32nd Generation Heir

  Zhang Huiling rushed into the main courtyard with a few girls, shouting excitedly, "Grandma, grandma, I have something good to show you."

  The old lady was chatting with Mrs. Li and several other ladies when she saw her granddaughter flutter in like a butterfly, the old lady loved this granddaughter dearly but couldn't help scolding her: "What's all this fuss about? You're not being steady at all."

  Zhang Huiling awkwardly shrank her neck and stuck out her tongue, but quickly forgot about it and came over, "Grandma, I'll show you something nice, you'll definitely like it."

  The old lady glared at her with a bad temper, "What good things can you have?"

  Zhang Huixi smiled and slowly unfolded the letter, "Take a look, how's the handwriting?" She deliberately didn't say it was Yuwen who wrote it, wanting her grandmother to comment on it.

  The old lady took the old flower mirror handed over by the servant, and carefully looked at it. Li was puzzled with her head tilted to one side, feeling very familiar, just about to speak when Zhang Huiling playfully pulled her sleeve, shaking her head slightly, indicating not to say anything.

  Li smiled and didn't say a word, standing aside in silence.

  The old lady looked at it for a while and smiled: "The words are written by two hands, but they are extremely well-written. The person who wrote them must be someone with a calm and gentle personality, yet there is a strong and unyielding stubbornness that comes through in the words. Although there are some minor flaws, after many years of hard practice, it has a lot of character. It's really not bad! Who wrote this? Where is the person? Why didn't you bring such a talented person for me to see?"

  She stared at her granddaughter's surprised inquiry.

  Zhang Huiling's face fell, "Grandma, why didn't I write it?"

  The old lady looked down at her poor granddaughter with a strange expression, "You? Even if you add your toes, you can't write such characters. The character is like the person, you're not that kind of person, it's strange that you could have written this." She was certain that this was absolutely not written by her own granddaughter, and one had to say that the old lady had some skills.

  Zhang Huiling sighed and the group of women and girls around her burst out laughing.

  The old lady asked in surprise: "Who wrote this?"

  Zhang Hui Ling pointed at Wan Yu and smiled: "Hey, this was written by Sister Wan Yu, I must say I'm impressed. And yet she says that two characters are not well-written, saying something about being off by a line, I don't understand what she means, all I think is that these characters look as good as paintings." She waved her hand in praise, her eyes full of admiration.

  Wan Yu's face turned red as she stood up, bowed to the old lady, and lowered her head in embarrassment. "It was just something I wrote casually for fun. I'm not good at writing poetry and I'm afraid they'll laugh at me. I wrote this to fool them." She didn't dare show off in front of her elders, especially when the other person was quite knowledgeable about it.

  The old lady nodded in approval, she understood Yuwen's thoughts and was very satisfied with her sincerity. She didn't want to lose face in front of the young companions, so she showed off her skills, not wanting to appear weak in public. This is commendable, knowing what one is doing, being clear-headed, and not being blinded by praise.

  The old lady was quite pleased, nodding with a smile. "Good child, at your age, you've practiced hard to get this far, and that's commendable. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, it's nothing to be ashamed of. But don't be proud or complacent, there's still room for improvement in your writing. Qiāo, go fetch me the 'Plum Blossom Auspicious Specter' from my bookcase, I'll give you this calligraphy as a gift. It's only fitting that it goes to someone who appreciates it." She let out a gentle sigh.

  Wan Yu raised her head and asked timidly: "But isn't it the 'Plum Blossom Joyful Spirit Spectrum' by Song Dynasty's Song Xueyan?" She was quite surprised.

  "It's really, this was what my husband liked before he passed away, specially exchanged with others for antiques." The old lady recalled the interesting things her husband did when he was alive, a faint smile appeared at the corner of her mouth, and a hint of happy memories lingered in her eyes.

  Wanyu had wanted to decline, but seeing the old lady's expression, she suddenly couldn't say no. She solemnly bowed and thanked her, "Wanyu thanks you, elder ancestor. I will treasure this calligraphy well and won't let it collect dust." She said with unusual seriousness.

  The old lady smiled with satisfaction, "Good child, you're a good one."

  The maid put the letter in a box and sent it to Yuwen, who held the box with joy, her face showing a tangled expression of wanting to see but being afraid of losing courtesy.

  "Look at him, his father has spoiled him rotten. There are piles of letters at home, and he can't even be bothered to read them."

  The old lady smiled and nodded, "Just like my husband, not a scholar but very fond of these elegant things, willing to spend a lot of money to get them back, and then hide in the study all day without coming out."

