Hearing that Chen's grandfather had been the president of the Hanlin Academy, Zhao Mingzhu finally spoke to Chen: "The great scholars in the Hanlin Academy are all learned. A few days ago, my grandmother invited the academic director of the Hanlin Academy to give me a lecture. I would like to listen!"
The two sisters Luo Yiyu and Luo Yixiu looked at her dejectedly.
All three were born into aristocratic families. The Luo family was a wealthy family in Baoding, and their maternal family was a family of scholars. Naturally, they had been pampered since childhood, and their temperaments were somewhat spoiled. Luo Yining was once the most spoiled, but now she had transformed into a lucky doll from a New Year's picture. As long as you didn't mess with her, she wouldn't lose her temper. All three were legitimate daughters, of noble status, but now, compared to Zhao Mingzhu, they were made to look like country girls.
Zhao Mingzhu wore kesi silk, woven with peacock feathers. The pearls in her gold necklace were even more precious, and the fingernail-sized tourmalines adorning her ears were also priceless. Her looks might have been comparable to Luo Yixiu's, but with this attire, her beauty rivaled Luo Yilian's.
Zhao Mingzhu also sat upright while speaking, with her back straight and her little finger slightly raised as she held the teacup.
The maid brought up a plate of lotus root starch and water chestnut cake made with milk. Luo Yixiu pushed it in front of Zhao Mingzhu and said to her, "The cakes we make are different from others. They are made with milk. Miss Mingzhu, I'm afraid you haven't eaten anything made with milk, right? Come and try it."
Zhao Mingzhu's smile faded, she drank her tea quietly without saying anything.
Yining secretly thought that Luo Yixiu was a quick-talker. If he invited someone to eat, he should just eat. Why was he talking so much?
Yi Ning explained, "Miss Mingzhu might not like ordinary snacks, so we specially prepared them."
Zhao Mingzhu's face brightened a little, and she said, "In Beijing, goat's milk is also useful for making water chestnut cakes, not to mention cow's milk." She took a small piece and stopped eating. She took Luo Yihui's hand and said, "Sister Hui, you said the Daci Temple in Baoding is great. When can we go there?"
Anyway, she didn't want to talk to these girls anymore. They all looked poor and had never been to the capital.
Luo Yihui couldn't bear to offend Zhao Mingzhu, so she smiled and said, "If you're willing, you can go tomorrow."
From then on, Zhao Mingzhu no longer paid any attention to the three of them.
Yining thought that Luo Yixiu had offended Zhao Mingzhu. After thinking about it, he asked someone to send some freshly peeled lotus seeds to Zhao Mingzhu.
The maid who served Zhao Mingzhu brought the plate to her. "Miss, these lotus seeds are very fresh. The seventh daughter of the Luo family sent them."
Zhao Mingzhu took a look and said, "It's such a small place, and these are the only things we can offer." She tasted one, finding it delicious, and ate a few more. "Didn't Miss Seven say she's Sister Hui's younger sister, and therefore the legitimate daughter of the Luo family? Why do I feel like she's no different from the other young ladies of the Luo family? The jade bracelet she wears is just the same style."
The maidservant who waited on her laughed and said, "My lady, who can be as pampered as you? The pearl powder and rose water from the Western Regions that you use for your facial mask every day cost hundreds of taels of silver. It's only natural that others are just ordinary in your eyes."
Zhao Mingzhu thought about it and said to the maid with a smile, "I thought I could play with Sister Hui's sister, but now it seems we're not the same kind of people." From her perspective, Luo Yining's future was very limited. At best, she could marry a Jinshi, who, with luck, could become a minor official of the fourth or fifth rank. At worst, marrying a Juren would mean she'd have to wait her whole life for another official position to become available, and even if one did, she'd only be a clerk.
She therefore no longer cared about the matter and even gave Yining two gold bracelets in return. The maid who came to report said with a smile: "Our young lady said that lotus seeds are delicious, so this pair of bracelets is given to you to wear."
Qingqu was furious at the sight: "What's the tone of her voice? Does she think she's giving me a reward? Your room is missing two gold bracelets! I think you shouldn't be so plain. Wear the ones my wife usually gives you and show them to her!"
Qingqu had been with Yining for a few years and had grown fond of her. She saw the small, soft-spoken person, but she knew she was quite determined. She gradually came to respect Yining, feeling that no one could bully her, and naturally felt uncomfortable seeing things like this.
Yining flipped through the two gold bracelets and found they were indeed of the same style.
She threw the bracelet into her makeup box and said to Qingqu, "Exchange lotus seeds for a gold bracelet, why not refuse such a good opportunity?"
Qingqu was so angry that he couldn't speak. After a while, he rushed out of the house and into the yard.
Mother Xu changed Yining's earrings for a pair of small silver clove earrings and said with a smile, "Why are you teasing Miss Qingqu? She's just a little more straightforward." She felt her daughter was still childish. Last time, because someone said something about Lin Hairu, she had a sullen face and a quarrel with the Song family's daughter, and they parted on bad terms.
Yining thought that she didn't want to argue with Zhao Mingzhu, and she couldn't afford to argue.
The next day, Luo Yihui was going to take Zhao Mingzhu to Daci Temple to burn incense. Yining wanted to ask for amulets for Lin Hairu and her third brother, so she went with them.
The young ladies of the Luo family took three carriages and went to Daci Temple in a grand procession.
Daci Temple, nestled against the mountainside, was magnificent. The Luo family donated money annually to the temple, so upon arriving at the gate, a receptionist was waiting for the Luos, guiding them to a side hall adjacent to the main hall. Everyone else had gone to pay their respects to the Buddha, and Yining, realizing she couldn't squeeze in, walked along the temple's alleys to the Guanyin Hall to pay her respects.
She originally didn't believe in gods or Buddhas, but people are just that strange. Believers and non-believers all think that worshipping is always good, better than not worshipping at all.
Yining knelt on the cushion and looked up to see the kind and compassionate face of Guanyin.
After exiting the Guanyin Temple, she walked back along the alleyway. She could hear the cicadas chirping in the temple's sweltering summer heat. Sunlight filtered through the shade of the trees, piercing the ground. The temple was quiet, and the cicadas' chirping seemed even louder. Third Brother had gone to stay with Zhou Hongru in Qingyuan County, preparing for next year's Spring Examination. She wondered if he would be back tomorrow.
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