When it came to the courage to persevere through adversity and the ability to ultimately carve out a future for one’s family, both Qinglan and Lingbo were paragons, and Shen Biwei and Han Yueqi — even the womenfolk of the Northern Garrison Army — would have been able to summon that feminine resilience when placed in such circumstances.
But when it came to riding high in times of good fortune, parading one’s glory in broad daylight, and using that favorable wind to ruthlessly settle scores with enemies while establishing her dominance over her peers — in that, all of them bundled together likely would not have been Lingbo’s match.
As Shen Biwei once cursed her: “Lucky you weren’t born with a tail, otherwise it would truly be pointed straight up to the heavens.”
Even Han Yueqi laughed and said: “Our Lingbo is fine in every other regard, except that she holds grudges too well. Lu Wanyang has already fallen — why drive her to total ruin?”
Lingbo only touched up her eyebrows before the mirror, saying lightly: “My elder sister often says that those who are incorrigible in their wickedness must be met with an equal hatred of evil. Would these wicked people become good simply because we let them off? Besides, if you spare her, she won’t remember your kindness — she might even think you foolish. When you fall on hard times, she’ll still stomp on you all the same. It’s better to teach them a lesson now.”
So she showed no mercy whatsoever. After Lu Wanyang’s downfall, her group of followers were left leaderless. Yang Qiaozhen and Sun Minwen had already been keeping their tails tucked, yet they happened to run into Ye Lingbo — someone who most relished repaying grievances in kind.
The engagement was set on the fifteenth day of the second month. On the sixteenth, the Grand Princess hosted a grand banquet at her estate to celebrate Pei Zhao’s return to the capital. The stated pretext was to hold a memorial feast for the late Duchess of Ying — in truth, it was to present Pei Zhao formally in the capital’s social circle. After all, the fifteenth had been held at the Ye household with its engagement banquet, and although Dai Yuquan had been perceptive and cooperative, the capital’s noble families were no fools — there had been no shortage of rumors.
So the Grand Princess simply decided to hold a grand affair spanning three consecutive days. Not only was the capital’s aristocracy stirred, but many princes of the imperial clan and elder court officials who rarely ventured out into society also appeared — names that had existed only in legend. Even the Gao Family — the empress’s maternal clan — made their first appearance at a capital banquet. The Gao Family’s matriarch herself attended. She was the empress’s paternal aunt, the mother of the Pingjun Wangfei, and the most senior noblewoman of the Gao Family at present. Her personal attendance was considered an overture of goodwill from the empress. The Grand Princess accepted this gesture with some graciousness, treating her as a guest of honor.
Even within such a strictly formal banquet, nothing diminished Lingbo’s performance.
As an unmarried young lady — and a newly betrothed one at that — she technically should not have come to her future husband’s family’s banquet. However, since the proposal had only been made and the formal betrothal gifts not yet exchanged, and since the Grand Princess also had every intention of elevating her, an invitation was extended nonetheless. In matters of etiquette, Qinglan was most knowledgeable, and she understood that precisely at such a moment, one must not arrive too early — for one represented not just one’s own family, but the dignity of the Grand Princess’s household as well.
When they were changing in the warm chamber before departing, Qinglan solemnly instructed Lingbo on proper conduct. Lingbo listened half-heartedly — she was, in truth, already plotting her schemes for the banquet.
By the time the Ye sisters arrived, most of the guests had already gathered. The younger ladies behaved appropriately, but the married ladies were most obvious about it — they had all been gathered around the Grand Princess making pleasant conversation, but the moment the announcement came from outside: “The Ye Family young ladies have arrived!” — they immediately swarmed forward, surrounding the sisters like a school of fish, all coming to present their respects.
Qinglan, with Lingbo at her side, was kept busy returning greetings. The ladies immediately began praising them. One said: “As expected of young ladies from a scholarly family — even the way they bow is more pleasing to the eye than others.” Another said: “Qinglan has worked so hard, bringing all her younger sisters out, each one more beautiful than the last.”
Most of the praise was directed at Qinglan. No one dared to openly comment on Lingbo, since she was to be the future Duchess of Ying. Instead they all pulled Yanyan and A’Cuo into conversation, each with an expression of fond indulgence. Ladies who hadn’t spoken in years all emerged, each claiming to be old friends, family acquaintances, or saying “I held you when you were just a baby!” or “Your mother used to come to my house for tea.” Every face wore a smile, every one claimed to be even closer than their own daughters — simultaneously moved and doting, the commotion reaching a pitch impossible to describe.
