Chapter 36 Jiang Xiuyuan
But at this point, who could still eat?
Upon entering the third floor, one finds the people from their imperial examination hall, who crowd around Ye Jianshan and lead him to sit in the center.
Ye Jianshan sat down next to Luo Shaohui and said apologetically, "Sorry I'm late."
"It's alright."
They actually saw Ye Jianshan's carriage parked by the roadside, but it moved again soon afterward, so they didn't go up to disturb it.
Ye Jianshan meant that he was there to eat. The food at Jingfulou was quite good, and everyone was hungry after a day of exams. He immediately said, "Try it, it's all very good. We can come again next time."
"That would be perfect."
Everyone was happy to hear this.
The meal was simple, and everyone's appetite improved considerably, easing the tension of the imperial examination.
Normally, gatherings and meals aren't just about eating right away; we usually have to compose poems and exchange pleasantries first, then flatter each other. Unlike today, we can just start eating as soon as we say we're going.
Ye Jianshan's simple and straightforward personality made many people less afraid of him and more fond of him.
In less than a quarter of an hour, everyone had almost finished eating. Ye Jianshan was in a hurry to go home. Seeing that no one was moving, he stood up and said, "I'll go first. It's my treat today."
After saying that, Guo Yu, who had just come in to settle the payment, nodded, and Ye Jianshan bowed and left.
Cui Jianbing had originally planned for Ye Jianshan to host the event, but he didn't expect Ye Jianshan to act so quickly, and the opportunity to gain favor was handed over to him.
Everyone watched Ye Jianshan leave, and seeing that all the main characters had left, they also got up to say goodbye.
The third floor was suddenly much emptier; no one came up to greet Cui Jianbing.
With Ye Jianshan around, what does the grandson of the chief minister matter?
Jiang Xiuyuan had almost finished eating and had just put down his chopsticks when he heard a commotion upstairs. It was Ye Jianshan and Guo Yu who strode down.
He immediately retorted to Feng Xing.
The other people at the table were also staring at Feng Xing. It wasn't just their table; people at other tables who knew Ye Jianshan's identity were also watching him. Among them, only Feng Xing had met Ye Jianshan more often.
Feng Xing stood up, and Ye Jianshan raised an eyebrow. He had seen Feng Xing when he went upstairs, but he didn't expect him to still be there. He wondered what Feng Xing was up to now.
"I have met Ye Huiyuan."
As soon as Feng Xing finished speaking, everyone else stood up and shouted in unison, "Greetings, Ye Huiyuan."
I almost forgot, we can't call him "Little Imperial Grandson" yet.
Ye Jianshan cupped his hands in greeting and called out to Feng Xing, "What a coincidence, Young Master Feng is here too."
"Yes, what a coincidence. By the way, this is Young Master Jiang Xiuyuan."
Feng Xing casually explained that he hadn't expected Ye Jianshan to have a strong reaction.
Ye Jianshan was about to leave when he heard this name and stopped, extending his hand to Jiang Xiuyuan: "Is he Minister Jiang's beloved son?"
Jiang Xiuyuan was terrified and quickly reached out to shake hands with Ye Jianshan: "Yes, Minister Jiang is my father."
"Yes, I've met your father. I didn't expect Young Master Jiang to be such a handsome man. I've heard so much about you."
Ye Jianshan was really worried about how to contact the Jiang family, but he didn't expect to run into them like this.
"My exams are over now. Come visit Young Master Feng and Young Master Jiang later, and don't look down on me for being ignorant."
Ye Jianshan spoke in a seemingly genuine yet feigned manner.
Feng Xing was stunned. When did Ye Jianshan become so proactive? He had ignored the three princes when they came to visit him before. He never expected that Ye Jianshan would think so highly of Jiang Xiuyuan now.
Jiang Xiuyuan was completely bewildered, though he had naturally heard of Ye Jianshan's deeds.
Ye Jianshan isn't the type to suffer internal strife simply because he lacks friends, and besides, his status doesn't require friends.
Jiang Xiuyuan nodded: "Okay, okay."
"Okay, I'll be going now. You guys continue."
Ye Jianshan left with Guo Yu, and the others immediately surrounded Jiang Xiuyuan.
"Tell me quickly, have you met Ye Huiyuan before? Why are you being so nice to him?"
"Exactly, and you're pretending you don't know me."
"I really don't know him. It's probably because of my dad. My dad has met him, as you all know."
Jiang Xiuyuan couldn't figure it out either.
What happened downstairs naturally caught the attention of the examinees upstairs, who were all quite surprised.
When has Ye Jianshan ever taken the initiative to make friends? If he needs someone to play with, he can just go to them. There's no need to go to Young Master Feng or Young Master Jiang. They even have the young master of the Prime Minister's family upstairs.
So who exactly is this Jiang Xiuyuan?
Jiang Xiuyuan couldn't take the questioning anymore and fled home.
He finally breathed a long sigh of relief once he was seated in the carriage; the young prince's attitude towards him was indeed extraordinary.
What exactly is going on here?
Once home, Jiang Xiuyuan shouted, "Where's my dad?"
"Young Master, the Master is in the study. He just returned from the palace."
Jiang Xiuyuan calculated the time; those who participated in the palace examination had just finished eating and had indeed just come out of the palace at this time.
"Okay, I understand. I'll go to the study to find him."
As soon as Jiang Xiuyuan returned home, the whole mansion knew about it.
