jdhmnovel Chapter 286 Attending
Chapter 286 Attending
Indeed, there is such a custom in the manor: every year during the Mid-Autumn Festival, new clothes and jewelry are prepared for the masters of the manor and delivered on the same day.
But she was with her young mistress, and the last time the young mistress received these things during the Mid-Autumn Festival was nine or ten years ago, right?
At that time, the lady was still alive.
So many years have passed, she had almost forgotten this tradition.
Zixiao quickly stepped forward to take the clothes and jewelry. Granny Wei took out some silver coins to reward the maid who brought the clothes. After watching the maid leave, she turned and went into the house.
Ye Qing'an had already woken up. Seeing Wei Mama and Zixiao enter the room together, she asked, "Has someone come?"
"Yes, it was Sixth Aunt who sent someone to deliver clothes and jewelry."
Granny Wei took out the clothes and jewelry and looked at them. A smile appeared on her lips: "The workmanship of these clothes and jewelry is quite exquisite. Now that Miss is awake, why don't you get up and change into the new clothes?"
"Hmm." Ye Qing'an really couldn't sleep, so she got up and let Granny Wei and Zixiao help her change into new clothes.
"And what about the sachet?" Granny Wei picked up the sachet from the tray and put it on Ye Qing'an. "It's quite nice. If the pattern on the sachet were the same as the one on the dress, it would probably match even better."
Ye Qing'an was still somewhat drowsy and not very clear-headed. She listened silently to Granny Wei's ramblings, and after a while, she asked, "When does the family banquet start?"
"It's already past Shenshi (3-5 PM), there's still more than an hour to go. Miss ate breakfast early and then slept through lunch. I'll go get some food for you to eat first."
Ye Qing'an responded, and after a while, she spoke in a low voice: "We need to fill our stomachs first. Today's banquet is probably not going to be peaceful. I don't know if we'll even have time to eat."
Upon hearing Ye Qing'an's words, Granny Wei and Zixiao exchanged glances for a moment, asking, "Why do you say that, Miss?"
"Why?" Ye Qing'an casually curled the corners of her lips: "You'll find out why in a moment."
It was well past lunchtime, and there wasn't much fresh food left in the kitchen, so Zixiao brought Ye Qing'an some snacks to tide her over.
After finishing their snacks, it was already close to late afternoon. Ye Qing'an stood up and said, "Let's go."
……
Today's family banquet is being held at Furong Garden. Ye Qinghao is still in the palace at the moment. When Ye Qing'an arrived with Eleven, everyone except Liu Xueying and Ye Weilan was already there.
Perhaps because her affair with Xu Mo was already known throughout the household, the way everyone looked at her today carried a hint of scrutiny.
Ye Qing'an walked to her seat and sat down, and Eleven sat down right next to her. Beside her was a low table next to hers, but no one was sitting there. Ye Qing'an raised an eyebrow and glanced at the low table. Was this… prepared for Ye Weilan?
But... I wonder who arranged these positions, placing Ye Weilan next to her, and so intimately so. Aren't they afraid the two of them will fight?
Ye Qingan sat down for a long time, but no one spoke.
Only Ye Qing'an seemed the most at ease...
In the silence, Liu Xueying's voice rang out from the doorway: "Is everyone here? Are they all waiting for Weilan and me?"
"Yes, everyone has arrived."
Liu Xueying walked in, her gaze sweeping across the courtyard, and she smiled, only to say, "I'm so sorry I'm a little late."
Liu Xueying's arrival seemed to bring a sigh of relief to everyone, except for Sixth Aunt, whose expression was particularly unpleasant.
She is now in charge of the household, and she still holds the reins of the family's finances. Liu Xueying is now just a nominal wife without any real power, yet she still dares to act like a wife at this family banquet.
Having learned her lesson from Liu Xueying, Sixth Aunt didn't dare to say these things aloud. She just smiled insincerely and said, "It's alright. It's already very good that Madam can come out of the courtyard and come here."
The sixth concubine's words had a hidden meaning. Everyone in the mansion knew that Liu Xueying had been confined to her quarters by Ye Qinghao for some time. Compared to being confined, being able to leave the courtyard and attend the family banquet was indeed a great relief.
Liu Xueying didn't even change her expression, and went straight to the main seat to sit down, while Ye Weilan went to sit in an empty seat opposite her.
The seat next to Ye Qing'an remains empty.
Ye Qing'an frowned. Could this be something prepared for Eleven again?
but……
Ye Qing'an looked around and saw that all the other children under the age of seven in the mansion were sitting next to their mothers and were not seated separately.
Liu Xueying had already spoken: "Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival family banquet, but today's Mid-Autumn Festival family banquet is a little different from previous years. This year, more people from our mansion have come. Qing'an and Shiyi have also returned to the mansion. The whole family is reunited, which is wonderful."
A family reunion?
no?
Ye Qing'an thought to herself, "Isn't there still one missing... Ye Zirui?"
"Now that everyone's here..." Liu Xueying paused abruptly, "It seems like not everyone's here yet? Why is there an empty seat next to Miss?"
Ye Qing'an smiled and said, "I don't know either. When I arrived, I found that there was an extra seat next to me. I thought it was for Sister Wei Lan, but I didn't expect that Sister Wei Lan would sit down on the other side."
Liu Xueying frowned: "Who arranged this banquet? How come they can't even handle such a small matter?"
The sixth concubine's face turned even more unpleasant. Then, a maid stepped forward from beside her and said, "It was...it was this servant who arranged the seating."
Liu Xueying's gaze swept across Sixth Aunt's face before landing on the maid: "Oh, so you're someone from Sixth Sister's side. What's your name again?"
"This servant is Zhucui."
"Zhu Cui." Liu Xueying nodded: "Since you arranged the seating, then tell me, who is this seating intended for?"
Zhu Cui bit her lip, glanced cautiously at Ye Qing'an, her expression slightly nervous: "This...this servant..."
"Why are you stammering? Could it be that you arranged the seating yourself, but don't even know who you've prepared the seats for?"
“I…I know.” Zhu Cui took a deep breath, closed her eyes and said, “This morning I heard that Doctor Xu came out of the eldest young lady’s room. I thought that the eldest young lady and Doctor Xu had already…so I thought that the eldest young lady might bring Doctor Xu to the family banquet today, so I arranged an extra seat next to the eldest young lady.”
Ye Qing'an slightly lifted her eyes, her gaze falling on the maid named Zhu Cui, but she also noticed that behind Zhu Cui, the Sixth Aunt's face suddenly turned very ugly.