Chapter 664: Chapter 664: Shen Siyi x Xie Suzhi (8)

Shen Siyi glanced back at the Qi Mansion guards. They hadn’t come to protect her, but to supervise her.

’It makes no difference whether they follow me or not. In fact, it’d be easier for me to make a move without them.’

So, she didn’t object, casually giving an order, "You can wait down here, then."

As she boarded the painted boat, her view opened up. Standing on the deck and looking toward the shore, Shen Siyi noticed that besides her carriage, there were five or six others from different families.

Her maid Anxiang said with some surprise, "Oh, Miss, it looks like you’re not the only one invited today."

Shen Siyi’s eyes darted around. ’Did Marquis Tongping invite others as well?’

She followed the guard’s lead toward the cabin where the banquet was being held.

When she arrived, sure enough, there were five other young ladies seated primly behind their own small tables.

They had been chatting in low voices, but upon seeing Shen Siyi, their eyes all showed the same flash of amazement before they quickly masked it.

The guard led Shen Siyi to her designated seat.

"Miss Qi, please wait here. The Marquis will be here shortly." With that, he departed.

Inside the cabin, another maid came forward to pour tea, but Shen Siyi noticed the tea had a strange scent.

Accustomed to drinking only Spiritual Spring Water, her senses were sharp enough to detect that something was off. She lifted the cup, then immediately set it back down.

’Better not to drink it.’

She observed the other five young ladies out of the corner of her eye. Including herself, they were all seated in a circle.

Most importantly, next to each of them was a spare cushion and table.

This arrangement suggested that more people would be arriving soon, one to sit next to each of them, forming several neat pairs.

Shen Siyi furrowed her brow, suspicious.

’Marquis Tongping’s invitation didn’t mention so many people.’

Just as she was wondering what was going on, a round-faced girl next to her spoke up cautiously, "Are you the young lady from the Qi Mansion? You look a bit unfamiliar."

The dignitaries of the Capital City all moved in the same circle. When the various madams hosted banquets, the young ladies saw each other regularly and knew one another well.

The Qi Mansion wasn’t a top-tier noble family, but thanks to Mrs. Qi’s maneuvering, they had managed to squeeze into the circle of the elite.

So they had seen Qi Jingchun before and knew she wasn’t nearly this beautiful.

Shen Siyi smiled, not intending to hide the truth. "I’m the adopted daughter of the Qi family. My surname is Shen."

The young ladies had a moment of realization. "Ah, so you’re Miss Shen."

They’d heard the rumors, too—that the matriarch of the Qi family had taken in an orphan girl of breathtaking beauty. There was even talk that she was probably going to be given to some powerful, high-ranking official to be his beautiful concubine!

They hadn’t expected her to appear at an event hosted by Marquis Tongping. Being so beautiful, she was definitely a formidable rival.

Shen Siyi could feel the gazes of the other girls turn somewhat cold and unfriendly.

They clearly saw her as a competitor.

These young ladies were mostly from minor noble families of the fifth or sixth rank. Their thinking aligned with Mrs. Qi’s: marrying into a Marquis Mansion to become a Marchioness was far better than marrying into a noble family of equal standing.

Shen Siyi just hadn’t expected Marquis Tongping to be so crass as to gather all the girls together like an Emperor choosing his concubines.

Suddenly, from the deck outside the cabin, came the sounds of men talking and laughing.

The young ladies around Shen Siyi immediately sat up straight and proper, a blush of naive shyness creeping onto their youthful faces.

A moment later, Marquis Tongping appeared at the cabin entrance with a group of men.

Marquis Tongping was over forty and always had the look of a smiling tiger. The fine lines that crinkled at the corners of his eyes only deepened his cunning aura.

Shen Siyi saw that behind him followed five brightly dressed men, aged anywhere from twenty to forty. Judging by their attire and the Jade Pendants they wore, they had to be important officials of the court.

One of them looked especially familiar—it was the man in black who had trespassed in her boudoir!

’How could I run into him here too?’

The man’s indifferent gaze swept over Shen Siyi’s face, but as if he didn’t recognize her, he quickly looked away.

Seeing Marquis Tongping arrive with several court officials, the young ladies hurriedly stood up to greet them. Shen Siyi, however, remained perfectly still in her seat, watching with cold eyes.

Marquis Tongping smiled and waved his hand. "Everyone, please be seated."

His gaze, seemingly smiling, slithered over Shen Siyi’s face like a venomous snake. Deep in his eyes, a flash of amazement and an obsession with her beauty flickered for a moment before vanishing.

"So you’re the adopted daughter, Miss Shen, who came in place of Miss Qi, as mentioned in the Qi Mansion’s letter?" Marquis Tongping asked Shen Siyi, his hands clasped behind his back. "Just now, everyone rose to greet me, yet you alone remained seated. Has the Qi Mansion not taught you any manners?"

Shen Siyi raised her eyes, a trace of disdain and pride in their depths. She hadn’t deliberately dressed up today; she wore only a thin layer of rouge, and her dress was a simple, pale blue.

Her smooth, black hair was held in place by a single jade hairpin, with a few strands falling softly by her ear, adding an unconscious charm to her appearance.

Yet all of this only served to accentuate her cold, stunning beauty, making her resemble an ice flower in autumn.

Faced with Marquis Tongping’s accusation, Shen Siyi grew even calmer, her beautiful face like ice.

"When the Marquis sent the invitation, I believed I would be the only one. I never expected so many people. Had I known I would not be able to meet with the Marquis alone, I would not have come."

At these words, Marquis Tongping raised his eyebrows in surprise. The officials behind him burst into laughter, teasing him suggestively—

"Marquis, it seems Miss Shen came especially for you!"

"No wonder the young lady is upset. Seeing the Marquis invite so many others at the same time, of course she’d feel sour!"

"A beauty’s anger is just proof of her sincerity."

Amid the chorus of teasing, Marquis Tongping’s expression grew pleasant.

Shen Siyi watched with cold eyes. ’The way those men laughed and talked was absolutely repulsive.’

Only the man in black she had seen before wasn’t smiling. He was as cold and detached as an outsider.

"Miss Shen is absolutely right. It was my oversight. I invited everyone today because I believe that happiness is better shared than enjoyed alone!"

As he spoke, he strode toward Shen Siyi. "I shall sit next to Miss Shen, as my apology!"

The smiles on the faces of the young ladies present froze, and their gazes toward Shen Siyi were tinged with anger.

’With just one little trick, this Miss Shen stole all of the Marquis’s attention?’

Marquis Tongping did indeed sit down on the cushion next to Shen Siyi, while the officials he had brought with him each chose one of the other young ladies and sat down beside them.

The man in black whom Shen Siyi recognized, his face cold, sat down next to the round-faced girl beside her. The round-faced girl was overwhelmed by the attention.

Shen Siyi heard her exclaim, "Mr. Xie..."

Immediately after, as string and bamboo music began to play, maids entered in single file, carrying fine dishes and wine.

Only then did Shen Siyi realize: Marquis Tongping had gathered so many young ladies of innocent backgrounds simply to serve as drinking companions and entertain his guests!

’He’s practically treating women as objects to be exchanged for value.’

Just as Shen Siyi was feeling displeased, Marquis Tongping suddenly seized her hand where it rested on the table.

"Your surname is Shen, you say? What is your given name?" Marquis Tongping asked, rubbing her delicate skin, a look of undisguised lust on his face.

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