Before Shen Hua could finish speaking, Ming Tan instinctively glanced at her. Bai Minmin and Zhou Jingwan, who knew the truth, also turned to look in surprise.
The other young ladies, unaware of the real situation, seemed to suddenly understand after hearing Shen Hua’s words.
Oh, so this Third Young Lady Ming was bullying others in her household, relying on her rudimentary martial arts skills.
This Third Young Lady Ming truly had no sense of propriety. A concubine’s daughter acting so arrogantly! Not only did she deliberately cause someone to fall into the water, but she also kept hoping it would lead to some illness. Her thoughts were uniquely malicious.
They thought this way without ever doubting Shen Hua’s words. Although Shen Hua and Ming Tan were loosely called cousins, their relationship was not close. Even when they went out together, they usually had their circles and occasionally showed subtle hostility. Given this, how could Shen Hua be defending Ming Tan without reason?
It seemed that this Third Young Lady Ming was too overbearing, causing others to disapprove. If she dared to use her whip on her legitimate sister, Shen Hua, a distant relative residing in their household, must have also suffered her bullying.
With this in mind, the gazes directed at Ming Chu became filled with contempt and disgust.
Shen Hua looked directly at Ming Chu. Seeing that Ming Chu was about to come out of her confusion and explain, she gently cut herself off before she could speak: “Actually, it’s enough for a young lady to know a few moves for self-defense. Accidentally hurting someone is not good, and one could easily hurt oneself if not careful.”
Ming Chu: “I—”
Ming Tan, lightly pressing her temple, took over from Shen Hua and said softly with a hint of weakness: “Cousin is right. I’m just a bit dizzy from not having breakfast. It has nothing to do with falling into the water that day. The doctor checked my pulse and prescribed medicine. There were no signs of catching a cold. Third Sister doesn’t need to keep this matter on her mind.”
Ming Chu: “The Lantern Festival—”
“Third Sister will surely see the Lantern Festival fireworks next year,” Shen Hua said with a comforting smile. She then explained to everyone, “Third Sister has a childish heart. When she returned from Yangxi Road, she was eager to get back to the capital in time for the Lantern Festival to see the fireworks. But with the cold weather and long journey, how could she have made it in time?”
Hearing this, Ming Tan’s face immediately showed a hint of helplessness as she chimed in: “It’s my fault. If I hadn’t told the young maids about how lively the Lantern Festival is in the capital, which Third Sister happened to overhear and felt regretful about, she wouldn’t have become upset for no reason and started swinging her whip in the garden.”
“Speaking of the Lantern Festival, Tan, the tangyuan you made this year was delicious,” Bai Minmin added, catching on.
Zhou Jingwan covered her mouth and said softly, “I also feel quite regretful. Tan sent an invitation for me to come and taste the tangyuan she made herself during the Lantern Festival. But my health is so poor, I always catch colds in autumn and winter and have to stay in bed to recover.”
Ming Chu: “…?”
What tangyuan? The one eaten in the Xiang River?
Were they all blatantly lying?
“Jingwan, my grandmother has found a recipe to strengthen the weak. I’ll send it to your house tomorrow. You can ask a doctor if you can use it.”
“Tan, do you still feel dizzy? It’s not good to go out without breakfast. You should at least eat some snacks.”
“What tangyuan? Now I want to taste it too. Tan, why didn’t you send me some to try? You miser, quickly return the sachet I made for you!”
…
Before Ming Chu could make sense of the lies they had concocted, the topic had already shifted, and no one gave her a chance to speak.
Soon after, the talented young men invited by Zhang Huaiyu had all arrived. Everyone’s attention was drawn to the adjacent garden, separated only by a flower wall with small openings. They all moved forward, lingering under the pretense of admiring flowers.
Shen Hua deliberately stayed behind. As she brushed past Ming Chu, she softly warned, “I advise you to behave. If you ruin your Fourth Sister’s reputation, do you think you’ll be able to find a good marriage for yourself? People outside will only say, ‘If even the pampered legitimate daughters raised in the capital are like this, what can be expected of a concubine’s daughter?’ The Marquis might love you too much to punish you, but what about the Madam? What about the Changguo Duke’s family? Even if the Marquis insists on protecting you at all costs, what about your mother? A household’s main wife doesn’t need any reason to deal with a concubine. If she dies, she just dies.”
