Chapter 76 An Uninvited Guest
Qin Yunuan straightened her neck. She saw the defiance and seriousness in Xie Ruying’s eyes as if she were interrogating a prisoner. In Qin Yunuan’s memory, she had never really met this woman. But since she was coming to her, there was no reason to escape.
By the time Xie Ruying was right in the middle of the banquet on her way to Qin Yunuan, she suddenly stopped and stood still as if she had been frozen and had no strength to make one more step. Qin Yunuan cast a glance at the direction she was looking at and saw that Leng Changxi, who was about to take a seat, was staring at Xie Ruying with terrifying coldness. The scary look in his eyes could almost kill people, which surprised Qin Yunuan as she had never seen him in this way when they were together.
But a girl sitting beside Qin Yunuan was inured to it. Pulling her homie closer, she murmured, “Look, the third young master Leng is coming. He looks so harsh. Whoever marries him in the future will be down on her luck.”
When Xie Ruying saw him, she turned back to her seat at once as if it were her natural response.
The banquet began officially after they sat down.
The seats with golden lotus carvings were arranged in two rows. At the end of the banquet was a more magnificently decorated table with jasper embedded in its four corners. It was specially prepared for the old princess who had returned from the Guo’an Temple. Prince Ning and Princess Ning sat at the right-hand seats and other people were respectively arranged according to their seniorities and birth, which showed respect for seniority and family status.
“You are really late, third brother,” Leng Changan greeted when Leng Changxi had just sat down, and then he glanced at Princess Ning, today’s protagonist, and said, “You had kept mother waiting for a long time.”
Leng Changan looked much alike with Prince Ning. He also had black eyebrows, deep eyes with clear rims and a well-cut face which showed an unspeakable bearing. He looked dignified when speaking, with his back straightened up. Compared with Leng Changxi, he was much gentler and more approachable in his dark blue clothes with black embroideries on the wide sleeves.
However, even though he was the eldest son in the family, he was born by Madam Ru, the first concubine of Prince Ning, which made him an illegal son. So Princess Ning only favored her dear son Leng Changxi.
Leng Changxi glanced at Leng Changan emotionlessly and said in a calm tone, “I’m sorry that I have made you worried, mother. I had just dealt with some insubordinate people of the yard.”
Today, Princess Ning was very well-dressed. Her hair was carefully bounded into a chignon by a pigeon-blood ruby flower hairpin with tassels that tinkled as she turned her head. She was in her forties, but her skin was still fair and clear, which made her look delicate and charming. She would be mistaken as a young woman if there were no subtle wrinkles around her eyes.
“Did Third brother drive away the two servant girls sent for pleasure again?” Ruan Ruyi chattered. She was Leng Changan’s wife and the Grand Young Madam in Prince Ning’s Mansion. “Well, that was a thoughtful arrangement of your brother and me. You are over 20 years old now and will not stay in the barracks forever. You’ll need a caring person by your side.”
Leng Changxi turned to her and said, “I have Xue Si and Leng Wu by my side, so I don’t need other servants. If it were my wife who you referred to,” Leng Changxi looked at the place where Qin Yunuan was sitting unintentionally. She wore a light green dress with a floral shirt today. The light makeup on her face made her look like the red and delicate strawberries that were freshly picked. It was tempting him to take a lick and bite. “If it were my wife who you referred to,” Leng Changxi repeated, “I already have my own choice in mind.”
That was a piece of surprising news for all the people present. The third young master Leng who was always immune to woman’s charms had someone in his mind?
Princess Ning was the first one who recovered from the shock. She smiled slightly and was full of joy in her heart because she was so eager to have a grandson, “Really? Whose daughter? Why don’t we just pick a good day and propose marriage to her family in case of being forestalled by others?”
Having heard these words, Prince Ning could not help but smile. He turned to Princess Ning and said, “You are too anxious. This thing is still up in the air. We haven’t known who the girl comes from and how about her family background and breeding. You actually want to make a marriage proposal right now.” These scornful words were said in a doting tone. It was well-known that Prince Ning and Princess Ning were very much in love. The way Prince Ning treated Princess Ning was also seen by everyone.
Finally, to mediate, the old princess laughed and mocked herself, “Well, now my grandson has someone in his mind and there will be happy events soon. My son only spoils his wife. Nobody cares about me. Alas, I really shouldn’t have come back.”
Grand Young Madam Ruan Ruyi replied at once in an adoring way, “That’s not true, grandma. Second brother has no child yet. You mentioned grandson when speaking of third brother. Does it mean that only the offspring of a legal son like third brother is your grandchild and that of a concubine’s son is not?”
Although it was a joke that amused the people, she was actually accusing the unfairness of the old princess. Fortunately, the old princess was not irritated. She only pointed at Ruan Ruyi who looked innocent, “You really like to show off your joking talent in front of me.”
