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Xie Wu led Qin Sang into the waterside pavilion. Inside, young women in brocade robes and jeweled hairpins turned to look at them. Qin Sang kept her eyes straight ahead and saw that sitting in the main seat was a young woman wearing an exquisite crown of overlapping shell flowers. However, her appearance was ordinary and not particularly eye-catching.
However, the beautiful woman to her left, who was also wearing a flower hairpin and a beautiful crown and a shawl, was truly stunning, with eyes like mountains and rivers and skin as white as snow.
Qin Sang quickly calculated that the most beautiful one, with a hint of pride in her eyes and brows, must be Princess Fangfei, Tan Wuyan, whom Xie Wu had mentioned.
But she could only sit at the lower seat, which meant that the person at the upper seat could only be the princess.
Currently, there is only one woman of this age in the imperial court who has never married: the emperor's youngest daughter, Princess Yiyang.
Qin Sang casually glanced around. The women present all seemed to be around the same age as Qin Sang, and upon seeing her, they couldn't take their eyes off her.
However, over the years, she has long been used to it. Whenever she attends an important occasion, she is bound to attract the attention of other women.
Xie Wu began to introduce her to everyone and have her bow to them. Just as she had guessed, the person at the head of the table was Princess Yiyang, and the person at the foot of the table was Tan Wuyan.
Princess Yiyang had been watching Qin Sang from the beginning. After she finished her greetings and heard Xie Wu's introduction, she smiled and said, "This new girl is very beautiful! But... she's so young, yet she's dressed so old-fashionedly. Come here."
Qin Sang glanced at Xie Wu, and seeing Xie Wu nod slightly, she stepped forward.
Princess Yiyang deftly plucked a small jade hairpin from her jeweled head and reached out.
Qin Sang lowered her head and let the princess insert the jade hairpin into her hair.
Princess Yiyang was gentle and composed despite her young age: "Although elegant colors are popular nowadays, we are still girls, so there is no need to dress so formally."
After she finished speaking, she suddenly smiled and said, "Xie Wu, your new sister is really beautiful!" She then turned her head slightly to look at Tan Wuyan, "Fangfei, now you have a rival, someone is even more beautiful than you."
Although Tan Wuyan remained silent, Qin Sang could tell that she had been paying close attention to the situation.
When she was suddenly mentioned, she didn't seem to care much. With a calm and composed expression, she waved her round fan and said lazily, "Yes, this young lady is indeed a rare beauty. If the young gentlemen of our capital see her, they will have more material to compose poems and show off their refined tastes."
Although her tone was indifferent, the disdain in her eyes when she looked at Qin Sang was undisguised.
At this moment, Xie Wu said with a smile, "Oh, Princess, you are joking. There is no such thing as good or bad beauty in women. It is all a matter of personal taste. Although my sister is beautiful, she comes from a remote place and does not know the fashion of the capital. She cannot compare with the carefully dressed ladies of the capital, let alone Princess Fangfei's priceless floral brocade dress, which is eye-catching."
As he spoke, he gave Qin Sang a wink, his eyes full of smugness.
Tan Wuyan was slightly taken aback, then chuckled and said, "When did Sister Xie Wu become so slick? No matter how beautiful the clothes are, they are just superficial things. My sister is naturally beautiful and rare, so why be modest?"
Her eyes darted around, and she suddenly sat up straighter. "Since you like my clothes, that's perfect. I brought a few spare clothes with me today. This new sister is about the same size as me, so why don't I help her dress up, Green Sleeves?" As she spoke, she instructed her personal maid standing behind her, "Go and bring me my new dress."
Before Xie Wu could stop her, the maid named Lüxiu had already gone to do as she was told.
Xie Wu has always been a carefree person, and she only ever carries one change of clothes when she goes out. Moreover, she has a larger frame and is taller than Qin Sang, so even if she gives her clothes to Qin Sang, they don't fit her.
Qin Sang was new to the place and, presumably, her maid hadn't reminded her, so she didn't have any change of clothes today. For a moment, she didn't know how to refuse.
Xie Wu knew Tan Wuyan's personality all too well. Relying on her elder brother's current command of the Imperial Guard, a position of great prestige and power, and her own beauty, she acted arrogantly and disregarded ordinary people.
What good intention could she possibly have had in bringing Qin Sang clothes?
She felt a little flustered. She glanced apologetically at Qin Sang.
Whether Qin Sang was genuinely calm or simply oblivious, she didn't notice Xie Wu's resentful gaze. Instead, she happily thanked her, saying, "In that case, thank you so much, sister. I've just arrived in the capital and am already faced with such a lavish banquet. Knowing I'll be meeting so many distinguished guests today fills me with trepidation, and I'm also worried about what to wear. Remembering the teachings of my deceased elders, who advised me to be discreet and cautious, I deliberately dressed rather plainly, which has only made you all laugh..."
She spoke very tactfully, both self-awarely admitting her lack of worldly experience and pleasing the nobles, while implying that she wasn't usually like this, but rather that she overthought things, making everyone think she wasn't a poor, unsophisticated person who couldn't even dress properly, and incidentally arousing everyone's expectations of her—if she hadn't overthought things and deliberately dressed modestly, how would this woman have looked if she dressed normally?
