Chapter 664: Tingli Wedding_2
Yueyao returned from her shopping trip the next day and began her fast. However, her daily routine remained the same as usual, with no change.
Early in the morning, Xiang Wei went to Marquis Jingning’s Residence and didn’t return until noon. Xiang Wei breathed a sigh of relief, "Miss, Bai Yi was punished by the Princely Heir for a while. Fortunately, they’re only skin injuries, and he will recover with some rest." What Xiang Wei feared the most was the Princely Heir being too harsh, but luckily, Bai Yi’s life was not in danger.
Yueyao shook her head, expecting Mingzhu to protect Bai Yi was really wishful thinking!
For the first time, Xiang Wei actually spoke well of Mingzhu, "After this incident, Mingzhu has grown up and learned to care about others. From now on, Bai Yi should be able to worry a little less."
Yueyao nodded, "That’s good." She too hoped that Mingzhu would become sensible and would not be easily deceived by others anymore.
After Xiang Wei finished speaking, she sneered, "The Ning family has made every conceivable effort to secure this marriage, they will not let it go easily. I’m afraid there are more moves to come."
Thinking of the people of Duke Ning’s Mansion, Yueyao still felt disgusted. Yueyao said, "Before Bai Yi recovers, it’s best that Mingzhu does not leave the Marquis’ household."
When Xiang Wei heard Yueyao’s words, she laughed, "Miss, you can be at ease. Now that the Princely Heir knows about this matter, there won’t be any accidents. It’s just that we’re in the limelight for now, and the Princely Heir won’t do anything to them for the time being. But afterwards, hehe..." Xiang Wei took pleasure in their misfortune. Their Princely Heir was extremely protective of his own, and now that the Ning family had schemed against Mingzhu and displeased the Princely Heir, their fate wouldn’t be good when the time came.
Seeing Xiang Wei say this, Yueyao let go of the matter. Because Yueyao was busy and didn’t have time to visit the Marquis’ household, she and Mingzhu corresponded every two days with letters.
Mingzhu quickly calmed her emotions. Every day she practiced calligraphy and played the zither, and spent her remaining time reading, feeling that the days passed by quickly. Madam Ping, seeing her leisurely pace, dragged her to help the steward. Mingzhu didn’t refuse, since managing the household tasks came easily to her.
On the 28th of April, it was the day of Tingli’s wedding. On that day, the Lian family’s doors were filled with guests, bustling with excitement. Yuebing was also responsible for entertaining the visiting young ladies.
Yueyao’s reputation as a talented lady had already spread among the young ladies, and aside from those who had seen Yueyao demonstrate her talents that day, the other young ladies were very curious about her. Now that they were at the Lian family, they inevitably asked why Yueyao didn’t come out to meet the guests.
Yuebing maintained her composure and said, "Unfortunately, my third younger sister has fallen ill, so she cannot attend my older brother’s wedding." In fact, Yueyao didn’t want to return to Lian Mansion, but of course, this couldn’t be said openly.
The young lady felt a bit regretful, "I heard from Min Er that Third Young Lady is immensely talented, almost like a fairy from another world. I didn’t expect that I wouldn’t get the chance to meet her." Indeed, Yueyao’s performance that day did impress the young ladies present, and combined with Yueyao’s lack of any arrogant demeanor, everyone had a very good impression of her, and subsequent inquiries inevitably led to praise.
A twitch formed at the corner of Yuebing’s mouth, unaware that this was just the beginning. Over the course of the banquet, she was asked about Yueyao more than twenty times. Some expressed regret after hearing the news, others looked skeptical, but the outcome was the same—everyone regretted not being able to meet Yueyao.
Dealing with thirteen- or fourteen-year-old young ladies was still manageable for Yuebing, but Lian Dongfang and Lady Mo faced much greater pressure when facing the guests. After all, they were dealing with folks accustomed to navigating the official circles, who wouldn’t easily believe the coincidence of an illness.
Of course, compared to Lian Dongfang who at least received some polite respect, Lady Mo wasn’t so fortunate.
When Yueyao moved to Ma’s Mansion, rumors circulated that Lady Mo was scheming for wealth and caused harm, forcing her niece and nephew to leave the Lian family and seek refuge with their uncle. These rumors had persisted from three years ago until now, and with Yueyao and Tingzheng absent from the scene, it seemed unbelievable that they would miss such a joyous occasion as their cousin’s wedding without a serious reason.
By this time, Yueyao’s reputation had surged, becoming one of the Beauties of the Capital. At this juncture, to say she was too sick to attend her cousin’s wedding banquet seemed far-fetched.
Many of the ladies present knew the details of Lady Mo’s background, and about half of them looked down on her. However, because Lady Mo’s son had promising prospects, marrying the daughter of the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, his future was bright.
One lady who was friendly with Lady Li purposely asked, "Third Young Lady fell ill, but what about the Fourth Young Master? Surely the Fourth Young Master hasn’t fallen ill as well?"
Although Lady Mo internally felt a grating irritation, this was her son’s wedding banquet, and naturally she could not be impolite. She smiled and said, "Fourth Young Master is studying abroad. Old Master is compassionate and didn’t want him to travel back and forth, so he didn’t ask him to return."
The Lian family had publicly stated that Tingzheng had gone abroad to study, which seemed like a barely acceptable excuse. As for how many people would believe it, that remained to be seen.
The lady knew that today was a day of celebration, and merely mentioning it was enough; she wouldn’t really want to disrupt the wedding. That could lead to making enemies.
The people on good terms with the Lian family naturally followed this topic to discuss the matter of child education, not forgetting to compliment Lady Mo as they concluded: "Old Master Lian and Lady Lian really know how to educate their son. I have heard that Second Young Master also writes excellent essays and will surely have his name on the list in the future."
Lady Mo’s expression improved slightly.
The wedding was a lively and bustling affair, and the following day was the ritual of greeting (the bride presenting herself to the family). Once the new bride had completed the three-day ritual of meeting Lian family’s relatives, Lian Dongfang had Lady Mo return to her Small Buddhist Hall. With Lady Mo’s current reputation, her presence in social gatherings would only bring disgrace to the Lian family. Previously, there was no legitimate lady of the house, but now with the daughter-in-law from a recognized family entering the household, she was adequate enough.
Despite her unwillingness, Lady Mo had no choice but to retreat to the Small Buddhist Hall to fast and chant sutras.