Chapter 151: A Major Discovery (Part One)

When those few people turned around, Wu Tan realized that it was Huo Yunhao again.

She had no idea why, ever since Huo Yunhua started scheming against her, the chances of her running into the Huo sisters seemingly kept increasing.

"Aunt!" Lin Yanyao greeted with a smile when she saw the matron leading the others out.

In the Li family, the concubine-born sons had moved out years ago. The one currently living in this residence was the only legitimate son of Old Master Li, sharing the same father and mother with Jiang Li's and Lin Yanyao's mother, Lady Li, though he was the youngest.

Lady Li was in her thirties, with average looks, but she carried herself with a well-read and cultured air.

"Yao'er is here!" Lady Li smiled. "I heard your mother say this morning that you would arrive later. Where is the new groom? Didn't they say you would come together?"

Lin Yanyao felt a trace of shyness. "He just went to pay his respects to my maternal grandfather, and Grandfather kept him for a chat. We couldn't stay idle, so we came out first." She lowered her gaze toward Wu Tan and introduced her, "This is Wu Tan, the younger sister of my husband's family..."

Before she could finish, Wu Tan had already called out sweetly, "Hello, Aunt!"

"You must be the Second Young Lady of the Prince of Dingyuan's Estate, right?" Lady Li gave her a swift, nonchalant scan, maintaining a proper smile. "There are many guests in the mansion today. Please don't mind if there are any oversights or slights, and feel free to amuse yourselves."

Jiang Yuzhi had lost quite a bit of weight recently, and coupled with being frightened by Wu Tan, she had been somewhat absent-minded. Just then, she happened to be blocked behind Li Xun'er, so Lady Li did not notice her at first.

Although Li Xun'er held the noble rank of a Princess of the Second Rank, the Li family were not officials and had never interacted with her before. Assuming she had come along with Lin Yanyao, Lady Li waited for Lin Yanyao to make the introduction.

Lin Yanyao smiled and remained silent.

Wu Tan turned her head to Jiang Yuzhi and said, "Miss Jiang, Princess Changping was brought here by your second brother. Aren't you going to introduce her?"

When Lady Li and her group came out from the courtyard earlier, the shout Wu Tan had made was entirely deliberate. It was just that everyone had been baffled at the time and hadn't thought much of it. Now that the matter was brought up again, they couldn't help but stare at Li Xun'er.

Even though Li Xun'er wasn't thin-skinned, she couldn't endure being stared at and speculated about with ulterior motives, and her face flushed crimson with anger.

"Greetings, Your Highness!" Among Lady Li's group, there were still those who did not know which temple this deity Li Xun'er hailed from. Huo Yunhao took the lead in paying respects to Li Xun'er.

With a cold face and forced patience, Li Xun'er replied, "I am a guest today, and a guest follows the host's customs. Lady Li need not stand on ceremony."

Indeed, Lady Li harbored some wariness toward her status and, unable to fathom her background, decided not to strike up a casual conversation with her. Giving a perroutine response, she shifted her gaze to Jiang Yuzhi, speaking to her with a smile as well, "Yuzhi is here too? You... why do you look somewhat thinner? I didn't catch sight of you just a moment ago."

Although the Li family privately felt that the Jiang family's breaking off of Lin Yanyao's marriage was utterly dishonorable, both Jiang Li's and Lady Li were daughters who had left the Li family, and both were married into prominent, high-ranking households where everyone crossed paths frequently. Lady Li handled matters quite smoothly; her attitude when speaking to Jiang Yuzhi was no different from how she spoke to Lin Yanyao—treating them with absolute equality.

Jiang Yuzhi managed to steady herself and forced out a smile. "Hello, Aunt!"

After that, she had no desire to say anything more.

With Wu Tan standing right there, she had no idea what was wrong with her. Ever since she was threatened by Wu Tan last time, coupled with her belief that she had fallen into the other's grasp, encountering Wu Tan now made her walk on thin ice every moment, not daring to utter an extra word for fear that Wu Tan would publicly find fault with her again.

Li Xun'er had originally counted on her to step forward and smooth things over to explain for her. Seeing her meek and submissive appearance, rage instantly surged within her.

Disregarding the hierarchy, she glared fiercely straight at Wu Tan and retorted, "I clearly came in the company of Yuzhi. Wu Tan, you are also a young lady of a noble house—some groundless rumors and malicious gossip are best left unsaid!"

Her words were fraught with gunpowder from the very start, and Lady Li and the others on the opposite side could all tell something was amiss.

Yet Wu Tan was hardly someone afraid of trouble. Far from being silenced by her rebuff, she raised an eyebrow fearlessly. "Why is that? You have neither blood ties nor connections to the Duke of Pingguo's Estate, and I've never heard of you being close with Miss Jiang before. How is it that you can now go visiting relatives under her banner?"

