How to Make Conversation (Part Five)
“Slow down, slow down. Don’t hang the celebratory curtain crooked!”
Early in the morning, Yin JiYao awoke with a shock, hearing the loud voices come from her yard.
Pei’er entered the room with a copper basin, as the bead curtain made a loud sound, “Young miss woke up?”
“Un.”
She listlessly responded, “What’s the ruckus outside? There’s so much noise outside.”
“It’s the steward leading the servants in decorating the manor. Our courtyard’s garden is already decorated with red curtains. Princess DanYang has a noble status, and the eldest young sir said that we must be sure to decorate everything properly.”
“Heh, Princess DanYang humiliated him in front of everyone, but not only did he not seek His Majesty to have the engagement canceled, he actually had the manor decorated so exquisitely. Since when has our manor’s eldest young sir ever had such a good temperament?”
Pei’er thought for a bit and suddenly shuddered, recalling the girl who had been beaten silly and was carried out on that rainy day.
Yin JiYao seemed to understand what she was thinking, as she also became stiff.
After a long pause, she received the handkerchief that Pei’er was holding and haphazardly wiped her face, “Forget it. The manor is a mess, and I don’t want to stay here. Let’s go out!”
“Go out? Where?”
Yin JiYao very rarely went out, and she did not have many friends. When she went out in the past, it was always with Gu JiuGe.
Now that Gu JiuGe was leading soldiers in battle at the border, where could she go?
Yin JiYao deftly changed her clothes, “I heard that when the second young sir left, he left Miss Yao Yue in the care of Yu Shan Building’s shopkeeper, Yu Guan. I was thinking of going to see Miss Yao Yue, so going to Yu Shan Building would be quite nice.”
“Then let’s go to Yu Shan Building!”
Pei’er grimaced. In her eyes, Yao Yue was just a seductress who was stealing her young miss’ man; moreover, she was a prostitute. She did not hope for her young miss to interact with her too much.
Yin JiYao slightly raised an eyebrow. She already had a bit of insight on this matter.
“Young miss, do you want to go out?”
Just after exiting her courtyard, a granny came over to greet her. Yin JiYao looked closely and noticed that it was Yin Shuo’s personal granny.
Pei’er said: “Oh, young miss was…”
“I wanted to walk around the manor a little and see what their newlywed courtyard looks like.”
Yin JiYao interrupted Pei’er, and the latter glanced at her before nodding to the granny, “That’s right. Young miss wanted to walk around a little.”
The granny said: “That’s good. Young sir invited young miss to the outer study. Please come along.”
The outer study…
It was no wonder the granny was so courteous to her today. If Yin Shuo was inviting her to the outer study, he definitely had orders for her, right?
“Very well, I will go immediately.”
When she arrived at the outer study, Yin Shuo was seated behind his usual desk. That seat previously belonged to Yin Yan.
She casually sat down next to the desk and saw that Yin Shuo was holding a booklet. It had a long list of names written on it.
Yin Shuo did not even look up, “This is a list of officials that I currently believe are most likely to be selected for the cabinet. This time, His Majesty did not ask for anyone’s opinion when selecting members of the cabinet. Whether it was me, the eldest prince, the second prince, or even the members of the inner palace, he deliberately avoided all of us.”
“He deliberately avoided you, yet eldest brother was still able to get this list of names. You truly are exceptionally crafty.”
Her words carried a sarcastic tone, and it was not as though Yin Shuo could not hear it.
“JiYao, why do I feel as though you have become dyed in Gu JiuGe’s carefree attitude from spending so much time with him? For a man, having this sort of attitude is tolerable, but it’s not a great thing for a woman to have.”
Yin JiYao furrowed her brow slightly before quickly regaining her usual expression, “It was JiYao who misspoke. Eldest brother, please do not take it to heart.”
Yin Shuo looked her over and saw that she was wearing a bright-red dress with a cherry blossom pattern embroidered on it. It was especially different from her usual manner of dress.
“Were you wanting to go out?”
“Huh? Oh, no, I wasn’t going out.”
Yin JiYao lowered her head and looked at her clothes, “It was a servant that said that when welcoming Princess DanYang, I should wear something more celebratory. The dresses sent over by the embroiderers were all red or purple, and I very rarely wear those colors, thus I wanted to get used to them beforehand.”
She was born frail and thin, and she looked like a naturally frail beauty. When wearing red, she looked even frailer.
