/
Once Wen lao-furen’s daughter uttered those words, a number of noble daughters among the guests began to stir.
The aforementioned few were the fiancées of several men from the Wen Family, for all of them had painstakingly prepared their congratulatory gifts.
When Mu Qing Ling thought about the congratulatory gift she had prepared, she could not wait to present it in front of everyone and step on Ruan Xi’s face viciously. The other noble daughters had thoughts similar to Mu Qing Ling; they wanted to display their talents in front of the guests, but the unfortunate part was that they could not find the chance and they could only hope that Qin-Wen shi would put in more effort.
Qin-Wen shi evidently noticed the scorching hot and expectant gazes coming from the womenfolk section, so her thoughts turned, and she immediately understood their intentions. Her lips hooked up. Since they wanted to be in the limelight, she would be the eastern wind and grant their wishes.
“Mother, look at how old I am, and yet this mouth of mine still offends people once it speaks. Why did I say that I only wanted to see Ting Zhou’s fiancĂ©e’s congratulatory gift? That’s too biased, why don’t we see what kind of gifts the fiancĂ©es of the younger generation have prepared for yĂ”u?”
Once those words left Qin-Wen shi‘s mouth, Duke An’s countenance darkened instantaneously.
This younger sister of his was still a huge nuisance.
Today was their mother’s major birthday; would it kill her concoct less wicked ideas?
Wen lao-furen also felt a burst of suffocation in her heart. No matter how strict her teachings were, this daughter of hers never improved ever since she was young, and she was still giving her stress during her longevity feast.
Ruan Xi was rendered speechless by Wen Ting Zhou’s irksome paternal aunt. To say that she was outrageous would be going too far, but she was definitely the type of person who would vocalise whatever came to her mind, and could not hold herself back from speaking.
æžć“ (pinyin: zi pin) – in slang, it means outrageous, but Ruan Xi was probably going for a double meaning, since it can also mean ‘highest ranking’ and ‘annoying to the extreme’.
Hence, the husband that Qin-Wen shi married was an uncouth and older general that had been carefully selected by the Wen Family, who could tolerate Qin-Wen shi‘s personality. Or else, she wouldn’t be as stagnant as she was, even at this age.
Wen Ting Zhou had once mentioned Qin-Wen shi‘s past achievements to her before. She looked at the surrounding guests who were keeping their calm in face of the unexpected, then she turned towards Qin-Wen shi‘s husband general who actually looked approving as he nodded his head.
“Mother-in-law, I feel like Ah Lan is correct. When it’s Ah Lan’s major birthday, I will ask the fiancĂ©es of our grandsons to present their gifts in front of everyone to make Ah Lan happy.” General Qin’s vocal cords were particularly loud, but his words were making lips twitch.
Ruan Xi: “

”
She suddenly sympathised with Wen lao-furen a little. This pair of husband and wife were a perfect match.
Having a daughter as Qin-Wen shi was already as vexing as it was, but now there was the addition of an annoying son-in-law.
The worst part was the fact that the male guests left and right of them, who were military officers, agreed with them greatly.
“Lao Furen, I think that Old Qin speaks correctly, rather than making them present their congratulatory gifts after the longevity banquet, perhaps they should present it in front of everyone, and allow us to broaden our horizons. In any case, they will be entering yĂ”ur Wen Family.”
“Hear, hear.”
“

”
Upon obtaining support from her husband and his cadre of military officers, Qin-Wen shi became even happier.
“Mother, look, they feel like my suggestion isn’t bad as well!”
The members of the imperial family and royal clan: “

”
They really did not want to admit that Qin-Wen shi had the imperial bloodline.
It was apparent Mu Qing Ling and the other noble daughters were slightly excited, and they secretly felt like Qin-Wen shi was truly giving it her all.
On the other hand, Zhang shi was pretending to comfort Ruan Xi in a low voice.
“Si niang, you don’t have to worry. It doesn’t matter if your congratulatory gift isn’t valuable; as long as your heart-felt intentions are in the right place, Wen lao-furen will not mind it.”
