Seeing someone coming this way, many people turned around and looked in the direction of Jiang Mingzhi.
The girl had a thin back and a slender waist, a lotus face and starry eyes. She wore two pearl hairpins in her hair and white jade pendants in her ears. Her goose yellow dress was neither ostentatious nor plain. She walked with ease and dignity, revealing a quiet and gentle manner that was not surprised by the world. She was different from those young ladies in seclusion who would dodge to the side when they saw strangers. As she walked along, she attracted the attention of all the ladies.
"I wonder whose daughter this is? She looks unfamiliar."
The one who spoke was Qin, the wife of the Earl of Changyuan. She was wearing a dark purple jacket with a round flower and ruyi pattern. She was surrounded by a group of ladies and young ladies. They were originally chatting and laughing about family matters, but as they listened to what was said, they all looked in the direction Qin was looking.
Someone recognized Jiang Mingzhi and explained to Qin with a smile, "I saw that she came here with the wife of the Marquis of Jinyi. I heard that she seems to be the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Jinyi's predecessor, Madam Yuan."
Although both were second wives, Qin looked down upon Feng, the second wife of Marquis Jinyi. The two families seldom interacted with each other, so they did not know about this eldest lady who was raised in Marquis Jinyi's mansion and never went out.
Hearing someone mention this, she couldn't help but carefully look at Jiang Mingzhi, then nodded slightly, smiled admiringly and said, "She is a pretty girl."
Then he added, "She looks like the most beautiful one in their family."
Feng was standing not far away, and these words were so harsh to her ears.
Looking up, she saw her daughter standing by the pool, chatting and laughing with others. Feng felt so disappointed in her daughter. But it was no use being anxious. The daughter was hers, and she had to admit it even if she didn't want to. However, she was not as good-looking as the previous Madam Yuan.
But ordinary people would never use such things to hurt their hearts and lungs. Feng knew that the wife of the Earl of Changyuan might have done it on purpose.
However, there were not many concubines in the families of nobles and earls, so when others mentioned Qin, they could not help but compare her with Feng, who was also a concubine. It happened that the prince born to Madam Yuan of the Changyuan Earl's Mansion was a fool and fat, and Feng had always had a reputation as a good stepmother, so when others talked about it, they all said that Qin treated Madam Yuan's children harshly.
Qin was very dissatisfied with this, thinking that she was from an official family after all. Compared with Feng, who had a poor family background, three generations before her were peasants, and whose fathers were small officials who came from some rural village, this was clearly a slap in her face!
Feng also suffered an unprovoked misfortune. To be honest, these things had nothing to do with her, but she still caused others to hate her.
Feng was a little surprised to see Jiang Mingzhi was unharmed and returned to the public so openly.
Didn't her daughter say that this powder was very powerful? Didn't she also tell her that the book said that if this powder was left on the skin for a long time, it would cause ulcers, itching, swelling and pain? But why did she look at Jiang Mingzhi as if nothing had happened?
Jiang Mingzhi stood in front of her like this, and said to her with a smile: "I just washed up in the wing room, so I was gone for a while."
She smiled openly, her smile even brighter than the stamens on the branch.
Feng couldn't help but clench the handkerchief in her hand, and her mood became a little restless.
"Your father just came to ask if you were back, worried that you might be running around without knowing better." Feng said indifferently. After a moment's thought, she suddenly laughed and said to Jiang Mingzhi, "This is the first time you've been out and about since you recovered from your illness. I'm afraid the ladies in Kyoto wouldn't recognize many of them. Come on, I'll take you to meet some people!"
This sudden change in mood made Jiang Mingzhi feel a little confused. Could it be that Feng had thought of another way to punish him?
If these messy things hadn't happened, she would still believe that Feng just disliked her and had no other intentions. She might have thought of swapping her purse and using the powder that could destroy someone's appearance to harm someone. In this case, the matter would not be as simple as just disliking her.
She calmly pulled her hand out of Feng's hand, smiled and nodded, but kept a distance from him.
He said he was going to recognize some people, but the ones he met were all ladies and young ladies who were not as good as those in the Jinyi Marquis' Mansion.
However, Jiang Mingzhi didn't think much of it. She had no intention of marrying into a wealthy family. She knew every lady in Kyoto. But Feng's actions had given some away.
When they met Jiang Mingzhi's wife, they all praised her for being dignified, generous, well-behaved and docile, which made Feng, who wanted to embarrass Jiang Mingzhi, feel so angry that her heart ached.
She just couldn't understand how a young lady who had never left the house and had never learned any etiquette could have such a noble bearing. She was not afraid in front of so many people and could not find any fault with her!
After strolling around the peach forest for a while, Feng used the excuse of having a headache and wanted to go to the pavilion in front to rest for a while, and sent Jiang Mingzhi away.
After looking at Feng's departing figure for a long time, Jiang Mingzhi slowly withdrew his gaze.
She went to sit down at the table and chairs by the pool to rest. Her back was still a little itchy and painful, but it was much better than at the beginning.
Jiang Yushu and Jiang Yuzhen by the pool also noticed her.
Jiang Yushu couldn't help but tighten his hands hidden in his clove cloud-patterned cuffs, and glanced at Jiang Yuzhen twice in panic.
"That purse..."
Before she could finish her words, Jiang Yuzhen interrupted her: "You useless guy, why are you so panicked?"
Jiang Yushu finally calmed down and walked towards Jiang Mingzhi, bowing and saying, "Elder sister."
She glanced at her sister indifferently, then stared at Jiang Yuzhen with a smile without saying a word.
"Eldest sister, what's wrong with me?"
Being stared at by Jiang Mingzhi like this, Jiang Yuzhen felt like a thorn in her back. She reached out and stroked her temples, asking in some confusion.
"That's not the case." Jiang Mingzhi smiled, paused, and then said, "Your clothes are elegant and beautiful, which matches my purse perfectly."
As he said this, he was about to stuff the purse in his hand into Jiang Yuzhen's hand.
When Jiang Yuzhen heard the word "purse", her heart tightened. The moment Jiang Mingzhi stretched out his hand, she had already taken two or three steps back, as if she could not avoid it, and almost slipped on the cobblestones.
"What happened to the third sister?"
Jiang Mingzhi asked the question even though he knew the answer, but his eyes seemed to be able to see through people's hearts. Jiang Yuzhen's heart was agitated, and she took two deep breaths before she calmed down.
"No, it's just that my elder sister suddenly stretched out her hand and I was a little scared for a moment." She held the back of the hand of the maid Qiaoxin, her voice trembling a little.
If the purse had really been stuffed into my hands, I'm afraid my fair and tender hands would have been in trouble.
"Scared?" Jiang Mingzhi deliberately repeated the word, then stared at Jiang Yuzhen with amusement, "Could it be that your eldest sister hurt you in some way that made you so nervous?"
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