Chapter 4 Chapter 4 Frivolous and Coquettish Stuff
He Mansion
He Anting sat in the main seat in the main hall, while Ye Yunzheng and He Qingwan sat on both sides with tea beside them. He Qingwan was still wiping her tears and glaring at Jing Yao with a pout.
Jing Yao stood beside Ye Yunzheng, her head lowered to her chest like a quail again.
She lowered her head not because she felt guilty, but because she was used to it, and she felt a little ashamed to face the person who was actually He Anting.
She never expected that the two of them would meet in such a situation.
Thinking of the embarrassing incident yesterday, Jing Yao wanted to find a hole to crawl into immediately. Fortunately, he didn't know who he was.
He Anting tapped his thigh with his knuckles, a puzzled look on his face.
"Brother, I think this is probably a misunderstanding." Ye Yunzheng slowed down his tone, "Mrs. Jing has always been gentle and kind. I think there is some misunderstanding between her and the Fourth Young Lady."
He Qingwan was furious when she heard him defending Jing Yao. "What kind of misunderstanding could there be? I was talking to her, but she wasn't polite and ignored me. She's so arrogant. I was so angry that I tried to stop her, but she pushed me."
Jing Yao started blushing again, this time out of anger.
"It was obviously...it was obviously you who poked my head first." She spoke softly, like a cat's meow.
"I just poked you, so what? Are you so precious that you can't be touched? I think my second sister has been too indulgent with you. You dare to confuse right and wrong like this." He Qingwan muttered.
He Anting was getting a headache from the noise, and because of her identity and what happened yesterday, his face was as cold as frost: "Yun Zheng, she is your concubine, you decide for yourself, I can't interfere."
"However, there are some things I must say. You are currently in a good position in your career, and there are more people in the court watching you than you think. I can't say anything about the private residence, but if you are seduced by that frivolous and seductive woman and your personal morality is corrupted, I doubt whether it is right to put you in this position."
These words made Jing Yao and Ye Yunzheng's faces turn pale at the same time.
He Anting changed the subject and said, "I am a rare talent, but I can't bear to see you bury me, so I said a few more words. I believe you can handle the matter of the private residence."
Although Jing Yao is stupid, she can understand good and bad words. Isn't the frivolous, coquettish and restless character that He Anting mentioned referring to her?
Although she had heard a lot of such words since she was a child, Jing Yao's face still turned red and her whole body felt numb as if she was in an ice cellar.
Yun Qiao widened her eyes and was so angry that she wanted to argue for her, but Jing Yao held her hand tightly.
The grievances surged up like a tide, and tears welled up in her beautiful eyes. Jing Yao couldn't hold back and tears fell down.
Since she entered the mansion, she has always placed herself in a very positive position. She just wants to be an honest person and stay in Lanxiang Pavilion, eating and waiting to die. Anyway, this is how her life will be. The most important thing is to save some money to treat her mother's illness.
Although everyone said that her favor almost surpassed He's, she knew in her heart that she was just a concubine, so how could she dare to compete for favor? In the future, the prince would have many concubines, but only one lady. She was not stupid enough to compete with He for a man.
But why did everyone say that he seduced the prince? Jing Yao felt very aggrieved because it was clearly not her fault.
The tears fell like broken strings.
He Anting noticed that she was crying, twisting her hands, her face flushed red, even a little purple, and tears kept falling. Perhaps she was holding her tears back too tightly, and she couldn't help choking.
She seemed quite aggrieved, He Anting thought inappropriately, she looked like she was almost out of breath.
Ye Yunzheng couldn't help but clench his hands and curled his lips: "Brother is right."
"Let's go." He Anting's mood suddenly turned bad, and he waved his hand without patience.
Ye Yunzheng stood up and bowed, then turned around and took Jing Yao away.
He Anting watched the woman wipe her face, then followed Ye Yunzheng without saying a word.
He caught a glimpse of He Qingwan's expression and slammed his hands on the table.
