Chapter 13: Willows and Plums Farewell in the Snow
"It's a spring banquet, so it's fine for both men and women to attend. If your fiancé is there, you can ask someone to call him over and have him walk around with you. Just don't go to places where there are many female guests." Princess Kangning looked at Ming Yuelin teasingly, "Ming Qingqing, Prince Ji is here too. Do you want to go look for him?"
Ming Yuelin shook his head. "No, I'm the one who talked when he accompanied me. I don't know what to say to him. Why should I make things difficult for myself?"
"I'll go, so I won't accompany you." Princess Zhenyi smiled and asked a maid to find the servant over there and ask the servant to inform her fiancé.
She is older than Princess Corning and will be married in half a year.
"Okay." Princess Kangning looked at Shi Jianli again, "What about you? Are you engaged?"
"I ordered it, but then I canceled it." Shi Jianli said truthfully.
"Why?"
"My aunt discovered that man had bad character."
"Well, then ask your aunt to find you someone with good character and good looks. Otherwise, standing next to you will be too much of an eyesore."
Shi Jianli's lips curled up into a smile, "Listen to the princess."
This princess is a person of temperament.
Princess Kangning tapped her arm with her fan and said with a smile, "Ming Qingqing and I have something to talk about. Go and have fun by yourself. You must be tired after walking with me for so long. Let's go have some tea and some snacks."
"Okay, thank you for your consideration, Madam." Shi Jianli took her leave, walked away from the waterside pavilion, and went into the depths of the flowers, her skirt swaying like a blooming flower.
Mingyuelin asked, "Princess, what do you want to say to me?"
"I heard you're good at drawing portraits, so I'd like you to draw me one. If it's good, I'll give you a set of jewelry."
"Okay." She couldn't say it was bad.
Shi Jianli returned to the center of the garden and found an empty table to sit down.
A maid came over and poured her tea.
After sitting for a while, a girl in a Yang Fei-colored short-collared shirt sat down in front of her. As she sat down, the sound of the forbidden bell rang, "Are you the cousin of the Duke of Anguo's mansion?"
"Yeah." Shi Jianli's eyes moved from the flowers to a beautiful face like a hibiscus and nodded.
"I am from the Left Censorate-in-Chief, my name is Xie Xuezhi. I am the fourth child in my family."
"Thank you, Fourth Miss."
"I rarely saw you at banquets before. Why don't you come out and play?" Xie Xuezhi picked up a piece of cake on the plate and asked.
Shi Jianli looked at her expression and said, "I like quietness and don't like going out."
"Is that so? Can I give you the invitation when I get back?" Xie Xuezhi asked with a smile, her tone full of anticipation.
This was their first time dealing with her, and Shi Jianli wasn't sure what she was planning. "If Fourth Miss Xie wants to come to our house to play, she has to ask Sister Lin. I'm just a guest here, so I can't make the decision."
"Then I'll ask Miss Ming later." She didn't dwell on the topic any further and asked, "Just now I heard you and the princess say that your name is Shi Jianli?"
"Um."
"Miss, could I have invited you to my house then? When I saw you today, I felt that you were very much my cup of tea."
Shi Jianli lowered her eyes slightly, shook her head, and declined politely: "I am dull in talent. The teacher at the private school assigns me homework, which I have to study for a long time. The teacher is also very strict. I am afraid I don't have time to come to your house."
He was very enthusiastic when we first met. Was it just his nature, or did he have other motives?
Amidst the warmth, I couldn't sense any sincerity in her smile.
"That's such a pity. A beauty like you should look kind and elegant." Xie Xuezhi took a bite of the cake and glanced at her with a smile.
"Thank you very much for the compliment, Fourth Miss." Shi Jianli lowered her eyes and drank tea.
Xie Xuezhi glanced at her face and said, "I heard from the servants that there is a banquet at the waterside pavilion today. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is inviting the young masters from various families. Just now, the young lady, the princess, and the county lady were walking over there. Is this true?"
"The servants say so, so it must be true."
"Didn't you see?"
"I heard some noise, but I'm not sure if it was true or not." Shi Jianli said cautiously.
Unlike Princess Kangning who asked her name and hobbies in a joking manner, this Fourth Miss Xie seemed to have a purpose in every word she said.
Xie Xuezhi nodded. "Why didn't Miss Ming come back with you?"
"The princess has something to say to her, so she asked me to come over first."
Xie Xuezhi poured herself some tea and drank it with some snacks. After she finished her snacks, she asked again, "I heard that the Second and Third Young Masters Ming went to a small official in the south of the city to break off their engagement. Was it for you?"
Shi Jianli raised her eyes and asked, "Yes, how did Fourth Miss Xie know this?"
"My sister happened to be there that day and saw a crowd of people. She asked her maid to join in the fun. When she got home, she told me about it as if it were a new story."
Xie Xuezhi sighed, "For a beauty like Miss Shi, that man is so double-faced. He really has no taste."
Shi Jianli sipped his tea slowly, hummed softly, and said nothing else.
He praised her appearance twice, and I don't know what his intention was.
Seeing that she didn't want to say more, Xie Xuezhi took another sip of tea and said, "I've rested enough, so I won't bother Miss Shi any more. Goodbye."
Shi Jianli nodded, "Okay."
Xie Xuezhi's footsteps faded away, and the melodious sound of pearls colliding could be heard. Then Mingyue Si sat down beside her, "Sister Li, was that Xie Si from the Left Capital Censor's family?"
"Yes, that's right."
Mingyue Si was puzzled. "Xie Si didn't interact with us much before, so why would he suddenly come to talk to you?"
"She said she wanted to stop by to rest, had some snacks and drank some tea, and then she left." Shi Jianli withdrew her gaze from Xie Xuezhi's back as she turned the corner. "She also said she wanted to give me a note."
"She wants to give you a gift card the first time we meet? She's never been so welcoming before."
"Well, I said I couldn't make the decision and asked her to ask Sister Lin. Then she asked if she could invite me to her house, and I declined."
Mingyue Si frowned, "I've never heard her invite anyone to her home before."
"What is she like?"
"We're not close friends, and I don't know much about her character. Her reputation is neither good nor bad, but her appearance is one of the best among the noble ladies. Last August, she broke off her engagement with the eldest grandson of the Minister of Rites." Mingyue Si whispered.
"Is there any hidden secret?" Shi Jianli lowered her voice.
"I don't know about that. Go back and ask your mother. Maybe she knows."
Shi Jianli nodded.
"Why isn't my second sister here?"
"Princess, please let her talk." Shi Jianli put down her teacup and stopped touching the table. "When does this kind of party usually end?"
"It's the end of the afternoon, Sister Li, are you hungry?"
Shi Jianli shook her head and said, "I just want to go back to the mansion."
"Have you seen all of this garden? I'd like to walk with you to pass the time."
"good."
After walking with Mingyue Si for a while, they stopped from time to time to talk about the precious flowers in the garden. At about 1:00 PM, Shi Jianli saw Mingyue Lin who came out with Princess Kangning.
Princess Corning talked and laughed with her and looked particularly happy.
"Let's stop here today. Thank you all for accompanying me to appreciate the flowers."
"Princess, you are so polite. I am honored." After the ladies took their leave, they were led out by the maids.
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