Chapter 164: No prejudice, but there is hatred.

Yuan Hongqu was naturally unaware of the thoughts of the Xue mother and daughter; even if she had known, she would have merely smiled.

You have such vivid dreams. Go to sleep now; you can have anything in your dreams.

She had no prejudice against the Xue family, only a dislike for them.

Xue Pan was able to get away with killing someone, and the mother and daughter of the Xue family protected him in every way. In their hearts, Xue Pan was their son and their elder brother, and never a murderer.

Moreover, after Xue Pan entered the capital, he did not restrain himself because of the previous lessons. Instead, he was lured by Jia Zhen and his ilk to do all sorts of bad things, becoming more than ten times worse than when he was in Jinling.

He's the worst of the worst!

Another line in the original work says that Xue Pan suddenly caught sight of Lin Daiyu's graceful and charming appearance and was immediately captivated. This line disgusted Yuan Hongqu.

How dare such scum appear in the same sentence as Lin Daiyu? Bah!

Later, Xue Baochai joked with Daiyu, suggesting that Daiyu marry Xue Pan. Although Aunt Xue was self-aware and quickly stopped her, Daiyu didn't take it to heart.

But as an observer, Yuan Hongqu herself was furious with herself.

What a shameless bastard! I don't know that Xue Pan is even worse than dog shit, yet he dares to say such things!

Such a thing is unthinkable, even thinking about it is a sin, yet this mother and daughter still spoke it out.

Yuan Hongqu truly had no prejudice against the Xue family, really.

But there is animosity.

So how could she possibly give the Xue family any benefit? The fact that she could give Baochai a smile was already a testament to her excellent manners.

Daiyu went to the palace to express her gratitude in the morning and returned shortly afterward.

In the afternoon, the front yard was bustling with people and guests, with a constant stream of people coming to deliver visiting cards. The cards were first screened outside before being sent inside.

Granny Shi brought over a thick stack of invitations and went from house to house with Daiyu, telling her about the families' deeds and their relationship with the Lin family. Then Daiyu was left to decide for herself whether or not she wanted them to come on the Flower Festival.

The guest list for the Lin family's banquet will be submitted to the Imperial Household Department. After the Imperial Household Department compiles the list, it will issue invitations to the guests in a unified manner, which saves the Lin family a lot of trouble.

Daiyu initially thought that since the Imperial Household Department was handling everything, she could simply leave it all to them. However, it turned out to be more complicated than she expected. The guest list was one issue, and the banquet itself also needed to be prepared by her own family. After all, this was the Lin family, so the birthday banquet should be based on Daiyu's preferences. The Imperial Household Department's involvement was mainly to support Daiyu.

This was because Daiyu's father, Lin Ruhai, was not in the capital. Indeed, the significance of Daiyu being granted the title of Princess was extraordinary, which is why the Imperial Household Department was willing to support the event. It was an honor that even princes and nobles rarely received.

After listening to Granny Shi mention several houses, Daiyu felt rather bored.

"Granny Shi, I understand. You can handle the rest. Just show me the list when you get it."

Granny Shi's round face was full of smiles. "Miss, it's easy to arrange with the other families, but who should we invite from Ningrong Street? Should we invite both households, or just one?"

"The Rongguo Mansion is my maternal grandfather's family. Do they need an invitation from the Imperial Household Department? Can't they just come directly?" Daiyu asked, puzzled.

"Miss, it's an honor for any family to receive an invitation from the Imperial Household Department. I think the Rongguo Mansion probably wants to see it too." Granny Shi was very knowledgeable about this. There were still some days until the young lady's birthday. Once the Imperial Household Department had prepared the invitations, they would be sent out and wouldn't go through the Lin family again.

These days, many families will compare themselves to each other, seeing who has received an invitation from the Imperial Household Department and who hasn't.

Yuan Hongqu frowned slightly after hearing what Granny Shi said. "Is there a limit to the number of people allowed on the invitation?"

"No, because our family is celebrating the girl's birthday and the title of Princess. This is a traditional celebratory banquet, not the kind with a special theme like flower viewing or poetry writing. So the invitation doesn't specify the number of people," Granny Shi explained.

Yuan Hongqu nodded. "Can our family get the credentials from the Imperial Household Department?"

"If the invitation is delivered in person by the Imperial Household Department, the family that receives it will feel even more honored."

"What if the Imperial Household Department refuses to send an invitation to the person I want to invite?" Daiyu asked worriedly.

“Miss, write down the names of the people you wish to invite on the list and submit it together. The Imperial Household Department rarely cuts from the list. If there are families that absolutely must be removed, then I suppose we need not associate with those families anymore.” Granny Shi spoke eloquently. Yuan Hongqu understood what she was hearing, but Daiyu’s delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly.

Both Granny Shi and Granny Jin came from the palace. Before Daiyu went to the capital, Yuan Hongqu suggested repairing the Lin family's old house. Lin Ruhai thought further ahead and sent someone with a letter to these two newly graduated nannies to take up their posts in the Lin family.

These two old women had once received great favors from the Lin family. Now that they had left the palace, the Lin family had offered them jobs, and they were very happy to work for the Lin family.

It was precisely because of them that, after Yuan Hongqu moved back to the Lin family, although there were many people and many things to do, Yuan Hongqu actually had more free time than when she was in the Rongguo Mansion.

Granny Shi was knowledgeable and experienced, and she was very clear about the intricacies of the Imperial Household Department's invitation. Yuan Hongqu also understood the meaning behind her words, but Daiyu did not quite understand.

"Granny, why is that? Does this mean we have to cut off ties with families who haven't received a letter from the Imperial Household Department?"

"Think about it," Yuan Hongqu explained to Daiyu in detail. "The Imperial Household Department is the closest place to the Emperor. They are responsible for the Emperor's food, clothing, housing, and transportation. So they know the Emperor's joys and sorrows best. If the Emperor dislikes someone, and the Imperial Household Department still sends an invitation to that person, wouldn't that be a slap in the Emperor's face?"

“Mr. Yuan is right,” praised Granny Shi. “Miss, if even the Emperor dislikes that family, what good would it do for our family to associate with them?”

“That’s not right,” Daiyu blurted out. “If we make friends this way, how are we any different from those sycophants who step on the weak and fawn over the strong!”

“Miss, that may be true, but everyone does it this way. It’s not necessarily that the Emperor dislikes them; it’s also possible that the family has already committed a crime, but the verdict hasn’t been announced yet. The Imperial Household Department would never send an invitation to such a family,” Granny Shi hurriedly said.

"If we don't post this message to such a family, wouldn't that be alerting them?" Yuan Hongqu thought.

“Yes, if some families are supposed to receive an invitation but haven’t, they’ll definitely be on guard and take precautions. It’s really like stirring up a hornet’s nest!” Daiyu added.

“Young lady, this is actually an opportunity given to them by the Imperial Household Department. If they realize their mistakes and correct them, their sentences will naturally be reduced when the verdict is announced. However, if they remain obstinate and even worsen their behavior, then there will be no need to be lenient; their sentences will be increased by one degree.”

“This is a good idea,” Daiyu said, “but it’s really pointless to make my birthday banquet so complicated.”