Chapter 376 Never Lost an Argument

The Lin family is much better off now than when Emperor Jing first ascended the throne. Ordinary people can't even get close to them, and those who are not of high status don't dare to talk to Ye Wan. The person speaking to her right now is the wife of the Minister of War.

Ye Wan smiled, the golden butterfly on her head trembling slightly. "No, in the first few years, the child was still young, and I thought I'd keep him for a few more years, but now he's about the right age."

Ye Wan left it at that.

At that time, arranged marriages were still based on parental consent and matchmaker's words; in her case, it was all about the child's willingness.

It would be too heretical to say it out loud, so I'd better not.

Emperor Jing only promulgated a new law last year after he ascended the throne, stipulating that women, whether commoners or officials, must be at least sixteen years old before they can marry, and also explaining the harms of women marrying early.

Following the example set by those above, women nowadays don't get married as early as they used to.

Daya was kept until she was twenty before getting married, and now Erya is eighteen.

Sanya Fifteen.

Everyone knows that the Lin family has a beautiful daughter, and marrying a Lin family daughter is like having a ladder to heaven, but few people have actually seen her.

Lin Qingshuang is currently in the capital and only occasionally appears at banquets; it was only today that many people came to know her.

"She's not young anymore, but your second daughter rarely appears in public. It seems like we've hardly ever seen her."

The Minister of War's wife glanced at Daya, but didn't see Erya beside her.

There was no one sitting next to Ye Wan.

"Where is the Second Miss? Why haven't we seen her today?"

“She’s a lively person; she probably went to play in the Imperial Garden today.” Ye Wan wasn’t very strict with the child.

There weren't any troublemakers in the palace. Er Ya was the kind of person who couldn't sit still; she'd probably gone off somewhere to wander around.

Although Ye Wan has been frequently visiting the palace in recent years, she has rarely attended banquets like this one, mainly because Lin Suyi doesn't like to host them.

This was a rare opportunity for her to organize, and almost all the wives and daughters of officials, from top to bottom, came.

Ye Wan's lively Er Ya was already near the side hall of the canyon with her newly acquainted Shan Ling.

"Second Miss, these lotus flowers are so beautiful! I never imagined there was such a place to admire them!"

Looking at the pots and pots of lotus flowers, although they had bloomed quickly and were starting to fade, Shan Ling felt a special connection to them.

When the two introduced themselves at the table, Er Ya only said that her surname was Lin and that she was the second child in her family, so Shan Ling took the opportunity to call her Second Miss.

Dan Ling's father was an official who passed the local examination. Nowadays, officials also need to undergo multiple levels of performance evaluation before they can be promoted.

Shanling said she especially liked lotus flowers, but unfortunately she was sitting a bit far away and couldn't see them very clearly, so Er Ya brought her to see this.

"I wonder who lives inside the palace. These pots and pots of lotus flowers are really beautiful."

Er Ya said, "I heard it's Consort Xian's residence."

Consort Xian was Shangguan Wan'er's birth mother, formerly known as Lady Qing.

She has a princess and is unwilling to leave the palace, so she continues to live there, essentially living as if she were invisible.

Emperor Jing always knew that she was sensible, and Lin Suying was willing to share good things with her.

After that, Lady Qing always lingered around Lin Suyi and never went to Emperor Jing's side, which made Emperor Jing jealous several times.

Gua Er Ya knew all this. Although she rarely went to the palace, she was very familiar with it.

My mother would tell them everything.

"I think the lotus flowers here are even more beautiful than those in the Imperial Garden!" Shan Ling exclaimed excitedly.

“Yes, what’s the point of so many people crowding together? They can only look at the ones in the pond. But you can not only look at the lotus flowers in this vat, but also touch them. Maybe there are even lotus roots inside that you can eat.” Er Ya nodded.

She was so tired of boating that she had no interest in it at all.

Just as Shan Ling was about to say that this was not a good idea, someone approached from a distance.

