Chapter 125 Expelled from the Palace

As the zither music began, Ye Wanning picked up a silver needle and gently tapped it on the teacup. "Ding-dong—" The crisp sound blended with the zither music, like spring water flowing over stones, or moonlight shining on a lake, creating a more evocative atmosphere than Li Yanran's pipa playing.

The applause from the audience was even more enthusiastic than before. The Empress Dowager smiled and said, "Madam Ye is truly multi-talented; Pei Zhi is very fortunate!" The Emperor also nodded, "That voice is clear and elegant, even more charming than the pipa."

Li Yanran's face suddenly turned deathly pale, and her hands holding the pipa trembled uncontrollably, but she still forced herself to say, "Madam Ye's talent is truly extraordinary."

Ye Wanning put down the silver needles and bowed to the Empress Dowager and the Emperor: "Your Majesty, I was merely fooling around; please forgive my rudeness."

After the banquet, Pei Zhi led Ye Wanning by the hand toward the carriage, laughing, "I told you you were the best. Li Yanran's face looked like it was covered in ink just now."

"You're one to talk! The strings almost broke when you were accompanying me just now," Ye Wanning couldn't help but laugh.

"That's because I was worried about you." Pei Zhi pinched her cheek. "But my wife is amazing. Even just tapping a teacup sounds better than other people's pipa playing."

In the morning, just as Pei Zhi arrived at the military camp, someone delivered a letter, saying it was "a love letter from Madam Ye to Liu Qingyun." Pei Zhi glanced at the envelope, opened it, and saw that the handwriting was crooked and cursive: "Brother Qingyun, Pei Zhi and I are only husband and wife in name only. You are the only one in my heart. When the time is right, we will elope." It was signed "Wan Ning."

The messenger said, "General, this was found at the gate of Liu Qingyun's residence. You must keep a close eye on Madam Ye."

Pei Zhi wasn't angry; instead, he laughed—Wan Ning never wrote in cursive, and she only knew how to sign her name as "Zhi Ning," so why would she write "Wan Ning"? This was clearly a forgery.

He ordered the messenger arrested and interrogated thoroughly, and it turned out to be the work of the Crown Prince's strategist. The Crown Prince had always feared Pei Zhi's excessive military power and wanted to sow discord between the couple in order to bring Pei Zhi down.

Pei Zhi, carrying the love letter, went directly to the palace to see the emperor. After reading the letter and hearing Pei Zhi's explanation, the emperor roared, "How could the eldest prince do such a thing! To resort to such a third-rate trick!"

The emperor immediately sent men to arrest the eldest prince. Upon seeing the letter, the eldest prince found the evidence irrefutable and had no choice but to kneel and admit his wrongdoing. After ordering the eldest prince to apologize to Pei Zhi, the emperor punished him by confining him to his quarters for three months.

Pei Zhi left the palace and went straight back to the General's Mansion. Ye Wanning was in the kitchen brewing medicine. Seeing him return, she smiled and said, "Why are you here so early today? The medicine will be ready soon. You've been coughing a lot lately; it will help."

Pei Zhi walked over and handed her the love letter: "Look, someone forged your love letter to try and sow discord between us!"

Ye Wanning took the letter, glanced at it, and laughed, "This handwriting is so fake! My handwriting is much better! And how could I possibly write 'Brother Qingyun'? That's too cheesy."

“Exactly.” Pei Zhi hugged her from behind. “You think you can sow discord with such simple tricks? You’re too naive.”

"You're quite confident," Ye Wanning said with a laugh, playfully punching him. "Aren't you afraid I'll really run off with someone else?"

"Don't be afraid." Pei Zhi lowered his head and kissed the top of her head. "I know you only have me in your heart, and I've been so good to you, how could you bear to run away?"

Granny Liu, a servant of the eldest princess, suddenly came to the general's mansion that day, saying she was ordered by the Empress Dowager to teach Ye Wanning court etiquette: "Madam Ye, now that you are the general's wife, you frequently need to enter the palace to see the Empress Dowager and the Emperor. Not knowing the rules is unacceptable; it would bring shame to the royal family."

