After leaving the Ji family residence, Ji Cheng went to Madam Yu’s place to respectfully submit her ten days’ worth of painting practice.
Yu Zhenyuan examined them carefully before commenting, “I can see daily progress, showing your dedication and natural talent. Painting requires keen observation and contemplation. Your flower, bird, and landscape paintings are quite lifelike, with landscapes being your strongest suit, exhibiting an unrestrained spirit.”
Ji Cheng’s face warmed slightly, surprised by Madam Yu’s high praise.
“However, your technique still lacks refinement. I sense you have grand visions, but your brush can’t fully express what’s in your mind. It’s a pity,” Madam Yu added.
Ji Cheng nodded repeatedly, agreeing that her paintings often fell short of her mental images.
“You’re bright and quick to learn. With just a few lessons, you’ve made such progress. It’s remarkable. But based on your work, I suspect you’ll plateau in about six months.”
Ji Cheng looked at Madam Yu, puzzled.
Madam Yu smiled, “If you don’t believe me, shall we make a wager?”
After a long silence, Ji Cheng suddenly smiled warmly, “I won’t bet against you, Teacher. You’ve been immersed in this art for decades with outstanding achievements. I trust your judgment more than my abilities. If you say so, I have no reason to doubt it.”
Yu Zhenyuan sighed in admiration. The girl before her was truly remarkable – confident yet not arrogant.
“Please guide me, Teacher,” Ji Cheng bowed respectfully to Madam Yu.
“Rise, you’ve long been my disciple. Such formality isn’t necessary,” Yu Zhenyuan said. “You do have talent, which is why you’ve started playing with techniques so quickly. But your technique isn’t refined, so you use more techniques to cover up flaws. This works initially but will lead to bigger obstacles later. I suggest you practice steadily for a while, focusing on basics rather than technique.”
Ji Cheng blushed her admiration for Madam Yu beyond words. She had indeed been using techniques but hadn’t expected Madam Yu to see through it so easily.
Madam Yu invited Ji Cheng to stay for dinner and spent the afternoon giving her many pointers. Ji Cheng benefited greatly, and her respect for Yu Zhenyuan grew even more.
When Ji Cheng next attended classes, Shen Yuan and Shen Qian already knew she hadn’t received an invitation to the Wang sisters’ party. Even Su Yun had been invited, but not her.
Though Ji Cheng felt this reflected poorly on the Wang sisters’ upbringing, she couldn’t help but blush. Her pride was inevitably hurt, but she managed to face it calmly.
During the midday break, Shen Qian invited Shen Yuan, Shen Cui, Su Yun, and others to her room. Princess An He had sent them some jewelry, and the palace ladies had also sent new accessories. She wanted the sisters to choose some.
Finally, turning to Ji Cheng, Shen Qian smiled, “Cousin Cheng, come choose some with us. Mother had many pieces made this year as if she knew we’d have so many sisters visiting.”
Ji Cheng politely declined, but Shen Qian bluntly added, “Even if you can’t attend Sister Wang’s peony banquet, you’ll surely have occasions to wear them in the future.”
With things put so directly, Ji Cheng could only smile.
Shen Yuan said, “I won’t choose any. I don’t plan to attend Fourth Miss Wang’s peony banquet.”
This statement surprised everyone, including Ji Cheng.
“Third Sister, what’s wrong?” Shen Qian asked, confused. In previous years, Shen Yuan had been the most enthusiastic, eagerly selecting fabrics and tailoring clothes with her sisters. This spring, they had received new style patterns from the palace, and Madam Huang had already had dresses made for her nieces.
The Flower Festival in February, the Girls’ Festival in March, the great-grandmother’s birthday this year, various flower banquets in April, and spring outings – there were many lively occasions where young ladies competed to show off their beauty. They never wore last year’s clothes to such events, vying to be the most fashionable.
The Shen family girls had always been well-prepared for these occasions, so Shen Yuan’s sudden declaration not to attend Fourth Miss Wang’s peony banquet was shocking.
Shen Yuan took Ji Cheng’s hand and said, “It’s better not to associate with someone as snobbish as Fourth Miss Wang. Cousin Cheng, since you’ve come to our family, you’re one of our sisters. I won’t allow Fourth Miss Wang to bully you like this. It’s just a peony banquet – can’t our family host one? Not only will we host one, but we’ll make it better than hers.”
“Sister Yuan.” Whether genuine or not, Ji Cheng’s eyes welled with tears. She held Shen Yuan’s hands tightly, unable to speak for a moment. Then, choking up, she said, “Sister, you needn’t strain your relationship with the Wang sisters for my sake. Your words alone mean the world to me.”
Remembering her mother’s words from the previous night, Shen Cui quickly added, “I won’t go either.” She didn’t like the Huang sisters anyway, and they always ignored her.
Shen Qian hesitated. She and Fourth Miss Wang were close friends, and not attending would be hard to explain. But choosing between her own family and Fourth Miss Wang, after much internal struggle, Shen Qian bit her lip and said, “I won’t go either.”
“I’m not going either,” Su Yun added with a bright smile.
Shen Yuan smiled approvingly, “Good. Let’s plan our peony banquet. We could even make it an annual event. Why should the Wang family have all the glory?”
The girls became excited at the idea. “If we’re doing it, let’s make it better than Fourth Miss Wang’s,” Shen Cui said, clenching her fist.
“But Sister Si Niang has a ‘Green Dragon Resting in an Ink Pool’ peony,” Shen Qian pointed out.
The most admirable feature of the Wang family’s peony banquet was this incredibly rare “Green Dragon Resting in an Ink Pool” peony, even more difficult to cultivate than the famed Yao Huang and Wei Zi varieties.
