Chapter 46: Secret Tribulation (2)
In the blink of an eye, it was the day for the autumn banquet at the Huainan Marquis Mansion. Although the Huainan Marquis Mansion had begun to decline, it was still a marquisate. Those from higher-class families disdained to associate with them, but those from lower-class families were still very enthusiastic, especially the arrival of Princess Hu from the Shenjun Prince Mansion, the family of Meng Qi's husband, with her youngest daughter, which made Song very proud.
For a moment, the main hall of Songhe Garden was filled with people in elegant attire and laughter. After greeting each other, everyone sat down according to their seats.
As they were talking and laughing, they heard a servant outside shouting, "The Princess of Shen County has arrived." Dongmei stood at the door and lifted the door curtain. A woman in her 30s came in first. She was wearing a red jacket with full sleeves and gold all over. She had a peony bun with a red phoenix hairpin in the middle. A string of longan-sized pearls spitted out of the hairpin, hanging down to her forehead, which made her fair skin look even more beautiful. She had a pair of big eyes that were born to speak and were full of smiles. This was the current Princess of Shen County, Hu.
Seeing Princess Shen coming in, Song got off the couch, took Madam Wu's hand, walked forward and was about to pay her respects, but was held back by Hu. "Oh, madam, you are embarrassing me. Not to mention that we are relatives, you are a generation older than me. Please take a seat." As she spoke, she helped Song sit down again and turned around to call the two girls behind her to come over.
"Come here, both of you, and pay your respects to the Madam."
The first one standing was the third daughter of the Prince's Mansion, Zhou Yingning, the legitimate daughter of the Hu family. She wore a goose yellow jacket with embroidered green twigs, a horse-like bun, a golden hairpin, a beeswax stone pearl flower, and a pair of red gold and purple pendants on her ears. Her eyebrows were drawn thin and long, and her eyes were fixed straight ahead, with a full attitude.
Standing behind Zhou Yingning was the concubine daughter of the Prince of Shen, the second child, Zhou Yinghan. Compared to Zhou Yingning, Zhou Yinghan was dressed much more low-key, with her jet-black hair tied up in a bun at the back of her head, a coral and turquoise beaded flower on her head, a sky-blue jacket, and a moon-white embroidered skirt.
Princess Hu of Shen County was naturally welcomed to the top, and she looked Meng Qi up and down. Meng Qi felt uncomfortable being looked at by her, and twisted her body, but after a glance from Wang, she became more obedient.
"I haven't seen the fourth young lady for more than half a year, and she has added new colors. Now, I just hope that the two years will pass quickly so that I can enjoy the blessing of being a daughter-in-law." Mrs. Hu said with a smile.
Song continued, "In terms of beauty, the girls from the princess's family are better. I see that the third young lady has not only grown taller, but also looks better than before. You can see the princess' spirit. I don't know how the princess taught them. They are all as lovable as flowers."
Song wanted Meng Qi to perform in front of Hu, and after some polite conversation, she smiled and said, "Sister Qi, please take the other girls to the back garden and show the program you carefully prepared to make everyone happy."
Meng Qi stood up with a red face and replied softly, "Yes," with the dignified look of a young lady from a wealthy family, which made Meng Juan turn her head away with disdain.
After Meng Juan and her mother lived in the Huainan Marquis' Mansion, Song had said that she would take her out more often, but she was just pretending. She did go, but only to families of middle class or middle class. She had never been to the second wife Liu's family home, or the eldest young lady Jiang's sister's home, or even to a marquis' mansion.
Liu also saw that Song was just trying to please them. Seeing Meng Juan's angry expression, she comforted her daughter, "You are losing your temper now. Don't you think about how your father lived under these people's control? Don't worry, if Song helps you with your marriage, we will still think of her well. Since she is like this, we won't bother her."
"Mom, have you chosen someone?"
Liu nodded. "Your father thought of this before he left, so we didn't count on them. In this case, let's do it ourselves. When the Marquis asks about it, we'll have something to say."
Ever since Meng Juan followed her father to Beijing, Liu told her that she should not be timid no matter whether she came to the Marquis' Mansion or the Duke's Mansion, and she should never let herself be wronged, because it would not be long before, as long as her father's great plan was accomplished, these people would kneel down and beg her father.
Although she didn't know what the big deal was, she saw how attentive Song was after she arrived at the mansion, and how Wang had to pretend to be kind despite her reluctance. There were also the only two young ladies in the mansion. Although Meng Qi was Wang's daughter who came back in her old age and was very precious to her, she couldn't do anything to her. Not to mention Meng Xiu, an unwelcome concubine's daughter, who was even more cautious in flattering her, she knew that her mother's words were true.
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Meng Qi led the ladies into the garden. There were not many ladies here today, less than ten in twos and threes. Zhou Yingning walked in front. The hibiscus flowers in the garden were in full bloom, white, purple, and red, emitting a faint fragrance. In the pavilion among the flowers, an eight-person table was set up, with various fruits, snacks, and fruit juices on it.
Meng Juan lifted her skirt and walked into the pavilion, smiling and asking everyone to sit down, looking like the mistress of the house. Meng Qi wanted to speak when she saw her, but Meng Xiu pulled her clothes, shook her head at her, and motioned her to go see Zhou Yingning.
Meng Qi endured it, although she was reluctant but had no choice.
Zhou Yingning asked loudly, "Sister Qi, didn't you say you had prepared a program for us? What is it?"
"Haha, I know about this program." Meng Juan covered her mouth and laughed, "Fourth sister has a girl who can tell stories. She is very precious. We usually don't have the chance to listen to her. For all the sisters to come, Fourth sister has put in a lot of effort. She said that she asked the girl to prepare several good stories."
"Ah? Telling stories? Is that storytelling?" a young lady asked.
Although Meng Qi was angry that Meng Juan had interrupted her, she was proud of the fact that Su Qing would save her face in a little while. "She is not a simple storyteller, not the kind we often listen to. I guarantee you have never heard of her before."
"Sister Qi, is this the one who tells the story of Monkey King that you were talking about?" A little sister who was good friends with Meng Qi came forward and asked.
"Yes, it's her." Meng Qi looked at all the ladies who had sat down, and raised his head to signal Jiaohong that Su Qing could start her talk.
Next to her, Su Qing was already prepared. She went through several stories from beginning to end to make sure there was nothing missing, and then waited for Meng Qi to send someone to call her over.
"Is it Sister Su Qing?" A short girl with a rosy face came over holding the water jar that Su Qing usually used.
"I am, who are you? What's going on? Why are you holding my jar?"
"I just met the elder sister from the Fourth Miss's courtyard on the road. She asked me to bring some water to her elder sister, fearing that she would be thirsty and want to drink water after talking for too long."
Su Qing was stunned at first, then she thought of Chuan'er. She knew that she always had to drink water before and after she finished telling a story. Maybe she asked someone to bring it to her. She had been arranged to wait here since these young ladies entered the gate of the Marquis' Mansion. It had been a long time, and she was really thirsty now.
Su Qing thanked him and took the jar. She saw that it was filled with something like puffy seaweed, which was reddish brown. Su Qing never had the habit of soaking things in water, but she thought it might be Jiaohong's intention, so she didn't take it seriously. She took a big sip. It tasted strange, but she didn't care. She put down the jar and heard someone calling her. She sighed and walked over.
The girl hiding behind the flower tree saw Su Qing drink a big sip of water and then turned and ran away.