Chapter 3 If you really want to, why keep the lady waiting for so long?
Cui Si took the handkerchief handed to her by Yanzhi, wiped the non-existent sweat, took a deep breath to calm herself down, then let Songlu lift the curtain and let Yanzhi help her get out of the carriage.
Standing under the plaque of "Cui Mansion", Cui Si felt a little dazed and nostalgic.
The only time she had a relaxing time in her previous life was when she was the Sixth Lady of the Cui family in Xianyang City. At that time, she had countless aspirations for the future and even thought about changing the world.
"Sixth Lady."
Cui Si stood at the door for a short while before a maid in a green dress came out. She knelt and saluted and said, "Madam, we have been waiting for you for a long time. Please follow me, Sixth Lady."
It seems that Mrs. Cui really likes her.
Cui Si felt helpless, but said, "It's my fault for keeping Madam and the other sisters waiting for so long. Please lead the way."
"Yes, Sixth Lady, please follow me."
The maid walked in front to lead the way, leading Cui Si and others all the way to the garden of the main house.
It was March, the spring breeze was warm and the flowers were in full bloom.
There is a stream flowing through the garden, gurgling and flowing into the lotus pond not far away.
There is a spacious pavilion beside the lotus pond, where the women of the family gather. They are dressed in gorgeous clothes, adorned with gold and jade hairpins, and equipped with sachets to restrain their steps. They hold round fans in their hands, and sit or stand. They speak in soft voices and smile sweetly.
Flowers are blooming in all colors on both sides of the river, and colorful butterflies are dancing.
As soon as you step into this place, you will feel as if you have accidentally entered a fairyland and met the Fairy of Flowers.
Cui Si was led into the water pavilion by a maid, and the moment she stepped in, she attracted everyone's attention.
"Sixth Lady is here."
"Clan sister/clan sister."
Everyone greeted her with joy.
"Sixth Lady, you're here." Madam Cui sat upright on the main seat in the waterside pavilion. Seeing Cui Si coming, she greeted her gently, "Come and sit down. The sisters are waiting for you."
Mrs. Cui is the matriarch of the Cui clan and the wife of the clan leader. She comes from the Xie clan, which is also a prominent clan.
At that time, she was wearing a rouge-red pleated skirt embroidered with gold clouds, and a royal blue brocade wide-sleeved shirt with red edges.
Her black hair was combed meticulously, and she wore a gold and silver pearl flower tree hairpin on the top of her head, with two plum blossom tassel gold hairpins on the sides, and golden gourd earrings on her ears.
She is elegant and dignified, with an extraordinary noble air, as if she were a fairy or goddess in heaven.
Cui Si led the maid forward to pay her respects: "Sixth Lady pays respects to the Madam, and wishes the Madam well."
"How are you, Madam?" Before Madam Cui could respond, a woman in the crowd sneered, "If you were so kind, why didn't you come so late and keep Madam waiting?"
Cui Si subconsciously retorted: "You came early, but you may not be sincere."
When the man heard this, he immediately became angry: "Cui Si, what do you mean by this? Could it be that we are still being insincere towards Madam?"
"Whether it's false or sincere, that's something you have to ask yourself. Others naturally have no way of knowing." Cui Si smiled, and her beautiful fox eyes met the girl sitting at the table, dressed in Yang Fei's color. "Fifth sister, tell me, isn't this the truth?"
The person who just spoke was none other than Cui Yao, a clan sister who was half a year older than Cui Si and the fifth daughter in the Cui family.
Nowadays, the status of aristocratic families is extremely high, and the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children is strict. The Cui family is also deeply influenced by this. Brothers and sisters in the family are divided into different levels. For example, Cui Si is called "Sixth Mother", which does not refer to her ranking in the family, but to her position as the sixth in the clan.
In the Cui family, only the girls born from the legitimate branch can be ranked. Others are not even ranked. "Madam" or "Girl" is added after their names as their respectful titles.
The Cui family has three direct branches: the eldest branch, Changde branch, which is Mrs. Cui's branch; the second branch, Mingde branch, which is Cui Si's branch; and the third branch, Yongde branch, which is Cui Yao's branch.
Cui Si and Cui Yao were the legitimate daughters of two families, and were of similar age. In addition, the old ladies of the two families did not get along with each other, and they would almost always quarrel with each other when they met.
Cui Yao had always disliked Cui Si, and today she also wanted to compete for the position of Queen of Northern Yan. Cui Si was the only rival who could compete with her, so naturally she wanted to take the initiative and find fault with Cui Si.
However, Cui Si is a person who will accept anything except the loss caused by others. Since she dares to speak, she must be prepared to be confronted.
Cui Yao's face turned red at this moment, and he glared at Cui Si angrily.
"Alright, alright, you ladies just love to bicker, especially you two. You always have to say a few words every time you meet." Mrs. Cui smiled and tried to smooth things over.
"You are all good girls of the Cui family. Naturally, you have nothing to say about my feelings for me. You are all sincere. Auntie, I know this."
"Sixth Lady, since you are here, please take a seat. Your seat will be next to Fifth Lady."
"Thank you, Madam." Cui Si bowed and thanked her, then walked towards the banquet.
This time and space is a bit like the period from the Wei and Jin Dynasties to the Tang Dynasty. When Cui Si was first born, people still sat on low tables by kneeling. When Cui Si grew up, she couldn't stand it anymore, so she drew some patterns and threw them into various furniture shops in the city.
Half a year later, the new style of furniture became popular in Xianyang, and the Cui family replaced all their tables and chairs with new ones, so they no longer had to kneel to talk or eat.
In the waterside pavilion, all the desks were desk-style tea tables, on which tea, snacks and other food were placed. In the corner, there was a vase-sized flower basket filled with freshly picked flowers from the garden.
Cui Si and Cui Yao were seated side by side, facing the first position of Madam Cui.
"Cui Si."
"What's wrong?" Cui Si turned around and met Cui Yao's gaze full of anger and warning.
When their eyes met, it was like a flash of swords.
Cui Si's outfit today was light makeup and elegant clothes, which made her look fresh and elegant. She wore an apricot-colored cross-collared shirt with a crabapple fringe on the top, an apricot-colored cloud-gauze wide-sleeved jacket embroidered with crabapple, and a printed light blue folded skirt on the bottom.
It looks pretty and elegant, like the blooming apricot blossoms in spring.
However, her temperament is dignified and quiet, neither arrogant nor impatient, and she is calm and unhurried, even better than the fairy ganoderma and white flowers far away in the clouds, which makes people dare only admire her from afar and not touch her.
The girl in front of him was dressed in gorgeous clothes, a cloud brocade dress the color of Yang Fei, a ginger-colored shawl draped between her arms, and a folded skirt that dragged on the ground and fluttered in the wind. A peony tassel and gold hairpin inlaid with gems was pinned in her light snake bun, and a gold and ruby-studded Ruyi necklace hung around her neck.
It is just like being the most dazzling peony in this spring.
At that time, Cui Yao was like a blazing flame, burning everything, but Cui Si was like the bright moon in the clouds, standing still and looking at everything indifferently.
In the end, Cui Yao couldn't hold on any longer and was defeated. He sneered and turned away.
Cui Si withdrew her gaze, calmly poured herself a cup of tea, and offered her a cup: "Fifth sister, tea instead of wine."
The days of bickering with Cui Yao seem strangely nostalgic...
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