Today, Qingyan has set up the Hundred Flowers Banquet in the courtyard of her new residence. The garden contains rare and exotic flowers and plants collected for her by Fei Yanggu and his two sons, as well as by Yin. Some of these flowers were even carefully cultivated by palace gardeners at Yin's behest.
"Oh! Is this Wei Zi?" Tatara exclaimed in surprise.
As soon as the words were spoken, the socialites hurried up to the pavilion. In Qingyan's small garden, there were three or four top-quality Wei Zi peonies. Peonies should not be in bloom at this time, but Yin, catering to Qingyan's preferences, had the gardeners regularly bring in Wei Zi and black peonies every month.
Qingyan nodded smugly; Wei Zi was someone she had liked since childhood.
The black peony was discovered by Yin by chance. Its petals are light dark purple and the texture of the petals is hard. These two kinds of top-quality peonies should bloom in late March or early April.
Now that the weather is getting warmer, they are still shining brightly in Qingyan Flower Garden.
"Ulanara Gege, that black one is also excellent." Dong E Wanning couldn't distinguish the variety of peony at all, only noticing that black peonies were relatively rare.
Seeing her half-sister trying to curry favor with Qingyan, Dong Eshi grew even more displeased.
“Princess Dong’e has a good eye. That’s a black peony. The chances of it surviving are too low. It’s not black, but dark purple.” Qingyan smiled.
The ladies-in-waiting began to scrutinize Dong E Wan Ning. They had been ignoring Dong E Wan Ning's presence; if Qing Yan hadn't mentioned Dong E Gege, they probably wouldn't have noticed the graceful figure behind the Third Princess Consort.
They all considered themselves legitimate daughters, so it was somewhat out of line for Lady Dong'e to bring her half-sister along.
"Come, everyone, relax today. I rarely go out to socialize, so I'll offer tea instead of wine as an apology. This Hundred Flowers Banquet should be a time for happy gatherings." Qingyan didn't care about the looks from these noble ladies; after all, she rarely went out.
I'm not quite sure what these socialites actually like.
"Qingyan, there are quite a few talented women here." Tatara smiled, covering her mouth with a handkerchief. Among them were a few she was on good terms with, and she hoped to lend them a hand.
Dong'e Wan Ning wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to get closer to Yin Zhi, so she quickly became a vassal of the Tatara clan.
The princes were all in the pavilions, facing each other across the lake.
Many socialites want to climb the social ladder by stepping on Qingyan, and some are even more eager to show off.
Qingyan smiled. She had specially placed three large desks in the pavilion. One desk had writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstones, with Xuan paper laid out. Another desk had the Four Treasures of the Study, as well as some excellent painting paints. The last desk had a guqin (a traditional Chinese stringed instrument).
"Sister-in-law, we're in for a treat! Everything's set on the table, so please make yourselves at home. I've asked the Fourth Prince to let the Third Prince be the judge for the calligraphy and painting!" Qingyan laughed.
Among the princes, Yinzhi was already the most skilled in calligraphy and painting, so many socialites wanted to find someone with similar interests.
Ama and Ah Hun didn't tell her which two were her sisters-in-law; she was giving them a test.
If those two women want to climb over her to get ahead, then she won't be soft-hearted.
Harmony in the family brings prosperity in all things!
Yin often spoke these five words to her.
"Really? Then I'll make a fool of myself!" Upon hearing that Yin Zhi would be a judge, Dong E Wan Ning quickly rolled up her sleeves, walked to the painting table, and began to draw.
Seeing that the first one had stood out, the socialites all decided to showcase their own talents.
Yin Genjueluo, Dong E, Qing Yan and Tatara sat around, watching these socialites step forward.
Regardless of whether they were married or not, these women represented the majesty of the royal family, and their talents and calligraphy could not be displayed casually.
Qingyan caught a glimpse of Dong'e's unfriendly gaze out of the corner of her eye, and she secretly chuckled to herself, thinking how Dong'e always made a fuss in front of her.
This time, she will give Lady Dong'e a good beating.
"My younger sister just loves to show off. She hasn't stood out among all the legitimate daughters. She's been spoiled rotten by my father." Dong E Shi pursed her lips, her gaze towards Qing Yan growing colder.
Qingyan took a sip of tea and casually flicked her handkerchief.
"It's because Princess Dong'e is capable. If it were me, I wouldn't have shown up either." Dong'e had always been taught by Madam Dong'e and was completely ignorant of calligraphy and painting. Dong'e Wan Ning's mother was originally a well-bred lady from Jiangnan, proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting. She raised her daughter to be deeply loved by Dong'e Qishi.
Pfft!
Yin Genjue Luo Shi couldn't hold back any longer.
"My dear, being too modest is arrogance. If you're not good enough, then we'll all be useless!" Qingyan's knowledge of Chinese classics was the best among the wives. Before the expedition, Emperor Kangxi personally tested Qingyan, so she didn't disappoint.
Qingyan smiled sheepishly. Back then, when Emperor Kangxi was testing her skills, she had copied quite a few lines of poetry from Dream of the Red Chamber. Fortunately, she loved reading Dream of the Red Chamber and had memorized many good words, otherwise she would have embarrassed herself.
"Sister-in-law, you still bring it up? When you came back, His Majesty punished you by making you copy Buddhist scriptures, saying that your Manchu language was too poor." Qingyan frowned.
Of the several wives, only Qingyan had to submit assignments to Kangxi every month. Han studies were no longer within Kangxi's scope of examination, but Kangxi often recited Buddhist scriptures in Manchu and Mongolian.
"You know, my life isn't easy either. Father Emperor saw that your Manchu and Mongolian weren't very good, so he sent the eldest prince back to test me. That man is a military general, holding a book as a tutor. Luckily, the eldest princess is still young, otherwise, it would have been a real joke!" Yin Genjue Luo said with a smile.
Both married and unmarried women were favored by the Emperor; Dong Eshi was indeed an oddball.
She disliked studying Chinese classics, didn't have much in common with Yinzhi, and was unwilling to let others study them either.
"What's so great about learning those southern barbarians' things? You're a noblewoman from the Eight Banners, and you haven't even learned the skills of your ancestors." Dong E looked at Qing Yan with disdain.
"What 'southern barbarian'? Now, His Majesty has said that the Manchus and Hans are one family. Are you saying that His Majesty's decree is wrong?" Qingyan did not let go of any loopholes in Dong E's words.
As soon as he finished speaking, the remaining three people looked at Dong Eshi with the same expression.
Lady Dong'e was speechless. No matter how she replied, she would leave herself open to criticism.
Now, the socialites pretend not to look at these four royal wives, but their words can still be heard.
"Look at your mouth, for every one word I say, you have ten more to say." Dong Eshi twisted her handkerchief, suppressing the resentment in her heart, and did not go forward to scratch Hua Qingyan's little face.
An hour later, the socialites had handed in quite a few paintings and calligraphy works. Qingyan asked Sulan to hand them over to the princes, as she knew nothing about them.
All the socialites wrote poems or painted pictures.
This made Qingyan extremely uncomfortable. Her two sisters-in-law had already gone through the proper channels, yet they harbored such ambitions.
Qingyun Road!
These three simple words reflected in every socialite; their eyes held that ambition. Qingyan put down her teacup, the smile on her face not reaching her eyes. (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote for it on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please go to m.qidian.com to read.)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
