Chapter 572 Sudden Event
Although the Song family's garden is not as large as the Duke of Liang's mansion, it is still quite large for a wealthy family.
Li San Niang, holding Lu Zhu'er's hand, followed Qiu Xiang and Gao Da Sao and Gao Ya Hui, and were led by a maid to the pavilion in the garden, where several people were already sitting in groups of three or five.
Along the way, Li San Niang could finally see the wealth of the Song family. If the flowers displayed under the covered corridor were sold outside, they would probably fetch more than ten taels of silver per pot.
Not to mention, once you enter the garden, it is truly a riot of colors, with hundreds of flowers vying for attention.
The chrysanthemums, red, yellow, and purple, as well as some flowers that Li San Niang couldn't name, were all blooming beautifully.
At least Li San Niang and Lu Zhu'er genuinely found it beautiful; their eyes were certainly treated to a feast for the eyes along the way.
However, as the sun rose higher, the heat intensified. Once inside the pavilion, the five of them found a secluded spot by a small table and sat down.
As soon as they sat down, the Song family maid who had been standing by their side was quite observant. She quickly walked over from the side, picked up a teacup from the small table, and poured a drink for each of Li San Niang and the others.
Yes, it is a beverage, not tea.
Li San Niang lifted the cup and saw that there were still traces of red residue in the drink inside, and it smelled of honey.
"It's roselle soaked in honey, and it smells sweet and fragrant."
Sister-in-law Gao nodded, picked up a cup and took a couple of sips. She was really thirsty after walking all this way under the blazing sun.
Li San Niang watched as Lu Zhu'er drank more than half a cup before putting it down. She then took out a handkerchief to wipe the water stains from the corners of Lu Zhu'er's mouth. Lu Zhu'er looked up and smiled at Li San Niang with her big eyes.
"Dewdrop, is it delicious?"
"It's delicious, Mother, it's sweet. Mother, drink it."
Dewdrop nodded as she spoke to Li Sanniang.
Indeed, although white sugar already existed at this time, the sweetness of honey and the sweetness extracted from sugarcane were ultimately different, with different flavors.
As the group sat there, maids kept leading guests toward the pavilion. This time, they actually encountered Madam Qian with her son, Qian Xiaolang.
"Dr. Li!"
Lady Qian really didn't expect to meet Li San Niang here. Qian Xiao Lang stopped thinking about why he would meet Li San Niang and Lu Zhu'er. He was only happy to meet Lu Zhu'er.
"Dewdrop!"
Dewdrop certainly remembered Qian Xiaolang, after all, she had once accompanied Li Sanniang to the Qian family's banquet, and at that time she even took out one of the wooden toys that Li Sanniang had bought for her as a gift and gave it to Qian Xiaolang on his birthday.
The children were overjoyed to see each other. With permission, they were accompanied by an old woman and a maid from Qian Niangzi's household to the garden.
Although Li San Niang was not entirely at ease, she had just asked Gao Da Sao, who estimated that they would be taking their seats in about 15 minutes. This meant that Lu Zhu'er and Qian Xiao Lang would only be able to play in the garden for about 15 minutes.
Only then did Li San Niang feel at ease letting Lu Zhu'er go play in the garden with Qian Xiao Lang.
Li San Niang thought that nothing unexpected would happen in the short two quarters of an hour, but she didn't expect that after she had just exchanged a few words with Qian Niangzi who had sat down and chatted about everyday matters, a group of people rushed over from the other end of the corridor connecting to the pavilion.
Before anyone even got close, Li San Niang's sharp eyes had already identified who it was.
Song Zhenzhu quickened her pace and walked towards where Li Sanniang and the others were sitting. The two maids following behind Song Zhenzhu had sweat on their foreheads from walking so fast and in such a hurry.
Song Zhenzhu is the hostess, and everyone else is a guest. Since the hostess is here, how can the guests not stand up to show respect?
Therefore, everyone present who recognized Song Zhenzhu stood up from their seats. Even those who were looking at the scenery and didn't see Song Zhenzhu were reminded by their servants to get up.
In matters other than Xu Jingzhen, Song Zhenzhu was still a well-educated and respectable noblewoman who had been properly instructed by Madam Song.
Therefore, she stood still, bowed to everyone present, and then said gracefully, "The banquet will begin in a quarter of an hour. Please rest here."
After speaking, she bowed again and then walked towards where Li San Niang was.
The women then realized that Song Zhenzhu had come to the pavilion not to ask the female guests for anything, but because she had private business to discuss with someone.
A woman in a yellow ruqun saw Song Zhenzhu go to find Li Sanniang and curiously whispered to the woman next to her, "Sister Qing, do you know who those people over there are?"
How did Miss Song end up there?
Are those people over there related to the Song family by marriage?
The woman called Sister Qing was older than the women sitting around her. She had obvious wrinkles around her eyes and looked to be about thirty-seven or thirty-eight years old. Her clothes were very dignified, unlike the women around her who were wearing gauze or light, breathable dresses that exposed a lot of skin in the hot summer weather.
Sister Qing was wearing a cross-collar top that only revealed her neck. The material looked alright, but even with such good material, being covered up so tightly still made her feel hot.
Sister Qing glanced at Li San Niang, then turned back to the person who asked the question and said slowly, "The one wearing red is the wife of the eldest son of the Gao family. The younger woman next to her should be her sister-in-law, that is, the youngest daughter of the eldest son of the Gao family."
The woman in the blue shirt standing to the side is the mistress of the second branch of the Qian family.
I didn't recognize the woman beside them; I wondered whose family she was.
"Oh dear, they're not even related to the Song family by marriage."
Who is this woman?
The woman in the peach-pink ruqun who had been standing under the eaves walked over. She glanced at Li San Niang first, then turned to the crowd and whispered, "The Song family's close relatives by marriage are all sitting in the main hall and side hall in the backyard. They are not like us, who were led to this small pavilion."
Before anyone could respond to the woman in the pink dress, Li San Niang, who was a dozen steps away from the crowd, stood up, looking as if she was about to leave with Song Zhenzhu.
However, Li San Niang and Song Zhenzhu stopped at the entrance of the corridor leading to the garden. After waiting for a while, they saw Lu Zhu'er, being carried by Granny Qian, and Qian Xiaolang, being carried by a maid of the Qian family, walking quickly toward them.
Li San Niang stepped forward and took the dewdrop, whose little face was red from the sun, thanked the old woman, and then, holding the dewdrop, bowed to Qian Niangzi, who had also stood up to receive her young master, and Gao Da Sao and Gao Ya Hui, who were looking at her with anxious and worried eyes, saying, "Thank you very much, old woman from Qian Niangzi's family. I'll be right back. I'll have a good chat with everyone after the banquet starts."
After saying that, Li San Niang turned around and nodded to Song Zhenzhu. Song Zhenzhu led the way, and Li San Niang, carrying Lu Zhu'er and Qiu Xiang, followed Song Zhenzhu's pace and walked quickly.
In just a few breaths, Gao Ya Hui, who was standing under the corridor, could no longer see Li San Niang.
Seeing Gao Ya Hui's worried expression, Sister-in-law Gao, who had just sat down again, had no choice but to beckon her to sit down on a bench in the corridor. "Judging from the way the young lady of the Song family looks, she must have something urgent to do. Since it is urgent, there is no use in you worrying here."
Besides, I just heard Dr. Li say that we will meet when the banquet starts later.
If we don't see Doctor Li by then, we can go to the Song family to demand his return.
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