Ye Wanning nodded: "Thank you for your trouble, Granny."

Granny Liu didn't genuinely teach etiquette; she deliberately chose the most difficult ones. For example, when greeting someone, one had to bow at a 90-degree angle without standing up, couldn't hold anything in their hands, and had to say a long string of auspicious words. Another example was eating: one's chopsticks couldn't touch the bowl, and one couldn't pick up food for others.

If the food in Ye Wanning's bowl was even slightly misplaced, Granny Liu would shout, "Madam Ye, how can you be so stupid? You don't even know such basic manners! No wonder you're born out of wedlock!"

Chun Tao was so angry she wanted to retort, but Ye Wanning stopped her. Not giving up, the next day when teaching bowing, Liu Mama deliberately tripped Ye Wanning. Ye Wanning fell to the ground, her knees turning red, and Liu Mama even feigned concern, saying, "Madam, be careful! How could you be so careless?"

Upon entering the palace, the Empress Dowager smiled and said, "Wanning, demonstrate to me the etiquette that Granny Liu taught you."

Granny Liu responded and was just about to bow in greeting when Ye Wanning suddenly spoke up: "Your Majesty, I have a question. Granny Liu taught me that when bowing, one should bend at a 90-degree angle without rising and not hold anything in one's hands. However, the 'Records of Court Etiquette' states that one only needs to bow at a 45-degree angle and place one's hands at one's sides. Which is correct?"

The Empress Dowager was stunned. She ordered someone to bring her the "Records of Court Etiquette," and upon flipping through it, she found it to be exactly as Ye Wanning had described. Granny Liu's face turned deathly pale. She hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, this old servant has misremembered. This old servant didn't mean to."

"You remembered wrong?" Ye Wanning laughed. "Yesterday, when the nanny was teaching me how to eat, she said that chopsticks shouldn't touch the bowl, but that's not in the 'Book of Palace Etiquette.' Did the nanny remember wrong too? Also, yesterday when the nanny was teaching me how to bow, she accidentally tripped me. Wasn't that also an accident?"

Granny Liu was so frightened that she knelt down with a thud: "Your Majesty, this old servant was wrong! It was the Princess who ordered me to make things difficult for Madam Ye! This old servant will never dare to do it again!"

The Empress Dowager was furious: "How dare you falsely convey my orders and make things difficult for someone I value! Guards, drag Liu Mama away, give her twenty strokes of the cane, and banish her from the palace!"

After the guards dragged Liu Mama away, the Empress Dowager looked at Ye Wanning and smiled, "Good child, I'm sorry you had to go through this. I knew you wouldn't be foolish enough to be deceived."

"Thank you for your understanding, Your Majesty." Ye Wanning curtsied. "It's not that I don't understand etiquette, but I believe that rules are meant to serve people, not to make things difficult for them."

The Empress Dowager nodded: "Well said! From now on, when you enter the palace, you don't need to learn those complicated formalities; just be yourself."

When Ye Wanning returned from the palace, Pei Zhi was already waiting for her. Seeing her red knees, he said with concern, "Did Granny Liu bully you? I knew she had no good intentions; I should have never let her teach you."

"It's alright, it's resolved," Ye Wanning said with a smile. "The Empress Dowager has kicked her out, so she won't have to suffer anymore."

Something's been amiss in the General's mansion's kitchen lately. This morning, Ye Wanning sent Chuntao to fetch flour, but Chuntao returned empty-handed, her eyes red-rimmed, saying, "Madam, Zhang Ma is telling the other servants that you're mistreating them, not feeding them, and even whipping the maids..."

Ye Wanning paused, her brow furrowing slightly. Zhang Ma was a maid left behind by her stepmother, Liu Shi. After Liu Shi was sent to the family temple, Zhang Ma had always been well-behaved. How could she suddenly dare to talk nonsense?

"What else did she say?" Ye Wanning put down the medicine spoon and wiped her hands.