Su Hele scanned the area but didn't see Su Nansheng. She thought the latter had sneaked off to wander around out of curiosity about the grandeur of the Marquis Mansion.
Such a country bumpkin, Su Hele grumbled inwardly.
On the surface, however, she remained calm, as if she hadn't heard what the two women were saying at all.
Seeing that she didn't react, the two women felt bored and stopped talking.
At this moment, a group of people on the opposite waterside pavilion escorted a man to the middle of the covered bridge. It was He Jin.
Su Hele's eyebrows twitched. Shouldn't it be He Xun?
Her eyes scanned the crowd on the opposite side one by one. Although she didn't know He Xun, as the protagonist of the banquet, he should stand out.
But after looking for a long time, Su Hele found that the protagonist seemed to be He Jin.
The women here had already been whispering. Now seeing the other side presenting someone, they immediately burst into laughter and noise. Some bolder ones even started to compete in poetry with the people on the opposite side.
Su Hele's heart beat faster and faster. What was going on? Why was it He Jin? Was he hosting the banquet as the host, or...
"Don't bother looking. None of the young masters over there is someone a humble girl like you can aspire to."
Concubine Li didn't know when she had come to Su Hele's side. Her tone was arrogant.
When Su Hele entered the hall just now and saw Concubine Li's seat, she had already guessed her identity.
Now that she spoke, Su Hele was even more certain.
"Family background is just an appearance. True nobility lies in one's character. Concubine, looking down on me like this, you're just being too high - minded to find many like - minded people."
Su Hele's tone was calm, showing no sign of emotion.
Concubine Li sneered and curled one corner of her mouth, scoffing:
"I wouldn't dare to look down on you, you coquette. You claim to be as pure as a chrysanthemum, but you've bewitched Jin'er to the point of being crazy. To show how much I value you, I've invited so many young ladies from noble families for Jin'er to choose from."
Su Hele suddenly tightened the silk handkerchief in her hand, and the veins on the back of her hand stood out:
"Master He is an honest man. I believe he is not a womanizer."
"Humph, if my son takes a fancy to a suitable woman, that's a well - matched marriage, not what you call womanizing. Nonsense!"
Concubine Li turned to Su Hele, her eyes squinting slightly:
"I remember the invitation was only sent to Mrs. Su and Miss Su the Second. Since you claim to be noble, why did you come in by piggy - backing on their invitation?"
After saying that, Concubine Li strode away.
The shawl on her shoulder fluttered in the wind and brushed across Su Hele's cheek. It didn't have much force, but it felt like a burning coal had swept across, stinging painfully.
Su Hele squinted at Concubine Li's back, and her teeth bit her inner lip until it bled.
...
Su Nansheng's eyes were a bit unfocused. It wasn't until a dragonfly flew in front of her that she came back to her senses.
She stole a glance at He Xun beside her and saw that he was stretching his long legs and staring at the floating fishing float, looking relaxed and comfortable.
Su Nansheng sighed silently. It had been half an hour, and they had just been sitting there like wooden statues.
Su Nansheng quietly moved a bit to the side.
Strangely enough, although He Xun was just sitting there casually, the oppressive aura emanating from him was so strong that she could hardly breathe.
Then she looked around. The willows were like golden curtains, and the gentle breeze blew over the lotus leaves. It was cool and refreshing.
Wait, wasn't this the garden that was always locked in her previous life?
No wonder. It turned out this was He Xun's fishing place.
Su Nansheng had come here out of curiosity once in her previous life. But at that time, it had been in decline, and even the water in the pond was filthy, presumably because no one had cleaned it.
"The spring is in full bloom now. Has Miss Su ever gone out for an outing with friends?" He Xun suddenly said.
Su Nansheng was a bit confused. After waiting for so long for He Xun to finally speak, he asked such an insignificant question.
"I don't like going out much."
"Who are your friends usually?" He Xun asked straightforwardly.
Su Nansheng's expression froze. After a long while, she said, "I don't seem to have any friends."
In her previous life, she had devoted all her energy to Su Hele and had no time to make friends.
After being reborn, she had been busy trying to save her engagement and figure out how to deal with Su Hele. She hadn't thought about many things at all.
Now that He Xun asked, she realized that she had no confidant, neither in her previous life nor in this one.
He Xun turned his head to look at Su Nansheng and saw that her face was gloomy.
He Xun's big, well - defined hand rubbed the fishing rod. He seemed to have been a bit too hasty just now.
He wanted to know why she didn't want to marry him. Did she have someone in her heart? If so, he wouldn't force her and was willing to help arrange a good marriage.
But he didn't want others to pry into her life, so he had probed by himself. Unexpectedly...
"I'll take you boating in a few days." He Xun's tone had an undeniable authority.
They were just friends. Such a small thing wasn't worth getting upset about. If she wanted it, he'd give it to her.
Su Nansheng's lips twitched. She still had to meet him?
She had said that He Xun was a bit unusual. He was really hard to figure out.
She had thought He Xun would ask her why she had refused the marriage before and why she had agreed now. Did she have some ulterior motives?
He really didn't ask. It was a pity that she had a whole belly of excuses.
But since He Xun didn't ask, it wasn't appropriate for her, a young girl, to bring it up on her own initiative.
"Okay."
It was against the rules of etiquette, but Su Nansheng could only agree. After all, she wanted to marry him.
...
"Hey, did you hear that? It turns out that the noble Miss Su wasn't invited." It was Xie Yao again.
"Oh my god, I thought someone had invited her here with great ceremony." Dong Wan's expression was exaggerated.
Su Hele was already in a bad mood. Hearing this, she angrily looked at the two of them:
"You two are also young ladies from noble families. You should always pay attention to your words and deeds. Why are you so mean? Aren't you afraid of losing your dignity?"
"Humph, you, a person who came in by piggy - backing on an invitation, still have the nerve to say that we've lost our dignity." Dong Wan gave Su Hele a disdainful look.
"Who do you think you are? How dare you lecture us? Let me teach you a good lesson..."
Xie Yao stepped forward and raised her hand, wanting to slap Su Hele.
Her father was the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. Which of the noble girls here today didn't show her some courtesy? She couldn't stand Su Hele's sarcasm.
But Dong Wan stepped forward and grabbed Xie Yao's hand, whispering:
"This is the Marquis Mansion, and moreover, the Duchess of the State - protecting Duke is here. It won't look good if there's a commotion."
Hearing this, Xie Yao regained her senses. She just glared at Su Hele hatefully and then turned around and quickly walked towards the middle of the covered bridge.
A group of people had already gathered there. No one knew what they were playing, but it was very lively.
Su Hele squinted her eyes and looked behind her.
Then she quickly caught up with Xie Yao and stood on the side of the covered bridge behind her.
She lowered her head to admire the lotuses in the water, while keeping an eye on Xie Yao from the corner of her eye. Then she spread out her silk skirt to cover her feet, but stepped on the trailing skirt of Xie Yao.
Xie Yao was walking in a hurry. Suddenly, she felt a tightness on her side and fell to the side.
"Ah~~"
Xie Yao let out a shrill scream. Her hands waved wildly instinctively, trying to grab something to steady herself.
In a daze, she seemed to grab a shawl and immediately tugged on it, trying to stand up.
But unexpectedly, the shawl was attached to a person, and they both fell into the river.