She knew that si niang had prepared a congratulatory gift, and while she did not know what the specific item was, Zhang shi felt assured in the knowledge that Mama Lin would ensure that quality. Furthermore, Earl Chengyi was already aware of Ruan Xi’s congratulatory gift, and he was not worried in the least.
“Mother speaks rightly.”
“Mn, it’s good enough that you’re cognizant of the situation.”
“Mother, please rest assured, I will not throw the Earl Residence’s face.” She would throw Ting Zhou da ge‘s face even less.
As Ruan san niang listened to her mother comfort her fourth sister, she took a glimpse at her fourth younger sister who was unperturbed and calm as always. A wave of displeasure swept through her heart. Honestly speaking, this event also happened in her past life, and even though she had some fame to her name, her family background was not enough so she did not have the right to attend Wen lao-furen‘s banquet. While she did not know the exact details, the vexations that Qin-Wen shi had caused during Wen lao-furen‘s longevity banquet was made known to the public, and she remembered it clearly.
She had been waiting for this scene the entire time. Sure enough, it was the same as her past life, wherein Qin-Wen shi had started causing trouble.
Ruan san niang was waiting to see her fourth sister being made a joke.
She wondered, would her fourth sister be at a deficit once her congratulatory gift was shown?
Ruan Xi was responding to Zhang shi‘s false display of affection with a smile when she keenly sensed the changes in Ruan san niang‘s emotions. Slanting her head to look at her, she caught the schadenfreude and glee in her eyes. Ruan Xi went silent. It seemed like Ruan san niang really wanted to see her being humiliated.
She glanced in Wen Ting Zhou’s direction, meeting Wen Ting Zhou’s worry-filled gaze. She gave him a placating smile before she said two words soundlessly.
Rest assured.
Once Wen Ting Zhou saw Ruan Ruan being calm and self-possessed as always, he proceeded to look at Earl Chengyi and his furen’s expression before he settled his heart slightly.
Although Wen lao-furen had yet to speak, Duke An could not restrain himself any longer.
“Da mei, stop making trouble.”
性ćŠč (pinyin: da mei) – oldest younger sister.
Qin-Wen shi became unhappy immediately. “How am I making trouble? I’m just trying to make Mother happy on this truly auspicious day, besides, everyone agrees with my suggestion.”
Duke An was irritated by his annoying younger sister.
What of making their mother happy? Their mother would already be very happy if she stopped adding to her stress and creating trouble.
If it weren’t in the consideration that it was their mother’s major and festive birthday, he would be itching to severely reprimand this untactful and ruckus-causing da mei of his.
Since they were forcefully divided, the guest did not make a sound, nor could they refute. Truth to be told, they wanted to see the Wen Family put up a good show as well. As for the powerful officials whose daughters or granddaughters were engaged to the Wen Family, they secretly wished that their daughter could show themselves and suppress Wen gongzi’s fiancĂ©e a little.
Wen lao-furen finally spoke up at this moment.
“Since everyone is in agreement with Ah Lan’s suggestion, I will open this precedent.”
The guests below immediately roused their spirits, and they did not mind the fact that Wen lao-furen was bringing them into the equation. Duke An became more vexed upon seeing this.
Mu Qing Ling and her ilk became delighted instantaneously.
The first to go on stage was Duke An’s legitimate second son’s fiancĂ©e— Marquis Dingbei’s legitimate youngest daughter.
Her congratulatory gift was a painting of life-prolonging stork that she had painted with her hands, which made everyone gasp in amazement.
Image of the Stork Painting
Wen lao-furen smiled and gave a word of praise: “Good painting!”
Marquis Dingbei’s furen was full of smiles.
The second individual taking the stage was Duke An’s illegitimate second son’s fiancĂ©e— Marquis Jian’an’s illegitimate daughter.
She sent a precious and substantially large calligraphy painting of the peaches of immortality to wish her longevity.
Wen lao-furen merely smiled and nodded her head.
The third individual taking the stage was Duke An’s illegitimate third son’s fiancĂ©e— the illegitimate daughter of the Minister of Works.
She sent a small screen with ‘longevity’ (ćŁœ) character she personally embroidered, and her embroidery was absolutely beautiful.
