Favored 29 awkwardness

  The next day at noon, Li went to pay respects to the old lady in Zhengyuan and then gathered with a few children before heading to the Dingguo Hou Mansion for a small gathering.

  Wang sat in a chair and picked up the lid of the pink lotus teacup, taking a light sip of tea. "I don't know if the kids will dress up or not."

  Yesterday, Wang didn't say much to Wen Yi either. It was also to train her and hoped that she could learn to think independently. It's better for her to ponder over things herself.

  The old lady sat on the soft couch of the luxurious purple sandalwood and smiled: "I guess someone must have made a mistake, you guys guess who it is?"

  Wang put down her teacup, pondered for a moment, "Yan Yi asked her older sister yesterday, Yun Qing is an honest one, usually follows Yan Yi and won't take the initiative. Yan Yu doesn't seem to be unclear either... Oh, could it be..." She went through each of the children one by one, finally feeling that Yun Shu was very likely.

  Not to mention that Wang was also a lady of the family, she still had a good eye for people. Li smiled with pursed lips, seemingly with a hint of mockery, but said nothing.

  Soon after, Wanyu led a few sisters over, and the children curtsied, "Greetings to Grandmother, greetings to Mother (Great Aunt), Mother asks for your well-being."

  "Alright, get up now." The old lady smiled and nodded.

  The three of them only started to carefully examine the children's clothing and appearance, originally still smiling and nodding in excitement, but soon furrowed their brows.

  Wanyu, having received instruction for many years, would not make mistakes. She wore a lovely and elegant low bun with a small ponytail hanging down on the right side of her collarbone, tied with a pink silk ribbon, without any pearl or flower hair accessories, but with small coral earrings on her ears. She was dressed in an 80% new pale pink jacket, paired with a sky blue embroidered skirt, her skin as white as snow, her cheeks tender and rosy, showing healthy and good complexion, looking very pretty in bright blue.

  Wan Yi and Yun Qing both followed Wan Yu's suggestion, Wan Yi wore a nine-out-of-ten new crimson-edged narrow-sleeved jacket, paired with a white hundred-fold skirt, tied her hair into two buns, used a red silk ribbon, and embedded small millet pearls at the ends, looking lovely and lively.

  Yun Qing was dressed in a soft yellow outfit, with a colorful hair ribbon tied around her hair, and a beautiful eight-treasured pleated skirt that was almost new. She was perfectly proper and had not made any mistakes, which made Madame Wang very satisfied, revealing a warm smile. Yun Qing let out a big sigh of relief.

  It was Yun Shu who dressed in an incongruous manner, wearing a nearly new olive green trimmed narrow sleeve jacket and a pleated skirt, but she had done up her hair in a flowery top knot, tied it with pearl flowers, not to mention inserting two gold hairpins inlaid with precious stones, which when paired with her immature and tender face, looked strangely incongruous.

  The old lady smiled unpleasantly, "You really can't keep the food in your belly, the reward from the princess was meant for you to wear after you've grown up a bit, who told you to bring it out now? It's not some small household that lets you show off with a head full of gold, take it off." She slammed the teacup down on the tea table, her face somewhat unsightly.

  Yun Shu's face was awkward, originally she didn't want to wear a hairpin, but her aunt insisted on letting her wear one and even wanted to style a beautiful high bun for her, fortunately she stopped her, otherwise it would have been even more embarrassing.

  Yun Shu's maid was so scared that she quickly came over, carefully took down the golden hairpin, and cleverly removed the pearl flower. Fortunately, it was tied with a red ribbon, and removing the extra accessories made her look fresh and lovely. She wasn't very old anyway, why did she have to act so mature? Now she's being scolded for not listening to advice.

  Li shook her head and said nothing, watching as she finished up before nodding and saying, "Alright, let's go. Once we're out the door, remember that you all have the surname Murong." Only then did she lead the girls out the door.

  Yun Shu followed at the end with red eyes, feeling a bit wronged and embarrassed, thinking that Lao Tai Tai and Li Shi didn't want to see her, deliberately making her lose face, if they had said it clearly earlier, she wouldn't have gotten scolded, but instead they said half and left half unsaid.

  And the aunt is also, pretending to understand, saying that when going out as a guest, you must have a good attitude, can't let people look down on you, now not even out the door and already being laughed at.

  Yun Shu's face was filled with grievance and discontent, ever since returning home everything had been going against her. The wealth and prosperity that her aunt had promised were nowhere to be seen, and her father's affection towards her was far less than it had been when they were in the northwest. On the other hand, her elder sister's position in the household was unshakeable, and she even frequently entered the palace to meet with nobles.

  All of them were born as ordinary girls, how can there be such a big gap?

  The carriage was divided into two, the one in front was naturally where Li and Yuanyu Yuanyi were seated, Yunqing walked to the back carriage on her own and squeezed together with the maids.

  Yun Shu was lost in thought, didn't notice Yun Qing had already walked far away from her. Just as she was about to get on the carriage, she was stopped by Wan Yi's hand, "Yun Shu sister, this carriage is full, you go sit in that one behind, third sister is also there."

