back to herself and looked up to see Ouyang Shaochen depositing a bronze mirror in front of her. âNow comb your hair and twist it into a chignon,â he said.
Murong Xue nodded, âOkay!â Everyone who went to the Mountain Resort with the Emperor, should be well dressed with his or her hair perfectly coiffed. However, she had her hair hanging loose over her shoulders now. It was really indecent. Murong Xue began to rack her brains to remember how to wear her hair in a chignonâŠ
She smoothed her hair with a wooden comb, then held a wisp of hair in each hand and tried to coil it into a chignon, but she failedâŠ
Ouyang Shaochen heaved a long, helpless sigh, put down the book and took the wooden comb from her. âYou have no idea of how to coil your hair, right?â
Murong Xue coloured slightly with embarrassment and explained, âHongxiu and Anxiang are in charge of my chignon. I have never done my hair by myselfâŠâ
âJust as I thought, you know nothing about how to do with your hair,â he thought.
Ouyang Shaochen gave her a contemptuous look and smoothed her hair with the wooden comb once more. Then he combed her hair back and twisted it into a beautiful, exquisite chignon. It was the most popular chignon among young women recently. Murong Xue looked at her chignon in the mirror and drew a conclusion that Ouyang Shaochen did a better job than Hongxiu and Anxiang.
She narrowed her eyes, looked straight at Ouyang Shaochen and asked in a meaningful tone, âHow did you learn to coil a womanâs hair up into a chignon?â
The chignon he did was very exquisite. Thus it could be seen that he was very skillful at it. Maybe he practiced a lot. But it was the first time he had helped her do a chignonâŠ
âMy father often helps my mother do a chignon. I have seen so many times that gradually I learn it,â Ouyang Shaochen said casually.
âReally?â Murong Xue raised her eyebrows and looked at him with unbelieving eyes.
âWise men learn things very fast. But some stupid people canât learn anything even if they have watched it hundreds of times,â Ouyang Shaochen said. Then he cast a disdainful look at her.
âYouâŠâ Murong Xue choked with anger at his words. They were talking about the chignon just now. Why did he suddenly turn to the subject of the difference between wise people and stupid people?
Ouyang Shaochen took a glance at her, picked up a pink-lotus gold hairpin and pinned it in her hair.
Murong Xue suddenly remembered that she had left the Falling Snow Pavilion in such a hurry that she had only taken a normal hairpin with her. So, where did he get this pink-lotus gold hairpin?
She felt puzzled. Just then, Ouyang Shaochen took out a pair of South-pearl earrings and carefully put them in her ears.
Murong Xue frowned and glared at Ouyang Shaochen with displeasure. âWhy do you have womenâs ornaments in your carriage?â It seemed that he had bought a set of ornaments, including a hairpin and a pair of earrings.
Ouyang Shaochen gently closed the exquisite sandalwood jewelry box and answered, âI had some jewelers make these ornaments for you, and wanted to give them to you on your birthday. But I didnât expect you to forget to take your jewelry today. So I give you these ornaments in advance. Do you like them?â
Murong Xue looked at herself in the bronze mirror. She had a really beautiful face. The pink-lotus gold hairpin was gently shaking in her raven hair like a flying butterfly. The South-pearl earrings were sparkling in sunlight. The ornaments she wore flattered her snowy skin and delicate face. Obviously, they were tailor-made for her.
Murong Xue liked the exquisite chignon and beautiful ornaments. But her birthday this year had passed. Did Ouyang Shaochen prepare these ornaments for her next birthday? It was too earlyâŠ
The carriage slowly stopped. Xun Fengâs voice came from the outside, âMy prince, we are out of the city.â
âMmâŠâ Ouyang Shaochen responded. The hour of departure was almost approaching.
The Emperor summoned so many officials and their family members to go to Mountain Resort with him. There must be a lot of people outside now.
Murong Xue blinked, opened the curtain and looked out of the window. There were endless deluxe horse-drawn carriages parking on the government-financed road in neat rows. On both side of each carriage stood several fine horses.
Murong Xueâs gaze swept across guards, civil officials, military officials and their family members. Finally, she let her eyes settle upon a deluxe horse-drawn carriage with Prince Jing Mansionâs markings. She frowned and thought, âItâs the carriage of Prince Jing Mansion. In the carriage should be Old Prince Jing and his wife, Old Princess JingâŠâ\n