Chapter 105 Provocation (1/2)
Ten days ago, Wei Hongtao had paid a visit to the grand Tan family to see First Young Master Tan Zhi. He had been wondering why Shi Yu had not come over on the day of the gathering of the scions of the grand families and wanted to find out the reason why.
At first, Tan Zhi attempted to evade the question, but later, he revealed something: Shi Yu did not dare offend the youth who had been with Yang Zixi.
At that moment, he received confirmation: First Young Mistress Ren Jiapei of the Ren family had not deceived him.
Because of this, when he heard the group of scions of the grand families talking among themselves, he looked at them as though they were idiots and with a sense of intellectual superiority welling up in him.
”Yang Zixi!”
A gaudily dressed young lady stepped out of the group. It was Third Young Mistress of the Zheng family, Zheng Qiuhe. She had already scanned the surroundings, that First Young Mistress Ren Jiapei of the Ren family was not around.
With Ren Jiapei's absence, she did not have to be concerned that someone would stand up for Yang Zixi.
Although Shi Yu was present, Yang Zixi had brought a man along with her, and with Shi Yu's temper, he wouldn't be of any help to Yang Zixi.
Zhen Qiuhe looked at Yang Zixi with a mocking smile. ”How did you get in?”
”Today, the Tang family invited the grand families of the Chu royal city and above to the banquet... I'm very curious how you, as someone who was expelled from the Yang family, managed to sneak in?”
Right from the start, Zheng Qiuhe had not spared the young man with Yang Zixi a glance. In her opinion, someone surnamed Zhou in the country of Yunyang could not possibly have any background.
At most, he could only be the son of a preeminent family.
Zheng Qiuhe considered someone like that below her notice.
”Zheng Qiuhe.”
The young lady swept a glance over Zheng Qiuhe. ”I don't think that I, Yang Zixi, have ever offended you before. That day at the Wei family mansion, you behaved in such an overbearing manner, and here today at the Tang family mansion, you are still behaving in this way. Are you trying to tell me that I'm an easy target to bully?”
At this, an angry expression began to show on the young lady's beautiful features.
In the past, she had treated Zheng Qiuhe as a sister and had given much without expecting anything in return.
It would not have mattered if Zheng Qiuhe did not give anything in return. But now, seeing that she had been expelled from the Yang family and repeatedly adding insult to injury, she could no longer stand it no matter how good her temper was.
”Hehe... our Young Mistress Zixi seems to be getting angry.”
Accompanied by the sound of mocking laughter, another young lady of similar age as Zhen Qiuhe walked over slowly.
”That's not right... I almost forgot. Yang Zixi, you have already been expelled from the Yang family and are no longer fit to be called Young Mistress Zixi.”
The young lady was wearing an orange dress and could be considered elegant-looking. But now, there was a mocking smile on her face, and there was a look of delight in her eyes.
”Xie Tingting?”
Yang Zixi's already angry expression grew darker. ”As I recall, I also treated you well in the past.”
”So, what of it?”
Xie Tingting smiled coldly and took several steps forward to stand beside Yang Zixi and said in a low voice, ”If you must blame someone, it is your own fault for looking like a fox spirit!”
Xie Tingting spoke in a tone full of jealousy.
”Yang Zixi, while most of the guests have yet to be seated, I advise you to leave quickly... when the guest of honor arrives and the banquet is about to begin, you will have nowhere to hide once everyone is seated. When you are shooed away by the Tang family, it will be far more shameful for you than if you leave now,” another young lady stepped forward and said with a voice full of malicious delight.
She looked at Yang Zixi with eyes full of the same kind of jealousy.
”He Lin.”
Seeing this young lady, Yang Zixi's expression grew even darker.
Zheng Qiuhe and Xie Tingting were a small matter. Although she had helped them out before, those were just small favors... but He Lin, she had done her a big favor.
And now, He Lin was also stepping forward to add insult to injury?
On the previous occasion at the Wei family mansion, Xie Tingting and He Lin had ignored her, and she had thought nothing of it. She really did not care if they did not reciprocate even though she had treated them so well.
But she could not tolerate the way they added insult to injury even though she had treated them so well.
”Zixi, they're just three little clowns... why take them so seriously?”
Zhou Donghuang, who had been standing silently beside the young lady all along, spoke up quietly as he detected the young lady's anger.
He could feel the jealousy the three young ladies felt towards Yang Zixi as they were clearly trying to provoke her.
With this statement, Zhou Donghuang kicked the hornet's nest. With a sudden change of expression, the three young ladies stared furiously at Zhou Donghuang in unison with chilly gazes.
”Zhou, do you really think that since you have some martial talent, you can compete with the grand families?” Xie Tingting asked coldly.
”Zhou, the Tang family only invited the grand families and above of the Chu royal city to the banquet... from what I know, there is no grand family and above with the surname Zhou. It seems that you sneaked in, just like Yang Zixi.”
Zheng Qiuhe put on a mocking expression. ”You've got some guts!”
He Lin swept a cold glance over Zhou Donghuang, then turned and walked hurriedly towards the two people engaged in conversation nearby.
”Patriarch He is chatting with the tenth elder of the Tang family... He Lin is surely going over to inform the tenth elder of the Tang family that someone has sneaked into the Tang family,” one of the scions of the grand families guessed.
”I never expected that even before the banquet begins that there would be a show to enjoy.”