Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
It was normal for Luo Hai’s aristocratic families to hold banquets.
Mu Chenyan had previously experienced these festivities while she was still part of the Mu Family.
She had only attended one of these events after being released from prison. That was the banquet that the Yuan Family held during the National Day.
Her state of mind had changed drastically since then.
As she waited for Yan Mei to return to her normal self, she had had times where she hated Yuan Xuan and times where she loved him as well.
Her mind had become calmer now that she was about to become a mother soon. Without these unstable emotions, she had ceased to reject the idea of public gatherings.
A theme would be set for the Mid-Autumn Festival every year. This year, Yuan Xuan had suggested that they use this opportunity to hold a charity event to raise funds.
“Normally, these wealthy aristocratic families have expensive but unused items at home. Instead of letting them go to waste, we should give them this opportunity to sell their items and donate the money to charity. We can put the remaining items up for auction and used the collected funds for public welfare.”
Yuan Xuan told Mu Chenyan his plan.
Mu Chenyan supported Yuan Xuan’s idea of helping the poor by robbing the rich entirely.
“Can some of the funds be allocated as financial aid for families like Sun Xu’s where one of the family members was killed in action?”
Mu Chenyan was still thinking about the victims of Nie Chao’s case.
She discovered through Sun Xu’s family that there were many other families in the same predicament as them. They already had a hard time surviving on nothing but the government’s subsidies. Worst of all, they had to encounter a government official like Nie Chao.
Yuan Xuan nodded and said, “Of course. You can go to the storeroom at home and pick some items. We’ll auction them off.”
The Yuan Family certainly had an impressive number of antiques. Most of them were collected when the Old Master was still alive. The Old Mistress would instruct her staff to sort out the antiques that still looked decent and place them in the main hall in Upper Mansion.
The antiques of average quality and condition had been simply piled up in the storeroom. Mu Chenyan happily accepted this task and took Ah Fu along with her to select the antiques.
Ah Fu knew that the Yuan Family had numerous antiques, but Yuan Xuan was not the kind to decorate his house with such things. Hibiscus Garden was designed in a clean and minimalistic way. The girl had never been here before, so she could not help to be a little curious when she went in. She had helped Mu Chenyan chose a jade crescent blade with an Azure Dragon (TL: Traditional Chinese symbol) design.
On the other hand, Mu Chenyan had selected a Child-Sending Guanyin statue with eight different colored metals and jade embedded at the base, a pair of porcelain plates, and a watercolor painting on a long scroll painted by the Yuan Dynasty painter, Wang Meng.
*
The banquet was held in the main hall of Luo Hai’s largest seven-star hotel, the Grand Prosperity International Hotel.
A line of luxury cars had already started to form at the entrance to the hotel before it was even seven o’clock.
Their guests included the elites of the business world and important politicians.
Naturally, the security checks at the entrance were extremely strict. The visitors went through the security checks one after another with their invitation cards in hand. The items that they had brought to be auctioned also had to be declared before they were collected by the staff and moved inside in preparation for the auction.
The guests could then enter the hall without being burdened by any heavy objects. A lively situation ensued as they happily chatted with each other along the way.
Yuan Xuan forbade Mu Chenyan to wear her fancy dress and high heels. She had no choice but to put on light makeup and wore a simple champagne-colored set of formal wear matched with a pair of flats that the stylist had chosen for her.
Although these clothes were not as beautiful or exquisite as the fancy dress, Mu Chenyan was still a cut above the rest. Fortunately, she looked good in anything because of her trimmed figure. Mu Chenyan’s complexion was much better now than it was a few days ago. This was due to the fact that she had just gotten preganant and Yuan Xuan’s culinary skills had started to show their results. She truly looked gorgeous in this outfit.
The other young women in the household such as Yuan Tian and Yuan Ran would definitely be expected to dress up beautifully. Yuan Tian had surprisingly decided to attend the banquet this time and had come wearing a little black dress.
