6 Debutante

Thinking up to here Su Li once again gave a respectful courtesy to the ladies though it was not as deep as the one she gave at the onset of the banquet to everyone but was even more respectful. This was in acknowledgment to their behind the scenes power and preeminence.(One must remember not to over-do things in-front of these tigresses because you never know if they would pounce on you even without a provocation if they were in a foul mood. Here she fondly recalled her mother who would always criticize her even for her minute mistakes after every formal event but then praise her to high skies in-front of outsiders.) Reminiscing about those moments her emotions became a bit unstable and there was an imperceptible sheen of tears in her eyes which went away within a few blinks of her eyes. Even still it didn't escape the sharp eyed gazes of the women present.

In under a minute many matriarchs felt their maternal instincts thoroughly ignited. They thought that the mother-less child obviously couldn't make a scene on such an important ocassion even though her heart must be painful. Su Li had a faint sense of being misunderstood but then pondering over the factthat this unintentional misunderstanding was in her favour she didn't try to dispel their wrong conclusion. Instead she arranged her expression in to an appropriate but an apprehensive one.

"Mesdames, it is an honor." While greeting them she dropped her eyes to the floor.(After all she was just a baby chic in-front of these hyenas.) Yu Yan followed her lead and mimicked her actions but they looked disjointed as well as in-cohesive.

"The two young ladies should sit with us for a while. The rest of the ceremony won't begin until much later." Madame Lin was looking at Yu Yan with a smile as she said this, though she was addressing her.

Su Li gave a nod to indicate her acknowledgement and sat down demurely. All of them had to have their own thoughts while shooting measuring glances at both of them. If Yu Jian hadn't made such a faux pas they definitely wouldn't have put Yu Yan - such a small fry in their minds, then nobody would have taken notice of the wild ambition in her eyes that she was trying so hard to conceal behind her weak and pitiful facade. however,it had pique their interest so one thing lead to another and now no matter how crafty Yu Yan was it was just a child's play infront of these old hands at such manipulation. Madam Xi narrowed her eyes at Yu Yan, a hint of contempt flickering within her gaze. Then she subtly looked at the other ladies around her and they recevied her signal. Slowly and seemingly randomly each of the women present raised their eyes to look at Yu Yan one after another without a pause. Though their lips were raised in faint smiles, their eyes held mockery. In turn Yu Yan couldn't withstand the immense pressure that leaked from all of them.

"Alright ladies, let's stop joking with Miss Yan." Madame Xi said while waving her hand as if to slap away an annoying fly and brushed their intentional collective suppression of Yu Yan under the carpet. Madame Xi only had Madame Lin above her in the power ladder of this group so everyone listened to her and the pressure was immediately curtailed.

Later on the matriarchs started asking Su Li questions about random topics which ranged from serious ones to simple everyday talk. They were interested in her plans for her further studies, asked probing questions as to her opinion about the current political climate to the latest trendy fashions. It seemed as if these question had no relation to each other and were just asked to while away the time but Su Li knew her answers were being taken notice of to nitpick any flaws as well as to learn her world view about matters that concerned them. This was the first test to see whether she would have a chance to stand shoulder to shoulder with them somewhere down the road.

On the other hand, the were polite to Yu Yan(so polite that they simply neglected her existence while speaking). Needless to say Yu Yan gave it her all to increase her sense of presence and tried to demonstrate her knowledge but it was as if just blowing hot air next to them. Nobody took into consideration her words or opinion.

Inappropriate behavior and manners, though true that she wasn't eighteen yet and had not stepped into the society at large but the fact that she had tried to thwart the legitimate child's crucial day was scandalous. Moreover, she didn't have the learning to make her stand out from the rest of the masses except some paltry tricks which didn't amount to anything in these people's eyes anyway. Su Li had seen the ladies sitting of to one side during one part of the ceremony, mentally ticking off boxes against Yu Yan.

Su Li could have sworn that at one point Madame Lin gave her a look of sympathy and understanding. She knew the ladies had an idea about what she herself was trying to do and the reason behind it. None of the people present here were simpleminded individuals.

The rest of the night had gone well and without doubt she had become a new star on the Debutante Parade. She had achieved the best outcome she had hoped for. She was accepted and approved by the people who ran the social circle she lived in. However for Yu Yan it might take her a lot of effort and years to smooth the road she had to walk on ahead.