Mei's expression stiffened slightly.
Madam Shen and Shen Manman are one thing, but why can't Ye Caiping, a lowly peasant woman, even get close to her?
Just because she got into this circle, even a lowly peasant woman became noble.
Despite her deep resentment, Madam Mei gently patted her chest.
Don't be angry, don't be angry. It's precisely because Ye Caiping is there that she has a chance! That's the ladder she climbs up.
Madam Que stepped forward awkwardly: "Sister, shall we continue the banquet...?"
Madam Mei glared at her and said, "You can go back now!"
Madam Que didn't say much and left with her daughter.
......
Ye Caiping and her entourage soon arrived at the garden where the banquet was being held.
As soon as I entered, I heard a soft voice call out, "Manman!"
Ye Caiping looked up and saw three noblewomen walking towards her.
She didn't recognize the two people in the lead, but she did recognize Lin Yaxian behind them.
Lin Yaxian was still dressed in flowing white, her attire elegant and understated. Her gaze fell on Shen Manman, her face filled with surprise and emotion.
She was so excited that her body trembled slightly, and tears were about to well up in her eyes.
After three years, I finally saw the daughter I had been longing for day and night!
She has grown a lot taller and matured a lot.
She was even more radiant and exquisitely beautiful than she had imagined.
Upon seeing her, Shen Manman felt a slight tightness in her chest and moved closer to Ye Caiping.
Ye Caiping patted her shoulder lightly.
Lin Yating and Bai Xiaohong narrowed their eyes slightly when they saw Ye Caiping and Shen Manman being quite intimate.
Lin Yaxian was still staring blankly at Shen Manman, trying hard to suppress her excitement, afraid of frightening her.
In the past, she would get emotional every time she saw Manman, so much so that Manman would hide whenever she saw her. This time, she had to control herself!
She forced a gentle smile: "Manman... it's been a long time."
Shen Manman had anticipated running into her, so she didn't avoid it. Instead, she gracefully curtsied and smiled:
"Mrs. Lin, it's been a long time."
Shen Manman's unfamiliar way of addressing her caused Lin Yaxian a pang of pain in her heart, and her face turned pale.
"Manman, no matter what, Yaxian is still your birth mother!" Lin Yating said sternly as she stepped forward.
Ye Caiping narrowed her eyes. This noblewoman had a five-point resemblance to Lin Yaxian in terms of her eyebrows and eyes. If she was not mistaken, this was Lin Yaxian's elder sister, Lin Yating.
She stepped forward and blocked Shen Manman's way: "Madam, today is a banquet hosted by the princess. It would be best to avoid causing trouble."
Lin Yating glared at her and said, "Do you even have the right to speak here?"
She wasn't afraid of the Shen family at all.
Her father was the Grand Secretary, a first-rank official, and also a regent. Her husband was the General of the South, a second-rank official, who held one-third of the military power of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
Before Madam Shen could speak, Ye Caiping interjected, "Of course I have the right to speak. In another month, I will be Manman's mother. You are disciplining my daughter, so naturally I have to speak up for her."
"you--"
Lin Yating and her sister, along with Bai Xiaohong, turned ashen-faced. This peasant woman kept referring to Manman's mother and daughter, which was practically stabbing Lin Yaxian in the back!
Lin Yaxian was so stimulated that her blood was trembling and boiling.
Lin Yating retorted angrily, "Shut up! I don't care whose mother you are, but you're just a lowly seventh-rank lady, how dare you disrespect me?"
Ye Caiping scoffed: "Before you accuse me of disrespect, Madam, shouldn't you examine yourself first? My future sister-in-law is right here! She is a first-rank imperial consort, while you are only a second-rank. Isn't it disrespectful of you to yell at her like that?"
Madam Shen glanced at Ye Caiping with a smile: "That makes sense. Lin Yating, do you want Caiping to kowtow to you? Sure, but you have to kowtow to me first."
Lin Yating was speechless and glared angrily at Ye Caiping.
Shameless! Utterly shameless!
A lowly peasant woman, merely a minor concubine, began to act arrogantly and domineeringly after climbing into Shen Zhiyan's bed through underhanded means.
Ye Caiping understood her gaze, and the corners of her lips curled up slightly.
Since she's already branded with the Shen family's name, she should make the most of it and leverage their influence when possible!
Should I just stand there pretending to be superior and let her bully me?
"Lady Dingguo, please calm your anger. Yating has waited three years to finally see Manman, and she's quite emotional, which is why she spoke so hastily." Bai Xiaohong, standing to the side, respectfully curtsied to Madam Shen, then smiled at Ye Caiping.
"I never imagined that Ye Yiren was such an eloquent and quick-witted person. No wonder Manman is now completely devoted to you."
At first glance, those words seem insignificant, but upon closer reflection, they feel somewhat subtle.
Besides, no matter what, Lin Yaxian is Shen Manman's biological mother. Now, not only is she not her biological mother, but she's also so close to her stepmother...
Everyone couldn't help but scrutinize the two of them.
Lin Yaxian was dressed in pure white, but her face was even whiter than her clothes. She looked like a small white flower in the wind, as if she would be blown away by a gust of wind.
Ye Caiping, on the other hand, was radiant and healthy; compared to her, Lin Yaxian looked pitiful.
Almost everyone here is a first wife. Lin Yaxian is a first wife since she's divorced, while Ye Caiping is a second wife...
Therefore, most of the people here can sympathize with Lin Yaxian.
And isn't Ye Caiping's method too good? She's only been engaged for a short time, yet she's already got her stepdaughter completely under her thumb.
Putting aside Lin Yaxian, let's just talk about Ye Caiping. Isn't her method too good? They've only been engaged for a short time, and she's already got her stepdaughter completely under her thumb.
To subdue someone so quickly, one must have used some underhanded methods! Judging from this, they must be quite wicked.
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