With cheering and laughing arising from Prince Ning’s family, the performances of singing and dancing on the banquet had also reached a climax. Only Leng Changxi did not fit in with the surroundings. He was answering the questions of the old princess and Leng Changan without any emotion and making conventional greetings out of courtesy. His real smile would only be seen when facing Princess Ning.
The talkative girl beside Qin Yunuan began to gossip again, “Look, the third young master Leng looks so out of place among other young masters. He did not laugh or speak. Is it possible that he is actually an illegitimate child of Prince Ning just as what people said?”
Another girl seconded her said, “Who knows? One of the servants in my family had worked temporarily at Prince Ning’s Mansion. He said that he did not see Princess Ning getting pregnant twenty years ago, but then there was a young master. Don’t you think it is weird?”
“That must be true. Like I said…. Oops.” Suddenly, the girl beside Qin Yunuan shouted, which attracted the attention of the surrounding guests. The jug had fallen on the table. Inside the jug was some high-quality grape wine, which had a mellow smell and a dark color that was easy to put color on other things and difficult to wash away.
The loquacious Miss Gu was very embarrassed at this moment. She jumped off the chair and wiped the big stain on her skirt in a rush with the handkerchief. With a glance at Qin Yunuan who sat beside her, she suddenly recovered from bewilderment and was about to reproach her with a glare. However, Qin Yunuan made an apology before her, “Oh, the wine spilled. Sorry, I didn’t mean it.”
“Obviously, you did it on purpose,” Miss Gu said with confidence as the Gu Family was also well-known in the Royal City, “Why would a jug fall on the table out of no reason? You are the closest people to it. Who would believe that you had nothing to do with it?”
Qin Yunuan raised her head slightly with a contemptuous smile, “You had no evidence, Miss Gu. Who would believe you? I didn’t have any ill feelings towards you. What benefit would I get from dirtying your skirt? Besides, when the jug fell and the wine spilled by accident, your first action was not to clean your dress. Instead, you just let the wine be there and stained your skirt, wasn’t that more suspicious? Miss Gu, was it fair to say that you knocked the jug over and then blamed me deliberately?”
Miss Gu became anxious and said with red eyes, “You are making unfounded judgments without any proof. It’s rude of you to make malicious attacks upon others!”
Qin Yunuan smiled, looking a little bit surprised, “Oh, it turns out that you also know this.”
Miss Gu said angrily, “I was talking about you, the low daughter of a concubine in the Qin Family.”
Qin Yunuan’s status in the family had always been attacked mercilessly by other people as her weakness, but she dealt with it rather calmly. She gave a faint smile and then said, “Miss Gu, we are sitting beside each other. You said I was low, so wasn’t that fit for you?”
Miss Gu had been completely defeated by Qin Yunuan in the war of words. The ugly stain on her skirt had a strong fume of the wine, which doubled the sense of frustration of Miss Gu.
She glared at Qin Yunuan again and left the banquet directly. The surroundings became quiet once again. It was the time to present gifts and offer congratulations to Princess Ning. The present high officials and noble lords all aced up their sleeves. The gifts presented included slaves bought from Beidi for errands and wondrous pine bonsai for appreciation. The old princess even gave her most cherished set of jewelry to Princess Ning.
“This… it’s too expensive. I can’t take it.” Princess Ning’s eyes were fixed on the glorious set of jewelry made of Yangzhi Jade. A decade ago, Yangzhi Jade was not that expensive. But today, the set of hairpins and earrings made of a whole Yangzhi Jade was priceless. And the old princess was going to give it to her as a present. Thinking of that, how could she accept this gift?
Prince Ning was at ease, “Xunxiang, since mother had given it to you, just accept it.”
Seeing that Princess Ning nodded and accepted the gift, the load on the old princess’s mind was finally off. She then said, “Actually, I just found this set of jewelry when making an occasional sorting. It came from an old friend. Now things have changed. My friend had passed away, leaving it as a token. Fortunately, when I was staying at the Guo’an Temple for quietness, I came across the daughter of this friend. We had good talks and became friends despite great difference in age. I had learned that she was accommodating at the temple because of her weak health. I thought that since I came back, it would be great with her company. And it would not be a heavy burden to have one more person in our family. What do you think?”
It turned out that the gift was just a guise for those words. Princess Ning had been in charge of the domestic affairs in the mansion. Now, with the personal requirement of the old princess and the expensive gift, Princess Ning had no other options but to say yes.
“We are surely very happy that you have someone as your company. But we haven’t known her name yet.”
The old princess relaxed her eyebrows and smiled softly. “The daughter of the Dou Family in Hangzhou. Her name is Qing’e,” she said.