Yin Shuo smiled, “This is perfect. I have something that I must entrust to you. That you are dressed like this is even better.”
Yin JiYao became wary, “What is it?”
He handed her the list of names and pointed at a name, “This imperial censor Chen has the second-highest ranking in the Imperial Censorate after Lord Ji. I am certain that His Majesty will not move Lord Ji, as the Imperial Censorate needs someone who can hold down the fort, thus this Lord Chen will very likely be chosen for the cabinet.”
“Then what do you want me to do?”
“Lord Chen does not have many children. He only has one son, Chen ChuXiu, and he turned 18 this year. He’s young but has a head full of wicked ideas. He already has a reputation as a licentious son of a wealthy family. But Lord Chen is a doting man, and he often analyzes court matters for him to hear to try and have him learn.”
Yin JiYao furrowed her brow even more upon hearing this description.
When Yin Yan told her to get close to Gu JiuGe, was it not just because he found him to be the most unrestrained of the young sirs in Marquis Gu’s Manor?
However, reality proved that Gu JiuGe was not at all that sort of person. Using beauties against him was pointless.
He never overstepped his bounds when it came to her, nor would he reveal any of Marquis Gu’s Manor’s secrets to outsiders. He was a man with a very clear plan.
As for this Chen ChuXiu, whether he was truly a licentious son of a wealthy family or not, she did not know.
“Eldest brother wants me to find out whether or not His Majesty intends to have Lord Chen join the cabinet?”
Yin Shuo nodded, “If you can learn some more, for example, who will most likely join the cabinet with him, that would be even better.”
Yin JiYao was a bit reluctant, “But the prime minister’s manor and the Chen Manor did not really have any interactions before this. How should I get close to young sir Chen? It would be better to wait for eldest brother’s wedding with Princess DanYang. At that time, imperial censor Chen will definitely bring his darling son with him.”
When Princess DanYang was brought up, Yin Shuo’s expression instantly turned ugly.
“No, I can’t wait that long. Chen ChuXiu will be riding a leisure boat this afternoon at West Lake. You go too. At that time, find an excuse to start a conversation.”
He looked at Yin JiYao sideways, “You don’t need me to teach you how to talk to men, right?”
How to Make Conversation (Part Five)
“Slow down, slow down. Don’t hang the celebratory curtain crooked!”
Early in the morning, Yin JiYao awoke with a shock, hearing the loud voices come from her yard.
Pei’er entered the room with a copper basin, as the bead curtain made a loud sound, “Young miss woke up?”
“Un.”
She listlessly responded, “What’s the ruckus outside? There’s so much noise outside.”
“It’s the steward leading the servants in decorating the manor. Our courtyard’s garden is already decorated with red curtains. Princess DanYang has a noble status, and the eldest young sir said that we must be sure to decorate everything properly.”
“Heh, Princess DanYang humiliated him in front of everyone, but not only did he not seek His Majesty to have the engagement canceled, he actually had the manor decorated so exquisitely. Since when has our manor’s eldest young sir ever had such a good temperament?”
Pei’er thought for a bit and suddenly shuddered, recalling the girl who had been beaten silly and was carried out on that rainy day.
Yin JiYao seemed to understand what she was thinking, as she also became stiff.
After a long pause, she received the handkerchief that Pei’er was holding and haphazardly wiped her face, “Forget it. The manor is a mess, and I don’t want to stay here. Let’s go out!”
“Go out? Where?”
Yin JiYao very rarely went out, and she did not have many friends. When she went out in the past, it was always with Gu JiuGe.
Now that Gu JiuGe was leading soldiers in battle at the border, where could she go?
Yin JiYao deftly changed her clothes, “I heard that when the second young sir left, he left Miss Yao Yue in the care of Yu Shan Building’s shopkeeper, Yu Guan. I was thinking of going to see Miss Yao Yue, so going to Yu Shan Building would be quite nice.”
“Then let’s go to Yu Shan Building!”
Pei’er grimaced. In her eyes, Yao Yue was just a seductress who was stealing her young miss’ man; moreover, she was a prostitute. She did not hope for her young miss to interact with her too much.
Yin JiYao slightly raised an eyebrow. She already had a bit of insight on this matter.
“Young miss, do you want to go out?”
Just after exiting her courtyard, a granny came over to greet her. Yin JiYao looked closely and noticed that it was Yin Shuo’s personal granny.
