The harmonious and peaceful atmosphere was suddenly shattered. Yue Chengkong looked as if he had seen a ghost. His face was paler than a dead man's, and he gasped heavily.
Grandma Yue had never seen her son act so abnormally. Greatly shocked, but with the Crown Prince sitting above, she had to suppress her anger and whispered angrily to the maids, "How are you all doing your jobs? Get out quickly! If you scare the Crown Prince, do you know what the punishment will be?"
The maids of the Yue family were so frightened that they all lowered their heads, bent their waists, and walked out of the main hall in small, well - trained steps.
Song Wanchu sneered. Grandma Yue was really good at improvisation. Clearly, it was Yue Chengkong who had scared everyone, but she shifted the blame to the innocent maids.
Grandma Yue had failed to slander Song Wanchu and had almost been punished by the Crown Prince. She was already angry. After the banquet, would these innocent maids become the targets of her anger?
Song Wanchu had been in Yunzhou for almost three months and had heard many rumors. The Yue family considered themselves superior and treated their servants harshly. Whenever Yue Jiaojiao was unhappy, she would beat and scold the maids. Many had been beaten to death or seriously injured.
Her two elder brothers were like reincarnated lechers. They would forcibly take any maid with a bit of good looks, even those who were already married, and many lives had been forced to end.
Song Wanchu was secretly worried about these innocent maids of the Yue family. Her eyes unconsciously glanced outside a few times.
This glance made her heart skip a beat. The maid walking at the end of the line was extremely tall, and her skirt clearly didn't fit. It fluttered above her calf.
Yaoguang!
Although she had only caught a glimpse of the back, Song Wanchu was sure she was right. It was Yaoguang!
Her heart tightened, and her breathing quickened. When had Yaoguang sneaked into the Yue family?
Was she going to take action against Yue Chengkong at today's banquet?
Did her elder brother know that Yaoguang had come alone for revenge?
Today, the Crown Prince was attending the banquet, and there were several times more guards than usual.
Even if she succeeded, how could she escape unscathed?
Or was all this a plan of Liang Yuzhou's? Were they going to stage a show in front of the Crown Prince to expose the sinister and false true face of the Yue family?
Countless thoughts were like a tangled mess in her mind. Song Wanchu couldn't sort out her thoughts for a moment.
The Crown Prince was steady and calm. He waited until Yue Chengkong was no longer so panicked before asking, "What made you so panicked?"
"Nothing... nothing. Just now, that maid knocked over the tea and scalded my hand."
Yue Chengkong forced a smile that was uglier than a dead man's. He bowed to the Crown Prince to apologize, "I was rash and scared the Crown Prince. I deserve to die."
His excuse was too clumsy, but his abnormal panic left the Crown Prince confused for a moment.
It couldn't be that the maid had come back from the dead, could it?
Shi Minglang and Song Wanchu happened to be separated by Chu Yueying. He seemed to accidentally meet Song Wanchu's eyes.
"Miss Song, did you see someone you know?"
As he picked up his teacup, Shi Minglang asked in a very soft voice.
However, his tone carried a hint of certainty.
It was as if he knew that Song Wanchu would recognize Yaoguang.
Did Shi Minglang know that Yaoguang had mixed in with the Yue family's maids? Song Wanchu slowly pondered over his words.
It seemed to be a message, telling her not to worry.
The knot in Song Wanchu's heart untied. It seemed that they really had a plan.
It was good that Yaoguang wasn't acting alone.
Suddenly, another thought occurred to her. Did her elder brother know that Yaoguang was taking such a risk?
The Crown Prince sipped a few glasses of wine. A tinge of blush appeared on his handsome face. He propped his head with his hand, looking a bit drunk.
Seeing this, Grandma Yue stood up and suggested, "Recently, we've transplanted several green plum trees at home. The flowers are in full bloom. How about we go and enjoy them? It'll also help us sober up a bit."
