This was three months after Ushiha's departure. The weather had warmed up. The winter coats had long been taken off, and the fashionable young girls had all put on light spring clothes.
The princesses from various households were applying makeup in front of their mirrors, as Princess Gulun Wuxiha had sent invitations to several young ladies from prominent families in the capital. Among them, naturally, was her younger sister, Bechuk, and her prospective sisters-in-law, Fucha Mingyu and Ulanara Xueying. Hearing that Mingyu and Xueying were going, the other young ladies from various noble families were even more eager to see them, knowing that both were betrothed to the current emperor's fourth son, Hongli.
As expected, everyone arrived at Princess Gulun's residence, where the gate was already filled with carriages from various families. Xueying had left the palace with Biechuke, and the two of them arrived at Princess Gulun's residence together.
The two walked into the mansion together, and a maidservant ran off to inform them. A moment later, Wuxiha, dressed in a deep red qipao, came out to greet them. Her hair was styled in two large buns, with a large red palace flower in the middle and kingfisher feather hairpins adorning the sides with butterflies and flowers.
"Ushiha!" Bechuk rushed forward and grabbed Ushiha's hand.
The two sisters grew up together, but now that they're separated, they're finding it hard to adjust.
Xueying followed behind, letting the brother and sister talk without disturbing them.
Ushiha glanced at Xueying and said, "Let's go to the back garden. The flowers there are beautiful."
The three of them chatted all the way to the back garden, where they saw several young women sitting in the pavilion.
Xueying glanced at her and saw Fucha Mingyu dressed in a rose-red cheongsam.
As the three approached, they saw that sitting next to Fucha Mingyu were Gao Yulan, the daughter of the Gao family; Chen Yanran, the daughter of Marquis Chen; and Qi Feiyan, the daughter of Duke Wu.
"Greetings to Princess Gulun and Princess Duoluo!" The four women in the pavilion stood up and curtsied when they saw Wuxiha and the other two arrive.
"No need for formalities! I invited you all here to admire the flowers today, so there's no need for so much formality. What I dislike most is people coming and going, offering greetings. It's so boring," Ushiha laughed.
“Alright, since the princess has said so, let’s all relax a bit,” Qi Feiyan said first with a smile.
"Hmm, Princess, what do we do next?" Chen Yanran was the youngest, and her smile revealed two dimples, making her very cute.
“Let’s sit here and wait a while. We have a rare flower to show you later,” Wuxiha said. “It was brought from Dayuan by the Prince Consort.”
“Oh, we’ve never seen flowers from such a faraway place as Ferghana before. We’re going to have a real eye-opening experience today,” Gao Yulan interjected.
“Excellent! I’ve heard that the flowers and plants in the Western Regions are very lush. I’m really looking forward to seeing them today,” Fucha Mingyu said.
This was the first time Xueying had ever met Fucha Mingyu. Ever since she was chosen by the Emperor to be Hongli's concubine, she had never seen Fucha Mingyu again.
“Come, let’s all sit down first. Xiangcui, go and get some snacks,” Wuxiha said to a maid beside him.
After everyone sat down, the atmosphere became somewhat awkward, as a natural resistance seemed to exist between Fucha Mingyu and Wu Xueying. The others clearly felt the presence of this force.
“Sister Mingyu, your bracelet is so beautiful.” Chen Yanran suddenly said when she saw the bracelet on Fucha Mingyu’s wrist.
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