The Ling family members nodded to show they understood, feeling both touched and fortunate that Princess Chen and the Yang family cared about Xuanxuan. It was indeed Xuanxuan’s blessing.
Yang Mengchen waved his hand, and the Ling family members left accordingly.
Seeing a hint of weariness in his beloved wife’s brows, Long Xuanmo stood up, walked behind her, and began to rub her shoulders with just the right amount of pressure, his eyes brimming with tenderness and anger.
Following his own temperament, he would have killed Ling Yongxu outright and not bothered with the Ling family’s affairs, but he knew Ah Jiu cared deeply about her relatives. Therefore, no matter how irritated he was, he could not interfere. The most important thing now was to take good care of Ah Jiu.
Leaning back in her chair and snuggling into Long Xuanmo’s embrace, Yang Mengchen slightly closed her eyes, feeling his gentleness and care, her heart filled with happiness.
"Jiujiu, we made a fortune today..."
Nangong Lingfei and the others suddenly burst in excitedly, thinking that because of the Ling family affair, Jiujiu must be in a bad mood, so they decided to cheer her up with their monetary gains. However, they didn’t expect to walk in on such an affectionate scene, with Nangong Lingfei, Meng Jinghui, and Luo Jingfan suddenly standing awkwardly at the door.
The people behind them didn’t expect Nangong Lingfei and the others to stop abruptly without warning, and due to inertia, they all tumbled forward, ending up in a pile at the living room door.
Yang Mengchen opened her eyes and saw the state everyone was in, unsure whether to cry or to laugh.
Sister Jin and the others followed in: "Prince and princess, please forgive us, we couldn’t stop them."
With a wave of her hand, Yang Mengchen smiled at the slowly rising crowd: "It’s only mid-May, far from the New Year. You didn’t need to pay your respects to me just yet. And there are no red envelopes either!"
Hearing Yang Mengchen’s teasing, everyone let out a sigh of relief, and Nangong Lingfei and the others began cracking jokes, quickly warming up the atmosphere.
"Jiujiu, you gave paintings and calligraphy to those who got married, but you haven’t given any to me." After some laughter, Nangong Lingfei remembered the serious matter and looked at Yang Mengchen with mock disappointment: "Jiujiu, you can’t play favorites. You should at least give me three sets, to comfort my wounded heart."
Long Xuanmo cast a cold glance in their direction.
His icy gaze made Nangong Lingfei shiver involuntarily, but for the sake of the paintings and calligraphy, he chose to ignore it and continued to stare straight at Yang Mengchen.
Squeezing Long Xuanmo’s hand discreetly, Yang Mengchen smiled and said, "Alright, but let’s wait until I’m free to discuss it."
"When will you be free?" Nangong Lingfei asked.
Yang Mengchen shrugged her shoulders, indicating she didn’t know when she would be free either.
Realizing Jiujiu was just stringing him along, Nangong Lingfei’s face fell, and his eyes filled with an accusatory and aggrieved look.
Yang Mengchen’s eyes were smiling, as everyone around her burst into laughter.
After dinner, everyone bid farewell and headed home.
After asking Yang Chengyu to send a letter home to share the good news, Yang Mengchen, Long Xuanmo, and Chu Dieyi returned to Prince Mansion. The three of them stayed in their room until midnight, after which Chu Dieyi returned to her guest room.
Today, everyone in Prince Mansion had made a lot of money, so they naturally worked harder than usual, and the entire Prince Mansion was filled with joy.
The following day, Yang Mengchen and her group arrived at the competition venue on time.
Everyone’s gaze was drawn to the musical instrument in Hai Tang’s arms, wrapped in cloth and unrecognizable by its shape, wondering if Princess Chen would bring another surprise to everyone today, or to put it accurately, a sensation!
The majority of people were skeptical of Princess Chen’s odds the day before, but they ended up losing miserably. Today, the betting houses had already sealed the bets early on, and they couldn’t change them even if they wanted to.
Prince Duan’s eyes were bloodshot as he stared at Yang Mengchen; having already lost five hundred thousand taels, he had drunk himself into oblivion upon returning to his mansion. If Yang Mengchen won again, his losses would be tremendous, so he was hoping for her defeat.
Prince Jing, however, had a calm expression, and his profound gaze revealed nothing of his thoughts.
As per the rules, the musical instrument performance was scheduled first in the morning, followed by singing, with dance as the final event.
Old Hai asked Yang Mengchen if she had any demands as usual. Seeing her shake her head, he then allowed the contestants to come forward to draw their performance numbers.
Yang Mengchen was particularly lucky, drawing the third-to-last number.
Holding her number and sitting next to Long Xuanmo, Lv Luo and the others quickly brought over a variety of fruits and placed them on the table in front of her. Long Xuanmo picked up an apple, peeled it, and cut it into small pieces, placing them on a plate. With one hand holding the plate and the other picking up a small piece of apple with a bamboo skewer, he fed Yang Mengchen, who ate it with ease.
Long Xuanmo’s doting and considerate nature towards Yang Mengchen made all the young ladies present envious.
Especially Qi Qiuxin, who wished she could rush up to kick Yang Mengchen away and take her place. But remembering the warning from her Imperial Brother the night before, she could only suppress her jealousy and resentment.
Overall, the musical instrument competition went very well; all the contestants performed admirably, particularly Princess Yashuang and Hai Ruofeng, who stood out, earning nods from Yang Mengchen.
Actually, Su Manru’s instrument was also good. However, it paled in comparison to the previous contestants.
To Yang Mengchen’s surprise, Qi Qiuxin was not only proficient in the guzheng, but her performance level was high as well. Seated in front of the zither, Qi Qiuxin also appeared dignified and elegant.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
