Chapter 18: Quarreling over fame and fortune, Ye Xun provokes a senseless dispute

  Under the deep purple flower stand, a woman stands with a gentle and elegant demeanor. Her face is as white as sheep fat jade, with bright and shining eyes that sparkle with every glance. She has a straight nose and cherry lips, exuding a clear and elegant charm. Her black hair is styled in a flowing cloud bun, adorned with a white jade butterfly pin, and she wears a pale blue half-sleeved dress with a pure white chest-high silk underskirt. A red silk ribbon with a plum blossom pattern hangs down from her waist, showcasing her simple yet elegant attire. Although still young, her features are not yet fully developed, but she is already a perfect beauty in the making.

  The wind blows the flowers, and the purple flowers fall, dotting the woman's picturesque eyebrows and fluttering white skirt, painting a breathtakingly beautiful picture.

  And everyone who sees this painting has a feeling that the purple and red flowers in the courtyard, as well as the swallows and orioles, all become the background at this moment, just to set off the elegant and refined white figure.

  Gasps and murmurs rose from the crowd, with both men and women exclaiming: "Is this really that Pei Yuange who is as dull as a saltless dish, devoid of talent and virtue? That overbearing young master, the ruthless Fourth Miss who punished her wet nurse? Many people found it hard to believe, for the woman before them was so gentle and elegant, delicate and moving. The rumors were truly far-fetched!"

  The most unbelievable person is Bae Won-yong.

  Is this really Pei Yuange? She was clearly always just dirt on the ground, ugly and stupid, only worthy of being taken advantage of by others. Why did everything suddenly turn upside down? Not only did she become eloquent, but even her own beauty, which she took pride in, was surpassed by her. She became a noble cloud in the sky, while Pei Yuange became filthy mud. How is this possible? A soft, mocking voice came from beside her, mixed with words like "jealous", "slander", and "foolish", clearly directed at her previous words. She was furious and flustered, almost hysterical.

  An Ran Zhuo stared at Pei Yuange with an unwavering gaze, equally shocked and speechless.

  He had seen Pei Yuange from afar, either with her head hung low, her long bangs almost covering her entire face in shadow, her face thickly painted with powder and rouge, looking gloomy and somber; or else she was harshly scolding the maidservants in the courtyard, a stark contrast to the gentle and elegant appearance before him now. Was this a disguise? An Donglian comforted himself, even if she looked beautiful, what did it matter? A golden exterior with a rotten interior, such a morally corrupt woman didn't deserve to be his crown princess! Despite this, he still felt somewhat uneasy in his heart, after all, such a beauty...

  Seeing An Zhuo's distraction, a woman in a golden brocade cheongsam not far away let out a cold snort and turned her resentful gaze towards Pei Yuange.

  Everyone in the courtyard was watching her, and Pei Yuange still smiled, neither humble nor arrogant. The shocking effect she wanted had already been achieved, and now nothing needed to be done, just continuing to show off her beauty, elegance, demeanor, and reserve would have already slapped Pei Yuanrong and An Zhuoran several times. With light steps, she came to Pei Yuanrong's face, smiling innocently, and said softly: "Third sister, won't you introduce me?"

  Although Pei Yuanyu knew that the current Pei Yuanyong absolutely did not want to see herself, Pei Yuange insisted on appearing in front of her and sticking to her. Not for anything else, just to make her anxious, make her depressed, make her angry, but also can't find a reason to lose her temper. Of course, if she could be provoked into losing her temper, speaking and acting rashly, and losing face in public, that would be even better!

  Pei Yuanyong's smile was already unsustainable, and his hand hidden in his sleeve had crumpled the handkerchief into a mess.

  At this moment, a woman wearing a golden brocade cheongsam dress brushed past Pei Yuansong, stepping heavily on her foot and twisting it hard before striking a pose of exaggerated surprise: "Oh dear, I'm so sorry, Miss Pei! I didn't mean to step on you, it was an accident! You won't blame me, will you?" Her flying eyebrows and eyes were openly provocative, waiting for her to erupt.

  Everyone was already paying attention over here, let alone this woman's affected manner and shrill voice, it would be hard not to notice.

  Before Pei Yuange could open his mouth, a woman in shallow red Luo skirt and water-red satin jacket with a stern expression shouted: "Ye Xunjun, this is the Xiangxiang Hall, if you want to be reckless and domineering, go back to your Ye family mansion! Don't think that just because you are the niece of the Empress Dowager, you can be so arrogant and bully anyone you see! If you continue like this, I will tell Concubine Liu about it later!"

