C177

Before coming to the dinner, I was very confused.

It was the 4th day of the year, where did the lotus flower come from?

It wasn't until Madame Jiang arrived at the banquet that I understood.

Unlike most of the small pavilions in the Yang family, the pavilion had the elegance of a southern river. The Jiang family's pavilion was like a giant ship docked in the middle of a lake. A wide stone path led straight to the pavilion, which was extremely grand.

"Our family's old mansion in the capital has a similar pavilion." Eldest Miss Jiang had been closely following Lady Jiang to greet the ladies. The responsibility of receiving the ladies fell on Second Miss Jiang.

However, Second Miss Jiang did not seem to be very careful.

This fellow has been following me leisurely around, explaining the scenery while chatting idly with me. He has completely forgotten about the other young misses.

Lan Xin had already completely merged with the Lady Xu's group, blending in with them as they chatted and laughed along the way.

Big Miss Xue stayed close by Mrs. Xue's side. She had no intention of joining the group of ladies.

"So you're saying that the scenery of your house was built according to the old mansion in the capital?" As I walked, I admired the scenery of the Jiang manor.

To be honest, the Jiang family's scale was not big, it was not comparable to the Yang family's inner chamber, but compared with the Xue family, it was very limited.

However, the Jiang Clan's pavilion gave off a completely different feeling from the Xue Clan.

Without the pretense, the Jiang family had a grand and unrestrained style of a martial general, but it did not lose out to the gentleness of a woman.

"How is that possible!" Second Miss Jiang glared at me as if she was looking at an idiot.

"Our old house is four or five times bigger than this. How could we possibly build one like this?!"

"The reason why this pavilion was built was because my brother was extremely fond of it. That's why he created this imitation."

I couldn't help but be surprised.

I thought that Young Master Jiang would be a noble and well-behaved young master.

Otherwise, how could the Xue Clan bear to come here and beg like this?

However, from Second Miss Jiang's meaning, it seemed that Young Master Jiang wasn't the type of person to return the favor in accordance to the rules.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have spent so much money to build such a pavilion.

Second Miss Jiang seemed to be pleased by my surprised expression and proudly continued with her own words:

"Don't just look at the size of the waterfront, it doesn't even require a centimeter or so from my mother!"

"When my brother wanted to build it, my mother disagreed, saying that there was no such thing as free money in the family." A year later, he came back with three thousand taels of silver. He had my mother drive away the servants in the house and surround them with a curtain. The next day, he had a craftsman come to measure their sizes! "

I seemed to see a proud and elegant young man smiling complacently at his mother, urging her to quickly clean up the servants in the house.

Such a carefree youth!

I can't help feeling happy!

"Did your brother find out that the pavilion was in the inner chamber and that he couldn't come here often, which in turn gave you two sisters more opportunities?"

"That's right!" "How do you know!" Second Miss Jiang immediately jumped over, clapped her hands and laughed: "My brother even said that in the future, sister and I will each take 1500 taels of silver from our dowry and give it back to him!"

Usually, when a rich family marries their daughter, they only get five hundred taels of silver. I'm afraid that Miss Jiang's dowry is only two thousand taels, right?

"Then what are you going to do?" I looked at Second Miss Jiang in ridicule, but she didn't notice at all.

"Then give it to him!" Second Miss Jiang laughed happily.

I smiled and shook my head.

This young man really did not know how to feel sad!

It was only when one married off another that one would realize that marriage was a woman's forte. Not only did one have to diligently manage the business, one had to guard every single inch of the business well!

"Look, it looks good!"

Second Miss Jiang suddenly pulled me forward, causing me to stagger a few steps before regaining my balance.

It was really a lotus flower planted in a pond full of pavilions and pavilions.

A pool of blue waves rippled with powder lotus, with the spring wind stirred up by the rise and fall of the spring water, swaying left and right.

The reflection of the water and the pink lotus reflected each other like the middle of summer.

"Miss, look!" Behind me, Lan Jun let out a low cry of surprise as she pointed into the distance.

A pair of bright feathers, fat mandarin ducks in pairs from the lotus flower gap shook over.

It was not impossible to make the lotus blossom in this kind of weather, but it was not easy to make the whole pond open at the same time!

Could it be because the water in the pool was especially warm that the lotus flowers bloomed in advance?

"Why do you think the lotus blooms?" Second Miss Jiang laughed in a mysterious manner.

Just by looking at her expression, one could tell that there was something fishy going on.

I leaned against the white jade balustrade as I carefully examined the beautiful lotus flowers.

So that's how it was!

I couldn't help but laugh.

This thought was quite a coincidence!

The lotus did not bloom at all. Those pink petals and tender buds were just a pile of yarn tied to the remaining lotus branches.

If one did not pay close attention, it would be difficult to discover!

"So the yarn sold in the market recently was really good!" I smiled at Second Miss Jiang.

"How do you know?" Second Miss Jiang's eyes lit up.

"Look!" I pointed to a lotus blooming in the pond. "Where is the logic of having a lotus blossom but not having a lotus leaf?"

"Brother said that this is a concept..." Second Miss Jiang did not seem to agree with me at all.

