Chapter 228

Not long after Liu Muyue left, other maids came over and led the other guests who were strolling in the garden elsewhere.

Seeing that everyone else had left, the short woman breathed a sigh of relief and suggested going to the flower hall.

The tall woman, who had been so enthusiastic just now, now looked somewhat listless.

With everyone gone, who was she going to gossip to?

She nodded and agreed to the short woman’s suggestion.

Just as they were about to leave, Shen Cui didn’t approach them directly.

The short woman noticed someone suddenly behind her, and her eyes dodged. Her face turned red.

She quickly reached out to tug at the sleeve of the other woman, signaling her to leave quickly.

The tall woman, however, did not listen to her and did not leave directly. Instead, her eyes towards Shen Cui became heated.

As Shen Cui had suspected, she was entrusted by the current mistress of the Xu family to help ‘clarify’ things.

The more people who heard, the better!

“Did you just mention the owner of the Xu’s Pastry Shop?” Shen Cui asked with a smile.

The tall woman, seeing her inquiry, became spirited again and said, “Exactly! This lady seems unfamiliar. I guess you’re new to the capital and don’t know what’s going on here! Let me tell you…”

The woman opened up and continued with all sorts of unpleasant remarks.

Just as Shen Cui’s patience was about to run out, she caught a glimpse of a goose-yellow figure and knew that Liu Muyue had brought the ‘main character.’

Liu Muyue deliberately raised her voice a bit and was saying, “Ms. Xu, just two more steps forward, and you’ll see the view we were talking about… Huh? Why do I hear someone talking about your family’s affairs?”

Pretending to have just noticed their arrival, Shen Cui grabbed the wrist of the gossiping woman and said indignantly, “Ms. Xu, you’ve come at the right time. This lady has been fabricating stories about your family, tarnishing the reputation of the Xu family. Look…”

The tall woman, startled by Shen Cui’s sudden grip on her wrist, was a bit taken aback.

However, when she saw who had arrived, her expression relaxed.

Because she had originally spoken at the behest of Mrs. Xu the current mistress of Xu family, what could happen even if Ms. Xu heard about it?

So, she smirked, showing no signs of panic.

It was actually Mrs. Xu ( The current Mistress of Xu Family ), who had been invited over by Liu Muyue, whose face had changed dramatically.

At this moment, Shen Cui and Liu Muyue exchanged a glance, and Liu Muyue apologized to Mts. Xu first, then frowned and said, “Aunt, although you are older, as a younger generation, I can’t just sit back and listen to you fabricate stories about the Xu family. I will definitely report this to my father, mother, and grandfather!”

The tall woman listened to this, and her face showed a hint of panic, but she just said, “Muyue, don’t meddle in the affairs of adults!”

Shen Cui interjected at the right moment, “Exactly, Mu… Miss Liu, don’t rush. After all, this lady has offended the Xu family. Let’s see how Mrs. Xu reacts!”

How would Mrs. Xu react? as she was the one who wants to spread rumors.

On one side was Shen Cui, who was not familiar but could appear at this banquet and be addressed as Miss Liu, indicating that she was not a relative of the Liu or Chu family but was an officials.

On the other side was the indignant Liu Muyue, who was so determined not to see the Xu family being manipulated by others.

The two of them looked at her like that, as if they were willing to uphold justice for her at her command.

She couldn’t possibly say that they didn’t need to be so righteous, that she was the one who had bribed the person in front of her and orchestrated today’s events.

If she admitted even the slightest bit, the reputation of the Xu family and her own reputation would be implicated.

So, Mrs. Xu stiffly said, “How can you, this gossiping woman, manipulate my family affairs like this? You are a relative of the Chu family, right? On a day like today, which is a joyous occasion for the Liu family…”

Liu Muyue quickly said, “Please don’t say that. Although it’s a happy day for my family, I can’t just stand by and watch as my distant relatives throw dirt on your family. Whatever you decide is up to you!”

“Then I… Then I…” Mrs. Xu’s face stiffened, and after a long silence, she said, “Then you in your house will never need to invite my family to your banquets again.”

