Quick Wear: Cousin, Come to the Bowl Quickly

Upon hearing this, all the noble ladies accompanied the female official out of the garden. Lin Xi looked around but did not see Lan Zhi and Lan Xue. Thinking that they must have already left the garden, she did not look for them anymore and followed Wei Guannan out.

"Sister Lin, why did you hold me just now?" The two walked in silence for a while, and Wei Guannan couldn't help but ask.

Lin Xi knew that she would definitely ask this question, so she pulled her to slow down her pace and walked to the back of the team. Seeing that there was no one around, she asked her in a low voice, "What do you think of the scene just now?"

Wei Guannan said without hesitation: "Of course it was that Cen Yan who was aggressive and bullied his concubine sister, and the second Miss Cen was weak and pitiful, so I just wanted to speak up to protect her."

Lin Xi thought to herself that this was indeed the case. Although this girl from the Wei family was born into a prominent family, her family tradition had always been upright. Few men in the Wei family took concubines, and Wei Guannan's father was a well-known romantic man. Apart from Wei's mother, perhaps even the mice in the house were male.

Wei Guannan rarely saw the dirty things in the inner house since he was young, so he developed a simple character who only knew how to read and write, and didn't understand the world. However, Lin Xi also liked to be friends with such simple-minded people, so she patiently explained to her: "You have a simple character, which is a good thing, but when you get along with people, you can't just judge people by their appearance."

"People naturally have sympathy for the weak, so when you see Cen Yan being so aggressive, you will naturally feel that Cen Mei is very pitiful, and with your heart filled with warmth, you will definitely stand up for her. But in my opinion, although Cen Yan's arrogance is hateful, Cen Mei is not innocent either."

"Huh?" Wei Guannan was still confused.

"On the surface, today's incident seemed to be Cen Yan's unreasonable behavior, trying to steal something from his concubine sister. But if you look deeper, just like what Cen Mei said, she has become accustomed to Cen Yan's behavior. If she was really such a weak person, she would certainly hold back because she was afraid of being troubled by her legitimate sister."

"But such a weak person not only screamed loudly and attracted everyone in the princess's mansion where many noble ladies gathered, but also won their sympathy with just a few words. Some people with simple minds like Chu Yue directly stood up for her and became her shield. She only needed to hide behind this shield and cry, and then pretend to be wronged, and there would be people who would charge forward for her."

"So when you wanted to help, I held you back. Cen Yan was domineering, so it's understandable that Cen Mei used some tricks to protect herself. I even admire such people, but her self-protection should not be based on sacrificing the interests of others. At any time, a person's kindness should not be used as a tool by others."

Wei Guannan felt as if her soul trembled. Although she did not quite understand some of the words that Lin Xi said, she completely comprehended the experience that Lin Xi wanted to teach her. In the past, she read Confucius and Mencius, classics and history, and those books taught her to distinguish between right and wrong, black and white. However, Lin Xi told her that right and wrong, black and white are not so absolute.

Cen Yan's domineering behavior was wrong in itself, but it was the result of Cen Mei's instigation. Cen Mei was weak, which was pitiful in itself, but she should not treat simple-minded people like Chu Yue and Wei Guannan as her pawns.

Both of them are wrong, but each has their own difficulties. Outsiders only see the superficial dispute between the two and think that they are just spectators and are on the right side. Little do they know that they may become pawns in the hands of others without knowing it, and have entered the game without even realizing it.

"But scenes like today will happen countless times in the future. How can I tell the difference?" Wei Guannan raised his head, his big eyes full of confusion. It can be seen that Lin Xi's words did have a significant impact on her.

“Reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. Everyone thinks that the words of the sages make sense, but they ignore that the reason why the words of the sages are convincing is that they are all based on experience.”

"It's just like when you learn the poem 'Picking lotus in the South Pond in autumn, the lotus flowers are taller than people', although you also love the pink lotus flowers and the green lotus leaves, but one day you are in a bad mood and really row a boat into the lotus pond shaded by layers of lotus leaves, smell the refreshing lotus fragrance, and listen to the beautiful fishing songs of the Yue women, only then can you truly experience the throbbing of 'bending down to play with lotus seeds, the lotus seeds are as clear as water'."

"What do you mean, sister?" Wei Guannan's cherry lips moved slightly, and his eyes met Lin Xi's.

"Look more, listen more, and pay more attention. The more you see, the more you will be able to distinguish." Lin Xi smiled, with a smile in her eyes. After she finished speaking, she no longer looked at Wei Guannan and walked forward.

"I understand, Sister Lin, wait for me." Wei Guannan also smiled brightly and trotted after her.

The banquet was held in Changchun Pavilion, not far from the Begonia Garden. Changchun Pavilion was built in the center of the lake, surrounded by water on three sides, with willow trees planted all around, and only a covered bridge connecting it to the shore.

Lin Xi and Wei Guannan walked up to the covered bridge. They saw that it was very wide, with plain curtains hanging on both sides embroidered with colorful flower and plant patterns, and next to each flower and plant there was a corresponding poem. For example, the peach blossoms read "The scenery is gentle and the garden is bright", the orchids read "The flowers bloom without competing with each other, and their beauty is covered with a slight frost", and the osmanthus read "The osmanthus flowers never fall, and for whom will the round fan be decorated?" At a glance, under the warm spring light, the bridge looked particularly elegant, attracting many ladies to stop and admire it.

The two of them walked and looked, and after a while they finally arrived at the banquet place. Lin Xi saw Lan Zhi and Lan Xue waving at her not far from the door, so she pulled Wei Guannan and walked forward.

"Cousin, you're finally here. Just now, Sister Sun accidentally stained her skirt, so we accompanied her to change. We didn't see you when we returned to the Begonia Garden, and thought you had come earlier. But when we got here, we didn't see you. Mother and aunt had already gone in. We were afraid that you couldn't find anyone, so we stayed outside to greet you." Lan Zhi explained, afraid that Lin Xi would think that they would not wait for her.

"There was a dispute in the yard just now, and everyone dispersed afterwards. I was walking at the back. By the way, this is the young lady of the Wei family, her name is Guannan." Lin Xi waved her hand nonchalantly and introduced Wei Guannan to the two of them.

"Hello, Sister Wei. I've heard for a long time that the Wei family has a talented man who is well-versed in academics and has an excellent hand in calligraphy. Many men can't compare to him. Today we finally get to meet him." The two men hurriedly greeted her.

"My sister, you are too kind." Wei Guannan was not good at socializing, so he just said modestly and stopped talking. Fortunately, Lan Zhi and Lan Xue were not stingy people, and they knew that this girl from the Wei family was always a bit nerdy. They didn't care about her attitude and smiled and said, "The banquet is about to start, let's go in."

Lin Xi turned around and said to Wei Guannan, "Let's go in together. If your parents haven't arrived yet, you can sit with us first."

After entering the pavilion, Wei Guannan saw his mother and said goodbye to the three of them. Lin Xi and the other two also found Xie and Yu, who were sitting on the left side of the long table closest to the main seat. They were talking to an old lady with gray hair and dressed very elegantly. They thought that she was the host of today's Spring Banquet, Princess Hexin.