Brother?

Young Master Jiang?

I smiled and touched the pattern on my sleeve.

It looks like Young Master Jiang is not only free and easy to handle, but also has a bit of scholarly interest in him!

"Let's go!" I pulled on the unconvinced Second Miss Jiang and pointed at the crowd in front of us. "Look at how far we have fallen!"

The Xu sisters, who were originally behind us, all walked in front of us.

Of course, Madame Jiang and the other madams attending the banquet wouldn't tease each other like Second Miss Jiang and I. Everyone already knew that such an ingenious idea came from Young Master Jiang, so they kept praising him for not only his ingenuity but also his filial piety.

Although Madame Jiang had refused, she was still beaming with joy. It was evident that she was very pleased and proud of her son.

No wonder the Jiang family was unwilling to accept Miss Xue's marriage.

A man and a daughter were different. Although the Jiang family wanted to win over the civil officials, the most important thing was to integrate into their own group. A daughter could marry into a family of noble men. It would be best if she could become a wife, but a wife would be best if she married a family born into a martial general. Not only were their manners similar, but it was also convenient for them to travel together. What's more, this Young Master Jiang is like a pearl and has been accepted by Lady Jiang as a pearl in her hands. Furthermore, the Xue family is not only gradually dwindling, Miss Xue has also entered the palace.

It seemed that Mrs. Xue had come back empty-handed this time.

Eldest Miss Xue, who was standing behind Mrs. Xue, lowered her eyes. Her thin cheeks and sharp chin made her look tender and lovable like a water caltrop. She was pinching a scrunch handkerchief with a slight smile, as if the praise given to Young Master Jiang had nothing to do with her at all.

On the other side, the young mistresses of the Xu family were not as calm. Although Lady Xu was sitting on the left side of Second Miss Xu, Lan Xin was sitting on the right side, and he was still hugging Third Miss Xu, he was obviously paying close attention to the movements of the ladies over here. He perked up his ears and refused to miss a single word of what they were saying.

I touched my face unnaturally.

Could it be that all young girls who had just had their first love would have such an appearance?

I don't know if I was like that back then, when they praised him for his rarity.

Since he had called for the Lotus Banquet, other than the lotus flowers in the lake, the cups, plates and bowls should all be related to the lotus flowers. On a large silver plate shaped like a lotus leaf, there was a lotus leaf cake. On a plate painted with blue and white porcelain, there was a fragrant, soft, powdery steamed meat … In the end, Miss Jiang served everyone a cup of fragrant white lotus tea.

"Aunts, please enjoy your meal. I'll take my leave first." Eldest Miss Jiang smiled as she got up and took her leave.

The ladies all understood that Eldest Miss Jiang was a girl waiting to be married off. Although it was a banquet held at his home, it was not appropriate for him to show up at the banquet. Everyone was married, so they naturally understood the rules. She smiled and told her to slow down when she went back.

"Where are you going, sister?"

Eldest Miss Xu's neither loud nor loud voice caught the attention of the wives present.

Lady Xu's face fell, but due to the distance between them, she could not scold him. She could only sit there dejectedly, winking at her daughter from time to time.

Second Madam Xu, who was sitting next to Madam Xu, had a subtle expression on her face. She held a cup of tea with a smile that was not a smile, as if there was a flower blooming inside. The third wife who sat next to her was even more unfathomable. She looked like a Bodhisattva as she sat by her side.

It seemed like the young ladies of the Xu family were at odds with each other, while the young ladies were probably at odds with each other already.

Otherwise, Mrs. Xu Si, who had just entered the restaurant, wouldn't have come this time.

Who would believe it? It was because Old Lady Xu wanted someone to wait on her.

What were all those maidservants doing, even asking his wife to pour tea for him?

It was obvious that he felt sorry for his little daughter-in-law, and did not want her to get involved in the dispute between his three sister-in-law.

From the looks of it, the most brilliant person in the Xu family's female servants was still Madam Xu. She allowed her daughter-in-law to fight, but she kept all of them in her hands.

He wondered if Old Lady Xu would hold this intelligent granddaughter of hers in her hands as well.

On the other side, Second Miss Xu looked extremely flustered. She anxiously looked at her elder sister, as if she was extremely worried for her.

Smart people are like this. They care a lot about you when it's time for them to show themselves. They should not hide behind you when it's time for them to show themselves.

Last time at Grandmother's banquet, Second Miss Xu showed her concern for Third Miss, but when I was about to send Third Miss back, she didn't make a sound, as if she didn't hear me.

"This Second Miss is a talent!" Lan Xin smiled brightly and whispered in my ear.

Clearly, she was referring to Second Miss Jiang.

The guests were arranged according to their relationship. Lan Xin was my cousin, so she would naturally sit next to me. Second Miss Jiang held onto my arm tightly and didn't want to separate from me, so she and I sat at the same table.

From the beginning to the end, Lan Xin didn't say a word to me, but at this moment, she whispered to me.

It was just a trivial phrase, but the timing was truly ingenious. It was hard to avoid doubt in the hearts of those who heard it.

I smiled bitterly.

You are really amazing.

With a single movement, he dug a huge hole for me.