“That’s nothing. We’ll just find an even more special one,” Shen Cui said, revealing her limited knowledge of peonies.
Shen Yuan frowned, also pondering the “Green Dragon” issue.
“We don’t need to host a peony banquet. It might seem like we’re directly competing with Fourth Miss Wang, which could be seen as petty. Why not host a hundred flowers banquet later? The Wang family has the ‘Green Dragon,’ but we can surely find rare specimens of other flowers. We don’t have to limit ourselves to peonies,” Ji Cheng suggested.
“That’s a great idea,” Shen Yuan immediately agreed. “We’ll host a hundred flowers banquet. It’s a bit late, but finding rare flowers shouldn’t be difficult.”
Shen Qian volunteered eagerly, “I’ll ask Second Brother. He’ll surely have a way.”
Shen Yuan and Shen Cui nodded, “Yes, explain it well to Second Brother.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll convince Second Brother to help us. I’ll cry, make a scene, even threaten to hang myself if I have to. He won’t be able to refuse,” Shen Qian declared confidently.
“Please don’t do that. Just talk to him properly,” Shen Yuan quickly advised.
Shen Qian pouted, “I’ll try my best, but you know how he is. When he’s in a good mood, everything’s easy. When he’s not, he won’t humor anyone.”
Shen Yuan could only hope their Second Brother would be in a sunny mood lately.
The girls discussed further, dividing tasks before dispersing. In the afternoon, Ji Cheng followed Shen Yuan to Chef Liu’s kitchen to learn culinary skills. This time, they were learning kneading techniques. As Ji Cheng pressed the dough with her palm, her mind wandered slightly.
Wasn’t she satisfied with the current outcome? Ji Cheng glanced sideways at Shen Yuan, recalling their encounter in the garden that morning.
“The Wang sisters have indeed gone too far this time. Cousin Cheng, it’s best not to take it to heart,” Shen Yuan had comforted Ji Cheng.
At that time, Ji Cheng had been standing dejectedly by the peony bushes, but if Shen Yuan hadn’t deliberately approached, she wouldn’t have needed to say anything.
“Sister, don’t worry about me. I know my place,” Ji Cheng had said, lowering her head slightly. She did indeed understand her position and didn’t particularly want to associate with the Wang sisters, but time was of the essence, and she urgently needed to find a goal for herself.
Shen Yuan had taken Ji Cheng’s hand and led her to a nearby pavilion. “Don’t worry, I’ll speak to Si Niang when I see her. Don’t be upset; she’ll invite you next time.”
Ji Cheng smiled and shook her head, “Sister, do I seem like someone who would be upset about not attending a peony banquet? When I came to the capital, I was already clear about my position. I just feel ashamed that Third Sister has to comfort me instead. I’ve brought shame to you by being such a relative…”
Ji Cheng’s eyes had brimmed with tears, her beautiful face like a dew-washed cotton rose mallow, delicate and pitiful. This had aroused Shen Yuan’s sympathy and stirred a deep anger within her.
Fourth Miss Wang had indeed gone too far. Even when beating a dog, one considers its owner. To so blatantly look down on Ji Cheng was to look down on the Shen family, assuming they would just smile and tolerate it graciously.
Ji Cheng had sniffled and forced a smile, “Don’t look at me like that, Third Sister. I’ll have a chance to attend these gatherings eventually. At the very least, I can still attend our Shen family’s gatherings, right?” She had taken Shen Yuan’s hand, “Sister, please don’t become estranged from the Wang sisters because of me. After all, Consort Shu is currently favored in the palace. Don’t offend the Wang family for my sake; others might criticize you for being petty.”
Magnanimity, magnanimity – in Shen Yuan’s mere seventeen years of life, she had been constantly reminded of this word. It was as if she was born to be magnanimous and tolerant, expected to smile and endure even if others rode roughshod over her. Only then would she be considered virtuous and magnanimous.
Thinking of this, Shen Yuan couldn’t help but say, “If I’m magnanimous about this, others will truly start to disregard our Shen family in the future. We can’t even protect our relatives.” This simple logic, even Ji Lan could see it, so there was no reason why Shen Yuan, who had been carefully groomed since childhood, couldn’t see it.
Initially, Shen Yuan hadn’t thought much of this incident, naturally because she had never truly acknowledged Ji Cheng. Her sudden change of heart was partly due to Ji Cheng’s reminder and partly due to her recent deep-seated resentment towards Fourth Miss Wang.
Someone of Shen Yuan’s status had been the center of attention since birth until she met Fourth Miss Wang. Both were the most eye-catching noble ladies in the capital, with Shen Yuan not falling short in any aspect. Once, Fourth Miss Wang could only look up to her in admiration.
But ever since Consort Shu entered the palace and gave birth to the crown prince, the Wang family had risen meteorically. Fourth Miss Wang’s attitude had changed dramatically, now even claiming the title of the capital’s greatest beauty. She walked around with her nose in the air, as if everyone had to kiss her feet.
Shen Yuan had been tolerant time and again, but now, prompted by Ji Cheng’s words, she could no longer endure it. With the Shen family’s status, why should they have to flatter the Wang family? Her Second Brother had never cared about such things; last year, he had even beaten the Wang family’s three bullies black and blue, and the Wang family hadn’t dared to make a peep.
Shen Yuan patted Ji Cheng’s hand, “Cousin Cheng, don’t be frightened. This isn’t just for you; Fourth Miss Wang has gone too far. If we keep tolerating her, who knows how much further she’ll push? Don’t worry, leave everything to me. We can’t let our sister be bullied.”
It was precisely because of this morning’s groundwork that Shen Yuan later spoke as she did to her sisters.