Chapter 317 - Chapter 317: Chapter 325: Shut up for me (1/2)
Chapter 317: Chapter 325: Shut up for me
Su Wenyue looked over and saw Mrs. Sun and her daughter approaching gracefully. Many people came forward to greet them. Of course, their reception didn’t match that offered to the Marquess’s Lady. The prefecture governor was a senior fourth-rank official, while the general magistrate was junior fifth-rank, so even among guests, only the Magistrate’s wife would have to come over to pay her respects. Besides, Governor Wei and Magistrate Sun belonged to different camps and had significant disagreements on political views. They only maintained a superficial harmony. That’s how high society was: everyone liked to maintain an appearance of peace, even if they were fighting viciously behind the scenes and secretly harboring deep hatred. They would still appear joyful on the surface, though there were exceptions, of course.
Madam Sun and her daughter saw a momentary stiffness cross Su Wenyue’s face. Pretending not to notice, Su Wenyue politely greeted Madam Sun, her eyes holding a mocking smile that made Mrs. Sun and her daughter quite uncomfortable. Especially since they had heard that the most honored guest invited by the Governor’s Wife was Marquis Bei’an’s Lady, the memory of being sternly reprimanded by the old lady of the Marquis Bei’an Mansion replayed in their minds. The current Marquis Bei’an’s Lady seemed to be just as dignified and authoritative, not someone they could afford to offend.
After paying their respects to Mrs. Pei and the Governor’s Wife, Madam Sun and her daughter took their seats, occasionally chatting with acquaintances, but visibly restrained. They had originally lobbied some people to trouble Su Wenyue, but with the current situation—where not only the Marquess’s Lady but also the Governor’s Wife was quite favorable toward Su Wenyue—nobody was foolish enough to provoke someone they shouldn’t for someone else’s sake. The reason they had agreed with Mrs. Sun before was that they thought Su Wenyue was nothing more than a commander’s wife with no real footing in the prefecture, someone who could be bullied without consequence. Now, obviously, the situation was different, so no one really dared to provoke Su Wenyue on behalf of Madam Sun. Instead, many were eager to curry favor with her.
Madam Sun and her daughter were upset but also knew that this was the way of the world, so they could only seethe in silence.
Su Wenyue chatted with Mrs. Pei and others, with topics among women usually revolving around domestic matters or clothing and food. At this point, Pei Yuhan refrained from speaking with the girls to make connections and instead joined Mrs. Pei’s side, evidently not wanting Su Wenyue to gain the upper hand.
“Speaking of the Marquess’s attire, it truly shines brightly. The material and fabric of the Clothes look very rare indeed. We don’t have such fine craftsmanship in our prefecture,” the Governor’s Wife complimented.
Speaking of the Clothes, Mrs. Pei, who was also fond of them, entered the conversation, “Mrs. Wei has a good eye. Even I am quite fond of this dress, but it wasn’t ordered from a Store. It was made by Lady Yue herself as an act of filial piety. Not to mention her superb embroidery skills, it is this thoughtfulness that truly satisfies me.”
Upon hearing Mrs. Pei, the Governor’s Wife took a closer look at the Clothing worn by the An Family and Su Wenyue. Even though their styles and patterns differed, the embroidery techniques were clearly the same. In this era, what woman didn’t know some Needle and thread work? Coming from a respectable background, the Governor’s Wife had learned the essential skills for girls from a young age. Her needlework was not bad, though not yet exquisite. Still, recognizing different embroidery techniques was not a problem for her, and she could immediately tell that the Clothes of the three women were made by the same person. She hadn’t expected that someone as young as Su Wenyue possessed such remarkable embroidery skills.
“Mrs. Su has raised her Daughter well; she excels in everything, which is truly enviable. I was planning to inquire with the Marquess’s wife about where she had her Clothes made so that I might also have a set made when an opportunity arose. It seems that’s impossible now,” Mrs. Wei said, though her flattery held genuine admiration. After all, which woman doesn’t like to look beautiful?
Hearing the Governor’s Wife speak this way, Pei Yuhan added, “What’s so difficult about that? If you really wanted to go to Chang’an, that would be quite troublesome, but now that my cousin is here, Madam can just ask my cousin to make a set for her. It would be an honor for my cousin to do so. Surely, my cousin wouldn’t refuse? Otherwise, it wouldn’t be giving face to Madam, would it? Right, cousin?”