At this moment, the young ladies of the Bai family also understood the reason behind Wang Qinglin's awkward and displeased tone when mentioning Wang Qingyao.
A proper ex-partner should be as good as dead, so why were they still entangled and out together? It was obvious that Wang Qingyao was the one clinging to the outing.
The young ladies of the Bai family were not familiar with Wang Qingyao. Their understanding of her, like Tian Yu's, was primarily based on Wang Qinglin's descriptions. Therefore, they naturally believed Wang Qinglin's fabrication.
Bai Junchun stealthily glanced at Tian Yu. Seeing him sitting alone and dejected, his gaze fixed on Wang Qingyao not far away, she felt a pang of sympathy.
She sidled up to Wang Qinglin, her eyes darting around. She whispered, "Wang Qingyao is too much. We must find a way to make her look foolish."
Wang Qinglin playfully chided her, "What mischievous idea do you have now?"
Bai Junchun mysteriously pulled out an object from her embrace, cupping it in her palm without opening it. She whispered, "A word of caution, this is fake. Don't be startled and give the game away."
The others looked curiously at her hand. She slowly opened it, revealing a black spider the size of an egg!
"Ah!" The young ladies turned pale.
Fortunately, Bai Junchun had given them a heads-up. Apart from gasping and leaning back slightly, they did not lose their composure excessively.
Wang Qingzhen wanted to touch it but dared not. "This is fake?"
The spider, made of what material, was lifelike. Even the fine hairs on its eight legs were clearly visible. On its back, near the rear, a hint of red glow emanated from the blackness.
Bai Junchun said proudly, "This is carved from black gemstones, with inlaid rubies. It's very expensive; the labor alone cost several hundred taels." As she spoke, she observed the reactions of the other Bai family ladies.
Bai San and Bai Si, who were twins, asked in unison with confusion, "How do you have such a valuable item?"
Bai Er also frowned slightly. Bai Wu, the youngest, was playful and eager to take the spider to play with.
Bai Junchun's vanity was greatly satisfied.
Indeed, she had come to show off.
"Oh, it's a gift from Mother to my elder brother. It's been blessed, said to ward off evil and bring good fortune, and ensure my brother passes his imperial examinations. My brother saw that I liked it and lent it to me for a couple of days," Bai Junchun said, trying to sound as casual as possible.
Although she was the legitimate eldest daughter of the main branch, she was born to the first wife. She did not share the same mother as Bai San and Bai Si. Her stepmother, Madam Luo, only had these two daughters. While she wasn't cruel to her stepson, she treated Bai Junchun with cold indifference, not paying much attention to her.
Conversely, Bai Junya, the legitimate eldest daughter of the second branch, like Bai Junchun, was also born to the first wife and did not share the same mother as Bai Wu. However, her stepmother, Madam Zhong, treated her like her own daughter.
Both Madam Luo and Madam Zhong's families were in business and were wealthy. Madam Luo only gave good things to her own daughters and stepson. Madam Zhong, however, included Bai Junya, and because Bai Junya was the eldest sister, her share was always the largest and best.
Both were motherless, so why should Bai Junya have a more comfortable life than her?
She didn't even have anyone to complain to or empathize with...
A few days ago, Madam Zhong had made another floral crown for Bai Junya, inlaid with red rubies on pure gold. It was heavy in her hand, making Bai Junchun's eyes turn red with envy. Later, she happened to see this jade spider on her elder brother's desk. Hearing how expensive it was, she begged to borrow it for a few days. Her elder brother initially refused, but after days of persistent pleading, he finally agreed to lend it to her.
Therefore, even without Wang Qingyao's presence today, she would have brought out this jade spider to show off.
Bai Junya's face showed concern. "This spider is too lifelike. I'm afraid it will frighten our second cousin."
Bai Junchun dismissed it, "It's better if it frightens her!"
Wang Qinglin chuckled, "Is our second sister that timid? You don't know, she even keeps rats as pets!"
"Ah, keeps rats as pets? That's too disgusting," Bai Si said with a look of disgust.
Wang Qinglin sighed, "It can't be helped. Second sister has always been unconventional since she was young." She added, "I won't go over. It's best to avoid her suspecting anything if she sees me."
Bai Junchun then led the Bai family ladies and Wang Qingzhen and Wang Qingzhu towards Wang Qingyao.
Over there, Wang Qingyao was chasing Xiao Yun with a bouquet of flowers. Under the sunlight, her steps were light, and her smile was radiant, like a true young girl.
But she wasn't a real girl after all. In the game of chase between young lovers, as she ran, goosebumps appeared all over her body, and she felt incredibly artificial.
Xiao Yun, having trained for a long time, had physical fitness that Wang Qingyao couldn't match.
Moreover, he was deliberately teasing Wang Qingyao. Every time Wang Qingyao was about to catch up, he would deliberately speed up.
After a few rounds, Wang Qingyao was panting, her face turning green.
"I'm not playing anymore," she said, sitting down on the grass and pouting, "You don't know how to go easy on a girl!"
Xiao Yun laughed heartily, ran in front of her, and extended his hand from above, coaxing, "Alright, alright, I'll go easy on you. You catch me."
Wang Qingyao almost rolled her eyes. Was he treating her like a child?
She gathered her spirits, grabbed Xiao Yun's hand, and stood up, smiling coquettishly in response, "Caught you!"
Xiao Yun laughed again.
The two of them sat back on the mat and had a few sips of wine. Fang Yuan ran over and pulled Wang Qingyao to fly a kite. Wang Qingyao took the opportunity to ask about her and Huang Xuanming.
Two rosy clouds drifted onto Fang Yuan's round face. She said shyly and joyfully, "He's a nephew of my mother's family. I met him when he came to visit Mother at the manor... He's a very gentle person, even gentle towards beggars, without any hint of disdain... I've never met anyone as gentle as him..."
When the young girl spoke of her beloved, her eyes lit up. Such overwhelming joy made it impossible to bear to disrupt it.
Wang Qingyao was silent for a moment and asked, "If, I mean, if he... cannot, cannot, cannot..."
Alas, she couldn't bring herself to say it.
Fang Yuan looked at Wang Qingyao with her round, confused eyes. "Cannot what?"
"Cannot... cannot have children..."
Fang Yuan was stunned for a moment, her face flushing. "Oh, Sister Yao Yao, why are you saying this? We are both unmarried girls. It would be troublesome if someone overheard."
Wang Qingyao's inner monologue: It's fine, I've discussed this with your cousin several times.
As she was about to say more, someone approached. Fang Yuan coughed heavily and gave her a meaningful look.
Six or seven young ladies arrived. Wang Qingyao only recognized two from her own family; she didn't recognize the others. Despite not knowing them, they were all beautiful.
Wang Qingyao had always been appreciative of beauty.
She stopped and used her clairvoyance to scan these youthful girls.
Oh, darn it, she was getting a nosebleed again.