Before Shen Hua could finish speaking, Ming Tan subconsciously glanced at her. Bai Minmin and Zhou Jingwan, who knew the inside story, also looked at her in surprise.
The other girls, unaware of the truth, suddenly understood upon hearing Shen Hua’s words.
Oh, so it turns out this Third Miss Ming was bullying people in her own mansion, relying on her superficial martial arts skills.
This Miss Ming San truly has no manners whatsoever. A daughter of a concubine, yet she’s so arrogant. And intentionally causing someone to fall into the water isn’t enough; she’s constantly hoping and wishing for them to develop some illness from falling into the water. Her heart is truly uniquely malicious.
While they thought this, they never once doubted that Shen Hua was lying, because although Shen Hua and Ming Tan were vaguely referred to as cousins, their relationship was clearly not close. When they went out together, they often had their own circles, and occasionally even secretly competed. Given this, how could Shen Hua possibly defend her without reason?
It must be that this Miss Ming San was too overbearing, provoking others’ disapproval. And she even dared to whip her legitimate younger sister at every turn, so Shen Hua, this distant cousin residing in the manor, probably suffered no less bullying from her.
Thinking this, the gazes directed at Ming Chu were filled with much more disdain and disgust.
Shen Hua also looked directly at Ming Chu. Seeing Ming Chu emerge from her confusion and try to explain, she gently and softly cut her off before she could speak: “Actually, it’s enough for a young lady to know a few moves for self-defense. Accidentally hurting someone is ultimately not good, and moreover, it’s very possible to accidentally hurt yourself.”
Ming Chu: “I—”
Ming Tan lightly pressed her temples, taking over from Shen Hua, and said softly with a hint of weakness: “Cousin is right. I’m just a little dizzy from not having breakfast; it has nothing to do with falling into the water that day. The doctor has already taken my pulse and prescribed medicine, and there are no signs of a cold. Third Sister doesn’t need to keep this matter on her mind all the time.”
Ming Chu: “Lantern Festival—”
“Third Sister will surely see the fireworks of the Lantern Festival next year.” Shen Hua said with a smile to comfort her, then explained to everyone, “Third Sister is still a young girl at heart. When she came back from Yangxi Road earlier, she kept urging us, wanting to rush back to the capital before the Lantern Festival night to see the Lantern Festival fireworks. But it’s cold and the journey is long, so how could she make it in such a short time?”
Ming Tan heard this, and a hint of helplessness immediately appeared on her face. She echoed, “Actually, it’s also my fault. If I hadn’t told the little maids how lively the capital was during the Lantern Festival, and Third Sister just happened to overhear it and feel regret, she wouldn’t have gotten sulky for no reason and whipped things in the garden.”
“Speaking of the Lantern Festival, the tangyuan Ah Tan made herself this year tasted really good.” Bai Minmin also reacted and added.
Zhou Jingwan covered her lips and whispered, “Speaking of which, I also feel very regretful. During the Lantern Festival, Ah Tan sent an invitation, inviting me to her mansion to taste the tangyuan she made herself. But my body is really uncooperative; every autumn and winter, I always catch a cold for several days and have to rest in bed.”
Ming Chu: “……?”
What the hell is Yuanzi, eaten in Xianjiang?
Are they all lying through their teeth?
“Jingwan, my old madam has found a recipe to strengthen the body. I’ll send it to your residence tomorrow. You can find a doctor to see if you can also use it.”
“Atan, are you still dizzy? You can’t go out without breakfast, even if it’s just a few pastries.”
“What kind of tangyuan? You’re making me want to try some. Why didn’t Atan send me some to taste, you stingy person, quickly give me back the sachet I made for you!”
……
Ming Chu hadn’t even sorted out the lies those people were spinning when the conversation had already drifted, and no one gave her a chance to speak again.
Before long, the scholars invited by Zhang Huaiyu also arrived one after another. Everyone’s attention was drawn to the other garden, separated only by a translucent floral wall, and they all lingered there under the guise of admiring the flowers.
Shen Hua deliberately lagged behind. As she brushed past Ming Chu, she whispered a warning, “I advise you to behave yourself. If you ruin your fourth sister’s reputation, do you think you can still find a good husband? Outsiders will only say that even a legitimate daughter, pampered in the capital since childhood, is nothing special, let alone a concubine’s daughter raised by a concubine.
“The Marquis might dote on you and be reluctant to harm you, but what about Madam? What about the Duke of Chang’s mansion? Even if the Marquis dotes on you as if his life depends on it and insists on protecting you, what about your姨娘? A mistress of the house, does she need any reason to deal with a concubine? She’d just die.”
