Yan Qingxue grinned, her smile somewhat teasing, "You weren't scared by this, were you? Quite a few tourists were scared by this."
Little Sprout sighed.
"That's true. Anyone would be startled if they encountered something like that."
He Yusheng: "..." He heard nothing, he knew nothing.
**
At the Bai residence, Bai Naijiong frowned when he heard a servant come to deliver a message.
His mother was making decisions on his own again. Without his permission, without informing him, and without even asking his opinion, she took it upon herself to send out invitations in advance and invite people to her home.
“Miss Yan has been waiting for me for several days. I just had some free time today and don’t want to stay at the manor any longer. I plan to go to the capital with her.”
“But, young master, isn’t this a bad idea? The third young lady of the Luo family has already come to our door. If you just leave her hanging like this, it won’t be good for you, and it won’t be easy to explain to the Luo family either.”
"Why don't you go and meet the third young lady of the Luo family? She came all this way because of you, and the invitation was sent in your name. If you don't see her, it will be a loss of face for her, and it won't be good for the relationship between our two families in the future. These are all members of the thirteen prestigious families, people who frequently visit each other. If the relationship is already strained, it will be ruined."
Bai Naijiong scoffed, "Coming for me? I'm afraid not." This third young lady is indeed proud and ambitious, and she is determined to marry into the Bai family. However, the person she wants to marry is not Bai Naijiong, but his elder brother, the eldest son of the Bai family, Bai Naijin.
They were probably willing to come to the mansion because of Bai Naijin. They took advantage of his invitation to come over; otherwise, they wouldn't have had the chance to come.
The servant was somewhat embarrassed upon hearing this, and his face stiffened as he couldn't utter a word.
"This—" If we don't meet the Second Young Master, it will be difficult to explain to Aunt Yue.
"Heh, since it was Aunt who invited us, let her entertain us properly here. I have other matters to attend to, so I'll be leaving now."
Bai Naijiong sneered, stuffed a purse into his sleeve, and turned to leave.
He'd rather be with Yan Qingxue, who's cheerful and outspoken, than with these sycophantic women.
At least Yan Qingxue is quite frank and never plays tricks on him, unlike those women who have ulterior motives.
The servant watched Bai Naijiong leave, stamped his foot in frustration, and exclaimed, "Oh dear, this is a bit difficult."
This person was invited under the name of the Second Young Master. Now that the Second Young Master has left, how are we going to explain this to the Third Young Master?
The most important thing is what to say to Aunt Yue.
Feeling uneasy, she went to inform Li Yue and relayed Bai Naijiong's attitude and words to her. Li Yue, with a grim expression, slammed her hand on the dressing table.
"Who am I worrying and working so hard for? Isn't it all for him? He's such a useless person, such a worthless thing."
“Auntie, now is not the time to be angry. The third young lady of the Luo family is still waiting ahead. Why don’t you go over and properly receive her?” The nanny beside Li Yue reminded her.
Li Yue, with a gloomy face, got up and walked out.
"Let's go and properly receive them. Granny, go and call Naiying over. Naiying knows the third young lady of the Luo family. They are about the same age, so they should be able to chat. We won't neglect them."
The old woman responded, "Yes, this old servant will go find the young lady right away."
In the front hall, Li Yue had to force a smile as she entered, looking cheerful and kind, appearing exceptionally warm and welcoming.
"Third Miss, what bad luck! There was an urgent matter at the manor that called Nai Jiong away. He couldn't leave or come over, so you made a wasted trip."
Luo Yiqiong smiled absentmindedly at Li Yue.
"Aunt Yue, it's alright. Since Young Master Naijiong has matters to attend to, he should naturally focus on his business. I just came here to have some fun. Since he's not here, I can just wander around the manor by myself."
She didn't come here for Bai Naijiong, but for the eldest son of the manor.
She would marry the eldest son of a legitimate wife, not a son of a concubine.
It's fortunate that this woman has been so fussy about arranging things for her son. But this is also a good opportunity for her to visit the mansion. Maybe she'll even get a chance to meet Bai Naijin.
"Then I'll have Naiying accompany you for a stroll around the manor. The winter plum blossoms in the woods behind the manor are in full bloom; it's a good opportunity to go and admire the flowers." Li Yue smiled gently, but her heart was a little heavy.
Look at the third young lady's absent-minded appearance, her eyes looking around, her mind is not on her son at all. She figured she was probably eyeing Bai Naijin.
It's just that these things are never exposed; everyone tacitly understands them.
Although she felt a little uncomfortable, Li Yue also knew that as a woman, she naturally wanted to climb the social ladder. People strive for higher positions, just as water flows downhill; this is an age-old truth.
It's understandable that other girls look down on the less desirable ones when they have the better ones. If it were Naiying, she would naturally choose the better ones as well. However, the fact that she makes it so obvious is a bit unpleasant.
Three women make a drama. Bai Naiying, Bai Naijiong's younger sister, Bai Naixiang, the legitimate daughter of the lady of the mansion, and Luo Yiqiong walked along the winding path in the forest, admiring the winter plum blossoms around them, each with their own thoughts.
Originally, Li Yue planned to have her daughter Bai Naiying come to accompany Luo Yiqiong, but Bai Naixiang happened to be with Bai Naiying at the time. When she heard that Luo Yiqiong had come, Bai Naixiang got excited.
They came over with Bai Naiying in high spirits.
As for why he was so eager to accompany Luo Yiqiong, he naturally had his own ulterior motives.
Bai Naixiang, the legitimate daughter of the Bai family, is in love with Luo Yihai, the eldest son of the Luo family. Naturally, she tries to win over Luo Yihai's younger sister, Luo Yiqiong, by being overly attentive to her and making her presence known.
Unfortunately, the falling flowers are willing, but the flowing water is indifferent. Luo Yihai does not like Bai Naixiang and remains unmoved by Bai Naixiang's obvious feelings.
This left Bai Naixiang at a loss.
However, if given the opportunity to approach his sister, Luo Yiqiong, she would be willing to put in more effort and thought to try.
It's because she's set her sights on Luo Yihai.
She herself was somewhat powerless when it came to matters of the heart.
Given her status as the legitimate daughter of the Bai family, it would be perfectly reasonable for her to marry into one of the other thirteen prestigious families; it wouldn't be considered an affluent marriage for her.
However, of all the young masters from these thirteen prestigious families, she only had her eye on this one.
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