Chapter 119 Sister Wan Ning is a bad woman

Ye Wanning took the silver hairpin, her fingers gently tracing the character "Ning" on the hairpin's head, her eyes instantly welling up with tears: "When did you prepare this? How come I didn't know?"

“Last time I accompanied you to the jewelry shop, I noticed you were always biting the thread ends with your teeth, so I asked the shop owner to make this.” Pei Zhi helped her pin the hairpin in her hair. “It’s beautiful, more beautiful than any gold hairpin.”

As soon as the female doctor's clinic opened, the people who came for medical treatment in the early morning gathered at the door and talked, pointing at the anonymous letter on the door and reading: "I didn't expect that Madam Pei had an affair with Shen Wenxuan before she was married. You can know a person's face but not his heart." "No wonder Shen Wenxuan was exiled. It turns out that General Pei stole someone else's woman."

Ye Wanning's heart tightened, and she quickly walked over. She saw a yellow paper pasted on the wall, which read: "Ye Wanning is born a concubine's daughter, promiscuous and fickle. Before marriage, she had an affair with Shen Wenxuan. Later, she used her seductive tricks to seduce Pei Zhi. She is truly a shameless person..."

"Who put this up? Tear it down!" Ye Wanning was trembling with anger. Chun Tao quickly stepped forward, tore off the yellow paper, and crumpled it into a ball.

"Madam, please don't be angry. Someone must be spreading rumors on purpose." Chun Tao handed over a handkerchief. "Should I go and tell the General?"

"Don't tell him yet." Ye Wanning took a deep breath. "He's been busy with military matters lately, don't distract him. I'll find out who's behind this first."

But rumors spread like wildfire, and in less than half a day, everyone in the capital knew about it. The number of people coming to the clinic decreased by more than half, and even the children from Ci'an Hall were pointed at by other children and told, "Your sister Wan Ning is a bad woman."

Little Bean was furious and got into a fight. He ran back with injuries on his face and threw himself into Ye Wanning's arms, crying, "Sister Wanning, they said bad things about you. I couldn't beat them."

Ye Wanning tenderly wiped away his tears, and was about to speak when Pei Zhi stormed in, his face pale: "I've heard everything. Who dared to spread rumors about you?"

"How did you know?" Ye Wanning was stunned.

"Deputy General Zhang told me. He overheard it in the teahouse and almost overturned the table." Pei Zhi grasped her hand, his fingertips icy cold. "Why didn't you tell me? Did you intend to bear it all yourself?"

"I didn't want to distract you." Ye Wanning lowered her head. "I thought I could find out the truth."

"Find out what? How can you let yourself wash such mud?" Pei Zhi pulled her up. "Come on, let's go to the female doctor's clinic now and debunk the rumors!"

As soon as the two arrived at the female doctor's clinic, they saw Shen Wenxuan's old steward hiding around a street corner, waving his hands at the crowd: "Our young master and Madam Pei had already slept together back in the Ye residence. If it weren't for General Pei interfering, they would have been married long ago..."

Pei Zhi narrowed his eyes and gave a wink to his bodyguard. The bodyguard understood and quickly stepped forward, grabbing the old steward by the collar: "Did your master send you to spread rumors?" Pei Zhi's voice was icy cold.

The old butler was so frightened that his legs went weak and he knelt on the ground: "It was my young master who told me to do this. He said that Madam Pei cannot be allowed to live a good life..."

The crowd erupted in commotion. Ye Wanning walked to the center of the crowd, holding two letters in her hand: "Look, everyone. This is the letter I wrote to General Pei for help when I fled the Ye family. It says, 'Shen Wenxuan is forcing me to marry him. I would rather die than comply.' This is the letter Shen Wenxuan wrote to me back then. He said that if I didn't marry him, he would burn my mother's medical books."

She unfolded the letter and let the people read it: "Shen Wenxuan and I have never had an affair. He used cruel methods to force me to marry him back then. If it weren't for General Pei saving me, I would have died in the Ye family mansion long ago!"

Pei Zhi continued, "The old servants of the Ye family can all testify to how Shen Wenxuan imprisoned Wan Ning and how he coerced her. Now Shen Wenxuan still dares to spread such rumors. I will immediately petition the Emperor to have Shen Wenxuan brought back from his place of exile and confront him in public!"

Everyone then realized that Shen Wenxuan had been spreading rumors, and they began to curse him: "You despicable man! If you can't have someone, you ruin their reputation!" "Poor Madam Pei, being harassed by this kind of person!"

The old steward was taken away by the guards to the authorities to explain everything. Ye Wanning hugged Pei Zhi and said gratefully, "Thank you. I really don't know what I would have done without you."

Pei Zhi gently patted her disheveled hair and said with a smile, "Silly girl, why are you thanking me? If there's anything like this again, tell me right away. I'll always be her support. Don't try to shoulder it all by yourself anymore."

The people who had previously gossiped about Ye Wanning now bowed their heads and apologized to Pei Zhi: "Madam Pei, we are sorry. We shouldn't have believed everything we heard and misunderstood you."

Ye Wanning smiled and said, "Everyone has been deceived. Just don't spread rumors in the future."

The princess's banquet was held in late spring, and her garden was a riot of colors, with red, pink, and white flowers crowding the entire garden.

Ye Wanning sat next to Pei Zhi, holding a piece of osmanthus cake in her hand, but her mind was not on the cake at all; she kept staring at Li Yanran sitting opposite her.

The princess's niece had been staring at Pei Zhi ever since she entered, her eyes practically overflowing with admiration. Pei Zhi noticed her constantly swallowing, and knew what she was up to.

"Madam Pei, you're sitting next to me, and Lord Pei isn't here. What should I do?" Li Yanran said, feigning weakness.

Pei Zhi smiled and leaned close to Ye Wanning's ear, lowering his voice even further: "Ignore her. If she dares to cause trouble, I'll protect you."

Ye Wanning nodded. She had just taken a bite of the osmanthus cake when Li Yanran walked over with a cup of wine, her smile fake: "Madam Pei, this is peach blossom wine that I specially brewed for you. Try it, it's even more fragrant than the imperial wine in the palace."

Ye Wanning took the wine glass, and as soon as her fingers touched the rim, she smelled something was wrong—there was a layer of light green powder stuck to the rim. She sniffed it closer and detected a faint herbal scent; it was probably "itch powder" that would cause skin redness and swelling.

Ye Wanning sneered inwardly, but remained outwardly calm. She picked up her wine glass and said with a smile, "Thank you, Miss Li, but I haven't been drinking lately, so I'm afraid I can't drink your wine."

"Oh dear, Madam Pei, you're not giving me face!" Li Yanran said, feigning grievance. "I brewed this wine for a month and a half just to invite you to drink it, Madam. If you don't drink it, I'll be heartbroken."

People around gathered around when they heard this. Ye Wanning knew she had no choice but to drink today. She pretended to take a sip from her wine glass, but when Li Yanran wasn't looking, she suddenly tilted her hand, and the wine spilled all over Li Yanran's pink dress with a "splash".

"Oh dear! Miss Li, I'm so sorry!" Ye Wanning quickly took out her handkerchief. "My hand slipped. Are you alright?"

Li Yanran was about to get angry, but as soon as she moved, she felt an itch on her leg. Looking down, she saw a patch of red rash on the part where the wine had been spilled. The more she scratched, the itchier it became, and soon it swelled up: "What... what is this?"