Cai Wei was invited into the mansion of the county magistrate, led by an old maid, towards the Small Flower Hall where Madam Cui usually stayed.
As they passed by the garden within the mansion, they saw a girl around fifteen or sixteen years old walking towards them.
The girl had a slightly round face, fair skin, and round eyes that were lively and spirited. Her hair was arranged in an Auspicious Cloud Bun with a Benevolent Wind Fan Hairpin tucked in on the side. She wore a cherry red brocade carved flower dress and a pair of Cloud Slik Embroidered shoes. Her entire attire was both noble and subtly elegant, clearly marking her as a young lady of a prominent family.
Indeed, upon seeing the girl, the old maid immediately stopped and saluted her, addressing her as "Eldest Miss!"
The Eldest Miss barely acknowledged the maid, but her round eyes were fixated on Cai Wei. She stared at Cai Wei with an unfriendly gaze and asked the maid, "Who is this? What is she doing at our home?"
The old maid replied, "Eldest Miss, this girl is a guest of Madam Cui’s and has come to visit her!"
"Oh, I see," the girl responded.
The young girl patted her chest as if she had just rid herself of a heavy burden, stuck out her tongue and laughed, "You gave me a scare. I thought you might be another concubine sent over by those flatterers for my dad!"
A vertical line appeared on Cai Wei’s forehead. Even though her demeanor was truly dignified, how could she still be mistaken for a concubine? Or was it that the Miss’s dad was frequently gifted concubines, so the girl saw every woman as a possible concubine?
However, despite the misunderstanding, Cai Wei didn’t develop a bad impression of the girl. As they say, one’s appearance reflects one’s heart. The girl had an inherently pure and cute appearance which made it difficult not to like her.
"Greetings to Eldest Miss!"
Out of politeness, Cai Wei also bowed to the young girl, greeting her in return.
With no pretense, the Eldest Miss jovially said, "There’s no need for formalities. I apologize for the misunderstanding earlier. Please, don’t hold it against me! Oh, by the way, my name is Shen Juhua, what’s your name?"
Upon hearing this name, Cai Wei almost burst out laughing, struck by the amusing connotations of Miss Shen’s name. She really couldn’t understand why ancient people had such an affinity for chrysanthemums and attributed such elegant connotations to them. Could they not see the plant’s striking similarity to a certain part of the human anatomy? Or perhaps it’s the later generations who are too obscene and have tainted the integrity of this gentleman of flowers!
A maid in her home called Chun Liu was originally named Juhua (Chrysanthemum), but she could not stand that name and later changed it to Chun Liu.
Although she had no power to change Miss Shen’s name, she had to adapt to it. Therefore, while trying to hold back her laughter, Cai Wei responded with a smile, "To err is human, and moreover, Miss Shen’s clear distinction between love and hate, her total dislike of evil, is something I admire. How could I blame you?"!
Shen Juhua blinked, "Oh, so your name is Cai Wei? That’s a really nice name, unlike mine, Shen Juhua, which is so tacky!"
Cai Wei pressed her lips together, holding back her laughter, and thought to herself: Miss Juhua, if only you knew the other connotation of Juhua, you wouldn’t simply complain about it being tacky...
An old maid standing behind Shen Juhua spoke up, "Eldest Miss, don’t say such things. Your name was personally chosen by the Old Master, who loves the dignified character of a chrysanthemum, hence he gave you this name. All the other misses are envious of you!"
Shen Juhua pouted her lips and snorted, "What’s all this about ’A fragrant chrysanthemum in the forest shining, a green pine on a rock forming a queue; Preferring to embrace scent and die on the branch, never to be blown away among the fading flowers.’ It sounds like he has a lot of integrity, but in the end?"