He originally thought this bratty girl was just all talk, but to his surprise, today’s meal proved her to be full of surprises, every single dish was something he had never seen or heard of before!
Lin Yuan gave him a sly glance and winked playfully, "Of course, I had to keep a few tricks up my sleeve, otherwise, how could I catch such a big fish like you?"
That brat! Lao Fan glared at her but couldn’t be bothered to argue. He picked up his chopsticks, ready to dig in.
Before his chopsticks could grasp any food, they were knocked aside by another pair. Annoyed, Lao Fan looked up to see Xia Zheng, raising an eyebrow, "Aren’t you curious about the names of these dishes? This doesn’t seem like your style at all."
Lao Fan glowered. Were names more important than taste? Still, remembering he owed Xia Zheng three favors, he reluctantly put down his chopsticks.
Lin Yuan glanced at the dissatisfied Lao Fan and was about to introduce the dishes when a soft and tender voice came from the entrance of the elegant room, "Madam, Su Qiuyu requests an audience."
Lin Yuan was taken aback; she had almost forgotten that Su Qiuyu was still sleeping in the next room. She had instructed a waiter to call for her when she had just returned from the kitchen. She wasn’t expecting the young woman to actually show up.
Perfect, wasn’t she the one who kept saying that even if Xia Zheng accepted her, his family would never accept a village girl like her? Well, it was time for her to see for herself whether Xia Zheng’s mother would accept her or not.
Upon hearing it was Su Qiuyu, Princess Anle instinctively looked at Lin Yuan to see if she seemed upset but seeing no dissatisfaction, she relaxed slightly. Although she disliked being disturbed during family meals, they couldn’t very well turn away a guest who had already arrived; that would make her seem petty.
Lin Yuan smiled and said, "Madam, Miss Su has been ill all day and probably hasn’t eaten anything, why don’t we invite her to join us?"
Princess Anle nodded in agreement, inwardly praising Lin Yuan for not only being magnanimous but also knowledgeable about propriety, making her like Lin Yuan even more.
Princess Anle signaled to Xia He, who quickly went to open the door for her.
From knocking to the door opening, Su Qiuyu had been waiting for a while, feeling somewhat stuffy. Hearing Lin Yuan’s voice from inside before Xia He came to open the door, her displeasure deepened. It seemed like even Princess Anle was now taking cues from Lin Yuan.
What charm did this village girl possess, that she not only bewitched Xia Zheng but now Princess Anle seemed lost in her influence too?
Though she was irate internally, she maintained a gentle and gracious smile on the surface.
Su Qiuyu was still somewhat weak, but after having taken her medicine and sleeping all day, she felt much better than in the morning. Additionally, planning to challenge Lin Yuan in front of Princess Anle tonight, she could not afford to slack off. Thus, Su Qiuyu was almost unnaturally energized at that moment.
With Yaner’s assistance, Su Qiuyu very cleverly revealed her frail beauty. Lin Yuan thought she had fully recovered when she noticed her color was good, but upon approaching, she saw that Su Qiuyu had applied rouge. Her eyes seemed slightly swollen, either from illness or something else, yet this did not detract from her beauty at all. Indeed, her eyes resembled the moon veiled in a hazy white gauze – stunningly beautiful.
"Qiu Yu pays her respects to Madam." Despite being unwell, Su Qiuyu gave Princess Anle a thoroughly proper curtsy as soon as she saw her.
Princess Anle had originally been somewhat reluctant to have her come over, but seeing Su Qiuyu, unwell yet still observing full etiquette, she couldn’t help feeling sympathetic. She quickly had Xia He help her up and took her hand in concern, "As soon as I arrived, Zhengzheng told me you were sick. I wanted to see how you were doing, but I heard you’d taken medicine and were resting, so I thought it best not to disturb you. How are you feeling now? Is there anything else that’s uncomfortable?"