Lingbo paid none of this any mind. After paying her respects to the Grand Princess and the Gao Family matriarch, she encountered a somewhat arrogant old woman. The empress had already sent her to attend the banquet, which represented something of an olive branch toward the Grand Princess — yet the matriarch hadn’t quite read the situation clearly. Seeing Lingbo’s appearance as unremarkable, she immediately harbored a measure of contempt, though on the surface she remained all warmth and benevolence. She had her attendant bring out items to bestow upon Lingbo and said: “This was gifted down by Her Majesty herself. I find you, child, to be genuinely agreeable, so I’m giving it to you to wear.”
The Grand Princess’s future daughter-in-law — the future Duchess of Ying — and she was bestowing gifts upon her. There was a certain sense of superiority in that gesture. When Madam Shen gave Lingbo gifts, given how close she was to the Ye Family, she feared Lingbo might not know the court’s protocols and taboos — so she had always sent headpieces and garments, all out of pure goodwill, and had only dared to say: “These are nothing particularly fine — if you find them passable, just keep them as a trifle.”
The Grand Princess’s expression naturally cooled somewhat. The Pingjun Wangfei, being perceptive, quickly came forward to smooth things over: “Mother must be confused — how could Lingbo ever lack for such things?”
Lingbo remained composed and said lightly: “Thank you for your kind intentions, Elder Matriarch. Yang Hua, take it.”
Her current standing was different now. She didn’t have enough maids and had called Yang Hua back to her side in addition to her own four chamber attendants. Fearing she wouldn’t be able to manage, Qinglan had also given her personal senior maid Jinghe to her. Chun Ming was capable of handling matters; Jinghe was well-read, which was essential — the circle Lingbo would henceforth move in was composed entirely of noble ladies who regularly attended court banquets, and one simply couldn’t manage without some degree of learning.
After Lingbo paid her respects to the Grand Princess, a senior attendant led her to a warm chamber to rest. Given her current special status, few dared to approach her closely. She rested in the inner room attended personally by the senior attendant. The outer chamber of the warm room was occupied by young ladies and newly married wives from several high-ranking families — He Qingyi and Lu Wanyang were among them. She spotted Yang Qiaozhen from a distance but said nothing. With a single glance, Xiao Liu’er naturally understood and went over.
Thirty years on the east bank of the river, thirty years on the west — in the past, Lu Wanyang had sent a single maid to stir up enough trouble to give Qinglan and the others no peace. Now the tables had turned.
Xiao Liu’er, it was clear, remembered it all vividly — even the tone she used was identical to the one Lu Wanyang had used in those days: “My young mistress invites the young madams to come speak with her.”
An unmarried young lady summoning married ladies — that was truly turning the order of the world on its head. But since Lingbo dared to summon them, they had no choice but to comply. Although Yang Qiaozhen’s expression soured, Sun Minwen tugged at her sleeve, and she had no choice but to bow her head submissively and follow along with a quiet “yes.”
Once they had been summoned, Lingbo lazily lifted her teacup and drank, not uttering a single word. They had no choice but to stand and wait for her to finish — as though thorns were pressing into their backs.
If there was one person no one had expected this from, it was this one. Even when Lu Wanyang had been at the height of her power, the one they had most guarded against was A’Cuo, with Yanyan as a secondary concern at most. Even if they had imagined Ye Qinglan eventually making a desperate counterattack and marrying into a prestigious family, none of them would have expected Ye Lingbo to be the one who surged forward.
And it turned out to be Huo Yingzhen — with a standing so high and a bloodline so noble, undisputedly the most outstanding figure at the Flower Season Banquet, perhaps unrivaled even across the past decade. If Lu Wanyang were still here, she would have been furious enough to explode by now.
But Ye Lingbo gave none of that any thought, and only said: “Do the young madams know why I’ve called you here?”
When it came to establishing authority, she had truly reached the pinnacle of mastery — managing an entire large household would do that to a person. Yang Qiaozhen had clenched her fist tight, yet could only grit her teeth and answer: “We do not.”
Lingbo smiled.
“By rights, you are all married ladies and I am an unmarried girl — it is not my place to instruct you.” She spoke at an unhurried pace. “But don’t take it amiss if I point out that what several of you did at the Flower Season Banquet was rather too excessive.”
Yang Qiaozhen could not restrain herself and retorted: “I don’t know in what way we were excessive.”
