The group entered the flower hall, and faced a few black lacquer square tables. On the tables were sweet white porcelain plates with sweet citrons, pineapples and other delicious things. On the high tables in the corners were fresh flowers and bonsai. The bright octagonal glass lamps illuminated the mirror-like tiles, reflecting a soft luster.

The lady was wearing a lilac jacket with a gourd pattern, and was sitting in the west room with a black lacquer painting of an endless Luohan. She was smiling, and several women wearing pearl rings and emeralds and brocade clothes were sitting around her, chatting and laughing. There were also seven or eight maids wearing blue jackets, busying themselves with refilling tea, serving melon seeds and snacks, or changing plates. The room was filled with a festive and lively atmosphere.

Seeing the eldest wife, the lady-in-waiting stood up and came to greet her.

The group of women also stood up and followed the lady.

Eleventh Lady saw Madam Qiao and Qiao Lianfang, the sixth daughter of the Qiao family, who was supporting Madam Qiao.

Qiao Lianfang also saw Shiyi Niang.

She was still dressed simply, with a face as delicate and white as porcelain, a pointed chin, big almond eyes, and curved dark eyebrows... But at first glance, somehow, the little girl who always followed them silently suddenly became a little strange.

She was slightly startled.

There was no more timidity between her brows, no more awkwardness in her behavior, instead there was a gentle look, a peaceful smile, and generous manners, making her exude a sense of calmness and composure.

Surprise flashed across her eyes.

But what happened?

Before she had time to think about it, her attention was attracted by a girl in a scarlet dress next to Eleventh Lady.

The girl was no more than fifteen or sixteen years old, tall, with curvy figure, skin as white as fresh snow, eyebrows as dark as distant ink, and her jet-black hair tied in a high bun, with two red gold flowers inlaid with lapis lazuli beads inserted diagonally side by side.

Although she is a rare beauty, she cannot be said to be unparalleled in the world.

But she followed behind the eldest wife, her back straight, her chin slightly raised, and her glance revealed a pride that ordinary women dared not show, making her stand out among the room full of humble and submissive women, as eye-catching, beautiful and radiant as a crane among chickens.

Qiao Lianfang took a breath of cold air.

Who is this woman?

Didn't she know that a woman's virtue, appearance and respect were the most important things? Even the fifth wife of the Xu family, the Princess of Danyang, didn't dare to do so. Or, which family's princess was she?

While she was thinking, the old lady had already taken the eldest wife's hand and said, "Why are you here just now? We've been waiting for you to start the feast!"

The eldest wife quickly apologized.

The lady saw Shi Niang behind her, and her eyes were filled with amazement: "This is..."

Shi Niang stepped forward gracefully and saluted the Madam: "Shi Niang Luo, I pay my respects to the Madam! I wish you good health and happiness, and everything goes well!"

The old lady nodded with a smile and looked at the eldest wife, "You are so lucky." Then she asked Shi Niang, "Why didn't you come to play with your mother last time?"

Shi Niang glanced at the eldest lady and said with a smile, "My eldest sister is not in good health, so I made a vow to fast for 81 days and copy a chapter of the Blood Sutra. I just finished it two days ago. Today, mother brought me to pay my respects to the lady."

"It's really hard for you!" The lady patted Shi Niang's hand. Someone beside her laughed and said, "It's still the eldest lady who taught her daughters well. The sisters are so close and harmonious."

"You're too kind." The eldest wife smiled modestly.

The lady introduced her: "This is Madam Lin from the Weibei Marquisate..."

Mrs. Lin was in her fifties, with a face like a full moon, and looked very kind.

The eldest wife hurried forward and bowed.

Mrs. Lin returned the gift.

The lady also introduced other people to her.

"This is Madam Tang from Zhongshan Marquis's Mansion..."

She was a tall and thin woman, who looked to be in her fifties.

"This is Madam Gan from the Duke Zhongqin's Mansion..."

Lord Zhongqin, surnamed Gan, is the third wife of the Xu family’s maternal family?

Eleventh Lady couldn't help but glance at Madam Gan.

She was a beautiful woman in her thirties, wearing a royal blue embroidered jacket with a vase pattern, and she had a very elegant temperament.

"This is Madam Huang from the Yongchang Marquisate..."

He is a man about the same age as the lady.

The lady finally said, "You already know Madam Zheng and Madam Qiao. I won't go on and on!"

The eldest wife smiled and bowed to Madam Zheng and Madam Qiao, and introduced Wu Niang, Shi Niang and Shiyi Niang to the other ladies. The other ladies then introduced the people they brought with them.

The room was filled with the sounds of chirping women and jingling jewelry, and it was very lively.

Eleventh Lady counted and found that in addition to several ladies, the Lin family had the eldest grandmother, the third grandmother and a fifth young lady; the Tang family had the fourth grandmother and a third young lady; the Huang family had a third grandmother; the Gan family had a second grandmother, a third young lady and a seventh young lady; plus Qiao Lianfang... well, including her own side, there were a total of thirteen people. Excluding the married grandmothers, there were eight unmarried young ladies!

The Gan family also had two young ladies…both young and beautiful. Especially the fifth young lady of the Lin family, who wore a moon-white dress, with an elegant appearance and graceful like the moon, as if she had walked down from a painting. She was as beautiful as the fifth lady, the bright and charming Tenth lady, and the gentle and beautiful Qiao Lianfang, and the only one who did not bring a young lady, Madam Huang of Yongchang, praised the old lady: "It's a pity that the second lady didn't come, otherwise, the painting of a group of beauties would be a good story."

