On the sixth day of the first lunar month, the maids and servants in Zheng's mansion were busy as they set up the tea table and prepared snacks, with meticulous attention to detail.
Second Concubine Chen stood in the middle of the courtyard, wearing a purple cheongsam with a snow fox waistcoat over it, tapping her palm impatiently with the sandalwood folding fan in her hand. She watched the maids setting out the tea and snacks, and kept reminding them: "Be careful, the guests who come are all honored guests."
She pointed at a bonsai camellia with big red flowers and said sternly, "Why put it here? Move it to the east hall! Miss Li loves camellia the most, we have to let her see it."
Third Concubine Zhang came out from the moon-shaped door and looked at the scene. She couldn't help but laugh and said, "Second sister is here so early."
Chen glanced behind her: "Where's Qingyi?"
"I'm getting dressed." Zhang lowered her voice, "I heard that the eldest son of the Chen family of Fusion Trading Company will also be here?"
The two looked at each other and understood each other. Chen covered her lips and said, "My family would like to marry the Li family tomorrow. I hope my sister..."
"Of course." Zhang interrupted with a smile, "We each serve our own master."
Before the tea party began, Zheng Qingyi was already sitting on the stone bench behind the rockery in the courtyard.
At this moment, she had been sitting in this small space for nearly half an hour. The February wind, wrapped in the chill of the last days of winter, swept across her thin light pink dress, causing the lace collar to tremble. She subconsciously gathered her collar. This dress was a new model that Zhang had specially asked someone to bring from Shanghai. It was said that all the foreign ladies in the concession loved to wear it.
She stroked the sparkling pearl necklace around her neck, and recalled the "Instructions for Women" that she had read since childhood: A woman does not have to be extremely talented, but she must be pure, chaste, and well-behaved.
When she got up in the morning and was dressing, she thought the necklace was ostentatious and didn't want to wear it.
The maid behind her was tying her hair while persuading her: "Don't worry, Miss. The Third Concubine specifically told us that the young master of the Chen family had studied abroad and liked this style."
The words her aunt said as she held her hand yesterday were still ringing in her ears: The young master of the Chen family has just returned from studying abroad, and he hates old-fashioned women the most. If you can win his favor one day, you will have more silks and satins in the future than Zheng Wanqing.
She actually knew very little about this young master Chen. Her aunt only said that he already had a wife, but it was an old-fashioned marriage forced on him by his family before he went abroad, and he himself did not like it. Her aunt vowed that if she could please young master Chen, she would be able to enjoy his exclusive love in the future, and also advised her: A woman's life will eventually depend on men. Only when she is loved by her husband can she be considered to have someone to rely on in this life.
My aunt also said that those female students studying outside were immoral.
But Sister Wanqing was able to write beautiful articles and won the favor of the young marshal. She herself could neither compose poetry nor understand modern knowledge. She had only known needlework since childhood and could recite the "Rules for Women" backwards, but could not recite the texts in modern schools.
Thinking about this, she twisted the silk handkerchief unconsciously with her fingertips, and finally lowered her eyes and sighed. Forget it, my aunt is my real mother, it's always right to listen to her.
As she was tapping her stiff toes, she suddenly heard the sound of leather shoes crushing dead branches from the other side of the rockery. She immediately straightened her back and the pearl necklace slipped off her neck.
When I looked up, I saw a man in his mid-twenties wearing a suit. He was of medium build, with a handsome face and his hair was neatly combed with oil. This look was decent among ordinary people, but compared with people like Young Marshal Xie, this man seemed mediocre.
She quickly hid the disappointment in her eyes, stood up and pretended to be surprised: "Sir, are you here to attend the tea party? Why are you here? Are you lost?"
The man looked at the girl in front of him with an oval face and fair skin. She was made up but still looked childish, with watery almond eyes and a slightly upturned nose. Her shy look made him feel pity for her.
He scratched his head awkwardly, messing up his carefully styled hair. "I just went to the bathroom and got lost when I came out. A little maid pointed me in this direction..."
His eyes lingered on her. The light pink dress made her skin look like snow, and the pearl necklace around her neck shone with a warm luster.
"My name is Chen Chong'an. May I know which family the young lady belongs to?"
"Mr. Chen, I am the fourth daughter of the Zheng family, Zheng Qingyi." As she spoke, she raised her eyes to glance at him, then quickly lowered her eyes.
"It turns out to be Miss Zheng." Chen Chong'an recalled the gossip among his elders at home. Miss Zheng Si had just come of age not long ago. He was ten years older than her, and the delicate little girl in front of him gave him a desire to protect her.
"Miss Zheng, you are so beautiful." He couldn't help but admire.
Zheng Qingyi blushed and clenched her handkerchief. How could this man be so reckless? He said this just after meeting her. But then she remembered what her aunt said about people who studied abroad being straightforward and not frivolous.
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