This Wu Tan really had a sharp tongue.

Jiang Yuzhi gave her a complex look and grew even more terrified to speak.

"You—" Li Xun'er never expected Wu Tan to repeatedly clash with her and humiliate her like this. However, since she had no immediate plans to make her affair with Jiang Pingzhi public, she could not throw a tantrum in public either. Her gaze flickered as she swept it across the surroundings, and she shot back, "Yuzhi is about to marry His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and I am the Crown Prince's maternal cousin—how are we not related by blood? What status do you hold, Wu Tan, that you are so devoid of respect for superiors and inferiors, repeatedly clashing with me today? Do you truly believe that relying on the Prince of Dingyuan to back you up gives you the right to disregard a princess like me?"

Sovereign is sovereign, and subject is subject. Even if the Prince of Dingyuan's Estate boasted a lofty lineage, and even if the martial Marquis and his son were deeply favored by the Emperor—

Li Xun'er was born into the imperial family, and these were insurmountable obstacles for a noble maiden of Wu Tan's standing when facing her.

Ever since her marriage proposal was rejected, Li Xun'er had harbored deep resentment toward both the Prince of Dingyuan's Estate and Wu Tan; she certainly wouldn't pull her punches when dealing with Wu Tan.

Thinking that there was no time like the present, since Wu Tan had fallen right into her hands today, she was just about to unleash her wrath. Unexpectedly, Wu Tan had already seized the initiative to apologize: "How could I ever intend to clash with Your Highness? The reason I am not speaking to you on my knees is simply because my leg is injured and I cannot kneel. Just now, seeing you walk all the way with the Hereditary Princess and the Second Young Master of the Jiang family, I simply spoke without thinking. Since I misspoke, I apologize to Your Highness. As a magnanimous person who does not stoop to the level of petty individuals, surely Your Highness won't hold my unintentional mistake against me, right?"

Her words were extremely smooth, wrapped in needles beneath the cotton. Yet looking at her expression, she was indeed frowning with the utmost sincerity.

This wasn't the Prince Consort's residence, and even the Emperor intended to betroth the Marquis's daughter to the Crown Prince as a secondary consort merely to win over the Marquis of Wu—

Even though Li Xun'er knew very well that Wu Tan was blocking her words, and since she hadn't caught Wu Tan in any major wrongdoing, she couldn't rashly pull rank as a princess to heavily punish her over a few petty squabbles between young girls. Indeed, Li Xun'er did not dare to act rashly.

She stared at Wu Tan, gritting her teeth to suppress her temper while her chest heaved incessantly.

Seeing this, Lin Yanyao smoothly stepped in to mediate, continuing to say to Lady Li, "Aunt, don't you have guests to entertain? Then you needn't worry about us. Aren't the sisters all in the flower parlor? We can just head over there to talk."

"Alright! You can be considered half a hostess; help me entertain them more. I am truly overwhelmed with work today." Lady Li naturally had no wish to see them start a brawl within the Li estate, so she went with the flow. "Right, if you have some spare time later, bring your husband over for me to take a look. There were too many people when you got married and I couldn't properly greet you, and on the day of the formal return home I was delayed by matters and couldn't make it, so I haven't officially met him yet."

"Understood!" Lin Yanyao accepted her words and looked toward the few people accompanying her. "Then please go ahead with your busywork, Aunt. I will find a chance later to bring Yu-ge over to pay his respects."

"Good!" Lady Li nodded. With the old master celebrating his birthday, as the matriarch she wore a face full of joy. Seeing Lin Yanyao looking at the people beside her, she explained, "This is Lady Huo from the Grand Tutor's Estate, along with the Second Young Lady and Fourth Young Master; this is Lady Liu from the West Street Liu Estate and Miss Liu. Both ladies are my bosom friends, here to grace us with their presence today. Right... aren't you heading to the flower parlor? Take the two young ladies along so I won't have to find someone else to guide the way."

"Very well!" Lin Yanyao nodded, offering a slight bow and smile to both Huo Yunhua and the other.

The three of them curtsied to one another, considering themselves introduced.

Looking over, Wu Tan saw the little boy who had previously been held by Lady Huo, Madam Tian, gently tugging at the corner of Huo Yunhao's clothes.

The child was about the same age as Wu Ruirui, but Wu Ruirui was thoroughly spoiled by the Old Madam and quite greedy, always making a fuss and laughing foolishly every day, making him somewhat huskier than this boy. The little boy was dressed in a crimson robe; he was rather thin, with large, expressive, spirited eyes, and looked exceptionally quiet and well-behaved.

He didn't speak; he just raised his neck and stared longingly at Huo Yunhao.

