No matter how much hostility the noble ladies harbored towards Yuan Qi, it did not diminish their excitement upon seeing Bai Fujun.
Yuan Qi noticed that their expressions were exactly the same as those of young girls in later generations when they saw celebrities—their infatuated eyes and their frenzied actions left Yuan Qi speechless and shaking his head.
Jiang Jiulu, who was following behind, was inevitably disappointed. From the moment she got out of the car to the moment she went upstairs, Bai Fujun was talking to Yuan Qi the whole time and didn't even notice her, let alone compliment her on how beautiful she looked today.
She was still a little sad inside.
However, she also heard Bai Fujun invite Yuan Qi to sit together, so she grabbed Yuan Qi's arm and said, "Quickly agree, I want to sit next to the Sixth Young Master."
Bai Fujun then turned to look at Jiang Jiulu. Jiang Jiulu was very excited, smiled shyly, and said softly, "Sixth Young Master."
Bai Fujun immediately persuaded Yuan Qi: "Did you hear that? Your fifth sister wants to sit next to me."
Yuan Qi readily agreed, thinking it was good to make Jiang Jiulu give up completely. She was willing to risk it all; being a target was nothing to her.
"good."
Bai Fujun was very happy, and Jiang Jiulu was overjoyed. She didn't dare to hope that Bai Fujun would like her more, but at least he could talk to her a few more times.
Just as Jiang Jiulu was walking toward the main table as she wished, Chen Xiwei arrived in full regalia. She wore a pomegranate-red jacket and skirt, looking like a bride, with her head full of jewelry. Her exaggerated style made it hard for anyone not to notice her.
She leaned closer in a slightly coquettish tone, hugged Bai Fujun's arm, and said shyly, "Cousin... I knew you would come when I invited you."
Bai Fujun got goosebumps all over and quickly pulled her arm away: "Don't do that. Men and women shouldn't touch each other. How will you get married if you do this?"
Jiang Jiulu was annoyed by her flirtatious manner and couldn't help but tell Chen Xiwei, "You should stay away from the Sixth Young Master. He's getting engaged to Li Jiaojiao, the legitimate daughter of the Vice Minister of Rites, not to you."
These words exploded like a bomb in the crowd. The noble ladies who had come over stopped in their tracks, staring at Bai Fujun in disbelief. Some of them had tears in their eyes and looked extremely heartbroken.
A young lady from a collateral branch of the Feng family asked unwillingly, "Sixth Young Master, is this true?"
Bai Fujun answered loudly, "It's true."
The young woman said indignantly, "Her father is only a fourth-rank official, he is not good enough for you at all! Sixth Young Master, I am a daughter of the Feng family, I am the one who is good enough for you, and we are a perfect match."
Many other girls chimed in, "That's right, she's not good enough for you, you can't get engaged!"
Yuan Qi looked at Bai Fujun with sympathy and subconsciously moved away from him to avoid getting into trouble later.
The Bai family guards had cleared a path, and Bai Fujun walked over and stood beside the seat. To his right was Li Jiaojiao. Li Jiaojiao remained calm and composed, showing no panic or anger at others saying she was not good enough for Bai Fujun. She curtsied and said, "Li Jiaojiao greets the Sixth Young Master."
Yuan Qi sighed, just based on her recuperation, she would be qualified to be Bai Fujun's wife.
Yuan Qi sat down to Bai Fujun's left, and Jiang Jiulu sat down next to Yuan Qi.
Chen Xiwei was pushed aside and was crying: "Cousin, Aunt said I should marry you, how can you not listen to Aunt?"
The aunt Chen Xiwei mentioned was Bai Fujun's mother.
Chen Xiwei has liked Bai Fujun since childhood, and Bai Fujun's mother also likes Chen Xiwei. Many years ago, Bai Fujun's mother said that she would let her niece marry her son, and Chen Xiwei took it seriously.
She never imagined that it would all turn out to be a dream.
Her maid pulled her toward the main table, where there was one last empty seat. If they didn't go there soon, even that seat would be gone.
Bai Fujun was bowing respectfully to Li Jiaojiao with clasped hands, displaying the demeanor of a true gentleman, and his eyes were filled with tenderness.
Seeing Bai Fujun being so gentle to other women, the hearts of those noble ladies were broken. Many of them turned around and left in tears, while others stayed behind, wanting to cause trouble.
Just as things quieted down, someone stood up. Yuan Qi looked over and saw that the person who stood up was actually a girl from a collateral branch of the Jiang family. She couldn't remember her name, but her face looked familiar.
The woman questioned Bai Fujun: "Sixth Young Master invited us to dinner just to see you being affectionate with someone else? You know perfectly well that we admire you, yet you still do this. Isn't this like stabbing us in the heart?"
Bai Fujun had already prepared himself mentally, and he shifted all the blame onto his grandfather. He stood up and explained, "Miss Jiang, it's true that I invited you here. I wanted to tell you not to bother me anymore. I'm already engaged, and it was my grandfather who personally arranged the marriage. Even if you wait for me for ten thousand years, I won't have any feelings for you."
Yuan Qi looked up and muttered softly, "You're so heartless."
Miss Jiang retorted, "We're not convinced! Today we're going to have a talent competition with Li Jiaojiao. If she's not as good as us, you must break off this engagement."
Bai Fujun looked at Li Jiaojiao with some worry, but Li Jiaojiao's expression remained unchanged, and she calmly said, "I can compete with them."
Although Li Jiaojiao's background was not as good as those noble ladies, she was still carefully educated by her family. There were several tutors in her family, some who taught her music, chess, calligraphy and painting, some who taught her reading, poetry and painting, and some who taught her needlework. Her mother also personally taught her how to manage the inner quarters and how to deal with those restless women.
Perhaps she isn't the most beautiful, but her mindset is definitely better than most people's.
A noblewoman at another table stood up and angrily pointed at Yuan Qi: "Who does she think she is? What right does she have to sit next to the Sixth Young Master?"
These words drew a large crowd, with many shouting with hostility, "Stay away from the Sixth Young Master! What right do you have to sit next to him?"
Yuan Qi felt like he had been unfairly dragged into this mess. Wouldn't it have been better if he had just found a corner to sit down? Now, he's become the target of everyone's criticism.
Yuan Qi stood up to leave, but Bai Fujun grabbed her and explained to everyone, "This is the seventh young lady of the Jiang family, a good friend of mine, so she is naturally qualified to sit next to me."
Bai Fujun personally explained, and everyone quieted down. However, some people were still unconvinced. A stunningly beautiful noblewoman calmly asked Yuan Qi, "Even so, you need to have some real skills to be qualified to sit next to the Sixth Young Master. We also want to compete with you."
Everyone else agreed, but Yuan Qi regretted coming today.
"Let's compete then, but don't regret it later." Yuan Qi sat down with a cold face, looking quite resentful. "It's all your fault for making me sit here."
"Don't worry, I'll help you out of this situation and won't embarrass you. Seventh Sister, you can't do anything else besides fortune telling and ghost catching, can you?" Bai Fujun asked worriedly.
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