The reason Zhou Zhanlan dared to order Nanny Wang to take action was that after much thought, she was certain that there was no one named Ye Xi in the capital.
She had also inquired about the Miss Yun who was rumored to be coming to the capital with her elder brother recently, and knew that the girl was still far away.
Therefore, she was quite sure that Ye Xi was probably the daughter of a wealthy merchant family. That was why she was so bold and rude, not even knowing to greet her when they met, showing no manners at all.
Nanny Wang had been humiliated by Ye Xi in public earlier, so she was already in a bad mood. Now that she received the signal, she immediately perked up. She called a few stout and strong nannies who were following her and was about to go forward to lift the curtains of Ye Xi and the others.
The private room was not very big. With Zhou Zhanlan and her large entourage, there was hardly any room left, and the door of the private room was wide open. If Nanny Wang and her people were allowed to lift the curtains, Ye Xi and Lingyan would surely be seen by everyone.
"How dare you!"
Sai Xing had never seen such an unreasonable person. She was so angry that she almost exploded. She put her hands on her hips and blocked in the middle of the curtain.
Yan Gui flashed like a ghost. With a few swift kicks, he neatly kicked the people back.
"Presumptuous!"
Zhou Zhanlan was furious. She never expected that a mere merchant's daughter would have such a powerful guard by her side.
She shouted angrily:
"You not only bully the weak but also dare to beat people in public. Is there any law in your eyes!?"
"Someone, report..."
"Mother."
Su Xin rushed over in a hurry.
Just now, she had taken Lian Yi downstairs to order snow cream. To prevent another incident like the previous one, she quietly took Lian Yi there, planning to finish eating first and then bring the snow cream up for the others.
But unexpectedly, just as Lian Yi had eaten a little over half, they heard Luo Linrui's crying and howling from upstairs again. They had no idea what new mischief he was up to.
Su Xin didn't want to bother with him. She even deliberately told Lian Yi to eat slowly. When the noise upstairs gradually died down, she carried the newly made snow cream and went upstairs with Lian Yi.
But who would have thought that Luo Linrui was really so bad that he came back to harm Ye Xi and the others again. Thinking of Ye Xi's help earlier and her commoner status, Su Xin secretly thought something was wrong. Without even having time to put down the snow cream, she rushed over in a hurry.
"What's going on? Here, this is the newly made snow cream..."
She held out the tempting snow cream that was still giving off a cold air in front of Luo Linrui. Su Xin said with a gentle smile:
"Baby, have a taste. I specifically told them to add more honey."
"Get out of the way!"
Luo Linrui directly reached out and slapped the wooden tray that Su Xin was holding.
The porcelain bowl inside "cracked" and fell to the ground. The broken porcelain pieces splashed everywhere. Unfortunately, two pieces were embedded in Luo Linrui's chubby hands.
"Ah!!!"
This time, Luo Linrui cried even louder.
Zhou Qingqing gave Su Xin a disdainful look. Although she was a concubine and favored, she didn't dare to do anything in public. She could only pick up her son with extreme distress and kept shouting for a doctor.
Zhou Zhanlan directly pushed Su Xin away and scolded:
"What are you doing here to cause trouble! You're good for nothing!"
With Zhou Zhanlan's angry push, how could Su Xin withstand it? She immediately fell to the ground. The porcelain pieces broken by Luo Linrui were all over the place, and in an instant, they pierced her, making her bleed profusely.
Seeing her mother injured, Lian Yi let out a silent wail and immediately ran forward to support her mother.
Zhou Zhanlan was still scolding beside them:
"What are you holding her for? She's such a grown - up but can't even stand still with a gentle push. She deserves to fall."
Then she casually pointed at two maids:
"You two, quickly take the young master to the medical clinic."
Then she looked at Nanny Wang and shouted:
"Report to the authorities! Report immediately! I want all of them to go to jail!"
"Yan Gui."
