At this moment, the old woman from the Gu family, who was leading the way, called out loudly, "Princess Kangle has arrived!"
The conversation inside the room quickly stopped, and everyone stood up.
Jiayin stepped inside, her smile perfectly timed. After nodding to everyone, she gave a junior's bow to Madam Gu and Dean Gu.
Last year, Mrs. Wen came to visit and brought Jiayin with her.
At this moment, Madam Gu smiled and took Jiayin's hand, saying, "It's been a long time since I've seen you. Princess, you've become even more beautiful."
"When young girls are dressed brightly, it makes even an old lady like me happy."
Jiayin was the best at coaxing the old lady, and said with a smile, "Madam, you flatter me. If we're talking about beauties, I'm sure no one would have dared to compete with you fifty years ago!"
"Even now, your skin only has a few wrinkles, and your eyebrows are still dark, which shows how amazing you were when you were young!"
Sure enough, Madam Gu laughed heartily and waved her hand, saying, "No matter how good you were when you were young, you're old now."
The other ladies echoed her sentiments. One of them, who was probably Madam Gu's niece, said, "When my aunt was young, she was the most talented woman in the capital, known for her mastery of both poetry and painting."
Someone immediately chimed in, "Oh my, no wonder! Dean Gu must have inherited the old lady's true teachings!"
In just a few words, Madam Gu and Dean Gu once again became the center of attention.
Fearing that Jiayin would be neglected, Madam Gu pointed to the peaches on the table and said, "Just now everyone was praising how delicious these peaches were. Thanks to the princess, we are fortunate enough to have such a treat!"
Jiayin smiled and said, "I'm glad that the old lady likes to eat them. These are fruit seedlings that our family's caravan brought back from the south. I put them in a greenhouse and nurtured them for two years before they started to bear fruit, and there were only a few hundred or so of them."
"Therefore, this time we only presented the old lady with one basket."
"Once I figure out a good way, I will definitely give the old lady two trees. Fruit trees are not difficult to take care of."
"That way, the old lady can stand under the tree and pick and eat the fresh fruit whenever she wants."
"Haha, that's wonderful! I've lived my whole life and never picked peaches before, let alone such delicious ones!" Old Madam Gu smiled, her eyes crinkling.
After exchanging a few more words, Madam Gu called her personal maidservant forward and said to Jiayin, "Princess, you've come all this way, don't keep this old woman company. Go to the garden and play with Qingqing and the others. Come visit more often when you have free time."
"Alright, Madam, next time I'll bring you the softest and sweetest pastries from Baiyunjian to show my respect!"
Jiayin smiled, stood up, bowed again, and left.
The people in the room couldn't help but continue talking. Someone said, "This is the first time I've seen the princess. I never expected her to be such a bright and elegant girl."
"Yes, I noticed that the princess's dress is made of Qixia silk, a tribute item. I heard that only three bolts were sent to the palace. Did the princess receive one of them?"
"And the jeweled gold crown on the princess's head was also made by the Imperial Workshop."
The others echoed this sentiment, their expressions filled with envy.
Of course, some people couldn't help but feel sour.
A woman wearing a light blue outer garment, with a somewhat mean-looking face, said in a low voice, "This girl from a farming family has gained her current glory only because she has the favor of a nobleman."
"However, with such a beautiful appearance, it's not a waste of these fine materials and jewelry."
The companion sitting next to this person, dressed in a light purple dress, seemed very amiable and said with a smile, "There are many girls from farming families, but few are as fortunate as the princess."
Sitting opposite, Dean Gu glanced at the two women and changed the subject...
Jiayin followed Madam Gu's personal maid to the garden, chatting casually for a few moments. Finally, she gestured to Shuiling to slip the maid a purse, which pleased the maid so much that she went back home happily.
Seven or eight young women sat in the pavilion in the garden, while a dozen or so others admired the flowers and chased butterflies around them, creating a lively scene.
Baozhu was eating snacks listlessly when she saw Jiayin coming from afar, so she quickly ran over.
"Sister Jiayin, why are you so late? I thought you'd forgotten about today's flower viewing party!"
"How could I forget? I just don't miss you. I miss Sister Gu too!" Jiayin smiled as she looked at Gu Qingqing, who had arrived shortly after.
Gu Qingqing covered her mouth with her handkerchief and laughed, scolding, "The princess is so good at coaxing people. It's been three or four months since we last met."
"Thinking back to the last time we met, it was in the clouds, and you gave me a packet of flower seeds!"
"Yes, I was thinking of coming today to see how the crape myrtle is growing." Jiayin linked arms with Gu Qingqing, showing great intimacy.
Two years ago, because of the Hibiscus Cream incident, the Gu family was very grateful to Jiayin. Afterwards, they intended to introduce Gu Qingqing and Jiayin through Madam Wen.
The two gradually became acquainted, occasionally exchanging small items such as embroidery booklets or flower seeds.
Gu Qingqing also liked Jiayin's liveliness and frankness, finding her easier to get along with and more compatible than the other noble ladies.
So she introduced Jiayin to her friends...
Now, Jiayin is a familiar face in the circles of noble ladies in Kyoto, and she has three or five close and favorite girlfriends, all thanks to Gu Qingqing.
Sure enough, as soon as the three entered the pavilion, two of the girls started laughing.
"Princess, you are truly late today!"
"Yes, without the princess, our gatherings are all so boring. We're just waiting for the princess to lead us in some new games!"
Both girls are Gu Qingqing's good friends.
One of them was named Meilan, and she was thirteen years old.
One of them is named Xu Xi, and she is fourteen years old.
Their fathers all held official positions in the imperial court, though not high-ranking, but in a substantive capacity.
Therefore, they do not have an arrogant temperament, and because they come from well-off families, they are raised to be generous and unconcerned with trivial matters.
Jiayin liked them very much, and laughed when she heard this. "I knew Sister Mei and Sister Xu would say that, so I was prepared!"
As she spoke, she instructed Granny He to find a place to have tea and rest, and only called for Shui Ling to bring her a deck of cards.
Granny He bowed and then smiled as she withdrew.
Today's flower-viewing banquet has attracted many maids and servants from various households, and when they gather together, they can hear a lot of gossip.
She'll go listen to a few words; perhaps they'll come in handy someday.
A good servant should not only serve her master attentively, but also act as her master's other ears and eyes...
Jiayin took the cards and then had Baozhu, Gu Qingqing, Meilan, and Xu Xi form a table.
Jiayin explained the rules of the game in detail, and then directed the four of them to start the turtle-drawing battle.
The cards were novel, and the game of drawing turtles was simple to play.
The only unexpected thing was that the person who lost each round had to stick a sticker on their face.
They're all pretty young girls, who would want to ruin their makeup today?
Therefore, the four of them put all their skills into a serious battle.
Even Baozhu couldn't care less about eating snacks.
Hearing the commotion, the other girls who were admiring the flowers and chasing butterflies also came forward to join in the fun.
Jiayin smiled and helped cut the paper strips, but she mischievously cut them wide and long.
So, in less than half an hour, the unlucky Xu Xi had her face covered in paper strips.
You can't even tell what she looks like anymore; she's practically a living piece of paper!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com