Lingbo raised an eyebrow and smiled.
“When Madam Chen was still around, each of you followed her at the Flower Season Banquet — wantonly bullying those weaker than you, picking fights and stirring trouble. I remember all of it clearly. Shall I have all the ladies and young ladies who were bullied brought here to give an account?”
Yang Qiaozhen and the others could only bite their teeth and shake their heads. They knew Lingbo’s methods all too well — even Lu Wanyang had suffered for it. Now those methods were backed by overwhelming power and influence. The weight of it was like dark clouds pressing down upon a city — even to think about it filled one with despair.
“Madam Chen has already been properly disciplined, and the rest of you madams ought to rein yourselves in as well.” Lingbo only smiled faintly. “By rights, these words shouldn’t come from me. But the Grand Princess has said that henceforth, there shall be no unclean business at the Flower Season Banquet — so I called the madams here to make things clear.”
By the time she finished speaking, she had reduced Lu Wanyang’s remaining faction to red-faced silence, heads bowed. The senior attendant standing nearby had evidently been placed there by the Grand Princess to watch over her. At first, the woman had thought Lingbo was simply enjoying her newly won power. But upon listening carefully, she found that every point of reasoning was entirely on Lingbo’s side. And moreover, this composure, this command of language — it was nothing like an ordinary young lady from a modest household. Many newly married ladies who had managed their households for years likely couldn’t match her. It was clear that this future Duchess of Ying had genuine capability of her own.
Yet Yang Qiaozhen had always been a person of arrogant habit. Even in her current fallen state, she found it difficult to truly submit. Xiao Liu’er spotted the resentment and dissatisfaction on her face and immediately asked: “Have the madams taken these words to heart?”
Sun Minwen, being one who could bend and endure when necessary, answered with strained humility: “We have.”
By rights, that should have concluded the matter. But Yang Qiaozhen’s expression remained unyielding, so Lingbo smiled and said: “I see that Madam Xue still has something to say?”
Sun Minwen quickly tugged at Yang Qiaozhen — a warning. Yang Qiaozhen bit her teeth and said: “I do not.”
“Good that you don’t.” Lingbo pressed precisely where it would sting most: “Back when Madam Chen was around, Madam Xue was never short of opportunities to do her dirty work — mocking the widowed Madam Luo, refusing to leave her a seat at the banquet table, ridiculing young Miss Qian’s clothing and nearly driving her to take her own life. Every one of these incidents had your hand in it. The past we will not pursue. But going forward, you ought to reform yourself and conduct yourself with a little more self-respect.”
Everything else was bearable, but that final sentence struck right at Yang Qiaozhen’s heart. She could bear it no longer and blurted out: “No matter how terrible Madam Chen was in the past, there was never a case of a betrothal being switched to a different person!”
The moment those words left her mouth, every lady in the room drew in a sharp breath. Sun Minwen immediately took several paces away from her. Yang Qiaozhen herself realized at once that she had misspoken, and she tried in vain to explain herself: “I — I — “
But Lingbo’s expression held not even a trace of embarrassment. She was actually smiling — watching Yang Qiaozhen with an expression of complete satisfaction.
Yang Qiaozhen understood in an instant: it had been deliberate!
Ye Lingbo, who showed no mercy even in commerce, would never be satisfied with simply summoning these women for a scolding now that she held power. She had done it precisely to goad her into losing composure and saying something irreversible.
Yang Qiaozhen tried to explain herself, but it was already too late. For the moment those words left her lips, the senior attendant standing behind Ye Lingbo furrowed her brow, and a cold gleam flashed in her eyes.
The Grand Princess had sent the senior attendant to watch over her — and Lingbo had instead turned that attendant into her sharpest weapon. A senior attendant trained in the imperial palace — what an imperious bearing she had. She understood deeply how precious a noble’s reputation was, that it could not tolerate even the slightest offense, and that transgressions must be dealt with in the strictest terms.
Before the midday banquet even began, everyone knew what had happened.
Madam Xue Yang Qiaozhen of the Xue household had committed an offense in the presence of a royal — she was ordered to reflect at home for the year and was barred from attending the Flower Season Banquet. The rest, including Sun Minwen, were similarly ordered to remain behind closed doors for self-reflection, their family members consequently also barred from attending the Spring Hunt as punishment.
As to exactly what they had done wrong, opinions varied — but everyone understood that there was no escaping one underlying reason: this was Ye Lingbo making an example of them.