"We were just out for a stroll, and we never expected to run into such a beautiful woman here!"

Suddenly hearing someone speak, Shan Ling, who was about to touch the lotus flower, quickly withdrew her hand in fright.

Er Ya and Shan Ling turned around and saw three men standing not far away.

"May I ask which family these two ladies belong to?" the leading man asked, bowing.

Why are you asking so many questions?

Er Ya immediately recognized this as the words of a man who was a scoundrel, and she had absolutely no liking for him.

He'd seen plenty of men like that; they'd approach any girl with a bit of good looks and strike up a conversation, making the girl's heart flutter, and then they'd feel a real sense of accomplishment.

Upon hearing Er Ya's words, the person opposite her was taken aback, then burst into laughter. "Hahaha, this is the first time I've seen such an interesting young lady from an official family. You're not from the capital, are you?"

How could the young ladies from the capital be so unfamiliar with them?

Dan Ling hurriedly spoke up, "No, I'm from Ganzhou, my father is Dan Zhou..."

The Minister of War's son chuckled. "So you're just a newly appointed junior official. No wonder you even offended His Highness the Crown Prince with your names. You don't even know how to address His Highness the Crown Prince, do you?"

"My father isn't..."

Dan Ling blushed instantly. She really didn't know what the Crown Prince's name was, and she didn't know how to explain it, in case she was blamed.

Er Ya clicked her tongue. "There are plenty of people in the world with the same name and pronunciation. His Highness the Crown Prince doesn't mind, so what are you yelling about here!"

"Do you know who my father is?" The son of the Minister of War's expression immediately darkened. How could this brat speak so rudely!

He only said a few words because he thought the two women were good-looking. How dare the daughters of a minor official be so arrogant?

"Who cares who your father is? Does it have nothing to do with me? Is your father the emperor? He can control everything and even silence people!" Er Ya rolled her eyes.

It's such a downer to spoil the fun of flower viewing!

"How dare you disrespect the Emperor and the Crown Prince here?!" The son of the Minister of War's face darkened.

Er Ya, "Which eye of yours saw me disrespecting the Emperor and the Crown Prince?"

She has never lost an argument.

Someone nearby chimed in, "We not only saw it, we heard it too. You're quite arrogant, woman."

Er Ya said, "Then you're mistaken. We're enjoying the lotus flowers here. If you can't appreciate them, don't make sarcastic remarks."

Before long, more people arrived.

This time, a group of young women, all daughters of various families, came.

"Whose daughter are you? How can you be so ill-mannered?"

Miss Cui Shiyi had just heard the argument over there and frowned as she looked at Er Ya.

You can't tell anything from their clothes. Nowadays, even wealthy commoner women in the capital can afford good fabrics. These two... look like they're trying too hard to dress up. They're obviously from small towns.

Er Ya laughed in exasperation, "You're quite well-mannered, judging others so easily. What do I have to do with you?"

"Just because I'm ill-mannered doesn't mean you are."

Cui Shiyi Niang was stunned for a moment. She was well-known for her talent and was always at the top of her class at the girls' academy. She was used to being flattered wherever she went, and this was the first time someone had spoken to her like this.

The girl next to her glanced at Er Ya and comforted Miss Cui Shiyi, "Miss Shiyi, why do you have to talk to people you don't care about, given your status?"

Er Ya: "Am I talking to you? You interrupt, showing off like that!"

The son of the Minister of War, along with two other men, began to comfort Miss Cui.

"Alright, Miss Eleven, don't be angry."

"No wonder they come from a small town, they've never seen much of the world, so why bother arguing with them?"

"We need to investigate her father later to find out how he got promoted and whether there was anything fishy going on."

Dan Ling was so anxious that her face turned red. What should they do? It seemed like they had offended someone.

Her father had only been in the capital for a short time when he brought trouble to the family.

Er Ya drawled, "From a small town—never seen the world before!"