C171

The smile on Madame SHen's face instantly disappeared, the Zhao Family was originally not on her invitation list, it was an invitation from Ye Lin to add her.

However, as the owner, she still stood up to welcome him. "The garden is simple and crude, unlike the luxurious Zhao Residence. I heard that the backyard of the Zhao Residence is unique and special. I didn't expect my garden to catch Lady Zhao's attention."

Everyone in the Yangzhou Palace knew that in terms of garden layout, the Meng Family was the most refined, the Ye Family the most ancient and refined, and the Lu family was the most refined.

However, after thinking about it, she narrowed her eyes and laughed: "I thought that today, I would be able to see this strange stone that is famous for a bit of Ye Mansion. I didn't think that it would be true … What a pity. "

Madame SHen's expression became completely dull, "I've disappointed Madame Zhao." The Zhao Family did not know the true reason why she set up the banquet in the Ting Lan Garden. These words were simply a stab at her, saying that she did not even have the right to be the main guest in Ye Mansion, and still had to come to the garden.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Madame Qin hurriedly went out to smooth things over, "Speaking of which, I was wrong. I had long heard that Madam Ye had such a good point and was concerned about the view of the West Lake. That's why I sent Madam Ye to place the feast in the garden.

After helping Madame SHen out, she gave another small hug to the other party, "Yo, the one that Mistress Zhao has is the popular Yun Hua Jin in the capital right?"

She wore a jade colored silk fairy dress, with her hair tied high in a bun. A single triple-tailed tasseled tasseled golden phoenix hairpin was stuck in her hair, and there were two emerald-filled silk peony hairpins in each of her hair. She even had a pair of red imperial concubine bangles on her wrists.

Hearing the Madame Qin's question, Madame Zhao's raised chin, once again, proudly raised her head. "Madam Meng has good taste. However, my Cloudflower Blossom Pagoda is the reward of the palace, it isn't the ordinary Cloudflower Embroidery that can be seen in the capital."

Seeing that Madame Qin and Madame Zhao were having fun talking, the Madame SHen heaved a sigh of relief and looked towards Madame Qin with gratitude.

Not long after, the wives and ladies of the various residences were invited, one after the other. As the owner, Madame SHen naturally could not treat them unfairly, and could only receive them one by one with a modest and courteous smile.

When the ladies were tasting tea in the house, Madame SHen asked Hui Xiu to personally bring the girls to the garden to have a fun time.

The Tinlan Garden was not big, but there were all sorts of pavilions, pavilions, and special stones. Moreover, because it was located in the West Lake, it had ingeniously drawn in fresh water from the lake, forming a glittering green lotus pond. Currently, the blooming period was not over yet, and there were only tender jade green lotus leaves in the pond.

Jin Lan brought Meng Ruhan to go around the Lotus Pond to admire the scenery. Both of them had a wide smile on their face.

"I see that there seems to be a pavilion in front of my head. Should we go there to rest?" Meng Ruhan's sharp eyes could see the outline of the willow branch that was swaying in the wind from afar.

"Alright." It was her first time back in the garden, so she felt that it was new everywhere she went. If Meng Ruhan likes it, she would accompany him.

The two of them spoke and quickened their pace, while Ye Jinwei and Ye Jinxian, seeing the situation, quickly followed.

Compared to last time at the Meng Family, Ye Jinwei was clearly more obedient this time, she merely followed quietly, and occasionally when Meng Ruhan's gaze made contact with him, she would smile and nod, looking like a lady from a noble family.

Only Ye Jinxian was still as submissive as before. At first, Meng Ruhan intentionally pulled her along and said a few words, but it could be seen that she was always timid and weak, and lost interest for a moment.

Jin Lan and Meng Ruhan talked as they walked along the small road. A cool breeze brushed against the surface of the lake, blew on a pool of jade-green water, and also made some faint sounds of conversation.

Jin Lan was slightly startled, but soon calmed down. Looking at the sky, he realized that the ladies of the other residences should have arrived as well.

As he turned a corner, he saw seven to eight girls sitting in groups of twos and threes in the octagonal pavilion near the water. The most eye-catching one was the girl from the Zhao Family, Zhao Qianrong, who was surrounded by everyone.

When Meng Ruhan saw Zhao Qianrong, the smile on her face immediately disappeared, "Why did you invite her, this detestable person?"

Jin Lan also didn't expect that his mother would invite the Zhao family. She remembered that her mother had always been at odds with the Zhao family's madam!

Seeing Meng Ruhan's displeased face, she advised: "I don't know either, it was probably invited by mother. If you don't like her, let's go somewhere else."

Meng Ruhan understood that this matter could not be blamed on Jin Lan, but she was truly unwilling to see Zhao Qianrong's arrogant appearance, so she nodded her head, "Then let's change places! I don't want to ruin this rare good mood. "

Even though they were standing quite a distance from the octagonal pavilion, they were already discovered by someone from the pavilion. Suddenly, a mocking voice sounded out, "Hey, isn't that Meng Ruhan? "Seems like she's hiding from us!"

