"Miss Yao is really too polite. Aren't we all good friends? Why bother with such formalities? Please, get up!" Lin Yuan said with a happy smile, casually asking her to stand.
Looking at her charming and joyful expression, Yao Hanai felt stifled inside, but her face remained flawlessly impassive.
"As a County Master, Miss Lin commands respect, and naturally, I must observe proper etiquette. Moreover, we are in the palace; if others saw, wouldn't they gossip about me being ignorant of the rules?"
Lin Yuan laughed lightly, looking at Yao Zhilan's face, which was almost bursting with indignation. She felt amused and gestured, saying, "Miss Yao, please come over and have a seat. We're enjoying some pastries and admiring the flowers. It's very hot outside; don't get burnt by the sun."
The palace garden had many pavilions for resting, some furnished with a stone table and four stone stools, others with five stools arranged in a plum blossom pattern.
