Chapter 265 Customizing clothes
When Lin Changning heard Fang Zhige speak up for him, he couldn't help but nod: "The brothers on the other side are really too sensitive. I just shook my head because the breeze was quite pleasant. As for the poems and songs you just mentioned, I really didn't hear them."
The implication is that the person on the other end is being overly presumptuous.
The person opposite him was annoyed by Fang Zhige's retort and then heard Lin Changning say that. He turned his face away unhappily, though his expression still showed some displeasure.
Lin Changning thought the matter was over when the person opposite her suddenly stood up and walked towards her: "Brother, you look unfamiliar. May I ask which year you were a candidate for the imperial examination, or perhaps..."
Lin Changning picked up his teacup and took a sip. His gaze inadvertently swept over the person who had come looking for trouble. The incident was clearly over, and this person was obviously here to cause trouble.
"I have never participated in the imperial examinations. I am Lin Yan from the Lin Family Trading Company."
The words had barely left his mouth when sneers erupted from the group opposite him, with some even muttering under their breath, "So they're merchants? How dare someone of such lowly status sit with us? What an honor!"
Lin Changning's eyes flashed instantly, his imposing aura flashing briefly before quickly receding. The scholar facing Lin Changning felt as if he were confronting a ferocious tiger the moment Lin Changning raised his head.
The hairs on my body stood on end in an instant.
This interruption made her forget what she was about to say. When she heard Lin Changning say that he was a businessman, she seemed to feel that it would be beneath her to continue arguing, so she turned around and sat back down at the table.
However, more and more candidates began to look at Lin Changning with strange eyes.
Perhaps they felt that Lin Changning was not worthy of sitting at the same table as them.
Fang Zhige comforted them, "Don't pay them any mind. These people have always been arrogant, and now they'd rather have their eyes on the top of their heads every day."
Seeing that Lin Changning did not respond, Fang Zhige thought that Lin Changning was upset because of what they had just said, so he offered to comfort her.
"Brother Lin, you don't need to pay attention to what those people say. My father said that only half-baked people who are all talk and no action would act like them, so arrogant and conceited that they wouldn't even be able to pass the imperial examination. My father said that those who are capable are probably at home studying, so most of them will not pass the exam."
Lin Changning chuckled lightly: "Brother Fang, you can rest assured, I haven't taken it to heart."
The banquet had already begun as the two were talking, and maids filed in from both sides carrying food boxes to serve dishes to everyone at the table.
With a malicious intent, Lin Changning casually picked up a pebble from the ground, concealed her fingers with her sleeve, and threw the pebble at the scholar who had just mocked her as a merchant.
Just moments ago, the scholar, who had been talking so eloquently, suddenly stumbled and almost fell onto the table. In the instant he fell, he accidentally pushed over a maid, who in turn fell and threw the food box forward.
The food box was thrown directly at the people who had just made the most noise about him, and the food inside was thrown at them.
The exquisite dishes were spilled on the clothes of the group, making them even more disheveled. They kept slapping themselves and fiddling with their clothes, and one of them angrily pointed directly at the maid who had just fallen.
"Don't you watch where you're going?"
The other two people who had been splashed with food also chimed in.
Lin Changning sneered: "It's obvious that someone lost their balance and pushed this little maid over. What are you all arguing about? She's not the culprit. She was just walking along and was almost hit by your people. She's the one who's been wronged!"
Several people glanced at Lin Changning and instantly became furious. They stepped forward and surrounded Lin Changning. One of them was about to grab Lin Changning by the collar as a warning, but Lin Changning used his chopsticks to stop the outstretched hand.
"You're all dirty. Stay away from me. Don't get my priceless clothes dirty. Can you afford to pay for them?"
The scholar was instantly enraged, his face turning red with anger as he pointed at Lin Changning and muttered "you" to himself for a long time.
Lin Changning put away his chopsticks, wiped them with his sleeve, and calmly began to eat. After leaving the other person aside, he slowly ate the food on the table.
Feeling ignored, the scholar seemed to lose his temper and reached out to grab Lin Changning, as if he was about to hit him.
Suddenly, a woman's voice came from behind the curtains: "Who dares to be disrespectful at this banquet? Anyone who causes trouble will be thrown out. No one from the Xie family will be allowed to enter any banquet!"
The scholar, who was about to strike, seemed to suddenly clear his mind. He looked at the woman emerging from the curtain in the middle and reluctantly withdrew his hand.
The woman was now the matriarch of the Xie family, and these people had come at the invitation of the hostess, so naturally they couldn't refuse her.
The woman stepped out from behind the curtain in the middle, stood up and bowed to the group: "Xiao Cui, please take the young scholars downstairs to wash up and change their clothes. Young Master Lin, my mistress invites you."
Lin Changning nodded in agreement, put down his chopsticks, got up, and followed the woman into the curtained area.
The sheer gauze curtains were exceptionally clear, with only a veil separating them. Further ahead, in the pavilion, lay the women's banquet area.
Lin Changning followed the woman slowly toward the pavilion. When they were almost there, the woman asked Lin Changning to wait a moment, and Lin Changning obediently stood outside the pavilion.
There must be quite a few unmarried women inside, so it's likely that they need to be kept away. After watching the people inside move a huge screen, the woman came out again.
"My mistress and the young ladies are already waiting. Please come in, Young Master Lin."
After Lin Changning followed the others inside, she kept her head down and didn't dare to look around, becoming even more dignified and polite.
Just as I entered, through the curtains and screens, I could hear a group of pampered young ladies chattering and joking behind me.
Upon seeing someone arrive, all sounds ceased abruptly, and Lin Changning clearly felt that all eyes were now fixed on him.
"Lin Yan of the Lin Family Trading Company greets all the ladies and young ladies."
A beautiful woman, around 30 years old, sat at the head of the table, surrounded by several other women of similar age.
These must be the families of officials from various prefectures.
After Lin Changning bowed, he heard the lady above say "No need for formalities" before he stood up and stood with his hands at his sides in the center of the pavilion.
Before the woman could speak, a sweet, charming female voice came from behind the screen: "I heard that my sisters' dresses were all made by your Lin's Trading Company's ready-made clothing store?"
Lin Changning hadn't had a chance to reply.
The woman also asked, "That's what I wanted to ask too. I've noticed that the dresses worn by several young ladies in the capital lately are truly exquisite, and their styles are quite different from those commonly seen in the capital these days. I just inquired and heard that they were all made by Young Master Lin? I wonder if they can still be ordered now?"
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