Ming Chu suddenly froze, her back stiff.
She stood there, digesting it for a while, her mind filled with Shen Hua’s nonchalant words, “If she dies, she dies.”
Princess Fengzhao noticed Ming Chu still standing in the pavilion and approached her, scrutinizing her lightly, asking suspiciously, “Is what they just said about the reason for falling into the water true?”
Ming Chu pursed her lips, stiff for a long time, and finally gritted her teeth and nodded.
Fengzhao had no intention of speaking another word to a mere concubine’s daughter. Hearing this, she felt it was uninteresting and turned away disdainfully.
This scene fell into Ming Tan’s eyes, who was not far away. She lowered her gaze, gently sniffing the fallen pear blossoms, and said nothing.
Before long, poems praising spring frequently came from the neighboring garden. Shu Jingran was highly regarded by scholars and talented individuals in the capital, and now that he had passed the imperial examination, he was even more popular. Many people would first ask him to comment on their poems.
Seeing this, the young ladies on this side also became restless. Some bolder ones sweetly called out through the openwork flower wall: “The third-place scholar is incredibly talented, why don’t you give us young ladies some pointers?”
After that, many joined in the clamor. Some were modest, some were confused, some flattered the third-place scholar. With one word after another, these were all delicate young ladies from prominent families, and probably few could withstand such attention.
Shu Er shook his head helplessly, then smiled and agreed, gently replying, “I wouldn’t dare to offer guidance. All of you young ladies are naturally talented and excellent.”
Bai Minmin had been very enthusiastic in her teasing just now, and at this moment, she was still looking around in front of the leaking flower wall, brazenly saying, “Did you hear that? Young Master Shu Er praised me for being talented and excellent!”
Ming Tan: “…”
Zhou Jingwan: “…”
Both wore expressions of “whatever makes you happy.”
Of course, Bai Minmin was just indulging in some verbal sparring; she wouldn’t actually compose a poem.
When it came to poetic talent, Zhou Jingwan was undoubtedly the best among the women, and Shen Hua, who was deeply devoted to this art, could also rank among the top three.
Ming Tan could compose poetry, but among the four arts (qin, qi, shu, hua), her most outstanding talent was in playing the qin, and her chess skills were also excellent among young ladies. As for calligraphy and painting, they weren’t considered exceptional, and her calligraphy largely benefited from her beautiful handwriting. Her poetry and prose were merely passable.
After everyone finished writing, the poems were collected into a stack and sent to the adjacent garden.
“‘Camellia’s late shadow falls, new leaves reveal spring’s light.’ A beautiful poem.” Shu Jingran savored it for a long time before finally praising it.
In the adjacent garden, everyone turned their gaze to Zhou Jingwan: “Wanwan, did you write this?”
Zhou Jingwan nodded demurely.
Subsequently, Shu Jingran praised Shen Hua’s poem lamenting spring and asked with great surprise about the poem written by Princess Fengzhao. However, Princess Fengzhao’s answer was evasive and stammering, so he understood and did not press further.
“Ten thousand branches break in the rain, fragrance comes from the moon’s tip.” This describes pear blossoms.
Shu Jingran looked at the small, ornate handwriting – this poem was at most of upper-middle quality, yet for some reason, the paper seemed to faintly depict a scene of pear blossoms falling in the rain, and a light pear fragrance seemed to linger at his nose.
He held up the paper, squinting as he examined it in the sunlight, then leaned in to sniff it, suddenly chuckling, “I wonder which young lady wrote this poem? It’s quite elegant.”
Ming Tan stood in front of the openwork flower wall and replied, “Young Master Shu flatters me.”
Shu Jingran raised an eyebrow and also looked at the openwork flower wall that he had deliberately ignored.
With one glance, he was slightly surprised: “Fourth Miss Ming?”
“How does Young Master Shu know me?” Ming Tan asked curiously.
Shu Er was speechless. He couldn’t very well say that on the Lantern Festival night, when she fell into the water, he was watching the play intently not far away. Fortunately, a thought flashed through his mind. He remembered that a few years ago, when his own old madam celebrated her birthday, this Fourth Miss should have gone with the Marchioness of Jing’an.
After such an explanation, Ming Tan felt it was quite fated. Her distant glance at Shu Er was also at that birthday banquet at the Shu family.
She never expected that Shu Er would remember her from such a distant glance, and even recognize her now. If this wasn’t a match made in heaven, what was?
Shu Er then changed the subject, asking how the fragrance and shadows of the flowers came about.
Ming Tan humbly replied, “It’s just that I felt it was a pity to see the pear blossoms falling earlier, so I crushed them into the ink to add a touch of fragrance. As for the flower shadows, I can just draw them on the paper after crushing the flower juice.”
