Being looked down upon by others

  In the garden, a lively scene of purple and red flowers has already attracted many guests, either in groups of three or five admiring the flowers together, or chatting and sipping tea in the pavilion. However, as the hostess of this banquet, Princess Duan Min had not yet appeared, and with her status, she would naturally only make an appearance after all the guests had arrived.

  The maids and servant women led them to the garden and then left, where there were other people waiting on them.

  Li was taken aback for a moment, she had always looked forward to entering this circle, but when she really approached this circle, she felt a kind of panic from the bottom of her heart. To be honest, those chatting and tea-drinking noblewomen, she didn't know many of them at all.

  Qing Luan glanced at her and stepped up to a pavilion with a sign that read "Sang Li". Inside, there were five or six women of similar age to Li Shi.

  "Isn't this Qing Luan? It's been a long time since I've seen you, come here and let me take a good look." One of the women wearing a sapphire blue skirt saw Qing Luan with a slightly excited expression.

  "Mother-in-law!" Qing Luan stepped forward and followed with a bow, then greeted the other madams before approaching Lan Yan's side.

  Lan Yan'er was a close friend of Qing Luan's mother, and her husband was Li Jing, the third-ranking general. It was also through Li Jing that her brother had successfully defected to Qin Wang's northwest army.

  Qing Luan thought of her past life, where she had distanced herself from her loving godmother due to Lin Zi Xuan's dislike for military officers, and felt deeply ashamed, with a hint of redness in the corners of her eyes.

  Lan Yan'er, although gentle in appearance and temperament, was extremely straightforward. Thinking of that departed good friend, she felt even more pity for Qing Luan. She pulled her into a hug and stroked her hair, saying: "You didn't look well when you were mourning either. You've lost weight, poor Luan."

  "Dry mother, I'm not pitiful. Although I've never seen my dry mother before, Qing Luan knows that you love her dearly. As for brother's side, please take care of him more." Qing Luan tilted her head, her eyes shining brightly, and her well-behaved appearance melted Lan Yan'er's heart, making her want to hug and raise her.

  On this side, Li saw that Qing Luan was only chatting with Lan Yan'er and completely ignored them, her heart burning with anger, thinking that this girl must be doing it on purpose, not wanting to let them get close to this circle.

  Qingyuan was about to scold Qingyun, but was stopped by her own sister who had quick eyes and hands. In this situation, Qingyuan couldn't be allowed to act rashly. Qingyu gave a signal with her eyes to Guyu.

  "Second Miss, Madame is still waiting." Upon receiving Qingyu's hint, Guyu also had to step forward and remind her.

  Qing Luan finally came out of Lan Yan's arms, a bit embarrassed, and rubbed his nose: "Look at me, I was so happy to see my mother that I forgot my manners. Mother, ladies, this is my second aunt, big sister, third sister, and this is the Wei family's relative."

  Mrs. Li hastily pulled her two daughters forward to pay their respects, the ladies in the pavilion were all of noble birth, while Mrs. Li was after all just the wife of a low-ranking seventh-grade official, and even in the capital, which was full of nobles, she was only slightly better than an ordinary commoner, so everyone's expression was somewhat lukewarm.

  Lan Yan'er looked at Li Shi for a while, then smiled and said: "In the past, I also heard Zi Qing mention it. Luan Yaotou also asked you to take care of her. My relationship with Zi Qing is like that of close sisters. Luan Yaotou recognized me as her godmother from birth. Although there's a 'god' in front of it, it's not much different from being real. Here, I'll thank Wei Er Furen for taking care of her on behalf of Zi Qing."

  Lan Yan's words were polite, but also carried a few hints of warning. Don't think that Qing Luan has no parents and can be bullied at will, she still has her godmother to back her up.

  P.S: Originally I just wanted to update once, but seeing so many comments, I quickly added another chapter.