Chapter 15 Sent to the Government
"Where is he?" Xue Lin'an asked.
“It’s just ahead,” Ye Jingshu said. “Hurry up, I’ll keep watch outside.”
Xue Lin'an nodded and walked towards the direction where Ye Wanning was hiding.
Ye Wanning sneered inwardly. They wanted to have a maid impersonate her to create the illusion that she was having an affair with Xue Lin'an! What a clumsy tactic!
She slipped behind Xue Lin'an and, taking advantage of his momentary lapse in attention, kicked him to the ground: "Ah!"
Xue Lin'an screamed and turned around to see Ye Wanning: "Ningning? What are you doing here?"
"Why can't I be here?" Ye Wanning said coldly. "Young Master Xue, what are you doing here, sneaking around like this?"
“I…I’m looking for you,” Xue Lin’an said.
"Looking for me?" Ye Wanning said, "Do I need to be so secretive to find me?"
"I..."
Just then, Ye Jingshu walked in with Ye Chengjing and several wives.
"Sister! What are you doing here with Young Master Xue?" Ye Jingshu asked, feigning surprise. "What...what are you doing?"
The ladies also looked surprised as they gazed at Ye Wanning and Xue Lin'an.
Ye Chengjing's expression was also very unpleasant.
Seeing this, Xue Lin'an's eyes lit up. He quickly scrambled to his feet and hugged Ye Wanning's leg, saying, "Ningning, I know you like me, but we can't do this! Let's find a suitable opportunity to get your father's approval for us to be together!"
Ye Wanning forcefully shook off his hand: "Xue Lin'an, what nonsense are you spouting!"
"I'm not lying!" Xue Lin'an said. "You were just throwing yourself at me, how can you deny it now?"
"You're talking complete nonsense!" Ye Wanning retorted angrily.
"Alright, stop arguing!" Ye Chengjing snapped. "What exactly is going on here?"
"Brother, don't listen to his nonsense!" Ye Wanning said. "He's the one who sneaked here, trying to pull some tricks on me!"
"You're talking nonsense!" Xue Lin'an said. "You're the one who invited me here!"
"I don't!"
The two started arguing, and several ladies nearby were gossiping about it.
"I don't think this Miss Ye is any good either; she's already having a secret rendezvous with some random man as soon as she returned home."
"Exactly, it's a disgrace to the Marquis's mansion."
Ye Wanning looked at them and laughed bitterly. They wanted to ruin her reputation? No way!
"Don't listen to his nonsense!" Ye Wanning shouted. "I never made an appointment with him! He and Ye Jingshu conspired to frame me!"
"You're talking nonsense!" Ye Jingshu said. "When did I collude with him?"
"You dare say you didn't?" Ye Wanning said. "Just now you brought a maid with you, intending for her to impersonate me and create the illusion that I was having a secret rendezvous with Young Master Xue, didn't you?"
Ye Jingshu's face paled: "I didn't!"
"You don't have one?" Ye Wanning said. "Then do you dare to let that maid come out and confront us?"
Ye Jingshu was speechless.
Two young men who looked like scholars walked in. "We can testify!" one of them said. "We were passing by just now and saw this man sneaking around following Miss Ye, and he even tried to touch her inappropriately, but Miss Ye refused!"
Another scholar nodded in agreement: "Yes, we can testify!"
Xue Lin'an's face turned deathly pale: "You're lying! I didn't!"
“We’re not lying!” the first scholar said. “We still have evidence here of what you left behind when you harassed Miss Ye!”
As he spoke, he took out the jade pendant from his pocket and handed it to Ye Chengjing: "This is something we just found on the ground; this man's name is on it."
Ye Chengjing took the jade pendant, and sure enough, the three characters "Xue Lin'an" were engraved on it. His face darkened even more, and he glared at Xue Lin'an with hatred.
"Xue Lin'an! What else do you have to say?" Ye Chengjing roared.
Xue Lin'an was so frightened that he was paralyzed and couldn't even speak.
Ye Jingshu's face turned pale; she hadn't expected things to turn out this way.
"Big brother, now you should believe me, right?" Ye Wanning said.
Ye Chengjing nodded, stepped forward, and kicked Xue Lin'an to the ground: "Shameless! How dare you harass my sister! I won't let you get away with this!"
He was about to kick again when Ye Wanning stopped him.
"Brother, stop hitting him, take him to the authorities."
Ye Chengjing nodded and said to his servants, "Tie him up and take him to the authorities!"
The servants rushed forward and began to tie the person up.
Xue Lin'an struggled and shouted, "I'm innocent! Ye Jingshu made me do this!"
Ye Jingshu was so frightened that she backed away, shouting, "You're lying! I didn't!"
The ladies also looked at Ye Jingshu, their eyes filled with suspicion.
"Alright, let's go," Ye Wanning said.
Ye Chengjing nodded and left with Ye Wanning.
Watching their retreating figures, Ye Jingshu's face turned deathly pale. She knew she had lost again.
Xue Lin'an was sent to the authorities and quickly convicted. There was no conclusive evidence that he had any improper intentions towards Ye Jingshu; he was simply given a severe beating and banished from the capital, his reputation utterly ruined.
Ye Jingshu was also severely scolded by Minister Ye for this matter and was confined to her quarters for an even longer period of time.
The Marquis's residence finally returned to peace. Ye Wanning continued to go to Zhou Shi's place every day to learn etiquette, but Zhou Shi's attitude had improved considerably, as if she was afraid of causing any more trouble.
That day, seeing an opening, Ye Wanning changed into men's clothing and slipped out of the Marquis's residence. The silver she had won at Jucaifang last time was almost gone, and she needed to earn some more.
When we arrived at Jucaifang, it was still bustling with activity.
Just as Ye Wanning was about to find a table to sit down, she saw a middle-aged man in a brocade robe sitting at a table with a lot of silver in front of him, indicating that he had won quite a bit.
The man had an elegant demeanor and sharp eyes; he was clearly no ordinary person.
Ye Wanning felt a jolt in her heart, thinking that this man looked familiar, as if she had seen him somewhere before.
She thought for a moment and suddenly remembered that this person was Prime Minister Pei, whom she had met at the welcoming banquet.
What's he doing here? And he's dressed casually, looking like he's playing cards.
Curious, Ye Wanning walked over and sat down opposite him.
"Sir, would you mind if I joined?" Ye Wanning deliberately lowered her voice, pretending to be a young boy.
Pei Zhi looked up and saw it was Ye Wanning. A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, but he quickly smiled and said, "Of course I don't mind."
Pei Zhi looked her over and seemed to recognize her.
Ye Wanning recognized them too, but she didn't say anything. She picked up the cards and started playing.
Before long, after several rounds, Pei Zhi's card skills were indeed excellent, and he had exceptionally good luck, losing very little. However, he didn't use any tricks; he relied entirely on his genuine ability.
Ye Wanning, of course, would not back down either, and used her true skills to fight him off, the two being evenly matched.
Those watching were dumbfounded, never expecting that this little kid was so skilled that he could actually fight to a draw with "Mr. Pei".
"Young man, your card skills are quite good," Pei Zhi said with a smile.
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