These carriages might not appear as luxurious as those usually driven by wealthy merchants or landlords, but almost every carriage bears a family crest with an unimaginable heritage. Even if those merchants or landlords were to spend all their life’s accumulated wealth and go bankrupt, they would never gain the right to have these crests embroidered on their own clothing!

At this moment, at the entrance of this courtyard, the maid Lily Foster was carefully helping her young lady Ivy Foster down from the carriage. Beside them, her husband Ethan Brooks stood calmly, casually glancing around, showing no intention of stepping forward to escort his beautiful wife into the courtyard with him, even though her looks and temperament were so perfect that countless young talents in the capital would go madly after her.

When the two entered the courtyard, quite a few young men and women had already arrived, but there was still some time before the banquet officially began.

Although the Marquis Wu Wei’s residence held some influence in the capital, there were still plenty of families in the city with even more power. If they arrived too late and left an impression of arrogance or rudeness, it would not be beneficial for the family’s future development.

These young talents from the capital, and even from beyond, were now gathering in small groups. The men chatted about topics like fame, secret manuals, and legendary weapons, while the ladies who had come with them or with their elders formed their own circles, discussing things of interest to them. Although the banquet had not officially started, the atmosphere inside the courtyard was already becoming lively.

With the arrival of Ivy Foster, a woman of great renown in the capital, the atmosphere of the entire banquet was further enlivened. Many young talents who considered themselves of good family background nodded to her or raised their glasses in greeting, but not a single one dared to approach her casually. It was as if some intimidating force was suppressing their desire to get close to her.

Ivy Foster was clearly very familiar with such banquets. Wearing a dignified and elegant smile, she greeted many young talents and noble ladies she knew. However, among the guests who had arrived so far, there were very few who truly carried weight, and almost none who could make her stop and engage in conversation.

After mingling and greeting many outstanding people from various circles, Ivy Foster suddenly stopped, glancing at Ethan Brooks, who followed behind her like a silent bodyguard, and said, “If I were you, I’d take this opportunity to get to know some people who could be helpful to you. If anything comes up in the future, they might be able to lend a hand!”

“That’s right, Seventh Young Master. Miss brought you to the banquet so you could meet more people, not just follow her around like an attendant.”

Ethan Brooks chuckled softly, nodded, and began to walk around the courtyard.

Seeing that he was finally acting differently than before, Ivy Foster felt a slight sense of relief for some reason, as if she was glad he was finally turning over a new leaf.

But after glancing unintentionally at Lily Foster beside her, she suddenly remembered something, her brows furrowing abruptly. Then, she replayed every moment of her limited interactions with Ethan Brooks over the past year in her mind...

After sorting out her thoughts, an answer that surprised her and carried a hint of anger suddenly surfaced in her mind...

“This Ethan Brooks... could it be that he’s interested in Lily!?”

Looking at Lily Foster, who was smiling and observing Ethan Brooks’s “proper” behavior, Ivy Foster’s previously improved impression of him soured again: “So this is your real reason for coming here, hmph! Unless you can one day satisfy me to the point where I can’t find a single fault, I will never agree to you having any ideas about Lily!”

For a moment, even the way she looked at Ethan Brooks carried a hint of vigilance.

Just as Ivy Foster resolved in her heart not to let Ethan Brooks get close to Lily Foster, Lily Foster suddenly said curiously, “Why did Seventh Young Master just walk around the courtyard once and then sit down? Does he know that the young people here aren’t up to standard and doesn’t want to associate with them?”

“Hm? He sat down?” Ivy Foster was slightly taken aback, and her gaze followed Lily Foster’s line of sight, spotting Ethan Brooks sitting in a corner of the courtyard, looking thoughtful.

“What’s that supposed to mean? He looks down on the young talents present? Doesn’t he know that he himself isn’t even on par with the lowest of them!?” With a snort of anger, Ivy Foster was about to go over and scold Ethan Brooks.

But Lily Foster, worried that her young lady would argue with her husband again over this, quickly said, “Miss, miss, I’ll go, I’ll go, I’ll go talk to the young master!” With that, afraid Ivy Foster would refuse, she immediately ran over to Ethan Brooks, who was sitting in the corner of the courtyard!

“Seventh Young Master!”

“Mm.” Ethan Brooks nodded to Lily Foster. “What is it?”

“What is it? Did you already forget what Miss just told you?”

Ethan Brooks nodded slightly!