"My friend is a maritime merchant. He got this water silkworm brocade from a country overseas. It's said to be made from silk spun by silkworms raised in water. It's extremely rare, and he only has a few pieces. The one he gave me was sold to me at a high price because of our friendship."
"Oh, so next time your friend goes out to sea, can you ask him to bring back more water silkworm brocade?" Lin Yuzhu looked at Xue Huan eagerly.
Several others followed suit.
Xue Huan smiled and said, "Even if you didn't tell me, I would have done it. Clothes made of water silkworm brocade are very soft and breathable, and very comfortable to wear. I want to make a few more."
Ye Fu came over: "Sister Xiaoxian, can I touch it?"
"What's wrong with that?" Xue Huan generously handed over her sleeve.
Ye Fu touched it carefully, her expression pleasantly surprised. "Really? It's so smooth, like water."
The girls in the pavilion came over one by one and touched Xue Huan's... clothes, then showed a dreamy expression.
At this moment, a low gasp-like sound suddenly came from outside the pavilion, and Xue Huan subconsciously turned her head to look.
A beautiful woman in a red, chest-length skirt with gold sprinkled on it walked in. She was about seventeen or eighteen years old, and was dressed quite brightly and elegantly, revealing a large area of snow-white skin on her chest. Her dressing style was very bold, quite similar to the style of ladies in the prosperous Tang Dynasty.
However, although the customs in Daqi were open, they were still inferior to those in the heyday of the Tang Dynasty. Basically, no woman dared to walk on the street wearing such "revealing" clothes.
In Xue Huan's opinion, this skirt is far from revealing, but it is not the case in the eyes of others.
Didn’t you see that when the woman came over, everyone didn’t know where to look?
The little girls around her covered their eyes, but secretly peeked out through their fingers.
The woman was none other than Zhang Ying, who had disguised herself as Xue Huan and tried to approach Pei Ji on the night of the Chinese Valentine's Day. Her father, Zhang Shun, was the governor of Quanzhou, in charge of all the state's affairs.
Fengchi is the capital of Quanzhou. The county government of Fengchi County and the government office of Quanzhou Prefecture are all located in Fengchi County.
Therefore, the residence of Governor Zhang and his family is also located in Fengchi County.
Although the Ye family is the fifth prince's in-laws, they are only imperial merchants. No one in the family has served in officialdom, or in other words, no one holds a high position in the court. Simply put, they lack political power.
After all, Governor Zhang was the governor of a state and a fourth-rank official in the court. If he attended Madam Ye's birthday banquet in person, it would seem too serious, so he only asked his daughter to come to the banquet with birthday gifts.
As the daughter of the governor, Zhang Ying is the most popular noble lady in Fengchi County, and even in the entire state. Compared with her, Cai Ling, the daughter of the former county magistrate, is just a jumping country chicken.
Cai Ling had tried many times to break into Zhang Ying's circle before, but unfortunately, Zhang Ying simply disdained to play with her, thinking that her status was too low and it lowered her own standards.
Zhang Ying even looked down upon Fengchi County. She felt that the imperial capital was the only truly noble place in the world, and all other places were just countryside.
So she used to be active in the capital. After her mother passed away, she was taken to live with her maternal family in the capital. She stayed there for several years and only came back occasionally during that time.
This time, in addition to coming back to spend the Mid-Autumn Festival with her father, she also had another important matter.
Zhang Ying went to Qing Huan Pavilion to pay her respects to the old lady. When she bowed, her chest skin was exposed even more. Before she could do anything, the old lady was dizzy. "Hurry up and get up."
When entering the room, Zhang Ying's men had already handed it to the doorman, so now they just came over to greet the old lady, their elder.
After sitting and talking with the old lady for a while, she left.
As soon as she left, all the ladies in the pavilion began to discuss in low voices.
"This girl's outfit is way too indecent. Half of her chest is exposed. She just came from the front yard. Didn't everyone see her naked?"
"I heard that she used to live in the capital. Is this the way all the noble ladies in the capital dress?"
"That's not necessarily true. My sister did marry in the capital. I received a letter from her a few days ago, and she didn't say that the fashion in the capital had become like this."
…
Zhang Ying didn't care about the discussions behind her. Humph, a bunch of bumpkins living in a small place, what do they know?
Even the imperial concubine in the palace dresses like this, is there anything wrong with her dressing like this?
The Imperial Concubine has always been a leader in fashion, and the noble ladies in the capital are eager to imitate her. In a few days, there will definitely be a trend of chest-length skirts in the capital.
When the news gets to Fengchi, won’t these people rush to imitate it?
So, what qualifications do they have to criticize her, a person at the forefront of fashion?
Zhang Ying, with an inexplicable sense of superiority as if she was the only one sober while everyone else was drunk, faced the gazes from all directions with confidence, walked to a place and sat down, picked up a flower and held it in her hand, playing with it nonchalantly.
Soon, the banquet officially began and everyone took their seats in turn.
As the host, Ye Fu brought Xue Huan and others to a round table. There were eight chairs around the table, which meant that eight people could sit at one table.
Xue Huan's table was occupied by young women. To her right sat Ye Fu. Lin Yuzhu had originally wanted to sit next to her, but then a voice rang out, "Miss Zhao, do you mind if I sit next to you?"
It was Zhang Ying.
She hadn't actually asked Xue Huan for her opinion; she sat down without waiting for her response. Lin Yuzhu stamped her feet in anger and simply sat on the other side.
Xue Huan glanced at Zhang Ying. Ye Fu had already explained to her the identity of this governor's daughter in the pavilion just now.
"Miss Zhang, do you recognize me?"
Zhang Ying leaned one hand on the table, the other supporting her chin as she tilted her head to look at her. "Miss Zhao, who had chili peppers and numerous recipes in her hands, then came up with a method for making ice with saltpeter, and now has opened a snack shop that's making a fortune every day, how could I not recognize her?"
It seems that Zhang Ying has investigated her, but since she dared to take out these things, she is naturally not afraid of being investigated. After all, the identity of Zhao Xiaoxian is just a shell and can be abandoned at any time when necessary.
Xue Huan smiled and said, "It seems that Miss Zhang knows me very well."
At this time, the maid began to serve the dishes.
First, four cold dishes: honey ham, fried ginkgo, soft crucian carp, and shredded mushrooms
Four hot dishes: Candied Abalone, Shrimp in Tomato Sauce, Chicken Cake, and Mushrooms in Chicken Sauce
Eight dishes: Braised shark's fin, mutton soup with deer tendon, pigeon eggs with sesame seeds, duck with vermicelli, steamed sea bass, boiled cabbage, candied yam, chicken in lotus soup
Next up: Barbecued suckling pig (served with crispy pastry and lotus leaf)
Four accompanying dishes: diced pork with chili pepper, braised choy sum with duck egg yolk, shredded pork with fish flavor, and steamed egg with shrimp.
Finally, there are snacks and fruits after the meal.
This birthday banquet was hosted by the eldest lady and her daughter-in-law Qin. After drawing up the menu, they sent it to Xue Huan for review, wanting to ask her if she had any opinions.
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