Chapter 69 Is she out of her mind? ...
What's that sound over there?
"It sounds like someone is shouting."
"Go and take a look."
Liu Pan'er's voice attracted people.
Caught glimpses of fabric peeking through the gaps in the trees, Cui Tingyue quickly reached out to help Liu Pan'er, saying, "Miss Liu, let me help you."
"Get away, don't touch me." Liu Pan'er raised her hand and waved it wildly. This person was simply crazy. Who knew what else a madman wanted to do?
Taking advantage of Liu Pan'er's angry shoving motion, Cui Tingyue fell to the ground. "Miss Liu, I just wanted to help you up."
Several noble ladies happened to come out and witnessed the entire pushing incident.
Seeing the two sitting on the ground, they rushed over to help them up, asking, "What happened? How did you fall?"
One of the ladies noticed a reddish abrasion on Cui Tingyue's forehead. "How did you get this injury, young lady?"
Cui Tingyue raised her hand to cover the injury on her forehead, glancing at Liu Pan'er without saying a word.
Liu Pan'er was immediately enraged by her gaze, "She threw the stone herself."
Cui Tingyue didn't explain, but raised her hand that was covering the injury, turning it outward to reveal the scratches on her palm.
Upon seeing this, none of the noble ladies believed Liu Pan'er, after all, they had personally witnessed Liu Pan'er pushing the person.
One of the noble ladies, known for her outspokenness, immediately asked, "Then the injury on her palm was also caused by her own fall?"
"She did it herself." Liu Pan'er's face flushed with anger, feeling utterly wronged.
Two noble ladies went to help Liu Pan'er up, but she refused to get up and kept yelling, "Ah, it hurts so much, pull me gently."
Cui Tingyue, however, stood up with a look of suppressed pain. Without bothering anyone, one of the noble ladies, dressed in a light purple dress, handed Cui Tingyue a handkerchief. "This injury on your hand looks painful. Quickly, take this handkerchief and wrap it around your hand."
Cui Tingyue took the handkerchief in a weak voice and thanked her, saying, "Thank you."
Seeing that Liu Pan'er was still howling on the ground, Cui Tingyue stepped forward and reached out her hand, "Miss Liu, let me help you up."
With a snap.
Liu Pan'er slapped Cui Tingyue's outstretched hand, knocking the handkerchief from her hand.
"Get out of here, I don't need you. You're the one who caused my injury, so stop pretending."
Cui Tingyue bent down to pick up the handkerchief, clasped her hands together, and said somewhat awkwardly, "No, I..."
The noblewoman was very unhappy that the handkerchief she had borrowed was knocked off, and she scolded, "Liu Pan'er, you've gone too far."
The ladies exchanged glances, feeling that Liu Pan'er was being overly affected.
One of them said, "Miss Liu, if you don't get up, we won't pull you up anymore. We'll wait for the eunuchs and maids to help you up in a bit."
Liu Pan'er said discontentedly, "Who said I wasn't getting up?"
"Sister Tingyue." Xu Ci'an walked slowly. Seeing that there were quite a few people, she stepped forward. Looking at the petals scattered all over the ground and Liu Pan'er, who was being helped up and was still groaning, she didn't know what had happened.
Liu Pan'er looked extremely pained and pointed at Cui Tingyue, saying, "You dare to harm me, I will definitely tell my aunt about this."
Cui Tingyue said apologetically, "I didn't."
“You still say you don’t? These flowers are proof.” Liu Pan’er pointed to the flower petals on the ground.
A noblewoman asked in confusion, "How can flower petals... harm people?"
Cui Tingyue clasped her hands to her chest. "I'm sorry, it was me who spilled it. I just wanted Miss Liu to stop and listen to my explanation, but I didn't expect Miss Liu to misunderstand me. I'm really sorry."
Liu Pan'er was furious: "Nonsense, you're doing this on purpose."
"Did they deliberately shower you with flowers?"
"Pfft..."
Some people laughed out loud, saying that it's really harmful, there's no such thing as scattering flowers, this can't harm anyone.