Wen lao-furen said smilingly: “Not bad.”
please read this on yuulation dot wordpress dot com
The fourth individual was the person everyone was waiting for, Ruan Xi. Her family background was the lowest.
Everyone looked towards Wen gongzi concurrently without prior agreement. A mild and elegant smile was still hanging on Wen Ting Zhou’s handsome face, as if he was quite confident in his fiancĂ©e, but the curled-up hands under his sleeves betrayed his true emotions.
Ruan Xi held onto the wooden case and stepped forward, her bearing scholarly in taste, her expression calm, and the posturing of her body perfectly straight. Her aura was formidable, her etiquette and mien conformed to the standards flawlessly, and not a single blemish could be found.
The guests present nodded their heads slightly.
A smear of approval emerged in Wen lao-furen’s eyes.
Mu Qing Ling, who was lined up behind Ruan Xi in offering birthday felicitations, bit her lips, a glint of jealousy flitting past her eyes.
Ruan san niang, who had been waiting to see Ruan Xi being humiliated, widened her eyes in shock and she nearly flipped over the teacup in her hand.
She had always known that her fourth sister had gone through great changes under Mama Lin’s guidance, but she did not expect that her fourth sister would be so outstanding and dazzling to the point where she could overshadow the brilliance of the three noble daughters preceding her with just her innate aura alone.
As Wen Ting Zhou stared at the dazzling Ruan Ruan, his eyes brightened up, a glint of pride flashing across his eyes unconsciously.
Wen furen smiled.
Whereas the mood of the noble daughters who were just suppressed by a small illegitimate daughter from an Earl Residence did not feel any better, and they could only pray that her congratulatory gift was unpresentable and unworthy of the stage. After all, it was just a present case, what kind of decent gift could it have?
“Earl Chengyi Residence’s Ruan Xi wishes Wen lao-furen happiness and longevity that will extend continuously, and to be of sound health.”
After saying that, Ruan Xi offered up the present case with both hands. She did not immediately announce what kind of congratulatory gift it was like the other noble daughters, nor did she take it out for everyone to view.
“Huh, it’s actually a hand-copied Avatamsaka Sutra, Ruan yatou has the heart.”
Truth to be told, Wen lao-furen had learned the fact that Ruan Xi had burned incense, prayed for her blessings, and copied the scriptures as her congratulatory gift from Mama Lin early on. She was content to begin with, and in addition to loving the house and its crow, she was naturally liberal with her praise.
Once Wen lao-furen made that utterance, Wen Ting Zhou relaxed internally, his mouth quirking up slightly.
Ruan Ruan, this naughty little girl, she made him worry for nothing.
No one was surprised by Wen lao-furen’s open praise, since there was no one among the circle of influential officials who was oblivious to the fact that Wen lao-furen was fond of delving into and studying the Avatamsaka Sutra.
Copying scriptures for her elder, Ruan si xiaojie’s congratulatory gift conformed with the norms of their society. It was not remarkable, but its dependability and sincerity were more than enough. No flaws could be picked from the gesture, and it also suited Ruan si xiaojie’s identity and social position.
This Ruan si xiaojie was not simple.
The impression that the guests had of Ruan Xi was pushed up a notch.
Only the noble daughters who were the fiancĂ©es of the Wen Family’s young men felt their mood worsen. The smiles on their faces were slightly rigid as they internalised their vexation. Why didn’t they think of sending such a congratulatory gift?
Perhaps because copying scriptures was too normal and commonplace, the thought did not occur to them at all; they only wanted to reveal their talents and showcase the best image of themselves. But in front of Ruan Xi’s average and mundane hand-copied Avatamsaka Sutra, their selfish motives seemed slightly heavy, their sincerity insufficient, and they were forcibly removed from their pedestals.
The distant Li Cheng Jing felt his mouth twitch. He knew Zi Run and Ruan si xiaojie were a match made in heaven. Tsk tsk, they were equally cunning and equally good at pulling hate.
The man’s congratulatory gift pulled ahead and took first place with its incomparable earnestness and sincerity, whilst the woman’s present was not precious, but her piece of genuine sincerity was not something the other noble daughters could compare to.