Hearing the commotion, Madam Jiang sighed, thinking that Jiang Xiuyuan had caused trouble again: "What's going on this time? Why are you shouting like that?"
The old nanny beside her said, "The third young master heard that he has something urgent to discuss with the master. Should we send someone to check on him?"
"Xiao Tao, go and see what's wrong with the Third Young Master. We shouldn't have let him go out today."
Madam Jiang already had a lot of troubles on her hands and didn't want her son to cause her any more.
"Yes, madam."
After finishing discussing the Third Young Master's matter, Madam Jiang asked, "That person from Mingxin Courtyard saw the Crown Princess and the others in Qingyang? Why didn't anyone tell me?"
Madam Jiang went out on some business and only learned that Ye Yun had come to visit her today as evening approached.
Everyone knows Ye Yun's identity now; she is the Crown Princess, and her son is the only son of the current Crown Prince.
He will later become the Crown Prince, the future emperor.
She had barely gotten home when a whole host of things came rushing at her, and before she could even figure out what was going on, Jiang Xiuyuan's noisy commotion started coming from outside. She was completely overwhelmed.
After listening to the servant's report, Granny Chen recounted the Crown Princess's visit that day.
"They said they came to see you, Madam. They are old acquaintances of the Second Miss and only learned that she had also returned to the capital, so they came to visit her."
When Granny Chen mentioned the Second Miss, her expression became somewhat unnatural.
The second young lady is not Madam Jiang's biological daughter; only the eldest young lady and the third young master in the mansion are Madam Jiang's children.
The eldest son and the second daughter were born to Minister Jiang's first wife, and the other young sons and daughters were born to concubines. Only these four were born of the principal wife.
The current Madam Jiang was made the official wife after the death of Minister Jiang's first wife.
The eldest son is currently serving as an official in another city, and the second daughter has been living in Qingyang for many years. It's time for them to get married, so the old lady remembered them and called them back to the capital.
Madam Jiang has been so worried about the marriages of her sons and daughters that she can't sleep lately.
Granny Chen said with some concern, "The second young lady has been on a hunger strike recently and refuses to see anyone..."
They say they're looking at each other, but really it's about settling down.
The Jiang family and the Duke of Anguo's family had a betrothal between their children. Since the eldest daughter was unwilling to marry into the impoverished Duke of Anguo's family, the only option was for the second daughter, who had been living in Qingyang, to return and arrange a marriage.
But the second young lady has always had a fiery temper, otherwise Madam Jiang wouldn't have forced her to go to Qingyang to live.
Madam Jiang was also worried about this, but if she didn't marry him, who would? The eldest daughter, Jiang Chan, was infatuated with Cui Jianbing, the grandson of the chief minister, and insisted on marrying no one but him.
After much thought, the only option left was to send the second young lady, Jiang Song, to the Duke of Anguo's mansion, where there were only two young ladies of similar age.
The others were too young, and the Duke of Anguo's mansion couldn't wait any longer, so they kept urging them.
What Granny Chen said was also what Madam Jiang was worried about; that was the Crown Princess.
What if Jiang Song said something to the Crown Princess...?
Madam Jiang nervously twisted her handkerchief, but she quickly composed herself: "I was just worried about her marriage. The Duke of Anguo's mansion is not bad either. I didn't do anything wrong."
Being a stepmother is difficult enough, it's already quite kind of her to be willing to worry about the second young lady's marriage.
After thinking about it, Granny Chen agreed with the logic and didn't suggest marrying the second young lady off to a dangerous place.
Marrying into the Duke of Anguo's mansion was a highly coveted marriage opportunity.
“What you say makes sense.”
Madam Jiang felt a little more at ease, but she still wanted to go to Mingxin Courtyard to check on things; she couldn't let the blame for the hunger strike fall on her.
She's too busy trying to curry favor with the Crown Princess to want to cause trouble for herself and offend her.
"Tomorrow, Madam Ye will personally visit the Ye residence to meet with Madam Ye."
After thinking for a moment, Madam Jiang suggested that since the Crown Princess had come to the Ye residence today but had not seen anyone, it would be most reasonable for her to go to the Ye residence in person to inform them.
Moreover, this could also boost her status and help her integrate into the circle of wealthy women in Beijing.
Over the years, because she was promoted to the position of Crown Princess and had a lower status, she was not well-liked in the circle. But now everyone wants to curry favor with the Crown Princess, so she has to be the first to try it.
In the study, Jiang Xiuyuan told Minister Jiang what had happened at Jingfu Restaurant. When he heard that the young prince had only paid attention to him because of Minister Jiang, Minister Jiang almost spat out his tea.
"Is that really what they say?"
“It’s really Dad, he mentioned you.”
Jiang Xiuyuan thought about it for a moment, and that's exactly what happened.
Minister Jiang put down his teacup, wiped his mouth, and found it a bit strange: "That's strange indeed. Your father has only spoken three sentences to the young prince in the few times he's met him. I didn't expect the young prince to speak so highly of me? Are you sure he's not as enthusiastic about you as he is about Feng Er?"
"It's confirmed, the young prince doesn't like Feng Er very much."
Jiang Xiuyuan was somewhat smug.
Minister Jiang was getting a little carried away, never expecting that he would be more favored by the young prince than Minister Feng.
That old fellow, Minister Feng, is nothing special.
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Author's note: Goodnight! [Sprinkling flowers]
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