The burning pain on her cheek made Yun Qianying stare in disbelief with wide eyes.
"You... You dare to hit me?"
The more she thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt. Yun Qianying shrieked,
"I'm the legitimate daughter of the Yun family! My grandfather..."
"Xiaoying, shut up!"
Yun Qi roared with a cold and stern look on his face.
As the newly promoted military champion, he had many social engagements today and came late. He happened to hear Yun Qianying's words humiliating Ye Xi.
He knew that Yun Qianying was biased against Ye Xi because of Shen Zhou. But to slander others out of jealousy and speak recklessly was not at all what a young lady of the Yun family should do.
Disasters often come from careless talk. The Yun family was already a prominent family and lived on thin ice every day. If Yun Qianying continued to cause trouble everywhere under the name of the young lady of the Yun family, the whole Yun family might be ruined by her.
Yun Qi also intended for Yun Qianying to learn a lesson, so he didn't stop Mian Xiao Lin An just now.
Seeing that her elder brother not only didn't help her but also scolded her, Yun Qianying felt even more aggrieved. Especially when she saw Shen Zhou following behind Yun Qi, she was heart - broken and sobbed like a pear blossom in the rain,
"But I'm not wrong. I'm just stating the facts. Brother, I'm your younger sister. They hit me in public. Shouldn't you avenge me..."
"Ah—How could it be him!?"
A burst of exclamations erupted from the crowd, abruptly interrupting Yun Qianying's words.
It was Yi Yuan who pried open the huddled man and forced his disgusting face to be revealed.
The candlelight was bright. The drunk man could no longer hide his face. It was clearly Cao Sheng!
The young ladies from noble families, who had just been stunned by the slap, began to buzz and whisper again:
"Why is it Cao Sheng? Today is the Forest of Gems Banquet. How could a person without the qualification to participate be here?"
"I thought she was so determined when the engagement was called off. I didn't expect that it hasn't been long and she's already gotten back together with him behind the back of Prince Yu'an..."
"Obviously, they still have feelings for each other. After all, they were deeply in love and had been engaged..."
A flash of pride crossed her eyes. Yun Qianying continued to sob aggrievedly with tears in her eyes,
"Brother, A Zhou, look. I told you. There can't be such a coincidence. They clearly made an appointment!"
But neither of them paid any attention to her.
Qiao Yan, who was standing beside Ye Xi, was also shocked. She gently tugged at Ye Xi's sleeve and asked,
"Why is Cao Sheng here? Is he following you?"
Shaking her head, Ye Xi whispered,
"I don't know."
Cao Sheng was already sober from most of his drunkenness. Seeing the overwhelming hostility in Yi Yuan's eyes as if he was going to devour him alive the next second, he instinctively shrank back in fear.
But as soon as he moved, Yi Yuan casually broke his arm with a "crack".
"Ah!"
Cao Sheng never expected that Yi Yuan would dare to act in front of everyone. He let out a shrill scream, his eyes blurred with pain and cold sweat pouring down. But Yi Yuan's cold voice like that from hell immediately rang in his ear,
"Why were you waiting for Xiaoxi here? Who gave you the information?"
"I, I didn't..."
"Crash—"
The killing intent in Yi Yuan's eyes grew stronger. A strange smile flashed across his face. With a gentle movement of his well - defined fingers, he broke one of Cao Sheng's fingers.
"Very good. Don't admit it. The longer you're stubborn, the more bones I can break."
"Come on, I'll ask you again. Who gave you the information? Hmm?"
Cao Sheng was in so much pain that his eyes were black. Since Ye Xi and Yi Yuan had established their relationship, Yi Yuan seemed to have become an ordinary man in love. Cao Sheng had almost forgotten Yi Yuan's cruel and blood - thirsty reputation. Now seeing Yi Yuan like a Shura again, he was so terrified that his bones were trembling.
"I don't know, I don't know!"
