Chapter 208 Purpose of the Visit

"In that case, Zijuan, go and see what they're here for." Yuan Hongqu glanced at Zijuan indifferently.

Zijuan's heart tightened; she knew she had spoken out of turn again.

She had originally come to the Lin family from the Rongguo Mansion with the young lady. Although she was also the young lady's head maid, it was clear that she was not like the other maids, and could not be completely trusted by the young lady.

“Zijuan, because you were originally from the Rongguo Mansion, the Xue family will feel more comfortable with you; also, given your current status, not just anyone can easily meet you, so you must all remember that in the future,” Yuan Hongqu said to the maids.

The group agreed and "remembered".

Daiyu also thought it was fine this way. She actually liked to play with friends of similar age, but if she had to behave properly with elders, she could do it too. She just felt that having to act mature was exhausting.

Moreover, Daiyu always felt that something bad would happen every time she met the Xue family.

"Well, Zijuan, go and ask them what brings them here. Our relationship with them at Rongguo Mansion is just so-so. Although we're related, how close do we have to be to be considered relatives?"

Especially since they had just broken Xue Pan's leg not long ago, although Daiyu claimed that she was "acting as a chivalrous person," this was the first time she had done such a thing, and she couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable when she saw the Xue family mother and daughter.

Zijuan agreed and led the two maids to the side hall where guests were received.

Aunt Xue was secretly thinking that since she had come to the Lin family, she would at least be welcomed in and allowed to visit Daiyu's place to catch up.

As a result, the old woman simply led the mother and daughter to a side hall, served them tea and snacks, and then ignored them.

Aunt Xue was anxiously waiting, this time for Baochai's future.

The previous selection of Baochai had been missed. Aunt Xue learned by chance that graduates of the Girls' Academy could directly enter the palace as female officials, and she couldn't wait to ask Lady Wang to register Baochai.

To prevent Baochai from being rejected again because of Xue Pan, Aunt Xue specially spent a high price to make a fake place of origin for Baochai.

Regarding her place of origin, Xue Baochai's parents had both changed their names, and her father had passed away. Her mother was still in her original place of origin, while Aunt Xue was just a relative whom Xue Baochai relied on. Because they got along well, Aunt Xue recognized Xue Baochai as her goddaughter.

Once your biological mother becomes your godmother, you can't find a single fault with her anymore.

Now, Aunt Xue is worried about tomorrow's entrance exam. After thinking it over, the only person in the capital who is connected to the girls' academy and whom she knows is Yuan Hongqu. So, regardless of the fact that they are not very familiar with each other, she brought Baochai over and asked Yuan Hongqu to tutor Baochai.

Of course, she also prepared a generous gift.

I waited for quite a while, but no one came.

After finishing her tea, a maid came over to refill it. Just as she was about to ask a question, Zijuan walked in.

"Greetings to Madam Xue. I heard inside that an old acquaintance from the Rongguo Mansion had arrived. Miss was busy, so she sent me to greet them. I didn't expect it to be Madam Xue and Miss Xue. It's been a long time. How have you been, Madam Xue and Miss Xue?" Ziju greeted her with a smile.

"It's Zijuan..." Aunt Xue thought it was Yuan Hongqu who had come, but when she saw that it was Zijuan, Daiyu's maid, she felt a little uneasy.

This treatment is far too arrogant these days; they just send over a maid.

Zijuan sensed Aunt Xue's dissatisfaction. She had even kindly spoken up for them, what a waste of breath!

“We’ve always been fine, but we haven’t seen Miss Lin recently, and we’ve been missing her, so we came to visit.” Even Aunt Xue herself didn’t believe what she was saying.

But if I don't say it this way, how can I establish connections and ask Yuan Hongqu for help?

“The princess has an exam tomorrow and is studying today, so she doesn’t have much free time.” Zijuan said with a forced smile, looking at Xue Baochai. “Miss Bao looks like she’s lost quite a bit of weight.”

Xue Baochai's face turned pale. Zijuan had just said "Miss" but then changed it to "Princess". This clearly showed that Daiyu did not want to have any contact with them and brought up her status.

Zijuan sensed the insincerity in her mother's words, so she directly invoked Lin Daiyu's status as a princess to warn them that the Lin family was not a place they could aspire to.

As a smart person, the more they know, the more embarrassed they feel inside.

However, they still had to endure it, trying not to let anyone see it, and they still had to ask for help.

"Princess Lin...is she taking the exam tomorrow too?" Aunt Xue was surprised; she really hadn't expected Daiyu to sign up.

Zijuan glanced at Aunt Xue, and from what she heard, it seemed that there were other people taking the exam, which must be Miss Xue.

Sure enough, Aunt Xue said...

"Princess Lin is also taking the girls' academy exam? Our Baochai has also registered and will take the exam tomorrow."

"What a coincidence!" Zijuan said with a smile. "I heard the entrance exam is quite difficult. All our young ladies are studying, so how come Miss Xue has time to go out?"

"It's precisely because of this exam," Aunt Xue said, her face showing difficulty, but she finally managed to get to the bottom of her business.

“Wasn’t Ms. Yuan a teacher at the girls’ school before? We would like to ask her for advice on the rules of the exams.”

"Mrs. Xue, the rules for the exam are all in the exam instructions given to us when we registered. Our princess prepared according to the requirements in the instructions."

Zijuan was puzzled. If even these things needed to be asked of Granny Yuan, then why was Xue Baochai even taking the exam?

Aunt Xue was a little embarrassed because she realized that Zijuan had misunderstood, but she couldn't explain it too clearly.

"Zijuan, there are some things I don't understand about the exam, so I've come to ask Mr. Yuan for guidance. I wonder if I could ask Mr. Yuan to come and see me?" Baochai's words were neither humble nor arrogant, which made Zijuan look at her with new respect.

However, Princess Lin was busy, and Granny Yuan was even busier!

However, whether or not to meet with the Xue family mother and daughter is a decision that only Granny Yuan can make; she cannot make the decision on her own.

Zijuan told the little maid to run errands and deliver a message.

“Mrs. Xue, I remember hearing that you wanted Miss Xue to stay home more often, which is why you didn’t let her participate in the selection. Now that she’s studying at the academy, she’ll be going early and returning late, so I’m afraid she won’t have much time to spend with you at home. Why did you agree to let Miss Xue go?”

“Alas, Baochai is so filial and insists on staying at home with me, but I can’t ruin her future!” Aunt Xue said, her eyes reddening.

Xue Baochai lowered her head and remained silent.

Aunt Xue said again,

“Zijuan, I just heard you say that Princess Lin is studying. Why don’t you let Baochai go and study with the princess? The two of them can learn from each other, and when they go to the girls’ academy, they can take care of each other.”

“Mrs. Xue, Miss Xue is old enough to be in a higher grade class, while our daughter is only old enough to be in the middle grade. Their exams are different.”