  Yun Shu was stunned for a moment, and after reacting, she glanced around, only to find that Yun Qing had already gotten on the carriage behind. The maid beside Li Shi gave her a sly smile, and Yun Shu's face instantly flushed red, as if she was about to scold someone. But when she saw Li Shi lift the curtain and give her a cold glance, she swallowed her anger back down, feeling extremely awkward.

  Yun Qing let out a sigh and smiled as she beckoned, "Second sister, come over here. I'm so bored by myself. And I have a pattern to ask you about too."

  Yun Shu forced a smile and quickly walked a few steps, "Alright, the two of us will be companions then."

  After everyone got on the carriage, Li ordered to start the journey. Wan Yi sat in the carriage and was quite excited, "Big sister, have you ever been to Dingguo Hou's house before? Is it fun?"

  Wan Yu's gentle smile, like the warmth of spring, brought a gentle breeze that tickled her heart, just like the delicate and beautiful camellia.

  Wan Yi was stunned for a moment, "So beautiful." Her silly expression was quite lovely.

  Wan Yu snorted with a smile and pinched her cheek, "Fourth sister is also beautiful."

  Wanyi happily pecked at her rice, "Mmm, I want to look as good as big sister too."

  "Hehehe, our Yuanyi will definitely become more and more beautiful as she grows up." Li held Yuanyi in her arms with a gentle smile.

  They soon arrived at the Dingguo Marquis's estate, and their group entered through a side door. As they got off the carriage, servants had already brought over sedan chairs to carry them directly into the second gate.

  Several girls looked very shy, and Wenyi imitated Wenyou's appearance, sitting with her knees together, looking serious and not daring to glance around randomly, afraid of losing face in front of their aunt.

  Yun Qing was somewhat curious but didn't dare to make a big move, Yun Shu indeed saw such prosperity for the first time, and it was completely different from her own home, even better than her own home by several points, specifically what's good about it she couldn't say.

  Dingguo Marquis has gone through three dynasties, and can be considered an old aristocratic family. Indeed, it is more prosperous than the Murong Mansion by a few points. The gardens, pavilions, towers, and even the fragmented bluestone roads underfoot all demonstrate that this family's heritage is much deeper than that of the Murong Mansion.

  Mr. Li glanced at his daughter and asked in a low voice: "How?" Meaning, can you tell what's going on?

  Wan Yu's smile was radiant, her eyes sparkling with delight. "Excellent, the scenery is indeed pleasing." A slight nod of approval, and a hint of extraordinary meaning flickered in her gaze.

  Li smiled contentedly and said no more. The sedan chair bearer, who was from the Dingguo Marquis's estate, overheard this conversation and thought they were praising the scenery of the marquis's estate, so she proudly said: "That's right, our estate's garden has a long history, and many of the flowers and trees inside have been around for decades."

  Wanyu also took the opportunity to praise: "Yes, I saw that the osmanthus tree that just passed by is a golden ball osmanthus?"

  No one is more knowledgeable about various flowers and trees than Yu Wei, so it's just a compliment, it's the way to be a host, and it also shows that we are connoisseurs, not ignorant people who don't recognize anything.

  The old lady's voice rose slightly, "That's right, it was our old master who liked to plant them back then, many years ago. Every year when they bloom, the fragrance is wonderful."

  Before long, they arrived at the main hall, where Li led a few girls to pay their respects to the old lady of the Dingguo Duke's mansion.

  As soon as you enter the door, you can see a set of Huanghuali chairs, and in the western corner, there is an incense burner with a golden dragon head, which is now burning with a wisp of sandalwood incense.

  On the east corner, a red-lacquered wooden flower stand was placed, holding a pot of pale pink Camellia, which is a very precious variety called Snow White. The pale pink flowers were blooming beautifully and movingly, making people unable to help but take another glance.

  Right in front was a soft couch with auspicious cloud patterns, on which sat an old lady with kind and gentle eyebrows and eyes. She wore a narrow-sleeved jacket with rust-red cross-patterned embroidery, a skirt with eight auspicious Fujian decorations of the same color, and held a string of eighteen blue gemstone beads in her hand. The blue gemstones were crystal clear and exquisitely crafted; among them, the Buddha's head and pagoda were made of red agate, with a yellow agate pendant at the end, which showed that this string of beads was extremely precious.

  Mr. Li smiled and gave a late courtesy to the old lady, "Old lady, I wish you peace and good health."

  The old lady turned the rosary in her hand, with a warm and kind smile. "This is the little maid from your house, she looks like a fresh flower, really beautiful."

  The several girls standing behind Li's family waved their hands and said, "Come, pay respects to your ancestors."

  The old lady's age can be compared to that of the old lady in Murong Fu, and it is not an exaggeration to call her "old ancestor".

  Wan Yu took the lead and stepped forward, leading several younger sisters to bow with a smile, "Junior offers greetings to ancestors, wishing ancestors a happy smile, good health."

  Wanyi and others followed Wanyu in making a bow, not daring to take half a step more.

  The old lady was indeed happy and smiled: "Good, good, all of you are good kids. I see that the big one is your daughter?"

  The old lady's eyes were sharp and she saw that Yuwen and the remaining girls had a distinctly different temperament, looking like an eldest daughter.

  Li smiled and nodded, "Isn't that right? My little demon star, she and her brother are twins, both spoiled by their father."