He Qingwan was feeling proud, thinking about telling her second sister about her proud achievements today, when she was suddenly startled and felt a lingering fear: "Brother...Brother, what's wrong?"
"What you just said was nonsense." He glanced at her coldly.
He Qingwan looked obviously guilty for a moment. Who was He Anting? He was an old fox who had been immersed in officialdom for many years. How could he not see through his own sister?
"No, why would I say that? She just pushed me, didn't you see it, brother?"
He Anting is a straight-forward person with strict rules, much like his late father. His two younger sisters were both spoiled by the county lord, so it is common for them to be arrogant and spoiled.
"Did you make the first move or did she?" He Qingwan's scalp tingled under the pressure of He Anting's calm eyes. Her heart skipped a beat, "I..."
"Twenty slaps on the hand if you lie."
He Qingwan was frightened: "I... I just poked her, and I didn't expect her to have such a bad temper." Her voice became softer and softer as she spoke.
He Anting's face was so cold it could freeze someone to death: "Anything else?"
"And... I just said a few words to her."
He Anting rapped his knuckles on the table: "What did you say?"
"What else can I say? It's nothing more than a few words of warning. Brother, why are you trying to be so ruthless? I'm not wrong. She's such a coquettish woman, she should be tempered."
He Anting glared coldly: "It's your turn to say it. If it gets out, our He family will be involved in the Ye family's affairs. Don't both families have any shame?"
He Qingwan was scolded so hard that she dared not say a word, but she felt very aggrieved and wanted to complain to her mother.
Ye Yunzheng dragged Jing Yao back to the mansion. Jing Yao's face was pale, her mind was in a mess. She wanted to explain clearly: "Sir, I didn't push..."
Before they could finish their words, Madam Zheng beside He stopped them: "Master, the young mistress asks you and Concubine Jing to come over."
He had known about this for a long time, and she was worried that she would not have the opportunity to find fault with Jing Yao.
Jing Yao had no choice but to swallow her words of explanation.
On the way to Muyunzhai, Ye Yunzheng did not hold her hand. The more Jing Yao thought about it, the more scared she became, and the more scared she became, the weaker her body became.
He hated her so much that she would definitely take the opportunity to punish her. She might hit her with a stick, or put her in solitary confinement and not give her food.
This was how Cui was when she was at home. She was afraid that her mother would get worse due to anger, so she never dared to tell anyone.
Thinking of this, Jing Yao placed a glimmer of hope on Ye Yunzheng. If she was to be punished, he must not punish her too severely.
Jing Yao's complexion looked a little better, and she followed Ye Yunzheng into the house.
He had a cold face and the atmosphere in the room was stagnant. Ye Yunzheng sat next to He. Jing Yao thought about it and did not stand next to Ye Yunzheng.
"I want to punish Zhenglang's people. I think the prince has no objection?" He spoke in a sarcastic tone.
Jing Yao's heart tightened: "Young Madam, what happened today was a misunderstanding. I..."
"Okay, no need to explain. It's just little girls playing around. It's not a big deal." He changed the subject and spoke in a relaxed tone, which even surprised Jing Yao.
Ye Yunzheng was also slightly startled: "Qingyu."
He Shi swallowed her anger and said, "Zhenglang, Aunt Jing is yours, and belongs to the Bofu. I am your wife, so I will naturally side with you and the Bofu. I will mediate with mother. Don't worry, although my fourth sister is spoiled, she is not ignorant of the overall situation."
Jing Yao was simple-minded and could not understand the twists and turns in He's words. She just wondered if she would not be punished.
But Ye Yunzheng's heart moved slightly. The county lady was not a good person, and the Princess of Xian'an was not a good person either. If they did not show sincerity, how could the other two be able to deal with them?
"Ah's son, I know what you mean, but if you're wrong, then you're wrong. If you don't punish me, then wouldn't my uncle's house be a place without rules?"
Jing Yao's expression froze, and she had a bad feeling in her heart.
