57. Punishment

Zhang Siqing changed into a silver-gray dress and returned to the hall. As she passed Liu Wei, she gave him a fierce sidelong glance.

With a fawning smile, Liu Wei escorted the man to the area where the ladies had been meeting before clasping his hands together and leaving as if granted a pardon.

Ye Zhenzhen was a little worried that Zhang Siqing, who was usually carefree and had a big stride, might not be able to pass the etiquette test.

To everyone's surprise, she excelled in every aspect, from standing and sitting to walking. Whenever Amanda demonstrated, she could perfectly replicate it in one take.

Ye Zhenzhen thought about it for a moment and understood. She had practiced martial arts since childhood, had good comprehension, and had extremely strong control over her body. These etiquette movements were at most a little restrained, but not difficult at all.

The movements for both men and children were not difficult. After learning the basic etiquette movements, they proceeded to the assessment.

The assessment went smoothly, but when the results were announced, neither Ye Zhenzhen nor Zhang Siqing passed.

"Why?"

Zhang Siqing's eyes widened, and she asked incredulously, "I clearly did it perfectly!"

Amanda pulled out a notebook and began to read slowly, "Sitting with legs spread apart 5 times, pointing at people with a folding fan 6 times, laughing loudly 8 times, putting her arm around the lady next to her 3 times, boldly raising a glass and drinking it all in one gulp 4 times, stomping on a man's foot while dancing and vying for dominance 15 times..."

"OK, OK, no need to read anymore, sorry for bothering you!" Zhang Siqing unfolded her folding fan, covered her face, and sat down on the sofa, clutching her chest.

You didn't say this assessment was ongoing!

"Ms. Ye's etiquette is perfect, it's just a pity that without a dance partner, she gets zero points in the waltz assessment." Amanda didn't comment on her antics, but turned to Ye Zhenzhen with an apologetic smile.

"It's alright, what is our punishment?" Ye Zhenzhen was not surprised by the result at all.

Her dance partner, constrained by his status, could only stand aside and wait for the male servant etiquette assessment. Since she couldn't dance the waltz with the little Gu Sinan, her failure was expected.

“But you don’t need to worry. There will be many gentlemen coming tonight. A beautiful lady like you only needs to worry about how to refuse their invitations to dance,” Amanda said, winking to comfort her.

Ye Zhenzhen nodded politely and returned the smile.

Hearing this from afar, Gu Tingshen tightened his grip on the silver tray with his tanned hand.

His assessment was much stricter than that of the other guests, after all, he was a male servant in name only.

Watching him navigate the obstacles with an elegant demeanor and steady gait while carrying a silver tray in one hand, Liu Wei couldn't help but exclaim, "President Gu is truly an expert in everything he does!"

Zhang Siqing slapped Liu Wei on the back of the head. "Look at her, and then look at you! You can't even wear a skirt, and you still have the nerve to talk!"

Liu Wei had no choice but to shut up, feeling wronged. He thought to himself, "Even if I wanted to wear it, I couldn't find a suitable size..."

After the assessment, the other guests went for a walk outside the castle, while Ye Zhenzhen and Zhang Siqing went to the kitchen to prepare afternoon tea snacks.

"Mom, can I go help?" Gu Sinan took off her morning dress coat and came to Ye Zhenzhen wearing a vest.

Don't you want to go out and have fun?

Ye Zhenzhen found a more homely cream-colored shirt dress in the closet and was about to change into it when she heard this. She turned around and patted his head.

"I want to stay with my mom," the little boy said affectionately, holding her arm.

"Okay, I also like Nan Nan to be with me." Ye Zhenzhen kissed his little face, very happy that the little boy was clinging to her.

"Mom needs to change her clothes, you go to your room first," Gu Tingshen interrupted the two of them, who were being affectionate.

Gu Sinan obediently left.

Ye Zhenzhen was looking in the full-length mirror, searching for the hair clips that held her hat in place, ignoring the man behind her.

When a man walks to her left, she turns right; when he walks to her right, she turns left.

Gu Tingshen was amused by her.

He immediately took off her hat, which was adorned with feathers and jewels, and then picked up a comb to style her hair.

"Call Lily to help me change my dress." Ye Zhenzhen snatched the comb from his hand and combed her hair herself.

“I can help you.” Gu Tingshen smiled good-naturedly.

"Can you do it?" Ye Zhenzhen looked at him skeptically in the mirror.

Gu Tingshen didn't say anything more, but just lowered his head and untied the ribbon behind her back.

Then Ye Zhenzhen was surprised to find that this man had somehow completely mastered how to put on and take off the complex women's dresses of the 19th century.

"Is this an essential skill for male servants? When did you learn it?" Ye Zhenzhen stretched out her arms to put on the cream-colored shirt dress, watching the man's gentle and skillful movements with amazement.

“I have a photographic memory.” Gu Tingshen smiled and tucked the corners of his mouth into the air. After tidying up her skirt in an orderly manner, he tied a light green gauze hairband into a bow at the back of her head.

