Lin Yan paid no mind to what Madam Hou might be thinking. As a daughter of the Lin family, she would naturally follow the Lin family's customs.
She had no intention of joining them, nor did she think Madam Hou would welcome her.
However, Feng Yue, on the other side, looked displeased upon seeing Lin Yan.
Feng Yue was quite popular among the young ladies of the noble circles, after all, she was Feng Feiyu's sister.
As Feng Yue was being flattered by the crowd, she cast a provocative glance at Lin Yan. But Lin Yan wasn't looking her way, rendering her glance in vain.
This only fueled her anger at Lin Yan's lack of awareness.
Lin Yan maintained a low profile at the plum blossom viewing event, but some people wouldn't allow her to remain so.
"Isn't this the young lady from the Marquis of Huaiyin's household? Do you have anything you wish to present?"
This was a young lady Lin Yan didn't recognize. Lin Yan knew almost no one at the entire banquet.
She only knew the Marquis of Huaiyin's family and the female lead and her companions. She had just met Xu Ling and others.
"May I ask who you are?" Lin Yan inquired politely.
"This is the young lady from the Marquis of Suyang's household." Seeing this person approach Lin Yan, Xu Ling quickly scurried over, placing herself in front of Lin Yan, and whispered the lady's identity to her.
"Miss Yang, you and Miss Lin are unacquainted, so why would you so rashly ask what Miss Lin is preparing to present? Are you afraid Miss Lin will compete with you in talent?
But you needn't worry; your talent is something most people truly cannot perform!"
"You!" The young lady from the Marquis of Suyang's household was furious. However, standing before her was the granddaughter of Grand Secretary Xu, whom she dared not offend.
"Miss Lin, let's go over there. Sister Ying has already found a desk for us," Xu Ling pointed.
"Then Miss Yang, we'll be going ahead," Lin Yan said and left.
"Why would Miss Yang from the Marquis of Suyang's household suddenly come to find you?" Xu Ling asked Lin Yan in a low voice. "She's a brainless girl, used as a pawn by others all day. I wonder who you've offended."
"As I said, my cousin is too charming. That's why people always take a disliking to me," Lin Yan chuckled.
"You're truly so open-minded. But these people are truly shameless, coveting another's fiancé and daring to come before the person herself. Haven't they even learned 'The Book of Rites'?"
"Perhaps I seem easy to bully." Lin Yan paid no mind to these people. Whether the lady had come to find her on her own or was instigated, Lin Yan didn't care much.
She would be breaking off this engagement soon. Then, they could see if these people had the nerve to act so presumptuously before her cousin's new fiancée.
"But thank you, Miss Xu, for your timely intervention!"
"Oh, let's not keep calling each other 'Miss.' Just call me A'Ling. Sister Ying and the others all call me that. What year were you born?"
After Lin Yan told her, she found out they were born in the same year. So Lin Yan said, "Then you can call me Yan Yan."
"Okay, I'll call you Yan Yan," Xu Ling said happily.
"You mentioned Miss Yang's talent earlier, was it something amusing?" Lin Yan asked curiously.
"It wasn't much. Miss Yang had a novel idea and mixed honey into her ink, adding quite a lot. She intended to attract butterflies to showcase her painting skills. Unexpectedly, what she attracted was a bee.
It wouldn't have been a problem if it was just a bee, but then her sleeve also got sticky with honey, causing several bees to follow her and chase her all over the garden."
Xu Ling laughed as she spoke. It was evident that the scene was indeed hilarious, still making her so happy now.
Because Xu Ling had been shielding Lin Yan, those who wanted to approach Lin Yan could only glare fiercely in their direction.
Lin Yan did not participate in this grand event, not because she couldn't write poetry. She possessed the original host's memories, and in the past two years, she had re-learned everything the original host had learned.
It was just that she didn't want to steal the spotlight. Moreover, this grand event was the main stage for the female lead and the supporting female characters, and she had no desire to be involved. In truth, she wasn't the only one who didn't want to be in the spotlight.
Xu Ling and Cao Ying were no different. They both didn't wish to showcase any literary fame.
Tang Xinyi was witnessing this kind of talent display among noble ladies for the first time. Compared to them, she, a modern person, was utterly useless.
However, she had her own methods. It was just writing poems about plum blossoms, wasn't it? China had five thousand years of history; how many poems about plum blossoms were there? She could easily present one that would astound this group.
She had already looked into it during this time. This was a fictional world with no poets or poems from her time, so she could use them freely.
With this thought, she picked up her brush and began to write. Speaking of calligraphy, she truly had to thank her mother. When she was young, she wanted to learn calligraphy, thinking wielding ink and brush was very impressive.
But after only a short period, she wanted to give up. It was her mother who made her persist.
Now, her calligraphy was quite good. Otherwise, she wouldn't have the confidence to participate in this exhibition.
Tang Leyi watched Tang Xinyi pick up her brush to write, a hint of a sneer appearing in her heart. Write, write. The happier you are now, the more embarrassed you will be later.
Lin Yan paid a little attention to that side and saw the wrong expression on Tang Leyi's face. It seemed the poems were indeed spread by her.
Just then, a maid brought over the poems written by the male guests outside. As expected, there was another poem by Feng Feiyu.
Although Feng Feiyu hailed from a marquis's household, he was indeed very talented in literature.
His poems were very well-written. As soon as they were read aloud, many young ladies who secretly admired him were filled with infatuation.
However, another name, very unfamiliar to everyone, appeared in the collection of poems – Lin Yi.
"Lin Yi's poems are written very well. I feel they are even better than those of Young Master Feng," Xu Ling commented.
However, she dared not say it too loudly, as Feng Feiyu had many supporters.
"I also feel that this scholar Lin's poems are more spirited. Young Master Feng's poems are good on their own, but compared to Scholar Lin's, they seem to lack freshness," Cao Ying also commented.
Lin Yan did not speak, but Xu Ling noticed a hint of pride in her expression.
"This scholar Lin and you, Yan Yan, both have the surname Lin. Are you related?" Xu Ling asked directly.
Cao Ying also looked at Lin Yan. She had also noticed that when Feng Feiyu was mentioned, Lin Yan showed no reaction, as if the person they were talking about had nothing to do with her.
But when this scholar named Lin Yi was mentioned, Lin Yan's face was filled with pride, as if they were praising Lin Yan herself.
"Yes, he is the son of my cousin's family. According to seniority, he should call my paternal grandmother his aunt," Lin Yan said, as if casually.
Upon hearing Lin Yan's words, Xu Ling froze, "Aunt... aunt's grandmother?"