Chapter 27 - ARTTEDSBGT Chapter 27
The next day, as Li Zhizhi had expected, Zhao Shan’er did indeed confront Li Suwan. When asked about the incident at the Spring Banquet, Li Suwan became fl.u.s.tered and quickly denied, saying, “I never said such things, Sister Zhao. It must be Li Zhizhi trying to sow discord and slander me.”
“Oh?” Zhao Shan’er, always proud and accustomed to being praised, was not a fool. She narrowed her eyes and asked, “In that case, how did Li Zhizhi know that the flower was picked by me?”
Li Suwan’s face turned pale, and she stammered, “Perhaps she was just guessing.”
“Guessing?” Zhao Shan’er sneered, then suddenly raised her hand and slapped Li Suwan across the face, fast and loud. “Do you take me for a fool?”
Li Suwan was taken aback and couldn’t react in time. “Sister Zhao—”
Before she could finish her sentence, another slap came from the opposite direction. Zhao Shan’er had taken great pleasure in hitting w.a.n.g Lingyue the day before, and today, she was equally merciless when dealing with Li Suwan, showing no mercy.
Li Suwan covered her burning cheek, tears welling up in her eyes, while Zhao Shan’er glared at her with disdain, saying, “I detest backstabbers and schemers the most. I’m letting you off lightly with just two slaps. If there’s a next time, I’ll have you thrown out of the capital!”
…
With two distinct handprints on her face, Li Suwan returned to the Li residence, hiding in the Purple Wisteria Courtyard, crying. Li Zhizhi, on the other hand, was in a good mood and even had an extra bowl of dinner.
At this time, Lady Li and Li Xingzhi were in the Purple Wisteria Courtyard, trying to comfort Li Suwan. Seeing the clear handprints on their daughter’s cheeks, Lady Li fumed, saying, “Whoever did this is unforgivable! Tell me, our Li family cannot be bullied like this!”
After repeated questioning, Li Suwan tearfully revealed that it was Zhao Shan’er who did it, but she refused to go into the details of the true reasons behind it, only mentioning the incident at the Spring Banquet.
Lady Li’s anger flared, and she said, “That matter should have been resolved already. You took the blame for her, and she turns around and hits you. Even if she’s the granddaughter of Prime Minister Zhao, this is truly going too far.”
Li Xingzhi abruptly stood up, his expression grim, and said, “I’ll go confront them right now.”
Lady Li quickly called out, “Xingzhi.”
“Stop.”
A familiar and dignified voice came from the doorway, and everyone turned to look, only to see the person entering was Li Cen. He walked in with his hands behind his back, his gaze sweeping over Li Suwan. He said sternly, “Do you still find it not embarra.s.sing enough?”
“Dad,” Li Xingzhi frowned and said, “This whole thing is clearly Zhao Shan’er’s fault. Why are we worried about losing face?”
“Sir,” Mrs. Li also said, “Our daughter has suffered such a great injustice. Shouldn’t we seek justice for her? How will outsiders look at our Li family in the future?”
However, Li Cen responded, “A woman’s perspective is different. It’s just two children fighting in the school, originally a trivial matter. But you went to the Prime Minister’s residence to seek justice, causing a big fuss, making it difficult for me to face Prime Minister Zhao and Minister Zhao in the future.”
He asked his wife, “Even if the Prime Minister’s residence acknowledges this matter and sends someone to apologize, can we handle it?”
Mrs. Li was left speechless, and the air fell silent. Li Suwan, who had been crying, with tears in her eyes, couldn’t cry anymore. She hung her head and said, “I understand…”
Mrs. Li, feeling sorry for her daughter, tried to comfort her, saying, “Alright, alright, from now on, we should be more careful. Stay away from Zhao Shan’er, and don’t argue with her.”
After a few more comforting words, everyone left the room, and the atmosphere returned to calm. The servants were dismissed, leaving only Li Suwan alone. She couldn’t contain her frustration any longer and, with a sweep of her hand, knocked the teapot and cups on the table to the ground.
Suddenly, a faint sound of footsteps came from outside. Li Suwan’s heart jumped as she saw a familiar figure emerge from behind the screen. She fixed her gaze on the intruder and asked with a mix of annoyance and anger, “It’s you again. What are you here for?”
The person was none other than Li Zhizhi. She had come with Li Cen because she couldn’t miss the opportunity to witness the spectacle of Zhao Shan’er’s humiliation.
Li Zhizhi smiled and said, “I heard that my sister got injured, so I came to show some concern.”
Li Suwan glared at her, her eyes filled with resentment, as if she wanted to bite her. She said in an angry tone, “Who asked you to come with your fake concern? If it weren’t for you—”
“If it weren’t for me, Zhao Shan’er would still be your good friend,” Li Zhizhi interrupted, sitting down casually on a stool. She looked at Li Suwan with a somewhat surprised expression and continued, “My dear sister, you don’t actually believe I came here to care about you, do you?”
With one hand propping up her cheek, Li Zhizhi looked somewhat incredulous and said, “How can you be so naive? Of course, I came to see the pitiful state you’re in now!”
Li Suwan was completely infuriated by her words. She heaved with anger and picked up the only teacup left on the table, throwing it at Li Zhizhi, cursing, “Get out of here!”
Li Zhizhi lifted her hand to catch the cup and with a charming turn of her beautiful eyes, she smiled and said, “Of course, I’ll leave, but before I go, I want to congratulate Sister Wan’er.”
Her fingertips gently caressed the delicate porcelain cup as she spoke in a soft, mocking tone, “It’s truly a blessing for Sister Wan’er to have such parents. I hope she cherishes it, after all… the days ahead are long.”
Li Suwan looked at her with a faint smile on her face, but a sudden chill crept into her heart.
