ebookland Chapter 142 Lantern Festival
Chapter 142 Lantern Festival
Upon hearing the name Zhao Chuan, Ye Wanning frowned instantly; she had completely forgotten that Zhao Chuan was coming to the capital to take the imperial examination.
Yunzhi looked at her mistress nervously, "It seems that Zhao Chuan was arguing with someone about academic matters. Miss, what if Zhao Chuan passes the imperial examination?"
The capital city isn't that big; if I get recognized again, things will get complicated.
Ye Wanning couldn't guarantee that Zhao Chuan could keep her secret and not reveal that they knew each other before.
"Don't panic. When we met Zhao Chuan, I was a widow, so we can still cover it up. It's just that Zhao Chuan is a troublesome person; he's too stubborn." Ye Wanning also glanced out the window; Zhao Chuan was still arguing with someone.
This is the capital city, a place where royalty and nobility gather. Zhao Chuan's personality makes it easy for him to offend people.
Indeed, this was the case. Zhao Chuan had just arrived in the capital when he got into an argument with someone over the inn, and now he was arguing with someone over academic matters.
After arguing for a while, the other person, not wanting to be laughed at, left first.
"Hmph, I'm right after all!" Zhao Chuan watched the departing people and was about to return to the inn when he happened to see people nearby discussing the passing Ye family carriage, so he couldn't help but look over.
"I wonder who's in the carriage. The eldest daughter of the Ye family is really lucky to have escaped death. It's just a pity that she's already a widow."
"Yes, it's such a pity. If she hadn't gotten married, she would definitely be married to Commander Xie by now, right?"
“I think it’s a good idea. After all, Commander Xie cares so much about her. Look, she’s been back for so long, and Commander Xie hasn’t gone to propose marriage yet.”
"That's for sure. Commander Xie is such a powerful person, it's impossible for him to marry a widow."
……
Hearing the conversation around him, Zhao Chuan felt it sounded familiar, so he asked what was going on. The two people were bored, so they started talking to Zhao Chuan about the Ye family.
At this moment, Ye Wanning only thought about not meeting Zhao Chuan again. Even if Zhao Chuan entered the court as an official, she instructed her family not to have any contact with him, so she would not see him. After all, she was a widow now and it was not appropriate for her to go out to banquets often.
Speaking of which, there have been quite a few invitations sent to the Ye family lately, but Ye Wanning has declined them all. She's just waiting to go to the villa with her godmother after the Lantern Festival.
She had told her family about it. They were very happy that she returned safely and had no objections.
Back at the Ye family home, Ye Wanning personally met with her eldest and second eldest brothers, told them about Zhao Chuan, and asked them to ignore him.
Ye Mingde said, "I heard yesterday that Zhao Chuan is quite good at literature and is very likely to pass the imperial examination with top honors. I never expected that he and my sister would have such a connection."
“If Wan Ning doesn’t like it, then it’s a bad relationship,” Ye Mingyue said. “Don’t worry, Wan Ning, I will definitely stay far away from him.”
"I just want to live a low-key life and don't want to cause trouble," Ye Wanning said wearily.
The days passed until the Lantern Festival, and Zhao Chuan quickly gained fame in the capital. Some people even wanted to marry him, but Zhao Chuan refused them all, thus earning him a reputation for arrogance.
These words all reached Ye Wanning. However, Ye Wanning simply had someone keep an eye on things and did not interfere in Zhao Chuan's affairs.
On the Lantern Festival, Jin Ziguan and Ye Mingyue booked a private room along the river at Fanlou, while the Ye family and the Jin family played in the private room next door.
Le Ge'er took a fancy to Jin Jia Liu Ge'er's rabbit lantern and insisted that Chunxi take him to buy it. Chunxi had no choice but to come and ask to see his master.
Ye Wanning sent Xu Da to run errands, saying, "Don't go out. Just send the servant out to buy it. Keep an eye on Le Ge'er. There are a lot of people outside today. Don't let him leave Fanlou."
Chunxi thought so too, and coaxed Le Ge'er, "Xu Da will go buy rabbit lanterns, you and I can stay here and watch the lanterns, how about that?"
Hearing that someone was going to buy a rabbit lantern, Le Ge'er reluctantly agreed. He pulled Chunxi to the window and stared at the lanterns on the boat, unable to look away.
Fanlou was bustling with activity today. Prince Cheng also brought Consort Pei out. When Consort Pei saw the Ye family, a flash of hatred crossed her eyes.
While Prince Cheng was drinking with his friends, Consort Pei found Le Ge'er and Chunxi, who were watching the lanterns, and deliberately bumped into them, saying, "Are you blind, you little brat?"
Consort Pei staggered, and Yu Ying, who was next to her, immediately pushed Le Ge'er and slapped him.
Le Ge'er has delicate skin, and a slap mark instantly appeared on his cheek. He was terrified and burst into tears.
Chunxi heard someone call out "Consort Pei" and wanted to go find the Ye family. However, she was surrounded by Yuying and several others.
"You ill-mannered brat, do you even know who my master is?" Yu Ying glared at Chun happy.
"No matter how noble you are, you can't bully people like this." Chunxi held Le Ge'er, her eyes red with anger. "It was clearly your lady who bumped into us, so why did you hit us first? So arrogant and domineering, do you think Fanlou is your family's property?"
“My mistress is a concubine, of incomparably noble status. How could you lowly commoners compare to her?” Yu Ying said, raising her hand to hit Chunxi, but Chunxi shook her hand off.
Chunxi was visiting the capital for the first time and wasn't so afraid of the concubine. She shouted, "Everyone, come quick! Someone here is abusing their power. They bumped into someone and then hit them!"
Since she's surrounded, she should make a scene; the Ye family will definitely notice.
Sure enough, it wasn't long before a crowd gathered around. Upon seeing the commotion, the Ye family immediately went to call for help.
When Ye Wanning arrived, Chunxi and Yuying and a few others got into a fight. Le Ge'er cried and grabbed Consort Pei's skirt, calling her a bad person.
"What happened?" Ye Wanning and Ye Mingyue ran over.
Chunxi immediately exclaimed, "Miss, they're bullying us!"
Consort Pei then tried to kick Le Ge'er, but Le Ge'er was strong and yanked off Consort Pei's outer skirt.
There was a hissing sound, followed by Consort Pei's scream.
Now everyone saw that Consort Pei's skirt was torn, and when Ye Wanning heard that her son had been beaten, she grabbed Consort Pei's hand and wouldn't let her leave.
"Your Highness, you are noble. But even the most noble person would have a maid beat a child and call us lowly people. Do you look down on us so much that the lives of ordinary people are of no concern to you and His Highness Prince Cheng?" Ye Wanning grabbed Consort Pei's hand, refusing to let her leave.
Consort Pei's skirt was torn, she was utterly humiliated, and her underpants were exposed. "Let me go, do you hear me?"
"If you don't give us an explanation today, we'll go to the yamen. Even though you're a concubine, you can't bully people for no reason." Ye Wanning couldn't swallow this insult; it was too much. Le Ge'er's face was swollen, and he was sobbing as he clung to her leg, looking pitiful.