Volume 1: The Grand Gathering at the Wang Estate (2)

  The Water Dream Pavilion has two floors, and since the Jin Wang Fu also introduced the living water of Qianhai into the mansion, the back is a waterside pavilion. In the summer, you can climb up to the second floor to enjoy the coolness, and in the winter, it is warm and cool through the underground dragon. The lower part has five rooms, with the central one being the main hall where the Jin Wang Fei lives, and the two rooms on either side are used for receiving guests when there are many people. At this moment, Chen Lan followed Xiu Zhu into the room and saw that behind the eight large glass screens in the main hall were full of beautiful women, with dazzling golden and jade embroidery shining brightly, either noble ladies of similar age or dignified and elegant ladies from aristocratic families.

  Although they were related, this was a grand gathering of dignitaries, so it wasn't suitable to exchange family greetings. Chen Lan composed himself and brought Chen Yu and Su Wan'er forward to pay their respects. The Princess of Jin pulled Chen Lan up and waved her hand at the other two, then sighed and said: "I originally thought that you had something going on at home, and it would have been fine if someone had come to say you couldn't make it. But your grandmother was thoughtful and said that this matter didn't concern you, so it's no harm for you to come out and clear your minds. Ah, Third Sister, is this Wan'er's cousin?"

  Su Wan'er had never seen such a scene in her life, and although she was usually calm, she had thought about it for two consecutive nights, but when the Jin Wangfei asked her, she still felt a bit flustered, and after stepping forward, not to mention speaking, even her movements were somewhat stiff. At this time, a soft laugh came from beside her.

  "It wasn't supposed to be the second young lady who came, but unexpectedly, Madame Tai brought a different cousin instead."

  Chen Lan saw Su Wan'er's face turn pale, and his heart couldn't help but move. He heard the voice again and looked over to see that the speaker was a girl about the same age as him, with an unfamiliar face, and he had no impression of having seen her before. At this time, Xiu Zhu, who was standing beside her, reminded him in a low voice: "That is the fourth miss of the Jun Ning Bo family, who has always been pampered."

  Are you Lord Yun Ning? I recall that a few days ago when we were inquiring about the situation of those noble families in the capital, Yuner mentioned that the Yang family had a big stir at home for many years in order to inherit the title.

  Chen Lan secretly took note of it. Immediately after, a maid brought over a brocade quilt, and the three of them formally performed the courtesy of bowing. The Princess of Jinwang said a few more words, and someone led the sisters down. Although the Yangning Marquis's manor had just lost its title, everyone in the main hall knew that due to the birth and daughters' granddaughters of Madame Zhu, the matriarch of the Yangning Marquis, this title would eventually be inherited by another member of the Chen family. Therefore, today's attendees were the ladies from the first and third branches of the Chen family; others naturally had their own thoughts on the matter. As soon as the three sisters went down, several young girls immediately surrounded them, chattering away in conversation.

  In the past, Chen Lan wasn't someone who forgot things easily. Compared to before when no one paid attention to her, today's enthusiasm was like a raging fire. How could she not know that all of this was just an illusion? But if she didn't respond to these people, they would naturally ignore her. Therefore, she simply wore a gentle smile and occasionally responded with a sentence or two.

  On the contrary, Chen Tai, who had always been cold as ice, became unexpectedly talkative and was able to join in the conversations with witty remarks. Seeing her like this, those young ladies gave up, but the wives of the officials surrounding Princess Jinwang were all aware of something and exchanged glances while talking.

  Su Wan'er, a distant relative of the Yangning Marquis's family, was naturally ignored by everyone. Since she had brought her maid and they were all placed elsewhere, she only recognized Chen Tai and Chen Lan among the crowd, while others were unfamiliar to her. She was also afraid of mistaking someone's identity, so it wasn't suitable for her to speak as usual. What made her even more annoyed was that normally she could persuade people with just a few words, but today no one responded to her when she spoke up several times. Seeing Chen Lan quietly leave the crowd, Su Wan'er thought for a moment before hastily following him.

