Page 1181

Cheng Yuexiu and Guo Mei were seated on either side of Xiao Linshuang, initially resentful about having to serve this young maid, but now they felt a touch of spring-like pleasure from the envious glances of everyone around them.

Xiao Linshuang had little interest in fabrics and, seeing everyone acting this way, she furrowed her brow slightly, muttering in confusion, "Is this fabric really that impressive? We have a whole cabinet of such clothes at home!"

Her muttering was meant to be private and her voice was low, but because the person next to her was paying close attention to her, her words were listened to quite intently.

There was a clatter; someone accidentally dropped their chopsticks on the table. When everyone turned towards the sound, they saw the owner of the chopsticks almost dropping their jaw as well.

All eyes were drawn to the Lin family members, and Yao Hanai, sitting at the head of the table, twitched her lips in displeasure. Today, these few really stole the show, twice appearing and twice seizing the spotlight, which was infuriating!

Just as she was about to speak, she was preempted by Yan Ruchun next to her.

All heard Yan Ruchun laugh meaningfully, looking at Lin Yuan and saying, "Changing clothes took you so long, Miss Yao thought you didn’t bring spare clothes and was planning to send some to you!

Look, the maid even had the clothes ready.

Miss Yao said that those were good clothes that she had saved for a long time and was reluctant to wear. Shouldn’t you thank her?"

Following Yan Ruchun’s gaze, everyone looked toward the maid beside Yao Hanai, who held the brightly colored dresses, not yet having had the chance to send them over.

Even though they were folded and the style could not be fully seen, the fabric and the craftsmanship of the dress hems could only be described as mediocre.

To think these were described as the best dresses she was reluctant to wear? Compared to the clothes that Lin Wei and others were wearing, these couldn’t hold a candle!

Someone disdainfully snickered quietly, and everyone else turned away their gaze, bowing their heads and covering their lips to stifle their laughter. Considering Yao Hanai’s status, though everyone felt disdainful and contemptuous inside, no one had the nerve to speak out.

Though no one spoke, Yao Hanai could hear their derisive laughs inside her heart. Indeed, her original plan had been to make do with average clothes for Lin Yuan and the others, so she had taken out clothes she herself wouldn’t wear or had only worn once.

But now, could she even explain? Wouldn’t explaining mean she was slapping her own face? But if she didn’t explain, wouldn’t she be silently admitting that her clothes were inferior to those of a country bumpkin? That was indeed a slap in the face!

Yao Hanai bit her lip tightly, even tasting a hint of blood.

Not just Yao Hanai, Su Qiuyu was smirking continuously. She clearly understood Yao Hanai’s intentions, but what she couldn’t stand even more were Lin Yuan and her group. They didn’t have any exceptional brocades; all of those belonged to Princess Anle!

Lin Yuan shifted her gaze away from the dresses in the maid’s hands, looking at Yao Hanai with a smile and softly saying, "Thank you, Miss Yao, for your kindness. It’s also thanks to Sister Chang’s reminder that we brought spare dresses. Otherwise, we might indeed have troubled Miss Yao today."

As soon as everyone heard the name Sister Chang, they envisioned an old witch in their minds. However, looking at the relaxed and smiling faces of the group opposite, it seemed they weren’t as tormented as imagined!

Amid their disappointment, some were naturally curious about their lessons in manners.

"Miss Lin, I hear Sister Chang is teaching you manners. Is she very strict? Did you suffer any injustices?"

Xiao Linshuang, who was directing Guo Mei and Cheng Yuexiu to massage her arms, suddenly raised an eyebrow, looking somewhat surprised as she retorted, "Disadvantaged? Why would we be disadvantaged? Sister Chang has been very kind to us and has told us many, many interesting stories from her past!"

Stories from the past? Impossible!

Taken aback, those who were already curious and cautious cautiously asked, "Well, Miss Lin, what kind of stories did Sister Chang tell you?"

Xiao Linshuang raised her chin, blinked her eyes, and thought for a moment: "Nothing special really, just some incidents she encountered while teaching manners in other households in her younger days."

"For example," the lady pressed on.

Xiao Linshuang raised her eyebrows, laughing, "For instance, there was a young lady who, while learning how to sit properly, wanted to go to the bathroom after sitting for too long, but she was too embarrassed to tell Sister Chang; and then, well, you know, ha-ha, you get it, right?"

They understood, but who could have done such an embarrassing thing?

Almost half of those present had been taught by Sister Chang, and although the embarrassing story she mentioned wasn’t about them, who could guarantee that the next one wouldn’t be about them!

Suddenly, everyone looked at Xiao Linshuang with a bit of fear in their eyes, dreading that she knew their embarrassing stories and might accidentally blurt them out.

A lady seated nearby, with a beaming smile, leaned toward Xiao Linshuang, placing a bright red apple in front of her: "Sister, look at this apple in front of me; it’s so red and big, it must be very sweet too. Sister, please have a taste."

Being a lover of good food, Xiao Linshuang was naturally very happy to accept it and joyfully took a bite, nodding continuously, "Sister’s apple is really delicious, thank you."

The lady chuckled and then sent a plate of drunken shrimp, which was the sole plate in front of each person, over to Xiao Linshuang.

Xiao Linshuang was delighted to receive it.

Many of the ladies present scoffed at the lady’s act of trying to win favor by offering delicious food, but when the lady sitting behind Xiao Linshuang gave her own portion of bird’s nest to Xiao Linshuang, no one could sit still anymore.

Soon, they were sending over abalone and shark fins, and Xiao Linshuang was utterly delighted.

However, Lin Yuan was somewhat displeased. Xiao Linshuang was still young, and such nourishing food shouldn’t be eaten in such large amounts. She declined all further offers politely.

Now that Xiao Linshuang couldn’t be sent more, some started to send items to Lin Wei and Xiao He. However, these two were not as gluttonous as Xiao Linshuang and thus declined as well.

This scene of sending and ingratiating themselves made Miss Yao’s face somewhat uncomfortable to maintain.

Although her family was of a distinguished and privileged background, they certainly weren’t lacking in shark fins and bird’s nests.

This behavior of the guests, passing things around as though they were criticizing her hospitality and suggesting her household was lacking, disturbed her.

It would be absolutely wrong to say that Yao Mansion was lacking, and indeed, Miss Yao had put a lot of effort into today’s event. Each table was laid with precious and delicious dishes, a feast not even regularly banqueted by many of the wealthy girls, let alone Lin Yuan and others.