Ruan san niang was not stupid either. She realised that her fourth sister’s congratulatory gift had been delivered to Wen lao-furen’s heart directly. Her heart ached from the suffocating anger. She originally wanted to see her fourth sister being made a joke of, but not only did not she not see it, she even had to stew with a stomach full of anger.
Her fourth sister was truly her unlucky star.
Mu Qing Ci’s eyes glittered and brightened. Ruan si xiaojie was truly amazing; she had exhibited her intelligence thoroughly and vividly.
please read this on yuulation dot wordpress dot com
After Ruan Xi withdrew respectfully, the Mu Qing Ling behind her scolded Ruan Xi for stealing the limelight. Maybe because she had too many thoughts and found it hard to recompose herself, everything from her etiquette, protocol, bearing, and behaviour were inevitably a grade lower, which made people frown involuntarily.
Mu Qing Ling’s congratulatory gift was a ‘good fortune as one wishes’ painting. In terms of painting skills, she was equally matched with Marquis Dingbei’s legitimate youngest daughter, making it evident that she was quite talented in the painting aspect.
Wen lao-furen smiled and nodded.
Seeing that Wen lao-furen only smiled and nodded without giving any verbal praise, Mu Qing Ling became quite aware that her own performance had missed the standard, which made her hate Ruan Xi more. Especially with her fiancĂ© Wen Ting Yi’s loathing gaze, it made Mu Qing Ling, the most favoured concubine-born daughter of Assistant Minister Mu, lose her rationality. Before she withdrew, she could not resist saying something she should not have said.
“Lao Furen, there has been hearsay that Ruan si xiaojie’s training Mama is yĂ”ur trusted Mama Lin. With Mama Lin guiding Ruan si xiaojie, her congratulatory gift would surely suit yĂ”ur heart’s intentions the most.”
She was short of directly pointing out the fact that Ruan Xi’s congratulatory gift was quietly suggested by Mama Lin.
With this splash of ink, the sincerity in Ruan Xi’s congratulatory gift would then change in taste, making it seem a little utilitarian.
The smile on Wen lao-furen’s face converged, and coldness seeped into Wen Ting Zhou’s smile.
The education of this Mu Family’s young lady was truly an eye-opener for him.
Assistant Minister Mu and Mu furen’s complexion darkened instantaneously, and they fervently wished that they could stitch up Mu Qing Ling’s mouth.
She was truly a disgrace.
On the other hand, Ruan san niang’s spirit was greatly roused. Mu Qing Ling was truly impressive; she just vocalised her thoughts.
As she gloated in her fourth sister’s misfortune, she looked towards her and deliberately asked in a small voice:
“Si mei, did you copy the scriptures for Wen lao-furen because of Mama Lin’s suggestion?”
The womenfolk that were the closest to their table perked up their ears in succession.
Zhang shi shot a vicious glare at the trouble-making counterfeit.
“San niang, still your tongue, your si mei copied the scriptures and prayed for Wen lao-furen’s good fortune out of genuine sincerity.”
“San jie, when you’re preparing a congratulatory gift for an elder’s major birthday, aren’t you supposed to follow your own heartfelt thoughts, why would you listen to another person’s suggestion?”
Ruan Xi pretended to be surprised as she looked at Ruan san niang.
Zhang shi heaved a sigh of relief in her heart as she said smilingly: “Si niang speaks correctly. San niang, you have to remember that when you’re giving your elders a congratulatory gift in the future, your intentions are the most important, not the value of the gift.”
Ruan san niang’s attempt to send out the figurative troops was unsuccessful once more, and she was severely reprimanded by her mother too, so her complexion became uglier.
The surrounding womenfolk who were eavesdropping nodded in agreement.
The pointed nature of Mu Qing Ling’s words was too strong, and anyone could hear the malice in her words as long as they were human. It goes without saying that the noble daughters who were part of the comparison were well-aware of her ill-intentions, but they inwardly praised Mu Qing Ling for vocalising their thoughts well, as they prepared themselves to watch a good show.
But before Wen Ting Zhou could stand out and use his strength to protect his wife, Qin-Wen shi took to the stage again, and she antagonised Mu Qing Ling without the slightest courtesy.