Cao Sheng was so scared that he almost lost control of his bladder. How dare he argue? He shouted repeatedly,
"I just asked my father to let me come to see the Forest of Gems Banquet in my second brother's name. Later, I drank too much and the servant helped me to the side hall to rest. On the way, I was thirsty and got up to drink water. I saw a note under the teapot asking me to come here. It was signed Xiniang, so I came... Ah!"
Another shrill scream. Yi Yuan broke another of his fingers.
"I'm telling the truth! I really don't know..."
Cao Sheng's face was as white as paper and he was on the verge of fainting.
Everyone around didn't even dare to breathe. Especially the young ladies from noble families. They had never seen such a cruel scene before. Their faces were no better than Cao Sheng's.
"Uncle Wang,"
Yi Zhen's beautiful eyes were full of an unclear look as she advised,
"Master Cao is after all from the State Uncle's Mansion, the queen's own nephew. For the queen's sake, let him go."
Yi Yuan ignored her as if he hadn't heard. He looked at Cao Sheng with a cold, dead - like gaze,
"Where's the note?"
"In my bosom, in my bosom!"
Afraid that Yi Yuan would break another of his fingers if he was a moment late, Cao Sheng almost roared out.
"A Yuan, that's enough."
Seeing that Yi Yuan was about to act again, Ye Xi quickly called out to him.
It wasn't that she felt sorry for Cao Sheng. This dirty wretch was not even worth the land to bury him if he died. But Yi Zhen was right. There was such a commotion here, but the emperor and his important ministers hadn't shown up yet. It was obvious that they were observing in the dark. If Cao Sheng really died at Yi Yuan's hands, not to mention the friendship between Grand Tutor Cao and herself, those opponents of Yi Yuan in the court, especially the Shen family, would never let go of such a good opportunity to bring Yi Yuan down.
The ice in his eyes softened a little. Reluctantly, Yi Yuan withdrew his hand that was about to break Cao Sheng's finger and reached for the note instead.
Everyone knew that Yi Yuan liked Ye Xi, but they didn't know that he doted on her to such an extent. With just four simple words, the Prince Yu'an, who had looked like a man - eater just now, obediently withdrew his hand. The young ladies felt even more jealous and envious for a moment.
On this side, Yi Yuan had already taken out the note and disgustedly threw aside the half - dead Cao Sheng. It clearly said on the note that it was an invitation for Cao Sheng to come to the garden path, and the signature was indeed Xiniang.
Letting out a cold laugh, Yi Yuan threw the note to Mian Xiao. He naturally took the silk handkerchief Ye Xi handed him and slowly wiped his hands as he said,
"The handwriting is quite imitative, but Xiaoxi has had an injured right hand for many days and can't even hold a pen. They can't even set up a trap properly. How stupid."
"Who wrote the note? Come out and admit it yourself. Otherwise..." His cold gaze swept across everyone present. Yi Yuan continued, "Don't blame me for being merciless."
"And this dress,"
Liu Mengxian didn't know when she had come over. She carefully examined the tattered outer robe on the ground and said,
"The clothes in the palace always have tight stitches and are well - tailored. But this dress was obviously soaked in some material in advance. The fabric is very fragile and easy to break. It's obvious that someone deliberately wanted Xiaoxi to make a fool of herself and prepared it on purpose."
"Really?"
Qiao Yan took the tattered cloth from Liu Mengxian's hand in surprise and exclaimed,
"So, it means that the maid deliberately spilled the tea on Xiaoxi just now so that she would go to change clothes."
"No,"
Ye Xi said,
"She was bumped into. But there were only noble ladies standing beside us at that time, so she didn't dare to tell the truth."
At this time, no one cared how Ye Xi knew the real situation. Especially the few young ladies who had been standing beside Ye Xi turned pale and began to frantically clear themselves.
Yi Yuan's face was as black as the bottom of a pot. He didn't even dare to think about what the situation would be if Ye Xi had really worn that dress.
"Lin An, investigate for me. If this matter isn't investigated clearly today, none of you will get away!"