On the day of the banquet at the Marquis of Anshun's Mansion, carriages thronged and guests gathered at the mansion gate. All of them were female relatives.
Su Nansheng was dressed in a long brocade dress from Sichuan embroidered with the pattern of phoenixes piercing peonies. She wore a gold - threaded silk shawl with passionflower patterns and had her hair coiled in a flying - fairy hairstyle. A gorgeous gold hairpin with coiled wires was slantingly inserted in her hair.
She had a slender figure and an elegant posture, looking noble and extremely beautiful.
Behind her was Su Hele with a delicate and light makeup. She was wearing a white silk skirt with peacock patterns and a snow - colored shawl with silver - threaded mother - of - pearl patterns, looking elegant and calm.
Since the start of the banquet, Su Hele had been following Su Nansheng closely, for fear that she would secretly meet someone without introducing them to her.
The reason why she was willing to attend this tacky banquet today was to get acquainted with all the noble ladies. She couldn't miss any important people.
Moreover...
Su Hele glanced back at Concubine Li, who was standing beside her with a fawning look on her face, and showed a look of disgust.
It was said that she was taking advantage of Su Nansheng's connections to introduce noble people to her. But wasn't Concubine Li also making connections with these people? Why did she act as if she was doing it all for her?
Seeing that Su Hele wasn't properly greeting the ladies, Concubine Li glared at her and whispered:
"Remember what you promised. Talk less if there's nothing to say."
Su Hele turned her head with a disdainful look. It was you who promised.
Just as she was thinking this, she met Su Nansheng's gaze. That gaze was as cold as a deep, icy pool, making Su Hele shiver involuntarily.
She was just about to scold Su Nansheng for scaring her for no reason when she heard her whisper:
"I can't wait to slap you in public and disgrace you. You'd better not give me a chance."
Su Hele was startled: "Are you threatening me?"
Su Nansheng smiled brightly: "It's not a threat if I do what I say."
"Auntie, did you hear that?" Su Hele pointed at Su Nansheng, her eyes wide open.
Now you see, Su Nansheng has become so arrogant.
But Concubine Li's gaze was equally cold: "Shut up!"
Su Hele was stunned for a moment, and her hands hidden in her sleeves clenched into fists.
They were actually ganging up on her.
Before she could say anything else, she saw Su Nansheng step forward to greet the newly - arrived noble lady.
Su Hele half - squinted her eyes and stared at Su Nansheng in front of her. She took a deep breath, raised her head, and followed.
After she had won over all these noble ladies, she would surely make Su Nansheng pay.
...
In the warm pavilion, there was a fragrant and bustling scene of ladies with their hair in beautiful coiffures, laughing and chatting with their heads lowered.
Among them, Mrs. Du, the wife of the censor, laughed and said:
"I haven't heard much about Mrs. Su the Second before."
Among the crowd, there were those who had experienced Su Hele's antics. Hearing this, they all looked at Mrs. Du with envious looks.
They wished they had a pair of eyes that had never seen Su Hele's absurd behavior and a pair of ears that had never heard of her deeds.
Su Nansheng glanced at Su Hele, who was sitting upright beside her, and said with a smile:
"The Second Young Mistress has elegant conduct and always prefers a quiet life. So she doesn't often attend banquets. It's normal that Mrs. Du hasn't heard much about her."
Mrs. Du looked at Su Hele in a white dress with a calm expression and nodded:
"Mrs. Su does have an extraordinary temperament."
Su Hele glanced at Mrs. Du and raised her head proudly:
"Mrs. Du has good taste. My temperament is inborn. I've been more outstanding than others since I was a child."
Hearing this, Mrs. Du's face froze for a moment, and then she looked at the lady beside her with a strange expression:
I was just being polite. How could she just take it seriously?
The lady being stared at by her seemed to understand her look. She covered her mouth with a smile and lowered her head to drink tea.
Only you dare to provoke her.
The atmosphere became a bit awkward for a moment, but Su Hele didn't seem to notice and straightened her back even more.
Seeing that the situation was not good, Concubine Li was just about to ease the atmosphere when she heard Su Nansheng joking:
"The Second Young Mistress has always been a person as pure and noble as the elegant music of 'Yangchun Baixue'. I feel so ashamed that I'm even embarrassed to sit beside her."
Hearing this, everyone cooperated with a smile.
Mrs. Du twitched the corner of her mouth:
"Yangchun Baixue, truly Yangchun Baixue."
A few others also chimed in sporadically:
"Yes, I feel ashamed."
Su Hele looked calm, but she was actually very proud. Just as she was about to say something more to show off her excellence, she felt a pain in her waist.
She frowned and looked back, only to see Concubine Li glaring at her. Remembering Concubine Li's threat before, Su Hele reluctantly shut up.
Seeing this, Concubine Li moved forward a little and said enthusiastically:
"Last time when there was a banquet in the mansion, I was ill and didn't have the chance to greet all of you. To show my apology, we will hold a flower - viewing banquet in a few days. I sincerely hope that all of you will honor us with your presence."
Just now, with Su Nansheng's introduction, she had also made acquaintance with several noble ladies. Now was the perfect time to take advantage of this opportunity.
If she could win their favor, the restoration of the glory of the second branch of the family would be just around the corner.
Thinking of this, Concubine Li became more and more excited, and her smile became even more enthusiastic.
But she saw that everyone just smiled, and no one responded.
Concubine Li's smile froze a bit, and then she looked at Su Nansheng.
Seeing this, Su Nansheng smiled brightly:
"Yes, I believe that the banquet personally hosted by the Second Young Mistress will surely give all of you an extraordinary experience."
"Yes, yes, yes. You will surely feel at home then."
Concubine Li quickly chimed in, for fear that the ladies couldn't feel her enthusiasm.
Everyone looked at Su Nansheng, who was lowering her head to drink tea, and then at Su Hele, who was holding her head high. Their smiles were subtle:
"Then we'll be waiting for your invitation, Concubine Li."
...
After the banquet was over, Concubine Li glanced at Su Hele:
"You're not completely stupid."
When seeing off the ladies just now, Su Hele had actually managed to strike up a conversation with them. It wasn't a waste of effort after all.
Su Hele didn't reply and still looked calm.
Seeing this, Concubine Li rolled her eyes and quickly walked away.
Looking at her back, Su Hele showed a look of disdain. Concubine Li's fawning look just now was really disgusting.
Thinking of this, Su Hele lifted her feet and walked towards the study.
"Hubby, you know me. I've always disdained to associate with the powerful. But for your official career, I specially went to get acquainted with the noble ladies today. And I was even bullied and humiliated by Su Nansheng for this."
Su Hele gently lifted her fair hand to grind the ink for He Jin.
After the intimacy of the past few days, He Jin finally no longer glared at her, but his attitude was still cold.
Seeing that He Jin just lowered his head and continued to write official documents without paying attention to her, Su Hele continued:
"Those noble ladies really appreciate me. They all praised me for my elegant temperament, saying that I'm like the pure and noble music of 'Yangchun Baixue'. Especially Mrs. Du, the wife of the censor. She sang my praises non - stop."
He Jin finally stopped writing and looked up at Su Hele: "Really?"
With a touch of makeup today, she did look a bit more lively than usual.
Su Hele smiled faintly:
"If hubby doesn't believe me, you can ask Auntie. I just didn't want to associate with those vulgar people before. But now I'm willing to humble myself for hubby. Naturally, they all flock to me."
She hardly said a word today, but those ladies kept praising her.
If she were to show off some of her talents, they would surely be in awe of her.