Ming Chu suddenly froze, her back stiffening.
She stood there for a while, processing what she had just heard, her mind filled with Shen Hua’s casual tone saying, “If she dies, she just dies.”
Princess Fengzhao noticed Ming Chu still standing in the pavilion. She approached, looking at her disdainfully, and asked suspiciously, “Is what they just said about the reason for falling into the water true?”
Ming Chu pressed her lips together, remained stiff for a while, and finally nodded grudgingly.
Fengzhao, who had no desire to speak more with a mere concubine’s daughter, found this uninteresting and turned away contemptuously.
This scene was observed by Ming Tan from a distance. She lowered her gaze, gently sniffing a fallen pear blossom, without saying a word.
Before long, poems celebrating spring could be heard from the adjacent garden. Shu Jingran was highly respected by the literati and talented scholars in the capital, and now that he had achieved a high rank in the imperial examinations, he was even more revered. Many people would first ask for his appreciation and comments after composing a poem.
Seeing this, the young ladies became restless. Some of the bolder ones called out sweetly towards the flower wall: “Young Master Shu is so talented. Why don’t you give us ladies some guidance as well?”
After this, many joined in the clamor. Some were modest, some confused, and some flattering to the Young Master Shu. With everyone speaking at once, it was hard to refuse.
Shu Er shook his head helplessly but had to smile and agree. He answered gently, “I wouldn’t dare to guide you. All the young ladies are surely talented.”
Bai Minmin, who had been quite enthusiastic in the earlier commotion, was still by the flower wall. As she peeked through, she shamelessly declared, “Did you hear that? Young Master Shu said I’m talented!”
Ming Tan: “…”
Zhou Jingwan: “…”
Both of them had expressions that seemed to say, “Whatever makes you happy.”
Of course, Bai Minmin was just indulging herself verbally; she wouldn’t compose a poem.
In terms of poetic talent, Zhou Jingwan was the most outstanding among the young ladies. Shen Hua, who was passionate about poetry, could also be ranked in the top three.
Ming Tan could compose poems, but among the four arts of zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting, she excelled most at the zither. Her chess skills were also among the best among the young ladies. As for calligraphy and painting, she wasn’t exceptionally talented. Her “calligraphy” mostly relied on her good handwriting, while her poetry composition was merely passable.
After everyone finished writing, the poems were collected and sent to the adjacent garden.
“‘Mountain tea casts late shadows, new leaves filter spring light.’ A fine poem,” Shu Jingran praised after contemplating for a while.
In the adjacent garden, everyone turned their gaze towards Zhou Jingwan: “Wanwan, did you write this?”
Zhou Jingwan nodded modestly.
Afterward, Shu Jingran also praised Shen Hua’s poem lamenting spring and surprisingly inquired about Princess Fengzhao’s poem. However, Princess Fengzhao gave an irrelevant answer and stumbled over her words. He understood and didn’t pursue it further.
“A thousand branches break in the rain, fragrance comes from the moon’s edge.” This was describing pear blossoms.
Shu Jingran looked at the small, elegant handwriting – this poem was at best above average, but for some reason, the paper seemed to exude a faint scene of pear blossoms falling in the rain, and there seemed to be a subtle pear fragrance lingering in the air.
He held the paper up to the sunlight, squinting as he examined it, then brought it close to sniff. He suddenly smiled: “I wonder which young lady wrote this poem? It’s quite elegant.”
Ming Tan, standing by the flower wall, responded: “Young Master Shu is too kind.”
Shu Jingran raised an eyebrow, also looking towards the flower wall he had been deliberately ignoring.
This glance surprised him slightly: “Fourth Young Lady Ming?”
“How does Young Master Shu recognize me?” Ming Tan asked curiously.
Shu Er was momentarily at a loss for words. He could hardly say that he had been watching intently from nearby when she fell into the water on the night of the Lantern Festival. Fortunately, a flash of inspiration struck him, and he remembered that a few years ago, at his grandmother’s birthday celebration, this Fourth Young Lady had probably accompanied the Jing’an Marquis’s wife.