The one who spoke was a girl dressed in an apricot-colored embroidered dress. She looked to be about thirteen or fourteen years old and her appearance could still be considered beautiful, but her long and narrow eyes and slightly raised tail made her look even more sarcastic. At this moment, she was standing beside Zhao Qianrong, laughing loudly while pointing at Jin Lan and her group.

For a moment, all the gazes in the pavilion were focused on Jin Lan and his men.

Meng Ruhan's expression instantly turned extremely unsightly. Her gaze was fixated on Zhao Qianrong, who was sitting proudly in the pavilion. It was obvious that the lady who had spoken just now had received Zhao Qianrong's instructions.

Jin Lan sighed helplessly. Although she was also extremely unwilling to interact with these people, she could not stay out of this matter, and even more so, could not allow Meng Ruhan, Zhao Qianrong and the rest to get into an argument. Otherwise, although it would be disrespectful to the Meng and Zhao Families, their Ye Family would not be good either.

She lightly patted Meng Ruhan's hand and said in a gentle tone: "Sister Ruhan, I can see that the scenery at the other side of the pavilion is still very elegant, and there's no reason for us to be in the mood to go out and enjoy ourselves."

Meng Ruhan glanced at Jin Lan who was filled with concern, and her small and tense face finally relaxed a bit. After pondering for a moment, she reluctantly nodded and gritted her teeth, "You're right!"

With Meng Ruhan's personality, if not for the fact that she was embarrassed, he would have already walked away.

"Meng Ruhan, I thought you would continue hiding at home, I never expected you to come too!" As Jin Lan pulled Meng Ruhan towards the octagonal pavilion, that Miss Xingyi spoke again with a mocking tone.

"Why didn't I come? Could it be that you're the only one here? " Meng Ruhan looked at her coldly, before shifting her gaze back onto Zhao Qianrong.

Zhao Qianrong raised her eyebrows in disdain, "Why are you looking at me like that? If I were you, I would have already found a place with no one to hide. "

Meng Ruhan's face darkened as she said angrily: "Zhao Qianrong, what are you trying to say!?"

Xu Qing Ting covered her mouth and laughed: "What do you mean? "Everyone in the Yangzhou Palace knows that First Miss Meng is a despotic person. She was able to injure Little Sister Shu severely the moment she said something. Tsk, tsk, I really don't know how the virtuous and virtuous Madam Meng could have raised such a daughter."

"You …" Meng Ruhan was enraged, she initially thought it was one thing to just say her, but now that it was Madame Qin, the anger in her heart immediately exploded, and she rushed over without thinking! However, just as she took two steps, she was suddenly stopped by someone from behind. "Little sister Lan, don't stop me!"

Originally, when Meng Ruhan was about to rush over, both Zhao Qianrong and Xu Qing Ting's faces changed. Now, seeing that she had stopped, Zhao Qianrong rolled her eyes and said: "Look, First Miss Meng is going to hit me again!"

Meng Ruhan was angered till the rims of his eyes were red, she turned her head and stared at Jin Lan with mist in his eyes, as though he was blaming her for helping Zhao Qianrong and the rest.

Jin Lan sighed. These days, she had been busy dealing with matters of the mansion, and had not paid attention to the rumors outside. Now that she heard what Xu Qing Ting had to say, she understood a bit more.

However, with her understanding of Meng Ruhan, she was afraid that there was some other person who did not know of the secret, and would definitely not be as terrible as what was said outside.

Jin Lan squeezed Meng Ruhan's hand hard, gave her a look that said "don't be impatient", and then slowly walked forward.

Seeing her coming over, everyone's faces more or less flashed with unnaturalness. After all, this was the Ye Family's garden, and they were only invited as guests.

Jin Lan's gaze slowly swept across the girls in the pavilion, almost as if he had seen them before when he was at Meng Family. However, this group of people seemed to be closer to Zhao Qianrong, so it was no wonder no one stood up to speak up for him.

She stepped into the pavilion and greeted everyone with a smile, "It's rare for sisters to be guests here. I'm overjoyed."

They thought that Jin Lan was here to stand up for Meng Ruhan, and some of them even thought of a response in their hearts. With that, the atmosphere in the pavilion became extremely awkward.

At this moment, quite a few other ladies hurriedly stood up to return the greeting, including Xu Qing Ting, who had mocked him just now.

However, Zhao Qianrong still sat steadily, looking at Jin Lan with a hint of satisfaction in her eyes.

When Jin Lan saw this, the gentle smile on his face suddenly changed. "The husband's market is devoid of tigers and the words of three people become tigers. All of you keep saying that the Sister Ruhan is despotic, and I will ask, who here dares to swear to the heavens that they have never bullied a sister who is born from a concubine? As juniors, forget about seniors, could it be that you've never gotten used to the "Female Ring"? Madam Meng has always been a sincere person, and has always been a kind person. I presume all of the parents and elders of your family have once praised her, so what right do you have to laugh at her!? "