Chapter 191 Attending the Wedding Banquet

Yu Qingci calculated the time mentioned in her mother's letter. Her younger brother would be setting off in a few days. She thought she should prepare a few more sets of clothes and have someone send him any items he might need on the journey, so that the brat wouldn't forget about her.

After reading her mother's letter, she read her father's. Sure enough, it was his usual way of speaking, telling her not to worry, that he would investigate the rumors and give her mother an explanation.

Seeing this, Yu Qingci felt more at ease. The reason her father couldn't say it aloud must be one or two.

Very well, Yu Qingci will remember this debt and make them pay back slowly.

Lu Yun Chu's carriage quickly entered the fourth family's residence on Xifu Street. As soon as he entered, he saw his second aunt, Wei Shi, being surrounded by a group of women who were teasing him. The conversation was naturally about Lu Yun Bo's pleasure at Furong Tower and the huge debt of five thousand taels of silver he had incurred.

Today, Granny Ma, dressed in festive attire, sat aside watching the commotion and secretly enjoying herself, showing no intention of helping her second sister-in-law out of the predicament.

Wei Shi was blushing and turning pale as she was teased by the group of women. She was secretly annoyed when she turned her head and saw Yun Chu walking in with several maids. As if she had seen a savior, Wei Shi immediately left the crowd and got up to greet her.

"It's Yun Chu. Come in quickly. Your cousin Yun Li was just thinking about you."

After saying that, he stepped forward, took Yun Chu's hand, and pushed her in front of everyone to introduce her: "This is the eldest daughter of our General's Mansion. Her name is Yun Chu. Just look at this girl's demeanor; she is clearly a lady from a prominent family."

When the women in the room learned that the visitor was a young lady from the General's Mansion, they all looked over, their gazes lingering on Yun Chu. Even though Yun Chu had seen a bit of the world, she still felt very uncomfortable under the women's blatant stares.

However, she still greeted Madam Ma and Madam Wei with proper manners. Then, she glanced back at the people in the room. Apart from a few faces that she vaguely recognized, who seemed to be Madam Ma's relatives and sisters-in-law, she did not recognize most of the others.

But as soon as these women heard that she was a young lady from the General's Mansion, their eyes lit up and they immediately surrounded her. Several of them had already started to flatter Yun Chu.

Upon seeing this, the maids who were with Yun Chu immediately stepped forward and surrounded their young mistress.

The middle-aged maid accompanying them said with a smile, "Our young lady is shy and can't stand everyone's stares. She's just here to meet some elders and offer her congratulations."

After saying that, she turned to Lu Yun Chu and said, "Miss, I just saw that the young ladies who came to offer their congratulations today are sitting and chatting in the pavilion outside. We won't disturb the elders any longer."

Lu Yun Chu understood his meaning, said a few more polite words to Madam Ma, and then turned and walked out.

Seeing this, Madam Wei hurriedly squeezed forward, took Yun Chu's hand, and said warmly:

"Yun Chu, I'm taking you to see your cousin Yun Li. You'll stay with her today; she'll take good care of you."

As soon as he finished speaking, he pulled Yun Chu and walked outside.

Once outside, Madam Wei turned back and spat into the house, saying indignantly:

"Hmph! What kind of people are they? All they think about is laughing at others. Be careful, one day your child will cause trouble and others will laugh at you too!"

"You want to meet my Yunli? You're like a toad lusting after a swan! Look at your child's behavior! He's not even worthy to carry Yunli's shoes! And you keep saying you don't mind that Yunli was jilted before? Pah!"

Wei cursed and swore all the way, and Yun Chu didn't even have a chance to interrupt. She could only passively follow her.

The group soon arrived at the backyard pavilion, which was noticeably quieter than the front yard.

Aside from a few young maids serving tea and snacks, there were also young women who came to visit, sitting in twos and threes around the table chatting, with occasional low laughter.

Yun Li was sitting quietly by the corner, looking at the flowers and plants in the flowerbed next to her. Wei Shi pulled Yun Chu and walked straight over.

"Yun Li, look who's here! You were just telling me you missed your cousin Yun Chu. Now that she's here, you should spend some quality time with her."

Wei spoke loudly to her daughter.

Upon seeing Yun Chu, Yun Li immediately stood up, a hint of joy appearing on her quiet and gentle face:

"Sister Yun Chu, come here quickly."

Yun Chu stepped forward and softly called out, "Cousin."

"You cousins ​​stay put, I'm leaving."

After Wei finished speaking and left, the girls around her turned their gazes to look at the new guest. Seeing that she had several maids serving her, some of them looked at her with envy, curiosity and scrutiny.

A girl dressed in pink, around seventeen or eighteen years old, walked over, looked Yun Chu up and down, and asked with a smile:

“Cousin Yunli, is this your cousin from the General’s Mansion? She’s really beautiful. No wonder she’s a young lady from the General’s Mansion. Her demeanor is far beyond what we ordinary people can compare to.”

Yun Li smiled, pursing her lips. Then she leaned close to Yun Chu's ear and whispered:

"This is Fourth Aunt's niece from her maternal side, named Hui Niang. These others are also relatives from Fourth Aunt's maternal side. You should have seen the others at that table a little further away; they are girls from the families of our uncles."

As Yun Li introduced her, Yun Chu quickly glanced at the girls around her. She didn't intend to get to know the woman named Hui Niang standing in front of her.

Hui Niang ignored whether Yun Chu responded or not, and, as if they were old friends, sat down next to Yun Chu on the other side, her gaze lingering on Yun Chu without any politeness, while trying to get closer to her with her words:

"This is my aunt's house. You are my aunt's niece, so we are relatives. Judging from your appearance, you should be a few years younger than me, so I will take the liberty of calling you cousin."

My cousin's clothes are so beautiful, and her jewelry and headdress are things I've never seen before.

As Hui Niang spoke, her eyes were fixed on the pearl hairpin that Yun Chu was wearing.

Under the sunlight, the pink pearls inlaid on the hairpin shone with a warm glow, appearing even more round and translucent, clearly indicating that it was a precious item.

Hui Niang stared at it, her eyes wide, and she even reached out to touch it: "Sister, this piece of jewelry is so beautiful. I have never worn such a beautiful hairpin before. Why don't you lend it to me for a while? I will return it to you after the banquet."

After saying that, he directly pulled it off Yun Chu's head and put it on his own.

Yun Li and Yun Chu were stunned. How could there be such a person?

Both girls were reserved by nature and were taken aback by Hui Niang's sudden action.

Lian Qiao, who was watching closely, saw that Hui Niang had put on the hairpin and was about to get up and leave. She stepped forward to stop her, pulled the hairpin off her head without ceremony, and put it back on Yun Chu.

Lian Qiao turned around, raised her chin at Hui Niang, and looked at her with disdain, saying:

"The hairpin in our young lady's hair was a reward from the imperial court to her brother, the young general, after he distinguished himself on the battlefield. How could a girl from an ordinary family afford to wear such a thing?"