The sixth day of June.
The divination said that the weather would be clear and cloudless.
There is a square where thousands of people gather at the south gate of the city, where the annual Insect King Festival sacrifice is held.
Before dawn, the capital was boiling with excitement. The people in the city would not miss the excitement. People from some farms on the outskirts of the city also wanted to come and take advantage of their luck. The wide avenue in the south of the city was blocked.
When the sky was slightly light, the palace guards came to clear the road. The emperor's chariot and the queen's phoenix sedan came out of the palace gate and headed towards the south square of the city.
Behind the emperor and the empress were the civil and military officials, as well as some titled ladies of the court, among whom Cheng Wanwan was among them.
She came to the capital without her Anren court clothes. The clothes she was wearing were borrowed from Mrs. Lin. The old lady had also been an Anren when she was young. She had not worn these clothes a few times. The waistline was slightly modified and she wore them on Cheng Wan. Just right when you bend over.
When we walked to the square, the sun just jumped out of the horizon, and its golden light spread across the earth.
Cheng Wanwan had to admire the wisdom of the ancients, who could calculate the sunrise time so accurately without knowing anything about astronomy and geography.
The etiquette officials have already arrived. According to the rules, the emperor stands at the top, followed by the queen. All civil and military officials stand in the large square according to their status, while the court ladies are in the secondary square. In short, the square is crowded with people. They are officials, and outside the square are ordinary people watching the excitement.
Cheng Wanwan was in the sixth rank and stood very far back. He couldn't even see the emperor's face clearly. He could barely see a bright yellow figure standing at the top.
The bells rang, the altar was opened and incense was burned, and the Insect King Festival ceremony officially began.
There is an ancient stone loudspeaker equipment in this square. The ceremonial officer and the emperor were talking from the top, and Cheng Wanwan could hear them clearly.
"Desheng Zhaolin, welcome to Xunfang..."
"...At the end of three sacrifices, a hundred gods will reach their peak...the grass and trees will flourish, and the world will spring."
"...The elegant music has clear sounds, and I send you the sacred instrument to play."
After the lengthy memorial service, music began to be played in the square. The elegant and magnificent music was very beautiful. Cheng Wanwan kept listening carefully.
When the music ends, the sacrificial activity is truly over.
The ceremony officer removed all the solemn utensils from the scene, and the emperor and empress were about to leave for the palace. However, they knew clearly that today's matter was not over yet. However, if the emperor and empress were here, the people of Sui'an would not be able to talk easily. So the emperor and the empress got on the sedan chair and did not leave for the time being.
The emperor and the empress had not yet left, so it was natural that the civil and military officials in the square could not leave. They gathered in small groups to talk.
At this moment, Cheng Wanwan walked out of the crowd and walked towards the Ye family step by step.
Two members of the Ye family came today, but Ye Lingbo did not arrive. The fourth-grade head of the Ye family and Deputy Captain Ye were standing together talking.
Seeing Cheng Wanwan approaching, the two stopped talking, and the surrounding courtiers also looked sideways.
In the past five or six days, the lawsuit between the Ye family and the Sui'an people has been well known to everyone. Although the Sui'an people are of the sixth rank, they have made great achievements and are deeply loved by the Queen, so this time the Ye family has suffered so much. Even though they were deeply wronged, they didn't dare to come to seek justice... The court officials were very angry that a mere sixth-grade court lady could cause such a big thing in the capital.
A woman is a woman, and she doesn't care about her face for a little personal gain. Fortunately, she is only a sixth-rank official. If her official position were higher, wouldn't it be a shame to go to heaven?
The head of the Ye family looked at Cheng Wanwan approaching with a cold look, with a compromising look on his face: "She is from Sui'an, not a royal wife of the imperial court in the capital, but she has the ability to participate in the Insect King Festival sacrifice. She really has the ability... I, the Ye family, Even if my son almost died at the hands of the Sui'an people, we, the Ye family, would not dare to come to seek justice if we were not the Sui'an people's opponents. We also ask the Sui'an people not to make things difficult for us anymore..."
It is rare for a first- and fourth-grade courtier to bow his head in front of a sixth-grade woman, and people around him can't help but talk about it.
"This Suian person is too arrogant and domineering."
"What's this? I heard that she was disrespectful to General Hussar."
"The emperor and the queen haven't left yet, and she dares to cause trouble for the Ye family. It's true that an ignorant person is fearless."
"..."
In the midst of everyone's discussion, Cheng Wanwan suddenly knelt down: "The whole city knew that I accidentally injured the son. It just so happened that the whole city was here today, so I will give the son and Ye Ye in front of the whole city." The family has to apologize."
The head of the Ye family looked a little unhappy. She had agreed to go to the Ye family to apologize, but this woman actually apologized in public.
With so many pairs of eyes staring at them, how could the Ye family be so evil? This woman has so many tricks up her sleeve that it’s hard to guard against her! No matter what this woman says later, the Ye family cannot forgive her. They must act like a victim and let everyone in the city drown this poisonous woman with their saliva!
"Five days ago, I broke into the military camp without permission. On impulse, I gave Master Ye fifty lashes. I made a big mistake!"
She spoke in a loud voice, which spread to the outside, and then spread out, triggering discussions among the people.
These people were originally here to watch the Insect King Festival. Who would have thought that they would be able to witness such a lively event with their own eyes? What’s more, they didn’t expect that the people from Sui’an actually admitted that they had whipped Master Ye.
In fact, there are many scholars in the capital who believe that a woman from Sui'an would never do such a rude thing.
But when she said this, those scholars felt a bit slapped in the face. It turned out that the Sui'an people really beat Master Ye, a full fifty lashes... Then wasn't it a joke that they had spoken for the Sui'an people before?
"I was very wrong. I did four things wrong." Cheng Wanwan said every word in a eloquent tone, "First, when I first came to the capital a month ago, Mr. Ye molested my personal maid in the street. What was my mistake? I didn't give the maid to Master Ye as a concubine on the spot, so I was hated by Master Ye."
Master Ye's expression suddenly changed.
This isn't an apology, it's just throwing dirty water!
However, before the head of the Ye family could speak, Cheng Wanwan continued to speak.
"Secondly, Chief Ye frequently visited the military camp on the outskirts of Beijing. He repeatedly committed crimes and insulted Captain Shao. As an outsider, I should not accuse him arbitrarily, because this matter has nothing to do with me!"
"Thirdly, as a civil servant, Master Ye taught a small soldier in the military camp a lesson, and two soldiers almost died because of this. Although Master Ye's behavior is not in compliance with the regulations, it has nothing to do with me, a sixth-grade Anren!"
"Fourth, even though I am a mother, I should not be confused when I see that my son is about to die, let alone kill Master Ye!"
"I deeply realize my mistake. If I encounter such an incident in the future, I will never act impulsively again. I can go to the general to seek justice, or I can go to the government to report the case... In short, I did something wrong this time. Yes, Mr. Ye wants to beat or scold me, even if he wants to give me five hundred lashes, I will never say no!"
She bent her knees, lowered her head, and had a good attitude of admitting her mistake, but what she said made everyone uproar.