When women socialize, if you show a lack of knowledge about clothing and aesthetics, or reveal your ignorance of fashion, it's easy for others to ostracize you.
Especially these noble ladies of Kyoto, who spend their days idly pondering beautiful things like dressing up, enjoying tea and incense. If you don't understand beauty, how can you fit into their elegant circle?
It seems that when Granny Liu chose this outfit for herself this morning, she deliberately wanted to embarrass herself.
Princess Yiyang was indeed very pleased to hear this: "Although you come from a small place, you speak with great poise. You don't need to be nervous. Since the Prime Minister has taken you into his residence and treats you like his own granddaughter, you can come out and play often in the future. The more you play, the more you will naturally know what clothes to wear for what occasion. It's alright."
After Princess Yiyang said that, no one dared to laugh anymore. The servants hurriedly brought over chairs, and Xie Wu pulled Qin Sang to sit down.
The noble ladies in the waterside pavilion continued their previous conversation, discussing which perfume shop in Kyoto had the best face cream.
Then everyone flattered Princess Fangfei: "Princess Fangfei is naturally beautiful, so she doesn't need to worry about these things."
Princess Fangfei waved her fan and laughed, "Why are you bringing me into this again? Isn't there a new beauty there? You can ask her what kind of beauty regimen she uses to keep her skin as smooth as porcelain and as white as snow. Does she have some secret recipe?"
As she spoke, she raised her fox-like, alluring eyes and looked at Qin Sang from afar.
Qin Sang was eyeing the exquisite pastries the servant had brought over, her mouth watering. But when the conversation turned to her again, she sighed inwardly: People really shouldn't be too outstanding.
Moreover, it seems she will soon leave a lasting reputation for her beauty with Tan Wuyan's brother, Tan Bi.
It turned out to be a lucky accident.
She casually exchanged a few words with these noble ladies about her beauty and health tips. Before she could even have a snack, Princess Fangfei's maid, Green Sleeve, came to invite her over with a tray of clothes.
At first glance, the sky-blue gossamer pleated skirt and the moon-white short jacket with subtle floral patterns seem to be fine.
Upon closer inspection, wasn't the maid Green Sleeve dressed in the same color? Was she given a set of maid's clothes?
“Green Sleeves,” Princess Fangfei said in an extremely gentle and kind voice, “take this lady to change her clothes and serve her carefully.”
Qin Sang stood up and quickly beckoned Lingding, saying, "How could I trouble the princess's maid?" As she spoke, Lingding had already tactfully taken the tray from Lüxiu's hands. At this moment, a maid from the princess's residence who was waiting to serve her stepped forward to lead the way for Qin Sang: "Please follow me, young lady."
Qin Sang naturally wouldn't change out of her maid's clothes and become a laughing stock. Besides, she had been here long enough and it was time to go somewhere else. She could use changing clothes as an excuse to slip away.
The two, mistress and servant, followed the princess's maid along the corridor toward the side room. On the way, they passed the path that Xiahou Yuan had walked earlier. She paused and said, "Auntie, I would like to use the restroom first."
The maidservant from the princess's residence remained expressionless, bowing her head respectfully and saying, "Miss, please come with me."
“No need,” Qin Sang stopped her. “Auntie, just point us in the direction and we’ll go by ourselves. It’s all because we ate too much ice last night and probably got an upset stomach. It will take a while, and I’m afraid the important person has something to do. Auntie, you should go back first. We’ll change our clothes and come over on our own.”
Hearing Qin Sang say this, the maidservant didn't want to go with her to guard outside the latrine, so she pointed in the direction and left on her own.
Lingding, still holding the clothes, asked, "Miss, where are we going?"
Qin Sang watched until the maid had disappeared from sight before walking towards the path: "Let's go for a stroll."
Today, the garden is celebrating the eldest princess's birthday, and it is decorated with colorful silks almost everywhere. Some important places are covered with colorful silks and lanterns, while in remote or less scenic areas, the colorful silks are more sparse.
The path they were walking on wasn't actually adorned with colorful ribbons on either side; there were just a few persimmons hanging in the garden to mark the occasion.
Lingding didn't understand where they were going, and they kept wandering further and further astray.
But now that she trusted Qin Sang completely, she didn't ask any questions and just followed along.
At the end was a moon gate; stepping through it led to another garden, now lush with trees and bamboo, much more tranquil than the previous one. A winding path through the woods led to yet another moon gate.
Beside the moon gate, beneath the carved and intricately carved vermilion wall, there is a stone table, and on the stone bench beside the table sits a young girl in a scarlet dress.
The girl rested her chin on her hands, pouted, and looked unhappy.
Qin Sang stopped abruptly, wondering, "What's going on here? Did she fail to meet her lover, or did they have a fight?"
Suddenly, the woman slammed her hand on the table and stood up angrily, shouting towards the moon gate, "Why is there still no news? Why is the messenger so slow? How long have I been waiting!"
Two maids stood on either side of the moon gate; their attire clearly indicated they were from the princess's residence. However, Xiahou Yuan was clearly not speaking to these two maids; she was shouting at the person on the other side of the gate.
So, Xiahou Yuan is stuck in this wall and can't get through?
So, the men's section should be on the other side of the wall.
Qin Sang guessed, fanning herself as she walked over, intending to help this Princess Xiahou.
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