  Chen Lan had to come today, so she didn't have any intention of showing off. Seeing Chen Yu become the center of attention in just a short while, she simply didn't want to get in the way and retreated to one side by herself. At this time, she saw Su Wan'er come over, her face no longer having the pitiful look from the Protecting Country Temple, nor the composure from before at Chen's house, but instead an unmistakable awkwardness. She had no idea what was going on, and also had some guesses about Zhu's intentions.

  The Su family dared to come to the door this time, and it was nothing more than that Old Lady Chen saw that the Hou Mansion was in a precarious situation and would not dare to lightly refuse, making things bigger; while Zhu Shi probably used a delaying tactic, leaving Su Wan'er behind, and also letting her bring her to the Wang Mansion here, probably also wanting to let her see the true atmosphere of a noble family. In this place, beauty, talent, and emotions are all secondary, what's important is the birth and status, what's important is the legitimacy of birth, what's important is the official position of the elders, otherwise it would be impossible to enter this circle. As for whether Old Lady Chen has other thoughts, only heaven knows.

  At this time, there were still a few people who hadn't arrived, so the maid brought out another tray of tea. When she reached Su Wan'er's side, the maid who had been serving the tea took the last cup from the other maid and handed it to Chen Lan. She then apologized to Su Wan'er, saying that the tea was all gone and that she would be back soon, before retreating with the other maid. However, this brief absence lasted only a short while, but in the warm atmosphere of the room, Su Wan'er's mouth had already become dry and parched, and her heart had begun to feel a few pangs of regret.

  It would have been better if I hadn't come at all!

  "Wan Er's older sister."

  As soon as Su Wan'er's shoulders trembled, she forced a smile and looked over. Chen Lan smiled slightly and said: "Sister-in-law is here for the first time and isn't familiar with the situation here. The tea that was late, I've already gone to rush it, and it will be sent up soon. As for the people here, I don't know most of them either, so there's no way for me to introduce anyone to you. The Wang Fu has a plum blossom viewing party every year on Yuanxiao, but for most people, it's just about comparing who has better sitting skills. When we go out to view the plums later, although the pavilion over there has already prepared charcoal basins, the seats in the pavilion are limited, and several warm sheds need to be set up next to it. When we leave, you remember to instruct the maid to bring a hand warmer."

  The day before, Su Wan'er saw off her grandmother Chen when she left. Her grandmother repeatedly reminded her that such a good opportunity should not be missed. If she could meet a noble person and establish a relationship, she also asked her to plan carefully for her brother Su Yi. Although she was dissatisfied with her grandmother only remembering her elder brother, her grandmother's last words before leaving made her suppress the resentment in her heart.

  Is it better for a juren's sister to get married or a jinshi's sister?

  So, Chen Lan bluntly told her the true meaning of appreciating plum blossoms and reminded her of something. She couldn't help but feel a flush on her face as if she had a fever, with countless thoughts rushing back and forth in her mind, wishing to return immediately. Chen Lan thought he had fulfilled his duty of reminding her and didn't want to continue saying unnecessary things, so he casually took a piece of plum blossom cake. Just as the maid finally served tea to Su Wan'er, a silvery laughter echoed from outside.

  "Sister-in-law, hurry up, big sister must be getting impatient!"

  In a moment, several maidservants escorted three people through the pearl curtain. The girl walking in front was fourteen or fifteen years old, wearing a golden hairpin with red gemstones and a jade pendant on her forehead, a gold necklace with carved flowers around her neck, a bat-shaped palace belt and butterfly ornaments on her skirt, wearing a large red brocade long dress, with a green peacock gold thread cloak outside, and snow-white silk pants underneath. Her figure was slender and elegant, with a hint of a smile at the corner of her mouth, looking very innocent and lively. The young woman behind her was in her early twenties, dressed entirely in pale blue, exuding an air of literary elegance and refinement.