Shu Jingran understood and bowed from a distance, saying, “Thank you for the lesson.”
Ming Tan also returned the bow from afar, feeling very pleased.
She had known that poetry gatherings would inevitably involve writing poems, but her poetic talent was not outstanding, so she could only put effort into other areas.
The method just mentioned was just a rough idea. How could such elegance be achieved with a casual attempt? Moreover, the pear fragrance is light and would be completely overshadowed by the ink scent if mixed with ink. The key to this method lies in the paper. Three days ago, she had already prepared this paper, steeped in pear fragrance and painted with a hidden scene, in her mansion. Today, she specifically brought it to replace the original.
In fact, the inspiration for poetry is nothing more than flowers, plants, trees, and the shimmering spring light. She could very well do as Princess Fengzhao did, find a talented person to help her compose a few poems beforehand, and then just apply them when needed.
But she had also long thought that if she were asked a few questions and couldn’t answer, or if she were suddenly asked to compose another poem that couldn’t be applied, it would be extremely awkward, just like Princess Fengzhao.
And at this moment, the extremely awkward Princess Fengzhao was also extremely resentful of Ming Tan!
Second Young Master Shu actually spoke quite a bit with her, and he could still recognize her now, years after meeting her once! She was so angry her knuckles turned white! Pointing to a clump of peonies nearby, she said coldly, “Miss Ming Si is highly talented, but this pear blossom is rather petty. How about composing a peony poem for Second Young Master Shu to critique?”
“…”
A peony poem.
She was finding ways to make things difficult for her.
A few years ago, during the imperial selection, a woman, in an attempt to curry favor with Consort Yu, who was in charge of the selection at the time, compared her to the King of Flowers, the peony, and praised her lavishly in a poem.
There was nothing inherently wrong with a poem about peonies, but in the palace, the King of Flowers, the peony, could never be compared to a mere consort.
Later, when the poem reached Emperor Chengkang’s ears, he was furious. He immediately issued an edict ordering Consort Yu to be confined to her chambers to reflect, and instructed the palace matron to have the candidates thrown out of the palace gates, and severely reprimanded them at the gates—if you can’t write poetry, you don’t have to; if you can’t speak, you don’t have to.
After that, her father submitted a memorial to apologize, and news spread from their residence that the woman had lost her voice due to a persistent high fever.
The wrath of Emperor Chengkang still sends shivers down one’s spine, so much so that in recent years, no noblewoman in the capital has dared to compose poetry about peonies. Even simple, non-comparative praises are no longer written. Ming Tan, naturally, was unwilling and would not court such misfortune.
Feng Zhao was now consumed by jealousy, not wanting to pretend to be amiable in the slightest. All she could think was that she was a noble princess, so why should she care about the expressions of these women? She would make them understand what it meant to have different social statuses and ranks!
So everyone watched as Princess Feng Zhao stepped forward, plucked a precious peony, and while playing with it in her hand, began to recite a poem.
After speaking, she stood before Ming Tan, placed the peony in Ming Tan’s hair, and critically remarked, “Fourth Miss Ming is delicate and charming, but you are not quite suited to this peony.” She then knocked the peony down, stepped on it, and lightly ground it with her foot.
The garden fell silent for a moment.
Everyone felt that Princess Fengzhao must have gone mad.
But they had to admit, what she said was also true. She was the daughter of a prince; she could compose this poem, she could pick this flower. As a royal princess, what was there to fear? Would His Majesty really trouble his niece over this poem?
But just then, the people from the Duke of Ping’s manor, including the Duke and his wife, came rushing over in a grand procession, surrounding an eunuch who held a bright yellow imperial decree.
“An imperial decree has arrived. The fourth young lady of Jing’an Marquisate, receive the decree—”
The eunuch’s shrill voice echoed in the empty space. Before anyone could react, they were all bewildered, haphazardly kneeling down.
Ming Tan was completely stunned.
She was to receive the decree? What decree was she to receive? Had this decree been announced at the Duke of Ping’s residence? Had they called out the wrong person? It should be the fourth young lady of the Duke of Ping’s residence, but it seemed there was no fourth young lady in the Duke of Ping’s residence.
She was stunned for a moment, and only knelt properly after Zhou Jingwan pulled her.
The eunuch then unrolled the imperial decree and read aloud, “By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Ming family’s fourth daughter, A Tan, is virtuous and brilliant, dignified and intelligent, and skilled in household management… She is hereby bestowed in marriage to the Prince of Dingbei, and appointed as the Princess Consort of Dingbei. Respect this!”
