Chapter 21: Siblings (1)

  The sudden visit of Luo's mother and daughter had little impact on Yuandai, but Zhou Yita, since seeing Luo, her spirit was much better than before. Yuandai saw this and could only sigh in her heart. The next day, thinking of Ling Yuexian's request, she finally copied the recipe for the fragrant soup cake and had Wenping deliver it to Ling Yuexian personally.

  Ling Yuexian obtained the prescription, and was overjoyed. However, it was already winter at that time, and many herbs could not be collected in a short period of time. She couldn't start experimenting yet, so she couldn't help but complain a little. Then, thinking there was nothing else to do, she simply went with Wenjing to the West Wing again.

  As soon as she entered the West Wing, Ling Yuexuan's eyes widened in surprise. It turned out that Yuandai was currently leading Hui'er, carrying a bamboo basket, trimming the flowers and grasses in the West Wing courtyard while instructing Hui'er to water the plants: "Ninth sister?" Ling Yuexuan called out in surprise.

  She raised her eyes to see her coming, and Yu Dao didn't show too much joy, just smiled and said: "Tenth sister is here!" After saying this sentence, she lowered her head again, and the silver scissors in her hand moved, cutting off a slightly swollen and superfluous flower leaf.

  In the past two years, although there was no one living in the Western Courtyard, some of the flowers and trees inside were still being regularly pruned by someone. However, the neatly trimmed flowers and grasses at this moment had just been sent over from the Ling Mansion's flower house. Wenping couldn't bear to accompany Yuandai for chess every day after all, so he had asked Hui'er to go to the flower house and have some flowers and grasses sent over. And the orchid by Yuandai's side at this moment was one of those that had just been delivered.

  She glanced at the orchid in front of her and nodded slightly with a hint of satisfaction.

  Ling Yuexuan watched from the side and couldn't help but laugh: "Ninth sister can still grow flowers?"

  Put the silver scissors in your hand into the bamboo basket on one side, and Yu Dai smiled: "It's just to pass the time!"

  The west wing wasn't very big, and the weather was fine that day. The warm winter sun shone down, giving a feeling of warmth like spring. So Ling Yuexian didn't intend to go into the house immediately. With great enthusiasm, she walked around the courtyard in a circle, then stopped in front of the evening primrose: "Ninth sister, what kind of flower is this? The color is quite unique!"

  Far away, Dai said: "This is a fleeting flower!"

  "Epiphyllum?" Ling Yuexian exclaimed with delight: "I've often heard people say that Epiphyllum blooms only at night, but this is the first time I've seen it!" She said, and couldn't help but gently touch the Epiphyllum's pale green leaves with her hand: "This flower... is it about to bloom?"

  Yan Dai nodded slightly: "It's faster!"

  Ling Yuexuan heard this and her heart was filled with joy, she hastily said: "Ninth sister, when the flower blooms, you'll have someone call me over, okay?"

  Yan Dai smiled faintly and didn't respond, but instead asked: "Does tenth sister know why there are few people in this world who have seen the morning flower?"

  Ling Yuexuan was taken aback, then shook her head.

  Yuandai said: "That's because evening primroses often bloom at night and usually wither within two hours from opening to wilting!"

  The words already contained a hint of rejection, but Ling Yuexuan didn't seem to notice. She tilted her head and thought for a moment before saying, "Sister Jiu, when do you think this flower will bloom? On the night it's about to bloom, I'll move in and spend the night with Sister, okay?"

  Yan Dai was entangled in her helplessness, considering the sisters face to face, and it wasn't good to speak more bluntly, so she could only reluctantly say: "When this flower will bloom, I actually can't make it clear either, it's just looking at the sister's fate with it."

  Ling Yuexuan smiled indifferently: "Since I've seen it today, it must be fate, what do you think, sister?"

  Yan Dai smiled but didn't answer, she just gestured with her hand and invited Ling Yuanxuan into the house. The two had just sat down for a short while when Hui'er came in again to report: "Xia Die from in front of the third madam has arrived!"