"Just punish Aunt Jing by making her kneel in the garden at the west gate for two hours and ask Mother Zheng to watch over her." Ye Yunzheng said calmly, his words were very indifferent.
The west gate is the gate connected to the He Mansion. There is a cobblestone path in the garden. Let alone kneeling, even walking on it is very uncomfortable.
Jing Yao's body went limp and her head hung low. As expected, she couldn't escape, but she didn't have to be beaten or starved.
She quickly figured it out. He Qingwan was the fourth daughter of the He family, and she was a concubine in the Bo's mansion. There was a huge difference in status and position between them.
It's obvious that the prince will not defend herself. If he defends herself, the young lady will be angry and will definitely not give her a good life. Jing Yao will no longer feel aggrieved after she thinks it through.
The only thing I envy is that the He family is friendly and respectful to each other. The He family girl is so lucky. Blood relatives protect each other, and she has brothers and sisters to make decisions for her.
She thought of the cold look He Anting gave her today, and shuddered. The sadness in her heart disappeared.
Now she is a concubine, and he is the prime minister. Even if she doesn't want to be a concubine, she doesn't have the courage to go to his house with the marriage certificate.
If a "frivolous and coquettish" woman like herself really came to his house with a marriage certificate, she would be beaten out by He Anting.
Even more embarrassing.
Forget it, forget it. I'll just keep this to myself from now on. Anyway, she's hiding in the inner house and there's no chance of encountering her.
After her mother forgave her, she asked her mother to burn the hot marriage certificate quickly.
Jing Yao was lost in thought when Mother Zheng sarcastically said to her, "Kneel down, Auntie."
Jing Yao knelt obediently on the cobblestone path and adjusted her posture to avoid feeling uncomfortable too early.
Seeing her heartless and stupid look, Mother Zheng swallowed back the sarcastic words she was about to say. She sat in a secluded place, drinking tea and eating melon seeds, glancing at her from time to time.
In Muyunzhai, He Shi saw Ye Yunzheng punishing that vixen and felt relieved: "Zhenglang..."
Before she finished speaking, Ye Yunzheng took the initiative to say, "I'll stay at Muyunzhai tonight."
This made He very happy. "Okay, okay, Lianqiao, go and prepare dinner quickly. I want the food that the prince likes. Also, make a pot of cloud tea. The prince likes it."
Ye Yunzheng lowered his head and warned himself that he must not offend the He family, otherwise his career and that of the Marquis's family would be full of difficulties. The Lingyun Marquis's family still depended on him.
He quickly walked out the door and said to Lian Qiao, "Tell that vixen to come and serve you tomorrow morning."
Lian Qiao's face lit up: "Yes."
She couldn't wait to see the vixen being stabbed.
The news of Jing Yao being punished by kneeling soon reached the ears of the county lord and He Qingwan, and the county lord's originally unhappy mood eased a little.
He Anting was unaware of their twists and turns. He was a straightforward person. Right was right and wrong was wrong in all matters, big or small. Even though he disliked that woman, it was wrong for his sister to speak rudely to him.
He thought about it and decided to find a day to explain the matter clearly to avoid hurting the relationship.
As a result, in the evening, Qingwu, a retainer beside him, let the cat out of the bag. The concubine of the prince of the neighboring baron's mansion was punished and made to kneel at the west gate. She knelt for a long time, and all the maids and servants of the two mansions saw her.
"How long have you been kneeling?" He Anting asked suddenly.
Qing Wu was slightly surprised. He didn't expect his master to ask this. "About an hour or so."
He Anting lowered his eyes and thought, and said nothing more. It was not his turn to comment on how the Bo Mansion would deal with the matter, and he would never slap the other party in the face at this time.
As dusk falls, the sky turns dark blue. In the silent night, the chirping of cicadas can be clearly heard.
Jing Yao's knees ached from kneeling, and she rubbed them dejectedly. Suddenly, Mother Zheng said to her, "Auntie, the Young Madam has ordered that the Crown Prince stay at Muyunzhai tonight. You are to be there tomorrow morning to wait for him."
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