  Mrs. Li nodded in agreement, "Isn't that right? Father and daughter are just alike. This child has suffered a lot to practice calligraphy, even now she still hangs stones on her arm, I don't know whether to advise or support her. She's just a girl who doesn't take the imperial exam, why is she so obsessed with this thing? My husband says I don't understand, sigh!" She shook her head in bewilderment.

  The old lady nodded constantly as she listened, and her eyes also showed warm approval of Yuwen.

  The old lady's approval made some of the womenfolk curious about Yuwen, and they took a few more glances. She did look quite good, but perhaps too good to be a daughter-in-law... Let's take another look, after all, the child is still young, but her demeanor and upbringing are not bad.

  Next, Yuwen and a few girls were whispering and laughing in the warm pavilion. Under Zhang Hui's laughter, she finally gave the box in her hand to the maid to collect, and didn't forget to remind her to hold it well, don't break it.

  Zhang Hui Ling's joke made everyone laugh, and no one competed with her for attention, and everyone also acknowledged her focus.

  The girls had a lot to talk about when they got together, and many friends brought their own small gifts for exchange. Zhang Huiling brought a pair of double-sided embroidered fans from Jiangnan, which were exquisitely made, with intricate embroidery that was vivid and lifelike, leaving the group of girls in admiration.

  Wanyu also took out her own gifts, "This is the fragrance I blended myself, it has a very good calming effect. These boxes of rouge are also made by me personally, there are several flavors and colors, I don't know which ones sisters like, so I brought a few of each. These bottles of floral water and face powder are also made by me according to ancient recipes in books. Sisters, please don't think they're cheap." She blushed slightly, seeing that everyone else's gifts were very valuable, she was worried that her own gifts might be too shabby.

  Zhang Hui Ling and the Li family's daughter who just scolded Wang Ming Hui were overjoyed. The Li family's daughter opened a box, took a sniff, and was immediately delighted, raising an eyebrow in surprise. "I want one box, no one else can have it! My mother sleeps lightly, and this scent is even lighter than the kind my mother buys. It smells very comfortable, I'll take it back to try it on my mother."

  Zhang Huiling had learned this from her aunt, so she understood some of it. She took a closer look and nodded in praise: "I didn't expect my sister to be so talented, the fragrance is blended so well. I'll keep one for my grandmother to use too. This rouge isn't bad either, I'll keep one."

  Several girls who got along well with Zhang Huiling were very considerate, thinking that the things made by their own hands were very clean, and they happily picked them out one after another.

  Only Wang Minghui sat there motionless, someone went to persuade her, "Sister Wang, you also pick one, Yuanyu's sister made it herself, and it's different from the ones bought outside, very clean."

  "A woman should be virtuous, quiet, gentle and elegant. Wearing too much makeup is not suitable and lacks dignity. I don't want it, thank you for your kindness." Wang Minghui firmly refused and sincerely said to Yuwen.

  Wan Yu suddenly didn't know how to respond, awkwardly smiled, "It's okay, if Sister Wang doesn't like it then that's fine."

  It's also a bit strange, how did such a good girl become like this, it's too old-fashioned, there's no lively spirit of a young lady at all, this is also too...

  Everyone knew that Wang Minghui had always been so strict, they shook their heads and said nothing, but also kept a certain distance from her, it was true that they couldn't laugh and play with her together.

  After everyone had played for a while, someone came to report that the prince Zhang Yun had come to pay his respects. The ladies looked at each other and basically understood what was going on. In fact, today's banquet could be considered a blind date, it was probably arranged for this prince to take a look at the girls.

  "Grandma, your grandson is paying his respects to you."

  Because everyone and elders were present, the girls did not retreat to the back, but instead politely greeted each other and asked about each other's well-being. Some of the girls couldn't help but blush when they saw Zhang Yu's handsome face.

  Zhang Yun was seven feet tall, with a majestic appearance, sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes, high nose bridge, lips like vermilion, black silk tied up with white jade hairpin, face as smooth as jade, clear and bright eyes, dignified and elegant demeanor, worthy of being raised in a noble family, just this alone was enough to make many ladies nod their heads in approval.

  Wan Yu also curiously sized up Zhang Yun, feeling that compared to her brother, he was still a bit lacking, hmm, just not stable enough, with more of a childish air, possibly because his older brother had always been in the palace, and had more introverted stability, but on the contrary, he was somewhat similar to her fourth brother in temperament.

  Li looked at Yuwen and saw that her eyes were clear and without any shyness, nodded in satisfaction, and asked in a low voice: "Do you think who is better compared to your brothers?" She wanted to see if her daughter had any intentions and whether the education of these years was in vain.

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