As the saying goes, even an upright official finds it hard to settle family disputes. Ye Xi, an unmarried young lady, was indeed overstepping her bounds by getting so involved.
The on - lookers, who didn't know the truth, began to whisper among themselves.
Ye Xi, however, gave a faint smile, utterly captivating.
"Since ancient times, it's been said that one should draw the sword for a just cause when seeing injustice. I just saw an unfair thing and came out to speak up for the truth."
"I neither spouted nonsense to distort the truth, nor instigated or interfered with the decision of the Lady of the Minister. I wonder where exactly I've meddled in the Minister's family affairs?"
"You..."
Zhou Zhanlan was at a loss for words for a moment, then laughed out of anger:
"What a glib - tongued young girl!"
"Who else knows better than me what my own children are like? It's not your place, an outsider, to talk."
"That's right," Zhou Qingqing immediately chimed in. "Judging from the young lady's attire, she must still be unmarried. You know, things among children can't be simply judged by appearance.
"One day when the young lady has her own children, she'll understand."
This was insinuating that Lian Yi was pretending and that Ye Xi, without the experience of raising children, had been deceived.
"Sister Zhou," Su Xin immediately frowned and retorted. "It's just a simple matter of distinguishing right from wrong. Whether one has children or not doesn't matter."
"Exactly," Sai Xing also quickly joined in. "Besides, even if one hasn't given birth to a child, haven't they seen children? Our young lady is well - known for teaching children! Especially when it comes to distinguishing right from wrong, if she says she's second, no one would dare claim to be first."
"Heh—" Zhou Qingqing laughed exaggeratedly.
"Little girl, aren't you afraid of straining your tongue when talking big?"
"Do you think your young lady is Miss Xi from the Prince Yu'an's Mansion? Everyone in the capital knows that only she can handle such a difficult child as the young heir. And you say no one would dare claim to be first if she says she's second. What? Is your young lady both Miss Xi and the Fairy Manping? It's really laughable..."
Sai Xing: ...
Right, she actually is.
Everyone fell silent for a moment, all looking at Zhou Qingqing, who was laughing uncontrollably, with strange expressions on their faces.
"Alright," seeing everyone's strange expressions and so many on - lookers around, Su Xin thought they were offended by Zhou Qingqing's sarcasm and quickly tried to smooth things over.
"Anyway, it's just a matter of a bowl of iced dessert. If both children like it so much, we can just buy two more bowls."
This was her business, and it wasn't good to involve others.
Touching Lian Yi's little head, Su Xin knew that her daughter probably hadn't gotten to eat her own bowl of iced dessert again.
How could she not know about the Luo family's partiality? It was obvious just from the names. One was Luo Linrui, the other was Luo Lianyi; one had a nickname, Xiaobao, while the other didn't even have a nickname. The entire Luo Mansion disliked Lian Yi because she was a girl and a born mute. She might not even be able to get married in the future.
It was all her own incompetence. She hadn't been able to give birth to a son to raise her status, leaving Lian Yi without a single support and making her suffer at such a young age.
Su Xin's eyes suddenly turned red.
Lian Yi keenly sensed that something was wrong with her mother's mood. She very sensibly held Su Xin's hand that was hanging by her side, making Su Xin's heart feel both sour and warm.
Zhou Zhanlan couldn't stand to see Su Xin and Luo Lianyi like this the most. It was as if the whole Luo family was bullying them.
Glancing at the mother - daughter pair with extreme disgust, Zhou Zhanlan said sourly:
"Since it's your idea, and Lian Yi was the one who made a mistake first. Then you two should go down and do it yourselves..." Saying this, she gave Su Xin a meaningful look. "Be sincere and show your intentions."
"Yes, mother."
Su Xin lowered her head and obediently agreed, hiding the exhaustion in her eyes.
It wasn't the first time the Luo family had used her dowry. A few bowls of iced desserts were actually a small thing.
Seeing that Su Xin was being sensible, Zhou Zhanlan's expression softened a bit. She disdainfully glanced at Ye Xi and the others, then proudly led Zhou Qingqing and her proud little grandson away.
The on - lookers gradually dispersed. Only after those people had walked far away did Su Xin and Lian Yi relax.
Bowing to Ye Xi, Su Xin smiled and said:
"Thank you, miss, for speaking up just now. I'm sorry to have troubled you all."
Ye Xi quickly caught Su Xin as she was about to bow and said:
"Madam, you're being too polite. I'm not some miss. I'm just an ordinary person. It was just a small thing. Madam, please don't take it to heart."
Lian Yi also obediently bowed and gestured to thank Ye Xi and the others.
This warmed everyone's hearts.
Jiang Ning, whose parents loved each other, didn't quite understand the intrigues in big families. Curiously, she asked:
"Just now, it was clearly Xiaobao's fault, and we were all there to testify. Why didn't you argue and clear Lian Yi's name?"
Sighing deeply, Su Xin said:
"Since the young lady is asking this question, it shows that the young lady must be living a very happy life."
"Us ladies and young misses may seem glamorous on the surface, but in fact, we can't make any decisions. Once we get married and go to someone else's family, we have to look at others' faces for everything."
"The young lady saw just now that my mother - in - law doesn't like Lian Yi at all. No matter what Lian Yi does, it's wrong. Even if I managed to get justice for Lian Yi here in the Qunying Tower with everyone's help, things would be different once we get back to the mansion."
Su Xin frowned tightly, looking extremely tired:
"Rather than making my mother - in - law extremely angry here and having Lian Yi receive even harsher punishment when we get back, it's better to endure this little bit of grievance here so that Lian Yi can have an easier time."
Jiang Ning couldn't help but gasp. Lian Yi was still so young. How was she going to live in the future?
"So that's why you didn't insist on saying that Xiaobao was wrong just now? You just simply stated the truth."
Jiang Ning looked at Ye Xi and asked, a bit in admiration.
Ye Xi nodded.
After a moment's hesitation, she still squatted down and touched Lian Yi's head, saying:
"Lian Yi, you may not believe it, but you actually have the most beautiful voice in the world."
Lian Yi's eyes widened suddenly.
[Really? Sister is so beautiful. She shouldn't lie to me...]
[But... I can't even speak. How could sister hear my voice?]
Her bright black eyes instantly dimmed. She blinked twice and gave Ye Xi a sweet smile.
[Since sister says so, she must want me to be happy. Sister is so nice. I can't let sister down.]
Su Xin just thought Ye Xi was just comforting Lian Yi and smiled without taking it to heart.
After saying a few more words, she led Lian Yi downstairs to order iced desserts.
This incident had ruined their mood, and they no longer had the same state of mind as before. They quickly ate the food they had ordered and were about to go back home.
But just as they walked out of the door and turned a corner, a splash of boiling water came straight at them.
Lingyan was walking in the front, and Ye Xi was right behind her.
In a split - second, Lingyan instinctively reached out to block it.
However, water is soft and formless. Despite Lingyan's quick reaction, most of the boiling water still splashed on Ye Xi, and it also affected Sai Xing and Jiang Ning behind her.
There were several successive screams of "Ah, ah". Lingyan didn't care about her own injuries. With a flash of killing intent in her eyes, she turned around and caught the sneaky figure around the corner.