Chapter 1117, The Tenderness of Prince Xiao (Twenty-nine)
Ye Yueying's move on the waterside pavilion stunned the ladies in the garden. They gathered in groups of three or four, and from time to time glanced at Ye Yueying who was sitting alone in the pavilion.
The Wang sisters, who had been ignored before, now began to be talked to by some ladies, most of whom were asking about Ye Yueying.
The Wang sisters finally got the chance to chat with the ladies from various families, and they cooperated as much as they could. Although they did not tell them everything they knew, they answered every question, and their words often disparaged Ye Yueying.
All the ladies present were raised in large families. After some inquiries, they soon got to know everything about Ye Yueying and the Wang family.
The Wang family is a fifth-rank official family, and the Ye family is of high status. Unfortunately, there is only one Ye Yueying left. After knowing this, most of the ladies could not help but look down on them.
In particular, the Wang sisters openly slandered their cousin in public. This behavior was simply stupid and caused everyone to look down on the Wang family even more.
The girls from strict family traditions distanced themselves from the Wang sisters early on, and in the end, only some people who liked to watch the show and make trouble were left around the Wang sisters.
"Miss Ye was indeed very impressive just now, but it's a pity that she might have offended someone without even realizing it."
"Isn't it? The person Miss Ye taught a lesson to was the daughter of the Minister of War. That's fine, but among those Miss Ye threw to the ground was the seventh daughter of the Yan family, the princess's own cousin."
"She is a daughter of a general, so she is very brave. She even dared to hurt people in the princess's mansion."
Upon hearing this, the Wang sisters' expressions changed. Not only did they not speak out to defend Ye Yueying, but they hated Ye Yueying in their hearts, thinking that she had brought trouble to the Wang family.
The young lady who was speaking looked at the Wang sisters' unpleasant expressions and couldn't help but chuckle. Then, with a look of sympathy, she said, "The princess will definitely be informed of what just happened. Miss Ye bullied the Yan family's daughter. I'm afraid you two will be implicated."
Miss Wang Da and Miss Wang Er's hearts suddenly tightened: "Maybe what?"
The lady smiled again and said, "Who knows, you two might be asked to leave the princess's mansion together with Miss Ye." After saying that, she looked at the Wang sisters with pity.
“Although Princess Chun’an is not often in the capital, anyone who is driven out of her house by her will probably never be welcomed by other families again in the future.”
Hearing this, Miss Wang couldn't help but look at Ye Yueying in the pavilion with resentment: "Ye Yueying is like this, she never cares about other people's lives and always does what she wants. She is just a jinx with a tough life."
After hearing this, the ladies around him looked even more mocking.
Miss Wang still had some brains. She pulled her sister and signaled her to stop talking.
Some ladies wanted to add fuel to the fire, preferably by letting the Wang sisters and Ye Yueying quarrel. Unfortunately, before they could act, Xiao Keyan arrived with a large group of people.
"Greetings, Princess. May your life be blessed with good health."
Seeing Xiao Keyan coming, the ladies in the garden changed their expressions, put on elegant smiles, and bowed politely.
Ye Yueying also walked out of the pavilion and stood outside to salute.
Xiao Keyan smiled and looked around at the ladies: "Girls, there is no need to be so polite. Today is just a gathering of us young people. Everyone should feel free to relax."
"Thank you, Princess!"
All the ladies stood up.
Xiao Keyan smiled and asked the maid behind her to place the materials for making lanterns on the stone table in the garden. "This year's Lantern Festival, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince wants to celebrate with the people. He has specially authorized the installation of lantern poles at the two gates of the palace. Lanterns selected from all over the country will be hung on them for people to enjoy."
"At the New Year's Eve banquet, I begged the Crown Prince for a long time, and finally he agreed to grant me the management rights of a lantern position."
"I've long heard that young ladies are beautiful and skillful. Today, don't hide your talents. After the lanterns are finished, I'll have people select the best ones and hang them high on the lampposts during the Lantern Festival. Then, come with me to the palace gates and the city walls to admire the lanterns together."
As soon as these words were spoken, all the ladies were excited.
Watch the lanterns with the princess, and then you will definitely be able to show up in front of the crown prince and everyone else.
"The maids have brought the materials for making lanterns. Please help yourself."
Xiao Keyan did not distribute the materials for the lanterns, but allowed the ladies to distribute them freely. Soon, the ladies with quick hands and feet had divided up all the good materials, while those who were slow could only pick up some of the bad ones.
In activities like this where there is no set amount of materials required, some people are afraid that they don't have enough materials, while others don't want to have too many competitors, so they will deliberately take more materials. As a result, some ladies cannot get any materials at all.
For example, some ladies were too embarrassed to compete for the prize due to their pride, and some ladies from weak families did not dare to compete with the powerful ladies. Another example was the marginalized Wang sisters and Ye Yueying.
