The onlookers nearby thought, "Hey, who goes to consult a fortune - teller after a rival - in - love competition? Shouldn't they force the other side to step down voluntarily?"
Ye Xi, the protagonist of this matter, thought, "It's just... a bit sudden."
She hadn't appeared as Man Ping to consult a fortune - teller for many days. Suddenly, hearing Qiao Yan's words, she felt a strange sense of unfamiliarity. It seemed that Qiao Yan was convinced that she only used Yi Yuan and didn't truly love him.
So, would Qiao Yan hire a killer because of this misunderstanding about her?
To be honest, Ye Xi didn't think Qiao Yan was such a person from what she had seen.
However, she still needed to confirm.
Walking slowly towards Qiao Yan, Ye Xi's voice showed no sign of emotion.
"If I don't accept it?"
Qiao Yan was different from Cao Wei. It was not easy for Ye Xi to catch her. Ye Xi was thinking about how to act naturally without letting Qiao Yan avoid her.
Cao Wei couldn't sit still anymore.
From her perspective, Ye Xi's emotional affairs seemed to be more about her elder brother. And from Qiao Yan's words, it seemed that she knew some inside story. After all, Ye Xi's attitude had changed so quickly and drastically before. She said she didn't love anymore and then got along intimately with the King of Yu'an. It was really suspicious.
What if all this was a big plan of Ye Xi to seduce the King of Yu'an? What if Ye Xi had had an affair with the King of Yu'an long ago?
Wouldn't her elder brother become a victim? And he had also borne so many scolds for no reason and missed the opportunity of this autumn imperial examination. All these things combined would surely make that little bitch Ye Xi never be able to turn over!
Cao Wei was extremely excited. She eagerly approached Qiao Yan and incited her,
"Qiao Yan, you heard that. She didn't dare to respond, which means she's guilty. There must be something wrong with her."
"Come on, what do you know..."
"Shut up."
Qiao Yan gave her an annoyed look.
"This has nothing to do with you. Stay out of it."
Unexpectedly, Qiao Yan didn't give her any face at all. After scolding Cao Wei, she frowned and turned to Ye Xi.
"Why don't you respond?"
As she said, she circled around Ye Xi.
"Could it be... you really have something to hide!?"
To scare her, as soon as she finished speaking, Qiao Yan grabbed Ye Xi's arm and got closer to her on her own initiative.
Ye Xi under the veil almost burst out laughing.
"Miss Qiao,"
Ye Xi grabbed Qiao Yan's wrist in return and tried to keep her voice steady.
"Does not responding mean I have something to hide? What about you, Miss Qiao? Are you clear - hearted?"
"Have you ever..." Ye Xi slowly approached Qiao Yan and lowered her voice.
"Hired a killer to kill me for your own selfish interests?"
[Hire a killer!?]
Qiao Yan was stunned for a moment, and then a surging anger welled up in her.
"I, Miss Qiao, stand upright. I always speak out my differences face - to - face. Whether it works or not, I accept it. I never do those dirty and underhanded things!"
"Miss Ye, you underestimate the people of the Marquis of Changming's Mansion too much!"
Every word came from her heart.
Ye Xi was confused.
Seeing Qiao Yan glaring angrily, looking like she had been insulted.
Ye Xi quickly let go of her hand and apologized,
"Sorry, I didn't mean to question your character, Miss Qiao."
Ye Xi gave a cold look at Cao Wei, who had been scolded by Qiao Yan, and said pointedly,
"Some people just do something wrong without self - reflection. They even blame others and use some underhanded means. That's why I asked in a hurry just now. Please forgive me, Miss Qiao."
"But..."
After sincerely apologizing, Ye Xi changed the subject,
"My relationship with A Yuan is our own business. To be frank, you, Miss Qiao, have no position to interfere."
"Uh..."
Qiao Yan was at a loss for words.
Seeing Ye Xi's sincere words, she immediately put aside her unhappiness just now. Instead, she started to think along Ye Xi's words: She was neither related nor close to Yi Yuan. She really had no position to issue this challenge.
Seeing that the two were about to make up, Cao Wei was unhappy.
She had waited here without even changing her clothes. She didn't come to see this harmonious scene.
Letting out a cold snort, Cao Wei looked disdainful,
"How can the ladies of the Marquis of Changming's Mansion be so easily deceived? You believe whatever others say.
"If it were me..."
"If it were you, you would end up like this just now!"
Saixing couldn't help interrupting Cao Wei's obvious attempt to sow discord.
"What are you blabbering about here?"
Qiao Yan followed suit,
"Your clothes are in such a mess. Why don't you go and change? You're just here to watch the show, aren't you?
"What, are you not satisfied that we didn't mention the dirty things your elder brother did?"
Cao Wei was speechless. Her pretty face flushed and then paled.
She came here to watch the fight between the two tigers, but why did it turn out that the two were fighting against her instead?
Furiously glaring at everyone, Cao Wei's anger welled up. Regardless of everything, she grabbed a lump of dirty mud beside her and threw it at them without hesitation.
"If you all want to laugh at me, then let's all lose face together!"
Caught off guard by Cao Wei's sudden outburst, the muddy water splashed everywhere. Everyone screamed in surprise and scattered in all directions to avoid it.
Poor those young ladies from small official families who were closest to Cao Wei. They couldn't avoid being splashed all over with the stinky water, and their faces turned green.
Such a big commotion soon caught the attention of people in the distance.
There were many feuds among the young ladies from noble families. There were always some incidents during the registration for the Qingyun Competition every year. But it was usually just a few harsh words, making one cry and the other faint.
Such a big commotion like this year was the first time.
For a moment, the exquisitely dressed young ladies rushed over to watch the show.
Cao Wei was still going crazy when she suddenly heard someone shout loudly,
"Princess Four is coming!"
Cao Wei was stunned. Looking closely, she saw that Ye Xi was tightly protected by maids and attendants; Qiao Yan, with a long whip in her hand, was so agile that she didn't get much mud on her. Only she herself and a few other less - important ladies were in a complete mess.
The anger that had just been a little vented instantly returned, filling Cao Wei's whole body even more quickly. She was so angry that she couldn't stop shaking.
But Princess Four, two judging ladies of the Qingyun Competition, and a lovely and charming girl behind them had already walked up to them.
All of them were extremely shocked to see this chaotic scene.
"What... what happened?"
Madam Wei was the first to speak.
Because there were additional changes to the Qingyun Competition this year, with the addition of archery and horse - riding events. The rule that the judging ladies were always from noble and secluded families was changed this year, and she, from a military family, was selected as a judging lady.
Who would have thought that such a thing would happen on her first assignment.
On the other hand, Madam Qin, an old judging lady of the Qingyun Competition, was relatively more familiar with such situations.
She ordered people to disperse the irrelevant official ladies who were just attracted by the commotion. Then she asked people to bring clean water to wash the faces of those who were covered in mud. Only then did she speak gently but sternly,
"You are all noble ladies with dignity. Why are you making such a scene in public? You're losing your own family's face."
"Miss Cao,"
Madam Qin scanned around and then fixed her eyes on Cao Wei.
"As the center of this incident, please tell us what happened."