She had slim waist, long legs, and short hair. Her skin was not as white but the tone was just nice. It made her look seductive and bewitching in the dress .
Several young men from the aristocratic families had already recognized Yuan Tian before she reached the main hall. This doctor certainly looked incredibly exquisite and beautiful when she was dolled up.
Yuan Tian hardly attended banquets like this in the past. Now that she was here, she had instantly become the target of all the unmarried young men there.
Yuan Ran was not faring so well these few days. Her relationship with Shao Yibai had been awkward after he had revealed his true feelings to her. Yuan Zhe’s death had led the broken-hearted woman to chose a pearl-white dress and put on a light-colored lipstick. She looked rather haggard.
Wen Ya was still the Yuan Family’s eldest granddaughter-in-law at the moment. However, she would be leaving the Yuan Family after this banquet. She had no children nor any discernible connections with the family and had stayed just to accompany the Old Mistress.
In this household, the Old Mistress was the only person who had doted on her as if she were her own child.
After Yuan Zhe’s death, the Old Mistress had discovered that Wen Ya had been abused all along when she overheard part of her servants’ conversations. She was enraged and had gotten into a serious argument with Yuan Tangzhong as a result. She then promised Wen Ya that the Yuan Family would treat her like one of their own daughters and prepare the dowry for her if she was willing to marry again…
All sorts of feelings welled up in Wen Ya’s heart. The Yuan Family had destroyed the happiness in her life, but they were also the ones who had been the kindest to her at the same time. At least the Old Mistress had truly cared for her.
Wen Ya was not an arrogant person by nature. She could clearly distinguish where her gratitude and resentment were due respectively. The members of the Yuan Family in Peace Mansion were the ones who had tormented her, but she could never forget the Old Mistress’ kindness.
Yuan Zhe was dead, and her beloved Zheng Shuyan was at death’s door. She was uncertain whether she could still find true love on earth.
Mu Chenyan saw Wen Ya outside the hall. She was not wearing any makeup, clad in a plain dress, and . Her gaze was empty and distant, looking terribly pitiful overall.
Mu Chenyan remembered when she saw Wen Ya for the first time at a banquet a year ago when she had just been released from prison. She had look brilliant then.
Things might have remained the same, but people changed as time passed. When she took everything into consideration, she realized that they had all changed into entirely people now. Mu Chenyan could not help but feel sad. She pulled Wen Ya over and went to a secluded area where they took some fruit and ate them leisurely.
“Chenyan, I’m going to leave the Yuan household after the Mid-Autumn Festival. After that, I’m going to marry Zheng Shuyan once his case is settled.”
A peaceful and natural smile appeared on Wen Ya’s face when she said this.
Mu Chenyan was so shocked that she nearly dropped the fruit platter that she was holding.
“Wen Ya, he might be locked up his whole life. Are you really going to do this?”
Wen Ya nodded determinedly. Her expression was devoid of any emotion, but her gaze was firm and resolute. There was not a single trace of hesitance found in her words. “It doesn’t matter when he’s released. I’ll wait for him. I’ve asked about this and discovered that prisoners can get married too as long as he doesn’t get sick of me. I’ll visit him frequently. His father is still alive so I’m going to take care of him!”
Mu Chenyan did not know how to respond to this. Wen Ya had spent half of her life being miserable. She decided to support her decision.
“The Old Mistress doesn’t know about my relationship with Zheng Shuyan yet. She’ll discover it sooner or later, and I don’t plan to keep it from her anyway. Please help me fulfill my filial duty toward her when I’m unable to visit the Yuan household in the future…”
Wen Ya was a naturally kind-hearted person. She was still thinking of others now.
It was just that her relationship with the Yuan family had become complicated. Mu Chenyan nodded. “I’ll respect your decision as long as you’re happy.”
The Yuan Family had sent Yuan Xuan and Yuan Zhuan to greet the guests at the banquet. Yuan Tangzhong and Yuan Tangshuo were accompanying the Old Mistress in the lounge at the back. She would only come out when the event was about to begin.