The noble ladies exchanged glances. They were all from the same circle and knew that Liu Pan'er liked to act arrogantly because she had a concubine as her aunt.
People showered her with flowers, and she still sued them for harming her; it's utterly unreasonable.
The noblewoman in a light purple dress looked at Cui Tingyue and asked, "How did you get this injury on your face?"
Cui Tingyue glanced cautiously at Liu Pan'er: "I smashed it myself."
Seeing that she looked afraid of Liu Pan'er, the noble lady protected her and said, "Don't be afraid."
As she spoke, she looked at Liu Pan'er, her voice turning colder, "Liu Pan'er, you've gone too far. A woman's appearance is of utmost importance, and you've actually ruined her face."
Liu Pan'er shook off the noble ladies who were supporting her and looked at the noble lady in the light purple dress. "Ye Zhilan, don't wrong me. She hurt herself with that head injury. I didn't do it."
Xu Ci'an whispered, "But you threw oranges at me and Sister Tingyue."
The ladies immediately looked at Liu Pan'er with questioning eyes.
Liu Pan'er hesitated, "I... I only threw two fruits, I didn't hit you. Don't slander me. You... you ganged up on me. I'm going to tell my aunt right now."
Seeing the reproachful looks from everyone, Liu Pan'er was too angry to explain herself, so she left with some harsh words and limped away.
The noble ladies exchanged bewildered glances. She threw fruit at them; did she have the nerve to be in the right?
Ye Zhilan looked at Cui Tingyue and said, "Don't worry, even if the Imperial Concubine questions you, we will be there to testify for you. It's unreasonable for her to throw things at you and falsely accuse you of harming her."
Cui Tingyue covered her palm and said softly, "My mother is still in the Empress's palace. I'll go find her first."
Cui Tingyue was telling the group that since Liu Pan'er had a concubine, she could also seek out the Empress, and no one needed to give way to anyone else.
Ye Zhilan immediately became interested, "Young lady, you look unfamiliar. May I ask whose daughter you are?"
Another noblewoman explained, "She is the adopted daughter of Commissioner Jiang last year. Oh right, Sister Ye hadn't returned to Jin'an last year and hadn't met Miss Cui."
"If only I had come back sooner, I could have met you sooner." Ye Zhilan looked Cui Tingyue up and down, her gaze falling on the scar on her forehead. "I'll go with you to the Empress's place, and I'll have the palace maids fetch the imperial physician. A woman's appearance is the most important thing; we can't let her have a scar."
"That's right, an injury on the face is no small matter. We need to get the imperial physician to take a look at it right away."
The others chimed in, "Yes, yes, your hand needs bandaging too. It's bleeding. We'll stay with you."
"Thank you so much."
A group of noble ladies departed.
After they left, the Sixth Prince looked at his cousin from a distance by the waterside pavilion, pointed to his head and said, "Is there something wrong with this adopted daughter of the Jiang family?"
Hitting yourself on the head with a rock? Is that something a human being would do?
They were far away and didn't know what these people were saying. They only saw Jiang's adopted daughter throw stones at herself and then rush up to scatter flowers at Liu Pan'er.
It looks incredibly strange.
The Sixth Prince felt that Cui Tingyue might have some kind of illness, and her behavior was too strange. "Why don't I go and talk to the Empress Dowager and get that token back?"
Han Mu didn't reply, but instead said, "Aren't there concubines among those people that your aunt has chosen for you? Why don't you take a closer look at their character?"
The Sixth Prince waved his hand: "Don't change the subject, let's talk about your business. Speaking of which, she was only adopted by the Jiang family as their goddaughter last year. I heard she is still in mourning and rarely goes out. I know very little about her temperament and character. I didn't expect her to be such a... If I had known, I shouldn't have put the things in the sachet."
Han Mu glanced at him: "If you hadn't kept it from me, I would have taken back Grandmother's keepsake long ago."
At this point, the Sixth Prince realized he was in the wrong, because it was indeed true that he had kept it from him for two months. He smiled sheepishly and said, "I just wanted you to complete the task that Grandmother gave to Mother as soon as possible."
