The woman spoke softly and gently, each word spoken slowly and gracefully, with a smile always on her face, as if she were thinking of Jiang Shuwan.

Her words were gentle, but the malice behind them was chilling.

It should be noted that Princess Li Yuyan of Nan'an was, in the Great Jing Dynasty, arguably the most powerful and favored woman besides the Empress and Consort Gao.

This was the first banquet she hosted after returning from the Southern Border. All the noble scions gathered, and everyone was fine except for Jiang Shuwan, who was kicked out.

—If this gets out, I don't know how nasty people will say about it.

Jiang Yao had finally spoken up for Jiang Shuwan, allowing her to stay, but her words completely ruined everything.

Moreover, she gave him advice as if she were doing it for his own good.

Being part of a different circle can be painful if you try to force yourself to fit in.

This completely demotes Jiang Shuwan to the lowest level.

It's safe to say that as soon as Jiang Shuwan dares to step out of this door, the news that the noble families of the capital would disdain to associate with her will spread to every corner of the country.

Not only will everyone despise them, but the reputations of the Marquis's Mansion and the Jiang Mansion will also be affected.

Actually, it was one thing for the Marquis's family to be like this. The old lady had long known that Jiang Shuwan had no literary talent and her handwriting was poor, but since Jiang Shuwan had been married into the family for more than a year, the old lady had never mentioned it, which meant she didn't care about it at all.

Besides, the old Marquis of the Marquis's mansion, along with Pei Yanzhi who had just entered officialdom, both acted like isolated officials. The Marquis's mansion had a poor relationship with the aristocratic families, which, to some extent, was something the old emperor was happy to see.

But the Jiang family is different.

The Jiang family was of low rank and had no connections, so they couldn't afford to offend anyone. The key issue was that Jiang's father always cared a lot about his reputation.

It's fair to say that if Jiang Shuwan were kicked out like this, the Marquis's mansion might not necessarily do anything to her, but the Jiang family would definitely lose face.

Jiang's father will definitely summon Jiang Shuwan back, and a beating from the family would be the least of his worries.

More importantly, it will also implicate other unmarried girls in the Jiang family.

Thinking about all this, Jiang Shuwan stopped walking out.

She initially didn't care, but now she can't leave no matter what.

At the very least, we cannot proceed under these circumstances.

Standing in the hall, the girl's white skirt swayed slightly in the cold wind, and her calm gaze fell from Li Yuyan to the noble lady in front of her.

Of all the women in this room, besides Li Yuyan, this woman had the strongest presence and the clearest mind.

Jiang Shuwan stared at her, and saw that she was wearing a crimson brocade dress with delicate auspicious cloud patterns embroidered on the cuffs and lifelike butterflies flitting among flowers on the hem.

Her hair was styled in a flying fairy bun, adorned with a golden phoenix hairpin with eight treasures, and a string of pearl tassels held in the phoenix's beak, swaying gently along with the ruby ​​earrings by her ears.

She had a beautiful face, especially her fox-like eyes, which were particularly eye-catching.

Jiang Shuwan has attended twenty or thirty banquets recently, but she has never seen this woman.

Moreover, this woman was clearly not part of Li Yuyan's faction.

Previously, when Li Yuyan and her close friends, all sorts of noble ladies, were trying to trap Jiang Shuwan with their words, this woman didn't say a word.

Furthermore, when everyone was clamoring to kick Jiang Shuwan out, the woman sitting one seat in front of Jiang Shuwan remained silent.

Why are they stabbing her in the back now?

Jiang Shuwan frowned; she didn't recognize the woman.

But this woman was quite interesting. Most people would be unable to bear being looked at by her, but this woman remained calm and stared straight back at her.

He's a ruthless character.

Jiang Shuwan praised in her heart.

The woman stared at Jiang Shuwan, her heart also unsettled.

She disliked the Jiang family and would not attend any banquets attended by members of the Jiang family.

She came with little enthusiasm only because Li Yuyan invited her and she couldn't refuse.

She originally thought she would just go through the motions and come back quickly, but she didn't expect to see Li Yuyan setting a trap for Jiang Shuwan, intending to humiliate the Jiang family.

Therefore, she naturally had to get involved.

I never expected that Jiang Shuwan, who looks so young and has such a delicate face, and seems so easy to bully, would have such a sharp gaze.

However, her sharpness and strength are different from Li Yuyan's.

Li Yuyan was of high status and had a violent temper, so everyone was afraid of her.

This Jiang Shuwan, however, is all about aura... she seems to have an aura that makes her fearless of anyone.

You should know that her grandfather was the Minister of Personnel, and even Yao Jinshu, a relative of the emperor, did not dare to look her in the eye.

Jiang Shuwan, however, was not afraid at all, and even subtly intimidated her with her eyes.

That's really strange.

With no background and no talent, how could she be so arrogant?

Could it be because it has the backing of a Marquis's mansion?

It's ridiculous that the Guo family is one of the eight great families, and they even hold the extremely important official position of Minister of Personnel.

Jiang Shuwan doesn't think the Guo family is afraid of the Marquis's mansion, does she?

Innocent!

Thinking about it, the woman glared fiercely at Jiang Shuwan again.

"..."

interesting!

Seeing the woman staring at her even more angrily, Jiang Shuwan curled her lips into a smile.

She was eager to know who this woman was when Yao Jinshu, who was quite close to Jiang Shuwan, whispered a reminder.

"She is the daughter of the Minister of Personnel, Guo, the one who was previously married into the Earl's family. Her older sister is the noblewoman who died young."

Jiang Shuwan suddenly realized.

No wonder this woman was silent before, but stabbed her in the back at the crucial moment; it turns out she's the younger sister of a noble family.

After the noblewoman died in the Earl's mansion, she became enemies with the Earl's mansion and also came to hate the Marquis's mansion.

Given her current predicament, it's understandable that the Guo family women would kick her while she was down.

But every wrong has its perpetrator, and every debt its debtor; you've come to the wrong person, sister...

Jiang Shuwan sighed inwardly. Her mind raced as she tried to think of a way to break the deadlock. Before she could even speak, Jiang Yao had already spoken up for her.

"Guo Yaqin, stop with your high-sounding words."

“This was originally just an ordinary plum blossom appreciation banquet. There was no prior agreement to compose poems or write calligraphy. Since it was not a poetry banquet, my elder sister has no right to leave the table.”

"Guo Yaqin, your grandfather is the Minister of Personnel. I don't believe you don't understand this simple principle. You are clearly seeking revenge!"

Jiang Yao glared angrily at Guo Yaqin, clearly understanding better than anyone why Guo Yaqin had stepped forward at this moment.

"Ha, the way you're talking makes it sound like we forced your older sister to come."

"Moreover, as I just said, I'm doing this for her own good. After all, everyone else can write and compose poetry, but she can't do anything. She didn't suffer the hardships of studying when she was young, so it's no wonder we look down on her now."

Guo Yaqin sneered, refusing to budge an inch, clearly determined to clash with Jiang Shuwan and Jiang Yao.

If she doesn't make the Jiang family lose face today, she's not a Guo.

It's pitiful that her older sister, who was so young, died less than a month after marrying into the Earl's household. She was perfectly fine at home.

She refused to believe there wasn't something fishy going on.