Chapter Fifty-Five: The Unexpected Person

  Lvying Ridge, located in the eastern suburbs of Pingjing, surrounded by mountains, has been one of the best places to appreciate plum blossoms in the vicinity of Pingjing since ancient times. The Emperor Ai of the previous dynasty was indulgent and fond of women, and because his concubines loved plum blossoms, he took over Lvying Ridge and built a temporary palace, prohibiting ordinary people from entering the mountain to admire the plum blossoms. After the fall of the previous dynasty, Taizu settled in Pingjing and, in order to show his magnanimity, ordered the demolition of several temporary palaces in the vicinity of Pingjing. Later, due to the advice of his ministers, he changed his mind and decided to sell them instead, dismantling several temporary palaces into multiple gardens, destroying the excessive buildings, and selling them to officials and ordinary people to enrich the national treasury. This included the Lvying Ridge Temporary Palace.

  So, although the front mountain of Lǜ Yuè Ridge is now open to the public for sightseeing, the best scenic spots in the back mountain are all owned by different families. The Xiaos own a villa located slightly west of the back mountain of Lǜ Yuè Ridge. In fact, this place can be considered one of the most beautiful scenic spots. And not far from the Xiaos' villa is the villa of Prince Ruì's family.

  Yuandai and others rode in a sedan chair, slowly making their way up the mountain. As they passed through Green Sprout Ridge, the fragrance of plum blossoms wafted through the air, intoxicating all who breathed it in. Yuandai lifted her hand to gently lift the curtain of the sedan chair and took a glance outside. Her gaze swept across the landscape, where plum blossoms filled her vision. Under the bright winter sun, admiring the plum blossoms was indeed less subtle and elegant than on a cloudy day, but the branches were still robust and the sparse shadows stretched out at an angle, yet they still revealed a hint of elegance amidst their boldness.

  The sedan chair proceeded towards the Xiao family's detached courtyard, and after traveling for nearly half a time, they finally saw the Xiao family's detached courtyard. However, it took another incense stick worth of time before they arrived at the entrance of the courtyard. On the other side, Xiao Chengye had been waiting at the entrance and hurriedly welcomed everyone as they approached. Ling Yuancheng dismounted his horse and walked forward with a smile, saying: "This time, I'm afraid we're going to be a bother to Brother Xiao!"

  Xiao Chengye also smiled and said: "We are all family members, where can we say that we are disturbing each other!"

  On this side, the two of them were talking, while on that side, Wenping and others had already helped Yuandai sisters and Guo down from the sedan chair. Xiao Chengye caught a glimpse of Guo with one glance, his face changed color in an instant, and the next moment, he came over to pay his respects, laughing: "So elder sister-in-law has also arrived!"

  Guo's lips curled up in a smile, and she said: "I've long heard that the plum blossoms on Lü'e Ridge are the most beautiful in all of Pingjing, but I've never had the chance to come here before. I often thought it was a pity. This time, when I heard that Ninth Sister and Tenth Sister were going to stay on the ridge for a while, I finally worked up the courage to ask Old Madame, and so I came along!"

  Xiao Chengye hurriedly smiled and said: "Big sister says such outsider words, it's embarrassing for my brother and me!" He said, looking around left and right, smiling and asking: "Did An Ge'er and Qing Jie'er come with you?"

  An Ge Er and Qing Jie Er refer to a pair of siblings born to the Guo family: Ling Ting An and Ling Yan Qing.

  Madam Guo smiled and said, "They naturally came too! However, I thought that although the sedan chair was warm inside, it wasn't as good as being in a carriage. So I had them ride with Nainai in the carriage instead, but they still have a ways to go before arriving!" From Green Hill Ridge down to Xiaoshi's separate courtyard, if one took a sedan chair, they could go straight up, but if they were riding in a carriage, they would have to take a detour. Therefore, Far Di and several others had all switched to sedan chairs at the foot of the mountain.

  Xiao Chengyan smiled brightly and said, "In that case, let's go in first!" As he spoke, he couldn't help but glance at the Yan sisters in the distance. "Chengxian was clamoring to come out and meet you earlier, but because of the strong winds today, my mother stopped her. Now she must be anxiously waiting inside."

  As the crowd stepped into the other courtyard, they had just reached the second gate when Xiao Chengyan hastily welcomed them from afar. Without looking at anyone else, she took one hand of Yuan Dai and one hand of Yuan Xuan, laughing as she said: "Ninth sister and tenth sister have finally arrived!"

  Yuan Dai smiled and said: "We've been walking so slowly, but we must have kept sister waiting for a long time!" As she spoke, she had already given Xiao Zhengyan a signal with her eyes.

  Xiao Chengxian suddenly felt something was off, and hastily swept a glance around her surroundings. When she saw Guo Shi, her face also couldn't help but reveal a look of surprise. But she was also a clever and resourceful person, and quickly composed herself, smiling as she walked forward to say: "Elder sister is a rare guest!"

  Miss Guo couldn't help but notice her unexpected arrival, but she pretended not to and smiled as she exchanged a few pleasantries with Xiao Chengyan. Xiao Chengyan then called for Qiaolan to arrange accommodations for everyone. The Yan sisters had already been arranged to stay together in a small courtyard. Ling Yuqing was staying in the same courtyard as Xiao Chengye, which went without saying. Only Miss Guo, who had come uninvited, made her frown slightly.

  After a brief hesitation, Xiao Chengyan took the initiative to arrange Guo's mother and son in the main courtyard where her mother, Madame Du, lived. After the arrangement was completed, Ling Tingan and Ling Yanqing's car arrived. At this time, a group of maidservants carried their luggage to tidy up, while Xiao Chengyan led everyone to pay respects to Madame Du.