Mu Chenyan saw Feng Rao in the hall. This woman was beautifully dolled up. She was wearing a blue mermaid gown that accentuated her slim waist.
Feng Rao’s gaze darted toward her when she noticed Mu Chenyan walking over. A meaningful smile appeared on her face. She waved at Mu Chenyan and held her thumb up in approval…
Mu Chenyan thought of her brother. He had yet to respond despite having received her email. Panic filled her heart when she saw Feng Rao’s gesture.
She merely nodded as she had never been close to Feng Rao.
Yuan Xuan and Shao Yibai walked over at this moment.
Mu Chenyan heard Shao Yibai ask, “Is everything ready?”
A dazzling light faintly flashed across Yuan Xuan’s cold eyes. He lowered his voice and said, “Of course!”
Mu Chenyan did not know what they were talking about. She assumed that they were referring to the auction that would happen soon.
Yuan Xuan’s expression immediately changed when he noticed the absent-minded look on her face. “Mistress, are you feeling unwell? Are you tired? The banquet hasn’t started, so why don’t you go and rest in the lounge at the back for now if you’re tired?”
Mu Chenyan shook her head and gave a faint smile. “Since when have I been so fragile? You can’t handle everything here on your own if I leave.”
She did not like situations like these. Other than famous public figures, the people that flocked to events like this were mostly important political officials.
The Yuan Family was actually a prominent clan before, and its members were growing in numbers. Who would have thought that Yuan Zhe’s abusive tendencies would make Wen Ya refused to attend events like this and the only person left was Mu Chenyan herself. Everyone would treat them like laughing stocks if she hid as well.
Yuan Xuan’s heart warmed up when he realized that she was concerned for him. The man lowered his voice and whispered beside her ear, “You’ve worked hard, Mistress. I must give you a good massage when we get home!”
Mu Chenyan blushed when she heard this. This man knew that her ears had always been sensitive. When he mentioned a massage, she knew that he would end up ravaging her body. Not a single inch of her body would remain untouched by him…
He was a scoundrel!
Mu Chenyan and Yuan Xuan greeted the guests at the doorway for some time until they realized that nearly everyone was here. Once everything had settled down, Yuan Xuan asked sent someone to call the Old Mistress, Yuan Tangzhong, and Yuan Tangshuo who were resting in the lounge at the back.
Mu Chenyan scanned the hall in search of something.
On the other side, Yuan Tian was surrounded by several handsome and talented young men. She had no way of escaping them. “Miss Yuan, I had just obtained my master’s degree at University of California…”
Yuan Tian thought to herself, ‘I didn’t even go to college…’
“My father and the Third Young Master had recently collaborated on the development and extraction of minerals in the west. They’re pretty much old family friends…”
Yuan Tian rolled her eyes. ‘I’m not close to the Yuan Family…’
“I’ve heard that Miss Yuan is a famous heart and brain surgeon in the Military Hospital…”
Yuan Tian smirked. ‘I’ll operate on you when you need it…’
“Miss Yuan has such nice skin. It’s pale with the slightest hint of rosiness…”
Yuan Tian huffed. ‘Are you blind…’
Mu Chenyan could not do anything but laugh and shake her head. No one could resist a beauty like her.
A black rose like Yuan Tian was much more charming and attractive than the pretentious and delicate young ladies of the aristocratic families. She had her own quirks and personality, so that was why those men found extraordinary women like her extremely alluring.
Mu Chenyan decided not to disturb Yuan Tian. She did not want to ruin her chances of finding her love.
Her gaze shifted to a corner where Wen Ya was speaking to a middle-aged couple in a hushed voice. She looked a little irritated. The heated argument they seemed to engage in made their faces look flushed.
Mu Chenyan walked over quietly. She overheard Wen Ya scolding the couple. “I can’t believe you’re shameless enough to attend this event. Have the Wen Family not embarrass themselves enough in Luo Hai?”
