On the eighth day, Lanqin received an invitation from someone sent by Lady Zhaojia, inviting her to admire the flowers at the Thirteen Mansions that afternoon. As soon as Lanqin saw the invitation, she knew the matter had been settled. Lady Zhaojia must have also sent an invitation to Zhao Si'er.
Lanqin thought for a moment and decided to take Wuxiha and Bechuk with her. Namin had already been engaged to the second son of the Feng family and was being kept indoors by Madam Wu to learn etiquette. Wuxiha and Bechuk, on the other hand, were of age to go out and socialize. Besides her favored concubine, Madam Zhaojia would surely have invited other noblewomen from the capital's social circle.
"Xichun, go to the Third and Fourth Princesses and tell them to stay in their rooms after lunch and not go anywhere. This afternoon, they will come with me to their Thirteenth Aunt's residence to admire the flowers. Tell their personal maids to prepare their clothes and jewelry. They cannot wear them casually. When they go out to meet guests, they must be dignified." Lanqin said to Xichun, the little maid who was fumigating her quilt in the room.
As they were about to leave, Lanqin had already had the carriage stop at the main entrance. She wore a lake-blue cheongsam with rose patterns, over which she wore a moon-white sable-trimmed overcoat. Her hair was styled in a flat, square updo, adorned with a complete set of kingfisher feather and beaded flowers, plus a translucent jade phoenix hairpin, from which hung a long string of South Sea pearl hairpins. She looked dignified without appearing old-fashioned, exuding a lively charm within her elegance. Lanqin was fair-skinned, and the lake-blue dress made her complexion even more beautiful. Standing next to Ushihabechuk and the others, they didn't look like mother and daughter, but rather like sisters. Although she was fourteen years older than Ushihabechuk and sixteen years older than Bechuk, they certainly looked like sisters.
Lanqin stood at the entrance of Prince Yong's mansion. After a moment, she heard Wuxiha's laughter. She turned around and saw that her two daughters were accompanied by their personal maids. One was wearing a light apricot-colored qipao, and the other was wearing a light primrose-colored qipao. Both of them had their hair styled in two buns and wore some exquisite turquoise and jade beaded flowers, looking like young girls waiting to be married.
"Mother!"
"Mother!"
Two graceful young girls walked over one after the other, one holding Lanqin's left arm and the other holding her right arm, both of them calling out.
Lanqin sighed inwardly. She was already the mother of such a young girl, and couldn't help but marvel at how time had passed so quickly. She was only twenty-eight years old.
"Alright, get in the carriage. When we arrive at Aunt Thirteen's residence, you must behave properly. We might run into some strange people today. You are all daughters of Prince Yong, so you must not embarrass your father." Lanqin admonished her daughters in a proper manner.
Ushiha and Bechuk were naturally willing to agree to anything upon learning they could go out. Two days ago, when Lanqin sent someone to bring them back from their maternal grandmother's house, they were so reluctant. Spending the New Year at their grandmother's house allowed the two girls to experience things they couldn't do at the Yongwang Mansion. Lanqin's brother and cousin took the two girls sightseeing, but Lanqin didn't know.
As soon as the two girls sat down, they started chattering about going out to play with their uncle and cousin. Lanqin became suspicious and asked, "Did you go out to play while you were at your grandmother's house?"
"Mother, my cousin and uncle took me and Bechuk out a few times," Bechuk said honestly, not daring to hide it from Lanqin.
"It seems I still can't let you two go out in the future. Young ladies shouldn't run around like that," Lanqin scolded with a stern face. Actually, she didn't think it was a big deal, but unfortunately, it was a necessity of this era. As young ladies from secluded families, they couldn't run around without their parents' permission. If people found out, it would ruin their reputation and even affect their marriage prospects.
Although Lanqin felt helpless about such social customs and interpersonal relationships, she had no choice but to raise her daughters according to these standards.
Bechuk is alright, but Ushiha's temperament has been spoiled too much by me. If she really gets married in the future, I'm afraid she will be criticized. Although the Fourth Prince will become the emperor in the future, and Ushiha's status may bring her a lot of honor and favor, a married princess is still a daughter-in-law, and she will inevitably have to endure the torment of her in-laws.
The carriage headed towards the Thirteen Prefectures. After scolding them, Lanqin was too lazy to bother with them anymore and let them talk there.
Upon arriving at the Thirteenth Prince's residence, the Thirteenth Prince's wife personally came out to greet them. Then, Lanqin and two girls walked along, talking to Lanqin as they went.
"You made the right decision to bring them today. Some young masters and nobles have also come today, and they're almost ready to meet potential partners," Zhao Jia said with a smile. Now that she's earned money, her previously neglected relatives have all returned. For today's occasion, Zhao Jia had also sent invitations to some people in the capital's social circle—former close friends who are now wives and mothers.
Zhao Jia set up several tables in her main courtyard, each with a deck of cards. Around the tables were various rare and expensive flowers, all purchased from the market. The ladies gathered in small groups, playing cards, admiring the flowers, and chatting, thoroughly enjoying themselves. They had brought mostly girls or very young boys with them. The girls chatted amongst themselves, while the boys ran around.
As soon as Lanqin followed Zhaojia into the room, she saw a bustling scene with quite a lot of people.
"Princess Qi, come here, take these two princesses over and let them get to know the girls." Madam Zhao called out to a woman dressed in a blue qipao. She was originally the thirteenth princess, and now she and Madam Yang had become Madam Zhao's right-hand women.
"Qin'er, let me take you there first so you can get to know them. Quite a few of them came today on their own initiative because they heard you were coming!" Zhao Jia said with a smile.
"Hmm. And that one?" Lanqin was eager to meet Zhao Si'er, since that was her main purpose.
“She’s inside, and she doesn’t want to play cards with them,” Zhao Jiashi whispered.
Lanqin understood, and followed Zhaojia to greet the noble ladies. They were all relatives of prominent officials in the capital, and naturally wanted to curry favor with them.
After exchanging pleasantries with them, Lanqin followed Zhaojia to see Zhao Si'er. The others, of course, had no idea that Lanqin's visit was solely to see Zhao Si'er.
"Sister Zhao!" Madam Zhao called softly as she led Lanqin into her study.
"Wenxiu, she's over here!" a lazy voice came from inside the room.
Lanqin and Zhaojia went inside and saw a woman dressed in a peach-colored cheongsam, with her hair styled in a flat, square bun and adorned with voluminous hairpins, sitting by the window.
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