Chapter 51 Unworthy to Sit at the Same Table

Since Pan Yueqing had a heart-to-heart talk with the Princess of Anbei, the Princess of Anbei's mental state has improved a lot. The next day, a banknote worth five hundred taels was sent from Zou Yingruo's residence. Although the Zou family's butler had an unpleasant expression on his face, Pan Yueqing tore up the IOU she had been keeping in front of the Zou butler, and silently handed the banknote worth five hundred taels to the Zou butler as well.

She wasn't afraid of offending Zou Yingruo, but she had to take into account the Emperor's attitude towards the Prince of Dongzhu. Besides, now she was just an unmarried young lady. It wouldn't be good if she left an impression of being too aggressive.

The Zou butler looked at Pan Yueqing's actions with some confusion. He only heard Pan Yueqing say with a smile, "I'm not angry either. Miss Zou was also being used by others. But she should be more careful and not trust others too easily next time. Butler, when you go back, please persuade her. If she offends the legitimate daughter of an established noble family by mistake, considering the pride of the noble families, this matter won't end well."

She said it sincerely. Even the Emperor now had to pay some attention to the opinions of those noble families. The Zou butler was an old servant who had accompanied Zou Yingruo in the capital city for many years. Zou Yingruo had been lawless in the capital city without the discipline of her elders. After going back, she had been crying for several days. The butler also thought it was time for the young lady to learn a lesson.

"Miss Yue!" Qi Liulang waved at Pan Yueqing from under the corridor. Yesterday, Pan Yueqing had rested in the Princess of Anbei's room. The servants said that the two of them had talked very congenially and became a pair of friends despite the age difference. He was truly happy about this. You know, in all these years, he had rarely seen his mother smile so cheerfully.

At the moment, with a beaming face, he came forward holding a visiting card and said, "Miss Lai is holding a banquet at Changxian Pavilion and has sent you an invitation. Mother said that this is a tea party for noble young masters and ladies. It's a sign of great respect if an outsider is invited. If you're going, can you take me with you? I can protect you!"

"I can protect my young lady myself. What do I need you for?" Luo Shui had just come back after seeing off the Zou butler and happened to hear Qi Liulang's words. Her eyes twinkled, and when she saw Qi Liulang looking a bit anxious, she suddenly understood. She covered her mouth with a smile and said, "I think you're not going to protect our young lady. You want to meet those young ladies, don't you?"

"Don't talk nonsense!" Qi Liulang retorted immediately. But Pan Yueqing raised her hand to signal Qi Liulang to show her the invitation. It was a visiting card with good-quality paper, bound in the accordion style. The cover was painted in grayish-blue. After opening it, there was a delicate and beautiful handwriting. Pan Yueqing glanced at it and then silently closed it. She handed it back to Qi Liulang and turned around to go back to the side room of the Princess of Anbei's courtyard where she was currently living.

"Are you going or not?" Qi Liulang was anxious. Although he had a high status, it wasn't easy for him to meet these noble young ladies!

Pan Yueqing ignored him. But the moment Luo Shui closed the door, Pan Yueqing ordered to change her clothes. Luo Shui was puzzled and said, "You didn't use to like going to such occasions, Miss. Since you don't like it, you shouldn't go. You just had a troublesome thing yesterday. Who knows what kind of trouble these snobbish noble young ladies will cause you today..."

"If I don't go, won't I offend a whole bunch of noble families?" Pan Yueqing powdered her face in front of the mirror and took a bite of the lip paper. "As long as these noble families exist, there will be no chance for scholars all over the country to rise to prominence."

Luo Shui looked at Pan Yueqing in horror when she heard these words. She even stepped forward and begged, covering Pan Yueqing's mouth with her hands, "Please be careful, Miss. This isn't our own courtyard after all. If these words spread out, I don't know how many more troubles there will be!"

