Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

"Father, I want to go with Sister Xiaxia," Shen Luo suddenly said.

Shen Jingheng looked down at his son, who was staring at him expectantly. After thinking for a moment, he felt that this arrangement was good; he didn't want his son to appear too much in front of the officials.

"Okay, then you must promise your father that you will help your mother take good care of Xiaxia, understand?"

"Dad, don't worry about it, I've got this covered!" Shen Luo patted her little chest loudly, her adorable appearance making everyone around her laugh. Madam Jiang was also laughing, but the hint of disgust that flashed in her eyes did not escape Xia Yu's notice.

The reason she noticed this wasn't because she was particularly clever. Rather, it was because she had seen that look in her parents' eyes many times in her previous life, so even though Jiang Shi hid it very well, she still caught it.

So, Shen Luo took Xia Yu's hand and followed behind Madam Jiang towards the female guests, since they had arrived early and the other female guests had not yet arrived. Madam Jiang led them to a flower hall, had the maids bring out refreshments, fruits, and tea, and carefully served them. She then excused herself, saying that she had some banquet matters to attend to, and left first.

After she left, Shen Luo, who had been reserved the whole way, relaxed a little and became much more talkative. She led Xia Yu to see the clusters of flowers in front of the flower hall.

The maidservant followed closely behind the two, whether out of fear of not serving them well enough or because she wanted to hear them talk.

Soon, other women began to arrive one after another. Xia Yu didn't know any of them, so she just smiled and nodded politely. As more and more guests arrived, the women, along with their daughters, gathered in twos and threes with acquaintances to chat.

The girls who knew each other quickly started playing together, but no one came up to talk to Xia Yu; they just quietly chatted among themselves.

At first, Xia Yu thought that all the family members who came knew each other, but she soon noticed that there were also some like her who didn't talk to anyone and just sat on the side drinking tea with their heads down.

Moreover, not all the guests were dressed in fine clothes. A few women were dressed in clothes that weren't exactly shabby, but Xia Yu's family was in the fabric business, and it was immediately obvious that the fabrics they wore weren't the most fashionable patterns in the capital at the time. Although they wore gold hairpins in their hair, the color indicated that they were somewhat old.

Upon seeing this, she finally understood that not all members of the delegation were high-ranking officials; some were of lower rank. If these officials didn't own property in the capital and had no other income, living solely on their monthly salaries would likely be very difficult, much like modern-day migrant workers in Beijing.

"Sigh, living in Kyoto is not easy!" Xia Yu muttered after realizing this.

Unbeknownst to her, while she was observing others, many were also watching her, speculating about her identity. She was dressed elegantly and was very beautiful, yet none of the social women of the capital had ever seen her before.

So the ladies who knew her were secretly inquiring about whose daughter she was and who she had come with. But after asking around, they discovered that no one knew Xia Yu's background.

The young ladies who had been watching Xia Yu for a long time slowly moved closer to her. One of the older girls looked at Xia Yu and smiled.

"I am Murong Lanzhi, the daughter of the Deputy Commander of the Cavalry. May I ask which family you belong to, sister? I've never seen you before!" A girl with a gentle appearance came over and spoke to Xia Yu.

Xia Yu noticed that she always introduced herself by stating the official titles of her elders before stating her own name, and she imitated her speaking habits.

"I came with Grand Tutor Li, he is my grandfather, and my name is Zhang Xiayu." Xiayu didn't think there was anything wrong with saying that her surname was Zhang.

However, the way she introduced herself confused the other girls. They had heard of Grand Tutor Li, so how come his granddaughter's surname was Zhang?

Then, several more girls approached and surrounded Xia Yu, wanting to talk to her.

"Hmm? You call him Grand Tutor Li, then why is your surname Zhang?" Murong Lanzhi asked, somewhat puzzled.

“Grandpa Li is my godfather,” Xia Yu explained patiently.

"Oh, what's your father's official position? Is he also an official in the capital?" another girl asked.

“My father isn’t an official,” Xia Yu replied with a smile, her voice neither humble nor arrogant, showing no shame because of her background. In her heart, she hadn’t eaten or worn anything from them, and besides, she would be leaving with the delegation in a few days. She might never have the chance to see these people again in her life, so there was no need for her to fawn over them and make herself look inferior.

"Oh, I see!" The girl who asked the last question unconsciously added a hint of contempt to her tone after hearing Xia Yu's answer.

The other young ladies who were on good terms with that girl also looked at her with disdain after hearing Xia Yu's words. They lost all interest in befriending her and all left in a flash. Except for Murong Lanzhi, who had arrived first.

Seeing that everyone had left, Murong Lanzhi smiled at Xia Yu.

"That was the granddaughter of Minister Zhou of the Court of State Ceremonial. She has a bit of a temper, but she's a good person. Please don't be angry with her," Murong Lanzhi said gently to Xia Yu.

Xia Yu just smiled at her words and didn't say anything.

She wasn't even familiar with them, so why should she get angry? She couldn't be bothered to waste any energy on people she didn't care about, and ruining her enjoyment of the banquet.

Hearing the conversation among the girls, the ladies lost interest in Xia Yu. She was just Li Taifu's goddaughter, and her father wasn't even an official; she was clearly an ordinary citizen. They weren't from their circle, so there was no need to pay her any attention.

Thus, Xia Yu was completely sidelined. Apart from Shen Luo, who was by her side, no one came up to speak to her. As for Shen Luo, no one in the women's circles of the capital knew him, and many didn't even know that Shen Jingheng had such an eldest son born out of wedlock. After hearing Xia Yu's words, they automatically assumed that he was just an ordinary person who had come in with Xia Yu, also through the influence of Grand Tutor Li.

Shen Luo saw Xia Yu being ostracized and wanted to say a few words in her defense, but Xia Yu stopped her. She was quite content with being left alone.

The maidservant who was specifically serving the two never addressed Shen Lu as "Young Master" when others were present. The hostess of the banquet, Madam Jiang, also failed to appear, leaving Xia Yu and Shen Luo to be neglected in the flower hall.