Chapter 39: The Grand Gathering at the Wang Estate (Part 1)
The capital of the Great Chu basically continued the original appearance of Yuan Dadu, and the palaces were not destroyed. Therefore, when rebuilding later, much less effort was spent. The founding ministers obtained the approval of Taizu, and were allowed to choose the best location in the city to build their mansions. As a result, what was once called Haizi by the Yuan people became the favorite place for meritorious officials and nobles. Surrounding Xihai, Houhai, and Qianhai, countless gardens and mansions were built.
For many years, these once prosperous mansions have changed hands several times. Among them, the Jinwang Mansion, located between Xindao Street and Deshengmen Street, was previously the old residence of Chu Guogong, a meritorious general who helped found the country and was granted the title of Duke of Chu. Naturally, he was once renowned, but now his former glory has turned to dust. Except for occasional mentions in historical books and plays, ordinary people have long forgotten about Chu Guogong, and his former mansion is now known as Wangfu.
Because of the joy of meeting with literary and elegant scholars, the Jin Wang Fu has always been a bustling place, but on this Lantern Festival day, the scene is different from usual. From early morning till noon, one after another, elaborately decorated carriages came to the place, stopping briefly in front of the west gate before entering, and for more than an hour, they kept coming without a break. At the same time, groups of young noblemen on horseback arrived, but they were welcomed in from the east gate. The usual habit of entering from the west and exiting from the east was naturally abandoned on this day.
Chen Lan, Chen Xiao and Su Wan'er arrived at the time of Chen Zheng San Ke, neither early nor late. The three sisters took two mule carts, Chen Lan took Su Wan'er in one, Chen Xiao took two maids alone in another, the cart entered the Jin Wang Fu from the west corner gate, turned east and west for a while before stopping in front of a hanging flower door. The three people got off the car with their maids one after another, immediately there were more than ten strong servant women carrying three green canopy sedan chairs forward.
Su Wan'er had never seen such a luxurious and elegant atmosphere before, and she was already feeling a bit nervous. She made up her mind to follow Chen Jia's sisters in everything they did. Chen Lan led the way into the first sedan chair, and when the four maidservants lifted it up and started walking, Su Wan'er immediately felt the difference between riding in a sedan chair and riding in a carriage. Riding in a carriage was just bumpy, but sitting in a sedan chair gave her a kind of floating sensation with all four feet off the ground. It took her a good while to finally suppress the nausea that had risen to her throat, and she looked around at the warm sedan chair that was supposed to be for receiving guests.
The sedan chair was not particularly luxurious, but it was well thought out. The cushions and backrests were worn at the edges due to prolonged use, but they still showed that they were made of large red brocade, with stone-green double-sided velvet curtains on either side. The bottom was fastened with a toggle button and the sedan chair's skirt was closed together, making it windproof and warm on cold days. Under the seat, there was a foot warmer, which was fixed in place, and when both feet were placed on it, they felt warm and cozy. With Chen Lan having brought an octagonal purple copper hand warmer with a magpie and plum blossom pattern, she didn't feel the cold wind outside at all. However, thinking of Hong Luo and Yun'er walking alongside the sedan chair, she was still worried about them. Unfortunately, the window curtains couldn't be moved, so she could only wait patiently.
It took a good quarter of an hour before Chen Lan felt the sedan chair come to a stop, and only then did someone lift up the thick curtains. She bowed her head and walked out from inside, catching a glimpse of Hong Luo and Yun'er who were both frozen pale, so she quietly handed over the hand warmer in her hands for them to hold, and then led Chen Tai and Su Wan'er who had gotten off behind her to walk forward.
The sedan chair stopped in front of the grand gate on a hard mountain top, and an elderly maid with a slender figure was already waiting with several people. Seeing Chen Lan and others approaching, she hurriedly led the group to kneel down and pay their respects, then smiled and said: "The princess just said that not many people had arrived yet, but now they've finally all come. The ladies and young misses from various mansions have already arrived, chatting and laughing inside."
