Chapter 216 Xue Baochun and Xue Baochai
"Who do we have here? Isn't this General Shenwei's daughter-in-law? We haven't seen her in a while. You've come to see the koi fish too?"
"Greetings to all the ladies. Every time I come here, I come to this pond to see the koi. Watching them swim freely always makes me feel much happier," Wang Xifeng said with a smile.
“Before the Lunar New Year, I asked Princess Lin for a few koi to keep at home, but it was too cold before the New Year, and our pond was frozen over. The water was too shallow in the places where it wasn’t frozen, so I thought I’d come back in March to ask for a few more koi to liven up our pond.”
“That’s right. I was just thinking of asking for a few, but our little pond hasn’t been thawed yet, so it’s not certain that we can get the koi back now,” a lady next to her chimed in.
"How come the palace can keep them now? It's all because the Lin family is so powerful and opportunistic..." Aunt Xue persisted, but Wang Xifeng quickly pulled her back.
"Aunt, you drank too much last night, are you still not sober?" Wang Xifeng wished she could shut Aunt Xue's mouth right away, but it would be too ugly in front of everyone, so she just grabbed Aunt Xue's arm and used a little force.
Seeing that Aunt Xue was about to argue, Wang Xifeng said in a low voice,
"Think about Baochai! All the mistresses of the inner quarters of the capital are here today. Do you still want her to find a good family?"
Aunt Xue was startled, but she reacted quickly, immediately holding her head and pretending to have a hangover.
Wang Xifeng smiled apologetically, "It's my fault for disturbing the ladies' enjoyment. I'll host another day and apologize to you all. My relative has had too much to drink and is a bit confused, so I'll take her home first."
These ladies and wives are all shrewd and know all about Wang Xifeng's tricks. But that Xue family is really annoying; having such a relative is truly unlucky.
The group shifted their discussion from the koi fish to whose wife this Xue was, and vowed to stay away from her in the future, as she was truly clueless.
Apart from this clueless Aunt Xue, the birthday banquet was a joyous occasion for all the guests and hosts.
After the banquet, each guest received a gift bag containing a fresh flower crystal soap and a face cream containing ginseng hydrosol. It was a simple gift, but it was very well received.
Those who knew the inside scoop couldn't wait to share it with others.
"I heard that this is a secret recipe personally formulated by Princess Lin. The things made by the Fairy of a Hundred Flowers must be extraordinary."
"The Imperial Household Department also came to collect a few bottles a few days ago, saying that several ladies in the palace wanted them."
"The palace knew about it too?"
"Your information is outdated again. There are several ladies in the palace who are all Princess Lin's senior sisters. I heard they all studied at the girls' academy, and Princess Lin is now their teacher's last disciple. Today, those ladies in the palace all sent gifts, just to support our junior sister."
"I saw that even the Empress sent someone to deliver congratulatory gifts. Does Princess Lin have that much influence?"
"That must be because of Lord Lin's reputation. After all, Lord Lin is a close minister of the emperor, and he is currently in Yangzhou with an important post and cannot return. He only has one daughter in the capital, so naturally he cannot be neglected."
That's absolutely right.
"Speaking of which, I also saw some teachers from the Girls' Academy at this banquet today. The Lin family has such a wide circle of connections?"
"I saw it too. I don't know if my daughter passed the exam, or when she can come to my house for an interview?"
......
In the Lin family's study, the teachers from the girls' academy, who had borrowed a side room, were writing furiously.
While the memory is still fresh, I must quickly record what I saw and heard today, lest I be delayed by other matters upon returning to the academy and miss anything.
They exchanged opinions as they wrote.
Many women came to the Lin family's birthday banquet today. Although there were quite a few of them, they could only get a rough idea of who had signed up for the girls' academy.
They were scattered in different locations.
The locations were fixed, so no matter where the women who signed up went, there were teachers secretly observing their behavior.
Finally, the teachers gathered together to make a final summary and conclusion.
One person's perspective may not be entirely objective, but the different behaviors observed by different people can be a valuable reference.
"Xue Jia Baochun, I haven't even met this woman, so how come you have her evaluation here?"
“I registered her when she applied, so I recognize her. She’s the girl who always follows behind the Second Madam of Rongguo Mansion. She’s poised, dignified, polite, and doesn’t talk much or gossip. Although her eyes sometimes reveal a bit of defiance and competitiveness, most of the girls here today have shown that look after witnessing Princess Lin’s birthday banquet, so it’s nothing. I think she can pass the interview.”
"Xue Baochun? You really have a high opinion of her. But I heard from someone that the girl standing behind the Second Madam is a descendant of the Ziwei Scholar, surnamed Xue, named Baochai. There is no such person in our registration book."
The leading teacher was Mi Ling. Although she was nearly forty, she had a sweet, childlike voice that was very pleasant to hear. Even when she was angry, her voice did not inspire any awe.
Fortunately, she was teaching the introductory class at the academy.
The girls in the introductory class all adored this teacher with her baby voice.
Upon hearing Mi Ling's words, all the teachers stopped what they were doing.
"Could it be that one is the formal name and the other is a nickname? That would be perfectly normal."
"No, that doesn't make sense. Even if it's a formal name and a nickname, the two names are too similar; they're more like names of sisters."
“Sisters? The Xue family only has one daughter, but there is an older brother who died suddenly in court.” Mi Ling sneered as she stood up. “I’ll go ask Mr. Yuan.”
“Mr. Yuan has already taken the princess to see the stars, so no one should disturb them at this time.”
Mi Ling thought for a moment, then sat down again.
"Never mind, I'll go to the Xue family for another interview tomorrow."
"The Xue family? Today, there was a Mrs. Xue in the garden who spoke recklessly and was eventually taken away by the Second Madam Lian of the Rongguo Mansion. She said she was a relative of theirs. This girl surnamed Xue was following behind the Second Madam of the Rongguo Mansion. They both have the surname Xue, so what's the relationship between them?" The teacher, who was pretending to watch the koi in a corner of the garden but was actually secretly observing the students, spoke up.
"If this girl surnamed Xue is a child of the Xue family, we really need to think twice."
Mi Ling thought to herself, "I'm afraid they really are a family."
However, this female student has two names. Could it be that she is impersonating someone else?
This is a huge no-no!
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