"We are going to have a party today." The lady laughed, "She is a quiet person."

As they were talking, a woman wearing a light green floral jacket rushed in.

"Mother, you can't blame me for being late." She said to the lady in a coquettish tone, "I helped Master Wu to move the lotus lantern."

The lady tapped her forehead and said, "You are a woman, why are you following him like crazy?" There was no blame in her tone, only doting, "Don't go there again!"

"Okay!" the woman responded loudly, her big eyes smiling into crescent moons.

"I haven't met all the ladies yet!" The lady-in-waiting said to her with a smile.

"Yes!" She answered readily, and bowed to each lady one by one.

All the ladies looked at her with smiles and called her "Princess Danyang County".

It turned out to be Sun, the fifth wife of the Xu family and the daughter of Sun Kang, Marquis of Dingnan!

Eleventh Lady looked at her carefully.

She looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years old, not tall, very slender, with delicate features, and very good skin, as white as snow and as delicate as cream. Her smile was as kind and sweet as that of a neighboring child, and she had a deep dimple on her left cheek, which made her very likable.

When she saluted the eldest wife, she looked at Wu Niang and Shi Niang and her eyes suddenly lit up. She smiled and said, "You are the Fifth Miss and the Eleventh Miss, right? I didn't see them last time I went back to my parents' home. This time we must have a good chat!"

Wu Niang smiled and returned the gift to Wu Madam, but Shi Niang smiled and said, "I am Shi Niang." She pointed to Shiyi Niang beside her and said, "This is Shiyi Niang."

Eleventh Lady smiled and bowed to Fifth Lady.

Mrs. Wu was surprised to see that she was so young but so demure and generous. But before she could say anything, Miss Lin smiled and greeted her, "Cousin!"

"Mingyuan." Madam Wu said with a smile, "Why are you here too? We are having a party today!"

I didn’t expect that Miss Lin and Madam Wu are cousins?

It seems that the Yanjing family is indeed complicated.

Eleventh Lady secretly observed the surrounding environment.

"Today is March 3rd." Miss Lin smiled with her hands covering her mouth, her posture elegant.

"That's right!" Mrs. Wu said with a smile, "You can't stay at home reading, writing, painting and reciting poems 365 days a year." She added, "How about we go to the Taichi Lake to play later? It's windy today, just right for flying kites."

"You are talking nonsense again." The lady scolded with a smile, "You can only play in the garden, you are not allowed to go out."

The Fifth Lady giggled and pulled the Lady's hand: "Shall we go to the garden to fly a kite later?"

"This monkey really can't sit still for a moment."

"Otherwise why is his surname Sun?" Mrs. Huang joked.

Everyone started laughing too.

The seventh daughter of the Gan family is about the same age as Shi Niang. She whispered to her elder sister, "No wonder everyone says that the Princess of Danyang County is fun... We can go fly a kite later!" There was a hint of excitement in her tone.

Her sister frowned and said awkwardly, "After all, you are a guest at someone else's house... If you really want to fly a kite, you can fly as many kites as you want when you get home."

The younger sister hummed absentmindedly, but her eyes were always following the Fifth Madam.

Eleventh Lady, who was standing next to them, couldn't help but smile slightly.

This Miss Gan Qi still retains some of the innocence of a young girl, which is really rare!

Madam Wu and Miss Lin were cousins, and they were no strangers to the others. After everyone exchanged greetings, Madam Tai invited everyone to take their seats: "... so that we can listen to the opera early."

Everyone smiled and sat down according to their place of honor.

The maids brought orange juice for washing hands and helped everyone wash their hands. Another maid quietly brought the soup.

Several ladies drank a little wine, but the young ladies ate obediently and were served by the people around them.

After dinner, everyone moved to the West Open Hall to drink tea, and then went to Dianchun Hall.

*

The background of the Dianchun Hall stage had been set up, and the courtyard was quiet and no one was seen. The side rooms behind the stage were closed, but the side rooms opposite to the north were wide open. Inside, several low-legged long couches were spread out, and on the table in front of the couches were fruit plates and tea, and on the left and right were two cloisonné enamel watermelon-shaped wash basins.

The third lady led everyone into the north wing. After a round of politeness, everyone sat in pairs according to their age. The old lady naturally sat with Lady Zheng, and the eldest lady sat with the youngest lady, Lady Gan.

A maid brought a brocade stool and placed it next to the couch.

The grandmothers and young ladies sat around their respective elders.

The maids served tea.

A slender man wearing an apricot-yellow brocade robe with round flowers walked in and said, "Madam, please order the plays." As he said this, he bowed his head slightly and presented the gold-plated post with a cupped hand.

Miss Lin and the others stood up in shock.

The ladies all laughed and joked, "When did our Fifth Master become the owner of the Deyin class?"

The man raised his head, revealing a handsome face as bright and radiant as the sun.

"I heard that several ladies were here, so I specially asked for this job." He joked, "I wonder if you ladies would like to listen to a literary play? Or a martial arts play? Otherwise, I would like to tell you the name of the play?" His tone was quite cynical, but it made the ladies laugh again.

Miss Lin and a few others also sat down with their sleeves covered and smiles.

For a moment, the atmosphere in the room was extremely cheerful.