  "I wondered who was so late, it turned out to be Zhang's wife and second daughter."

  "Is that the Crown Prince's wife and second daughter of Korea?"

  Upon hearing this, Chen Lan took a closer look at the newcomer and suddenly remembered the name that matched her. The girl's name was Zhang Huixin, the niece of the current Duke of Korea. Although her father held a low-ranking official position, her mother was the Princess of Yixing County. As for the wife of the Crown Prince, Lady Yin, she came from a family of scholars and was handpicked by the Duchess of Korea, known for being virtuous and well-mannered, with no one speaking ill of her. In terms of their familial relationship, the two could be considered cousins-in-law.

  Yoon's family was fine, but when she was young and went to the government office in Korea, she got along well with Jang Hui-sin. In a government office where people are treated differently from childhood based on their father's official position and birth order, Jang Hui-sin was an exception, and at that time, she was particularly close to her cousin Yoon, who had lost her title. However, after Jang Hui-sin followed her father to his new post in Jiangnan, they never saw each other again.

  Madam Yin and Zhang Huixin paid their respects to the Jin Wangfei, and then met with the other ladies-in-waiting. Before Madam Yin could even open her mouth, Zhang Huixin smiled and apologized for being late, saying that she had seen a new shop on the way and had stopped to take a look. Seeing some people laughing and teasing, others scolding, she clapped her hands and called over a maid, saying that she had just taken some new products from the shop, and would give each of them a porcelain comb mirror as a gift. When it was Su Wan'er's turn, she realized that there weren't enough, and her eyes widened in surprise. Meanwhile, everyone else was admiring the exquisite and rare porcelain glass mirrors, each one delighted, and no one paid attention to Su Wan'er.

  "I clearly calculated the number of people who bought it, how could there be fewer...” Zhang Hui's heart was a bit stubborn, and she immediately bit her lip, took out a makeup mirror from her pocket and handed it to Su Wan'er. Her eyes had a hint of reluctance, "This was originally something I wanted to keep for myself, but I'll give it to Miss Su instead."

  Su Wan'er saw that everyone was looking at her, and then she noticed the glass of the dressing mirror was clean, with a few strokes of ink painting on the back, like a landscape. She thought of Chen Lan's words with ulterior motives, and deliberately used this matter to make a name for herself, so she smiled and said: "Second Miss is really too polite, if it's something you love, why not keep it for yourself? We also have this Jingtai blue mirror at home..."

  She hadn't finished speaking when Chen Lan heard a burst of snickering around her, and Zhang Hui's face also turned strange. She remembered that the second lady of the Korean imperial family was always straightforward and righteous, and she was the most radiant and pure person. She cut in with a smile: "I think the old lady only spoke to the princess earlier, Sister Hui didn't know, so she missed out on Cousin Yuanyu. Why don't I give my share to Cousin Yuanyu first?"

  Zhang Huixin's expression changed from anger to joy, and she carefully examined Chen Lan for a while before suddenly exclaiming: "Ah, you're Lan's sister? Good sister, it's been many years since we last met, and you're still as kind-hearted as ever. You've really helped me out this time. Alright, when we get back, I'll take you to that shop again and find another one for you. This is Western enamel, different from the Persian cloisonné that was introduced earlier. I heard it's from Guangdong, originally from a place called France...I don't understand, but anyway, it's our family business..."

  Su Wan'er, who was standing aside, saw Zhang Hui Xin throw herself away and smiled as she spoke to Chen Lan. Just as she was dazed, she heard Chen Tai's faint voice: "This Western cloisonné is different from the so-called 'pinched silk' Jingdezhen blue. One was introduced from Persia in the early years of our Great Chu, while the other was introduced from France in the West. There are many people here who understand these things, so Wan'er's sister should be more careful when speaking."

  Monday again, all kinds of rankings need to be refreshed, and there's an extra update today.