Being a second wife is difficult: I'm busy raising children in the Earl's mansion.

Before Madam Liu could even hand the tangerine to Madam Zhou, Jiang Wan had already smiled.

"Madam Liu, please wait."

Her voice, neither too loud nor too soft, was just enough to make everyone at the table put down their chopsticks.

Just as Madam Shen was about to speak, Jiang Wan gently pressed her hand down under the table.

"These tangerines haven't even passed through my hands yet, so how could Madam Liu have made the decision for me beforehand?"

As Jiang Wan spoke, she slowly took the tangerine from Madam Liu's hand, placed it in front of her, and looked up at her.

"Or is it that Madam Liu has never even seen me?"

Madam Liu paused for a moment, then put on a face full of apology and rubbed her palms against her knees.

"Oh dear, I was blind. I thought Madam Lu didn't care for these tangerines, so I gave them to Madam Zhou first. Madam Lu, please don't take it to heart."

Whether I care or not is my business.

Jiang Wan's voice was not loud, and her speech was not fast, but each word struck the table like a small hammer.

"If Madam Liu wants to give them to someone else, she'll have to wait until these tangerines have passed through my hands first."

"Otherwise, people who don't know better might think that you can make decisions for me at this table."

"Mrs. Lu is joking..." Madam Liu's smile froze. "I wouldn't dare to do that."

There is no best.

Jiang Wan picked up the teacup and gently stirred the foam with the lid.

"I heard that Madam Liu was 'negligent' once at the Chrysanthemum Banquet the year before last, and she was 'negligent' again today."

"I didn't want to make a fuss, but the ladies and wives sitting at this table are all prominent figures in Huzhou. If I don't say anything, others will think that the Yongchang Marquis's mansion is easy to bully."

She put down her teacup, her gaze slowly sweeping around before finally settling on Madam Liu's face.

"I'm not usually one to fight for things. But if someone puts a knife in my face twice, and I dodge it, that's not magnanimity, that's cowardice."

The last two words landed softly, like salt being sprinkled into a pan of oil. In the silence of the table, someone actually took a very light breath.

Madam Liu's smile completely vanished.

She had heard that the new Madam Lu of the Yongchang Marquis's mansion was mild-mannered and easy to manipulate.

Who would have thought that today, in front of half of the prominent families of Huzhou, this person would not give an inch and even brought up the incident where she embarrassed herself at the Chrysanthemum Banquet last year.

At that time, she attended a chrysanthemum banquet, but unexpectedly offended a lady with an imperial title. Not only was she publicly rebuked, but she also almost caused her husband to lose his official position after returning home.

She couldn't even remember how much she had to compensate to cover it up.

"Madam Lu has such a sharp tongue." Madam Liu raised her chin with difficulty, her voice already somewhat weak. "I was just careless, yet Madam Lu has made such a big deal out of it."

"Is it really so unacceptable to even crack a joke at this banquet?"

"A joke?" Jiang Wan chuckled. "To joke about the face of the Yongchang Marquis's mansion, Madam Liu, you've gone a bit too far. Since you call it a joke, then I'll tell you a joke in return."

She leaned back in her seat, looking so relaxed that she didn't seem like she was at a banquet.

"There's a story about a banquet where one person repeatedly refused to pour wine for others. When asked why, he said he didn't remember. Later, when it was his turn to offer a toast, no one at the table accepted his drink, and he accused them of being stingy. Madam Liu, do you think this person has a bad memory, or is he just mean-spirited?"

Madam Liu's face turned ashen, her lips trembled, but she couldn't find the words to reply.

Mrs. Shen covered her face with her handkerchief, almost bursting out laughing.

She used to think Jiang Wan was reliable and meticulous, but she never realized that when she spoke harshly, she could tear someone's face off without uttering a single dirty word.

Fang looked over from afar, raised her cup to Jiang Wan, and smiled clearly in her eyes.

"Alright, alright, it's a holiday, let's not bring up any stories."

Mrs. Shen spoke up at the right moment, smiling as she took the tangerine in front of Jiang Wan and peeled it herself.

"Madam Lu, I'll peel this tangerine for you. Please calm down. It's the Lantern Festival today; it's not worth ruining your mood over something like this."

Jiang Wan took a segment of mandarin orange from her hand, put it in her mouth, and chewed it slowly.

"The tangerines that the young mistress peeled were exceptionally sweet."

Madam Liu froze on the spot, unsure whether to sit or laugh.

