Sheng Yi looked at Feng Ran with concern in her eyes.
If she didn't speak, Feng Ran would never tell her.
"Aren't you going to tell me what happened?"
Sheng Yi stared at Feng Ran, seemingly waiting for her answer.
"I... no... things aren't that serious."
"Feng Ran, it's all in the past, and I'm fine now."
"Can we just let it go?"
"Feng Ran, this matter has never ended. If it's not dealt with, those people will only become more brazen."
"Feng Ran, I absolutely must get to the bottom of today's events and resolve this matter clearly." Sheng Yi made up her mind that this could not be delayed; it had to be settled.
She changed her usual pleasant demeanor to a stern, cold one and said, "If we ignore this matter, things will only become more difficult in the future."
Feng Ran remained silent, thinking that if she didn't speak, Sheng Yi wouldn't be able to do anything.
Seeing Feng Ran's persistence, Sheng Yi felt a bit helpless.
After a long while, her gaze fell upon Feng Ran, as if she had thought of something.
"Feng Ran, if you don't speak, then I'll let Xuanyuan Heng handle this matter."
"I think the Regent will personally handle it," Sheng Yi said, out of options.
She knew very well that Feng Ran's greatest fear was seeing Xuanyuan Heng. Therefore, if she threatened that, Feng Ran would surely tell her everything.
"Sheng Yi, no, you can't. You can't let Xuanyuan Heng know," Feng Ran said anxiously.
Sheng Yi was stunned. This was the first time she had seen Feng Ran lose composure since she'd known her. It was completely different from the Feng Ran she knew.
She had always thought Feng Ran was meek, but she never expected Feng Ran to have such a temperamental side.
Feng Ran's face was extremely pale. "Sheng Yi, no, you really can't let Xuanyuan Heng know."
With a thud, she knelt before Sheng Yi, kowtowing repeatedly and begging.
...
At the official's banquet.
Official Wang sent an invitation to the Xuanyuan Estate. Naturally, the invitation was directly discarded.
However, the servant sent by Official Wang picked up the invitation and said to the gatekeeper of the Xuanyuan Estate, "My master said that he has invited the most skilled zither player from Chun Manyuan. We hope Prince Xuanyuan can attend."
The guard eventually accepted the invitation and, without delay, delivered it to Xuanyuan Heng. Naturally, everything the servant said was reported to Xuanyuan Heng without omission.
...
At the Wang family banquet.
Xuanyuan Heng had arrived, which surprised the Wang family's banquet guests.
His gaze fell upon Feng Ran, only to notice that she seemed to have lost a lot of weight, her complexion was poor, and there was a scar on her forehead.
He remembered that when he last saw her, she hadn't been so thin.
Seeing her now, everything had changed.
Feng Ran felt a burning gaze on her, but when she looked, she saw no suspicious eyes.
It was Feng Ran's turn to perform. She sat down to play the zither.
The moment she saw Xuanyuan Heng, her emotions became completely chaotic. For some reason, the zither string suddenly snapped.
Upon seeing this, Official Wang felt extremely unlucky. The banquet, which was going so well, had been ruined.
Official Wang immediately ordered Feng Ran to be driven out.
After giving the order, Official Wang remembered that Prince Xuanyuan was still present and wondered what he would think of all this.
Official Wang was terrified.
He signaled to his daughters with his eyes, urging them to seize this rare opportunity. If they could catch Xuanyuan Heng's eye and marry into the Xuanyuan Estate, even as a concubine, it would be good.
After all, his Wang family would have an informant by Prince Xuanyuan's side, and in the future, outsiders would be more hesitant to do anything to him out of consideration for Xuanyuan Heng.
But at this moment, Xuanyuan Heng stood up directly, pushed aside the Wang daughters, and exuded a terrifying aura.
Official Wang was extremely frightened and fell to his knees with a thud.
It seemed he had angered the living Yama before him. Official Wang blamed his two daughters even more for their incompetence, for not capturing Xuanyuan Heng's heart.
If one of them had caught Xuanyuan Heng's eye, his Wang family would have enjoyed endless prosperity and wealth in the future.
But now, it seemed everything was ruined.
Xuanyuan Heng's sudden departure changed the festive atmosphere.
Xuanyuan Heng said nothing and did nothing. He simply stood up and left.
Official Wang thought that since Xuanyuan Heng had left, there should be no more trouble.
However, to everyone's surprise, that evening, the Wang family was ordered by the Emperor to be confiscated.
The confiscation was due to Official Wang's corruption and bribery.
Although it was an imperial decree, everyone who knew what had happened that day and thought about it understood that the matter was undoubtedly related to the Regent.
Perhaps, Official Wang never imagined he would end up like this.
If he had known, he would never have invited Xuanyuan Heng to his banquet, let alone tormented Feng Ran.
Outsiders whispered that Xuanyuan Heng wished Feng Ran dead. But after this incident, many felt that the situation was not as it seemed.
Look at Official Wang; he was the best example.
Of course, Feng Ran, who was sent back to Chun Manyuan by Official Wang, was unaware of all this.
That day, seeing Xuanyuan Heng sitting high and looking at her with disdain and mockery in his eyes, that mocking gaze was deeply etched in her mind, impossible to erase.
She smiled sadly. After all these years, she had become a joke.
Chun Manyuan.
Many of the young ladies were discussing the events. However, those people dared not discuss these matters in front of Feng Ran.
Because of Sheng Yi's instructions, they naturally did not dare to.
Sheng Yi had already punished them last time, so they dared not repeat their mistake.
Feng Ran felt their gazes fixed on her whenever they saw her. It felt as if they had many things they wanted to say, but they all avoided her.
Her approach made them extremely scared.
Feng Ran did not know what had happened.
However, she did not dwell on such matters.
Regardless of why they were avoiding her, she felt that it was for the best.
...
As Feng Ran was going downstairs, she bumped into Huang Qianqian.
As she walked past Huang Qianqian, Huang Qianqian reached out and tried to push Feng Ran down the stairs. However, having experienced so much, Feng Ran seemed prepared this time. She grabbed Huang Qianqian's hand, and the two of them tumbled down the stairs together.
Huang Qianqian glared at Feng Ran, cursing her. This damned slut. She was supposed to be the one injured, but Feng Ran grabbed her hand and refused to let go. She was the one who got hurt!
How dare she?
"Feng Ran, do you want to kill me? If you want to fall, fall by yourself. Why are you pulling me?" Huang Qianqian almost roared.
Looking at the shrew-like Huang Qianqian, at the enraged Huang Qianqian, Feng Ran watched her coldly, quietly listening to her scolding.
Clearly, Huang Qianqian had caused the incident, yet she could so self-righteously accuse Feng Ran. Did she not think she had made any mistakes herself?
Everything that had happened was part of her scheme.
It was just that she hadn't expected Feng Ran to retaliate this time.
Didn't Huang Qianqian think she was reaping what she sowed?