Chapter 116 Chapter 116 Benbo raises himself

Duan Wenpei glanced at her indifferently and turned his head away.

Someone came up to him and talked to him. It was the lady from the Qin family.

Looking at the two people talking and laughing, Nan Xu's heart felt as if it had been hit by a sledgehammer, and blood was immediately flowing.

She subconsciously covered her chest and walked up the stairs with heavy steps.

She had just taken two steps when someone suddenly grabbed her arm from behind. Nan Xu paused and pulled her arm out quickly and efficiently.

"He has found a new love, why do you still refuse to look at me?" Li Zhan stared at his empty palm, his voice filled with pain and unwillingness.

Nan Xu said nothing and continued to move forward.

Li Zhan's eyes flashed with anger. He took two steps at a time and stepped forward to block her way. He leaned over and grabbed her thin shoulders. "Nan Xu, stop being angry with me."

He was tall and stood taller than her, almost like a mountain pressing down on her.

Nan Xu lowered her eyes and glanced at the hand on her shoulder, then finally looked up at him.

"Let go." The voice was calm and gentle, but it gave off a chill for no reason.

Li Zhan's throat rolled, his knuckles loosened slightly, but he did not let go.

"A Xu, please stop making trouble--" Before he could finish his words, a strong hand suddenly reached out from the side and pushed him away.

Li Zhan stumbled back two steps, gripping his wrist and glaring, but suddenly lost his voice when he saw who was coming.

Duan Wenpei stood at the bottom of the steps, his dark eyes were as deep as frost.

"If it happens again, Ben will chop off your hand."

Nan Xu lowered her head and said nothing, her long eyelashes trembling slightly, her fingertips tightly clasped the wooden armrest.

Li Zhan stopped and sneered twice with his back to him, "Instead of threatening me, Wei Yangbo, you should think about how to explain to your new lover to redeem your despicable image of playing both sides."

Sure enough, just as Li Zhan went up to the second floor, Qin Hui came down with her skirt lifted.

She looked at Nan Xu with sparkling eyes, smiled and took Duan Wenpei's arm, saying sweetly, "Is this Sister Ah Xu, my cousin's ex-wife? Hello, sister. I'm my cousin's soon-to-be wife, Qin Hui. You can also call me Ah Hui."

Nan Xu stared at her hand that was on Duan Wenpei's arm, her expression grim and her eyes red.

A voice in her heart told her not to show weakness, and not to shed tears.

She suppressed the sadness in her heart and slowly raised her head to look back at Qin Hui. "Then congratulations to Miss Qin and... Uncle."

It's strange to say, I thought I would be very sad after saying this, but for some reason I felt a sense of secret revenge in my heart.

She stopped avoiding him and slowly looked at Duan Wenpei, a smile uglier than tears playing on her lips. "Master, there's no need to pretend to help me. Li Zhan is just a nobody. I don't even take him seriously." She walked around the two of them and climbed the stairs, her back straight. "If you really feel bad, Master and Miss Qin, why donate some more money to the disaster victims tonight? It'll be a blessing for you two in advance as an old friend."

Hearing her words, Duan Wenpei's heart trembled violently, and dense pain flooded his eyes like a tide. He almost turned around and chased after her, but was held tightly by Qin Hui beside him.

"Cousin," Qin Hui glanced around and warned in a low voice, "You've already acted impulsively. So many eyes are watching us. If you fail now, I won't be able to explain myself to my aunt. Our plan won't be able to be carried out either."

Nan Xu's footsteps faded away, and Duan Wenpei's heart sank. He had a bad feeling that Nan Xu would not forgive him so easily this time.

The anger he felt earlier about the divorce, the desire to punish her, were now completely drowned out by the anxiety of losing...

At the end of the You hour, the flower viewing banquet officially begins.

In winter, people enjoy camellia and wintersweet.

Camellias are several famous varieties selected from florists and placed on the flower stands in the hall by waitresses. The layers of camellia flowers are gorgeous, adding a bit of life to the cold winter.

But in the eyes of the ladies from wealthy families, it is not surprising.

They were unwilling to donate their own property to the poor, and they took this opportunity to ridicule the people who organized the flower viewing banquet.

Not daring to talk about Sima Xun, he directed his criticism at Xiao Jing.

"I heard this Miss Xiao is from Kyoto. How can she be so ignorant that she brings out flowers of this quality to show off. Does she really think our Shu Land is a poor and remote place?"

Someone dared to take the lead, and naturally others echoed him. "What kind of Miss Xiao is she? I heard that when she came to Shu, she was just a concubine of the third young master of the Zhao family. What does a concubine know? Didn't you see that the Zhao family divorced the second Miss Nan from the capital, and then turned around and betrothed Qin Hui from the Qin family?"