Pan Yueqing smiled softly and patted Luo Shui's hand. Of course, she knew. In her previous life, during the great chaos in the Northern Qi Dynasty, she still clearly remembered how Qi Sicheng had humbly begged for the support of the major noble families. The power of these noble families was so great that over the years, any emperor who had tried to weaken them had ended up with no good outcome.

Soon, she was dressed up. Today, she was wearing a light blue long gown with a light purple jacket over it. There was a black gauze with the pattern of ten thousand blessings draped over her arm. She still looked plain and simple. She walked around among a bunch of jewelry and only chose a green jade hairpin with a string of precious beads and tassels to adorn her hairpin. When she opened the door, she saw Qi Liulang standing at the door, about to knock. She said, "Let's go."

"Ah?" Qi Liulang came to his senses and then happily took a few steps forward. "Okay! The carriage is already ready!"

There was singing and dancing at Changxian Pavilion. Lai Changya was sitting in the main seat, smiling as she looked at Pan Yueqing and Qi Liulang walking slowly towards the door. A maid came forward to lead Pan Yueqing and Qi Liulang to their respective seats. At the table where Qi Liulang was, Qi Sian was smiling and inviting Qi Liulang to take a seat.

This Qi Sian looked a bit unfamiliar to Pan Yueqing. She frowned slightly, and in an instant, she put on a calm expression. She let the maid lead her to a seat closer to the front. The woman next to that seat frowned as soon as she saw Pan Yueqing and turned her eyes away with a look of disdain.

Pan Yueqing, adopting the attitude of making the best of things since she was already there, gracefully sat down, raised her wine cup and nodded slightly towards Lai Changya, and then took a small sip of the wine.

"Miss, which family are you from? You look very unfamiliar. Although you're Miss Changya's friend, there should still be a sense of hierarchy!" The young girl who had shown disdain at the beginning was the first to speak. She furrowed her brows. As it was always the case that the seats of the guests after the host's seat were arranged according to the strength of the noble families, she, Yu Wan'er, was from the Yu family of Wanzhou, which was second only to the Lai family.

"Wan'er," the woman next to Yu Wan'er, who should be her sister, gently pulled Yu Wan'er's sleeve and shook her head slightly. Yu Wan'er didn't listen to the advice at all. Her Yu family had been suppressed by the Lai family for a long time, which had already made her unhappy. Today, a person she had never seen before had come and gracefully taken a seat above the Yu family's position!

"Who are you?" Pan Yueqing didn't look at Yu Wan'er. She had originally known that today's banquet was a trap set by Lai Changya to test her.

"Yu Wan'er of Wanzhou." Yu Wan'er was enraged when she noticed that Pan Yueqing didn't even cast a glance at her.

"Hello." Pan Yueqing smiled and nodded.

Lai Changya looked at Pan Yueqing's calm gaze and couldn't help but feel even more puzzled. Her feelings towards Pan Yueqing were very strange. On the one hand, she admired her, but on the other hand, she was very wary of her.

"Miss Yu, don't be angry with such a person. I'm afraid she's from some insignificant family who sneaked in. Today, Miss Lai is the host. Just think of it as doing a good deed, okay?" A man sitting below Lai Changya's seat on the opposite side of the table smiled and said to Yu Wan'er.

"Zeng Shiba, shut up!" Yu Wan'er didn't have a good expression on her face towards the speaker. "Your Zeng family has long since declined. If it weren't for you being an outer disciple of Hongyun Academy, you wouldn't even be able to get in the door today!" Then she said fiercely to Pan Yueqing, "If you have an origin that you're afraid to disclose, you'd better get down from your seat right away!"

Pan Yueqing's heart stirred. She glanced at Yu Wan'er indifferently, stood up gracefully, and said to Lai Changya, "Miss Lai, are you hosting a banquet for friends or for showing off family backgrounds? If it's for friends, I've already had the wine today, and I'll take my leave now.

"If it's for showing off family backgrounds, no one here is worthy to sit at the same table with me!" Pan Yueqing put her hands behind her back, her eyes narrowed slightly, and her imposing manner overwhelmed Yu Wan'er. A sense of lofty pride emanated from her.