Ye Xi had just finished applying the ointment on her leg. She casually grabbed the thin silk quilt on the couch and wrapped herself in it. Then she walked out from behind the curtain and motioned for Yan Gui to stop the people.
She was not afraid of Zhou Zhanlan reporting to the authorities.
But given the status of Zhou Zhanlan's maternal and husband's families, the prefect of the capital would surely side with them. Although it would be easy for Yi Yuan to solve this matter with his power, she was still supposed to be "seriously injured and under treatment" in public. If Yi Yuan intervened, it would surely arouse suspicion. Since the matter of the Ye family involved the harem, it would take a long time to investigate. Before the Ye family was completely convicted and fell, the fewer things, the better.
Moreover, the people from Hengfeng City had just brought back the account books, and Yi Yuan must be very busy. Ye Xi didn't want to cause more trouble for him.
Seeing Nanny Wang stopped by Yan Gui, Zhou Zhanlan showed a mocking expression:
"What? Now you're scared?"
Ye Xi didn't even give her a glance. She walked straight up to Su Xin and asked:
"How are you? Is the injury serious?"
Afraid that Lian Yi would worry, Su Xin shook her head with a pale face, enduring the pain.
"What an ill - mannered girl!"
Seeing Ye Xi ignoring her directly, Zhou Zhanlan was extremely angry.
"You're in trouble yourself but still have the time to care about others!"
"If you don't want me to report to the authorities, come here and kneel down to apologize to me properly. Otherwise..."
"Everyone."
Ye Xi didn't even listen to Zhou Zhanlan's ranting. She directly interrupted her self - talking loudly, facing the outside of the door.
"Luo Linrui, the grandson of the Minister of Personnel, has bad conduct. He bullied his elder sister, and we accidentally discovered and exposed it. Then he brought boiling water and hid around the corner. When we were about to return home after the meal, he splashed the water deliberately to take revenge. He severely scalded me and my maid..."
As she said, she pointed at her leg and Lingyan, who had followed her out, worried about her safety:
"The injuries can be verified. There's absolutely no lie."
"The wife of the minister dotes on her grandson. It's fine that she doesn't stand up for her granddaughter. Now she even uses her power to oppress others and forces us, the victims, to kneel down and apologize. Where is justice in this world..."
"Nonsense! It's clearly you villains bullying the weak! Someone, gag her and tie her up and take her to the county yamen!"
Zhou Zhanlan's face changed greatly. This slutty girl knew that she was using power to oppress others, but she wasn't afraid?
She had never met such an unpredictable woman. Generally, those common people were afraid of people like them who had power and influence. They should tremble with fear when they heard about her family background and be afraid of offending her.
But she, she actually said it out in public and slapped her in the face!
Zhou Zhanlan roared loudly, but Ye Xi was not disturbed at all. She spoke clearly and firmly:
"I've always believed in the fairness of the law. Under the feet of the Son of Heaven, in the capital city, there are official ladies who dare to act like this in public. One can imagine the evil behind it."
"I'm fortunate that all of you are here to witness this for us today. I have no other requests. I only hope that if something happens to me in the future..."
"Nanny Wang!"
Seeing Ye Xi's words getting more and more serious, Zhou Zhanlan panicked.
"Close the door! Close the door first!"
"What? Are you scared, Lady Minister?"
Ye Xi's clear eyes turned to Zhou Zhanlan, with no real smile in them.
Outside, the crowd rustled and shouted one after another:
"That's right. Why close the door..."
"She clearly has a guilty conscience..."
"Don't close the door! Don't close the door!"
Zhou Zhanlan's face was so dark and hideous that it was terrifying.
Seeing that the situation was not good, Zhou Qingqing quickly said:
"Everyone, don't listen to her one - sided words. It was clearly them who bumped into our young master and got scalded. They also bullied the weak. The injury on our young master's forehead was beaten by them. The water on his head..."
"But what you said, Concubine Zhou,"
Suddenly, a clear and melodious male voice sounded at the door, interrupting Zhou Qingqing's slander.
"Is also one - sided."