"I heard that it was Miss Nan Er who proposed the divorce, and she didn't divorce her..."

"What do you know? It's obviously a divorce."

......

"Hey, both of you, stop arguing. I heard that the former Third Young Lady is also going to the flower viewing banquet today. Why don't we just ask her later?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the chattering sound gradually died down.

They dared to speak freely about Xiao Jing because Xiao Jing had no power and influence, so they could just say it; but they couldn't bring themselves to ask Nan Xu whether she was divorced or divorced by her husband's family.

Someone glanced behind the innermost screen with a look of fear on his face.

I heard that Princess Yi is here today too. Prince Yi and his wife are blood relatives to Nan Xu. If they make things difficult for Nan Xu, it would be a slap in the face of Prince Yi.

Although he was a demoted prince, he did not dare to openly become an enemy of the royal family...

As everyone was thinking about this, the windows of the hall were opened by someone, and the cold wind blew in, bringing with it bursts of flower fragrance that penetrated their bones.

It was as bright as day outside the window. Everyone leaned out to look curiously, and saw that there were several elegant scenes arranged in the circular venue downstairs; a rockery stood by the pool, with rugged rocks and mottled moss, and between the stone peaks, several red plum trees stood on them. A masked woman in tight clothes touched the stamens of the flowers with her feet, danced with a sword, and walked through the clusters of flowers.

Everyone was following the woman's light steps in a trance, when suddenly the sound of a flute came, matching the woman's sword dance.

Moving your sight to the right, you will see a small pavilion hidden among layers of green plum blossoms at the end of a winding path. In the pavilion, a woman and a man in men's clothing are leaning on the railing and playing the song "Ode to the Plum Blossoms".

Someone was keenly counting the plum blossoms of different colors in the field. "That's 'Green Calyx', that's 'Yellow Fragrance', there's 'Biejiao Wanshui' over there, and the one in the innermost part, 'Yudie Longyou'. It's really eye-opening to see so many rare varieties gathered together at the same time."

As she counted, the ladies in the hall all stood at the windows to admire this unique beauty.

When the music and dance ended, the candlelight in the venue dimmed, and a servant stood below and began to explain the origin of these rare flower species.

It is not difficult to see plum blossoms in Shu, but what is difficult is to see these carefully cultivated famous plants blooming in your own backyard.

Everyone was itching to try it, but no one wanted to speak first. They were just staring blankly when a clear female voice rang out, echoing in their ears.

"I like those 'Green Calyx' plants and would like to buy them for ten gold coins."

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw a young woman with a stunning appearance.

Seeing that she was well-dressed and had never been seen in Shu before, they suspected she was a noblewoman from some prominent and reclusive family, who had come to join in the fun. Everyone looked on with envy as the attendants below ordered someone to take note of her and ask where her residence was so someone could be sent there.

The woman smiled and gave an address, and everyone came to their senses after thinking about it.

It turns out that this is the legendary Miss Nan Er.

Miss Nan Er bought the green-calyx plum for ten gold coins, which was a slap in the face of the person who had just talked about her.

Someone bid loudly, "I'll pay twenty gold for the green calyx!"

Seeing someone dare to challenge them openly, everyone's hearts suddenly warmed up.

"I'll give you thirty gold."

"I'll give you forty gold."

"I'll pay one hundred gold! I want to know whether Miss Nan and Mr. Zhao are getting a divorce or not."

The hall suddenly became quiet, and everyone looked at the woman who had been smiling from beginning to end.

The woman who offered the hundred gold coins took two steps forward, looking at Nan Xu with a provocative look in her eyes. "Everyone knows what this flower viewing banquet is all about. Miss Nan's personal offer was just a way to get everyone to contribute. We don't mind the few gold coins, and we truly appreciate and love these plum blossoms, but just buying flowers is boring. Since Miss Nan is so concerned about the victims, why don't you take this hundred gold coins from me? I think we can repair hundreds of houses."

These words happened to fall into the ears of Xiao Jing and Yin Ruizhu who had just changed their clothes and came in.

Xiao Jing reached for the hidden weapon at her waist and was about to step forward to argue with the woman, but was stopped by Yin Ruizhu. "Ah Xu has repeatedly emphasized that raising money is the most important thing. If you start an argument now, you'll play into her hands."

Nan Xu looked at the woman and asked calmly, "What's your name, Madam?"

The woman raised her hand and touched the golden hairpin hanging from her ear, feeling quite pleased with herself. "Speaking of which, I have some connection with Second Miss Nan. I am Qin Hui's stepmother and the current head of the Qin family. So, Second Miss Nan can respectfully address me as Madam Qin."