Seeing Han Mu start rubbing his wrists, the Sixth Prince immediately said, "Mother should be calling us soon, let's go."
-Imperial Garden-
When Liu Pan'er arrived, the Imperial Concubine's palanquin had just arrived, and she immediately rushed over, crying, "Auntie, waaaah..."
"Mother." Cui Tingyue saw Zhao Xian standing next to the Empress and called out.
She didn't cry as loudly and conspicuously as Liu Pan'er, but she was just like a pitiful little girl who had been wronged, silent and quiet, but the injuries on her face were clearly exposed.
Zhao Xian: "Tingyue, what happened to your forehead? Who hurt you?"
The mark on his forehead was so obvious that no one could ignore it.
The Empress's voice turned colder. "What happened? Who did this?"
Ye Zhilan, who accompanied Cui Tingyue back, said, "Your Majesty, I heard that it was Miss Liu who threw the stone."
Liu Pan'er was crying when she heard this and immediately retorted, "I didn't, she threw the stone at me herself."
Cui Tingyue nodded and knelt down as she explained, "It was my own fault that I bumped into the stone; it has nothing to do with Miss Liu."
She changed her story.
"See? She admitted it herself." As she spoke, Liu Pan'er tugged at the concubine's sleeve. "Aunt, she deliberately scared me with the flowers, making me fall down. It hurts so much."
The Empress and the Imperial Concubine were unaware of the reason.
Zhao Xian looked around and asked in confusion, "How could you have bumped into a rock out of nowhere?"
Xu Ci'an stepped forward and knelt down, lifting her skirt as well. "Your Majesty, when my sister Tingyue and I went to see the bleeding heart, Miss Liu suddenly appeared and threw oranges at us."
The Empress was helped to sit down in the main seat, looked at Liu Pan'er, and asked, "Why did you throw oranges at people?"
Liu Pan'er's face turned pale, and she was even pinched by the Imperial Concubine.
She didn't throw stones at anyone, but she did throw oranges.
Before she could speak, Cui Tingyue explained, "Miss Liu was trying to stand up for a girl surnamed Lang, saying that my sworn brother had wronged her. But my sworn brother didn't do those things. Miss Liu won't listen to my explanation..."
The noblewoman next to her chimed in, "If they won't listen to your explanation, they'll just throw oranges at them. How domineering!"
The noble ladies whispered among themselves. They had also heard the rumors about Young Master Jiang's seduction and abandonment, but no one took it seriously, and naturally no one was foolish enough to stand up for Miss Na Lang.
Since we don't know each other, we might as well just listen and move on.
However, judging from Liu Pan'er's actions, there really are people who stand up for that commoner!
Upon hearing the name of the girl surnamed Lang, Zhao Xian realized it was her turn to step in. She had a premonition before entering the palace, but she never expected that this matter would actually lead to a dispute.
“I know that Miss Lang, but she is not my son’s savior. The story is like this…”
She had asked Jiang Wei about the matter in Changzhou, so Zhao Xian explained the details thoroughly, which also helped to clarify the rumors circulating outside.
After Zhao Xian finished speaking, the ladies and young women present exchanged glances. What a joke! What was Liu Pan'er after?
“Miss Liu, even if my son has made a mistake, he and his father will discipline him. Even if we discipline him improperly, as an official of the court, he will be subject to supervision and impeachment by the censors, and then punished by the Emperor.”
Zhao Xian deliberately emphasized the phrase "official appointed by the imperial court," and after catching her breath, she continued:
"No matter what, it's not up to Miss Liu, an unmarried young lady, to interfere in this matter. You're using the slogan of upholding justice to humiliate my daughter, throwing things at her, and even if she's injured, can you afford to compensate for it? Is this how the Liu family teaches you to be human?"
Zhao Xian looked at Cui Tingyue's forehead injury with a pained expression. In a way, she was implicated by Jiang Wei.
What a beautiful face! I wonder if ancient ointments could remove it if it were scarred.
After hearing this, Liu Pan'er's face grew even paler, and even Madam Liu looked greatly alarmed.
