Lakeside Water Pavilion, gentle breezes and pleasant warmth, red railings and green planks, winding corridors, emerald trees and exquisite flowers, the scenery was extremely luxurious, especially the flowers planted along the railings, all of which were extremely rare and precious varieties. The pairs of turquoise mandarin ducks and red-crowned white cranes in the lake added to the rarity; not to mention the artificially constructed rockeries and the pavilions adorned with objects that were clearly no ordinary items.
It would be a waste not to take a moment to appreciate such beauty. As Yueyao walked along, she took in the views, pausing whenever she saw something she liked, even showing a smile.
Nanny Hao, aware of her lady’s particular quirk, reminded her in a hushed tone, "Miss, the Heir’s Wife from Marquis Jingning’s Residence is still waiting for you!" If she allowed the young lady to continue on her way, they’d never make it to lunch.
Yueyao hadn’t noticed the expression of those around her, but at Nanny Hao’s reminder, she came back to her senses and, with a smile, said to the lady next to her, "The estate’s views are so beautiful, they’ve absolutely enchanted me."
The Servant Woman was surprised to hear Yueyao’s words but showed no sign of it on her face, instead responding respectfully, "Thank you for your appreciation, Miss Xie." Marquis Jingning’s Residence had recently received many guests, and among the visiting ladies who were seeing the marquis’ household for the first time, some were stunned by the wealth and grandeur, wearing expressions of astonishment like country bumpkins, while others pretended to be indifferent but their eyes roved everywhere. Yet none of them, except Yueyao, leisurely admired the scenery along the way. It took her more than double the time to walk a path that should have been covered in a quarter hour, without showing a trace of embarrassment. Upon entering the courtyard, they found its corridors filled with vivid, fresh flowers.
Yueyao was led by the Servant Woman into a small drawing room, which was, relatively speaking, decorated simply compared with the opulence they had seen along the way.
Yueyao had Nanny Hao and Xi Yu accompany her to the courtyard, while the old nanny who had followed them did not enter. One old nanny said to the same Servant Woman, "Nanny Chen, you’re being too polite to her. She claimed to have seen splendor in Jiangnan, but she’s just as shallow as any of them." Yueyao’s behavior, observed by those with keen eyes, seemed unseemly. Moreover, today Yueyao’s attire was not particularly remarkable, as she wore only a simple set of Jade ornament.
Nanny Chen chuckled and shook her head: "Do you know how much the jewelry she’s wearing is worth? It’s worth tens of thousands of gold pieces and it’s fine jade that money can’t buy." Today, Yueyao was wearing a set of mutton-fat jade jewelry made from a rare, whole piece of jade, which was very hard to come by and considered one of Madam Ma’s treasures. Yueyao had chosen to wear this particular jewelry set today to ensure she wouldn’t be at a disadvantage.
The old nanny who had scoffed earlier was taken aback, not having expected the maid to have such valuable assets hidden away. She had thought Yueyao was just another family fallen on hard times!
Madam Ping arrived with Luo Mingzhu. Madam Ping was wearing a peach-red cloud-patterned silk skirt adorned with gold thread and a hundred butterflies, her hair held by a slanted five-petaled plum blossom gem hairpin. She wasn’t wearing luxurious clothes or jewelry, yet her innate nobility was undiminished.
Today, Luo Mingzhu wore a light purple silk gown embroidered with large begonia flowers; the leaves and petals were not overly intricate yet appeared vividly lifelike, with fine stitching and thread that glinted subtly. Her gown extended to the ground, the hem clearly edged with golden trim, exuding opulence.
Yueyao wore a summer shirt with an auspicious pattern and a pair of straight collars, paired with a light blue twelve-sectioned moonlight skirt sprinkled with gold; she had her hair in a Chuiyun hairbun adorned with a delicate Beaded Flower, interspersed with Mutton-fat jade hairpins and tiny pearl-studded beaded flowers at the corners of her bun. On her ears dangled a pair of lustrous Jade Pendants, and a Mutton-fat jade pendant hung around her neck. She also wore an Agarwood Bracelet on her wrist. Compared with the rich and colorful Luo Mingzhu, Yueyao’s ensemble formed a stark contrast.
Luo Mingzhu surveyed Yueyao from head to toe but said nothing, heeding the earlier admonition from her elder sister-in-law and daring not to utter any rudeness.
Madam Ping, seeing her sister-in-law hold back from making sarcastic remarks, breathed a sigh of relief. She had been selecting for over half a year without finding a satisfactory one and was genuinely hoping that Yueyao would catch her sister-in-law’s eye.
Without waiting for Madam Ping to speak, Luo Mingzhu took the initiative to say, "Sister-in-law, you have also been busy; why don’t you let Miss Lian come to my courtyard!" She thought that anyone who wanted to become her Study Companion should be qualified.
Madam Ping hesitated a little but, observing Yueyao’s calm and serene demeanor, nodded and said, "That would be fine; you both are close in age and have things to talk about. Mingzhu, Miss Lian is here as a guest at the estate. Make sure you treat her well." The message was both a reminder and a warning.