Who's in the woods?
A somewhat childish voice came from behind, startling both Shen Ming'e and her maid.
Looking up, I saw a young man wearing a moon-white fine cloth robe.
The boy, about thirteen or fourteen years old, had clear features and dark eyes that were scrutinizing Shen Ming'e. "Who are you, and what brings you here?"
He was Pei Jingtai, the fifth young master of the Pei family. He disliked the noise outside and came here to find some peace and quiet, but he did not expect that there would be other people in the woods.
The girl was accompanied by a maid, and it was clear that she was not from the Pei family. Pei Jingtai was afraid that the guest had gone to the wrong place, so he came over to ask.
Seeing that he was young and didn't seem like a bad person, Shen Ming'e breathed a sigh of relief. "I accidentally went the wrong way and couldn't find my way out. Who are you?"
He was quite clever; instead of directly introducing himself, he asked Pei Jingtai about his identity.
"Eighth Miss!"
"Where are you, Eighth Miss?!"
...
The voices of Granny Jiang and her group drifted from afar, and Shen Ming'e's heart skipped a beat. She knew they were coming to find her. Not wanting to appear embarrassed in front of Granny Jiang, she immediately asked the young man in front of her, "Do you know of any other way out?"
*
"It seems that the Shen family's daughters haven't been solving any riddles this year," Madam Pei said with a smile as she chatted with Zhao. Zhao sighed and said, "The girls have grown up, and their minds aren't on this anymore. Last year they were still young and lively."
By Shenshi (3-5 PM), the flower-adorned banquet was coming to an end, and the person who received the biggest prize today came out: Lu Ming, the eleventh young lady of the Rongguo Duke's Mansion.
Madam Pei personally presented Miss Lu with Mr. He Shou's painting of autumn rain and begonias. Madam Zhao lowered her head and sipped her tea when she heard Madam Lu say in her ear, "They're all back."
As the play drew to a close, the audience began to disperse. After bidding farewell to Madam Pei, the Shen family members boarded their carriages to return home.
Madam Lin looked very unwell, and Shen Ming'e looked flustered. As soon as she saw Shen Mingzhuang, she grabbed her sleeve and whispered for help: "What should I do? What should I do? Father is not home. Madam will definitely punish me severely."
Shen Mingzhuang couldn't help but laugh, "What does this have to do with you? Didn't Third Sister publicly criticize Eighth Sister first? Why is Mother punishing you alone?"
The implication is that even if Lin were to punish someone, she wouldn't be the only one punished. Shen Mingshu had spoken inappropriately beforehand, so even if she were to be severely punished, she wouldn't escape it.
How could Lin bear to see her beloved daughter punished? Therefore, Shen Ming'e didn't need to worry so much.
Reminded by Shen Mingzhuang, she felt a little relieved. Yes, yes, how could she have put all the blame on herself?
*
Shou'an Hall.
"Kneel down, all of you!"
As the lanterns were lit, Old Madam Shen gave a stern rebuke, and all the younger generation in the room knelt down. Madam Gu looked at Shen Mingrong and couldn't help but feel sorry for her. Her daughter had been sickly since childhood and was frail. Today, she could only sit with her at the hairpin banquet and was even punished to kneel down because of the two unfilial children of the third branch of the family.
The three ladies, along with their personal maids and servants inside and outside the house, all fell silent, heads bowed, waiting for the old lady to speak.
Madam Shen, having grown up in the Duke's mansion, had witnessed countless scandals within the inner quarters. From a young age, she had seen her mother, the Duchess, under whose rule no one dared to be so unruly. Under her management, the Shen family's inner quarters had never experienced such a thing for many years. Yet, in her old age, such a blunder had occurred in her family, making people say that the Shen family was unworthy.
Thinking of the Lin family, she felt a surge of anger. If it weren't for the fact that the third son was born out of wedlock and couldn't marry a legitimate daughter from a wealthy family, and that he was already born out of wedlock and couldn't marry another daughter from a illegitimate family, then she would have chosen the legitimate daughter of the Lin family to marry into the family.
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