Huo Yunhao bent down, pretending to tidy the stray hair by his ear, and whispered something to him behind the cover of a handkerchief.

"Jie'er?" Seeing her son standing still, Madam Tian had already turned her head to urge him.

Only then did the little boy release the corner of Huo Yunhao's clothes, turned and ran over to take his mother's hand again, repeatedly turning his head back to look as they walked.

Lin Yanyao noticed it as well and couldn't help smiling. "How old is the little Master Huo this year? He truly looks so well-behaved."

Huo Yunhao smiled. "He is four and a half."

She said nothing more.

Naturally unwilling to walk the same path as Wu Tan, Li Xun'er had long since headed toward the main hall in the company of Jiang Yuzhi.

Lin Yanyao led Wu Tan, Huo Yunhua, and Miss Liu toward the flower parlor.

Knowing that the Wu family held no goodwill toward her, Huo Yunhao very sensibly spoke in low tones with Miss Liu along the way.

As Lin Yanyao and Cheng Cheng pushed Wu Tan's wheelchair, she suddenly remembered something and leaned over to ask, "Did you eat breakfast, Tan'er?"

"Uh..." Wu Tan touched her stomach and only then felt a twinge of hunger. "No!"

She originally would have had time for breakfast, but Lei Ming had happened to bring the physician over to change her dressing, and after that interruption, she completely forgot.

Lin Yanyao turned her head to instruct Lanyu, "Go to the kitchen and see if there is any ready-made food, and bring some to the flower parlor."

"Understood!" Lanyu acknowledged the order and left.

"Thank you, Second Sister-in-law!" Wu Tan raised her head to look at Lin Yanyao and flashed a wide smile.

Lin Yanyao returned her smile.

Over at the flower parlor, a dozen or so young ladies from various relatives' and friends' households had already gathered. As soon as they stepped into the courtyard, the sound of lively conversation and laughter washed over them.

Some were drinking tea and chatting, trying on each other's jewelry, while a few others had moved a chess board over and were surrounding two young ladies engaged in a game of Go.

Wu Tan's wheelchair was inconvenient to maneuver, and when she entered the doorway, she had the servants help her. The commotion was a bit loud, inevitably drawing the attention of the young ladies inside the room.

One of the young ladies playing Go looked over. Ignoring Wu Tan, she directed her gaze straight at Lin Yanyao, raising an eyebrow directly: "I was wondering who it was making such a grand entrance, and it turns out to be Eldest Cousin Yanyao. It's been a while since you've stepped out of the house, hasn't it?"

Ordinarily, such a remark would have been harmless. However, just over a month ago, Lin Yanyao had been embroiled in a scandal—whispers of which could still occasionally be heard outside. For her to speak like this now was unmistakably pointed.

Hearing the voice, all the young ladies in the room turned their heads in unison.

Lin Yanyao was naturally not one fond of contention and brawling. Yet that incident now concerned not only herself, but also Wu Quyue and the honor of both the Lin and Wu families; she could not simply sit idly by and let outsiders misinterpret it.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, she looked at the young lady and smiled faintly without changing her expression, "It's not that I haven't stepped out; it's just that we use different doors, so we didn't happen to cross paths."

The young lady who spoke was Li Wanting, who was also fourteen this year. However, Lady Li had only borne two sons herself, making Li Wanting a daughter born to a concubine.

Still, since the Li family were the hosts today, everyone yielded to her to some extent with flattering gestures. Coupled with the fact that the Li family was a scholarly lineage, Li Wanting relied on her modest literary fame to view herself with considerable arrogance.

Throughout history, the distinction between legitimate and concubine-born status had always been stark. How could a mere concubine-born daughter of the Li family dare to jump out so publicly and speak to Lin Yanyao in such a manner?

Thinking it rather strange, Wu Tan temporarily stood back to observe developments without speaking.

Unexpectedly countered by Lin Yanyao's clever deflections, Li Wanting was stunned for a moment before flying into a rage upon realization. Slamming down her chess pieces, she stood up and interrogated, "Lin Yanyao, what do you mean by that? Have you climbed up to a high branch and now look down upon the Li family's status? If you have the ability, don't set foot in the Li family's doors today! Don't forget, your mother is also a daughter who left the Li family!"

Seeing her start a public altercation like this, the others realized a good show was about to unfold; nobody stepped in to mediate, and all maintained a gloating silence.

Huo Yunhao glanced at Wu Tan, finding it rather strange that she showed no intention of stepping up to defend her cousin—

Judging from her previous encounters with Wu Tan, she was a fiercely protective person who loved to stir up trouble for others while fiercely guarding her own.

Yet Wu Tan indeed showed no sign of wanting to meddle in their dispute. Her eyes merely flashed as she beckoned Cheng Cheng over.

