Golden blossoms and emerald calyxes carry the chill of spring; among the yellow flowers, there are several kinds.

It's not that winter jasmine is bad; Mingzhuang remembers quite a few poems praising winter jasmine.

Today, people are wearing peach blossoms, apricot blossoms, plum blossoms, peonies, crabapples, hibiscus, and peonies... which is quite common. But Lin Shi asked Shen Mingxi to wear a hairpin to welcome spring. What is the meaning of this?

Could it be that seeing her quick wit and resourcefulness earn her favor with Princess Jiayuan, she was displeased and wanted to use this opportunity to suppress her?

That's not impossible, after all, the Lin family is certainly capable of doing such a thing.

Madam Wen's words, which implied she had taken a liking to Shen Mingxi, were still lingering in her mind, so much so that she didn't quite understand what Shen Ming'e had said.

"I'm talking to you, are you even listening?"

Seeing that she received no response, Shen Ming'e couldn't help but feel annoyed and muttered a complaint under her breath.

Shen Mingzhuang snapped out of her daze, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Shen Ming'e, and smiled, "My dear sister, I'm listening! I'm listening with both ears!"

"Then tell me what I said!" Shen Ming'e said angrily.

"What are you talking about?" Sitting in front, Shen Mingxi saw the two sisters chatting and laughing, while Shen Ming'e, who was usually closest to her, suddenly seemed to be on good terms with Shen Mingzhuang, and she felt uneasy.

"It's nothing, they're just saying that the riddle-guessing game has already started over there, so let's not just sit here doing nothing."

As soon as she finished speaking, Granny Jiang came over, carrying three lotus lanterns. Although they were called lanterns, they were not for lighting. The lotus flowers were made of silk and were very lifelike. Each lotus flower had a different ceramic animal on it: a blue lotus with a white rabbit, a white lotus with a squirrel, and a red lotus with a kitten. They were all different in shape and very interesting!

Seeing this, Shen Mingxi was about to get up to take it, but Lin's voice came from behind her: "Seventh Miss, why don't you stay here and talk with your mother?"

After saying that, he turned to Shen Mingshu and said, "You are the older sister. There are many people here today, so please take good care of your two younger sisters."

Shen Mingshu mumbled a couple of times and replied, "Yes." She then chose a small lotus rabbit lantern from Granny Jiang's hand. Shen Ming'e was troubled by the remaining two lanterns, unsure which one to choose.

“Since Eighth Sister is wearing an apricot-colored dress today, this white lotus and squirrel lamp would be quite nice.”

Shen Ming'e was half-believing and half-doubting. She glanced at the lamp, then at her own clothes, and it seemed to be true.

Everyone took their own lanterns, and Granny Jiang smiled kindly, "Ladies, please write your names on red paper and place them on your lanterns."

These words were spoken to Shen Mingzhuang, who was attending the Hairpin Flower Festival for the first time.

Shen Mingzhuang smiled and agreed, then went with Shen Mingshu and Shen Ming'e to write on red paper at the long table over there.

The book mentions that the Flower-Wearing Festival was even more important to the young men and women of Tianzhong Kingdom than the Qixi Festival.

The Flower-Wearing Festival takes place in mid-spring, when flowers are in full bloom and the Flower Goddess descends to the mortal world to inspect the land. On this day, if a woman can win the favor of the Flower Goddess, she will bless her with a good marriage.

Writing one's name on red paper conveys the same meaning.

After writing, place the red paper on the lantern and hold it between the little animal's hand. When the girls see it, they can know each other's names, and if they are destined to be friends, they can even become sworn sisters.

After finishing all that, Granny Jiang instructed the maids who were attending her, "Serve them well. If anything goes wrong today, you'll be in big trouble!"

The Pei family's hosting of the Hairpin Flower Festival has become a common occurrence. The Pei family's garden is quite large, and it was built by skilled craftsmen hired by the late emperor. Over the years, it has been continuously expanded and modified, resulting in the garden that offers a refreshing and ever-changing view.

Shen Mingshu always prided herself on being the legitimate daughter and didn't like playing with her half-sisters. Apart from Shen Mingxi, no other half-sisters would usually try to get close to her.

Since Shen Mingxi couldn't go with them, Shen Mingshu quickened her pace and distanced herself from Shen Ming'e and Shen Mingzhuang.