As expected, Guan Surong rose early the next morning and dressed meticulously. She had a small, delicate face, and while her temperament didn't quite match that of a legitimate daughter of a prominent family, she was easily liked by the sons of aristocratic families. A fortuneteller once said she wasn't destined to be a mistress, but rather had the features of a concubine. However, Guan Surong never took it seriously; she only cared about money and power.
As for the rest, they were of no use to her. Since she was a child, she had seen many mistresses being oppressed by concubines, so she knew that nothing was more important than the favor of her husband.
After Guan Surong had packed up, she took her personal maid Taohong out.
Nan'anfang in the West Market of the capital was indeed bustling with activity. Guan Surong could see from afar that it was bustling with people. She was always afraid of crowds, so she dismounted and stood aside, peeking inside to see if Yan Yuzhi was there.
Today she wore a lilac-colored floral dress embroidered with gilded branches, which looked gorgeous yet elegant, perfectly suiting her age. Her hair was styled in a heart-shaped bun, with two jasper hairpins inserted in it and a crabapple blossom pinned between her temples, a truly elegant sight.
Guan Surong was very good at dressing herself up, and now she looked very pleasing to the eye standing by the roadside, with people passing by always stopping to take a look. She waited for an incense stick, but still didn't see Yan Yuzhi show up.
Seeing how crowded the place was, Taohong, who was beside Guan Surong, couldn't help but ask, "Miss, it's so crowded in there, are we still going in now? I'm afraid Mr. Yan is stuck somewhere and might not be able to find us."
"Of course we have to go in, but we can't go in for nothing." Guan Surong held a round fan in her hand and looked at the tea drinkers sitting in the attic. "If they didn't come, it would be useless for us to squeeze in. On the contrary, my makeup would be smudged. It wouldn't be worth it to meet them with such a smudged face next time."
"That's right, young lady." Taohong echoed from the side, and fanned Guan Surong with a round fan in her hand to prevent her from sweating.
Just when Guan Surong was getting a little impatient, she happened to see Yan Yuzhi who was looking for something in the crowd. He was looking around, probably looking for Guan Surong.
Guan Surong's heart moved, and she pretended not to see anything and walked in. She held a round fan in her hand, and every step was like a lotus under her feet. Her demeanor was not much different from that of the ladies in the capital. Just as Guan Surong was about to reach Yan Yuzhi, she pretended to fall on Yan Yuzhi carelessly, "Ah..."
Seeing this, Yan Yuzhi hurriedly helped Guan Surong up, the smile in his eyes almost spreading. He looked at Guan Surong and said, "Miss, we meet again. I didn't expect that you would come to Zhengyifang today. It's a pity that there are too many people today. It would be bad if you squeeze Miss Rong."
"Thank you, my dear." Guan Surong stood up with a flushed face, probably because she was shy.
Her charming appearance now made Yan Yuzhi's heart move, and he became more and more determined to marry her. Yan Yuzhi smiled and invited Guan Surong, "It's crowded at this hour, why don't you go upstairs and sit for a while, and wait until there are fewer people before going downstairs to the teahouse for a stroll."
Guan Surong looked shy. She raised her hand to tidy up the hair beside her ear and said to Yan Yuzhi a little embarrassedly, "It's just that in an occasion like this, if my husband and I go to have tea, I'm afraid it will be bad for our reputation."
"It's just tea tasting. There are many men and women drinking tea around here." Yan Yuzhi looked handsome and had an upright figure. The two of them looked particularly well-matched standing together.
Guan Surong nodded slightly, but kept the round fan in front of her nose as a polite gesture. "Then it would be disrespectful for Surong to refuse."
The two of them went upstairs. As soon as they sat down, Yan Yuzhi couldn't help but ask Guan Surong about her family background. He couldn't help but ask, "Miss Surong, as far as I know, the mother of the mighty General Song Jing only has this one son. I don't know how he is related to Miss Surong?"
After Yan Yuzhi finished speaking, he quickly pretended to be rude and smiled apologetically at Guan Surong, "I just asked casually. If it's not convenient for you to say it, you don't have to."
Guan Surong was not panicked when she heard Yan Yuzhi's words. She just said calmly, "My dear, you don't know that my mother and General Song Jing's mother are not from the same mother..."
Guan Surong's words weren't really a lie; they were the truth. But Yan Yuzhi heard another implication: if they didn't have the same mother, they had the same father. Remarriage is common these days, so it's not uncommon. But judging by Song Lan's attitude toward Guan Surong, it seems likely that Song Jing from the General's Mansion truly recognized Guan Surong as his niece.
Yan Yuzhi felt a little better when he thought of this, but he still poured himself a cup of tea. "I am so presumptuous. How about I use tea instead of wine and punish myself with a cup to apologize to Miss Rong."
"It's only natural for you to ask that." Guan Surong gave Yan Yuzhi a comforting smile and said, "I wonder why you're studying at Bishui Hall now?"
"My parents wanted me to find a future mistress at Bishuitang." Yan Yuzhi smiled at Guan Surong, "But the women at Bishuitang are all so vulgar. I hate people who flatter the powerful and look down on the weak the most. I really don't like any of them, so I put it off."
"Does the young master often invite the girls from the Bishuitang to the teahouse for tea?" Guan Surong smiled brightly, looking at Yan Yuzhi and said slowly, "In that case, the young master must have had tea with all the girls from the Bishuitang, and now it's my turn."
"How could that be?" Yan Yuzhi looked at Guan Surong and hurriedly explained, "I've never even looked at the girls from Bishuitang, nor have I had anything to do with them. Miss Rong was the first girl I invited upstairs for tea. If you don't believe me, I'll be struck by lightning and die miserably."
What Yan Yuzhi said was true. After all, among all the girls in Bishuitang, Guan Surong was the only one who was willing to look upon him favorably.
Guan Surong was in high spirits after hearing this. She looked at Yan Yuzhi and said, "My dear, you said this because you want to see if I am the person you need?"
Yan Yuzhi had many concubines at home, and he knew how to manipulate a woman's mind. He immediately said, "I, Yan Yuzhi, fell in love with Miss Rong the first time I saw her. It has nothing to do with her family background or her parents' wishes. Even if Miss Rong was just an ordinary person, I would still want to marry her."
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