Taifu- Grand Tutor;
4 Flower Party
A few minutes later, someone came to report that Madam had
asked them all to come over. Everyone went to the main hall. Yang Furen sat
on the top seat, Shen Zhuo and Shen Xiang already seemingly honestly stood by
Yang Shi's side. Next to Yang Shi's seat sat a lady similar to her age, but the
face is extremely beautiful, thin long willow eyebrows, phoenix eyes, a
dignified demeanor, very well dressed.
Although the color is not bright, the dress material has
decorative flowers, complicated embroidery on the edge of the dress is
exquisite and unusual. A few pieces of jewelry on the head are also rare
treasures. It seems that this is the extremely rich merchant's daughter that Pingyuan
Hou married. Next to her stood a girl of about seven years old and a girl of
twelve or thirteen years old, both with a submissive expression. The teenage
girl's dressed as a normal rich family, the seven-year-old girl's appearance is
not as beautiful as the Furen, but wearing from head to toe are gold and
jade dazzling, and extravagant too much.
The children of the Marquis went up and bowed to Li Shi, the
wife of Pingyuan Hou.
Li Shi busily said, "Don't be too polite, what
good children!" She gestured to the maid behind her and the maid handed
over several purses to her. Li Shi handed them to the Shen family's children
one by one. She also introduced the two girls around her, saying, "These
are the second and sixth xiaojie of my house. Quickly go and greet them."
Shen Wen knew that the name of Pingyuan Hou's daughter was
Zhang Yunjin. Only in this era, the woman's boudoir name is not known outside.
Outsiders only called the unmarried woman a certain xiaojie or a certain
family’s daughter. After marriage, she became a certain family's wife (furen).
From the addressing, women were not regarded as an independent person. Even
many famous women in Chinese history did not have full names.
The two girls stepped forward and bowed in a standard
manner. Even the girl's posture was very careful and did not miss a single bit.
It was obviously very well trained.
Yang Shi sighed, "Look how well behaved the
girls in your house are, unlike the ones in my house!"
Shen Wen would have been unhappy hearing this in her
previous life, but at this time she knows that these are words that her mother
wants to make Li Shi happy, her mother's love for her two daughters is not
missing half a point. But she can not give up this opportunity to create her
own image. She immediately took out her handkerchief from her sleeve and
twisted it in her hands. Her face was sad and her eyes were wet.
Li Shi smiled modestly, pulled Shen Wen to her side,
rubbed Shen wen’s chubby little hands and said, "What a good girl, so
lovable." Then she turned her face to Shen Xiang and said: "Elder
Xiaojie is also good. She is good at martial arts and can help her Father and
brothers in the future." She spoke tactfully and had no wish to take
sides.
Yang Shi sighed: "I don't expect her to help
with anything, just marry a good man and live in peace." Shen Xiang's face
turned red, frowning hard and looked very angry.
Li Shi said: "Who doesn't think so? For a
daughter's family, peace is a blessing."
As they were talking, it was reported from outside that the Furens
of many families had arrived with their Xioajies. Yang Shi got up and
went out of the hall to welcome them. In the front yard, a group of beautiful
ladies came one after another.
In her previous life, Shen Wen saw for the first time so
many elegant and well-mannered women and girls. Like a gorgeous performance,
each character performed perfectly, the courtyard full of beautiful decoration,
fragrance of clothes and flowers, which gave her enough shock at that time as a
young girl.
Now, she looked at the second-ranking military official's
wife, who was known for her beauty, and her two delicate-looking daughters
behind her, and thought about how this lady had caught a mistake and after she
had beaten her husband's concubine to death, and let the eyes of that concubine
be gouged out.
The fourth-ranking civil official's wife, who was supported
by two young maids in a dignified manner, has later married her concubine
daughter to an elderly senior official as a second wife, and the
fifteen-year-old girl passed away within a year, I wonder if she has the
slightest pity in her heart?
And the talented girl who is speaking slowly and bitingly*,
later on whenever she meets people, she will say how rude and unpleasant Shen
Xiang is, and how poor taste the Houfu has. ...... It turns out that not
only yourself, many people have disguises.
**yǎowén jiáozì "bite phrases and chew
characters"—pay
excessive attention to wording, speak like a book, play with words, be pedantic
Just thinking about it, Shen Wen suddenly heard the
subordinate's announcement: "Secretary Shaojun's wife, Sun Shi along
with the eldest Xiaojie, the second Xiaojie......"
Shen Wen's eyes focused, in her previous life she did not
even remember these people came. The secretary department vice director is only a
fourth-ranking civil official. But this civil official's elder sister married
Lu Zhengcao, the eldest son of Taifu Lu Yanbo the head of Lu
family that served as ministers for three generations. She gave birth to the
daughter who would become the future Crown Princess. After the Crown Princess
she became the Empress. Her own husband married this civil servant's second
daughter in past life.
Shen Wen looked intently at Sun Shi who walked in and
the two girls beside her. Sun Shi should be in her thirties, with a delicate
face and a decent smile. The eldest daughter beside her is in her teens, thin
eyebrows long drawn across the corner of the eyes, the lips dotted with red
color, very beautiful, just a little prideful look. The youngest daughter
should only be five or six years old, between the two eyebrows painted a bright
red vermilion mole that sets off the skin tone snow white, like jade carved
powder, and can be seen after growing up she will be a gorgeous beauty.
Yang Shi and Sun Shi are obviously not familiar with each
other, just politely talking a few words. The children naturally see each
other's elders and then salute each other. Shen Wen squirmed and went through
the process, showing the smallness of the family that is not on stage.
Sun Shi's smile did not change, and the older girl
beside her had a hint of disdain on her face: her cousin was about to marry
into the royal family and her own value naturally went up differently. Then
look at the girls in these military Generals' families, each with a mediocre
face.
Just after the greeting, someone ran in and said that the
Fifth Princess was here, escorted by the Third Prince and was almost at the
gate of the Mansion. Yang Shi quickly asked people to prepare and
personally went to the gate to greet them.
The Fifth Princess has a distant kinship with Yang Shi,
eight years old this year. Originally said accompanied by the Palace's
great-grandmother to see the flower party, but who knew that the Third Prince
would come? The people are excited, there is a Prince going to participate, so
the flower party has a lot of high style.
The surroundings seemed to suddenly cool down. Shen Wen
chilled for a moment. She was confused in her previous life and only envied the
manners of those ladies and young ladies. Even Though, she knew that the Third
Prince had come to this flower Party, she also did not take it to heart. Now it
seems that more than ten years before the catastrophe happened, there are
traces.