"Good heavens! If we ever really have to time travel, you'll be all we need!" Ye Zhenzhen looked herself up and down in the mirror, making sure she was dressed impeccably, and gave the man a thumbs up. "Alright, I'm going downstairs to carry out my punishment mission."

Gu Tingshen suddenly strode up in front of her, blocking her way.

Ye Zhenzhen almost bumped into her chest and was about to step back when the man pulled her into his arms.

“This is an overstepping of your bounds, sir!” Ye Zhenzhen pointed her slender finger at the man’s chest and said, enunciating each word clearly.

"Please forgive my impulsiveness, madam."

The man looked into her eyes, grasped her hand, bent down, and planted kisses on her.

From the fingertips, to the knuckles, and all the way to the back of the fingers.

The man's hot breath seared into Ye Zhenzhen's face, and her fingertips trembled slightly, just like the fluttering of her heart.

"Please promise me, you will not accept any invitations to dance except from me."

The man spoke in a deep voice, pleading, but the possessiveness in his eyes was so intense that it was impossible to hide.

"But you can't even attend the banquet as a guest."

Ye Zhenzhen flipped her wrist and touched the man's handsome profile. "Do you want me to sit here all night, watching you move around the banquet hall, serving those elegantly dressed ladies?"

“You have all my loyalty, Master.” Gu Tingshen placed his large, tanned hand on hers. “I will only ever serve you.”

A knock on the door broke the somewhat ambiguous atmosphere in the room.

"Mom, can we go to the kitchen now?"

Gu Sinan's voice came through the door of the inner room.

Ye Zhenzhen hurriedly stepped back, creating distance between herself and the man, and turned to open the door. "Okay, baby, come in, we'll be right down."

"Mom, why is your face so red? Do you have a fever?"

"No, um, it's too hot."

Gu Sinan looked at herself, wearing layers upon layers of clothing, and then at her mother's thin cotton dress, and shook her head in surprise.

There are probably many layers inside these skirts.

Girls back then really had it tough...

---

In the kitchen, the red-haired cook had already prepared the ingredients.

"What dessert should we make?" Zhang Siqing looked at the cream, butter, powdered sugar, and fruit on the kitchen table with some worry. She could cook, but desserts were a bit beyond her capabilities.

"How about we make cookies? It's quick and easy," Ye Zhenzhen suggested. "All the children can participate."

The twins cheered after hearing this, and Gu Sinan's eyes lit up.

"I'll listen to you! Just let me know if there's anything that requires effort!" Zhang Siqing saw that Ye Zhenzhen was calm and composed, clearly confident and assured.

Ye Zhenzhen asked the cook for the usual ingredient ratios for baking cookies, and then taught Gu Sinan how to use an electronic scale to weigh the low-gluten flour, butter, cocoa powder, matcha powder, and other ingredients in sequence.

Thanks to the production team, they didn't completely follow history by putting away all the modern home appliances and kitchenware, which made their operations much simpler.

After the butter has softened at room temperature, add powdered sugar and egg liquid and beat with an electric mixer until it turns light yellow. Then add various powders to get doughs of different colors.

"Next, you can shape them yourself. After you're done, put them on the baking tray and bake them." Ye Zhenzhen took out pink and green dough. "I'll make a watermelon cookie."

She rolled the pink dough into a long strip, shaped it into a triangular prism, and then attached a layer of green dough to one side. Cutting it along the cross-section created a watermelon in a simple, line drawing style.

Wow, that's amazing!

"Aunt Zhenzhen is so great!"

The twins enthusiastically started playing the drums, and Gu Sinan was also eager to try.

"Mom, can I try it?"

"Of course~ Now it's up to you guys!" Ye Zhenzhen smiled as she tied an apron on him, encouraging him to get started.

The children were shaping the dough and chatting and laughing with the twins.

Ye Zhenzhen stood to the side watching, feeling a sense of感慨 (gan3kai3, a complex emotion encompassing both admiration and reflection). Compared to when they first met, Gu Sinan now seemed more like a 6-year-old child. She had lost the maturity and composure of the character in the original novel, but had finally developed the lively demeanor that someone her age should have.

To be honest, she felt quite accomplished being a "stepmother".

"Hey, Zhenzhen, look at them, don't they look just like us when we were kids playing in the mud?" Zhang Siqing couldn't help but laugh at their enthusiastic expressions.

"Haha, really! Nannan made a bone shape and a little bear. Look at that one, what is it? It's so complicated." Ye Zhenzhen also took a closer look.

"I think it looks like Ultraman, but Lele's looks like Patrick Star. I must say, they're actually quite cute." Mothers understand their children's preferences better, Zhang Siqing concluded after observing.

Plates of oddly shaped cookies went into the oven, and as the oven temperature rose, a milky aroma spread throughout the kitchen.

The cookies were quite successful after baking. Decorated with melted chocolate, they were carefully arranged on a multi-tiered pastry stand and looked very appealing.

