109 Losing Face (1/2)
Helian Jing noticed Xia Chunyu watching the lady with Assistant Minister Mu with great interest. He teased, ”Brother Chunyu, do you like her? Do you want me to ask which family she's from?”
Xia Chunyu threw him a cold glare. ”Your brother asked me to pick a wife for you. I am checking out which family is suitable.”
That sobered up Helian Jing quickly. ”He's not even married himself! Why would he care about me?”
Assistant Minister Mu spotted Xia Chunyu and Helian Jing so he came up to them to say hi.
”Official Xia, Young Royal Highness,” he greeted.
Xia Chunyu returned his greeting politely.
”Little Jing, congratulations,” Mu Qinchu said, using Helian Jing's nickname casually.
Helian Jing rolled his eyes at him. This little rat. Even your dad called me 'Young Royal Highness'.
Assistant Minister quickly rebuked, ”Don't you have any manners? Have you forgotten how to properly address our royalties?”
”I apologize, Young Royal Highness,” Mu Qinchu said, properly embarrassed and chastised.
Trying to shift the attention from his cousin, Wei Liujiang greeted, ”I wish Young Royal Highness and Officer Xia good health.”
”This is my nephew. He was the scholar who won first place in the provincial imperial examination and he's now come to Jin Ling to take the examination,” Assistant Minister Mu introduced proudly.
”Minister, let's have tea inside,” Xia Chunyu said, ignoring Wei Liujiang completely.
Mu Qinchu and Wei Liujiang were upset. It seemed that Xia Chunyu still remembered the mishap that happened between them and his friend. Even Helian Jing didn't pay them any attention.
Ye Jinrong was dressed especially elegant today. She wore white silk lingerie, a pale pink and grey coat with a matching pale pink watery patterned dress. The delicate scattered flower patterns were made of gold silk that cost about 100 silver per unit. She was also wearing a gold necklace adorned with jade and pearls. The beads and gold hairpins she was wearing were also the most popular ones at the time.
She figured that this was the only chance she would get to dress this extravagantly so she made certain that she would dress well.
Madam Mu Qie walked ahead of her looking faint. She didn't want to take her nephew's wife here. This kind of occasion was a good chance to get their own daughter into the limelight and show her off to other nobles. However, Liujiang begged her to take Jinrong here so she had to acquiesce.
The housekeeper led them to drink some tea in the flower hall.
The flower hall was filled with the rich women of the capital city. It was said that all the most powerful women, except those from the palace, were here.
Qie knew some of them so she went over there to say hi. Ye Jinrong followed her and dutifully say her greetings from behind Mu Qie. Her gestures and mannerisms showed her good upbringing so some young women went ahead to chat with her.
Qie saw that she was doing well on her own so she left Jinrong behind to chat with some familiar madams.
”I'm the first daughter of the Yang governor. My mother's house is also in Yang Zhou. Maybe I have some connections with your family,” one scholar madam said with a smile.
Ye Jinrong smiled back. ”What's the surname of your mother?”
”Zhu.”
”The Zhu family that had been famous for a century?” Ye Jinrong tried to look surprised.
The madam smiled. ”That is right.”
Ye Jinrong said happily, ”We do have a real connection. I remember Zhu's first madam eating with my family before.”
”Is that right? First Madam is my mother…”
The two quickly got familiar with each other as they exchanged stories and gossips.
The servant girls came in and out with tea and fruits. The housekeeper reported progress and such to Princess Yu De from time to time to keep her apprised of how the guests were doing.
”Old Ancestress is ready. Are we going to a theater?”
Yu De smiled. ”Yes. You can take the madams to the theater and I will welcome Old Ancestress by myself.”
Everyone moved to the back garden.
There were an inner garden and an outer garden in the royal mansions. The outer garden was for a variety show and the inner garden was holding a troupe.
”Second Lady?” a servant woman called in a stunned voice.
Ye Jinrong was chatting with Zhu so she wasn't paying much attention to her surroundings.
No one knew who the servant was calling for so they ignored her.
Suddenly, she chased up and blocked Ye Jinrong. She exclaimed excitedly, ”Second Lady, it is really you! I thought I was seeing things. Second Lady, ever since the First Lady married to the Wei family in Ji Nan, you also disappeared. We thought you've been harmed. Second Lady, where have you been for half a year?”