Pei’er said: “Oh, young miss was…”
“I wanted to walk around the manor a little and see what their newlywed courtyard looks like.”
Yin JiYao interrupted Pei’er, and the latter glanced at her before nodding to the granny, “That’s right. Young miss wanted to walk around a little.”
The granny said: “That’s good. Young sir invited young miss to the outer study. Please come along.”
The outer study…
It was no wonder the granny was so courteous to her today. If Yin Shuo was inviting her to the outer study, he definitely had orders for her, right?
“Very well, I will go immediately.”
When she arrived at the outer study, Yin Shuo was seated behind his usual desk. That seat previously belonged to Yin Yan.
She casually sat down next to the desk and saw that Yin Shuo was holding a booklet. It had a long list of names written on it.
Yin Shuo did not even look up, “This is a list of officials that I currently believe are most likely to be selected for the cabinet. This time, His Majesty did not ask for anyone’s opinion when selecting members of the cabinet. Whether it was me, the eldest prince, the second prince, or even the members of the inner palace, he deliberately avoided all of us.”
“He deliberately avoided you, yet eldest brother was still able to get this list of names. You truly are exceptionally crafty.”
Her words carried a sarcastic tone, and it was not as though Yin Shuo could not hear it.
“JiYao, why do I feel as though you have become dyed in Gu JiuGe’s carefree attitude from spending so much time with him? For a man, having this sort of attitude is tolerable, but it’s not a great thing for a woman to have.”
Yin JiYao furrowed her brow slightly before quickly regaining her usual expression, “It was JiYao who misspoke. Eldest brother, please do not take it to heart.”
Yin Shuo looked her over and saw that she was wearing a bright-red dress with a cherry blossom pattern embroidered on it. It was especially different from her usual manner of dress.
“Were you wanting to go out?”
“Huh? Oh, no, I wasn’t going out.”
Yin JiYao lowered her head and looked at her clothes, “It was a servant that said that when welcoming Princess DanYang, I should wear something more celebratory. The dresses sent over by the embroiderers were all red or purple, and I very rarely wear those colors, thus I wanted to get used to them beforehand.”
She was born frail and thin, and she looked like a naturally frail beauty. When wearing red, she looked even frailer.
Yin Shuo smiled, “This is perfect. I have something that I must entrust to you. That you are dressed like this is even better.”
Yin JiYao became wary, “What is it?”
He handed her the list of names and pointed at a name, “This imperial censor Chen has the second-highest ranking in the Imperial Censorate after Lord Ji. I am certain that His Majesty will not move Lord Ji, as the Imperial Censorate needs someone who can hold down the fort, thus this Lord Chen will very likely be chosen for the cabinet.”
“Then what do you want me to do?”
“Lord Chen does not have many children. He only has one son, Chen ChuXiu, and he turned 18 this year. He’s young but has a head full of wicked ideas. He already has a reputation as a licentious son of a wealthy family. But Lord Chen is a doting man, and he often analyzes court matters for him to hear to try and have him learn.”
Yin JiYao furrowed her brow even more upon hearing this description.
When Yin Yan told her to get close to Gu JiuGe, was it not just because he found him to be the most unrestrained of the young sirs in Marquis Gu’s Manor?
However, reality proved that Gu JiuGe was not at all that sort of person. Using beauties against him was pointless.
He never overstepped his bounds when it came to her, nor would he reveal any of Marquis Gu’s Manor’s secrets to outsiders. He was a man with a very clear plan.
As for this Chen ChuXiu, whether he was truly a licentious son of a wealthy family or not, she did not know.
“Eldest brother wants me to find out whether or not His Majesty intends to have Lord Chen join the cabinet?”
Yin Shuo nodded, “If you can learn some more, for example, who will most likely join the cabinet with him, that would be even better.”
Yin JiYao was a bit reluctant, “But the prime minister’s manor and the Chen Manor did not really have any interactions before this. How should I get close to young sir Chen? It would be better to wait for eldest brother’s wedding with Princess DanYang. At that time, imperial censor Chen will definitely bring his darling son with him.”
When Princess DanYang was brought up, Yin Shuo’s expression instantly turned ugly.
“No, I can’t wait that long. Chen ChuXiu will be riding a leisure boat this afternoon at West Lake. You go too. At that time, find an excuse to start a conversation.”
He looked at Yin JiYao sideways, “You don’t need me to teach you how to talk to men, right?”
