"You're the one with madness! Xu Wanying, you're just spouting nonsense, I'm going to tear your mouth apart!" Wei Jiao was already on the verge of a breakdown, and hearing Xu Wanying's words made her even angrier and more breathless.
In a moment of impulsiveness, she was about to rush over.
The girls around her quickly stopped her, advising, "Jiaojiao, today is your birthday. You can't act impulsively. This Madam Jiang is talking nonsense. Your outfit is very valuable, and she can't smear it with just a few words."
"That's right, I praised your hairpin as soon as I arrived today, have you forgotten?"
The girls coaxed and persuaded Wei Jiao, praising her to the skies.
Wei Jiao's eyes were red. Being coaxed by so many people made her feel a little better, but every time her gaze fell on the pearl on Xu Wanying's shoes, her heart ached.
The pearls people step on are as big as a baby's fist; they're not considered valuable at all.
The headpiece she was so eager to wear was only the size of an apricot pit, yet she treated it like a precious treasure, showing it off several times.
"You're right, some people are just good at distorting the truth and lying through their teeth!" she said angrily as she was helped to sit on the stone bench.
“Yes, yes, cousin is absolutely right. You’re dressed very simply, but these people are praising you to the skies. They clearly have ulterior motives.” Xu Wanying immediately chimed in, her tone quite cheerful.
Hearing this, Wei Jiao's veins bulged, and she immediately jumped up in anger: "Who's talking to you? Xu Wanying, are you out of your mind? I wasn't talking to you, why are you being so presumptuous!"
"If my cousin won't tell me, then I'll tell my sister-in-law. Sister-in-law, do you know what 'praise to death' means?"
Xu Wanying was unfazed by her outburst of anger and instead turned her head to continue speaking.
Li Chunlan blinked. She had naturally heard of the saying "praise to kill," but she knew her third sister-in-law was about to retaliate, so she pretended not to know in order to play along.
"I've only ever heard of 'killing with beatings,' not 'killing with praise.'"
“In the past, there were often stepmothers who would spoil and pamper the children left behind by the previous wife. They would raise the children to be ignorant and arrogant, and in the end, they would fall from grace and become the laughing stock of the whole of Wangjing!”
Li Chunlan feigned surprise: "Oh dear, that's quite a vicious tactic. Did you witness some kind of malicious flattery just now, Third Sister-in-law?"
Xu Wanying gave her an approving look. Li Chunlan hadn't let her down at the crucial moment, and their cooperation was quite seamless.
"Of course, look at what the girls next to my cousin are wearing. The girl in purple has white fox fur on her cloak, right? These days, finding a complete piece of white fox fur is extremely rare and can be priceless. The girl in yellow is wearing a dress with double-sided embroidery, which is even more precious than Shu embroidery. You can't buy it even if you have money."
"Look at the girl in blue again, what's her name again?" Xu Wanying tilted her head, looking completely confused, she really couldn't remember.
“Ninglu, a girl from the Yu family,” Li Chunlan immediately reminded her.
“Yes, yes, this Miss Yu is even more remarkable. Her entire outfit is exquisite. Not only are her clothes exquisite, but her jewelry is also a complete set. The jade hairpin and bracelet on her head are a pair, and the golden phoenix hairpin and the sash at her waist are also made by the same master. She is dressed in the most solemn manner.” Xu Wanying nodded immediately.
"Look at those girls gathered together—"
She paused here, her gaze sweeping over the people opposite her. The girls, who had previously prided themselves on their refined elegance, all began to feel nervous, and even the usually composed Yu Ninglu became uneasy.
"Everyone else looked more like a girl celebrating her birthday than my cousin. They were all dressed better than her, yet they kept praising her. Only I told the truth, but my cousin didn't like it."
Li Chunlan seemed to suddenly realize something. She slapped her thigh and exclaimed excitedly, "Ah, this is what you meant by 'praise to death'!"
"Shh, sister-in-law, don't say it loudly, or my cousin will be upset. She doesn't believe we're doing this for her own good; she only believes others. This is just between the two of us; don't tell anyone else!" Xu Wanying looked panicked and immediately raised her hand to make a shushing gesture.
That's what they said, but the two sisters-in-law were both quite loud, and they managed to get every last word of the important information out.
Wei Jiao's face turned ashen. She immediately stood up, looked down at her own clothes, and then looked at the attire of the people around her. She instantly realized that what Xu Wanying said made a lot of sense.
The girls around me were all dressed very elegantly; if you went out and asked someone whose birthday it was, they probably wouldn't be able to guess.
After all, they were all very glamorous, even to the point of being glaring.
"It's alright, we're just chatting amongst ourselves, not talking to anyone else. They can't be so presumptuous. Is she being flattered to death?" Li Chunlan waved her hand fearlessly, completely unconcerned, and even raised her voice defiantly, as if afraid others wouldn't hear her.
"I think so. Oh, poor silly girl, she thought everyone was genuinely concerned for her, that they were all lying and praising her. Who knows what they'll say about her behind her back. She had a birthday party, but all the limelight was stolen by the other girls, and she's still so proud of herself!"
Xu Wanying sighed deeply and said with feigned regret.
"Ladies, you must be responsible for your words. How can you speak so nonsense here without any evidence, and even try to sow discord? Your intentions deserve to be punished!"
Yu Ninglu, who had always maintained a cold and aloof demeanor, couldn't hold back any longer and immediately raised her voice, scolding him with great anger.
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
