Old Master Xiao was a man of few words, and he didn't say much during the meal. It was only when Xiao Wan was about to leave with Zhu Jiayu that he, like the old lady, told Zhu Jiayu to come and visit the mansion more often when she had time.
Xiao Wan smiled and accepted on Zhu Jiayu's behalf. After leaving the Xiao residence, Zhu Jiayu still felt that things had developed too naturally, and none of the suspicions and tests she had imagined had occurred.
The old man seemed to only ask her a few questions about her hobbies and her views on people and affairs, before telling her to come and visit more often in the future.
...
After Zhu Jiayu left, Old Master Xiao snorted lightly: "I thought he was some kind of divine being, that the Wei family's boy would specially write to ask us to take care of him. Now it seems he's nothing special."
The Xiao family has a Miss Sun, who is the granddaughter of his third brother. The young girl is delicate and timid, but very well-educated and sensible. She met Wei Qinglou once this spring and fell in love with him. She can no longer see anyone else.
Old Master Xiao had no children, so he treated the little girl as his own granddaughter. Later, he and Duke Wei secretly tested him under the pretext of drinking, but he didn't expect that Wei Qinglou probably already had someone he loved.
He didn't believe it at first, until recently, when Wei Qinglou sent a letter from Songjiang by fast horse. In the letter, he wrote that Xiao Wan's niece was an old friend of his, and asked the old man to take care of her if possible.
Only then did Old Master Xiao believe what Duke Wei had said.
Don't underestimate this small letter; its underlying purpose is quite significant.
People in Yujing say that Wei Qinglou is a person who looks down on everyone, and that's absolutely true. Wei Qinglou has lived for twenty years and is used to getting whatever he wants in Yujing. He has never asked anyone for anything.
This request wasn't about anything major; it was simply a request for Old Master Xiao to look after an old friend from Suiping.
In exchange for such favors, he could gain the favor of the current Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. It was a sure-fire deal. Moreover, since his old friend was also the nephew of his adopted daughter, even though Old Master Xiao felt somewhat aggrieved for his granddaughter, he did not make things difficult for Zhu Jiayu.
Madam Xiao glanced at him lightly: "Weren't you the one chatting happily with someone at the dinner table just now? I told you long ago, you old man shouldn't meddle in the affairs of young people, especially since Ruiying is always brainless. How could you take her words seriously?"
Hearing his wife expose his shortcomings, Old Master Xiao frowned. He was about to argue with her, but he fell silent when he saw the calm expression on her face.
His heartfelt words vanished instantly, like embers extinguished by rain, losing their blazing power and leaving only a hissing sound of unwilling silence, unable to utter another word.
He sighed heavily: "Fine, I won't get involved! Why are you getting so angry for no reason!"
The old lady then smiled and said, "Isn't this all for your own good? I haven't even settled the score with you regarding the accounts at Boguzhai yet, so why are you sighing?"
Old Master Xiao, whose attitude had already softened, felt even more guilty and dared not speak easily for fear of displeasing his wife.
He only spent a few thousand taels of silver to buy two antiques from Boguzhai. Who would have thought that he happened to not have enough money with him that day, and the silver notes he had hidden under the vase could not be found. He had to ask the shopkeeper to come to the accountant to get the silver.
What a coincidence, the lady happened to see it again.
...
After learning that Zhu Jiayu had visited the Xiao family mansion with Xiao Wan, and that the old lady of the Xiao family had subtly revealed her fondness for Zhu Jiayu while chatting and socializing with other ladies outside, quite a stir was stirred up in the noble ladies' circle of Yujing.
The Xiao family was very famous in Yujing, but because they had no children, many people wanted to get in touch with them but couldn't. However, Zhu Jiayu actually managed to win the favor of the Xiao family so easily by taking advantage of Xiao Wan's influence.
The group had initially wanted to observe for a while, but now they couldn't sit still any longer. So they all discussed and decided to host a banquet to invite Zhu Jiayu, wanting to see what extraordinary qualities she possessed.
Zhu Jiayu was reading a book in her house in Zhaohua Lane when she suddenly received an invitation from Lin Yulou, which surprised her quite a bit.
In her previous life, after she arrived in Yujing, the noble ladies there tried to intimidate her by ignoring her for nearly a month before adding her name to the banquet invitation list.
In this life, she did not become the husband of a general. Although her aunt was the wife of Tongzheng Shi, she was married out of the country and was a newly recognized relative of hers. Their relationship was not as close as that of an ordinary aunt and niece. She thought that those noble ladies would ignore her for a longer time, but she did not expect that they would not sit still.
Green Kite clutched the invitation with a worried expression, glancing at her young mistress's face: "Miss, I have a feeling this is a trap. Perhaps you should decline?"
Lüzheng had attended the previous banquet at the Ning family mansion. Although she wasn't very clever, she could tell that these noble ladies didn't think much of her young mistress.
She felt wronged, but dared not speak out easily, for fear of revealing her mistress's secret and upsetting her.
However, upon seeing the invitation, she couldn't resist any longer.
Although her young lady was powerful, even a mighty dragon can't suppress a local snake, and she was still afraid that her young lady would suffer a loss.
Zhu Jiayu looked at her, a half-smile on her face: "I can refuse this time, but what about next time? And the time after that? If they really want to do something, they can't just give up after failing once, can they?"
She took the invitation from Lüzheng's hand, stroked the slightly raised patterns, and said earnestly, "Running away won't solve the problem, Lüzheng. You've been by my side for so long, you should understand this."
Green Kite pursed her lips and nodded, replying, "Yes, Miss, I understand."
Zhu Jiayu glanced down at the date on the invitation, casually placed it on the table, and then ignored it.
Meanwhile, inside the Floating Cloud Teahouse, several elegantly dressed noble ladies were gathered together, discussing whether Zhu Jiayu would attend the banquet on time.
"I think it's more likely that she's making excuses not to go. After seeing her at the Ning residence last time, she must have realized the gap between herself and us. She's probably too busy hiding at home feeling sad and ashamed of herself to come and have tea and chat with us. Wouldn't that be asking for trouble?"
"That's not necessarily true. People's hearts are the most unpredictable. If she witnesses the wealth and glory of aristocratic families and develops a desire to climb the social ladder, she naturally won't give up the opportunity to get closer to us."
"Sister Lin, what do you think?" someone asked Lin Yulou, who was sitting to the side, with a smile.
Lin Yulou forced a smile and said, "I don't know either."
That's what she said, but deep down, she didn't really want to see Zhu Jiayu that day.
These young ladies are known for their humiliating methods. The thought of Zhu Jiayu's potential predicament filled her with worry.
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