The banquet was held in the open garden of Ink Garden.
Since Vivian had just passed away, the banquet was grand and solemn.
Not only was the long wooden table covered with a white gauze tablecloth, but the white tables and chairs also made the whole banquet look holy and sacred.
Jenna had specially invited a western chef from a five-star hotel. The chef prepared both the specialties of A City and western cuisine, which were solemn and refined. The meal was served buffet-style and one could choose the variety of dishes as one wished. The atmosphere was casual yet romantic.
Later in the evening, the faint moonlight was shining, and the summer breeze was a little cooling, making it very pleasant.
Jenna sat beside Madam Lilian. After several times having dinner with Madam Lilian, she had already learnt some of Madam Lilian’s dining preferences. From time to time, she would pick some dishes and desserts, and put them in Madam Lilian’s bowl. No matter what she took, Madam Lilian ate them happily.
Madam Lilian was very easy-going, and the dinner was relaxing and harmonious as a whole.
Nuncio was also a guest of honor. Trevor arranged for him to sit to Madam Lilian’s right, while Trevor and Marissa sat on his left. Jenna naturally sat directly beside Madam Lilian.
Even Hansen was kept to the side standing.
“Madam, your fame has spread far and wide. It’s my honor to be able to meet you today. Allow me to propose to you a toast. May you be in good health and everything will turn out as you wish.” Nuncio saw that the time was ripe. Thus, he took a glass of red wine from the table, carefully walked to Madam Lilian, and spoke respectfully.
Madam Lilian was wiping her hands with a napkin when she saw the glass of red wine Nuncio placed in front of her. She did not immediately pick up the glass in front of her. Instead, she sat there calmly and wiped her hands in a slow manner.
Nuncio’s hand, which was holding the glass of red wine, hung in the air for a moment. He had never met Madam Lilian face to face, but he had heard from others that she was an unpredictable woman, who would neither meet any politician nor talk casually with them.
Nevertheless, it should be fine, considering it’s a family banquet that day.
When Jenna invited Madam Lilian to stay for the night, it was exactly what Nuncio wanted as he could take this opportunity to get close to Madam Lilian and examine her intentions. In this way, the task received by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs could be carried out smoothly. If he could get the help of Madam Lilian, then it would be a great contribution for him.
However, Nuncio obviously didn’t know Madam Lilian, and couldn’t even win her favor.
His hand, which was holding the glass, was ignored. Many people felt that something was wrong, including Trevor. However, just as everyone was feeling embarrassed for him, Madam Lilian raised her hand to accept it at just the right time.
“Thank you.” She picked up the glass and gave him a slight touch.
Nuncio’s stiffened facial muscles began to break into a brilliant smile when he saw Madam Lilian taking the glass.
It turned out that Madam Lilian wasn’t giving him the cold shoulder. Her actions were just slow. So, he breathed a sigh of relief.
“Madam, I’ll give you a toast first. It’s up to you to return it,” Nuncio said respectfully. He raised his head and gulped down a glass of red wine in his hand in an attempt to show his sincerity.
Madam Lilian didn’t even look at him. She just took a sip of the wine and put the glass down.
After putting down the glass, Madam Lilian said to Nuncio politely, “Mr. Moore, you don’t have to be so courteous. Just have the meal casually. Today is a family banquet. So, you don’t have to be so formal.”
She emphasised the word family banquet. Hearing this, Nuncio nodded with a smile.
He was agitated. It seemed that Madam Lilian was not easy to get close to. He wanted to show his sincerity, but right then it seemed that she didn’t appreciate it.
Since she mentioned that it was a family banquet, was it a hint that she didn’t want to talk about any official business that night?
He was a little disheartened thinking about it this way.
However, on second thought, he did not tell Madam Lilian that he had some ulterior motives. Could it be that Madam Lilian had already seen through him? Was she expressing her rejection?
He sat down anxiously. After that, no matter how hard he tried to get close to Madam Lilian during dinner, she always appeared indifferent. Since he was a distance away from her, he completely lost the chance to talk to her.
Madam Lilian just focused all of her attention on Jenna. She personally took some food for her and even laughed with her. She even observed her facial expression. As long as there was unpleasantness shown on her face, she would immediately ask Quina, who was next to her, to dispel it. After asking in a low voice, she would choose the dishes she liked to eat again and put them on her plate.
She even remembered how much food Jenna ate.
This gave Nuncio the impression that Madam Lilian at that moment, who was serving Jenna, was not the rumored powerful woman in international politics. She was just Jenna’s elder, or her nanny, who got close to her, asked about her health, and cared for her. If someone cast a puzzled look at her, it would make her unhappy.
Of course, with the exception of Jenna, Madam Lilian had been acting rather casually to everyone else, including Hansen.
This strangeness made Nuncio feel that Madam Lilian was indeed as difficult to get along with as the rumors stated. Of course, this conclusion excluded Jenna.
After dinner, Nuncio was in low spirits. Except for that toast, he didn’t have a chance to talk to Madam Lilian. It was not that he didn’t want to, but Madam Lilian didn’t want to give him a chance.
“Dad, Madam Lilian treats Jenna really well. This makes me feel very surprised and a little puzzled.” When they returned to the guest room, Jaqueline came to Nuncio’s room and asked in confusion.
Nuncio took off his glasses and rubbed his nose.
“Jenna has principles, manners, and respect. Besides, she’s the granddaughter-in-law of the Richards family. It’s not surprising that she can win Madam Lilian’s heart,” Nuncio answered with a weary look on his face.
Jaqueline nodded and shook her head at the same time.
“Dad, I don’t think so. People out there say that Madam Lilian and Jenna share some kind of kinship. They have already pledged to a foster grandmother-granddaughter relationship. I don’t think this has much to do with Richards Manor.” Jaqueline rationally analysed. She was also snubbed by Madam Lilian during the banquet. In fact, she was not impolite to Jaqueline. However, according to her way of thinking, Madam Lilian should at least show her that she favored her since she tried so hard to please Madam Lilian. Even if she didn’t really like her, she should show her respect.
However, there was no such thing.
Madam Lilian acted as cool as a cucumber with her and did not show any special concern for her. She couldn’t even be compared to Jenna.
She couldn’t understand at all.
Moreover, it was obvious that her father had not been able to rope Madam Lilian in and achieve his desired goal. He did not even have a chance to close in on her.
This was too weird!
“Then, what do you think? Why is Madam Lilian treating Jenna so well?” Hearing his daughter’s explanation, Nuncio asked thoughtfully.
Madam Lilian would leave Richards Manor the day after. Such a chance was really hard to grab.
“That’s also something I can’t figure out.” Jaqueline’s brows knitted together as she racked her brains.