Chapter 884: A Slap Leads to a Grudge (Part 2)  

"Who would dare impersonate a county princess in front of everyone? This young girl must be telling the truth."  

"Ah, that woman with the married hairstyle looks difficult to deal with. She’s up against a county princess now; how is this going to end?"  

"Who cares how it ends, it’s none of our business! But no matter how high her status is, if she dares to disrespect the county princess, she won’t have a good outcome. Unless, of course, she’s a princess, a county princess, or a noblewoman with a rank higher than a county princess."  

"That’s true, but just look at her—she’s practically wearing all the gold she can find. A noblewoman, a princess, or a county princess would never dress like a vulgar rich person!"  

"Ah, I didn’t notice that until you pointed it out. Looks like she’s from one of those nouveau riche families who don’t know their place!"  

"..."

At this point, Fan Meijiao could no longer hear the mocking and jeering comments from the crowd. She stared at Mo Yan, gritting her teeth and asking, “So, you’re the County Princess?”  

Mo Yan immediately sensed something was off with her reaction but couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was wrong. Suppressing her suspicion, she released Fan Meijiao’s wrist and calmly replied, “That’s right. I am the County Princess.”  

She hadn’t intended to reveal her identity, but since her sister had already made it public, there was no point in denying it.  

Fan Meijiao seemed unable to bear the shock and staggered back a few steps, only to be supported by the maid in green who had stirred up the trouble earlier. Leaning on the maid, she looked at Mo Yan with a gaze that was anything but friendly.  

Mo Yan saw it clearly, but she couldn’t remember where she had seen or offended this woman before.  

Fan Meijiao had long been plotting to marry Mo Qingze and had been careful around the County Princess. She had never expected to meet Mo Yan in such a way, let alone create a grudge before even entering the family.  

Even if she was not the sharpest, Fan Meijiao knew it was unwise to continue making trouble now. If her identity were exposed, she would have no chance of marrying into the Mo family, let alone making Mo Yan, whom she despised, her “stepdaughter.”  

Suppressing her rising anger, Fan Meijiao forced a sickly sweet smile and said, “It was my mistake for not recognizing Your Highness. It was just a misunderstanding. I hope Your Highness will not hold it against me and let me go this time.”  

This smile almost made Mo Yan’s skin crawl. The sudden change in attitude made her even more cautious, though her expression remained calm. “Since Madam says so, if I press further, I’d be the one causing trouble. However…”  

Mo Yan paused, casting a meaningful glance at the maid in green standing behind Fan Meijiao. In response to the wary look from Fan Meijiao, she continued softly, “The maid of yours bumped into me first downstairs, then insulted me. I didn’t want to argue with a servant, but she clearly doesn’t know her place and provoked Madam. I’d say Madam didn’t know, but such a troublesome servant can’t just be left unpunished. Otherwise, people will think I’m easy to bully. Don’t you think that’s fair, Madam?”  

Being insulted by her own servant in public was too much for anyone to bear, and Mo Yan wasn’t about to let it slide. If she did, others would think her too soft and easy to manipulate.  

Her father would likely be assigned a post in the capital soon, and if she didn’t stand up for herself today, it would reflect poorly on her. There was no way this incident would be swept under the rug. By punishing the troublesome maid, Mo Yan was essentially striking at Fan Meijiao’s face.  

[End of Chapter]  

 Chapter 883: A Slap Leads to a Grudge (Part 1)  

With her hand raised high, just as it was about to strike her face, Mo Yan’s eyes sharpened. She swiftly grabbed the wrist of the woman who had her hair styled in the manner of a married woman and coldly asked, “Madam, what is the meaning of this?”  

Completely unprepared for her strike to be blocked, Fan Meijiao froze for a moment. Then, with all her strength, she tried to bring her palm down on Mo Yan’s delicate, fair face. But no matter how hard she pressed, her wrist was firmly held, and she couldn’t pull it away or strike.  

“Do you know who I am? How dare you treat me like this? Such boldness!” Fan Meijiao hissed, her face contorting with anger, making her once-pretty features look unpleasant and cruel.  

