Chapter 242 – Exposing the Calculation.
Everyone was eating when Shen Zhihua came to make a toast. He was dressed in fancy clothes, with a little frivolity in his brow, but was a beautiful man. After he had made his toast, those eyes intentionally or unintentionally lingered on An Qingran’s face a little longer, with astonishment.
This was at the General’s residence and An Zhongtao was no more demanding of his daughters than the twists and turns of a small family, which is why they were allowed to meet the male guests as well.
And he was also left to live with his mother in the back of the house.
As soon as An Zhongtao saw Shen Zhihua, he listened to his talk and then his achievements, and he liked it in his heart.
And An Yanran and the others had basically no reaction to the new guests, not to mention that they were all cefei (side concubines) of Kang Wang, something that could no longer be run away from.
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The next day.
Lian Jinrong came to Dongnuange.
An Qingran was also there.
She looked at An Qingran with a complicated smile in her eyes, and An Qingran was puzzled.
“Sister, Qing Ran is a good-looking and talented child. It’s so true that a family has a daughter and a hundred families are looking. When I came out of my mother’s room earlier, I vaguely heard them talking about Zhihua this child. Hearing that the old Madame wants to set up Zhihua and Qinran. I wonder what jiejie means?” Lian Jinrong said while laughing, as if telling a good thing.
TN: if a daughter is talented then a lot of families come to set marriage. So the maiden family feels if one is not good then they can check for another. Like having lots of options.
Hearing that, An Qingran and Lian Jinyu’s faces changed drastically. An Qingran sneered, her own grandmother would now consider her own intentions no matter what she did.
Lian Jinyu said, “Qingran’s marriage is not in a hurry, she is still young.”
“I thought so too, but my mother sounded so sure. I thought she had spoken with my jiejie, but now it seems that my mother is partial to Qingran and is always thinking of her.”
“What’s the matter…” Lian Jinyu was reluctant to listen.
Lian Jinrong didn’t mention it again when she saw it.
After she left.
An Qingran laughed at first herself: “Mother, if grandmother mentioned this matter to you, you must not agree.”
“Naturally, Mother knows that we don’t know about Shen Zhihua’s character and learning, so how can we settle on it like this? Don’t worry your father won’t be so hasty.”
An Qingran thus had some opinions on the arrival of Shen’s family.
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But it was good that she was far enough away from them to not look.
At dinner, An Qingran excused herself from dinner and ate in her own house so as to avoid meeting. The old lady remembered to ask her during dinner, and Lian Jingyu just told her she wasn’t feeling well.
The next day.
Fang Shi suddenly arrived at Xiwu courtyard, An Qingran had to go out to greet her: “Auntie has a big greeting ……”
“Oh, this small courtyard is really unique… What kind of flowers are these? How come I haven’t seen it before?” Fang Shi looked into An Qingran’s medicine bed.
“That’s Tian Qi and Tian ma, they are small now and can’t be seen yet.” An Qingran explained.
“This …… is really different, all the herbs you grow look so good, you really are a divine doctor.”
“Auntie, you’re flattering me, I’m not a miracle doctor, I’m just lucky… Rendong, make a cup of tea twisted with jiaogulan and ginseng flowers to reduce swelling. See her aunt’s eyes are a little puffy, did she not get a good night’s sleep?” An Qingran said as she made her way to the house.
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“Oh, You see, you say you’re not a miracle doctor, but you can see the problem at a glance. I drank a little more water last night…” Fang Shi said as she watched and went into the room and sat down next to the embroidery stand and looked at it twice.
“Your female work is really nice…” Fang Shi ran her hand over the white silk satin, her mouth twitching.
An Qingran was just being polite, she didn’t know what this Fang meant by coming, she just had to deal with it carefully.
That tea came up and Fang Shi looked at the tossing tea leaves, “How come I don’t see this jiaogulan and ginseng flowers you mentioned, isn’t this all leaves?”
“Auntie has no idea, I don’t like to see the leaves and stems of that jiaogulan. So when I fry the tea, I put the ginseng flowers and jiaogulan together. After frying, the tea leaves are left behind which are stained with only the aroma and medicinal properties. I keep the tea leaves and that of this flower and herbs is distributed to the underlings to drink, killing two birds with one stone.” An Qingran said with a smile.
“You,This child, is the most spiritual and intelligent child I have ever seen. I’m afraid that even a few adults can’t match this kind of heart. Your grandmother doesn’t say anything about others, but only compliments you. Within the General’s Mansion, you are the Di daughter and I’m afraid there is no one who can match your footsteps.”
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An Qingran was just polite.
“I’m embarrassed to hear my aunt say that ……”
As we were talking, there was the sound of talking outside, it was Shen Zhiyun: “Qingran, I have come to see you …… Huh, Mother, you’re here too?”
Once Shen Zhiyun entered the house and looked around, both sides spoke politely for a while and she sat down next to Fang Shi, while An Qinran was busy asking Rengdong to serve pastries. Shen Zhiyun is a lively person who talks quite a lot. Seeing that everything in An Qingran’s was rare, and that the flowers and plants in her house were all things she had never seen before. Once asked, she was also surprised to hear that most of them were herbs.
The three of them said a bunch of things, and An Qingran joked with them, when Fang suddenly pointed to the kerchief on the flower support and said:”This handkerchief isn’t finished embroidering, is it? The orchids are the most beautiful and unpretentious. I have never seen anyone else embroider them. But they are all mandarin ducks and lotus flowers. Clearly this General’s Mansion’s daughter is just extraordinary.”
Shen Zhiyun also said: “Yes, Meimei Qingran’s embroidery is excellent. I really need to learn from you in the future.”
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"It's nothing, I'm just embroidering for fun. You have praised me over and over again, I'm embarrassed, if one day it gets out that I'm a good embroiderer, it would be a shame." An Qing Ran said with a smile.
"I think this is a beautiful handkerchief, why don't you give it to me?" Fang Shi suddenly asked for it.
An Qingran knew that both her painting and embroidery were average and not really extraordinary, so why did Fang Shi suddenly ask for it?
If it was before she would not have hesitated to agree.
But now she smiled and said: “"If it were said that it was not worth anything, anything in this house should be offered with a smile if my aunt asked. It's just that a handkerchief is not an ordinary object, and the contents of this are a bit complicated. Maybe Qingran is overthinking things. Normally, it is not a big deal to give a friend a pearl hairpin or headdress, but this handkerchief. If auntie lost it by accident and someone picked it up, it would spread the word that the daughter of the General’s Mansion was having private meetings with men and was having private affairs. They wouldn't say that I gave it to auntie, don't you think?"
An Qingran's tone was gentle, with a teasing smile. But her eyes were resolute, how could she not see that she wasn't joking.
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Her words caused Fang Shi’s face to heat up: “It’s still Qingran who is thoughtful. You tell me, I just thought it looked special and asked for it directly, this is really a person who gets older and muddled.”
"Auntie, it is also because I thought too much. But my mind is small and I couldn't imagine the consequences of an accident so it's better that auntie doesn't blame me." An Qingran said embarrassingly.
Fang Shi naturally smiled and talked a little longer before leaving with her daughter.