Shen Cui and Liu Muyue nodded, then looked at her, waiting to hear more.

Unfortunately, Mrs. Xu couldn’t think of anything else to say.

After saying that she would not attend banquets at their house in the future, she just pretended to be angry and snorted, falling silent.

Shen Cui took over and said to the tall woman, “Mrs. Xu has a broad mind. She’s so angry she can’t even speak. She just said she won’t attend banquets at your house in the future. But we can’t bully her. You should still apologize to Mrs. Xu!”

Liu Muyue said, “Yes, Aunt, you must apologize sincerely. If you don’t make amends, I will tell…”

The tall woman was at a loss.

What had started as a simple job of taking money and fabricating a few idle words had turned into this?

She wasn’t afraid of Liu Muyue’s parents, but the head of the Chu family is grandfather of Liu Muyue, with accumulated prestige.

He had been dissatisfied with their branch for a long time. If things went wrong, he might really use this incident to say that their branch had a bad family reputation and expel their family children from the family school.

Moreover, Mrs. Xu’s current attitude clearly indicated that she wouldn’t acknowledge it.

She couldn’t expose their private dealings publicly, so she had to bow deeply and apologize, saying that she would visit in person later.

Because she had lost face in public, especially in front of Liu Muyue and the younger generation, she didn’t need to be driven away.

Later, the tall woman also left the banquet early, saying she wasn’t feeling well.

Liu Muyue continued to advise Mrs. Xu not to be angry.

Mrs. Xu didn’t say she would leave.

Although she must have found today’s banquet tasteless, at least she wasn’t the one who did something wrong in public.

Avoiding the situation would only make her look suspicious, so she said it didn’t matter and that she wanted to find a place to catch her breath, telling Liu Muyue she didn’t need to accompany her anymore.

After they all left, Liu Muyue couldn’t hold back and burst into laughter.

She walked up to Shen Cui and linked her arm with hers, saying, “Your method was brilliant. You drove the person away without implicating our family. You also rebuked Aunt Xu in a way that made her feel guilty. Her reaction… I guess you anticipated it all? You’re really smart, no wonder you raised a top scholar!”

“Where am I smart?” Shen Cui said, “It’s from observing Mrs. Xu’s actions that I sensed she’s not very bright.”

How could a smart person allow their niece to be manipulated like that? Especially when everyone in the capital knew that Xu Shan’er was raised by Mr. Xu himself.

It could be said that she was unlucky, but to say she was morally corrupt was like slapping Mr. Xu’s face, saying he didn’t know how to raise his granddaughter.

“After the banquet today, when others ask why Mrs. Xu looks upset, I’ll say someone casually slandered Miss Xu and the Xu family, which touched a nerve with Mrs. Xu.”

After finishing her sentence, Shen Cui and Liu Muyue smiled at each other, knowing they didn’t need to say the rest.

Once everyone knew that Mrs. Xu couldn’t stand hearing others speak ill of her niece, she might even give herself the title of “although reluctantly driven out due to her niece’s misfortune, she still cares for her juniors.” If anyone tried to trouble Xu Shan’er again, they would have to think twice.

What Mrs. Xu actually sought was just a good reputation.

By then, she would have been pushed to that point.

If she wanted to use such despicable tactics again, she would have to think carefully.

“It’s a pity we can’t clarify the rumor about Miss Xu being unlucky.”

There is actually a way out.

Right now, Mei Ruochu and Xu Shan’er obviously have developed a liking for each other.

If things go smoothly, they might end up getting married.

As long as Mei Ruochu and her are living peacefully and harmoniously, those rumors will naturally be debunked.

But it’s too early to talk about these things now, so Shen Cui didn’t mention it for the time being.

Later that day, Headmistress Chu, also learned about this matter.

Before the banquet ended, he asked Liu Muyue to bring Shen Cui to his room to thank her personally.

“It’s a good thing you stopped Yueyue.” Chu Shan was familiar with Shen Cui.

This time, he went straight to the point, taking Shen Cui’s hand, “If you had followed what she said and reported it to me, I would have been in a difficult position.”

On the day of Liu’s family celebration, there were troublesome relatives spreading rumors for money.

