The person who came was Noble Consort De, Lady Lin's bosom friend.
Seeing that someone could finally restrain Lin Ye, the palace maids in the pool burst into wails. "Your Highness, Noble Consort..."
"Wuwu, Your Highness, please do justice for us!"
The wailing of more than a dozen palace maids together was extremely noisy.
Noble Consort De furrowed her brows and glanced at the chief palace maid beside her.
The chief palace maid understood immediately and gave a sharp shout. "Hurry up and change your clothes! If you fall ill and delay the affairs of the noble ones, do you think your heads are enough to be chopped off?"
Hearing this, the palace maids stopped crying and quickly climbed out of the pool and headed towards their rooms.
After everyone had dispersed, Noble Consort De looked at the laundry stick in Lin Ye's hand. She slightly furrowed her brows and said coldly, "What? Does the Young Marquis intend to hit even this consort?"
Only then did Lin Ye throw away the laundry stick and bowed respectfully. "Your servant wouldn't dare."
"You've even barged into the palace. Is there anything you don't dare to do?" Noble Consort De was clearly annoyed.
She thought Lin Ye was being extremely impulsive.
Although the laundry bureau was just a low - class place in the palace, it was still within the palace grounds.
If this matter were to spread and those with ulterior motives deliberately made a big fuss about it, not only Lin Ye but the entire Marquis' Mansion might be in trouble.
Lin Ye naturally knew that he shouldn't have come.
The reason why Nian Nian was punished so severely three years ago was not only that the glazed bowl was the Princess' favorite item, but also that the Emperor intended to give the Marquis' Mansion a warning.
Therefore, in the past three years, not a single person in the Marquis' Mansion had come to see Nian Nian, not even sent a message or made an inquiry.
They wanted the Emperor to know that the Marquis' Mansion would always be loyal to the Emperor. No matter what order the Emperor gave, they would not question it, let alone disobey it.
However, he was really angry today.
Just the thought of those palace maids holding Nian Nian underwater made the anger in his heart surge. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't suppress it.
Thinking of this, Lin Ye took a deep breath and knelt down. "Your servant knows that I was reckless. I am willing to accept any punishment from Your Highness, Noble Consort."
Although the Noble Consort was angry, Lin Ye had grown up under her eyes. Even for Lady Lin's sake, she couldn't bear to punish him.
But if she didn't step in to solve this problem today, it might be difficult to explain to the Emperor.
So, the Noble Consort waved her hand. "You may go back first. This consort will handle this matter. Remember, you are never to set foot in the laundry bureau again."
Under the circumstances, Lin Ye could only obediently comply.
However, even though he had taught those palace maids a lesson today, the anger in Lin Ye's heart didn't subside at all.
Sitting in the carriage on the way back to the Marquis' Mansion, Lin Ye's gaze fell on the warming stove beside him.
He had specially prepared it yesterday before going to pick up Nian Nian. The red plums embroidered on it were Nian Nian's favorite.
Yesterday, Nian Nian hadn't gotten into the carriage, so she naturally hadn't seen this warming stove. By now, the warming stove was already cold, lying there all alone, as if it had been abandoned.
But even if she had gotten into the carriage, would she have accepted this warming stove?
Lin Ye remembered what Xiao Heng had said. Xiao Heng said that Nian Nian hadn't even touched the warming stove and pastries prepared for her in the carriage.
If she didn't even touch what Xiao Heng had prepared for her, she was even less likely to touch his.
This girl was even more stubborn than she was three years ago. She was nothing like Yuan'er.
If she had called him elder brother yesterday like Yuan'er did, no, not even as affectionately as Yuan'er, just if she had called him elder brother, how could he have kicked her out of the carriage?
Thinking of her sprained foot yesterday, the annoyance in Lin Ye's heart grew stronger. For some reason, the warming stove in front of him became an eyesore.
The next moment, the carriage curtain was lifted, and the warming stove embroidered with a pair of red plums was thrown out.
Some things were indeed better out of sight.
Lin Ye didn't return to the mansion immediately. He was extremely agitated, so he went to a tavern and had a couple of drinks. By the time he returned to the mansion, it was almost dark.
However, he didn't expect that the whole family was waiting for him.
In the main hall of the Marquis' Mansion, Marquis Lin sat at the head with a solemn face. Lady Lin stood by his side, looking worried, and from time to time, she observed Marquis Lin's expression.
Qiao Nian had also been summoned to wait.
Lin Yuan wasn't there. She had swallowed some water, and the doctor said she needed to rest.
When Qiao Nian arrived, Marquis Lin was already there. This was the first time the father - daughter pair had met in three years. Marquis Lin merely glanced at her indifferently and said nothing. She, in turn, bowed politely, not uttering a single extra word or giving an extra glance.
After standing for about half an hour, Lin Ye finally arrived, strolling in with a hint of drunkenness on his face.
He had always had a good drinking capacity. It was obvious that he had drunk quite a bit today to have such a flushed face.
Clearly, he knew what this was about. As soon as he entered the hall, he knelt down. "Son knows that I was impulsive today and caused trouble. Father, whether you want to beat or scold me, I will have no complaints."
As soon as he finished speaking, a cup was hurled straight at him, hitting him right on the forehead.
Blood immediately trickled down Lin Ye's brow bone. Lady Lin let out a cry and rushed forward. "What are you doing, 老爷?Do you want to kill Ye'er?"
"Ask him what good deeds he's done! He even dared to barge into the palace! What? Are you tired of the peaceful life in our Marquis' Mansion and have to look for trouble?"
Marquis Lin was furious, his chest heaving violently.
When he learned about this matter from the Emperor today, he didn't even dare to breathe loudly, for fear that the Emperor, in a fit of anger, would order the entire Marquis' Mansion to be imprisoned.
Lin Ye covered the wound on his forehead with one hand, his face showing a hint of stubbornness. "Son knows I was wrong, but I just couldn't hold it in. Besides, I just taught a few palace maids in the laundry bureau a lesson. No one was killed. If the Emperor blames us, I'm willing to sacrifice my life to atone for it!"
Palace maids in the laundry bureau?
Standing aside, Qiao Nian's heart skipped a beat. She finally seemed to understand why Marquis Lin had summoned her to wait for Lin Ye.
She slightly furrowed her brows.
Then, she heard Marquis Lin shout angrily, "Nonsense! If sacrificing your life alone could solve this problem, that would be fine. But your grandmother is so old. Are you really not afraid of bringing disaster to our entire family?"
"It's not that serious!" Lady Lin quickly shielded Lin Ye. "Noble Consort De has come up with a compromise. The Emperor is also a reasonable person. This matter won't be blown out of proportion."
As she spoke, Lady Lin's eyes fell on Qiao Nian.
As if sensing this, Qiao Nian, who had been keeping her eyes down, suddenly looked at Lady Lin.
But Lady Lin seemed afraid to face her and quickly averted her gaze.
However, Qiao Nian still saw the deep sense of apology in her eyes.
Qiao Nian didn't like this kind of look at all.
Her intuition told her that the compromise Noble Consort De had come up with was related to her.