The Crown Prince didn't say a word and slightly closed his eyes.
Xiao Anzi took two steps forward and smiled at Grandma Yue, "The Crown Prince can't hold his liquor well. He's afraid of making a fool of himself if he gets drunk, so he won't delay everyone's pleasure."
Grandma Yue had an "I knew it" expression on her face.
She gave Song Wanchu a sinister look.
She despised Song Wanchu's beauty, but she also knew very well how attractive such beauty was to men.
If the Crown Prince couldn't be a gentleman today and had a good time with a woman in the Yue family, not only would her previous wrong words be forgiven, but the Crown Prince would also be grateful to the Yue family.
Grandma Yue politely took Grandma Chu's hand, "The Crown Prince is staying at the Chu family. The Chu family should play the host's role. Do you think you should arrange a suitable person to serve the Crown Prince?"
Her hint was too obvious. She might as well have directly said that Song Wanchu should stay to help the Crown Prince sober up.
But Grandma Yue was very cunning. She forced Grandma Chu to say this.
It was obvious to everyone that the Crown Prince's excuse of being drunk and not going to enjoy the plum blossoms was just to be alone with Song Wanchu.
However, there was a huge difference between the Crown Prince asking for a woman himself and Grandma Chu of the Chu family arranging one.
If the most respected ancestor of the Chu family personally sent Song Wanchu to the Crown Prince's side, and if there were rumors in the future that Song Wanchu had seduced the Crown Prince, Grandma Chu would also be part of the rumor.
Grandma Chu frowned.
She couldn't bring herself to tell Wanchu to serve the Crown Prince.
But if she didn't say it, she might offend the Crown Prince.
Behind her was the entire Chu family.
Seeing Grandma Chu in a dilemma, Grandma Yue had a smug look on her face.
She felt happy for avenging herself just now!
"Your Highness, this commoner girl doesn't like green plums. I'd like to have a few cups of green tea with the Crown Prince."
Song Wanchu walked forward gracefully. Her steps were dignified and elegant, and there was not a trace of coquettishness on her peerless face.
The originally somewhat ambiguous words, when spoken from her mouth, sounded upright. It didn't seem like a deliberate seduction but more like an old friend catching up.
Grandma Chu regarded her as her own granddaughter and had shielded her from many rumors. She would never make Grandma Chu feel embarrassed.
The Crown Prince smiled gently, "In that case, it's good."
Yue Jiaojiao was anxious. The banquet was over, and she hadn't even had a chance to show herself in front of the Crown Prince.
How could Song Wanchu, a woman who had been married twice, deserve this!
She squeezed out from the crowd of Yue family members and rushed towards the Crown Prince in a hurry. Her plump body bumped into many people.
Chu Yueying almost got bumped into. Shi Minglang pulled her back.
The little girl's body tilted towards the man's tall figure and was firmly supported by Shi Minglang.
"Your Highness, this subject's daughter also doesn't like green plums. I also want to have tea with the Crown Prince!"
Yue Jiaojiao had been taught the rules by the Crown Prince's two female officials for many days. She thought she had learned well and curtsied in the way a young lady should.
She also knew to use a humble self - reference when speaking and didn't dare to say "you and I" directly to the Crown Prince.
The Chu and Yue family members were all shocked to see Yue Jiaojiao. Wasn't this just like "a surprise challenger emerging out of nowhere"?
Grandma Yue's face turned black. She grabbed Yue Jiaojiao's arm and whispered angrily, "What are you meddling in? Come out with grandma quickly!"
Yue Jiaojiao had always resented Grandma Yue. If it weren't for grandma's wrong words that had annoyed the Crown Prince, the Crown Prince would have noticed her beauty earlier!
"Why can Song Wanchu have tea with the Crown Prince and I can't? I'm a young and innocent girl. Am I not as good as Song Wanchu, a woman who has been played with by men?"
When she got angry, the vulgar words just came out.