HomeEchoes of YouthChapter 107: Taking It Back

Chapter 107: Taking It Back

Qiao Zhao gazed steadily at Li Jiāo.

The young lady’s gaze was calm, clear as water, as if it could make all darkness have nowhere to hide.

Li Jiāo suddenly felt somewhat guilty, then became angry from shame. She reached back under the pillow to pull out the invitation with its plain surface decorated with ink-colored crabapple flowers, clutching it tightly in her hand as she said: “That’s right, your invitation is indeed in my hands. So what? I won’t give it to you. Can you come and snatch it from me?”

Days of setbacks had made Li Jiāo too lazy to maintain even surface courtesy. Looking at Qiao Zhao with eyes full of malicious, cold laughter: “This is the East Residence. If you have the ability, go find my grandmother, go find my mother, and complain, saying that your invitation is with me. I’ll just wait and see how you get it back!”

Li Jiāo became more and more excited as she spoke. In her indignation, there was also a hint of grievance that even she couldn’t clearly understand, making her tone increasingly harsh: “Go ahead, go ahead! Aren’t you so capable now, so talented? Today, I’ll just see how you’re going to get back an invitation that’s in my hands.”

“Second Sister—” Qiao Zhao took advantage of Li Jiāo pausing to catch her breath and said unhurriedly, “Don’t get excited.”

“I’m not excited!” Anger made Second Miss Li like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, her voice particularly shrill. “What do I have to be excited about? The invitation isn’t even mine. If you can’t receive it and can’t keep your appointment, it’s not my business that gets delayed. Hehehe—”

Li Jiāo’s subsequent words came to an abrupt halt when she saw Qiao Zhao pull an invitation from her sleeve.

The same plain surface with ink-colored crabapple flower cover, the same elegant, small, regular script.

The fingers holding the invitation were white and tender as scallions, slowly brushing over the line of small characters reading “Respectfully presented to Second Miss Li Residence.”

The young lady’s expression remained calm, with a faint smile at the corner of her mouth as she said unhurriedly: “But this invitation belongs to Second Sister.”

Li Jiāo looked at the invitation, then at Qiao Zhao, so shocked her mouth couldn’t close: “You, you, you—how do you have an invitation?”

“They were probably delivered incorrectly. Both you and I have invitations, Second Sister.” Qiao Zhao earnestly explained to the young girl.

Li Jiāo: “…” So all those threatening words she’d just said were for nothing again?

Second Miss Li clutched her invitation, feeling inexplicably wronged, forcibly holding back her tears.

Qiao Zhao smiled gently and proactively pushed her invitation forward: “Second Sister, let’s exchange them back.”

Every time she sparred with this young girl, she always felt like victory came without honor.

Li Jiāo lowered her eyelashes, staring at the invitation within arm’s reach, her expression complex.

After quite a while, she looked up and asked: “Aren’t you afraid I’ll keep both invitations and not return yours either?”

“Second Sister wouldn’t do that.” Qiao Zhao said with a beaming smile.

If she really would, wouldn’t it be fine to just snatch it directly?

Li Jiāo was stunned upon hearing these words.

She gripped the invitation in her hand tightly, her expression changing several times. Finally, she suddenly threw the invitation into Qiao Zhao’s arms and said coldly: “Hurry up and take your invitation and leave. Tianxiang Pavilion doesn’t welcome you!”

Qiao Zhao caught the invitation and smiled at Li Jiāo: “Then, younger sister takes her leave.”

“Hmph!” Li Jiāo turned her head away.

Qiao Zhao curtsied slightly, took her invitation, and walked away leisurely.

As soon as she left, Li Jiāo immediately called out loudly: “Hanzhu, Fangrui, sweep the floor for me!”

Hmph, every time Li San came over, nothing good happened. How unlucky!

However—

Second Miss Li’s gaze fell on the invitation addressed to her personally, her mood somewhat complex.

How could Li San be so certain she wouldn’t do it? She had some insight! But thinking about having to visit the Minister of Rites’ residence together with that dead girl, she still felt extremely annoyed.

Li Jiāo thought this way as she picked up the invitation. Opening it to look, her expression immediately changed.

