The girls playing pitching pots were divided into two groups: those over ten played together, and those under ten played in another. Xiao Yao's attention was focused on the older girls. There was nothing she could do! She came here with a mission.
"Little girl, are you ready to join our group?" A lively and cute girl about twelve or thirteen years old came over to ask. Because of the arrival of the little girl, he had missed three arrows in a row.
"I'll come and learn." Xiao Yao showed a bright smile. Although the girl in front of her couldn't be her future sister-in-law, judging from her lively appearance, she should have a good relationship with those young ladies. Maybe she could get some information from her!
"Your last name is Xiao, right? I've heard that the Xiao family has a very beautiful young lady, but I've never had the chance to meet her. Fortunately, I finally got to see her today."
"What's your last name, sister?" Xiao Yao took the opportunity to start chatting with the other party.
"My last name is Liu, and my given name is Wan. What's your name?" Liu Wan simply threw away the arrow in her hand. Who would still want to play the game of throwing pots when there is a little beauty to chat with?
"My last name is Xiao and my given name is Yao."
"It shows that your parents have foresight, Meiyu, you are really comparable to beautiful jade."
"Thank you for the compliment, sister. It seems like all the sisters are so amazing. I wonder who won first place!"
"I'll take you there and you'll know." After saying this, Liu Wan took Xiao Yao's hand and was about to leave.
"Sister, wait a minute. I came here with my friend. We can't be separated. I want to ask her opinion."
Xiao Yao walked back to Yun Ruonan and whispered a few words to her. Yun Ruonan was surprised again. Mrs. Xiao was really making things difficult for Ping An, letting her figure out who her future sister-in-law was by observing herself. No wonder she didn't go around with younger girls. But those girls did look unkind and wary. If she were Ping An, she wouldn't want to play with them either!
When the princess came to visit, the young ladies from each family would quickly stand up and greet her. Every time this happened, Xiao Yao would step aside.
"You guys continue playing!" Yun Ruonan and Xiao Yao stood opposite the tossing pot, where they could see clearly everyone present.
"Is this considered as the fox taking advantage of the tiger's power?" Xiao Yao laughed.
"Just watch carefully! If you fail to complete the task, you will see how you will explain when you get home." Yun Ruonan also helped Xiao Yao observe. There were about six or seven people here who matched Xiao Yi's age. Which one was the right one?
"What do you think of the one in the blue skirt?" Yun Ruonan looked around carefully before expressing her opinion.
"She's pretty, but too conventional. I don't think it's her." Xiao Yao rested her chin on her hand as if in deep thought. She looked the lady up and down before answering Yun Ruonan.
Yun Ruonan wanted to roll her eyes at her. In Kyoto, who could compare to your Xiao family in terms of looks? How handsome must a man be to be pursued by the princess of Northern Jin, who loves beauties, from afar? Your looks must be so enviable that they can keep all the girls at a distance. Could you please stop judging other people's looks?
"What kind of girls does your brother like?" Yun Ruonan asked curiously.
"I can't really explain it, but I feel like my brother likes me very much. We can just look for someone like me."
Not only Yun Ruonan laughed, but the maids and old women who came with the two people were also amused. This young lady from the Xiao family was so funny. No wonder the princess and the princess liked her so much.
"Where is your shamelessness?" Yun Ruonan laughed at Xiao Yao.
"Don't you know what kind of girl your brother likes? Let's stop laughing at each other."
Yun Ruonan really couldn't laugh anymore. She had never seen her brother get close to any girl. His good brothers could be counted on one hand, not to mention the girls he was close to. Even if she was his sister, she hadn't received a smile from him many times, okay?
"The one wearing a blue skirt is Miss Zhu, she writes very good poems; the one wearing a red skirt is Miss Li, she is said to be a relative of Miss Xiao's second aunt, and she is very good at sewing; and the girl in purple clothes, her surname is Liu, she is very good at sewing..." Liu Wan introduced incessantly.
Through Liu Wan's introduction, Xiao Yao had a preliminary understanding of several young ladies, but she was still hesitant about who would be her second sister-in-law.
"Wan'er, stop talking endlessly. Princess and Miss Xiao, please don't mind. Wan'er just likes to chat with people. She has no ill intentions at all." A girl who was slightly older than Liu Wan said angrily.
"Cousin, I just want to make friends with the princess and Miss Xiao. There is no malice in me." Liu Wan rolled her eyes in a very rude manner in front of everyone, making her cousin so angry that she couldn't speak. Xiao Yao actually liked this straightforward girl.
"Look, Sister Cao is going to perform calligraphy, and she's writing with both hands at the same time!" Because the game of throwing pots has already decided the winner, the losing ladies have to perform in turn.
"Could it be her?" Xiao Yao looked at the young lady in front of her who was in a very serious mood, grinding ink, spreading paper, and holding a pen, with four or five people serving her and shook her head. It must not be her. Her mother and second brother would not have such poor taste.
"Sister Liu's lotus paintings are amazing. Please paint one for us to feast our eyes." Liu Wan had had enough of Miss Cao's pretentiousness and was in urgent need of a change of mood.
