Chapter 247 – If you play around too much, it will end up ruining your relationship with the person that you love (2)
Recently, Xi-er‘s health hadn’t been good. He would frequently become feverish and throw up milk. The wet nurse had said that perhaps it was because he had been prematurely born, so Ji Man had Doctor Li come over from time to time to check up Xi-er diet. After he said there was nothing wrong with it, Ji Man stopped worrying.
—
On the day of the little prince’s one month birthday, Wen Wan truly made a spectacle of herself. Wearing a dancer’s outfit, Wen Wan performed a xianyue dance. It could be considered a completely unprecedented act.
Among the commoners, xianyue was a very famous dance that would attract the eyes of all men. During the performance, the dancer’s elegant movements and postures would be brimming with seduction.
(T/N: xianyue means celestial/heavenly music)
However, while Wen Wan was beside herself with joy, she had forgotten that this banquet was for celebrating the little prince’s one month birthday. The person that should be in the limelight wasn’t her. Moreover, although men like to look at alluring and charming women, there was no man that liked to look at his own woman being alluring and charming in front of a large group of men.
Ning Yuxuan’s expression was very ugly. Because the emperor and the imperial noble consort were present, he didn’t erupt in fury. He only lowered his head and drank more wine.
Holding the little prince, the imperial noble consort sneered, “A few days ago Her Majesty said that Miss Wen Wan had wholeheartedly devoted herself to motherhood. It’s such a surprise to see your performance today. Even this consort’s heart is stirred up by looking at your womanly physique and posture on the stage.”
In contrast, sitting at the table, the emperor was actually faintly smiling. “It can’t be helped that Yuxuan likes her so much. Wen family’s daughter is truly a stunning beauty.”
There were many members of the imperial family attending this banquet. The men were all repeatedly praising Wen Wan, and the women were all wearing mocking expressions.
After Wen Wan finished her dance, she inwardly encouraged herself with the thoughts that the women disliked her because they were jealous of her. This meant that she had done very well.
She glanced at Ning Yuxuan and saw that he hadn’t raised his head to look at her. Wen Wan felt a bit distressed. However, after thinking it over, she asked herself. Hadn’t Yuxuan’s personality always been like this? The more he liked someone, the more he wouldn’t look at that person. Thus, she treated it as him being very happy with her performance too.
After the performance section was over, Wen Wan left the hall to change her clothes. However, a lot of the guests didn’t know about the marquis’s household special situation and thought that Wen Wan was just a servant. And so, after she had changed her clothes, several sons of nobility and distant descendants of the imperial family surrounded her.
“Beautiful Miss, may this one ask for your name?”
Wen Wan bashfully smiled. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and said, “Wen-shi is just a lowly one. My name isn’t worth mentioning.”
Her smile gave off the impression of a timid, pretty daughter from a humble family. This very easily stirred up these men’s hormones. And so, the female lead captured the hearts of most of the men today. During the entire way back to the banquet hall, Wen Wan was lightly smiling.
When Wen Wan returned to stand by Nie Sangyu’s side, Ji Man looked at Ning Yuxuan, who was seated at the side, and fake smiled as she reminded Wen Wan, “Since you’re already the marquis’s person, it’ll be the best if you clearly refuse those men that are interested in you.”
With an innocent expression, Wen Wan asked, “Madam, what are you saying? Who’s interested in Wan-er?”
There wasn’t any benefit to reminding this person. Besides Wen Wan didn’t even appreciate her advice. Ji Man shook her head. A lot of women liked to play games of ambiguous love. Even if the woman already had a partner, she wouldn’t clearly reject the other person and would just fake obliviousness as an excuse so that she could enjoy the feeling of another person liking her.
If you play around too much, it will end up ruining your relationship with the person that you love.
However, Ji Man wouldn’t share this high-level modern romance theory with Wen Wan. Watching as Wen Wan walk down the path to ruin was pretty fun too.
The imperial noble consort pulled Nie Sangyu to her side, and they talked for a while. The imperial noble consort also called Nie Chenyu over and bestowed her several items.
Looking at her older niece, the imperial noble consort gently said, “You’re both daughters from the main wife. Chenyu must be feeling a bit wronged.”
Ji Man pursed her lips. “Sangyu understands.”
Nie Chenyu was the daughter of the main wife, but she had entered the marquis’s household as only a concubine. From Chen-shi‘s perspective, her daughter was being horribly wronged, so she frequently went to the palace to cry in front of the imperial noble consort. This must be why the imperial noble consort was suggesting this to her. But, Ji Man wasn’t the female lead. She wouldn’t go the male lead and ask him to favor another woman while feeling aggrieved herself. And so, this was just an empty acknowledgement.
—
When they returned to the estate that night, contrary to Wen Wan’s expectations, Ning Yuxuan didn’t come over to favor her. He didn’t even come to Qiangwei Courtyard. Instead, he went to Feiwan Courtyard.
Tanxiang comforted Wen Wan by saying, “This servant thinks that the only reason the marquis frequently goes to Feiwan Courtyard is because Young Master Xi is there. You still have a place in the marquis’s heart.”
Wen Wan was sitting at the table with red eyes. “He’s my child. How can I be willing to accept that he was taken from me and being used by that woman to gain favor?”
Tanxiang considered her words before saying, “Master, you can take Young Master Xi back.”
“Right now, I don’t have any status. How can I take him back?” At the mention of this, Wen Wan’s eyes turned redder. “The emperor has already relaxed his position. Why hasn’t Yuxuan returned me to my original position?”
Tanxiang lowered her head. She really didn’t have any words to comfort her master. She could only say, “It’s probably because Madam is pressuring him not to.”
Wen Wan paused. She clenched her fist. Her eyes darkened and brightened. “Where’s the item that Her Majesty gave me?”
—
Feiwan Courtyard.
Seeing that Marquis Moyu was in a bad mood tonight, Ji Man stayed silent. After helping him change his clothes, she obediently lied down to sleep. The wet nurse had already fed Xi-er and taken him out of the room. Surprisingly, he hadn’t fussed or cried tonight.
After sleeping to the middle of the night, Ji Man kept feeling uneasy. She got up, draped an outer robe over herself, pushed opened the doors, and went to neighboring room to look.
Xi-er was quietly lying on the bed. His little face was red.
Had she just gotten used to being woken up by Xi-er’s cries? Now that this baby was quiet, she actually felt a sense of unease.
From the doorway behind her, she suddenly heard the voice of the wet nurse asking, “Madam?”