  In terms of age, Mrs. Du is much younger than Mrs. Lu, and compared to Luo, she is only a few years older. Her appearance and expression are quite similar to Xiao Xian's, and the two women standing together look more like sisters at first glance.

  Everyone entered the house and paid their respects. Madame Du nodded slightly, with a warm smile on her face that made people feel like getting closer to her at first sight. When she saw Daiyu and her sisters, Madame Du's smile grew even brighter, and she pulled the two girls to sit beside her, taking a close look before smiling at Ling Duan: "Miss Shiyin is indeed a beautiful and talented young lady, no wonder my daughter Xiangling praises her!"

  Ling Yuexuan didn't expect Mrs. Du to speak to her first, and she was taken aback for a moment, unsure of how to respond. After a while, she blushed and said: "If I were in another family, I would have accepted your words, Mother Du. But now that Sister Xiao is by my side, how could I dare to accept such praise?"

  Mrs. Du couldn't help but laugh for a while, and then patted Ling Yuexian's hand sympathetically, smiling: "What's there to be afraid of? My words are sincere, not just polite! My daughter has always been proud, but when she mentions you, she also likes you very much!"

  The more she said that, the more Ling Yu Xuan blushed, and couldn't help but turn her head to give Xiao Cheng Yan a slight glare, saying: "Elder sister Xiao is just teasing me, actually she's also very good to me, but still far from being as good as my ninth sister at home!"

  Xiao Chengxian just smiled beside him, but didn't say a word.

  Mrs. Du saw her embarrassment and wouldn't continue, so she turned back, took a close look at Yu Dai, and then smiled: "I often hear people say 'with poetry and books in one's belly, one's spirit will naturally be elegant'. In the past, I thought this phrase was only suitable for scholars, but now that I've seen Miss Yu, I realize it's also true for women!"

  Yan Dai did not expect Mrs. Du to say such a thing, and after a moment's pause, she couldn't help but smile and say: "Auntie is overpraising me, I don't dare to accept it!"

  Mrs. Du smiled and said, "Since you've come, don't be in a hurry to leave! Stay for a few more days! Don't be formal, just treat this place as your own home!"

  Everyone was busy responding to each other. Madame Du was about to say something else, but Xiao Chengyan had already smiled and interrupted, "Mother, they will be staying here for many days, you can talk to them later! After all, although their journey here wasn't long, they must be quite tired, it's better to let them rest in their rooms earlier!"

  Madam Du couldn't help but laugh and said, "If it weren't for Yu'er reminding me, I wouldn't have thought of this! You can go now, go back to the house and take a look. If there's anything that doesn't feel right or isn't to your liking, don't be polite, just speak up!"

  Everyone heard the noise and hastily got up to bid farewell to Madame Du, each returning to their own room.

  Xiao Chengxian pulled Yan Dai and her sister out the door, walking and laughing as they went: "You've come at just the right time. The plum blossoms on the mountain behind our house are in full bloom these days. Rest today, and tomorrow I'll take you to see them!"

  Yan Dai saw Ling Yan Xuan's distant figure and responded with a single sound, but didn't say anything. After a moment of awkwardness, she couldn't help but laugh and say: "This is probably for the best!"

  Xiao Cheng asked, "Ling Yu Xuan is the most playful and loves plum blossoms. That's why she said that." But now seeing the person responding wasn't Ling Yu Xuan but rather Yuan Dai, her face didn't reveal any surprise. She wouldn't show it anyway. Changing the subject, she slightly curiously asked, "This time I invited you all, how did Eldest Sister also come?" Her voice had lowered a lot when asking this question.

  Yuan Dai smiled slightly and lowered her voice, saying: "Elder sister didn't say she was coming! Last night, I went with Yuan Xuan to have dinner at Old Lady's place. Elder sister and Madam also went. After dinner, Old Lady casually asked if we had packed everything properly. Madam suddenly suggested that since Elder sister had been busy serving her parents-in-law and raising children for many years after marrying into the Ling family, she hadn't had a chance to relax for a few days, and besides, she liked plum blossoms, so why not let her come and enjoy them for a few days. What could Old Lady say to that? She couldn't refuse!"

  Xiao Chengxian was left speechless for a good while, but now that things had come to this pass, there was nothing she could do about it. She could only sigh and complain, "Who would have thought that out of the blue, another Cheng Yaoguang would appear! With her watching us, how can we possibly proceed?"

  As they spoke, the three of them had already entered Xiao Chengyan's small courtyard. Although Ling Yuexuan had been somewhat absent-minded in recent days and not as enthusiastic about some things as she used to be, at this moment, after hearing Xiao Chengyan's words, she was still surprised and asked in confusion: "What do you mean by 'taking action'? What are you talking about, Sister Xiao? I don't quite understand?"

  Xiao Cheng smiled and pulled her into his room, then said: "This matter was originally none of your business, but I thought about it, and if I didn't bring you along, when you found out later, you would definitely be annoyed with us. So I decided to bring you along to have some fun. However, since you're not one of us, you must be careful, don't cause any trouble!"

  She didn't say that, it would have been fine, but when she said that, Ling Yuexuan became even more confused, and could only stare at her blankly.

  Xiao Chengyan was about to explain, but Yuande on the other side had already raised an eyebrow and asked: "Now that we have Eldest Sister here, and Auntie is also there with you, are you sure this matter can still be carried out?"

  "If we're talking about it, my mother is actually not bothered! She's the mistress of our Xiang family and with the New Year approaching, there are countless things at home waiting for her to take care of. How can she possibly sit here calmly accompanying us?"

  …………

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