"Wan'er, don't make trouble. I won today, so let me take a break for once, okay?" A dignified and generous girl of fourteen or fifteen years old smiled faintly and rejected Liu Wan's proposal.
Xiao Yao looked up. Although the other person's appearance was only average, he had an excellent temperament, as elegant as a lotus, as refined as an orchid, and there was also a bit of bookish air about him. Xiao Yao was attracted by the other person's temperament and looked at him again and again.
"It turns out that good-looking people will also stare at others endlessly. Miss Xiao, what do you pay most attention to when you look at others for the first time?" Liu Wan's cousin asked curiously.
"Temperament." Xiao Yao answered her question directly without any hesitation.
"In your opinion, who has the best temperament among us?" Cousin Liu Wan continued to ask.
"Each of them has its own merits. Some of the sisters are straightforward, some are multi-talented, and some are as quiet as water, so there's no way to compare them all." Xiao Yao wasn't really only eight years old, so how could she have fallen for her trick? The future second sister-in-law was very likely to appear among these people, so Xiao Yao would never do anything that would offend anyone!
"I didn't realize you were so good at speaking. I admire you!" Liu Wan was full of admiration for Xiao Yao. Such a young person could speak so perfectly. She felt that she was several years older than Xiao Yao and had no idea how many things she had done to offend people.
"It seems that you should make friends with Miss Xiao. I just wonder if Miss Xiao dislikes your outspokenness and carelessness." Liu Wan's cousin cast an approving look at Xiao Yao. This girl will definitely not be an ordinary person in the future. With her appearance, family background and wisdom, she will be the most dazzling person wherever she goes.
"I like Sister Wan very much. It would be great to be her friend." Xiao Yao smiled, attracting countless people's attention. Not only the older girls looked over, but even the younger girls looked over here.
Yun Ruonan gasped at the diverse expressions on her face, her sympathy for Xiao Yao rising to an unprecedented level. She felt sorry for Xiao Yao, facing such hostility and defensiveness even at a banquet. She also admired her resilience; if it were her, she would have run away long ago.
Xiao Yao was accustomed to the various glances the girls cast at her. Whether it was their whispers or their comments, Xiao Yao could now face it calmly. She said to Yun Ruonan apologetically, "My lord, I'm so sorry. If you weren't with me, you might have made a good friend. How about we separate next time?"
Yun Ruonan shook her head quickly. What kind of excuse was it to be excluded just because she was so pretty? They had already ignored Ping An. If she left her too, wouldn't she be even more pitiful?
"We've been out for a while, let's go back!" Xiao Yao had seen enough people to come here, and she had a prediction that there wouldn't be many people here who would welcome her, so it would be better to leave!
After the banquet, Yin Qianhua and Yun Ruonan were the first to leave by car, escorted by Yun Yichen, who had grown into a handsome young man. Yun Yichen certainly couldn't compare to Xiao Jingyan in terms of looks, but he was on par with Xiao Yi. The difference was that Yun Yichen exuded an air of nobility, while Xiao Yi was truly heroic.
"My mother Ping'an is so pitiful. Not only do those young ladies refuse to pay attention to her, they are also whispering to each other. Ping'an and I have seen how they behave. They are simply bullying. And that Miss He actually compared Ping'an to a servant. I think she is the most uneducated one." Yun Ruonan leaned in Yin Qianhua's arms and poured out all her dissatisfaction.
Someone was bullying the little girl. Yun Yichen frowned, feeling strange. Over the past two years, he had gotten used to occasionally quarreling with the little girl, even deliberately bullying her. But why did he feel so uncomfortable when he heard someone bullying the little girl? He wanted to beat the person up! Maybe it was because he treated the little girl like one of his own family! He couldn't think of a better reason.
If Xiao Yao knew what he was thinking, she would definitely faint from anger. She had never considered Yun Yichen as her own.
"Stay away from Miss He in the future. If you attend a banquet together, you can show off your dignity as a princess to intimidate those ladies." Yin Qianhua gave her daughter some advice.
"Is it still possible like this?" Yun Ruonan said with shining eyes. This way, she wouldn't have to worry about Ping An being bullied by those people anymore!
"certainly."
Yun Yichen felt like he should do something. Some people he could bully, but others couldn't. Because... because after all, the two families were related, and she was his mother's favorite, and his sister's only good friend, wasn't she?
"Do you know what Ping An did at the banquet today?" Yun Ruonan changed the subject with a smile.
"Ruonan, tell me why." Since her daughter was willing to speak, Yin Qianhua of course had to be a good listener.
"Her mother and second brother gave her a test, asking Ping An to pick out from a group of young ladies who would be her future sister-in-law. We even made a bet, and she chose Miss Liu, and I chose Miss Qu."
"What will be the punishment if I lose?"
"If she loses, she will play ten games of chess with me, and if I lose, I will embroider ten purses."
"You two!" Yin Qianhua was amused by her daughter. These two people were willing to punish themselves and showed their weakest side. No matter what, as long as the children were happy, it was fine.
Yun Yichen inexplicably felt that his sister might lose this time.
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