Chapter 55 Shanshan's Visit
Qingwu left suddenly that day, and Shanshan was worried about him. Later, the prince was deposed. She thought that the Xi family had a close relationship with the prince and must have been in a mess, so she did not go to disturb him at that time.
Seeing that the limelight had passed, and the peony she had newly cultivated had buds, Shanshan took a pot of it and planned to give it to Qingwu to cheer her up.
Although they had only met twice in a short time, Shanshan had already realized that Qingwu was not the kind of person who attached great importance to rules, and since their personalities were compatible, she did not send an invitation in advance and went straight to his house in a carriage.
Although the Song family has declined, they were once prominent for a period of time, so they have a small house in the inner city. The Xu family is a complete outsider. Lin Shanshan loves to grow flowers, so she bought a large house in the outer city closest to the inner city. One is in the east of the city and the other is in the west. When Shanshan arrived at the Song family, more than half an hour had passed.
She stood in front of the red gate of the Song Mansion, holding a peony full of flower buds. Thinking that she was about to meet the beautiful woman, she lowered her head and smoothed the folds of her skirt to make sure she would not be rude.
The little maid went forward and knocked on the door. After less than half a quarter of an hour, the door opened slightly. The maid Jinzhu stuck half of her face out, glanced at Shanshan's unfamiliar face, and spoke with the aloofness that servants of aristocratic families usually have.
"I wonder what's the matter, my lady?"
Lin Shanshan handed the peony forward, her voice cheerful, "Please tell them that I'm here to visit and want to give your wife a peony."
The peony buds swayed in response, emitting a lingering fragrance. She thought Qingwu would like it.
Jinzhu was not easy to deal with, so he said, "Wait a moment."
When he entered, he reported everything to Xi Qingtong one by one, "The clothes are just ordinary silk, and there are only a few silver hairpins in the bun. They said they wanted to give you peonies."
In the inner room, Xi Qingtong was leaning against the couch, boredly trying on the jewelry left by Qingwu. Jinzhu's reply made her fingertips pause, and her eyes shifted. Unable to recall any prominent official in the capital with the surname Lin, she scoffed, "Send her away."
She didn't see just any cat or dog, so she thought it was a florist who came to sell peonies. But she had seen the most precious peonies in the palace, so why would she be surprised by this ordinary peony?
Lin Shanshan waited outside the door with great joy. She thought she would be invited in soon, but Jinzhu came out and said, "My wife doesn't see guests recently."
The smile on Shanshan's face suddenly fell. She was not angry but worried. "What's wrong with Qingwu? She's in a bad mood. Just let me go in and have a chat with her. And this pot of peonies is what I just cultivated. She will definitely like it when she sees it."
Hearing this, Jinzhu's expression changed slightly. This lady turned out to be the Second Lady's friend. If that was the case, she couldn't let the two of them meet, so she declined politely in many ways.
Even though Shanshan has a cheerful and lively personality and a simple mind, she is not thick-skinned. She was too embarrassed to ask to go in again after Jinzhu refused her many times. She was just very depressed and upset in her heart. She had already arrived at the door of the Song family, but Qingwu refused to even see her.
However, the flowers that were said to be given away had to be given away. Shanshan insisted that Jinzhu pass them on. Jinzhu could not refuse anymore, so she accepted the flowers and returned to the inner courtyard to report to Xi Qingtong.
After hearing that the person had been sent away, she lazily sat up from the couch. However, when her eyes passed over the peony, Xi Qingtong's eyes slightly focused, "Bring it here for me to see."
She ran her fingertips across the delicate peony buds and took a closer look. The color was something she had never seen before, and she couldn't help but praise, "It's quite interesting..."
However, he changed the subject and a look of disdain appeared on his lips: "It's just that people like us have always been flower watchers, not planters..."
Xi Qingtong's sarcasm became more and more wanton, "But she actually made friends with these lowly people who grow flowers and sell grass... It's really not worthy of being on the stage."
Jinzhu stood aside with her eyes lowered, a trace of embarrassment flashing across her eyes.
Shanshan returned to the house in the outer city. Her husband, the newly crowned top scholar, was watering the flowers she raised. Seeing that she came back with an unhappy look on his face, he immediately put down the things in his hands and went to greet her. The Ministry of Personnel was still drafting the removal of the newly crowned Jinshi these days, so the newly crowned Jinshi had no official position yet.
Seeing him watering the flowers at home, Shanshan couldn't help but scold him: "At this time, why don't you go out to feast and have fun with other Jinshi? Make more friends, why are you doing this at home?"
Xu Huaiyu smiled faintly, "No, we'll get to know each other naturally if we become colleagues in the future."
He paused for a moment, "But you, why did you come back so soon? What happened?"
They had been childhood sweethearts since they were young, and Shanshan would never hide anything from him. With a pout, she snuggled into Xu Huaiyu's arms, saying aggrievedly, "I went to Qingwu's house, but Qingwu actually turned me away and refused to see me... I thought... I thought she wasn't someone who cared about those kinds of empty formalities..."
Xu Huaiyu patted the young lady's back to comfort her while thinking. He also saw what happened at the horse farm that day. A girl who could save people in public like that would not refuse her friend just because she didn't invite him in advance.
But after all, he had only met Qing Wu once, so it was hard to guess, so he said: "It must be something else. Next time, let's take a look at the next post."
Shanshan was a little angry at first, but after being comforted by her husband, she remembered Qingwu's kindness and nodded in Xu Huaiyu's arms, muttering, "Let's wait for a while, I'm still depressed now!"
Coincidentally, Shanshan had just gone to the Song family to look for Qingwu, and someone from the Xi family also wanted to see Qingwu, but was stopped by the maid Xiyu as soon as she walked out of the second door.
"Third Lady, you can't go out!"
"I want to go to the Song family to play with my sister. Doesn't Madam even allow this?"
Xi Qingmian had been sad for a long time because Aunt Liu followed Xi Jianan to Jingzhou. Recently, she gradually got used to it and thought about going to visit Sister Qingwu, but she didn't expect that even this was not possible.
Xiyu was one of Madam Zheng's maids. She was guarding outside the door on the day of the husband-exchange. Knowing the inside story, how could she let the Third Madam go out to find the Second Madam?
While the two were arguing, Nanny Xia happened to be returning from the second gate. It was also a coincidence that she had just delivered the gift to Qingwu that day, and after returning to the Xi family, she received a letter from her son. It turned out that her son and daughter-in-law, who were managing the business for the Xi family in the next county, had a son. She asked for leave from Madam Zheng to go see her son-in-law and grandson, and just missed this important event.
She was completely unaware of the situation and immediately stepped forward to stop the two of them. "Hey, what are you guys arguing about?"
Xiyu hurriedly lowered her head, her momentum weakening, while Xi Qingmian's face flushed red, angry and aggrieved: "Mammy, you came at the right time. Xiyu stopped me from going to find my sister!"
"Nonsense!" Nanny Xia yelled, startling the two thrushes in the corridor. Although Madam was usually strict, she didn't ask much about the sisters' whereabouts.
But when she glanced at Xiyu's pale face, she suddenly realized that the atmosphere was wrong.
This girl used to be so clever and tactful, so why would she stop San Niang from leaving for no reason? And in such a tone? San Niang was the legitimate mistress of the Xi family.
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