Previous Chapter || Table Of Contents || Next Chapter
Chapter 11 Families Gathering part 2
Chun Lu behind Shen Xiang reacted and said loudly, "Ah?! What kind of white-eyed wolf is the Marquis of Changle's residence inviting here, serving good food and drink, yet someone is stopping the guests from eating?"
The girls from the Marquis of Changle who were accompanying them also blushed. Without waiting for the person who had spoken earlier to come out in defence, Shen Wen asked Su Wanniang curiously, "How could there be such a person?"
Su Wanniang sighed and said, ""Miss doesn't know that there are all kinds of birds in this big forest? Some people who are not loved by their grandmothers at home like to go outside and cause trouble and attract attention." Her tone was earnest and not at all hostile, but now the person who had wanted to speak up to clarify her meaning could not stand up for herself. Who's the bird? And who's the one who has to take the blame for not being loved by grandma and mom?
Shen Xiang took the opportunity to pull Shen Wen and said, "Let's go, I don't want you to learn bad things!" She pulled Shen Wen towards the door and Shen Wen was obediently pulled out, and the girl who was accompanying her from the Marquis of Changle also came out together.
The few people in the room who had spoken earlier were so angry that they gritted their teeth, and only when they had left did they say, "What a lack of culture!"
"That's right, how dare the maid take the lead, no rules at all!"
"That's the kind of person who comes from a youth house."
"No wonder ......"
Shen Xiang and the others walked to the courtyard and were greeted by Zhang Yunjin walking over. Zhang Yunjin saw them and came over with a smile, curtsied and asked, "Where are you going, sisters?"
Shen Xiang glanced contemptuously at the hall and said, "The smell of cosmetics is too heavy inside, so we are going for a walk in the garden."
Zhang Yunjin raised her sleeve to cover her lips and smiled, "Sister is like a husband among women, naturally she does not tolerate the usual daughters, I will go with you guys."
The person from the Marquis of Changle said with a smile, "Then let's go to the garden to see the lights." Leading a few people to the garden.
It gets dark immediately after sunset in winter. The branches of the trees in the garden are hung with lanterns of all colours and the servants are busy lighting each one up. Underneath the lanterns were riddles, and the girls from the Marquis of Changle's residence introduced them with a smile, saying, "If you guess it, take the strip off and go back to the hall to match it up, and there is a prize for those who guess more."
Shen Xiang smiled and said to Zhang Yunjin, "I'm not very good at this, it's up to you."
Zhang Yunjin also said modestly, "I'm no good at it either, just playing around, no need to take it too seriously."
Shen Wen let go of Shen Xiang's hand and said, "I want to guess myself."
Shen Xiang smiled and said, "Fine, you can guess yourself." She let Su Wanniang follow Shen Wen, and she and Zhang Yunjin walked forward laughing and joking as they watched the lanterns and guessed at the same time. The concubine girl led them down a winding path and soon separated Shen Wen behind two corners.
Su Wanniang took Shen Wen's hand and said, "Miss, don't be in a hurry, take your time to guess."
Shen Wen looked at one for a while and shook her head, then looked at another and wondered again, still shaking her head. As she walked step by step, when she couldn't see Shen Xiang and the girls, she stopped under a big tree with more than twenty small lanterns hanging between the branches. Shen Wen looked dazzled, looked up, looked left and right, and finally found one, stared at it for a long time and recited: "Four mountains across, two days ...... Two days what?" At the same time, the hand squeezed Su Wanniang a few times, she heard the sound of footsteps coming this way, there were several people, strong gait, should be adult men.
Su Wanniang faced with a smile, put on a very patient look and said, "Thick Mou."
Shen Wen frowned: "What does that mean?"
Su Wanniang said, "It should mean close together."
Shen Wen nodded, but was still puzzled as she continued to read, "Rich by his starting feet, tired by his leading." There seemed to be some understanding on her face and said to Su Wanniang, "I think it should be ......" Her hand reached for the lantern puzzle and was just about to pull it off ......
(The four mountains are crossed, the two days are dense, the rich are started by him, the exhausted are led by him-)
A girl's voice rang in her ears, "This one is so easy to guess! It's a 'Tian' character(ç”° farm field), I'll take it!" A hand reached over and ripped off the slip of paper that Shen Wen was just about to touch. This action was so rude that people would normally be angry, but Shen Wen smiled and turned her head, "You know it too, sister? Sister is so clever."
