We Can’t Afford to Claim Some Ties

Xu Mingzhen was just about to remind her daughter, but seeing that Wei Zhiqian didn't seem to be shocked or opposed to it, she bit her tongue.

She also didn't want to embarrass her daughter in front of others.

"Can I open it now?" Tan Mo asked while raising her head.

"Of course."

Tan Mo put the box on the coffee table and carefully untangled the bow on the box.

She opened the box and saw that there was a Q version of Aurora from "Sleeping Beauty." It was large. 

The princess's face was round and very cute.

The long hair could even be combed, tied, and styled.

"Thank you, Little Uncle!" Tan Mo was very happy. "I like it so much!"

Wei Zhiqian smiled and took out two invitations.

One was given to Li Xiangrong, and the other was given to Xu Mingzhen.

"I'm here today to invite my elder brother and sister-in-law to attend the old lady's birthday banquet." Wei Zhiqian said to Xu Mingzhen again, "Mrs. Tan can also come with Mr. Tan and bring the Tan brothers as well as Tan Mo."

He just came to send invitations today, but he didn't expect Xu Mingzhen and Tan Mo would be there.

He originally didn't plan to invite them.

However, Wei Keli made a mistake. As his uncle, he had to make up for him.

As for Yuan Keqing, she could forget about being invited.

Wei Zhiqian just named the family members invited and skipped over Yuan Keqing.

Flattered, Xu Mingzhen took the invitation from Wei Zhiqian's hand and hurriedly said, "We will definitely be there."

She didn't expect her family to receive an invitation.

That was Mrs. Wei's birthday party after all.

Among the invited, apart from the Wei family, were people at the level of the Eight Great Clans.

There might be people who had a relatively good relationship with the Wei family, but the Tan family, theoretically, wouldn't get invited.

Wei Zhiqian left after completing the task.

He seemed to be quite fond of the little girl Tan Mo. He squeezed her face and said, "I'll see you next time."

After Wei Zhiqian left, Xu Mingzhen patted her chest and whispered to Li Xiangrong, "I never thought that I would be nervous when facing a teenager."

"Me too," Li Xiangrong replied.

Her husband was Wei Zhiqian's cousin once removed.

Because of Yuan Keqing's shenanigans, Tan Mo wasn't in the mood to play with Wei Keli anymore.

She didn't expect that even at such a young age, Wei Keli was already falling for Yuan Keqing's tricks.

How would he be when they grew older?

It seemed that no matter which life it was, Wei Keli wouldn't change.

It's just that in this life, the two of them met in advance, and that also let Tan Mo know early on that Wei Keli's foolishness was beyond saving.

Xu Mingzhen left with Tan Mo and Yuan Keqing.

Only then did Li Xiangrong say to Wei Keli, "You grew up with Tan Mo. Don't you understand her personality? Yet you still doubted her. You really disappointed me."

"I'll apologize to her." Wei Keli realized that he hadn't apologized to Tan Mo yet.

"She's already gone, so how could you apologize? What did you do earlier? You still have to apologize. At the old madam's birthday party, you will apologize to Tan Mo. Understand? However, instead of apologizing afterward, you should think more about not making such mistakes in the future."

***

Xu Mingzhen took Tan Mo and Yuan Keqing home.

Tan Mo and Yuan Keqing sat behind, and Yuan Keqing was still weeping silently.

Xu Mingzhen didn't pacify her as usual.

Yuan Keqing knew that she annoyed Xu Mingzhen.

No matter how much Xu Mingzhen loved her niece, once it came to Tan Mo, Xu Mingzhen would always take Tan Mo's side and abandon her without hesitation.

With eyes full of envy and bitterness, Yuan Keqing lowered her head.

"Sister, don't cry." Tan Mo's soft voice sounded in her ear.

Shocked, Xu Mingzhen looked at Tan Mo through the rearview mirror.

It was Tan Mo who was aggrieved today, but she was trying to comfort Yuan Keqing.

No wonder her three sons were so worried about their little sister. She was so kind and simple-minded. That's why she was vulnerable to getting taken advantage of.

Upon seeing Tan Mo turning around to look at her, Yuan Keqing asked while sobbing, "Cousin, you aren't angry with me?"

"You didn't mean it, and we are a family. Why would I be angry?" Tan Mo said with a smile.

Yuan Keqing asked in surprise, "Are you still willing to play with me?"

"Of course." 

'Yeah, right!' Tan Mo thought while smiling.

"I didn't bring a handkerchief. Did you bring yours, Sister? Wipe off your tears. Stop crying." Tan Mo touched her small handbag, which contained her favorite handkerchief, but she didn't want to let Yuan Keqing wipe her tears with them.

Yuan Keqing didn't bring her handkerchief, so she wiped off her tears with the back of her hand.

Looking at the doll in Tan Mo's arms that Wei Zhiqian gave her, she asked, "Cousin, do you like this doll that much?"

"Of course." Tan Mo smiled as she looked at the doll.

Although Tan Mo was the little princess in the family in this life, she was a little snow fairy who had been rooted from the ground in her previous life.

She was a little snow fairy who had never seen the wonders of the world.

She really liked the doll, which Wei Zhiqian had given her.

Yuan Keqing lowered her head and curled her lips. In her heart, she mocked Tan Mo for acting like such a pitiful country bumpkin despite having been spoiled ever since she was born.

"Cousin, what shall we wear on Mrs. Wei's birthday?" Yuan Keqing tilted her head with an innocent expression on her face.

When Xu Mingzhen heard what Yuan Keqing said, she turned around and said, "Keqing, you can't come with us on that day."

Yuan Keqing stared at Xu Mingzhen in shock. There was anguish in her eyes. Tears welled up in her eyes. "Why? Didn't Little Uncle invite us moments before? Aunt, are you refusing to take me there just because I upset you?"

Xu Mingzhen frowned. When did her niece become like this?

She would cry easily at a moment's notice, and she was fussy all the time.

Xu Mingzhen felt that Yuan Keqing's words didn't seem wrong on the surface, but they made people uncomfortable.

"Our family originally didn't have the right to attend Mrs. Wei's birthday banquet, but Young Master Wei invited us and specifically pointed out who were invited. Since you weren't mentioned, it would be impolite of us to take you along. The host will also be unhappy," Xu Mingzhen explained. "If I could, I would definitely take you, but just not this time."

Yuan Keqing lowered her head with a look of disappointment on her face, but in her heart, she thought that it was because she felt Tan Mo was wronged that Xu Mingzhen refused to bring her along with her family. It was a kind of punishment.

Otherwise, it was just a birthday party. Would it be that big of a deal to bring one more person along?

"Also," Xu Mingzhen continued, "did I hear you call Young Master Wei 'Little Uncle' just now? Don't call him that in the future. It won't be good if other people heard it. They might say that we are being opportunistic. You can't casually call him Little Uncle. Even though I'm older than him, I still have to call him Young Master Wei. We can't afford to claim some ties." 

Yuan Keqing was very displeased, and she said aggrievedly, "But my cousin also called him that."