Mo Yan raised an eyebrow, giving Fan Meijiao a thorough once-over. Finally, in the midst of Fan Meijiao’s self-satisfied look, Mo Yan said, “Sorry, but I really don’t know who you are.”  

Fan Meijiao’s face turned pale with fury. Ignoring the guests passing by in the hallway, she cursed loudly, “You filthy little wench, today I’ll teach you a lesson you won’t forget! My surname is Fan, remember that!”  

She then turned to her group of maids and older women standing behind her, shouting, “What are you all doing? Are you all dead? Hurry up and deal with her!”  

“Understood, Miss!”  

Seven or eight maids and older women immediately rushed forward, surrounding Mo Yan and preparing to restrain her. But just as they did, they heard a shrill, painful scream from Fan Meijiao: “Ah—! It hurts! Let go, let go! You filthy woman, release me!”  

Her sharp, ear-piercing voice echoed throughout the second floor. Fan Meijiao, sweating from the pain, struggled with all her might to free her wrist from Mo Yan’s grip, but it was useless—Mo Yan’s hold was like iron, unshakable.  

The maids and older women, seeing this, quickly drew back, afraid that Mo Yan might injure their mistress’s wrist. Even if they caught her later, they’d be punished for failing to protect her.  

Having immobilized the group, Mo Yan relaxed her grip slightly and looked directly at Fan Meijiao. “Miss, I really don’t know who you are. As for what you said about me attacking your maid... That’s simply untrue. She bumped into me first, then tried to attack me. There were plenty of people who saw it, so if you don’t believe me, you can go downstairs and ask around.”  

Although Mo Yan was itching to reprimand this rude and foul-mouthed young lady, she decided to hold off until she figured out the girl’s identity, not wanting to cause trouble for herself.  

Just then, the door to the private room next to Mo Yan opened, and Xin'er and the other younger siblings emerged.  

They had been waiting inside when they overheard the argument and, sensing their sister’s voice, quickly came out to see what was happening.  

Seeing their elder sister surrounded by a group of people, Xin'er immediately stepped in front of the others and, looking worried, asked, “Sis, what happened?”  

Mo Yan gave her younger siblings a reassuring smile, her gaze briefly sweeping over Fan Meijiao’s twisted face. “It’s just a misunderstanding with this young lady. I’m explaining it to her now. You all go inside first; I’ll be in shortly.”  

Xin'er, seeing the hostile look in Fan Meijiao’s eyes, was worried that this wasn’t just a simple misunderstanding. Fearing her sister might get into trouble, she pushed the younger siblings back into the room and deliberately raised her voice, “Sis, you are the County Princess, personally appointed by His Majesty. Even if there was some misunderstanding, they shouldn’t lay a hand on you. This is clearly disrespecting the imperial authority and not taking His Majesty seriously.”  

Xin'er’s words were like a drop of water in a boiling pot of oil, instantly stirring up the crowd.  

“What? The County Princess? This young lady is the one personally appointed by His Majesty last year?”  

[End of Chapter]   

 Chapter 1696: Master Guo, it's been a long time

 Chapter 1695: Yier, Can You Fight?!

 Chapter 882: Conflict (Part 3)  

Mo Yan didn’t stay any longer and turned to get into her carriage, slowly driving away from the palace gates. Having learned from the earlier experience with the imperial examination results, she had already reserved a private room at the teahouse along the parade route the day before. Xiner and Zhen'er were already waiting there.

Upon arriving at the teahouse, a young waiter hurried over to take the horse, to the backyard to feed it some hay. Mo Yan thanked him and gave him a silver coin as a tip before heading towards the upstairs private room. Just as her foot touched the first step, a sudden force hit her left shoulder, causing her to stagger.

She almost fell down the stairs, but fortunately, her quick reflexes allowed her to grab the handrail just in time, steadying herself.

“Who dares block my path? Are you blind? If you are, stay at home! You’ve bumped into the wrong person. Do you think you can bear the consequences?” A girl, about eighteen or nineteen years old, glared at Mo Yan and began to scold her harshly, accusing her as if she were the wrongdoer.

