NOVEL NEXT Chapter 12: A Compromise Solution
Chapter 12: A Compromise Solution
The newcomer was Noble Consort De, Madam Lin’s close friend.
Seeing that someone could finally restrain Lin Ye, the maids in the pool burst into tears, “Noble Consort…”
“Wuwu, please help us, Your Highness!”
The wailing of over a dozen maids at once was extremely noisy.
Noble Consort De frowned slightly and glanced at the senior maid beside her.
The senior maid understood and immediately shouted sternly, “Hurry and change your clothes! If you fall ill and delay the nobles’ affairs, will your few heads be enough to chop?”
Hearing this, the maids finally stopped crying and scrambled out of the pool to their quarters.
Once everyone had dispersed, Noble Consort De looked at the laundry pole in Lin Ye’s hand, her brow slightly furrowed, and said coldly, “What? Does the Young Marquis intend to strike this consort as well?”
Only then did Lin Ye throw away the laundry pole and bow with cupped hands, “This subject wouldn’t dare.”
“You dared to come beating into the palace, is there anything you wouldn’t dare?” Noble Consort De was clearly somewhat angry.
She felt Lin Ye was far too impulsive.
Although the laundry bureau was just a lowly place in the palace, it was still within the palace grounds.
If word of this spread and ill-intentioned people deliberately made a big deal of it, not just Lin Ye, but the entire Marquis’s household might suffer.
Lin Ye naturally knew he shouldn’t have come.
The reason Nian Nian was punished so severely back then, apart from the glass bowl being the princess’s most beloved item, was also the Emperor’s intentional warning to the Marquis’s household.
As such, for the past three years, no one from the Marquis’s household had even come to see Nian Nian, let alone send someone to bring a message or inquire about her.
They wanted the Emperor to know that the Marquis’s household would always be loyal to him, never questioning or disobeying his orders, no matter what they were.
But today, he was simply too angry.
Whenever he thought of those palace maids holding Nian Nian underwater, the rage in his heart would surge up, impossible to suppress.
Thinking of this, Lin Ye took a deep breath and knelt on the ground, “This subject knows he was rash. I await Noble Consort’s punishment.”
Although the Noble Consort was angry, Lin Ye had grown up under her watch. Even if just for Madam Lin’s sake, she couldn’t bear to punish him.
But if she didn’t resolve today’s trouble, it might not be easy to explain to the Emperor.
So, the Noble Consort waved her hand, “You may return for now. This consort will handle this matter. Remember, you are not to set foot in the laundry bureau again.”
At this point, Lin Ye could only obey.
But even after teaching those palace maids a lesson today, the anger in Lin Ye’s heart hadn’t dissipated at all.
Sitting in the carriage back to the Marquis’s mansion, Lin Ye’s gaze fell on the hand warmer beside him.
He had specially prepared it before going to pick up Nian Nian yesterday, embroidered with the red plum blossoms she loved most.
Yesterday, Nian Nian hadn’t gotten into the carriage, so naturally, she hadn’t seen this hand warmer. Now, it lay there cold and lonely, as if abandoned.
But even if she had gotten in, would she have accepted this hand warmer?
Lin Ye recalled Xiao Heng’s words. Xiao Heng said Nian Nian hadn’t touched the hand warmer or pastries prepared in his carriage.
If she hadn’t touched what Xiao Heng prepared for her, she probably wouldn’t touch his things either.
This girl’s temperament was even more stubborn than three years ago, truly incomparable to Yuan’er.
If yesterday she had called him “Brother” like Yuan’er did – no, even if she had just called him “Brother” once, how could he have kicked her out of the carriage?
Thinking of her sprained foot from yesterday, the frustration in Lin Ye’s heart grew stronger, and the hand warmer before him somehow became an eyesore.
In the next moment, the carriage curtain was lifted, and the hand warmer embroidered with red plum blossoms was thrown out.
Some things are indeed better out of sight, out of mind.
Lin Ye didn’t return to the mansion immediately. His heart was too troubled, so he went to a tavern for a couple of drinks. By the time he returned to the mansion, it was almost dark.
However, he didn’t expect the whole family to be waiting for him.
In the main hall of the Marquis’s mansion, Marquis Lin sat in the main seat with a stern face, while Madam Lin stood beside him with a worried expression, occasionally observing the Marquis’s face.
Qiao Nian had also been summoned to wait together.
However, Lin Yuan wasn’t present, as she had swallowed some water and the doctor said she needed to rest well.
When Qiao Nian arrived, Marquis Lin was already there. This was the first time father and daughter had met in three years, but Marquis Lin only gave her a brief glance, saying nothing. She too only performed a proper curtsy, without a single extra word or even an extra glance.
After standing for about the time it takes an incense stick to burn, Lin Ye finally arrived.
He strode in, his face still showing signs of intoxication.
His alcohol tolerance had always been good, so he must have drunk quite a bit to show it on his face.
Clearly, he knew what this was about, so upon entering the hall, he knelt down, “Son knows he was impulsive and caused trouble today. If Father wants to beat or scold me, I have no complaints.”
As soon as he finished speaking, a cup flew straight at him, striking him on the forehead.
Blood immediately flowed down Lin Ye’s brow. Madam Lin cried out and rushed forward, “My Lord, what are you doing? Do you want to kill Ye’er?”
“Ask him what he’s done! Daring to barge into the palace and beat people! What? Do you think our Marquis’s household is too peaceful and need to find trouble?”
Marquis Lin was furious, his chest heaving violently.
Today, when he learned of this matter before the Emperor, he didn’t dare to breathe a word, fearing the Emperor might order the entire Marquis’s household to be imprisoned in a fit of rage.
Lin Ye covered the wound on his forehead with one hand, his face showing a hint of stubbornness, “Son knows he was wrong, but I really couldn’t hold back. Besides, I only taught a lesson to a few maids in the laundry bureau, I didn’t cause any deaths. If the Emperor blames us, at worst, I can offer my life in exchange!”
Maids in the laundry bureau?
Qiao Nian, standing to the side, felt her heart skip a beat, seeming to finally understand why Marquis Lin had called her to wait for Lin Ye together.
She frowned slightly.
Then she heard Marquis Lin shout angrily, “Fool! If only your life could settle this matter, that would be fine. But your grandmother is already so old, do you really not fear bringing disaster upon our entire household?!”
“It’s not that serious!” Madam Lin hurriedly protected Lin Ye, saying, “Noble Consort De has already thought of a compromise solution. The Emperor is not unreasonable, this matter won’t be blown out of proportion!”
As she spoke, Madam Lin’s gaze turned towards Qiao Nian.
As if sensing it, Qiao Nian, who had been lowering her eyes, suddenly looked up at Madam Lin.
But Madam Lin seemed afraid to face her and hurriedly averted her gaze.
However, Qiao Nian still saw the intense apology in her eyes.
Qiao Nian very much disliked this kind of gaze.
Her intuition told her that the compromise solution Noble Consort De had thought of was related to her.