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“I won’t exchange pleasantries with big brother and sister-in-law. I leave all matters at home in your hands, sister-in-law. Some people have ill intentions, and they might strike at the child. You must be cautious,” Su Wenyue, fearing Feng Ruolin wasn’t aware of the situation, specifically gave her a reminder.

“Understood, go on without worry. I, Feng Ruolin, can naturally handle it,” Feng Ruolin replied, showing not a hint of fear. After all, who was she, Feng Ruolin?

With big brother and sister-in-law having arrived, Su Wenyue’s heart settled down considerably. She went to the Li family’s place with Su Hengyi’s escort. However, since big brother and sister-in-law had come over, the Su family must have known about Han Yu’s bandit-suppression mission. After asking, Su Wenyue learned that before Han Yu set out, he had sent someone to inform the Su family, asking them to take good care of her and the child while he was away. Although Han Yu himself did not wish to rely on the Su family, he was concerned for her safety.

Before long, they arrived at the Li Mansion’s entrance. Today’s invitation was only for the ladies, so Su Hengyi could not enter. He waited nearby while Su Wenyue, accompanied by Xiao Xi and Feng Ruolin’s servant girl Ah Qing, entered.

Xiao Xi handed the invitation to the Li family’s servants. The Li family’s servants initially had a cordial demeanor, but after scanning the invitation, their attitude turned lukewarm. They did not block Su Wenyue’s entry but also didn’t arrange for someone to lead the way, completely ignoring Su Wenyue’s presence.

Su Wenyue had anticipated a chilly welcome at the Li family but expected they would at least maintain appearances. She didn’t anticipate the Li family to be this impolite. Su Wenyue kept a straight face, but Xiao Xi was quite angry. With Su Wenyue’s permission, Xiao Xi did not hold back her criticism.

“Madam, if you ask me, these servants of the Li Mansion lack any sense of propriety. They don’t have a clue about the rules and dare to neglect guests this way. I don’t know if it’s because the lady of the house is incompetent or these servants are insubordinate,” Xiao Xi said, deliberately raising her volume. People nearby started to look over, but Xiao Xi wasn’t the least bit uncomfortable.

“Even though it’s not good to meddle in another family’s affairs, this is indeed out of line. I will ask Madam Li later. If these servants are not fit for duty, selling them would be the thing to do. The way things stand now, it’s simply laughable. It doesn’t matter if they slight me, but if they slight others, those people won’t blame the servants; they’ll say the Li family lacks proper upbringing,” Su Wenyue said with a pretense of concern for the Li family.

Those who knew the inside story understood that this was intentional on the Li family’s part, while those who didn’t started harboring the same thoughts. Normally, servants’ misdeeds reflected poorly on their masters.

“Madam Han is right; these servants of the Li Mansion are indeed so careless that someone needs to remind Madam Li. It would be a shame if a few lazy servants ruined the family’s reputation,” Su Wenyue heard someone say. She looked over and saw a somewhat unfamiliar face, then nodded and smiled in acknowledgment.

The Li family’s servants did this at their master’s bidding, but now that Su Wenyue had spoken up, if the matter were blown open in front of everyone, the master would not admit to any wrongdoing and would instead blame the servants. Therefore, they immediately arranged for someone to lead Su Wenyue.

“Madam Han, please forgive us. Today is the mistress’s birthday, and the attendants are all busy, which is why we neglected you. Please forgive us,” said a servant who had overheard Su Wenyue’s conversation and had quickly gone to inform the housekeeper. The housekeeper, quick-witted as he was, immediately came over to apologize to Su Wenyue.

Su Wenyue nodded: “Since everyone is so busy, it’s understandable. After all, life is getting increasingly difficult these days, and the Li family is not a household with much depth. So, it’s normal for such a situation to occur. Just lead the way, please. I’m sure everyone understands your family’s situation and won’t mind—times are tough for everyone.”

As Su Wenyue spoke politely, the housekeeper felt an internal squirm of discomfort but couldn’t retort to a guest. Otherwise, if more unkind words were spoken, the suggestion that the Li family wasn’t “a household with much depth” and that “times are tough for everyone” would sound like a roundabout way of mocking the Li Mansion for being a fallen small clan, unable to withstand trouble.

Most people who could enter here were wise to the ways of the world; they could not fail to hear the implications in Su Wenyue’s words. They thought, Madam Han might seem gentle, but she was not someone to be trifled with. Her words must be wounding to the heart of the Li family. It seemed they had better not mess with Madam Han carelessly in the future, lest they be subjected to such subtle mockery and jibes.

Madam Li had been informed of the situation outside earlier, and her expression grew unpleasant upon hearing the report. She didn’t expect Mrs. Su to be so difficult to deal with. Her intention was to appease Madam Wang and severely deflate Mrs. Su’s spirit. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have added the Su family to the guest list at the last minute. She wanted to show Madam Wang her sincerity, and use it as a stepping stone to curry favor with the general magistrate’s mansion, laying the groundwork for her husband’s political aspirations.

There’s a saying that more connections make for easier paths—although their Li family and the hundred-household Master Li were related by marriage, the bond was not very solid; otherwise, her husband wouldn’t still be at the seventh rank, on par with the newly emerging young fellow Han Yu. If Han Yu had an impressive background, it might be acceptable since they couldn’t afford to provoke him. Han Yu was just a man of humble origins, and Mrs. Su was merely a merchant’s daughter. Not only was her husband dissatisfied, but even she felt somewhat uneasy about the matter.

As for the relationship between the Su family and the Marquis Mansion, Madam Sun and her daughter kept that secret closely guarded, as it was their shame, and they did not wish to speak of it. Besides, if everyone knew about the connection between the Su family and the Marquis Mansion, they would be wary of taking any action against them, which would not be to their liking. Whatever the consequences of opposing Han Yu and Su Wenyue, or whether the Su family would retaliate by leveraging their ties with the Marquis Mansion, was none of their concern.

Following the Li family’s servants, Su Wenyue reached the Inner Courtyard and saw many ladies and misses seated there. When they saw Su Wenyue arrive, some, thinking of her as Mrs. Shangfeng, greeted her warmly. A few who were close to Madam Li sat without acknowledging Su Wenyue. They all knew Han Yu had been dispatched to suppress bandits and that he would likely meet an ill fate, return or not—there was no need to invest in such a connection. Moreover, since Madam Li was clearly out to target Madam Han today, they, being close to Madam Li, naturally stood by her and showed no intention of being friendly with Madam Han.

Madam Li had noticed Su Wenyue’s arrival out of the corner of her eye but deliberately acted as if she hadn’t, engaging in animated conversations with the ladies and misses surrounding her, planning to leave Su Wenyue hanging and let her taste what it felt like to be snubbed.

Being the center of attention, Madam Wang had, of course, been invited early by Madam Li. Seeing Su Wenyue in her awkward position filled Madam Wang with delight, and a mocking, disdainful smile curled up on her lips.