After the little guy, covered in flour and cream, went back to his room to wash up and change clothes, Ye Zhenzhen also changed into a gothic-style tea party dress and went to the garden outside the castle.

A group of people enjoyed a rare moment of leisurely afternoon tea, sitting in the garden, chatting and eating while enjoying the gentle breeze.

Gu Tingshen, who usually followed Ye Zhenzhen like a shadow, was nowhere to be seen.

---

As night fell, horses of all colors pulled carriages of various styles, carrying elegantly dressed guests to the main gate of the castle.

The banquet hall was filled with elegantly dressed ladies vying for attention, their antique gowns and corsets accentuating their perfect figures as they danced gracefully, enjoying the adulation of the gentlemen.

Bathed in the mesmerizing glow of the crystal chandelier, people felt as if they had truly traveled back to 19th-century Europe to attend a high-society dinner.

Ye Zhenzhen found a corner that wouldn't attract attention.

Gu Sinan was handed over to Yan Xu, and the children had a great time playing in the field.

Gu Tingshen made a brief appearance in the afternoon, helped her put on a vampire-style dress, and then disappeared again.

Her outer skirt tonight was made of black taffeta, while the inner skirt hem was made of red velvet with floral pleats, which fluttered in black and red arcs as she walked.

The skirt, based on the loose silhouette of the Empire dress, is fitted with a black leather belt with a metal chain inlaid with rubies, which accentuates the curves of the waist.

A black silk mask covered the upper half of her face, with gold thread outlining vine patterns along the edges. Her eyes were shaped like cat eyes, revealing a delicate chin.

Many eyes in the hall were openly or secretly watching this corner. The beautiful woman dressed in vampire attire had a graceful figure, a slender neck, and snow-white skin with blood-red lips, making her exceptionally charming.

However, since the beauty had politely declined the invitation to dance using fan gestures, no one came forward to strike up a conversation.

"Zhenzhen, why are you sitting here all alone?" A familiar female voice came from behind.

Ye Zhenzhen turned around and saw a girl wearing a golden mask, which covered most of her face. Her figure was somewhat familiar.

"Anna?" She recognized the girl by looking through the eye holes in the mask at her green eyes and her deep red hair piled up.

"Let's find some peace and quiet here." Ye Zhenzhen smiled as she stood up and gave a simple curtsy. "We've come to the castle to bother you, and today we've finally met the master."

“I’ve been abroad these past few days and I’ve been wanting to come back to see you for ages!” Jiang Anna returned the greeting with a smile. “And William, he was supposed to come tonight too, but something came up and he’s still upset.”

"Really? If it can make William angry, then it must be a very difficult job."

Seeing that her expression was normal, Jiang Anna felt no disappointment that Ye Qinglan had not appeared, but she felt a pang of sadness for her cousin.

That's it, in Zhenzhen's heart, William is just an older brother.

She carefully observed the girl in front of her.

Her fair skin was rosy, her full red lips curved into a light smile, and her dimples were faintly visible on her cheeks, like they were filled with intoxicating wine, making it impossible to look away from her at first sight.

Despite the dim lighting, her unique, serene demeanor still attracted a lot of attention.

She still goes to parties as before, preferring to hide in a quiet corner where no one is around, unaware of how many admiring glances fall upon her.

"Aren't you going to dance?" Jiang Anna asked Ye Zhenzhen.

In the short time they had been chatting, three groups of people had come over to strike up a conversation and ask them to dance. But Ye Zhenzhen refused them all.

"No, you go ahead and jump, don't worry about me." Ye Zhenzhen waved the sparkling water in her hand at her. "I like this quiet corner."

“Alright, William asked me to give you his regards. He’ll definitely apologize to you in person when he has time.” Seeing that she was distracted, Jiang Anna finished speaking and accepted an invitation from a blond young man to go dancing.

Ye Zhenzhen smiled and watched her walk to the center of the field, her skirt fluttering like a cheerful little bird.

As per the director's instructions, at the banquet, these time travelers needed to complete all the movements they had learned that afternoon and perform a full dance in order to keep their identities from being discovered.

Several other couples in the room were happily dancing a waltz.

Gu Tingshen has disappeared somewhere; perhaps he's dealing with some minor issues related to his identity.

Ye Zhenzhen got up and walked to the terrace, away from the hustle and bustle of the place.

Here, undisturbed by anyone else, she took off her mask, leaned against the railing, enjoying the gentle evening breeze, and gazed into the distance. The undulating mountains resembled lurking shadows, silent and still.

For her graduation trip, she and her parents visited a small town in southwest China. At night, they leaned against the balcony of their guesthouse, gazing at the mountains under the moonlight, and dreaming about their bright future.

The night breeze then was just as gentle as it is tonight, carrying a slight chill.

But now, she wanders alone in this strange world, like a lonely soul.

Ye Zhenzhen remained lost in thought for a long time until the sound of footsteps suddenly woke her up.

Turning her head, she saw a tall man walking towards her. A black and gold mask covered his features, revealing only his thin lips and sharp jawline.