Delusion

  The old lady smiled and beckoned to Yuwenyu, the nanny immediately came over and led Yuwen and several others to sit down beside her. The servant quickly brought over a red lacquer wooden tray with golden edges, carrying small ceramic cups with five colors and lids to serve tea to the girls.

  Wanyu walked over with steady and elegant steps, the old lady held her hand and examined her for a long time, repeatedly praising: "Indeed, she's a good-looking girl, no wonder she's so lovely. If I had a granddaughter like this, I'd be fond of her too." The old lady then took off an old green jade bangle from her wrist and handed it to Wanyu, saying: "Good child, take this bangle and play with it."

  Wan Yu first looked up at Li Shi and saw her smiling as she said: "The old ancestor likes you, so just accept the reward."

  Wanyu bowed again in gratitude, revealing a delighted smile. "Thank you, ancestors, for the gift."

  "Good, good, you're a good kid, come and play often." The old lady smiled and saw that Yuanyu accepted the gift without being greedy, her eyes were clear and calm, she liked this kind of open-minded and generous child.

  Mrs. Li chatted with the old lady for a few sentences, and soon other guests arrived. The hostess led them to sit in the small hall, where there were other officials' wives, and Mrs. Li went over happily.

  Arrived at the small hall, it was inevitable that there would be another round of introductions. Wen Yu led among several sisters, with top-notch temperament and appearance, naturally receiving many compliments and admiring glances, but only that.

  It's been a long time, and Yuwenyu herself felt a bit bored. Yuwenyi had been impatient for a while, looking around restlessly, her small body twisting back and forth uncomfortably.

  "Alright, I can see you're all getting restless here. Go play in the courtyard, but don't make too much noise or quarrel with each other." She couldn't help but feel a little uneasy about Yun Shu, so she reminded them again and gave Wan Yu a meaningful glance.

  Wan Yu smiled and nodded, "Then let's go out for a stroll, I'll take care of the sisters and we'll have fun."

  Wan Yu then took Wan Yi and the others to the flower garden of Dingguo Houfu, which was slightly larger than Murong Fu. The flower garden was beautifully built, with a rich and majestic atmosphere, and every detail revealed a deep and profound heritage. Walking along the corridor seemed to feel the flow of time, and each tile seemed to contain a beautiful and sad story.

  "Their home is really beautiful, even more beautiful than ours." Yanni couldn't help but praise.

  Wan Yu also nodded, "Yes, Ding Guo Hou has been through three dynasties and is one of the old masters. He hasn't fallen for many years, and there's a lot to learn from him."

  Wanyi naturally understood the deep meaning behind her words, "I know that even if it's good, it's still someone else's. I'm a girl from the Murong Mansion, and the wealth and nobility of our mansion were all earned through the hard work of my uncles and father. I'm not inferior to anyone." She proudly lifted her chin, with a confident expression on her face.

  Wan Yu smiled and patted her head, "Exactly."

  They sat by the pond for a while, the pond was very large and could be boated on. Yun Shu also wanted to go boating, and couldn't help but envy: "Big sister, let's go boating too."

  Wan Yu thought for a moment and shook her head, gently advising: "Forget it, boating can be dangerous, and the weather is still a bit chilly. I'm afraid you'll catch a cold if you get wet."

  Yun Shu didn't want to miss this opportunity, she saw the young master of Dingguo Hou's family taking a few girls to tour the lake, and she also wanted to go, even if it was just to get familiar with some faces, or maybe make a few more friends.

  "Third sister, are you going or not? And fourth sister? You don't want to go either? It's a rare chance to come out and play, it would be a waste to do nothing. Big sister is being too cautious." Yun Shu gave Yan Yu a sideways glance, seemingly not very pleased.

  Wan Yi was instructed before she left, to closely follow Wan Yu's footsteps and not to act on her own accord. Whatever big sister says goes, if she loses someone from the Mu Rong estate, mother will definitely severely punish her.

  "I'm not going, I want to feed the carp here. Second sister, I advise you not to go either. Look at the people on that boat, they're either the county princess or the prefectural princess, all noblewomen, we can't blend in." Yuanyi smiled calmly.

  Although she is young, it doesn't mean that her brain is dull. Yun Shu's thoughts are too easy to guess. In order to avoid her causing trouble for her elder sister, it's better to burst her beautiful dream.

