Lin Yuan lowered her gaze and sipped her tea, suppressing the smile at the corners of her mouth. She had long seen through Su Qiuyu being a complete pretender, a white lotus; she just hadn’t expected her to change her face so quickly. The only question was, what kind of trap was she setting for her now?
"Ha." Su Qiuyu gave a derisive snort, looking at Lin Yuan sipping her tea, her face revealing a hint of disdain.
Lin Yuan pretended not to hear the contempt in her laugh and looked up blankly, "Miss Su said something?"
With a hook of her lips, Su Qiuyu responded, "Could it be that Miss Lin doesn’t know? Well, it’s understandable that you wouldn’t know. Just by looking at the way Miss Lin holds the teacup, one can tell you never received proper etiquette training."
Shaking her head with a long-suffering expression, Su Qiuyu added, "Tsk tsk, Miss Lin, born to a family of such modest means, never having been to the Capital city, you certainly don’t know the ways of people there. A woman like Miss Lin can only be a match for a waiter in a tavern, in the Capital. Oh, just like the lad who was clearing our dishes earlier."
Lin Yuan raised her eyebrows, getting rather fed up with Su Qiuyu’s meandering speech, "Miss Su has said so much; what is it exactly you wish to convey? Be direct, please."
With a snort of disdain, Su Qiuyu glanced at her scornfully, "Why, hasn’t Miss Lin figured it out yet? Yaner."
Yaner curtseyed slightly towards Su Qiuyu, a sneer laced with contempt adorning her mouth, "I imagine Miss Lin is still unaware of my young lady’s status. My young lady is the legitimate daughter of the current Prime Minister Su, and she grew up with Young Master Xia as childhood sweethearts, inseparable since their youth. Their relationship is not just well-known to our two families but also to everyone in the entire Capital city. Miss Lin, let me advise you, with your background and status, you couldn’t even qualify to be a concubine to Young Master Xia, let alone his lawful wife. You would be at the very bottom, a lowly concubine, never to surpass my young lady."
"Oh, is that so?" Lin Yuan nodded nonchalantly, lifting her head to ask Yaner, still seemingly not quite catching on.
Yaner felt a sense of powerlessness as if her punches were landing on cotton, anger twitching the corner of her eyes. This Lin Yuan, was she genuinely clueless or just feigning ignorance!
"So, please recognize your place, Miss Lin, and do not harbor any delusions," Yaner said.
Lin Yuan shrugged her shoulders, "What delusions?"
The corner of Yaner’s mouth twitched violently.
Su Qiuyu was equally furious, huffing, "What delusions? Don’t tell me you think I’m unaware that you’ve set your sights on Brother Zheng for his several taverns and his status as a General’s second son? Let me tell you, even if Brother Zheng were bewitched by you, his family would never allow you through their door. Someone of your lowly status could never be a match for him!"
Lin Yuan chuckled, finally unable to contain herself. Was she just playing dumb, and Su Qiuyu couldn’t help but to desire to devour her whole? To think she would dare to contend with Lin Yuan with such little skill.
"Ah yes, that is exactly what I said to your Brother Zheng," she replied.
Su Qiuyu hastily pressed, "And how did Brother Zheng respond?"
Lin Yuan raised her eyebrows, showing a rare hint of shyness, "Your Brother Zheng took my hand, looked into my eyes with passion, and vowed that if he liked a woman, it didn’t matter if she was fit or not. Even if his beloved were a mere night-blooming jasmine, he would gladly marry her. And if it were a woman he did not fancy..."
"What then?" Su Qiuyu’s heart skipped a beat.
Lin Yuan said with a smile, "If it were a woman he did not fancy, even if she were the Prime Minister’s daughter, let alone the Emperor’s, he would not wish to marry her."
Su Qiuyu’s body swayed, nearly toppling the cup before her.