Su Xiaoqi couldn't help but wonder who had arrived to make the usually amiable Yurong display displeasure.
"If Madam doesn't wish to see them, then don't," Du Wenqian said after taking the invitation and glancing at it.
A hint of contemplation flickered across Yurong's dignified face. After a moment, she spoke, "If the master's relatives have come, how can we not see them?"
Du Wenqian paused for a beat, then cupped his hands towards Yurong, looking as if he found the situation difficult for his wife.
Du Yiyi also noticed at this moment. She turned sideways, gave Su Xiaoqi a look, and mumbled,
"Tch, what kind of relatives are those? Smiling to your face but stabbing you in the back."
"Yiyi, don't speak nonsense. That's your cousin," Yurong admonished her daughter's improper behavior in time.
They were, after all, a family with a substantial background. No matter how displeased they were, they had to suppress it, maintain appearances, and leave no room for others to find fault.
Seeing the situation, Su Xiaoqi felt she was perhaps intruding. She quickly stood up, saying she had overstayed her welcome and would take her leave.
"Ah, Xiaoqi, don't be like that. You are family now, a proper relative. There's no intrusion at all," Yurong said, signaling to Steward He to invite the visitor in.
"It's only a matter of time for a cup of tea. Just endure it and send them away."
Du Wenqian, listening from the side, felt a headache coming on.
What was the use of him having a good official position, of his rulings being so clear? They couldn't clear up his own family's messy affairs.
And he couldn't step forward to say anything, for who was he but the guest's uncle, in name at least?
The atmosphere immediately turned somber with the impending arrival of the guest.
After sitting for a while, Yurong suddenly said, "Master, if you have official duties ahead, you should attend to them.
There's no need for you, a grown man, to host a guest just because a niece has arrived."
Du Wenqian acted as if he had received a divine decree. He immediately lifted his robe, stood up, and said to Yurong, "Madam, you work hard," before striding away.
Watching him leave, Su Xiaoqi felt as if he wasn't going to attend to official duties but to flee from a plague god.
"She's like a plague god. Once you get involved, you can't shake her off. Look how scared my father was," Du Yiyi whispered her complaints to Su Xiaoqi.
Su Xiaoqi's curiosity grew even more about this woman, Du Wenqian's niece, who was about to make her appearance.
She didn't have to wait long. The person had already entered, led by Steward He.
She was a girl of sixteen or seventeen, with a delicate and pretty face. Her almond-shaped eyes were slender, with slightly upturned outer corners, and a mole beneath her left eye.
Her small cherry mouth was slightly full, and when pressed together, it looked as if she were biting her lip, carrying a distinct hint of provocation.
Her figure was slender, and as she walked, she seemed as fragile as if she couldn't withstand the wind, evoking pity from onlookers.
Tsk, what a delicate and pitiable guest, with such a graceful and fragile demeanor.
"Jiaojiao greets Uncle-in-law and Sister Yiyi. Ah, and this is?"
Su Xiaoqi inwardly clicked her tongue: Jiaojiao, that name was indeed perfectly chosen, fitting her perfectly.
"This is my Sister Xiaoqi," Du Yiyi said, rolling her eyes at her, somewhat annoyed.
"Xiaoqi? I'm Jiaojiao. I'm sixteen and a half. Can I call you Sister Xiaoqi?"
Su Xiaoqi's delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly, but she quickly smoothed them out, saying calmly, "I was born in September, and I haven't reached sixteen yet."
The meaning was clear: you are older than me, so don't call me sister.
"Then, then Sister Xiaoqi," Jiaojiao, true to her name, had a very sweet voice, with a hint of coyness.
Every sentence she spoke seemed to twist and turn, making one's heart feel as if it were being choked.
Su Xiaoqi turned her head, feeling slightly breathless, wanting to secretly catch her breath.
But Jiaojiao didn't grant her wish. She continued, "Grandmother said she hasn't seen Sister Yiyi for a long time and asked me to invite Sister Yiyi to visit her."
Du Yiyi responded without hesitation, "I'm not going."
"Yiyi, how can you speak like that? She is your cousin, after all, and the one who wishes to see you is your own grandmother."
"Bah, what cousin is she? I've never seen someone surnamed Sun come to the Du family to dictate to us," Du Yiyi, who feared nothing, was fierce when it came to arguing.
"And Grandmother… she, her heart is so biased, she doesn't know who's close and who's distant…" Du Yiyi, with her fiery temper, ignited easily.
Fortunately, Su Xiaoqi was there and held her back.
Su Xiaoqi hadn't spoken again after her initial remark.
She sat beside Du Yiyi, quietly and properly acting as her audience, watching Sun Jiaojiao's performance, only intervening to hold Du Yiyi back when she couldn't resist.
Seeing her, Su Xiaoqi realized what affected affectation truly was.
Although her voice was soft, almost every word that came out of her mouth carried a hidden agenda.
For instance, she brought up Du Yiyi's own grandmother right from the start.
On the surface, she was saying that grandmother missed Sister Yiyi, but in reality, every word was accusing Du Yiyi of being unfilial and not showing proper filial piety to her own grandmother.
She appeared delicate and pitiful, but it would have been better if her almond-shaped eyes weren't filled with calculations.
Su Xiaoqi found her presence irritating.
"Wuwu, how can Cousin Yiyi speak like this? I understand that as an official's daughter, you look down on someone like me from a merchant family.
But Grandmother is your grandmother, an elder. You, you must not be rude."
"Pah, Sun Jiaojiao, can you stop pretending? Your so-called good grandmother isn't here with you now, who are you pretending for?
Besides, your own maternal grandmother's family surname is Hu." Du Yiyi was thoroughly angered by Sun Jiaojiao.
If Su Xiaoqi hadn't been holding her hand, she would have likely jumped up and slapped her.
However, doing so would only lead to Sun Jiaojiao lodging a complaint again.
The smugness in Sun Jiaojiao's eyes intensified, yet there was also a hint of disappointment.
If that Su Xiaoqi hadn't restrained Du Yiyi just now, allowing her to hit her as she had done before, that would have been even better.
Alas, this was also good. Being rejected by her, she would have something to report back.
Otherwise, that old woman might not believe her if she said Du Yiyi didn't want to see her.
She insisted that it was her biological granddaughter, and although there were some contradictions, she missed her dearly after not seeing her for a long time.
Hmph, this granddaughter, what was she thinking?
Sun Jiaojiao had already prepared a complete set of excuses to tell Old Madam Du.
She stood up and said that since Sister Yiyi was unwilling, then so be it. She would take her leave now and apologize for the disturbance.
Su Xiaoqi watched her, observing all the expressions on her face and in her eyes.
She thought that although this person's schemes were deep, they were actually quite shallow, at least discernible at a glance.
Yet Du Yiyi, being simple-minded, was being manipulated by her clumsy acting.
She tugged at Du Yiyi and whispered, "Yiyi, since Miss Sun sincerely invites you, and an elder misses you, why don't you go for a visit?"
Although Du Yiyi was a bit confused as to why Su Xiaoqi was telling her to go to her grandmother's house, which she didn't want to visit,
She knew that Su Xiaoqi must have her best interests at heart.
So, after a moment of struggle and hesitation, she agreed, "Alright, since Grandmother misses me so much, I will go and see her, and fulfill my filial duty."
With these words, Sun Jiaojiao froze completely.