"Miss!" Cheng Cheng leaned closer, bending down to catch her words.

Wu Tan instructed, "Go find Second Brother."

Dropping the casual order in a very low voice, and with everyone else's attention focused squarely on Lin Yanyao and Li Wanting, only Huo Yunhao caught sight of it.

Lin Yanyao was truly a well-bred young lady. Governed by her upbringing, she detested such vulgar public brawls, but since someone had come knocking on her door, she refused to back down.

Without losing her temper, she simply smiled faintly and retorted, "Stop throwing the Li family around in every breath; watch your tongue. Although you are currently a daughter of the Li family, it is not your place to call the shots here. Though my mother married out from the Li family, she remains a legitimate daughter and mistress of the Li house. With the proper hierarchy of primary and secondary lineage clearly established, it is not your turn to make irresponsible remarks. If word gets out, it's one thing for you to earn a reputation for being ill-mannered, but I'd rather the Li family's good name and my aunt and uncle's reputations not be dragged down by you."

Li Wanting was not unacquainted with Lin Yanyao, knowing full well her usual mild disposition—she always carried a smile when speaking to anyone, making her look like a soft persimmon that was easy to bully. It was precisely because of this that she had dared to mock her today.

Now, crushed under Lin Yanyao's invocation of primary and secondary hierarchy, Li Wanting flushed crimson with humiliation. Abandoning all restraint, she pointed at Lin Yanyao and cried, "You say *I* am dragging down the Li family's reputation? You stepping into the Li family's doors today is what truly brings shame upon us. Shall I recount your own disgraceful scandals for everyone to hear? It's a marvel you still have the face to put on airs of high-purity here; your skin is truly beyond thick. If I were you, I'd have no face left to live."

Though angered by her words, Lin Yanyao managed to suppress it by digging her fingernails into her palms to preserve her dignity in public. Just as she was about to retort with a cold face, a voice drifted in from outside the courtyard: "What are you all talking about? Who says my wife has a thick skin? Clearly, *my* skin is much thicker!"

Turning their heads in unison, the crowd saw a young master in brocade robes sauntering leisurely into the courtyard.

He was exceptionally handsome, with sword-like brows, star-bright eyes, and a sharp nose above thin lips. At the moment, his lips curved into a slight smile as he strolled in unhurriedly, drawing every eye.

Many among the Li family's circle of acquaintances were not officials, but rather long-established gentry families. Furthermore, since this was Wu Quyue's first visit to the Li estate, virtually no one recognized him.

Wu Tan threw a glance at him, rolled her eyes internally, and muttered a silent complaint: "There he goes acting like a big bad wolf again!"

Since Wu Quyue had arrived, she couldn't be bothered to mind the petty disputes.

Cheng Cheng had sprinted off to fetch Wu Quyue; having just stepped out of the courtyard and walked only a few paces, she happened to run into Mother Yang leading him over.

Fearing trouble, both Cheng Cheng and Mother Yang hastily hurried back in his wake.

Reluctant to listen to any more brawling, Wu Tan summoned the two maids: "Help me outside; I want to bask in the sun."

Her other leg merely lacked the strength to bear weight temporarily; she could actually stand on her own.

Mother Yang quickly stepped forward, joining Cheng Cheng to support her out the door. Just as she found a pillar along the corridor where the sunlight reached and sat down, Lanyu walked in from outside the courtyard carrying a tray.

"Over here..." Wu Tan beckoned.

Lanyu paused her steps, gave a slight nod, and was just about to head that way when, unceremoniously, Princess Changping's group strode swiftly into the courtyard from outside.

Having heard that Lin Yanyao was clashing with the Li family's daughter in this courtyard, this group had hurried over to watch the spectacle. Walking somewhat hastily and failing to watch their step, they collided head-on with Lanyu.

The chicken soup on the tray splashed out, soaking the front of Li Xun'er's garments.

"Are you blind..." Wenlu gave Lanyu a shove, opening her mouth to scold, but Li Xun'er suddenly clamped a hand over her mouth, turned, hurried behind the doorframe, and began to retch while clutching it.

"It's just a splash of chicken soup, is there any need?" Wu Tan curled her lip in disdain, thinking how exceedingly pretentious the girl was.

Yet while Wu Tan thought nothing of it, Mother Yang—a woman of experience—watched closely for a long time, her expression gradually growing peculiar.

Noticing this as she glanced sideways, Wu Tan asked in puzzlement, "Mother Yang, what's wrong with you?"

Mother Yang looked somewhat awkward, offering several hesitant, wordless glances before finally lowering her voice to whisper uncertainly: "Perhaps this old servant is overthinking things, but... Her Highness the Princess seems somewhat unusual!"