Chapter 21 A Show of Force
As soon as Ye Wanning entered the main hall, she sensed that something was off. She glanced at Madam Ye, whose face was somewhat pale, and then at Su Wenzhen, who was still completely bewildered, and... Su Wenyan, who was laughing heartily... Ye Wanning facepalmed. These two were so unreliable. Su Wenzhen was alright, but Su Wenyan... he just seemed like a complete idiot...
Upon seeing Ye Wanning enter, Madam Ye immediately composed herself and put on a smile. "Wanning's back? How did things go with your father? He's been talking to me all the time these past few days, saying he misses you terribly!"
"If that old man really keeps saying he misses me, I might as well be dead," Ye Wanning thought to herself. But when she turned around, she was all smiles again. "Now that I'm married, it's been hard on my second sister. She's all alone with you two. I was quite surprised when Father called me over. Seeing him with tears streaming down his face, I knew he missed me terribly. And I feel the same way."
At this point, Ye Wanning pretended to wipe away non-existent tears from the corners of her eyes. "It's just that Wenzhen is stupid and too simple-minded. I really can't bear to leave him. If I leave him in the Prince's mansion, I'm afraid he'll be bullied by the servants. If I bring him to the Prime Minister's mansion, I'm afraid his unruly nature will cause some trouble. So I have no choice but to... I have no choice but to..." As if she was getting emotional, Ye Wanning began to sob.
Seeing Ye Wanning's aggrieved appearance, Su Wenyan was taken aback. He then glanced at his elder brother sitting to the side and felt a chill run down his spine. These two were such good actors! He couldn't help but shudder, and he felt even more strongly that pleasing his second sister-in-law was absolutely necessary!
Hearing Ye Wanning's words, Madam Ye was slightly stunned. When she entered just now, Ye Wanning was still aggressive, but after only a short while, how did she become so docile? She frowned, and although she was a little puzzled, the Fourth Prince and the others were all there, so she couldn't say much due to her status. She could only agree, "As long as you have this intention, that's enough. Your father will understand."
"Really?" Ye Wanning looked up, her eyes slightly red. "Let's not talk about that now." Ye Wanning sniffed. "When I came in just now, I saw that Auntie's face didn't look too good. Could it be that Wenzhen offended Auntie in some way?"
"Ah..." Before Madam Ye could say anything, Su Wenyan interjected, "Madam Ye was just chatting with my second brother about family matters. She asked him a few questions, but he didn't respond. I'm afraid he's unhappy!"
"No..." Madam Ye was about to explain something when Ye Wanning interrupted her, saying to Su Wenzhen, "Wenzhen, how can you be so rude! This is my aunt! And your mother too! You have to call her 'Mother'! How can you ignore her!"
These words sounded like Ye Wanning was supporting her, but upon closer inspection, Madam Ye was shocked and quickly explained to Su Wenzhen and the others, "Wanning has always been this stubborn since she was a child. Prince Jin and the Fourth Prince shouldn't take this seriously!"
“Auntie!” Ye Wanning frowned, her voice growing louder. She looked at Madam Ye and said, “The reason you’re angry is because Wenzhen hasn’t fulfilled his filial duty. Since you are my mother, then he is your son! It’s his fault for ignoring you! Of course, we should talk to him! How can we tolerate it?”
Madam Ye noticed Su Wenyan's increasingly grim expression and inwardly groaned. She had just been saying that Ye Wanning had become docile and submissive, only to discover she'd dug this pit for her! Just as she was about to say something, Su Wenzhen, who had been sitting silently to the side, suddenly spoke up, "Mother..."
"Bang!" Su Wenyan slammed his hand on the table. "This is outrageous!" He stood up, glaring angrily at Madam Ye. "Even my imperial brother is calling you Empress Dowager now! Does Madam Ye want to become Empress?!"
"Fourth Prince, please calm down! Fourth Prince, please calm down!" Upon hearing Su Wenyan's words, Madam Ye was terrified and immediately knelt down to beg for mercy, "This humble woman dares not! This humble woman dares not!"
Ye Wanning stood aside, watching the flustered Madam Ye with a hint of schadenfreude. "Ha, serves you right for bullying me before! Today I'll give you a taste of your own medicine, and you won't dare cause any more trouble!" Thinking this, she glanced at Su Wenyan, raising an eyebrow. "Quite clever," she thought, "knowing how to cooperate with me." After leaving Madam Ye waiting for a while, Ye Wanning, knowing things couldn't escalate, spoke up to explain on Madam Ye's behalf: "Fourth Prince, your words are too serious. My father has always been loyal to the Chu Kingdom; how could he harbor rebellious intentions?"
Seeing that Ye Wanning had spoken, Su Wenyan knew that it was about time, so he didn't continue. He just glanced at Madam Ye indifferently and asked, "Then why does my imperial brother call this woman 'Mother'?"
Ye Wanning smiled. "Don't you know his character?" Ye Wanning walked closer to Su Wenzhen and patted his head. "Wenzhen?"
"Hmm?" Su Wenzhen looked up, her eyes blurry with tears.
Ye Wanning was taken aback. "Wenzhen, what's wrong with you?"
"Wah..." Su Wenzhen suddenly burst into tears, clinging to Ye Wanning and refusing to let go, "I don't want this mother, I only have one mother, I don't want... I don't want..."
As soon as Su Wenzhen said this, the entire room fell silent. Ye Wanning gently patted his back, and after a while, when he calmed down, he coughed twice, "Ahem." She turned to look at Su Wenyan, "Your brother was frightened."
After pondering for a while, Su Wenyan suddenly realized and said, "Oh dear! I forgot that in my brother's heart, the Empress Dowager is my mother, and my mother is my mother!" As he spoke, he looked at Madam Ye apologetically, reached out to help her up, and put on his original playful expression again, "Madam Ye, I'm sorry, I didn't understand just now and startled you."
This was clearly intentional! Madam Ye gasped for breath, and it took her a while to recover from the panic. She secretly glanced at Su Wenzhen, who was hiding in Ye Wanning's arms not far away. Originally, this would not have happened, but the Prince of Jin's call of "Mother" was just right. She frowned. Is this Prince of Jin... really a fool?
"Alright, alright," Ye Wanning said coquettishly, "Wenyan, you're really making a mountain out of a molehill. If you scare Wenzhen into something bad, I won't let you off the hook."
These words sounded like a joke, but Su Wenyan's body still trembled involuntarily. He firmly believed that his second sister-in-law's words about not letting him off the hook were true... Su Wenyan couldn't help but feel a little teary-eyed. Indeed, family is family! He was clearly the most innocent one, and besides, he had just helped his second sister-in-law so much, and she still... Su Wenyan pouted, "Sister-in-law is right... I was being presumptuous..."
The tense atmosphere of before had been replaced by a warm and inviting feeling in the main hall. Madam Ye gently brushed a stray hair behind her ear, "Wan Ning, I..."
Before Madam Ye could even speak, Ye Wanning enthusiastically suggested, "Auntie, I'm so sorry about what happened earlier. It's rare for me to come back like this. How about I accompany you for a walk in the garden? It might help calm you down."
Upon hearing this, Madam Ye's foot slipped, and her heart sank. She was already in this state! What else could she possibly do?
Seeing Madam Ye's appearance, Ye Wanning couldn't help but roll her eyes. Although going to the garden with her was an eyesore, she really didn't have any wicked thoughts at the moment! Her nature was innocent and kind!
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