Mo Yan furrowed her brow at the girl’s unreasonable attitude. She observed the girl’s appearance: she was dressed in a plain green silk dress, which, while ordinary in fabric, was something not often worn by common folk. From her crude speech and actions, Mo Yan could tell she was not from a well-off family, but rather from a household where the servants were rough and unpolished—she resembled Qiu Yue, a maid from the Lin family that Mo Yan had encountered in the fabric shop in the past. Given the girl’s boldness, Mo Yan surmised that she must be a maid from a wealthy family, and perhaps her mistress was having tea in one of the rooms upstairs.

Considering that her father might soon be arriving and not wanting to waste her time with someone so ill-mannered, Mo Yan cast a calm glance at the haughty maid and chose to ignore her. She turned and continued walking up the stairs.

To her surprise, the mere glance infuriated the green-dressed maid, who suddenly grabbed Mo Yan’s arm and shouted, “What kind of look is that? Stop right there!”

With a sharp yank, she tried to pull Mo Yan down the stairs.

“Let go!” Mo Yan’s eyes turned cold as she quickly yanked her arm away. Her strength was far superior to the maid’s, and in an instant, she flung the girl away with such force that the maid was sent crashing down onto the stairs.

“Ah—”  

The maid cried out in pain as her face slammed into the steps, leaving a red, swollen bump right in the center, splitting her face symmetrically.

“Pfft!”  

The crowd, observing the scene, couldn’t help but laugh at the maid’s comical appearance, but none stepped forward to help. Her earlier arrogant attitude had earned her no sympathy.

Ignoring the mockery from the crowd, the maid hurriedly touched her face, relieved when she found no blood and only pain. Still, she seethed with hatred for Mo Yan but was too afraid to confront her. Instead, she glared fiercely and spat, “You shameless wench, you’ll regret this! Just wait!”

With that, she quickly got up, stomped up the stairs, and paused at the corner, casting Mo Yan a cold smile before disappearing out of sight.

Mo Yan, feeling both frustrated and annoyed by the incident, was about to enter the private room to meet her younger sisters when the teahouse shopkeeper, who had been quietly watching the scene, cautiously approached her and smiled obsequiously. “Miss, that maid has quite a powerful background. She might be going to report to her mistress. If you don’t want to cause trouble, perhaps you should consider having tea elsewhere.”

Realizing this was the shopkeeper’s attempt to warn her, Mo Yan’s expression softened slightly. “Thank you for the reminder. But I’ve already made a reservation here, and I don’t wish to move to another place.”

With that, she turned and began walking up the stairs.

The shopkeeper, realizing he could not persuade her, quickly called over a waiter and instructed him, “Go upstairs and keep an eye out. If they start causing trouble, do your best to mediate. If things get out of hand, quickly clear away the teacups and snacks. We can’t let them destroy anything.”

“Understood, sir!” The waiter nodded and hurried upstairs with the tea set in hand.

When Mo Yan reached the door to the reserved private room, she could hear the sounds of her younger sisters laughing and playing inside, which made her smile. Just as she was about to push the door open, the door to the third room on the right suddenly flew open, and a group of people spilled out.

The green-dressed maid, her face still swollen with a red mark, spotted Mo Yan and immediately widened her eyes, pointing at her and shouting at a woman in luxurious clothing standing beside her, “Miss, it’s her! This filthy woman bumped into me and hurt me like this! Please help me! If you don’t, people will think you’re an easy target, and everyone will come and walk all over you!”

Mo Yan furrowed her brow and withdrew her hand from the door. Turning around, she faced the approaching woman. The woman’s attire shimmered with golden accessories—golden hairpins, hairpins, and decorative hair ornaments made her appear as though she were surrounded by gold. As she walked, the metallic clinking sounds echoed around her. Despite her thin, unkempt hair, the gold ornaments didn’t shift at all, indicating a well-maintained neck and clear familiarity with wearing such heavy adornments.  