It turned out to be the Qin family. Nan Xu sneered in her heart and couldn't help but glance at Duan Wenpei and Qin Hui.

Qin Hui's baby face wrinkled into a ball, and a hint of disgust flashed in her eyes as she looked at the self-satisfied woman.

Nan Xu saw it and had something in mind.

"It's Madam Qin. I was wondering why she looked familiar. Although she's my stepmother, she bears a resemblance to Miss Qin."

The woman looked a little embarrassed when she heard this.

She was Mr. Qin's third wife. She was only a few years older than Qin Hui. How could she look like Qin Hui? These words were implicitly and explicitly mocking her for marrying a man thirty years older than her for fame and fortune.

She dared to speak out, so she wouldn't be scared off by a few words. Her expression changed several times before she finally accepted Nan Xu's words. "Second Miss Nan is avoiding the subject. Are you unwilling to raise the hundred gold coins for the disaster victims?"

If she is unwilling to accept the hundred golds, there will naturally be no subsequent ten golds, one hundred golds, or one thousand golds... This is like roasting her on the fire.

Nan Xu looked at the faces around her, some curious, some watching her laugh. Her eyebrows raised slightly, and her voice rose unconsciously. "I want a divorce, but the Qin girl married someone I don't want. I want a divorce, but I haven't violated the seven grounds for divorce, so the Qin girl married someone heartless and ungrateful. Madam Qin asked me, and I want to ask Madam Qin, what kind of person do you want your daughter to marry?"

"You!" Mrs. Qin wanted to see Nan Xu make a fool of herself, but unexpectedly she was controlled by her in just a few words. She couldn't help but look a little annoyed.

"You're such a clever talker! What do you mean by 'no'? You're so heartless and ungrateful! You're the one who doesn't dare to answer! If you don't, I'll leave now and see how this flower viewing party of yours goes on."

Nan Xu smiled. "I was just explaining it so that Madam Qin wouldn't lose more than she gained. Madam Qin actually thought it was harmless. For the sake of the disaster victims, why wouldn't I dare to say anything?"

"Wei Yangbo and I are actually—"

"Sister Nan!" Qin Hui couldn't sit still and stood up to interrupt. "I'll pay the hundred gold coins to buy this green calyx. What do you think, Sister Nan?"

As long as someone is willing to pay, it's fine. Nan Xu glanced at Mrs. Qin, whose expression changed slightly, and said okay with a smile.

Before he finished speaking, someone suddenly raised the price loudly, "I'll pay one hundred and fifty gold to buy this green calyx as well. Give it to Miss Nan Er."

Li Zhan stood up and walked over, staring at Nan Xu.

Everyone had heard about the relationship between Li Zhan and Nan Xu, and they couldn't help but stare at the two of them eagerly as they whispered to each other.

Nan Xu felt very uncomfortable being stared at by him, but it was difficult to refuse at this moment, so she could only force a smile to avoid Li Zhan's gaze.

"Ben Bo offered two hundred gold coins to buy the same green calyx."

Duan Wenpei sat there without moving, but his eyes were glued to the crowd. Mrs. Qin thought he was looking at Qin Hui, and she couldn't help feeling happy, waiting for his next words.

"Send it to the Zhao Mansion, and I will raise it myself."

His deep, dark gaze touched her and then left, making her feel itchy like a feather.

Nan Xu pursed her lips, ignored the strange feeling in her heart, and immediately made the decision to sell Lu'e for two hundred gold.

Riding the easterly wind, Nanxu pointed at the remaining plum blossoms and spoke freely, "You are all from Shuzhou, the people of Shu. As the saying goes, 'feathers accumulate to make a boat.' Even a bracelet or a hairpin from your ladies can become bricks and tiles for the victims' houses. Today, we are raising funds with plum blossoms. When Shu overcomes its difficulties, the people will be grateful, the government will commend you, and in the future, history will write down your kindness in a stern voice. Wouldn't it be a story that will be passed down through the ages?"

"Plum blossoms are easy to obtain, but eternal fame is hard to come by; a hundred gold coins are easy to spend, but thousands or even millions of gold coins are hard to maintain. Madam, do you want to watch the people of Shu suffer in the snow and rain, or lend a helping hand and revive Shuzhou's prosperity? It all depends on your decision."

The woman stood upright in front of the window, her voice as clear as jade colliding, resounding and deafening.

Someone clapped and walked out from behind the screen.

"Ah Xu said it well. I am willing to do my best to use the few remaining gold coins in my palace to purchase the 'Jade Butterfly Dragon Swimming' to help the people of Shu overcome their difficulties."

Looking at Prince Yi being supported by Princess Yi, Nan Xu's face suddenly lost all color.