Chapter 575: Chapter 445: When Love Is Given to the Wrong Person, What Should One Do
Emperor Xia’s funeral had concluded seven days prior, and now the Lan Residence began to bustle with activity, as preparations for Ye Huangyu and Nie Fengxing’s wedding were underway.
Although it was her second marriage, when Ye Huangyu initially married into the Hong Residence, it wasn’t through a formal wedding. In order to make up for this regret, both Ye Lingyue and Lady Lan were extremely busy making every possible effort to give Ye Huangyu the best wedding.
Marquis Guanwu had finally consented to the marriage between Nie Fengxing and Ye Huangyu. He generously prepared a hefty dowry to restore Ye Huangyu’s honor.
Upon hearing the news of Ye Huangyu’s forthcoming marriage, Ye Gu along with others from the Ye Family rushed to the Xia Capital.
This morning, Ye Huangyu, the bride-to-be, was invited over by Lady Lan to select fabrics and jewelry.
Their eyes darted to and fro as they gazed upon a dazzling array of jewels and the valuable Beiqing Cloud Brocade.
"Ling Yue, you’ve prepared far too much. Mother is already of age; she doesn’t need all of this. You, on the other hand, are still young and should dress up more." Ye Huangyu said sternly, trying to drape the jewelry and clothes over Ye Lingyue.
She felt quite apologetic that as a mother, she had to have her daughter arrange her wedding.
"Who dares to call my mother old? Have you forgotten? Yesterday when we went to Fengming Manor, the shopkeeper thought we were sisters," Ye Lingyue replied nonchalantly.
"Aunt Ye, stop pushing it off. These bits of clothing and jewelry are nothing for Sister Ling Yue. She wasn’t even upfront about it; she went to Wanjing Gambling House and bet one million taels of gold. She made a fortune as soon as the Imperial Examination ended. Do you know what we call her now? Ye Hao. She has so much gold, she hardly knows where to keep it. I suspect that she might be richer than even Prince Feng and Your Majesty," Lan Cai’er interjected, smirking.
She had pestered Ye Lingyue for half a day over this and had managed to secure a sharehold in Drunk Immortal Inn.
"Cai’er, you should not speak to your Aunt Ye like that. You’re a young lady, always talking about money, which is improper," Lady Lan, who had just entered with a nanny, scolded her daughter as she saw Lan Cai’er "spouting nonsense" again.
Lan Cai’er shrank her neck upon hearing this.
"Ladies, I just remembered, I promised to take you around Xia Capital. The weather is beautiful today; let us have drinks...tea at Drunk Immortal Inn!" Lan Cai’er, fearless and bold, would even shout back at General Lan’s thunderous voice, but with Lady Lan, she showed no resistance.
As Ye Lingyue phrased it, the real head of the Lan Family was indeed Lady Lan.
Ye Lingyue, already accustomed to this behavior, let herself be dragged out by Lan Cai’er.
They hadn’t gotten far when they overheard Lady Lan’s sigh.
"Huanyu, sorry you had to see that. Cai’er is such a handful. She’s over twenty and still unmarried; as her mother, it’s heart-wrenching to watch."
Both Ye Lingyue and Lan Cai’er were martial artists, keen of hearing. Ye Lingyue heard every word clearly, realizing that as Lady Lan spoke, Lan Cai’er’s fingers slightly tensed, her palms sweating.
When they left Lan Residence, Lan Cai’er lacked her usual liveliness and looked disheartened.
"Sister Lan, seeing you like this, could it be you’re worried about getting married?" Ye Yinsuang, straightforward and somewhat like Lan Cai’er, teased upon seeing her demeanor.
Women in Daxia married early; the average girl would be engaged by fourteen and married by sixteen. Someone like Lan Cai’er, in her twenties and still unmarried, was truly rare.
If it were claimed that Lan Cai’er was unattractive, that could be a justifiable argument.
However, she was a Commandery Princess and exceptionally beautiful. When Ye Lingyue first came to the Lan Residence, she even heard the old servants gossiping how back when Lan Cai’er was in her teens, suitors practically broke down their doorsteps, but Lan Cai’er, with her high standards, didn’t take a fancy to any of them.
Ye Lingyue was increasingly puzzled as to why Lan Cai’er remained unmarried to this day.
Ye Liuyun, always quick-witted, noticed Lan Cai’er’s odd expression and quickly pulled Ye Yinsuang aside.
Lan Cai’er paused slightly, then spoke with bitterness.
"When I was your age, I too had loved a man. Sadly, my love was not reciprocated. I devoted myself to him for four years, but his heart belonged to another. I almost caused my father’s death because of this. I’ve decided not to marry in this lifetime."
The women were all shocked upon hearing this.
It was also the first time Ye Lingyue heard Lan Cai’er talk about her past.
Lan Cai’er, usually so open-hearted, also had such an unknown side to her.
Ye Lingyue couldn’t help but recall the circumstances when she first encountered Lan Yingwu and his daughter.
At that time, Lan Yingwu was afflicted by the Technique of Evil Method, reportedly during a rebellion in the Central Plains, where he came under attack by members of a Cult.
Could it be that the true story was different, hiding other secrets?
Ye Lingyue wanted to ask, but considering the Ye sisters were present, she deemed it inappropriate to inquire further, planning to find an opportunity to clarify the details another day.
"Let’s not talk about these people. Drunk Immortal Inn has released a new batch of wine today; we shan’t return until we’re thoroughly drunk," said Lan Cai’er, managing to squeeze out a smile.
The four of them were about to head to Drunk Immortal Inn when Lan Yingwu, having just finished the morning imperial court session, spotted Ye Lingyue and called her over.
"Ling Yue, I’ve heard from the prison guard in Heavenly Prison that Hong Fang has been wanting to see your mother recently. Nie Fengxing has intercepted the message. What do you think, do you want to go see him?"
It had already been confirmed that the Hong Residence was conspiring to usurp the throne, and Xiahou Qi had decreed that Hong Fang and others were to be executed in three days.
With Nie Fengxing and Ye Huangyu’s wedding approaching, Hong Fang’s request to see Ye Huangyu at this time was naturally unwelcome by Nie Fengxing.
Considering Ye Lingyue was still Hong Fang’s daughter, Lan Yingwu took the initiative to relay the message.
"Don’t tell my mother about this. She is soft-hearted, and Hong Fang is sly and cunning. Since he wishes to see someone, I will go," decided Ye Lingyue upon hearing this, and resolved to visit the Heavenly Prison herself, curious to see what Hong Fang was up to.
This was Ye Lingyue’s second visit to Heavenly Prison.
Her previous visit was to ’investigate’ Xia Houhong.
And this time, it was to ’visit’ her biological father, Hong Fang.
In the dimly-lit Heavenly Prison, Hong Fang, Hong Yulang, and Zhuge Rou were detained in a cell.
The once high-spirited Hong Fang, now dressed in prison garb and shackled with specially made fetters, along with a dispirited and malodorous Zhuge Rou and Hong Yulang, presented a sorry sight.