The voice was crisp and decisive, and as it fell, Ruan Wanrong, clad in red, cheerfully entered the room.
Dai Hanmi quickly got up to greet her, "Sister Rong is the worst, arriving without a peep, I’ll definitely be blamed for not going out to welcome you!"
Ruan Wanrong tapped Dai Hanmi’s nose, "You guessed it again!"
Yun Jinnian stood up and smiled faintly.
Ruan Wanrong looked at Yun Jinnian, "So it’s Sister Jinnian!"
"I’ve seen Sister Rong!"
Ruan Wanrong was slightly taken aback, then laughed, "Come on, no need to be so polite!" She went forward to take a piece of plum blossom cake and ate it before saying, "This must be made by Second Sister-in-law!"
"Only you have such a picky taste, you could tell from one bite!"
"Of course, by the way, is anyone else here? If no one is here, let’s go to Second Sister-in-law’s place to scrounge for food and drinks!" Ruan Wanrong said and grabbed Yun Jinnian’s hand, "Sister Jinnian, do you know? The pastries made by Second Sister-in-law are delicious, even better than those made by the Marquis Residence’s chef!"
"It’s my first visit, so I haven’t had a chance to try Second Sister-in-law’s pastries, but if I have the opportunity, I’ll definitely try more. However, this plum blossom cake is already very tasty!" Yun Jinnian softly said.
There was no sense of inferiority, just forthright and unassuming!
Ruan Wanrong immediately burst into laughter, "Haha, you’re really too honest!"
Many people would lavish excessive praise, but she was very matter-of-fact.
"Who’s being honest?" A pretty female voice came, and with that, two figures in pink and blue entered the room together.
"It turns out to be Sister Shuiling and Sister Danyan. I was just talking about Sister Jinnian. You’ve arrived just in time, let’s all go to Second Sister-in-law’s place for some treats!"
"Sister Jinnian? Could it be the one who wrote ’Shuofeng as if to understand, gently so as not to crush’ yesterday?" the girl in blue, Chen Danyan, asked.
"That’s her indeed!" Ruan Wanrong replied with a smile,
Hu Shuiling and Chen Danyan gave Ruan Wanrong a glare and stepped forward to greet Yun Jinnian, "Sister Jinnian, I am Hu Shuiling from the Count Xuanping Residence, fifteen this year. I’ll be coming of age soon, and you must come to my celebration!"
Yun Jinnian quickly returned the greeting, "I’ve seen Sister Hu!"
The girl in pink smiled, "I am Chen Danyan from the Elder Residence, same age as Sister Hanmi, thirteen this year. My birthday is on the 8th of March. I’ll send you an invitation, will you come?"
"I’ve seen Sister Chen, I will definitely come!"
Yun Jinnian replied, feeling that these people were too enthusiastic.
In her dreams, she only knew their names, but had never met them, let alone interacted with them!
Ruan Wanrong, Hu Shuiling, Chen Danyan, and Dai Hanmi were close friends, all legitimate daughters of their families, and shared similar personalities: warm, cheerful, generous, smart and clever.
They often visited the Zhuangyong Marquis Residence to play, so they naturally knew about the Old Madam’s illness, Third Young Master Dai Hanbo’s upcoming marriage to ward off bad luck, and that Dai Hanmi had invited Yun Jinnian over, as well as them. They understood the situation.
Especially since Yun Jinnian’s poems from yesterday were indeed good.
They had grown to like her a bit more.
Dai Hanmi laughed foolishly, "You’re guests at my home, how can you be ? It makes me want to quickly take you to Second Sister-in-law’s place and stuff your mouths with treats!"
As she spoke, Dai Hanmi took Yun Jinnian’s hand, "Sister Jinnian is young and it’s her first time visiting our home, so you mustn’t bully her!"
"With you, the tigress here, who would dare?"
The group took Yun Jinnian with them, causing a ruckus as they made their way to Mrs. Qu’s courtyard in the Zhuangyong Marquis Residence.
When they passed the garden, Dai Hanbo, who had waited for a long time, saw Dai Hanmi and Yun Jinnian with the others, took a deep breath, and emerged from behind a rockery...