It had to be dealt with, but almost every guest today was important.

She was really stretched thin, and the most focused-on people at this banquet were the hosts. If she wasn’t careful, she might be seen as neglectful.

Although Mr. Liu’s promotion was hard-earned, there were also many jealous people.

She couldn’t let those people take advantage of the situation.

Shen Cui handled this matter exactly as Headmistress Chu wanted, especially when she had thought of letting Liu Muyue evacuate the other guests in the garden beforehand, without causing any disturbance.

Shen Cui was actually a bit lazy to deal with these things.

Dealing with relatives from her natal family whom she was not familiar with usually gave her a headache.

Today, it was because they arranged for Mei Ruochu’s romantic interest, and one of them was also a relative of the Chu family.

It was like involving both future daughters-in-law, so she had to grit her teeth and go along with it.

“You’re not an outsider,” Chu Shan said, rubbing his forehead. “I’ve never been good at dealing with these family matters, so my father chose Yueyue’s father for me, not some high-ranking family. Yueyue also follows me, so her father and I also want to choose a simple but morally upright family for her.”

Regarding the previous matter between Mu Er Pang and Liu Muyue, the parents on both sides reached an unprecedented understanding and pretended not to know.

Today, Chu Shan specially brought it up because he felt it was time to settle the matter between the two children.

Shen Cui smiled with pursed lips as she listened, while Liu Muyue blushed beside her.

“Let’s do this, while it’s still not winter and the autumn weather is nice, let the children go out and relax.”

This is similar to letting the children get to know each other and interact with the tacit approval of their parents.

Chu Shan paused and then tentatively asked, “Shall we invite Miss Xu as well?”

No wonder dealing with smart people is comfortable.

Chu Shan had long sensed something from Shen Cui’s protective behavior towards Xu Shan’er.

Shen Cui nodded and smiled, “Then I’ll trouble you to invite her.”

After the banquet ended, Shen Cui privately asked Mu Er Pang again about his opinion on ‘poetic friends’.

Mu Er Pang was puzzled at first, “Didn’t you ask about this before?”

However, since his mother asked again, he said, “From the poems and writings, I could tell that ‘poetic friend’ is very talented in poetry, although not as good as Mr. Liu, but definitely better than me. Moreover, the age should be similar to mine, and the temperament should be humorous and witty. I am very willing to be friends with such a person. Later, after my mother reminded me, I realized that the other party is Miss Liu…”

Shen Cui waved her hand wearily.

It was really exhausting to talk to him about this. She directly told him about Chu Shan’s proposal.

Mu Er Pang readily agreed, “Alright, I’ll join Brother Mei, Brother Wei, Miss Liu, Miss Xu, and Miss Chu. I’ll find a way to create opportunities for Brother Mei and Miss Xu to be alone together.”

Shen Cui spent a day at the Liu family’s house and dealt with such a matter.

In fact, she was quite tired.

Upon hearing this, she wished she could just go to bed and sleep to death, so as not to waste her breath on this clueless brat Mu Erpang.

Seeing that she was indeed quite tired, Mu Er Pang asked her to rest.

When he came out of the main house, Mu Er Pang touched his slightly feverish face.

Half an hour later, after Mei Ruochu finished teaching ‘Little Cesi’ his lessons in the classroom, he returned to the house and smelled a fragrance.

He asked in surprise, “Han Shan, did you use hair oil? Why does it smell so good in the house?”

Men in this era had to tie their hair. Although men generally did not use hair oil daily like women to care for their hair, when entering officialdom, they still had to pay attention to their appearance.

So Shen Cui also prepared wooden-scented hair oil for them, which was convenient for them to tidy up their hair when tying it up.

The hair oil was bought by her from the system, much more advanced and better to use than the hair oil of this era.

Mei Ruochu and Mu Er Pang guessed that the price of that thing was not cheap, so they were willing to use some in advance when they knew they would enter the palace to serve as lecturers the next day.

Mu Er Pang mumbled from under the covers, “No, I just accidentally bumped the lid open and some smell came out.”

Mei Ruochu didn’t ask any more questions.