"What do you mean, Lady Shangshu?" Ye Xi seemed quite surprised at Zhou Zhanlan's assertion. "Yaofeng is just a child. How could he possibly know what it means to act maliciously on purpose? It was just an accident. To haggle over this with a child is rather narrow - minded."
"Lady, don't shift the blame onto others because of your own fault and slander my young heir's reputation."
Zhou Zhanlan was so angry that she was speechless.
These words sounded extremely familiar. She had said them to many people, but never thought they would be used against her.
Yi Yaofeng also said aggrievedly, "Exactly! It was clearly you who didn't want him to eat my cold yuanzi and deliberately knocked it over. How can you blame me?"
"Does Lady Shangshu think that just because I'm a child, I can be bullied at will?"
"You, you..." Zhou Zhanlan was on the verge of being infuriated to death. She glanced at the crowd whispering around and knew that she couldn't get the upper hand today. Moreover, her clothes were all wet, and she had to go back quickly.
Zhou Zhanlan had no choice but to swallow her anger. She glared at Yi Yaofeng resentfully a few times and then led her grandson away.
"Lady Shangshu, wait a moment."
Before Zhou Zhanlan could take a step, Ye Xi stopped her and said, "Lady, you deliberately knocked over my young heir's favorite cold yuanzi. It's not appropriate to just leave like this, is it?"
Anger welled up in Zhou Zhanlan. She felt a throbbing pain in her head and said coldly, "What do you want?"
"One should apologize for one's mistakes." Ye Xi said unhurriedly. "But as an elder, Lady must be extremely reluctant to apologize to my young heir. Then let's compensate with money to console the young heir's broken heart."
"Humph!" Zhou Zhanlan almost rolled her eyes to the sky. Pointing at Ye Xi, she scolded, "Sure enough, you're a person of low - class. You were raised in the Ye family for more than a decade. How come you're so full of the stench of money now that you've lost your status? I don't know what kind of upbringing the Ye family has. They cherish a little ice drink like it's a rare treasure. And that Prince Yu'an, I really don't know what's wrong with him. How could he take a fancy to a woman like you, with no family background, no upbringing, and so ugly that you have to cover your face with a veil and dare not show it to others?"
"Indeed," contrary to Zhou Zhanlan's expectation, Ye Xi not only wasn't angry at all but also nodded in agreement seriously. "The Ye family's upbringing is really bad. How can it be compared to Lady? You're a girl from the Duke Shen's Mansion. Your vision and bearing are beyond comparison."
Then, changing the subject, she slowly held out a finger. "Since Lady has such a great vision and knows that ice is expensive in summer, I'm sure Lady won't decline the mere price of ten taels of silver, right?"
Zhou Zhanlan was speechless.
Ten taels of silver could buy a lot of cold yuanzi. It would be more than enough to stuff Yi Yaofeng. But since the words had been said and Ye Xi had put her on the spot, although she was reluctant, ten taels it was. It was just the cost of a meal anyway.
Giving a look to Nanny Wang beside her, Zhou Zhanlan said, "Give it to her!"
Just as Nanny Wang reluctantly took out a small silver ingot worth ten taels, Ye Xi shook her finger and said disapprovingly, "This nanny is joking. Ice in summer is as precious as gold. Your lady is not from a small family. How could she not know? If you take out these ten taels of silver, aren't you slapping your lady in the face?"
"You..." Nanny Wang glared angrily at Ye Xi. She knew exactly what her lady meant. But Ye Xi's words were so venomous. With just a light touch, she left no room for retreat.
Zhou Zhanlan felt her heart aching.
It wasn't that she couldn't afford the ten taels of gold. She was just infuriated. She was splashed all over by Yi Yaofeng for no reason and now had to pay him silver. Who wouldn't be angry?
But since Ye Xi had said so, she had no choice but to pay.
Gritting her teeth, her face distorted with anger, she ordered Nanny Wang to take out the money. Then she turned around quickly and pulled Luo Linrui away, afraid that if she was a second late, Ye Xi would change her mind.
Watching Zhou Zhanlan's almost fleeing figure, several people blushed from holding back their laughter until she was far away.
Yi Yaofeng's big round eyes turned into little crescents. Baring his teeth, he boasted to Ye Xi, "Sister Xi, Sister Xi, did Yaofeng do a good job?"
"Did a - " Ye Xi dragged out the word and tapped Yi Yaofeng's chubby nose tip with a smile. "Very good."
"Hehe~" Yi Yaofeng was even happier after getting Ye Xi's praise. He pulled Ye Xi's sleeve and shook it back and forth. "Sister Xi, when are we going to see Sister Lianyi, who has the most beautiful voice in the world? Didn't you say that all the money we earn from Lady Shangshu today will be given to her?"
"Yes," Ye Xi squatted down and lovingly stroked Yi Yaofeng's little face.
"But Lianyi probably has a hard time in her mansion. We can't give her the money directly. Otherwise, it's very likely that someone will snatch it from her as soon as she gets it. Even worse, she may get into trouble because of this money of unknown origin. So, we have to find another way."
Ye Xi leaned close to Yi Yaofeng's little ear and told him the plan in detail.
Just as they were whispering, a sarcastic female voice suddenly sounded beside them.
"Yo~ Isn't this our brave Miss Xi?
"Didn't they say that you were on the verge of death and barely survived? It seems that you've recovered quite quickly. You're so full of energy. I thought you were really that determined. Wearing a veil on such a hot day, not afraid of heatstroke at all. You seem to be in better health than us."
Everyone looked up and saw Cao Wei in a light - green dress and several young ladies from minor official families standing in front, looking at them disdainfully from the corner of their eyes.
As soon as Cao Wei finished speaking, Miss Zhu in a light - pink dress immediately laughed coquettishly and echoed, "Miss Cao is wrong. She cut off ties with her biological parents as soon as she decided. She discarded the more than a decade of upbringing as if it were nothing. Who can be as decisive as her? Wearing a veil to cover her shame on a hot day is nothing. If it's not just her face that can't be shown, she might even wear a cotton - padded jacket in summer."
"Exactly," Miss Jiang in a beige silk dress immediately let out a coquettish laugh and said, "Now the entire Ye family is in deep trouble. Some are under house arrest, some are in prison, but she's the only one who's fine. Oh~ And she's become Prince Yu'an's fiancée. She's really risen to a high position."
"If one isn't ruthless enough, how can one achieve that?"
One after another, they seemed to be mocking Ye Xi for being an ugly and scheming woman who had seduced Yi Yuan. But between the lines, there was also jealousy and hatred that couldn't be concealed. They wished they could take her place.
Sai Xing angrily put her hands on her hips and was about to fight back.
But Yi Yaofeng had already spoken crisply, looking full of confusion. "Sister Xi, what do those aunts mean? Are they fighting for justice for the Ye family where Sister Xi used to live?"
Cao Wei and the others' faces changed instantly.
Not to mention that they were all a bit younger than Ye Xi, but Yi Yaofeng called Ye Xi "Sister Xi" while addressing them as "aunts". And that sentence "fighting for justice for the Ye family" was a big mistake.