Ye Xinyan wasn’t afraid of Jiang Yifan despising her for swindling money; after all, the Prime Minister Han’s family had plenty of silver, and with a granddaughter willing to hand over silver, it would be a waste not to take advantage.
However, since she and Jiang Yifan had already arranged their marriage, she had to save face for Jiang Yifan in front of others.
Jiang Yifan might be sly and thick-skinned, but he certainly wouldn’t use those skills here. Having to blatantly lie seemed to put him under a lot of pressure.
Damn it, Jinrong, that guy, the boat of friendship really wasn’t reliable.
Ye Xinyan gritted her teeth, "Six thousand taels, not a tael less." She saw Jinrong about to speak and immediately raised her hand to stop him, "Let me tell you, if you keep haggling with me, I’m ready to call off the marriage and scrape ten thousand taels of silver from Prime Minister Han’s residence no matter what."
She glanced at Han Yufang, "Unless Miss Han is also ready to call off the marriage or willing to be a flawed princess consort."
Her words were blurted out without consideration, and the entire reception hall fell into silence.
It took a while before Han Yanhui finally wiped the sweat from his forehead, filled with melancholy. It was indeed tough to reason with someone so unreasonable and whose grandfathers were both formidable in battle.
Thankfully, he had sent all the servants out of the hall earlier, preventing anyone from overhearing.
Jinrong stared at Ye Xinyan for a long time, his expression calm, but his heart stirred a little. If she really could break off the engagement with Jiang Yifan, that seemed not too bad.
Before the thought had time to ferment, he heard Han Yanhui speak, "Let it be then. Who made Sister Fang do something wrong? We all know the truth of the matter, so let’s consider it a favor sold to Miss Ye by the Old Master."
Han Yanhui decided to settle by losing money to avoid disaster, his granddaughter having stirred up trouble with such a calamity.
Ye Xinyan bowed reluctantly, "This young man doesn’t sweat the small stuff, so I’ll just take the loss." Han Yanhui’s face went dark instantly.
Then, Ye Xinyan turned to Jinrong, "This young man takes four thousand taels of silver less only out of regard for His Highness, who owes me a favor."
Jinrong’s face grew darker, hearing Ye Xinyan say such a thing was certainly no good. He asked cautiously, "Didn’t we agree on this already? What favor?"
"Of course there’s a favor. This way, it’s not really a big deal," Ye Xinyan softened her tone slightly, "Your Highness surely knows that this young woman is coarse by nature. After you marry, if I were to attend banquets, flower fairs, or literary gatherings at your residence, I’d surely lower the standard of the Duke’s Mansion, so it’s better I don’t add to the chaos, don’t you think?"
If Han Yufang hadn’t remembered what Ye Xinyan had just said, she would have tossed her teacup on the table without a care for the clinking of the cup or tea spilling. She was nearly mad with anger, wasn’t she?
From the way Ye Xinyan put it, she had suffered today, and even if she became a princess consort in the future, she couldn’t retrieve her dignity. How could she swallow this anger?
Ye Xinyan, hearing Han Yufang’s breathing become more labored, turned her head and looked at her with a smile, "Miss Han, coming from a family of scholars, naturally possesses great generosity. But as for me, a coarse person with petty thoughts, I tend to suspect the worst in people. If Miss Han, you should become dignified in the future and require me to bow and scrape every time I see you, well...I wouldn’t mind, but I worry others might criticize His Highness."
Saying this, she pursed her lips, "Although it’s unlikely to happen, I prefer to prevent trouble before it arises. I hope Miss Han understands."
Jinrong glanced at Han Yufang, his brow twitching uncontrollably. The scenario Ye Zi mentioned could indeed come to pass, and he was sure he didn’t want to witness it.
"Fine, I agree. If there’s nothing else, don’t parade yourself in front of me anymore; it’s distracting," he said.
The Han family members had various expressions, not because they were dazzled, but because His Highness had essentially agreed to let the Ye Family girl not have to bow to the princess consort.