Chen Lan vaguely remembered that this maid had followed the Jin Wangfei to the mansion before, and her name seemed to be Xiuzhu. She smiled and responded, following her into the door. After passing through the corridor, they faced a nine-bay eleven-ridge hard mountain-top hall with dark green glazed tiles covering the roof, and the beams and pillars were extremely luxurious. Although she had seen the wealth of the marquis's mansion before, when she suddenly saw this truly imperial style, she was still slightly surprised. At the entrance of the great hall stood two rows of eight maids in total, all wearing uniforms of light green long jackets with dark green sleeves, and they bowed down halfway to greet them.
As soon as she entered, the scene was completely different. On the middle hall's plaque, the three large characters "Silver Heart Hall" were prominently displayed. In the center was a red lacquer golden dragon throne, behind which stood a sixteen-panel screen with a hundred butterflies and flowers. Below it was a red lacquer nanmu wood footstool. On both sides, high above, hung red silk golden dragon canopies, while on either side there wasn't even a single chair. Having just witnessed the grandeur outside, she naturally understood that this great hall was probably where the family's subordinates came to pay their respects, with no seats set up for anyone except the princess. Seeing how empty and spacious it was, with only two maids standing at attention by the corner doors, she glanced sideways at the embroidered bamboo nearby.
"This is the main hall of the princess, but she doesn't usually live here. It's only used during festivals and celebrations. Right now, the princess and all the ladies are in the Shui Meng Pavilion at the back. I'll lead the way for the three young ladies."
Having seen the grandeur of the Silver Heart Hall, Chen Lan was already being extremely cautious. Just as he was about to follow Huizhu around the screen and leave, a sudden commotion came from outside, followed by someone lifting the curtain and entering.
"Sister Embroidered Bamboo!"
The little girl who ran in looked a bit younger, and she didn't even notice that there were still guests present. She picked up her skirt and ran to the front of the embroidered bamboo, slightly bent her knees and whispered a few words in a low voice.
"Yangning Marquis Manor... Second Miss... Insisted... Unaware of Madame..."
Chen Lan was only a few steps away from Hua Zhu, and her hearing was good, so she caught a few words. It was just these faintly heard words that made her take a surprise, and when she stole a glance at Chen Tai, she saw that she was still as cold as ice, as if she didn't know anything. Su Wan'er, on the other hand, seemed to be completely intimidated by the majestic Silver Heart Hall, her eyes darting back and forth, her two hands twisting together anxiously, and when she realized she was being looked at, she quickly composed herself and stood up straight.
Embroidered bamboo calmed down after the initial shock, stood there for a moment, and then walked towards Chen Lan, knelt down and said politely: "Third Miss, may I borrow a step to talk?"
Chen Lan didn't say a word, nodded at Chen Tang and followed Xiu Zhu to one side. As expected, seeing that the others were still far away, Xiu Zhu said in a low voice: "Third Miss, just now someone came from the second gate to report that the Second Miss of the Hou Mansion has already arrived by carriage. Since she had the princess's invitation card, the west corner gate let her in, and only at the second gate did one of the servant girls recognize her, but it was not good to stop her after all. I don't know what the Old Madam will...
"Second sister actually came?" Chen Lan's eyes widened in shock, her face full of astonishment. "This morning when I came out, the old lady clearly said that Second Uncle had encountered some trouble, so she only let me and Fifth Sister come together... But today there are so many guests at the Wang Manor, by now someone must have seen her already. Why not ask Embroidered Bamboo to report to the Princess and ask someone to send a sedan chair to bring Second Sister in first, find a suitable place to settle her, if outsiders ask, just say that Second Sister is worried about Father, so she came to beg for mercy from the Princess."
Upon learning that Chen Bing had indeed come privately, Xiu Zhu felt a jump in her heart. After thinking about it, she also felt that there was only this way to do it, and could only nod her head. She hastily called the maid who had just come to report the news and sent her out to say something. After handling these matters, she hurriedly took Chen Lan and her sisters out of the Silver Heart Hall and arrived at the entrance of the Shui Meng Pavilion.
Before he could even enter, Chen Lan heard a loud and boisterous laughter coming from inside.
"I heard that today Wang Fei's two female cousins are also coming? I've long heard that the old lady of Yangning Hou is doting on her granddaughter, I wonder what kind of outstanding person she will be!"