“The Mu Family has good teachings indeed, for managing to teach a narrow-minded and intensely jealous yatou like you. My Mother being fond of reading the Avatamsaka Sutra is something that everyone is aware of, and isn’t copying scriptures and praying for Mother’s good fortune incredibly normal? It proves that she has placed Mother’s interests in her heart, and she genuinely and sincerely wishes and prays for Mother’s continued longevity. Whereas you only want to display your best talents during Mother’s longevity banquet, and spurred by your filthy intentions, you assumed that Wen Ting Zhou’s fiancĂ©e was the same as you.”
With Qin-Wen shi’s prattling rant, she tore apart that smudge of selfish intention that Mu Qing Ling possessed, scolding Mu Qing Ling to the point where she was covered in dirt had her complexion was ghastly pale.
A person with an ineffectual upbringing reprimanding another person for their seemingly worrying upbringing was terrible, because it made people want to laugh uncontrollably.
However, they had no choice but to admit that Qin-Wen shi’s words were extremely reasonable.
This was the first time Wen lao-furen felt that her vexing daughter was very pleasant to the eye.
Similarly, Wen Ting Zhou felt that this paternal aunt of his was actually quite decent.
“Ah Lan has spoken well, some people have their own selfish intentions so they’re framing others in a bad light too, why don’t they look at what kind of trash they are first?”
In a moment’s work, Mu Qing Ling’s face had been completely swept to the ground.
In spite of that, the people antagonising her were her elders, and she could only swallow this bloodied loss, or else her reputation would become more unpleasant.
Assistant Minister Mu’s face was green. No matter how much he liked this daughter, he could no longer muster any adoration for her.
Whereas Ruan Xi was split between laughter and tears, because she did not expect that Qin-Wen shi would carry her out of her predicament.
She looked at Wen Ting Zhou’s visage and realised that he felt the same, so she could not resist chuckling soundlessly.
Just like that, the small disturbance passed.
Once Wen lao-furen finished eating the longevity noodles in front of everyone, the longevity banquet officially began. There was fine liquor and delicacies, wine cups and gambling chips lied intertwined, the entire banquet rang out with well-wishes endlessly and it was full of joy.
Ruan Xi discovered that a fair number of womenfolk and Wen family members would occasionally cast their glances towards her, paying attention to her table etiquette.
Ruan Xi was rather stable and proper; her manner of eating and wine toasting was elegant and well-practiced, but she did feel extremely helpless in her heart.
Fortunately, she knew that she was not the only one enjoying this treatment.
Once the longevity banquet concluded, the younger generation went out to take a breather and chat, whereas the older guests did not leave.
The matured princes took the chance to make friends with the cabinet ministers, but the Fourth Prince did not join in.
Meanwhile, Ruan san niang had been paying attention to the Fourth Prince’s movements once the banquet concluded. Upon seeing the Fourth Prince leave, she quickly followed him.
Ruan Xi: “

”
Ruan san niang was clearly holding onto her hopes still. She hoped that the Fourth Prince would not be as unlucky as their last encounter, since the male and female protagonist’s first encounter had been a spectacle too horrible to endure because of Ruan san niang sticking a foot in.
She could still remember the hilarious sight of the Fourth Prince being thwacked with a stuffed bun by the female protagonist even now.
Ruan Xi proceeded to throw Ruan san niang to the back of her head as her gaze intersected with the distant Wen Ting Zhou, and Wen Ting Zhou proceeded to smile slightly before he abandoned Li Jing Cheng and the rest. Under their teasing looks, he walked over to Ruan Xi in large strides and speak in a warm voice:
“Ruan Ruan, zu mu is tired. Let’s go out and walk around first, I’ll bring you over to greet zu mu later.”
Smiling, Ruan Xi nodded. “Alright.”
When Wen furen saw them leaving shoulder-to-shoulder, she laughed wordlessly.
please read this on yuulation dot wordpress dot com
Wen Ting Zhou wanted to interact with Ruan Xi alone, so he did not go to the flower garden or the pavilions. Rather, he brought Ruan Xi to a secluded area.
But who could have known there would be people here? Moreover, it was the familiar trio they encountered in the small forest at the flower banquet last time.
Ruan Xi: “

”
What kind of predestined affinity was this?