"Too?" That meant she wasn't the only one who knew, and even the nice half of the comment felt wrong: what was there to be proud of in being complimented by a silly child?
The girl who stood near Shen Wen must have been over ten years old and was exceptionally beautiful, with long green eyeshadow, peach blossom eyes with double eyelids, a hanging nose and a small cherry mouth, except that there was a black, pea-sized mole under one cheek. By this mole and her attire, Shen Wen knew that this was the Fourth Princess born to the Empress, a year older than the Fifth Princess. She was two or three years older than her own should be, but was not prepared to show that she knew the identity of the other party, but merely lamented: no wonder Empress Jia had risen to the throne in the first place; just by looking at her daughter, one could see how beautiful she had been in the first place.
The girl's expression carried a hint of rudeness; the Fourth Princess's brutality was known outside the palace. She was usually violent and whipped the palace staff at will. At this moment, when she heard Shen Wen's words, she laughed coldly and said, "What are you? You are worthy of praising me?"
A puzzled expression appeared on Shen Wen's face as she frowned and thought for a moment before looking at Su Wanniang and saying, "Sister Wanniang, did I say something wrong?"
The corners of Su Wanniang's mouth lifted slightly: "This young lady is not happy, so of course you said the wrong thing." The implication was that you should not have said she was clever.
Shen Wen gave a dumbfounded "Oh" and immediately stopped looking at the Fourth Princess, pulling Su Wanniang and saying, "Let's go now!" She said, "Let's go now!" as if she was no longer prepared to deal with the other party.
Seeing that they were about to leave, the Fourth Princess shouted, "Stop! You don't salute when you see someone from the royal family, so unruly, whose family are you? Are you looking for a fight?"
Shen Wen looked at her blankly, then at Su Wanniang, with her mouth half-open. Su Wanniang lowered her eyes and whispered, "Miss, I'm a maid, she's talking to you, so I can't go up to her and ask questions. Miss will have to ask who she is. If it's someone from the royal family, Miss has to perform a greeting, you can't lose your manners." This was said when the other party hadn't introduced themselves at all, so how could anyone be expected to curtsy? It was reasonable to say that the princess had features in her dress and headdress, but Shen Wen was so young that she could be forgiven for not being able to recognize it.
Shen Wen rolled her eyes again, looked at the Fourth Princess and said, "I am the youngest daughter of the Marquis of Zhenbei, may I ask who you are?" With an extraordinarily polite tone, Su Wanniang whispered next to Shen Wen, "Miss is really polite, that's right, introduce yourself to the other party and then wait for her to tell you." It was like a big sister telling her little sister what to do, but in these words she was referring to the other party's lack of manners.
The Fourth Princess naturally heard this and said through clenched teeth, "I am the Fourth Princess, curtsy!"
Shen Wen looked at her for a moment, turned her face uncertainly, and slowly asked Su Wanniang, "She said she was the Fourth Princess, should I curtsy?" The word "said'' was bitten very hard, meaning that the other party did not look like the Fourth Princess, and the Fourth Princess was so angry that she blushed.
Su Wanniang frowned and also said in a low voice, "I haven't seen her either."
Shen Wen looked at the Fourth Princess's hideous face with a worried look, "Could it be that this sister is angry and has come to joke with me and try to trick me into making a salute?"
Su Wanniang said in a low voice, "I'm new here, so I really don't know what to do, why don't I call out and find someone from the Marquis' residence to come over?" After saying that, she looked up and shouted, "Is there anyone here? Someone come!"
Her clear voice was heard everywhere at once, and Shen Xiang, who had gone far away, immediately turned back and came hurrying this way, and the other girls who had arrived in the garden heard the commotion and came this way too.
Several people immediately surrounded Shen Wen and Su Wanniang, and the Fourth Princess said sternly, "You are so rude, give her a slap for me!"
Shen Wen still looked ignorant and said, "Why are you being slapped? My mother didn't say anything about slapping."
Su Wanniang also looked anxious: "Miss, how can this be? If she beats you, how can I explain this to Madam? How can I explain to the Elder Gongzi and the others? If the Marquis finds out, how can it be good?" In one sentence, the aftermath was completely pointed out: if the Fourth Princess had hit Shen Wen, would the Marquis of Zhenbei's household be able to forgive her?
Previous Chapter || Table Of Contents || Next Chapter
