Chapter 306: Judge by Appearances First

Chapter 306: Judge by Appearances First

Xingxing exclaimed, "Ah!" and then declined: "No need. I still have to accompany my third aunt and my cousin's wife."

After saying that, Xingxing politely added, "If there's nothing else, I'll head back to my third aunt and cousin's wife now."

Li Lanzhu was speechless.

She watched Xingxing, accompanied by her maid, leave gracefully, and didn't know what to say!

Wang Qianer, standing next to Li Lanzhu, tugged at her arm: "Lanzhu, look, she didn't even pay you any attention..."

Li Lanzhu shot Wang Qianer a displeased look: "How did Yu Xingxing not pay me any attention? Didn't she come over specifically to greet me?"

Wang Qianer was taken aback.

Li Lanzhu usually had a short temper, and with just a little provocation, she would lose her temper.

This time, she did lose her temper, but... why was she now the target of her anger?

Li Lanzhu grew increasingly upset as she thought about it: "Qianer, even though you and Yu Xingxing had a little spat before, it wasn't her fault. She even made up for that bowl. You wouldn't badmouth her to me over that, would you?"

Li Lanzhu's question was straightforward, and Wang Qianer was sweating bullets.

Wang Qianer put on a hurt expression and even let go of Li Lanzhu's arm: "Lanzhu, I was really feeling wronged for you just now... We've been such close friends for so long, how could you think that of me?"

Li Lanzhu stared at Wang Qianer, noticing her eyes were red and she looked like she was about to cry. Her tone softened a bit: "...Alright, I apologize. I was a bit harsh just now."

Wang Qianer turned away, wiped her tears, and then turned back with a forgiving smile: "It's fine, I forgive you. I know you didn't mean any harm."

With that, she linked arms with Li Lanzhu again, warmly saying: "Lanzhu, this is my first time here. Can you show me around?"

Li Lanzhu agreed immediately and took Wang Qianer to stroll around the garden.

The Wang family's garden was quite spacious. It was said that their property wasn't always this big, but the neighboring family's head had committed a crime and was imprisoned by Prefect Tan.

To raise the money for his release, the mistress of that family bit the bullet and pawned everything they owned, even dividing the garden with a brick wall into a large and a small section.

The mistress sold the larger part to raise funds, leaving only a very small courtyard and a few rooms for themselves.

Unfortunately, after finally gathering the money, the family head couldn't withstand the severe torture in prison and passed away.

Later, the larger part of the garden was sold several times and eventually ended up with the Wang family. The Wang family connected the walls, forming the current garden.

The osmanthus trees at today's osmanthus banquet were originally from the previous garden owner and were quite old. They eventually became part of the Wang family's garden.

Many guests had arrived at the Wang family today, making the banquet hall a bit crowded, so many people were strolling in the garden.

Wei Sanniang and Jiang Mengniang, accompanied by Xingxing, ran into several ladies they had interacted with before the Liu family split.

Most of these ladies had cut off contact when Wei Sanniang and Liu Yuanfeng left the Liu family to live independently. Seeing Wei Sanniang now, smiling gracefully with her daughter-in-law and granddaughter, looking every bit the dignified matriarch, it was clear that her life was going very well—they all felt somewhat awkward.

However, after exchanging glances, the ladies still approached with smiles: "Oh, it really is Sanniang. We saw you from afar earlier and didn't dare to recognize you."

This was true. In the past, Wei Sanniang had been timid and looked miserable, nothing like a proper wife, more like a hidden and unmentionable concubine.

It was only in recent years, after Liu Yuanfeng took Wei Sanniang out of the Liu family to live independently, that her life began to change. Although the initial days were tough, they were the freest and happiest times of Wei Sanniang's life.

Especially in the last two years, Liu Yuanfeng's calligraphy and painting business had been thriving, and the Liu family's life had been getting better and better. Wei Sanniang enjoyed her days at home, doted on by her grandchildren, with her son and daughter-in-law being filial. Life couldn't be more comfortable and carefree.

When one's life is going well, that happy, content vibe is impossible to hide.

If it were the Wei Sanniang of the past, she might have laughed along even when being teased. But now, Wei Sanniang just gave a small smile, "It's been years since you last saw me, so of course you wouldn't recognize me. There's nothing strange about that."

The ladies were stunned by Wei Sanniang's sharp comeback.

However, they were accustomed to judging a book by its cover. Wei Sanniang's attire today was simple but classy, clearly indicating the air of a well-off family matriarch. They dared not offend her.

They chuckled awkwardly and swiftly steered the conversation elsewhere. They wanted to ask Wei Sanniang about her family's businesses and how they'd struck it rich, but they couldn't bring themselves to ask directly. Instead, they shifted the conversation to Xingxing.

"Wow, Sanniang, your granddaughter is just adorable. How did you raise her?"

"She looks about ten, doesn't she?"

"A girl like that must've been promised to someone early on, huh?"

Wei Sanniang thought these women were really getting on her nerves.

It's only been five years since they last saw each other. Could they really not know whether she had a granddaughter as old as Xingxing?

"This is my second sister's granddaughter. Stop talking nonsense," Wei Sanniang snapped. She added curtly, "We've got other things to do, so we're heading out," and promptly left with Jiang Mengniang and Xingxing.

The women felt awkward and started whispering to each other after Wei Sanniang had gone.

"Hmph, she must be rolling in it..."

"Exactly, money really changes people!"

Wei Sanniang didn't give a second thought to their chatter. She and Jiang Mengniang had already seen enough of the garden, so they figured they'd head to the banquet hall and take a breather.

However, shortly after they sat down, someone from the host family came to invite them.

Wei Sanniang was confused but went along with it, bringing Jiang Mengniang and Xingxing to a nearby room.

The room was decked out in luxury, with all sorts of fancy stuff.

But Xingxing, used to seeing fancy things, just gave it a quick look and then looked away.

The hostess, Madam Wang, rose to greet them with a radiant smile, "Madam Wei and Madam Jiang, right? Please, have a seat."

Madam Wang, née Fan, looked really young, with a face like a flower—a real stunner.

Xingxing recalled the Wang family connections her second brother had explained to her before they left.

This Madam Wang was said to be a second wife, making her much younger than the elderly Master Wang.

She spoke without any airs, as if she were simply chatting casually with Wei Sanniang and Jiang Mengniang about everyday matters.

"...I heard your family is in the brush and ink business? That's quite refined," Madam Wang said with a smile, engaging Wei Sanniang in a conversation about Huzhou brushes and Huizhou ink.