  "Wen Yilan, even Miss Pei didn't say anything, what are you doing, Nie Zheng? I said earlier that it wasn't intentional." Ye Qiongjun said with a straight face and pointed at Pei Yuange, saying "You tell me, was I being intentional or not? It wasn't my fault to begin with, where did I show off or act recklessly? Pei Yuange, you say, is it my fault? Let's go clarify this in front of the Empress Dowager!" Bringing up the Empress Dowager, her threatening intention was clear.

  It seems that the two have been at odds for a long time, but before Ye Wenjun was indeed rushing towards her, without any doubt. It's strange, she shouldn't have offended Ye Wenjun anywhere? Could it be that she was angry with her just because she had recently shown off? Pei Yuange thought to herself, the pain in her foot temporarily becoming secondary.

  Wen Yilan's face turned bright red with anger as she walked over to Pei Yuansong and said, "Don't be afraid, speak the truth, I clearly saw her deliberately step on you!"

  For a moment, everyone's attention was focused on Pei Yuange again. Some people were gloating over his misfortune, while others showed sympathy.

  These two women, one is the daughter of Ye Linghai, the Minister of Personnel, and the other is the granddaughter of Wen Yingge, a Grand Secretary of the Imperial Cabinet. They were already not easy to deal with, but they also got entangled with the Empress and Consort Liu, making them even more untouchable. Pei Yuange was unlucky enough to be caught in between these two women.

  Although it's not very clear about the identities of the two, when he heard Liu Guifei and the Empress, Pei Yuange also knew that it was a tricky situation. Anyone with discerning eyes could see that Ye Wenjun was intentionally provoking her, but she had already preemptively said it wasn't intentional. If she were to flare up, she would inevitably be seized by Ye Wenjun as evidence of being narrow-minded and stirring up trouble for no reason. This would not be good for herself if the matter reached the Empress. However, if she were to swallow her anger and remain silent, people would think her weak and easily bullied, and everyone would look down on her. For now, the only option is to hide a needle in cotton, using softness to overcome strength.

  Pei Yuange made up his mind and said, "Two sisters, don't quarrel anymore. This matter was originally little sister's fault."

  When she said that, everyone thought she would be submissive and couldn't help but show disdain. They were all ladies from large households, and people like her would never have a good ending! Ye Wenjun was triumphant and repeatedly said: "I told you it wasn't my fault!" Wen Yilan was furious and stomped her feet, resentfully saying: "You, you, it's not your fault, what are you blindly acknowledging?"

  "Of course it's my fault." Pei Yuange's expression was warm and gentle, his tone soft and elegant. "It's all because of me, in this vast palace, where should I put my foot? But instead, I placed it under Miss Ye's feet. When Miss Ye moved, wasn't I the one who got trampled? My foot was placed in such an improper place, isn't that also my fault?"

  This misunderstanding was bizarre, but she looked sincere, and Ye Xun Yun couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic or genuinely submissive. For a moment, he didn't know whether to get angry or not, and stood there in a daze.

  Wen Yilan suddenly let out a snort and burst into laughter, taking advantage of Ye Xun's momentary daze to drag Pei Yuange away, saying: "You'd better put your feet in the right place for now, or I'll step on them, and it'll all be your fault!" As she spoke, she turned her head to glance at Ye Xun once more, and couldn't help but laugh again.

  Ye Wenjun suddenly reacted, and just as she was about to storm off in a huff, she suddenly remembered something. Her slightly raised eyes revealed a hint of vicious joy: "Wait, Wen Yilan, stop right there. What did you just say? If I do this again, you'll go tell Empress Liu? As everyone knows, the Empress is the mistress of the harem, and any disputes in the harem should be settled by the Empress. Where does your statement put the Empress? And you, Pei Yuange, you heard everything clearly, yet you tacitly agreed to it. Is it that in your eyes, Empress Liu has already surpassed the Empress?"

  This statement is serious, directly involving the harem struggle and disrespect to the Empress. Although everyone knows that Ye Xun Yun is being unreasonable, she speaks with reason and evidence, making it difficult to refute. If this crime is confirmed, not only will Wen Yilan and Pei Yuange be unlucky, but also Liu Guifei will be implicated. Pei Yuanrong can't help but feel happy for the misfortune of others, saying "Pei Yuange, you've been so arrogant, now it's your turn to be unlucky!"

  Wen Yilan's face suddenly turned pale...

  Digression

  Recommend a good friend Miao Miao's rebirth revenge article "Rebirth of the Marquis House Eldest Daughter", colorful and exciting, already 500,000 words, can be slaughtered ~

  I highly recommend my friend Ning Er's transmigration palace struggle novel "The Princess of Chu", a great work on the subscription list, absolutely awesome ~ O (∩ _ ∩) O ~