Ye Xinyan couldn’t help but beam with a smile, "Alright then, I won’t disturb you any further. However, Sixth Master, you mustn’t forget what you said today. Otherwise, how about you write me a promissory note?"
Jinrong was somewhat annoyed—was she questioning his character?
"Ye Xinyan, don’t push your luck. What if I make up the four thousand taels of silver to you and retract my earlier words, how about that?"
Four thousand taels of silver in exchange for endlessly kowtowing to Han Yufang? That was an incredibly bad deal.
Ye Xinyan blinked and decided it was indeed a bad habit to be too greedy, "Then you must remember what you said today. And both Lord Prime Minister Han and Elder Master Han, you two are gentlemen of integrity, role models for the learned. In the future, you can’t pretend to be unaware of this matter." She earnestly looked at the father and son of the Han Family.
For the first time, Han Yanhui realized that being a gentleman could be so disadvantageous, and that being well-read wasn’t entirely a good thing.
Ye Xinyan, playing it cool, said, "Since the compensation has been agreed upon, I shall take my leave and not bother everyone further, no need to see me out. I’ll wait for the compensation from your residence. I’m quite busy, so please send it over promptly, to save me another trip, okay?"
The father and son, Han Yanhui, watched her in silence as she talked her way out, Han Jun even considered for a moment whether to have his daughter see her out. But recalling Miss Ye’s infuriating temper, he decided against it. Adding further would be superfluous and not a good move.
Even though Ye Xinyan only visited Prime Minister Han’s residence once, considering the great distance between Duke An’s Mansion and the Han Mansion and her ostentatiously opulent attire, the high-profile visit of a wayward young master to Miss Han caused quite a stir in the capital.
However, this matter couldn’t bear scrutiny—just one more question would reveal it wasn’t some young master at all, but the mischievous Miss from the Duke’s Mansion.
Despite this, many who knew the truth still deliberately ignored further questioning, preferring to spread rumors instead.
Especially since a reliable rumor had it that His Highness Prince Yu had personally stepped in to resolve the situation. Many who were unaware of the emperor’s impending marriage decree speculated deeper upon hearing that Prince Yu had taken the initiative to help the Han Family with this matter,
and both the Crown Prince and Prince Fu became even more apprehensive. They were well aware of the significant influence Han Yanhui held before the emperor and the great power he wielded. Han Yanhui had always stayed out of factional strife, obedient only to imperial commands.
Now, Prince Yu had successfully ingratiated himself.
Prince Yu’s recent role as Assistant Manager of the Ministry of Personnel was concerning enough for the Crown Prince and Prince Fu, but if he were to marry the granddaughter of the Han Family, it would be like adding wings to a tiger.
Consequently, this rumor, with deliberate spread by interested parties, already had many versions.
As Ye Xinyan received the silver note from the Han Mansion and wondered whether to invest the silver as shares in Guangsha Construction, marking them as personal assets for the three young Jiajias, the imperial inner court dispatched eight eunuchs with much grandeur to Duke An’s Mansion, summoning Duke An to bring his granddaughter to the palace for an audience.
The imperial edict specifically instructed that Duke An’s granddaughter must dress as a man and ride a horse to the audience.
Duke An knew about his granddaughter’s deed the day before, how she had smoothly secured a six thousand taels silver note from Prime Minister Han’s residence without using brute force.
Given Duke An’s style of conduct, he naturally didn’t find his granddaughter’s actions shameful, including her garish outfit. As a military man in Ye Tang, any dressing up was acceptable as long as it led to success.
His granddaughter’s actions were hardly excessive; success through disguise was a sign of wisdom.
However, today, upon seeing the eight eunuchs rivaling his granddaughter’s feat, Duke An felt a twinge in his teeth. What was His Majesty implying? He seemed to be playing the same trick as his granddaughter, sending eight eunuchs to convey an edict.