  At that moment, Xia Die came in, but it was Luo Shi who sent her to invite Yuan Dai to go to Zhu Xiangyuan for dinner. Yuan Dai's heart was actually unwilling to go, but Luo Shi was after all a senior, and she couldn't refuse, so she agreed. After sending Xia Die away, Yuan Dai got up and changed her clothes, re-washing her face and re-doing her hair. Ling Yuanxuan didn't leave, enthusiastically standing by the mirror, helping Yuan Dai choose hairpins.

  Also seeing Yuandai, she just swept her eyebrows lightly and touched her cherry lips. She couldn't help but say: "Ninth sister's complexion isn't good, actually it should be applied with some flower powder! Moreover, the distance between Ninth sister's eyebrows is slightly wide, and can also be remedied by spiral eyebrow pencil..."

  Yuandai's hand paused in mid-air, and he turned back to her with a smile, saying: "Tenth sister is quite skilled in this way, isn't she!"

  Ling Yu's fragrance wafted, and she smiled: "My mother always said that there are no truly ugly women in the world, only those who don't take care of themselves or adorn themselves. In fact, Ninth Sister's features are all extremely beautiful, and if she just slightly adorned her imperfections, she would definitely be a great beauty!"

  Yan Daiyan said with a smile: "Speaking of beauties, my sister is indeed worthy of the title, as for me..." She smiled and didn't continue.

  Ling Yuexuan said with a smile: "Sister, you're too modest! In fact, in this world, how many women are truly born with natural beauty? People all say that the two Huai regions produce beautiful women, but from what I've seen, they're just ordinary!"

  She carelessly put down the snuff bottle in her hand, and Farie stood up with a smile: "Let's go! But don't keep Third Aunt waiting!"

  Ling Yuexuan saw that she was unwilling to listen to her proposal, and her heart felt somewhat depressed. However, since they had only recently met, she didn't want to force the issue again, so she stood up and walked out of the west courtyard with Yuandai side by side.

  After returning to the Ling mansion, Yuandai rarely went out of the West Wing on her own, except for that one time when she was summoned by Old Lady Xiao and went to Chunhui Garden. As a result, she knew nothing about the various courtyards in the Ling mansion, not even where Luo's residence was located.

  Fortunately, Ling Yuexuan walked and said to her: "When my father married my mother in the past, they lived in Zhuxiangyuan. Now my mother still lives there. After my father returned to Beijing, he was busy with social events every day and didn't have dinner at home for several days. I live with my grandmother, and my younger brother is going to school, so neither of us can accompany my mother all the time!"

  The Ling family was a hundred-year-old aristocratic family, with many descendants and younger generations. Among them, there were prominent figures, but also those who had fallen on hard times. Therefore, the clan's public school had always existed. After Ling Yun returned to Beijing, he didn't care about anything else, his top priority was to send his youngest son to the clan's public school, fearing that he would miss his lessons. As a result, although Ling Yuanhua's name was registered in Chunhui Garden, he was actually rarely there.

  Yuan Dai was completely unaware of these things. At this moment, listening to her telling them one by one, he could only nod his head.

  A group of people slowly made their way to the center of the inner courtyard, only to see someone approaching from the opposite direction. He wore a stone-green robe with standing collar and arrow sleeves, which set off his tall and slender figure, exuding an air of vigor and dynamism - it was none other than Ling Yuanqing. Upon seeing Ling Yuanqing approach, Ling Yuanshu stopped in her tracks and called out with a smile: "Sixth Brother!" Although she had spent little time in the capital and didn't have a particularly deep relationship with Ling Yuanqing, they were still cousins after all.

  Ling Yuqing had also seen the two of them and quickly walked a few steps forward, laughing and saying: "Ninth sister and tenth sister, where are you two going?"