The next morning, Li Zhizhi heard that Li Suwan was ill. This time, it might not be a pretense, as a doctor had visited and recommended several days of rest. Li Cen expressed some dissatisfaction, blaming Lady Li for pampering Li Suwan too much, which had led to her current state.
Lady Li, in turn, tried to explain herself, but the couple argued for a while and ended on an unhappy note. Li Cen left for court with a dark expression, and Lady Li, feeling disgruntled, skipped her morning meal. By noon, a servant rushed in to report, “The Duke of Yiguo’s Mansion has sent people to return your previous invitations and gifts, madam.”
Lady Li immediately stood up and exclaimed in surprise, “How could this happen?”
The invitations and gifts in question were sent by her a month ago to the d.u.c.h.ess of Yiguo. In the tradition of their kingdom, when a daughter turned fifteen and reached the age of marriage, they would invite a respected lady to help her with the ceremonial hairpin. Once the ceremony was completed, it was considered as acknowledging a stepmother. Lady Li had wanted to raise Li Taixi’s status and had put a lot of effort into getting the d.u.c.h.ess of Yiguo to accept the invitation. She never expected it to be returned now.
The person who came to return the items was a servant from the Duke of Yiguo’s Mansion. Facing Lady Li’s inquiries, she simply said, “Our mistress said that she had an unexpected conflict on the appointed day and didn’t want to delay the coming-of-age ceremony for your daughter. Therefore, she informed you in advance to invite someone else.”
This explanation was clearly an excuse. Lady Li’s heart sank as she realized that her involvement in the Spring Festival party had offended the d.u.c.h.ess of Yiguo. She was both angry and upset, but she didn’t dare show it. After dismissing the servant politely, she took a sip of tea to calm herself. Unfortunately, the tea was freshly brewed and scalded her mouth. In her anger, Lady Li slammed the teacup to the ground and cursed, “All these useless things!”
It was unclear whom she was cursing, and for a while, the servants around her stood trembling, afraid to make a sound. Lady Li finally calmed down after a while and, after some contemplation, instructed someone to write new invitations and prepare new gifts. She decided to personally visit a few acquaintances. However, her trip did not go smoothly. The other ladies either had no time or avoided meeting her, and Lady Li ran into several obstacles. One of the ladies even asked with a mocking smile, “Last time, I inquired about your daughter’s coming-of-age ceremony, and you said that the d.u.c.h.ess of Yiguo had already agreed. How come she’s changed her mind now?”
Lady Li didn’t want to explain further and only gave a few perfunctory responses before taking her leave. After she left, the lady said disdainfully, “Back then, I intended to help her daughter with the ceremony, but she had a high-handed att.i.tude and only had eyes for the d.u.c.h.ess of Yiguo. She looked down on us. Now that the d.u.c.h.ess of Yiguo has declined the task, she wants to turn back, but she’s just daydreaming, thinking she can get away with it scot-free.”
All of them look like mischievous people, not a single one is reliable. Lady Li drank tea with them for an entire afternoon, and her anger was brewing inside her while she had to maintain a smiling facade. Finally, she went to the Marquis of Jianchang’s residence.
At that time, the Marquis’s wife was scolding her unruly young son while holding a chicken feather duster. When she heard someone was coming to visit, Pei Yanchuan swiftly got up from the ground and grinned, saying, “Mother, I won’t embarra.s.s you this time. You can entertain the guest first.”
The Marquis’s wife gave him a stern look and said, “Stop fooling around, go stand in the back.”
She went to the flower hall to receive Lady Li. After half a cup of tea had pa.s.sed, she learned the purpose of Lady Li’s visit. The Marquis’s wife felt embarra.s.sed and apologized, saying, “I would be willing to agree to this matter, but unfortunately, the timing is not right. That day, my father-in-law is celebrating his birthday, and if I’m not present, it won’t be acceptable.”
Lady Li was disappointed and after sitting for a while, she got up to take her leave. The Marquis’s wife personally escorted her out. Upon her return, she saw Pei Yanchuan had suddenly appeared from somewhere and asked, “Mother, you didn’t agree, did you?”
The Marquis’s wife rolled her eyes at him and said, “I don’t have the power to be in two places at once, how could I agree?”
She sighed and continued, “To be honest, this situation is awkward. Everyone knows that Lady Yiguo wants to adorn her daughter’s hairpin, but she was rejected. Who would be willing to take on this task?”
Pei Yanchuan, munching on melon seeds, curiously asked, “Why was she rejected?”
“It’s because of the incident at the Spring Outing Banquet, which made Lady Yiguo lose face in public, and it even reflected poorly on Lady Chunfei,” the Marquis’s wife replied while picking a few melon seeds from her son’s hand. “In my opinion, young girls like to look beautiful. She just picked a flower, which is something many have done. It’s just that this Miss Li, her bad luck is something else.”
Pei Yanchuan laughed and spat out the melon seed sh.e.l.l. He said, “I don’t think it’s just bad luck. She either has terrible luck or a wicked heart. If she didn’t want to frame someone else, things wouldn’t have ended up like this.”
After a brief pause, he asked, “So, will this Lady Li come to ask you again next time?”
The Marquis’s wife, puzzled, responded, “There will be a next time. The ceremony of a girl coming of age can’t be rescheduled.”
Pei Yanchuan rubbed his nose and playfully said, “But doesn’t the Li family have another young lady?”
The Marquis’s wife’s motion of eating melon seeds froze, and she looked at her son with suspicion. “You seem to know everything. What are you trying to ask?”
Pei Yanchuan hurriedly said, “Nothing! Mother, I’ve been punished today and even knelt down. I won’t go to the Imperial College now.”
After saying that, he made a quick escape. As he left the courtyard, he heard his mother’s furious roar from behind, “You little rascal! Get back here!”