Xiao Keyan looked at everything in the garden and felt a little touched. Her mother was right. People kept climbing up just to have more autonomy when making choices or being chosen by others.
If she didn't have strong parents and powerful brothers, perhaps she would be one of the ladies present today, having to fight for it.
"Seventh Miss, the princess is here. That orphan just pushed you to the ground. Go tell the princess, she will definitely help you vent your anger."
The Yan family is the maiden family of Princess Weiyuan. If Miss Yan Qi didn't go to get it, someone would take the initiative to give her the best materials for making lamps.
Yan Qi glanced at Ye Yueying in the direction of the pavilion, and saw that Miss Wu from the former Fifth Army Commander's Mansion was actually giving her the materials for making lamps. Her face immediately darkened, and she stood up to find Xiao Keyan.
Xiao Keyan also noticed the situation on Ye Yueying's side, and the corners of her mouth curled up.
There is no shortage of stupid people like the Wang sisters in this world, but there is never a shortage of smart people either.
Xiao Keyan glanced at Yan Qi walking towards her and frowned. Most of the Yan family's cousins were very discerning, but this seventh cousin was a little hard to describe.
Her mother told her privately that her seventh cousin had inherited some bad habits from her maternal grandfather, the Han family.
Xiao Keyan knew why she was looking for her, and without giving her a chance to speak, she smiled and nodded at her, then walked straight past her and headed towards the pavilion.
Seeing Xiao Keyan leave Yan Qi and walk towards Ye Yueying, all the ladies present were surprised.
Feeling everyone's gazes, Yan Qi was both embarrassed and angry. If she were at the Yan family, she would have definitely made a scene, but she knew in her heart that this was the princess's residence, and if she really dared to act recklessly, her grandparents would not help her when she returned home. So she had no choice but to sit back at the stone table with a blushing face and concentrate on making lanterns.
"Meet the princess!"
"Miss Ye, please stop being so polite."
In the pavilion, Xiao Keyan and Ye Yueying greeted each other.
Taking a closer look, Xiao Keyan discovered that her elder brother had excellent taste. This Miss Ye was the type of person who looked cool and elegant from a distance, but approachable up close. "Miss Ye, please take a seat. I've been wanting to meet you for a long time, but unfortunately, someone won't let me!"
As he said this, he winked at Ye Yueying playfully: "You said you were afraid that I would bully you."
Ye Yueying was a little dazed by Xiao Keyan's teasing look, but after a moment, her ears turned red again.
Seeing that her future sister-in-law was so easy to tease, Xiao Keyan laughed happily.
This left Ye Yueying and Miss Wu beside her stunned.
Both of them were thinking, Princess Chun'an is so lively!
The other ladies in the garden were all confused when they saw this, but they did figure out one thing: Princess Chun'an seemed to like Ye Yueying very much.
When the Wang sisters saw this, they were delighted and walked towards the pavilion.
Unfortunately, he was stopped by two maids.
It was impossible for Xiao Keyan to really ignore those ladies who didn't get the materials. Look, another maid brought a new batch of materials.
"Girls, there's still room over there, go make lanterns there."
Without waiting for the two to object, the maids enthusiastically took them somewhere else.
Facing the servants of the princess's mansion, the Wang sisters felt guilty and ended up sitting at the same table with two other ladies who also did not get the materials.
The two of them didn't know how to make lanterns, nor were they in the mood to do so. From time to time, they would look up at Ye Yueying who was chatting and laughing with Princess Chun'an in the pavilion. They secretly hated Ye Yueying in their hearts, as she had made friends with the princess but didn't even bother to call them.
In the pavilion, Xiao Keyan was chatting about all sorts of interesting things from all over the world, and asked Ye Yueying a few questions from time to time.
The questions asked may seem insignificant, but they directly point to a person's character and attitude towards life.
Ye Yueying realized it after being asked two questions, and she didn't hide it, answering all the questions according to her heart.
As a result, the two of them became more and more relaxed as they talked.
Miss Wu, who was watching the whole process, looked at Ye Yueying repeatedly. It was a good thing that her elder brother asked her to take care of Miss Ye, but she was of no use at all.
Before they knew it, it was noon, and Xiao Keyan took the other ladies to the hall to have lunch.
When everyone saw Ye Yueying being arranged to sit at the same table with Princess Chun'an, their expressions fluctuated again.
The ostensible purpose of today's banquet is to make lanterns, but everyone knows what the private purpose is.
Could it be that the royal palace has taken a fancy to this orphan girl?
At the dinner table, Xiao Keyan looked at Yan Qi with a smile: "Seventh cousin, Miss Ye is my friend, you two should get to know each other."