  Yan Dai smiled slightly, and before she could speak, Ling Yuanxuan had already spoken up: "My mother invited Ninth Sister to have dinner at the Bamboo Fragrance Pavilion, and I happened to be in the West Wing, so I accompanied Ninth Sister over. Sixth Brother, are you coming from Eldest Uncle's place?"

  Madam Lu now lives in the main house of the Ling family's rear courtyard, which is a must-pass place from the West Wing to the Bamboo Fragrance Pavilion.

  Ling Yuan nodded and said, "Exactly!" He looked up at the sky and hastily said, "I have an appointment with a friend to drink together, I'll be going now. It's not early anymore, you all should head over to San Shu's place too!"

  Ling Yuexuan responded with a busy tone, bid farewell after two sentences, and they each went their separate ways. Yuan Dai and Ling Yuexuan entered the Bamboo Fragrance Pavilion together, where Luo Shi had already been waiting. Seeing the two approach, she hastily invited them to sit down. She also pulled Yuan Dai's hand and spoke some intimate words, which Yuan Dai responded to one by one. After dinner, Luo Shi kept Yuan Dai seated for a moment before letting her return to rest in the afternoon.

  Ling Yuexuan was shouting that she was tired and yelling that she had gotten up early, so she refused to go and stayed in the Bamboo Fragrance Pavilion to sleep.

  Yuandai took Wenshu and Hui'er out of the Bamboo Fragrance Courtyard, just after passing by Mrs. Lu's main courtyard, when a maid came rushing over. Yuandai was thinking that this maid looked somewhat familiar, when Hui'er behind her suddenly called out: "Weng Lü jie!"

  Yuan Dai was reminded by her, and only then did she remember that this maid was originally from Ling Yuanqing's house. On the day she moved back to the Ling mansion from the separate courtyard, Ling Yuanqing had brought this maid along to help her settle in. Wen Lu saw Yuan Dai and others, and hurried over to pay her respects, smiling and saying: "I thought I wouldn't be able to meet Ninth Miss, but it turns out we've met by chance! Sixth Master is asking for Ninth Miss to speak with him!"

  Yan Dai was taken aback for a moment, but then nodded and asked, "Where is Sixth Master?"

  Wen Lu smiled and made a gesture, saying: "Ninth Miss, please follow me!"

  Although they were siblings with different mothers, after all, men and women are different, and Yuandai also lived with Aunt Zhou. Ling Yuancheng's visit to the West Wing was not quite proper either. Yuandai followed behind Wenluo, turned a corner, bypassed a corridor, and arrived at the back garden of the Ling Mansion. Although it had already entered winter, the flowers and trees in the garden were still lush and green, which was quite worth appreciating.

  Wen Lu led Yuandai to a small octagonal pavilion, and when Yuandai looked up, she saw Ling Yuan sitting inside. He was still wearing the same stone-green standing collar robe with arrow sleeves that he had worn when they met earlier, but he seemed less spirited than before, and somewhat despondent.

  Yan Dai was thinking, when Wen Lu softly said: "Ninth Miss, Sixth Master is not in a good mood at the moment, it's better for you to go alone!"

  She raised an eyebrow in surprise, but didn't ask any further questions. Instead, she walked towards the small pavilion, calling out softly: "Sixth Brother!"

  He looked up at her and Ling Yuancheng waved his hand somewhat despondently, saying: "Jiū Mèimei is here! Please sit down!"

  Yan Dai didn't say much and sat down on one side. This pavilion was obviously an excellent spot to take in the view, and sitting inside, looking around, the entire rear garden of the Ling estate came into view at once. The Ling estate was indeed a hundred-year-old aristocratic family, and this rear garden was designed with perfect balance of movement and stillness - whether it was the flowers and trees, the scenery, or the pavilions and towers, everything was just right, making one forget about worldly troubles.

  She sat there leisurely, Ling Yuancheng not speaking a word, she also didn't make a sound, only calmly gazing out, and seemed to be quite content. After a long time, however, it was still Ling Yuancheng who let out a sigh and spoke first: "Ninth sister really is very patient!"