With a "pa" sound, Ling Qingwan slapped Wei Xun in the face.
It took her a long while to realize that she was kissed forcibly. Wei Xun was not annoyed at all after being beaten, but just looked at Ling Qingwan with a smile.
"What are you doing!" Ling Qingwan turned her hands away and wiped her lips hard.
She had lived two lives, but this was the first time she was forcefully kissed by a man. The more Ling Qingwan thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt, and tears welled up in her eyes.
Wei Xun panicked when he saw Ling Qingwan was about to cry. He stood there, wanting to comfort Ling Qingwan, but he didn't know how to start. He raised his hand and then lowered it again.
"I'm sorry." Wei Xun squeezed out three words.
If Ling Qingwan remembered correctly, this was also the first time Wei Xun bowed his head to apologize to her.
"It's okay." Ling Qingwan felt ashamed that she had cried out of grievance, and quickly wiped the tears from her cheeks. After she finished speaking, she sniffed.
Wei Xun couldn't help but smile, but he tried hard not to laugh out loud.
He really thought Ling Qingwan looked adorable.
"Then I'll go first." Wei Xun said goodbye to Ling Qingwan.
Ling Qingwan was too lazy to say more to Wei Xun. She turned her back and told Wei Xun with her actions that she was still angry.
When the door closed and Ling Qingwan could no longer hear any noise from Wei Xun, she turned around. There was a tumbler on the table, still in the shape of a rabbit, but with Ling Qingwan's name engraved on it.
Ling Qingwan had mixed feelings, a little happy, but also a little sad.
Anyway, she was the one who felt uncomfortable because she thought too much about these things. Ling Qingwan pretended that Wei Xun's forced kiss on her had never happened. The old lady was vindictive, and after the quarrel in Jing'an Temple, she disliked Ling Qingwan even more. She didn't say much on the surface, but everyone knew it inside. The more she disliked Ling Qingwan, the closer she got to Ling Chuchu. Gradually, everyone in the mansion could see that Ling Chuchu had become a favorite of the old man.
With the protection of Old Madam Ling, Ling Chuchu was much more confident. When Ling Qingwan visited Ling Shenshi, she learned that Ling Chuchu had not come to visit Ling Shenshi for nearly half a month.
The younger generation has to review their daily life in the morning. This is the rule of the Marquis's Mansion, and no one in the mansion fails to abide by it. Ling Chuchu is like this, and anyone with a discerning eye can see what she is thinking.
"Ling Chuchu is also ignorant. She thinks that she has status in the mansion just because she hooked up with the old lady. She is now the eldest daughter of the Marquisate, not all thanks to mother." Ling Qingwan saw that Ling Shen was disappointed with Ling Chuchu, so she said a few more words to vent Ling Shen's anger. "Mother, don't think too much."
"I don't care about those rules. It's just that I have brought her by my side since she was a child, and it would be difficult for me to say that I have no feelings for her. Now that we have lost the mother-daughter relationship, I feel a little sad." Ling Shen sighed helplessly.
Of course, her feelings for Ling Chuchu were not as deep as her feelings for Ling Qingwan, but when Ling Chuchu's mother died, if it weren't for Ling Shen's protection over the years, Ling Chuchu wouldn't be alive today. Now that she has cut ties with Ling Shen, it's not an exaggeration to say that she is heartless and ungrateful.
Ling Qingwan sneered. This is something Ling Chuchu would do.
"Mom, you are worthy of her deceased mother, and even more worthy of her. You have done nothing wrong." Ling Qingwan said softly.
She understood Ling Shen's personality. If she didn't enlighten her in time and let her think about it more, Ling Shen would start to doubt whether she had done something wrong.
"I understand." Ling Shen patted Ling Qingwan's hand gently. "I didn't expect that after living for so many years, I still need a little girl like you to persuade me."
"That's nothing. Mom had a brother before, and now I have me. I will be there for you no matter what you do." Ling Qingwan spoke softly. She was willing to act like a spoiled child in front of Ling Shenshi and Ling Xiao. However, due to the difference between men and women, Ling Qingwan was more casual with Ling Shenshi.
The fireplace was burning in the house and heavy snow was falling outside.
As the year draws to a close, the exchanges between the nobles and ladies of Dongjing City increase. Ling Qingwan is not good at socializing, so she is glad that she can have some quiet time. But she can't escape the fate of the first day. The Queen sent a letter to the Marquis' Mansion, which specifically mentioned Ling Qingwan's name and asked her to attend the palace banquet the day after tomorrow.
The strange thing is that this letter was sent to Ling Xiao, and only Ling Qingwan's name was included in the letter.
She and Ling Chuchu were both daughters of the Marquis's main house. Even Ling Chuchu had a separate invitation letter, but Ling Qingwan did not. The Queen could not fail to understand the rules and etiquette, nor could she neglect them. Now, Ling Qingwan could only pretend that the Queen did not want to acknowledge her identity as a daughter of the Marquis's house.
No one was planning to invite her seriously, so why should she go there with such a flattering face? Ling Qingwan shook her head and told Ling Xiao that she refused to attend the banquet.
"What does the Queen mean?" Ling Xiao was also angry, perhaps even angrier than Ling Qingwan. He slammed the table, and the letter fell to the ground.
Ling Qingwan chuckled, bent down to pick it up, folded it and put it back in Ling Xiao's hand.
"It would be impolite for my brother not to go if the Queen invites you. Don't act impulsively for my sake and offend the Queen."
"But the Queen clearly..." Seeing Ling Qingwan being so sensible, Ling Xiao became even more furious. "Wanwan, tell your brother, are you sad?"
"Why should I be sad? Sad that the Queen doesn't take me seriously? Doesn't recognize my identity?" Ling Qingwan smiled. "She is the Queen, the most noble woman in the Great Yue Kingdom. There are so many people that she doesn't like. What am I among them?"
"Besides, even if she refuses to acknowledge me, I am still my mother's daughter and my brother's good sister!" Ling Qingwan raised the corners of her mouth slightly and showed a bright smile to Ling Xiao.
Ling Xiao felt indescribably distressed and reached out to rub Ling Qingwan's head.
Ling Qingwan really didn't think there was anything wrong with it. Instead, she was secretly happy because she now had an excuse not to go.
But their happiness didn't last long, as someone came to the palace the next day.
Nanny Li was the Queen's personal maid, and she even took care of Song Zhiqing when he was a child. It was not an exaggeration to say that meeting her was like meeting the Queen. When Ling Qingwan learned that Nanny Li wanted to see her, only one thought flashed through her mind.
Well, she had to go to the palace banquet this time.
"Second Miss, the Queen sincerely invites you to enter the palace tomorrow. Please get ready early and don't be late." Nanny Li straightened up and looked at Ling Qingwan with squinted eyes.
Even Ling Qingwan had to bow slightly when seeing her.
"Qingwan understands." Ling Qingwan agreed obediently.
Nanny Li left, and as soon as she turned her back, Ling Qingwan's smile suddenly stopped.
The Queen first sent invitations to all the young masters and noble ladies in the capital, including Ling Xiao and Ling Qingwan, but left out Ling Qingwan. She then sent Nanny Li to give her a verbal invitation, simply to put on airs and establish her majesty in front of Ling Qingwan.
As she wished, now the upper-class families in the city are saying that Ling Qingwan did not receive the invitation from the Queen. Ling Qingwan can guess with her toes how those people laughed at her.
Of course, the happiest person is Ling Chuchu.
Ling Chuchu originally felt that Ling Qingwan had stolen her limelight, and since the Queen only recognized her identity, Ling Chuchu felt even more confident.