After all, they are relatives, and her uncle and aunt are nice to them. She doesn't want her future sister-in-law and seventh cousin to have any irreconcilable conflicts.
Yan Qi looked at Ye Yueying with a somewhat dissatisfied expression.
She knew that it was impossible for a girl from the Yan family to marry into the royal palace, but she just liked her cousin. It would be fine if her cousin fell in love with those ladies who were not as good as her, but he chose to fall in love with an orphan girl. How could she accept this?
Ye Yueying understood that Xiao Keyan wanted to resolve the conflict between them. After a moment of silence, she took the initiative to pick up the fruit wine in front of her and said, "Miss Yan Qi, I lost control of my strength just now on the waterside pavilion. I'm sorry."
Hearing this, Xiao Keyan smiled. She just said that she didn't control her strength, but there was no hint of wrongdoing in her words. Her future sister-in-law was very strong.
Yan Qi also understood what Ye Yueying meant and had no intention of paying attention to her, but when he saw Xiao Keyan looking at him with a smile, he could only pick up the wine glass reluctantly.
Xiao Keyan smiled: "After drinking this glass of wine, today's misunderstanding will be over. Okay, everyone, let's eat quickly. The lanterns are not ready yet."
After lunch, the ladies returned to the garden to continue making lanterns.
Ye Yueying had been chatting with Xiao Keyan all morning, and she didn't do anything at all. Besides, she didn't know how to make lanterns. Fortunately, Wu Yutang's sister was there.
"Thank you, Miss Wu!"
Ye Yueying is very good at hands-on work, and with the guidance of Miss Wu, she made a lotus lantern before the end.
Miss Wu smiled and shook her head. "You are my brother's friend, so you are my friend. There is no need to be polite between friends. Come on, write your name down. Those who are selected will be able to participate in the Lantern Festival later."
Soon, a maid came to collect the lanterns.
At this time, a lady asked, "Who will be judging the lanterns?"
Xiao Keyan smiled and said, "This is the first banquet I've held in the capital. My father and mother are worried and have been watching from the main courtyard. They will be judging the selections. Do you think it's okay?"
The ladies immediately became agitated.
Sure enough, today's banquet at the princess's mansion was meant to be seen by the young prince and the young duke.
The ladies' faces showed more anticipation: "It is our honor that the prince and princess would do us the honor!"
One lantern after another was sent to the main courtyard, and soon, another one was sent back.
Those sent back were not selected. The Wang sisters looked depressed as they held the lanterns they made.
Not long after, Ye Yueying saw the nanny who had delivered New Year gifts to the Wang family last time.
Ye Yueying was curious about Guyu's identity and asked Miss Wu beside her quietly, "Miss Wu, who is this nanny?"
Miss Wu: "Madame Guyu is the princess's trusted nanny."
Upon hearing this, Ye Yueying's heart skipped a beat. He turned out to be the princess's confidant!
Gu Yu smiled at the ladies and said, "The prince and princess have selected five lanterns, made by Miss Liu, Miss Fei, Miss Cao, Miss Wu, and Miss Ye. The lanterns will be temporarily placed in the princess's residence and will be hung on the palace gate lampposts on the Lantern Festival."
Ye Yueying was full of surprise. She didn't expect that her lamp would be chosen!
Miss Wu, who knew the inside story, looked calm. She winked at Ye Yueying and jokingly whispered, "I knew you, Sister Ye, would definitely be chosen."
Isn't the purpose of holding this lantern-making festival at the Princess's Mansion today to meet Miss Ye?
Her lantern was chosen, and it seemed that the prince and princess approved of her.
Ye Yueying also had some guesses in her mind, and she felt a little embarrassed after hearing what Miss Wu said.
At this moment, Guyu spoke again, looking at the victorious Ye Yueying and the others with a smile: "The prince and princess want to meet a few clever and skillful girls. Ladies, please follow me to the main courtyard."
Hearing this, Ye Yueying's heart began to beat wildly.
"Let's go!"
Miss Wu took Ye Yueying and quickly caught up with the others, and followed Guyu to the main courtyard.
Looking at the five people leaving, the ladies who were not selected were all envious.
The Wang sisters' faces were long and gloomy.
Miss Wang Er whispered to Miss Wang Da, "Sister, I'm afraid Ye Yueying has really been favored by the palace."
Miss Wang suppressed her jealousy and said quietly, "This is a good thing. If Ye Yueying really marries into the royal family, it will only benefit our family."
Miss Wang Er was still feeling upset: "But when I think about Ye Yueying surpassing us in the future, I feel really uncomfortable!"
After the lantern selection was over, Xiao Keyan asked the maid to serve tea and snacks. After the tea and snacks, the ladies saw that there was nothing else to do, so they got up and said goodbye one after another.
(End of this chapter)
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