Madam Zhou, standing nearby, had already crumpled her handkerchief into a deformed shape, regretting that she had glanced at Jiang Wan a few more times.

Just as things were getting awkward in the main hall, the door to the side hall creaked open, and a bunch of children rushed in.

Lu Hui was leading the way.

He held a golden tangerine high in his hand, as if it were a precious treasure, his bangs plastered to his forehead as he ran.

"Mother! Mother, look!"

A string of people followed behind him: the Shen brothers, Shen Cheng and Shen An, and Xu Youzi from the Xu family, who was also chasing after him with her short legs.

"You haven't even seen it clearly yet, but I already guessed it!"

Without turning his head, Lu Hui ran up to Jiang Wan, shoved the tangerine into her hand, his face flushed and his eyes shining brightly.

"Mother, I won five prizes! Five! I got first place! Ange only won two!"

"You're talking nonsense!" Shen An pushed her way in, her face flushed even redder than Lu Hui's. "I was just letting you win! My brother said you cheated on the first riddle!"

"Where did I cheat? My second brother can vouch for me!" Lu Hui immediately turned to find Lu Zhao.

Lu Zhao walked up from behind, his steps steady and dignified. He first bowed to the ladies present before looking at Shen An beside him.

"He did guess that question himself," Lu Zhao said calmly. "But before he guessed, he eavesdropped on everyone else's answers."

"Second brother!" Lu Hui jumped up. "Are you even my real second brother?!"

"Precisely because we're family, we won't protect you."

The room erupted in laughter, and even the ladies at the next few tables peeked over to look.

Shen An made a smug face at Lu Hui: "Did you hear that! Even your own second brother said you were eavesdropping!"

"That was just for reference! For reference!"

"The difference between 'reference' and 'eavesdropping' is only one word!"

Shen Cheng and Lu Wan were laughing so hard they couldn't stand up straight, and Shen An helped them up.

Lu Wan and Lu Shan then squeezed next to Jiang Wan.

Lu Wan carried a cup of tea all the way without spilling a drop.

The osmanthus cake in Lu Shan's hand had a small corner missing.

"Mother, this tea was specially prepared for you by Madam Xu, who said you caught a chill at the banquet and that drinking some hot tea would warm you up."

Lu Wan gently placed the teacup next to Jiang Wan, her voice soft and sweet.

"I tried a small bite of this cake; it wasn't very sweet, and my mother liked it."

Lu Shan also came closer, tilting her head up to wait for her praise.

Several children surrounded Jiang Wan, chattering incessantly. A string of little followers also came over, their eyes sparkling with admiration for the older brothers and sisters who had "won first place."

The ladies sat at the table, their gazes passing over their own children's heads and landing on the children in front of Jiang Wan. They then looked down at their own children and sighed softly.

There was envy,感慨, and a complex mix of emotions in that gaze—

But Jiang Wan didn't have time to analyze it carefully; she was already too busy dealing with the four mouths in front of her.

Taking the opportunity, Madam Shen clapped her hands and said, "Madam Lu really knows how to raise children. Look at these kids, making a ruckus from the side hall to the main table. All the beauties of Huzhou have gathered at your table."

"That's right," a woman surnamed Wei chimed in, her tone laced with undisguised sourness.

"My rascal can't even speak a coherent sentence when he stands in front of people. These women of Mrs. Lu's are all very eloquent and know how to serve tea and cakes to their mother."

"Lu family's eldest son, Hui, was quite the star in the side hall just now. He guessed five questions correctly by himself, outshining all the Xu family's sons."

"I think the most remarkable one is Zhao Ge'er, the second young master of the Lu family. He is so well-mannered at such a young age, and the few words he spoke just now were so eloquent and articulate."

"My two sisters are so thoughtful! They even know what flavors Mom likes to eat. They're so considerate!"

As the praise poured in, Jiang Wan listened with a smile, occasionally bending down to say a few words to the children.

The corner of Madam Liu's room became completely deserted.

No one responded to her, and no one looked at her.

The lady who was just whispering with her had already moved her chair half an inch closer to Jiang Wan.

Madam Liu was so angry that her nails almost dug into her palms.

She went to great lengths to embarrass Jiang Wan, but as soon as the children came in, all eyes were drawn away.

That's not all. All the ladies who were on good terms with her gathered around Jiang Wan, each one trying to get her to talk to her more enthusiastically than the last.

The most crucial thing is that these children are indeed promising.

She's good-looking, impeccably behaved, and even when she's being silly, she exudes a youthful vibrancy that's only possible for someone her age, making her impossible to dislike.