"Pan'er, apologize to Miss Jiang." The Imperial Concubine glanced at Liu Pan'er, her voice stern.
Zhao Xian looked at the Imperial Concubine and said, "Your Highness, my daughter's surname is Cui."
The Imperial Concubine was somewhat embarrassed, especially since it was her niece who had made the mistake first. She gave an awkward smile and secretly glared at Liu Pan'er, saying, "Apologize to Miss Cui right now."
Liu Pan'er was very unhappy, but she had no choice but to lower her head. "I'm sorry, I misunderstood your sworn brother because I didn't know the details, and I almost hurt you."
Ye Zhilan, who had been helping Cui Tingyue, spoke up again: "What do you mean by 'almost'? The wound on your forehead and the wound on your palm, aren't those injuries?"
Liu Pan'er: "She did all of that herself."
However, no one believed her, mainly because she had thrown oranges at people first. As for how Cui Tingyue got those injuries, no one cared and just assumed that it was her fault.
The Imperial Concubine said gently, "Pan'er was ignorant, so I apologize to Miss Cui on her behalf. I've worn this red coral bracelet for many years; consider it a gift to Miss Cui as an apology."
Cui Tingyue glanced at the Empress and Zhao Xian, unsure of what to do.
It was the Empress who spoke up: "Take it. It is not right to refuse a gift from an elder. However, since it was Miss Liu who injured the person, the Liu family should offer another gift as compensation."
Madam Liu immediately agreed.
After Qi An took the bracelet for Cui Tingyue.
The Empress continued, "The Liu family girl made a mistake first and then caused trouble in the palace. She is to be punished by copying the 'Rules for Women' and 'Admonitions for Women' fifty times each."
Liu Pan'er almost lost her balance; how long would it take her to copy it a hundred times?
The imperial physician arrived, bandaged Cui Tingyue's wound, and said that it wouldn't leave a scar, which put Zhao Xian at ease.
With Cui Tingyue tugging at her sleeve, seemingly trying to stop her from arguing any further, Zhao Xian didn't say anything more.
As for Liu Pan'er, she threw herself into the Consort's arms and cried loudly, but because she fell on her buttocks, she stammered and refused to say anything.
The Imperial Concubine found him shameful and led him away from the banquet.
With the eunuch announcing the start of the flower-viewing banquet, everyone took their seats, and the matter was thus concluded.
As she walked toward their seats, Cui Tingyue whispered to Zhao Xian, "Mother, I've used up all the magic flower petals."
She couldn't really hit Liu Pan'er, as that would leave her with a handle and make things more complicated. But scaring Liu Pan'er and teaching her a lesson was acceptable, as long as she did it discreetly.
Zhao Xian said in a low voice, "It's alright, we'll use it. This flower appreciation banquet has nothing to do with us, so we probably won't let you perform."
Cui Tingyue looked puzzled.
Zhao Xian explained in a low voice, "Her Majesty the Empress asked me to stay and talk because she wanted to arrange a marriage between you and her nephew."
Cui Tingyue was even more puzzled, "I've never even met them, how could they be interested in me?"
"Her Majesty the Empress said you two are destined to be together, but she didn't go into too much detail. She just wanted you to take a look today, and if you find someone you like..." As she was speaking, a lady greeted her, and Zhao Xian stopped talking.
As the eunuch announced the arrival of the Sixth Prince and Young Master Han, everyone's eyes turned to the two men who were walking towards them.
From his attire, everyone could immediately recognize the Sixth Prince.
Cui Tingyue also looked over and only saw two profiles. She guessed that the man following behind the Sixth Prince must be the Empress's nephew.
His profile isn't bad, and he has a tall and good figure.
As I was looking at them, the other person suddenly turned and looked at me.
Upon seeing her face, Cui Tingyue was slightly amazed.
She wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but the face seemed familiar, as if she had seen it before, though she couldn't quite place it.
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Author's Note: I've fixed a lot of bugs, thank you everyone. Love you all! [Sprinkling flowers emojis]
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