Chapter 40: Framed

  Dong Er's hands were very skilled, and in a short while, she had finished styling the Japanese hairpin. Indeed, it was just as Liu Rong had imagined - this asymmetrical hairstyle suited her better, covering up her slightly thin face, making her entire face look more delicate at once.

  "Miss, what jewelry do you want to wear today?" Dong'er took out the jewelry box, and although there were not many pieces inside, they were well-preserved. "I heard that the Duke of Wei Bei is a true minister of the emperor, unlike our own Duke Wen Ding. Our manor hasn't received an invitation from such a noble family in a long time. Miss, don't blame me for nagging, but apart from considering your future, I also want you to gain some experience by attending this event with us. The people there are all from influential families, and their attire will certainly be extraordinary. If you don't dress properly, something unexpected might happen."

  This was also specially instructed by Mr. Zhong before returning last night, worrying that there would be no one to remind them around, and they would not dress properly at the time.

  Thinking of not having decent clothes, Dong Er couldn't help but worry again. The method Miss said was feasible at first, but the more she thought about it, the more problems she found. As the time to go to the main hall to meet Madame and Grandmother drew near, what could be done?

  What if Old Madam brings up the matter of Rong'er's improper attire and doesn't allow her to go to the Weibei Marquis' estate, what can be done then? Such an opportunity for a young lady is one that will be lost forever if missed.

  Liu Rong furrowed her brow, she didn't care whether she could go or not, but if the Liu Manor hadn't received an invitation from a noble family's lady for a long time, then they had to be careful. It might have something to do with Zuo Tingxuan wanting her to hand over the drawings, after all, the timing was right. What if, because of being improperly dressed, she missed the opportunity and couldn't get the equipment she needed? She would be in big trouble!

  It seems that no matter what, I won't be able to go because of clothes issues anymore.

  "Miss, otherwise I'll go to Er Nainai's place and ask if there are any clothes that Miss can wear! Er Nainai will definitely help us." Dong'er suddenly seemed to think of something and quickly said to Liu Rong.

  Liu Rong immediately negated Dong Er's idea, saying that while Second Madam might have good clothes, they were definitely not suitable for her. Not to mention the age difference between them made it impossible for them to wear the same style of clothing, even their height difference was completely incompatible.

  And by this time, even if the second lady wanted to find her a dress from somewhere else that she could wear, it was too late.

  "What can be done?" Dong Er anxiously paced back and forth.

  Liu Rong thought for a moment: "Just do as I said earlier, you prepare some rouge and powder for me, I want to put on makeup myself. Also, find two pieces of moon-colored embroidered clothes with fewer flowers for me, the sooner the better!"

  In the main hall, Liu Xuan led Liu Yun, Liu Ming and Liu Qing to arrive early, except for Liu Jie who was still recovering from a cold and couldn't go, only Liu Rong hadn't arrived yet.

  Several girls were dressed in exquisite attire, with a dignified air about them. Only Liu Xuan wore a silver-threaded embroidered pattern of symmetrical wisteria on a light red silk jacket with a white-based green plum blossom cloak draped over her shoulders, and her hair was styled in high clouds, with one hollow-carved phoenix hairpin slanting down, and this outfit alone made her stand out among the group.

  Next was the second sister, Liu Mei, with a necklace of intricate flowers and red agate inlaid with silver around her neck, setting off her oval face to be as lovely as possible. On the other hand, the eldest sister, Liu Yun, was relatively simply dressed, probably because she had already been betrothed, with only a few adornments on her hairdo, just a simple hairpin with an inlaid green tourmaline stone. However, upon closer inspection, it could be seen that they were all made of the finest materials and crafted with great care.

  Among these people, only Wu Jie's clothes were slightly worse than the others, but they were still much better than Liu Rong's tattered and worn-out clothes.

  "How come sister Rong hasn't arrived yet at this hour?"

  Standing aside for a long time, Liu Xian's legs were sore and she muttered in dissatisfaction. The room was originally quiet, but as soon as she spoke up, everyone heard it, and their attention was directly focused on Liu Xian.

  The madam slightly furrowed her brow, and the old lady unusually didn't say anything more, but was quietly meditating with her eyes closed.

  On the side, Cui'er, who was waiting on Madam, couldn't help but cover her face which had been smeared with egg for a whole day and still looked red and swollen. In order to prevent Third Miss from finding decent clothes to wear, she deliberately instructed the maid who usually notified the misses to dress more formally to go notify Third Miss early this morning, and by now she was probably jumping with anxiety in that side courtyard!

  Dare to frame her, she's still young! A cold smile crept onto Qiao Er's mouth, and immediately followed by a pained hiss.

  Liu Xuan also rarely said anything, only a hint of an arc that others couldn't notice flashed across the corner of her mouth.

  Qiaoer had told her as early as last night that Liu Rong hadn't made any good clothes in years, and this wouldn't have come if she didn't have suitable clothes to wear. A small illegitimate daughter dared to rival her, serving her right!

  It's better not to come, if she wears that half-new and half-old jacket, even if others don't say anything, she will definitely stop her mother from bringing Liu Rong, so as not to lose face for the Wén Dìng Hóu Fǔ.

  Only the lady-in-waiting behind Madam's back was worried and furrowed her brow, this Third Miss really had a hard life, all sorts of bad things happened to her, this time she mustn't make any mistakes, being able to enter the Weibei Marquis's estate as an illegitimate daughter was a great honor!

  But the second sister, Liu Mei, had been waiting impatiently for a long time. It was just that neither Madame nor Second Madam had said anything, so she hadn't spoken up. Now, Fifth Sister Liu Qian spoke out what was on her mind, raising an eyebrow: "Mother, Rong Jie is so ignorant of the rules, making us all wait for her alone. I think we'd better not wait for her anymore, lest she forgets even her own identity!"

  "All right, you're the legitimate daughter of the mansion, how can you speak like that? Wait a moment and it will be fine." Madam Liu spoke lightly, seemingly not minding at all that Liu Rong had arrived late. She slowly picked up her tea cup and took a slight sip.

  The madam's face showed surprise. When did the eldest lady become so elegant and refined? If she had always been like this, then there would be no need to worry about the estate falling into her hands.

  Madam thought for a moment, and instead of being angry with Liu Rong, she became somewhat worried about her. She whispered to Huizhi, who was waiting beside her: "Huizhi, go and take a look at Rong Jie, see if anything has happened on her side."

  Rouge was worried and hastily responded with a "yes", quickly walking out.

  Liu Xuan looked at the gloomy face, clearly her own mother, and thought to herself: she had never helped her before, but why was she being so affectionate towards this illegitimate daughter who had always been against her?!

  What's so good about Liu Rong! Her mother is like this, and her aunt is also like this. She wants to see what happens when her mother sees Liu Rong wearing inappropriate clothes, will she still have the same attitude as now!

  But just as she was about to step out of the door, she suddenly stopped and stood there in a daze: "Third... Third Miss?"