  Yun Shu's face turned bright red at the moment when Wan Yi spoke, and she lowered her head in dismay. Yun Qing also took a closer look and found that the fabric of their clothes was indeed extremely precious brocade, tribute satin, etc. Such fabrics were also graded and could only be worn by those with status, and they were also tributes from the palace, not something that anyone could wear casually.

  "It's really true that the materials on their bodies are all tributes, and even if we went to their place, they might not have taken a liking to us." Yun Qing also nodded in agreement with her sister's words.

  At home, it's still possible to muddle through in a vague way, and girls don't have to be too clear-cut about it either. But once you step out the door, it's a different story altogether - the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate is very strict, and legitimate daughters generally don't get too close to illegitimate ones, or else people will start talking.

  The upbringing of legitimate and illegitimate daughters is different, even if they are raised under the name of their legitimate mother, it's hard to avoid being inferior, unless they can be like older sisters who have been recognized from a young age.

  Even so, the elder sister is unwilling to go, just doesn't want to be humiliated, what if she encounters a proud noble lady? She would be stabbed with two sentences and still dare not retort.

  Yun Shu still didn't give up and pulled Yun Qing, begging: "Good sister, let's go play together for a while, we'll be back soon."

  Yun Qing withdrew her hand, "I'm a concubine's child, going would only get me scorned looks, I won't go, I'll follow big sister instead."

  She didn't dare to cause trouble as soon as she arrived, and it wasn't something a small commoner girl like her could afford to take on.

  Wanyi smiled and glanced at Yunqing, then voluntarily handed over some of the fish food in her hand to Yunqing. "Third sister, come quickly, look at that goldfish jumping the highest, it can grab food every time, it's really fierce."

  Yun Qing and Shu Yi sat together holding fish food teasing the carp, laughing and chatting as they played.

  Yun Shu didn't want to miss this opportunity to get to know the noble lady, "Big sister, is it okay if I go play by myself for a bit? I'll be back soon."

  Wan Yu let out a sigh, "You can go if you want to, but from now on, don't even think about going out again." She looked at Yun Shu seriously, annoyed by her, couldn't she just be quiet for a moment?

  Yun Shu bit her lip, with a face that seemed to be on the verge of tears, her long eyelashes sparkling with crystal clear tears, looking like she had suffered a great injustice.

  "Sister, don't you like me? I just wanted to go out and play for a bit. Besides, what right do you have to say that? Father won't let you behave like this." Yun Shu retorted in discontent.

  Wan Yu's face was calm and serene, her eyes cold and melancholic. "You can try it out, see whose value is greater, mine or yours." She turned around, no longer paying attention to her, continuing to sprinkle fish food bit by bit, teasing the little fish.

  Wan Yi burst out laughing, as if she had heard some hilarious joke, and was nudged by Yun Qing on the arm before managing to hold back her laughter.

  Yun Shu clenched her fists tightly, after all, she didn't dare to just run away like this. Extremely regretful and resentful, she glared at Wan Yu with a look that seemed to think she had ruined her great opportunity to meet the noble person.

  She sat there with a humph, tearing off the petals of the flowers on other people's trees, making them scattered all over the ground. Wenyi couldn't help but glare at her and scolded in a low voice: "A bastard thing that doesn't know its own strength, wanting to climb up high, also see if others want you or not, and don't even consider what kind of status you are."

  Yun Shu was choked with tears, a sense of humiliation that couldn't be shaken off in her heart. Yun Qing helplessly pursed his lips and lowered his head to look at the little fish, determined not to get involved.

  Wanyu turned her head to look at the distant scenery and didn't want to bother with the annoying Yunshu.

  No need to mention being scolded by Yuanyi, Yushu became more honest and didn't dare to have any strange thoughts again. Yuanyi disdainfully curled her lips, this cheap skin must be scolded before calming down.

  At this time, a maid wearing a red jacket came over, first saluted Yuwen and others, and then smiled and said: "Welcome several ladies, our lady heard that Miss Murong also came, specially invited several people to go to the other side of the platform to play together. Several ladies from various families are making poems and writing couplets there."

  Wan Yu thought for a moment that since they were invited, she might as well go and take a look. Maybe she could make one or two friends who shared similar interests.

  "Thanks to Sister Zhang's invitation, we sisters must give face to the host family. Trouble you to lead the way." Yuanyu nodded with a smile at several of her sisters.