Chapter 71 Welcome-Away-Dust Banquet
Early the next morning, a series of clattering and banging sounds came from inside the mansion.
Ye Wanning, still half-asleep, got out of bed, opened the door, and found the servants in the mansion happily carrying something.
Ye Wanning was taken aback. She grabbed a servant and brought him in front of her. Ye Wanning frowned and asked, "What are you doing?"
The servant's face was full of smiles. "The high-ranking officials and nobles in the city have all sent their congratulatory gifts after learning that the Prince and Princess have returned safely. The Prince said that he would hold a welcoming banquet today to sweep away the filth of the past few days. Everyone is busy with this!"
Hearing this, Ye Wanning was taken aback. A welcome-back banquet? Ye Wanning frowned. What was Su Wenzhen thinking? In these turbulent times, the more flamboyant one was, the easier it would be to become a target. Yet he was holding a banquet. After a long while, she came to her senses and waved to the servant, "You may leave." It seemed she had to talk to him!
When Ye Wanning found Su Wenzhen in the study, he was having tea with Su Wenyan.
Su Wenyan was naturally delighted that his elder brother had finally decided to return to his normal life. However, after the initial joy, he was also afraid that his cunning brother might "frame" him. Upon seeing Ye Wanning, he immediately clung to her leg, saying, "Sister-in-law." Su Wenyan looked at Ye Wanning and said with a cheerful smile, "Why did you come here? I was just talking to my brother about how he married a lucky star. She's only been in the household for a short time, but she's already cured my brother's 'old ailment'."
"She's quite good at flattering," Ye Wanning raised an eyebrow. Although she didn't show much expression, it was clear she was pleased. She glanced at Su Wenzhen beside her and saw him calmly drinking his tea. "Wenzhen!"
"Hmm?" Su Wenzhen responded when Ye Wanning called him, smiling as he looked at her. "What's wrong?"
Ye Wanning frowned. "What's going on in the manor?"
"What? What happened?" Su Wenzhen looked at her, completely puzzled. "What happened?"
"It's just..." Ye Wanning gritted her teeth and said, "Did you ask the people in the manor to prepare a welcome-home banquet?"
“Yes!” Su Wenzhen nodded. “What’s wrong?”
"What's wrong..." Ye Wanning looked at him with a hint of exasperation, "Have you lost your mind? Why are you holding a welcome-back banquet at a time like this? Do you want everyone to know that you've recovered?"
As soon as Ye Wanning finished speaking, Su Wenzhen choked on his tea, coughing so hard he couldn't speak. After a long while, Su Wenzhen recovered and looked at Ye Wanning with some helplessness, "Wife, is this how you think of me?"
"I don't know if my brother's brain has been kicked by a donkey." Su Wenyan, who was standing to the side, was amused by Ye Wanning's words and laughed. He continued, "But actually, this welcoming banquet was not my brother's idea."
"Huh?" Hearing Su Wenyan say that, Ye Wanning was even more confused. She looked at Su Wenyan and asked, full of puzzlement, "What do you mean by that?"
“Actually…” Su Wenyan sighed softly, “This is all the Crown Prince’s idea.” As he spoke, he looked at Ye Wanning with a mournful expression, “Sister-in-law, you have no idea, that guy has been keeping me under house arrest. If it weren’t for the fact that he needed me to deliver a message this time, he probably would never have let me out!”
Ye Wanning frowned. Su Wenyan's actions were obvious. Su Wenyan had always favored Wenzhen, and his actions were simply aimed at weakening Wenzhen's power. Thinking this, she looked at Su Wenzhen, who had a calm expression, and asked anxiously, "Wenzhen, what are you going to do?"
"What else can we do?" Su Wenzhen narrowed his eyes, his expression unreadable. "We'll deal with whatever comes our way!"
In the afternoon, when the preparations for the banquet were almost complete, guests began to arrive one after another.
Ye Wanning stood at the door, watching the guests come and go, feeling rather bored. Su Wenzhen, who was standing next to her, noticed that Ye Wanning was not in good spirits, and quickly stepped forward and asked in a low voice, "Wife, what's wrong? Did you not sleep well? Why don't you go back and rest? There's no need to entertain these people."
Ye Wanning rolled her eyes. She knew perfectly well that these so-called officials rarely visited each other before, probably because they thought Su Wenzhen was a fool. Now that Wenzhen was better, they were all scrambling to come and pay their respects and offer their congratulations. Wasn't it all because Wenzhen was favored? Thinking this, Ye Wanning couldn't help but scoff at one of the officials in front of her.