Hanzhu was just coming in with a broom when she inadvertently glimpsed her young lady’s face, pale as a vengeful ghost. She was immediately frightened, hurriedly threw the broom on the ground, and rushed over: “Miss, what’s wrong with you?”

Li Jiāo’s body swayed, and she fell straight down.

“Miss—” The maids screamed, and the room fell into chaos.

When Nanny Dong was called over and administered medicine while pinching pressure points, Li Jiāo slowly came around.

Lady Wu sat by the bedside holding Li Jiāo’s hand, tears falling: “Jiāojiāo, you scared mother to death!”

Li Jiāo’s eyes rolled, her gaze finally focusing as she grasped Lady Wu’s hand and began crying: “Mother, I’ve been expelled from society, expelled! Wuwuwu, your daughter has no face left to live—”

She cried fiercely, her throat tickling, vomiting up all the medicine she’d just been given, splashing it onto Lady Wu’s feet.

Lady Wu didn’t mind, dismissing all the unimportant people and keeping only her trusted confidants before stroking her daughter’s hair: “Jiāojiāo, mother also saw that invitation. It’s nothing serious—”

“How can it be nothing serious?” Li Jiāo cried, interrupting Lady Wu’s words. “Mother, you know how hard your daughter worked to practice calligraphy well. Last year, the Buddhist scripture your daughter copied was approved by an eminent monk at Dafu Temple, and only then did she manage to join the society with great difficulty. We even invited sisters from both residences and several close friends to celebrate. Now your daughter has been expelled from society just like that. How can she have the face to see people?”

Lady Wu gently patted Li Jiāo’s back to comfort her: “Jiāojiāo, don’t cry. Listen to mother.”

Seeing the despair and humiliation in her daughter’s eyes, Lady Wu felt a knife-like pain and couldn’t help but hate her mother-in-law, Old Madam Jiang, even more.

If that old hypocrite hadn’t ruined Jiāojiāo’s reputation, how would Jiāojiāo have suffered such humiliation?

One day—

Lady Wu withdrew her thoughts and pulled Li Jiāo into her embrace: “Jiāojiāo, don’t take the society expulsion to heart. You were supposed to go out less these two years anyway. When the Buddha’s Birthday incident is gradually forgotten, your mother will find a way to arrange a good marriage for you. Who cares about Fushan Society or Lanshan Society—they should have been left behind originally. Speaking of which, mother didn’t think it through completely and should have reminded you to withdraw voluntarily.”

Li Jiāo’s face turned snow-white upon hearing this.

Mother’s meaning was for her to completely withdraw from the circles of the capital’s young ladies?

So the previous words about going out less weren’t just casual talk!

Li Jiāo felt a wave of panic, grasping Lady Wu’s hand: “Mother, I’m not resigned to it! Why is it that Li Jiǎo’s broken engagement was fine, Li Zhao being kidnapped was fine, but only I’m so unlucky?”

“The eldest miss—” Lady Wu pursed her lips dismissively. “Although the eldest miss had her engagement broken, the male party was truly unsuitable, and anyone with eyes could see it. Now that social customs are much more relaxed, naturally, it doesn’t affect the fundamentals. But my daughter doesn’t need to compare with her. A motherless eldest daughter—never mind being rejected in marriage, even without such matters, no matter how much she struggles, wanting a good marriage won’t be so easy.”

“What about Li San?”

“Third Miss…” Lady Wu’s eyes flickered with some confusion. “To tell the truth, even Mother can’t quite see through that Third Miss from the West Residence.”

Li Jiāo bit her lip hard and cried: “Mother, you don’t know—today my society expulsion notice was delivered to Li San’s place. She knew I was expelled from society, yet still came over calmly to exchange invitations. She was watching my joke! I just can’t accept it. Why does she get all the good fortune?”

Upon hearing that Li San had specifically come to watch the joke, Lady Wu’s eyes turned cold.

If that was the case, the Third Miss indeed needed to be taught a lesson!

“What other good fortune has she taken?”

“If the invitations hadn’t been delivered wrongly, your daughter wouldn’t have known—Su Luoyi invited her to visit this afternoon!” Li Jiāo said resentfully.

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