This woman, who was eager to avenge the maid, had no idea of Mo Yan’s silent mockery. Upon seeing Mo Yan’s youthful and beautiful face, she was filled with jealousy. Having always prided herself on her own looks, she now sought to destroy the face of this bold young girl, eager to teach her a lesson and show her the consequences of her actions.  

[End of Chapter]   

 Chapter 881: Conflict (Part 2)  

Though the woman’s remarriage had been criticized by many, she and her husband were deeply in love, living a smooth and happy life. They paid no mind to the gossip, which, by now, was mostly fueled by envy and jealousy.  

Hearing this, Mo Yan couldn’t help but feel admiration for the courageous and resolute woman. Women should live like that, she thought.  

As the crowd chattered on, the palace gates suddenly opened, and over thirty imposing guards emerged.  

The guards formed two neat rows, standing along the left side of the wall to block any citizens trying to approach. Behind them, a group of eunuchs dressed in green surrounded two eunuchs in purple robes, who walked out in single file. The two purple-robed eunuchs carried a bright yellow silk banner with great reverence. The banner, measuring about ten feet long and five feet wide, was inscribed with rows of dense writing.  

“Look! The rankings are out!”  

As soon as the yellow silk banner was hung on the palace wall, the crowd erupted into excitement. People began standing on tiptoes and pushing forward, craning their necks to catch a glimpse.  

“Who can read? Quick, tell us who the top scholar is! Heaven help us—it better be Young Master Ziyu! If not, I’ll lose my bet, and I won’t be able to face my tigress of a wife at home!”  

“That’s nothing! If I lose, I’ll just kneel on the washboard for a while. But I bet all the silver I’d saved for my wedding! If Young Master Ziyu doesn’t take the top spot, I might lose my fiancée altogether!”  

“Hmph, serves you right for being so greedy. Who told you to bet so much?”  

“Well, I just wanted to win big so I could give my wife a better life!”  

“...”  

Mo Yan hadn’t expected such a large crowd to gather for the rankings. Not wanting to be jostled around, she stepped back to the edge of the crowd. Overhearing their conversations, she couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity.  

It wasn’t just one or two people talking like this. After listening for a while, she realized that nearly half the crowd had participated in betting on the rankings, which explained why so many people were here.  

Meanwhile, some literate individuals had managed to squeeze their way to the front and were staring at the names on the top-ranking list. The first-ranking list, known as the First Class, contained only three names. One of these literate onlookers, an admirer of Ziyu’s talent, fervently hoped he would take the top spot. Upon seeing Ziyu’s name following the words "First Class Zhuangyuan ," they shouted excitedly as if they had won the title themselves:  

“Mo Qingze! The top scholar is Mo Qingze! It’s Young Master Ziyu!”  

“What? Young Master Ziyu? Oh no, I’m ruined! I bet everything, even my parents’ funeral savings!” A burly man in the crowd let out a wail, pounding his chest in despair.  

Someone nearby chuckled maliciously, “Serves you right! I told you to bet on the likely winner, but no, you had to bet against him. Now just wait and see how your dad deals with you!”  

“How will he deal with me? A beating, of course! What else? Ah, this is so unlucky!”  

“Haha, unlucky indeed! Meanwhile, I got lucky and bet on the right person. Even with low odds, the payout is enough to feed my family for two or three years. I’m content! Haha...”  

The small list of names sparked scenes of both joy and despair, silently witnessing the laughter and tears of the people below.  

Mo Yan looked at the bright yellow banner and saw her father’s name at the very top. A faint smile appeared on her face, and the worries in her heart finally dissolved.  

Mo Qingze’s reputation was so prominent that most of the discussion centered around him. Hardly anyone paid attention to the second and third-ranked candidates or those listed in the Second and Third Classes.  

Next would be the grand parade, where the top scholar, second-place candidate, and third-place candidate would ride through the streets on horseback—a privilege granted by the emperor to honor the First Class scholars and the main reason why people braved the scorching sun to gather here.  

[End of Chapter]   

 Chapter 1694: You're Coming with Us