Upon hearing the noise, the official froze. Seeing that it was Ye Wanning, he turned his head and, finding that Su Wenzhen's expression was normal, had no choice but to give up.
After the official left, Su Wenzhen leaned close to Ye Wanning's ear and whispered with a half-smile, "If you like it, my wife, then laugh a few more times. I'm not used to you not laughing."
Ye Wanning blushed and glared at him, annoyed. "You smooth talker!"
"The Crown Prince has arrived!"
The two were just flirting when they heard a piercing sound.
Ye Wanning frowned, rubbing her ears uncomfortably. Before she could react, she felt a pair of hands covering her ears. Turning her head, she saw Su Wenzhen smiling at her. "If you don't like what you're hearing, I'll cover your ears for you."
"Wenzhen and his wife, I'm relieved that you two are alright!"
Just as Ye Wanning was about to speak, a familiar male voice came from behind her, and Ye Wanning immediately pulled her hand away from Su Wenzhen's.
"Greetings, Your Highness."
"No need for such formalities!" Su Wenxuan stepped forward to help the two up, and then looked at Su Wenzhen and Ye Wanning with some apology, "If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have suffered such injustice."
"Your Majesty is too kind." Su Wenzhen calmly shook off Su Wenlan's hand, then pulled Ye Wanning behind him. He looked at Su Wenlan with a smile, "If it weren't for Your Majesty, I'm afraid I wouldn't have recovered!"
Su Wenzhen's words had a double meaning, and Su Wenzhen smiled awkwardly. After a while, he looked at Ye Wanning and said jokingly, "I just saw my sister-in-law and Wenzhen having a good time. I wonder if we disturbed you two?"
"Your Highness, of course not," Ye Wanning smiled shyly.
"That's great." Su Wenzhen laughed heartily. "But seeing how well my sister-in-law and Wenzhen get along, I'm relieved. I hope they'll have a few more nephews for me to hold!"
"Thank you for your trouble, Your Highness," Su Wenzhen said casually. He then glanced at Su Wenxuan, "Your Majesty must be tired of standing. Why don't you come inside and sit down soon..."
Before he could finish speaking, a fawning male voice came from outside, "Congratulations, Prince Jin! Congratulations, Prince Jin!"
Everyone looked towards the door and saw Ye Qingyuan, Ye Wanyi, and a group of servants walking briskly towards them with congratulatory gifts.
"Prime Minister Ye, you are too kind, coming all this way on foot." Su Wenzhen greeted him with feigned politeness.
"Yes, but you're a little late, almost making everyone wait for you." Ye Wanning chimed in, as if she didn't want the world to be quiet enough. "Even the Crown Prince had to wait for you. What a great honor."
Ye Qingyuan gave an awkward laugh, but before he could speak, Ye Wanyi, who was standing to the side, couldn't hold back and started cursing, "Ye Wanning, this is still your father! Now that you've risen to a higher social status, are you going to forget your roots?"
Ye Wanning didn't reply, but just glanced coldly at Ye Wanyi. Arguing with a dog is just dirtying your mouth!
Seeing that Su Wenzhen was showing signs of anger, Ye Qingyuan quickly nudged Ye Wanyi, signaling her to be quiet. He bowed to Su Wenzhen and said somewhat apologetically, "The carriage suddenly broke down on the way." He looked at Su Wenzhen with deep regret, "I had no choice but to walk here. It took a long time. I hope Your Highness will forgive me."
"Prime Minister Ye, what are you saying!" Su Wenxuan smiled and looked at Ye Wanning. "My sister-in-law has always been sharp-tongued. As her father, how could you not know that? I am often left speechless by her!"
“I just like Wan Ning’s personality.” Su Wenzhen suddenly interjected coldly from the side.
Su Wenzhen froze, not expecting Su Wenzhen to dare contradict him in public. He felt embarrassed and didn't know what to say. Before he could recover, he heard Su Wenzhen say another sentence.
"Everyone, let's go inside! It's time for the banquet to start, and my wife will be hungry soon!" With that, Su Wenzhen led Ye Wanning into the mansion, completely ignoring the expressions of the group of people standing outside.
Turning his head and seeing Su Wenzhen's back, Su Wenzhen clenched his fists in resentment. Did he really think he could take him for granted just because he had gained some advantage? Su Wenzhen's eyes were full of gloom. He wanted to see who would have the last laugh.
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