Ji Huanjin's eyes darkened slightly, but after a moment she smiled again: "Didn't my cousins Mingyan and Boyan mention me to you? I'm from the Ji family, and I'm younger than you, so according to etiquette, I should call you cousin."
As she spoke, she pursed her lips again: "That's true. My two older cousins have never really liked me, so it's understandable that they haven't told you about me."
Zhu Jiayu chuckled twice, subtly observing her as she answered, "Perhaps they did mention it, but I have a bad memory and forgot by accident. My cousin won't be angry with me, will she?"
She had been in Heling for quite some time, but she rarely interacted with others. This young girl was the first one to be so warm and friendly to her on their first meeting, but there was something unsettling about this friendliness.
Zhu Jiayu went through her words and immediately understood: She was a girl from the Ji family, and by all accounts, she should be close to the Qiu sisters. But now she left them aside and greeted her first. Her words also revealed that she and Qiu sisters were not on good terms and had a long-standing grudge... Was she trying to use her as a pawn?
Ji Huanjin had originally intended to feign grievance, but upon hearing Zhu Jiayu actually make amends for Qiu Boyan and the others, and take the blame upon herself, she could no longer maintain the facade and could only magnanimously say:
"Of course not. My cousin Ayu has a lot of important people to deal with, and I'm too busy taking care of you to be angry with you."
Zhu Jiayu lowered her head, took a sip of tea, and asked casually, "Cousin Ji, is there something you need at Cheng Garden?"
It can't just be for the sake of saying hello to her, right?
Upon hearing this, Ji Huanjin said with annoyance, "Yes, it is. It's all my fault. I couldn't resist my cousin's beauty and almost forgot about the important matter."
She curtsied to Zhu Jiayu, then turned and left the pavilion, exchanging pleasantries with the young ladies in the garden. Finally, she found Qiu Mingyan and Qiu Boyan and went over to talk to them.
Qiu Boyan was always a quiet and reserved person in public, let alone in front of Ji Huanjin.
When she and her sister were together, it was always her sister who dealt with Ji Huanjin.
Ji Huanjin got used to it and chatted with them casually.
She had long been curious about Zhu Jiayu, but she could only hear about her deeds and never see her in person. Now that she had the chance, she wanted to get more information about Zhu Jiayu from her cousin. As they talked, they inevitably started talking about Qi Xiuyuan.
Hearing that a cousin had come to the Qiu family and was attending the banquet with his aunt and uncle today, Ji Huanjin became interested and asked Qiu Mingyan, "What does this cousin look like? How old is he?"
Qiu Boyan could no longer remain silent. She pursed her lips and looked at her cousin: "Cousin, please be careful with your words. As women, it is really impolite of us to gossip about men behind their backs."
Ji Huanjin glanced at her, then shifted her gaze back to Qiu Mingyan: "Cousin Bo Yan, why are you in such a good mood today? You never usually interrupt. Or did I mention Cousin Qi and it hit a nerve?"
She asked Qiu Boyan smugly, but Qiu Mingyan couldn't stand it and said coldly, "Cousin, have some self-respect. You have absolutely no connection with our Qi family cousins, so you should skip the 'cousin' title."
Qiu Boyan nodded emphatically in agreement.
"According to my cousin's logic, I shouldn't call Ayu my cousin either?" Ji Huanjin asked her with a smile.
Qiu Mingyan nodded: "Of course."
"But when I called her that just now, she accepted me as her cousin." Ji Huanjin's smile deepened. She leaned closer to Qiu Mingyan and whispered in her ear, "Cousin, you were so careful, but you couldn't stop me from getting to know Cousin Ayu. What should I do?"
Zhu Jiayu has some kind of evil about him.
That's what the noble ladies of Heling say in private. There's nothing they can do about it; since she came to Heling, she's attended two banquets and stole the show both times. Afterwards, the young ladies from the Wei and Xue families, who hosted the banquets, praised her highly.
After all, her abilities have been seen by everyone.
As you can see, even Song Jiangmei, who was previously adored by men as a fairy maiden, is now very close to her. Even Gu Zhongyi, the heir of the Prince Jing's mansion, a fearless playboy, has to give way to Zhu Jiayu. He even tells his playmates, who have been ridiculed by Zhu Jiayu, to listen to her more, read more books, and play less...
In Heling City these days, any young lady who can exchange a few words with Zhu Jiayu can boast about it for a whole day.
Ji Huanjin had always longed to be the center of attention. After Zhu Jiayu became famous, she thought she could take advantage of her proximity to the Qiu family and get involved with Zhu Jiayu before the other noble ladies, so that she could shine at the future banquet. However, she did not expect that her invitations to the Qiu family were rejected every time she sent them.
Her first thought was that Qiu Mingyan was behind it all, since Qiu Mingyan had been jealous of her since childhood because she was more favored by adults than her sisters.
But now that she has bypassed the Qiu family and spoken with Zhu Jiayu, she naturally can't help but come to Qiu Mingyan to show off, which is also the purpose of her coming to Chengyuan.
She just didn't want to see the Qiu Mingyan sisters happy.
Qiu Mingyan gave a cold laugh twice.
Zhu Jiayu is surrounded by intelligent people. There was Song Jiangmei a few days ago, and Gu Heguang recently. Qiu Lingyan, although not exactly intelligent, is still somewhat cute. Each of them is a hundred or a thousand times better than Ji Huanjin.
"Do as you please." After saying that, she turned and walked away to another place with a cold face.
Ji Huanjin has been jealous of their better background since she was a child, and now she is jealous of Zhu Jiayu's closer relationship with them. Who knows what dirty tricks she will come up with next? If she can't afford to offend them, can't she at least avoid them?
Ji Huanjin stared at her departing figure for a long while, then walked over and sat down next to Qiu Boyan: "Cousin Boyan..."
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