As for Shen Yue, she was wearing a pink dress as usual. She looked delicate and scholarly. In the past, she would definitely be able to attract everyone’s attention, but today, it was different. She was overshadowed by Shen Miao who came before her. Her movements were a little stiff, and her expression was a little nervous. Her hands were clasped too tightly. In short, she could not compare to Shen Miao at all. At the thought of this, everyone’s expressions became a little strange. Why did Shen Miao, the idiot, outshone her two cousins today?
Shen Yue was young and did not notice it, but Chen Ruoqiu was sensitive enough to sense the difference in the gazes of those madams. In the past, the gazes that landed on her and her daughter would definitely be filled with envy and praise, but today, there seemed to be mockery. Chen Ruoqiu frowned. Etiquette and manners had always been something she was proud of. She was also extremely strict with Shen Yue about it. She was confident that no noble lady in the capital could do it better than her daughter, but looking at the expressions of these people, there seemed to be someone who did it better than them. Who could it be?
She naturally did not know that the one who did it better than Shen Yue was right in front of her.
Shen Miao sat beside Luo Xueyan. Although Luo Xueyan was the protagonist of this banquet, she seemed to have been isolated by others.
That was indeed the case. The noble families in the capital had always had their own circles. The men were fine. No matter how much they disliked each other, they had to pretend to be friendly because their careers were usually intertwined. However, women were different. Most of the noble ladies in the capital were proud and arrogant. For example, the daughters of the first wife were unwilling to play with the daughters of the concubines. The people born in the capital looked down on outsiders.
Luo Xueyan was that outsider.
It would have been fine if she came from the rich lands in the south, but Luo Xueyan came from the bitter cold land of the northwest. When she first married into the capital, Luo Xueyan did not even know how to speak the official language, and her local accent was secretly mocked by these madams for a long time. They mocked that the desert in the northwest was very windy and robbers were a constant threat. As for supplies, they were even scarcer. Good silk was pretty much non-existent.
Therefore, Luo Xueyan was ostracized by the noble ladies in the capital. In addition, Shen Miao was a complete idiot previously. This mother and daughter were the targets of these madams’ ridicule.
Bai Wei’s mother, Madam Bai, called Chen Ruoqiu to sit beside her. She and Chen Ruoqiu were close friends, so she naturally had to sit with her. Bai Wei also pulled Shen Yue to her side. Ren Wanyun walked to Mrs. Yi and sat down. Yi Peilan looked at Shen Qing and commented, “You haven’t shown up for a long time. I heard that you’re sick. Eh, you look like you lost a lot of weight, but why is your face a little swollen?”
Shen Qing lowered her head, flustered, and said vaguely, “Maybe I’ve been lying in bed for too long.” Ren Wanyun had cooked a lot of medicine for her to stabilize her pregnancy. Although Shen Qing also hated the child in her stomach, she was more afraid that she would never be a mother again after the miscarriage, so she could only grit her teeth and drink it.
Yi Peilan did not suspect anything and only patted Shen Qing’s hand. “You have to recuperate well. You’re about to be engaged. Take care of your body.”