In the blink of an eye, two days had passed. There was no sign of movement from Xu Linchuan, so Jiang Ning'an and Jiang Ye had put the matter out of their minds.
This day was the birthday of the Marquise of Xuanping. However, Jiang Ye hadn't stayed at the Marquis's Mansion the night before. As usual, he went to the morning court and handled official business. He didn't return to the Marquis's Mansion until dusk.
This family banquet at the Marquis's Mansion was not only to welcome the old lady back but also to celebrate the Marquise's birthday. It was especially grand, and the whole mansion had been tidied up.
The kitchen had long prepared dozens of delicious dishes, both from land and sea. A stage had been set up in the garden. The evening banquet would be held in the flower hall, so that they could enjoy the play while having dinner. Just thinking about it was a pleasure.
As soon as Jiang Ye came back, he bumped into Jiang Yunfan and Jiang Wenlan.
"Yo, isn't this the busy man? You finally remembered to come back?" Jiang Wenlan said sarcastically.
Jiang Ye didn't even bother to give her a look.
Just then, the Marquise came out. When she saw Jiang Ye, her face lit up with surprise. "Yizhi, you're finally back!"
The Marquise was in her early thirties. She looked gentle and was well - maintained. However, the corners of her eyes tilted slightly upwards. Although it didn't affect her overall appearance, it gave people a feeling of shrewdness.
Jiang Ye bowed to the Marquise. "Congratulations on your birthday, my lady."
It was a nice thing to say, but Jiang Ye had a blank expression on his face. No one knew if he was sincere.
The Marquise didn't mind at all. She said with a smile, "As long as you're back and our whole family can be reunited, that's the best thing. Why do you still need to say such words of congratulations?"
"Yunfan, Wenlan, your elder brother is back. Now everyone is finally here. Go and call your father out. It's time for dinner!"
When the whole family arrived at the flower hall, they saw an old lady with gray hair sitting in the chief seat.
This was the Marquise's mother, the Old Lady Zheng.
The Old Lady Zheng was thin. She had willow - leaf eyebrows and upturned eyes, a hawk - like nose and thin lips. She looked mean.
Seeing that Jiang Ye had finally arrived, the Old Lady Zheng snorted. "The Heir of the Marquis is finally back. Otherwise, I'm afraid this old woman would starve to death at this dinner table today!"
"Mother!" the Marquise scolded gently. "What are you talking about? Today is a good day. Don't say such inauspicious things!"
The Old Lady Zheng snorted again and finally kept silent.
Just then, the Marquis of Xuanping came. When he saw Jiang Ye, he frowned in dissatisfaction. "Yizhi, why are you coming back so late? The whole family has been waiting for you!"
Jiang Ye looked at him, his eyes cold.
It was clearly not time for dinner yet. He wasn't late at all, but it seemed that he was in the wrong even if he wasn't.
Jiang Wenlan added fuel to the fire. "Why else? He just doesn't take our family seriously! He clearly knew that it was mother's birthday banquet today, but he came back so late. It's really too much!"
Jiang Yunfan nodded in agreement.
But no matter what others said, Jiang Ye only looked at the Marquis of Xuanping.
Seeing the blame in the Marquis's eyes, he withdrew his gaze and looked indifferent.
Jiang Wenlan felt as if she had punched a piece of cotton. She couldn't help but mutter, "He's still occupying the position of the heir of the Marquis. If you inherit the Marquis's Mansion in the future, our family will surely fall apart!"
The Marquise tugged at her, but her eyes were full of approval.
Jiang Wenlan's words had hit the Marquis's most sensitive point.
As the head of the family, he would never want to see his family fall apart.
And Jiang Ye's attitude was enough to make the Marquis believe that he was capable of doing such a thing.
Sure enough, the Marquis said, "Yizhi, your sister is right. You don't take our family to heart now. How can I rest in peace and hand over the Marquis's Mansion to you after I'm gone?"
The shrill voice of the old lady rang out. "In my opinion, the position of the heir should be given to Yunfan! Only in this way can our family live in peace!"
As soon as she finished speaking, there suddenly came a burst of laughter.
The Marquis frowned and was about to scold whoever was so unruly. But when he turned around, he saw Jiang Ning'an.
Everyone quickly stood up, either bowing or curtsying. "Greetings to the Princess."
Jiang Ning'an walked into the flower hall, still smiling. "I heard that it's the Marquise's birthday, so I came to congratulate her. I didn't expect that before I even had a bite of food, I would hear such a joke."
Jiang Ning'an looked at the old lady. "The old lady really takes herself seriously. The heir has already been established. Can you just replace him as you like?"
The old lady had just come from a distant place and didn't know Jiang Ning'an's identity. Seeing that she was so rude to her, she was about to say something. But seeing that her daughter and son - in - law kept winking at her, she had to close her mouth angrily.
The Marquis stepped forward. "Princess, although the heir has been established, there is still some room for change. Moreover, the heir will be the next Marquis. Therefore, he should shoulder the responsibility of the whole family instead of putting his own personal grudges first."
Jiang Ye had heard such words many times and was already numb.
But since Jiang Ning'an even dared to contradict her own father, she naturally wouldn't let the Marquis off. "The Marquis speaks so nicely. Have you done it yourself? Have you treated Jiang Ye and the other two equally?"
Jiang Ye was a real introvert, but the other two children of the Jiang family were not. It could be seen that the Marquis was strict with others but lenient with himself.
Seeing that the Marquis didn't say a word, Jiang Ning'an felt bored. She glanced at the dinner table. "I heard that it's the Marquise's birthday at a semi - round age. Is this all you're having?
... Such simple food. You can keep it for yourselves. Jiang Ye, let's go."
After saying that, Jiang Ning'an turned around and left. Jiang Ye followed closely behind.
Just as they reached the door, they heard a mutter. "Good - for - nothing... "
Jiang Ning'an stopped in her tracks. She turned around, her eyes as sharp as knives, stabbing at the old lady who hadn't closed her mouth yet. "Lin Ji, cut that old woman's tongue off for me."
Lin Ji drew out his sharp blade.
Everyone knelt on the ground in unison.
The Marquise was even sweating cold. "Princess, my mother is old and confused for a moment. Please forgive her!"
The old lady's face turned deathly pale. Her lips were trembling, but she couldn't say a word.
But Jiang Ning'an looked at Jiang Ye, as if asking for his opinion.
Jiang Ye knew that she was standing up for him, so he said, "Please forgive her this time. There should be no next time."
Jiang Ning'an said casually, "Since the Heir of the Marquis has said so, then let it go. But if she can't control her mouth in front of me again, you should prepare a coffin before you see me in the future."
The Marquise let out a sigh of relief and quickly said, "Yes, thank you for your kindness, Princess, and thank you... Heir of the Marquis."
Jiang Ning'an and Jiang Ye left directly. Looking at their backs, Jiang Wenlan gritted her back teeth tightly.
Her mother actually knelt at Jiang Ye's feet and thanked him one day?!
How could Jiang Ye deserve it?!
At the same time, in the servant's quarters of the Princess's Mansion, Chu Yu suddenly heard the sound of the system—
【Ding! New task - Make friends with Jiang Wenlan, the legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Xuanping, and become her close friend. Task reward: 300 points!】