After he explained this, Ming Tan felt it was quite fateful. Her glimpse of Shu Er had also been at that birthday banquet of the Shu family.
She couldn’t believe that from just that distant glance, Shu Er had remembered her and could still recognize her now. If this wasn’t a match made in heaven, what was it?
Shu Er changed the subject, asking about the source of the flower fragrance and shadow in the poem.
Ming Tan humbly replied: “I just felt it was a pity to see the pear blossoms falling, so I crushed some into the ink to add a bit of fragrance. As for the flower shadow, it can be achieved by crushing flower juice and painting it on the back of the paper.”
Shu Jingran understood and bowed from afar: “I’ve learned something new.”
Ming Tan returned the gesture from a distance, feeling quite pleased.
She had known that poetry would be unavoidable at the gathering, but since her poetic talent wasn’t outstanding, she had to put effort into other aspects.
The method she just described was merely a rough idea; it couldn’t achieve such elegance with casual effort. Moreover, the subtle fragrance of pear blossoms would be completely masked by the ink’s scent. The key was in the paper preparation. She had prepared the paper infused with pear fragrance and painted with hidden scenes three days ago at home and had brought it to replace the regular paper today.
In reality, the themes for poetry were nothing more than flowers, plants, trees, and the splendor of spring. She could have easily done what Princess Fengzhao did – have someone talented write a few poems for her in advance to use.
However, she had anticipated that if she were questioned and couldn’t answer, or if she were asked to compose a new poem on the spot that she couldn’t adapt from her prepared ones, it would be extremely embarrassing, just like Princess Fengzhao’s current situation.
Speaking of the currently very embarrassed Princess Fengzhao, she was also extremely resentful towards Ming Tan!
Young Master Shu had spoken with her at length and even recognized her from a single meeting years ago. She was so angry that her hands were white from clenching. Pointing at a nearby peony bush, she said coldly: “Fourth Young Lady Ming is so talented in poetry. But pear blossoms are too common. Why not compose a poem about peonies for Young Master Shu to appreciate?”
“…”
A peony poem.
She was deliberately trying to make things difficult.
A few years ago, during a palace selection, a girl had compared the Jade Consort, who was in charge of the selection process, to the “king of flowers,” the peony, in a poem of high praise, hoping to gain favor.
There was nothing inherently wrong with writing poems about peonies, but in the palace, the only one who could be compared to the “king of flowers” was certainly not a mere consort.
Later, when the poem reached Emperor Cheng Kang’s ears, he flew into a rage. He immediately issued an edict confining the Jade Consort to her quarters to reflect on her actions and ordered the etiquette matrons to throw the candidate out of the palace gates. He also severely reprimanded her at the palace gates – if one can’t write poetry, one shouldn’t; if one can’t speak properly, one should remain silent.
Afterward, it was reported that the girl’s father had submitted a memorial asking for forgiveness, and rumors spread that the girl had fallen seriously ill with a high fever and lost her voice.
The emperor’s anger still made people tremble to think about it. Since then, no noble lady in the capital dared to write poems about peonies, not even pure praise without comparisons. Ming Tan naturally didn’t want to – and wouldn’t – risk such bad luck.
By now, Princess Fengzhao was blinded by jealousy. She no longer cared about maintaining any pretense of amiability. She thought to herself, “I’m a noble princess, why should I care about these girls’ feelings? I’ll show them the difference between high and low, noble and common!”
So everyone watched as Princess Fengzhao stepped forward, plucked a precious peony, and began to recite a poem while toying with the flower.
After finishing her poem, she stood in front of Ming Tan, tucked the peony into Ming Tan’s hair, and appraised her: “Fourth Young Lady Ming is charming, but she doesn’t quite suit this peony.” She then knocked the peony out of Ming Tan’s hair, stepped on it, and ground it under her toe.
The garden fell silent.
Everyone thought that Princess Fengzhao must have gone mad.
But they had to admit that what she said was true. As a prince’s daughter, she could write such poems and pluck such flowers. What wouldn’t a royal princess dare to do? Would the Emperor trouble his niece over a poem?
Just then, a group from the Pingguo Duke’s Manor, including the Duke and Duchess, came rushing in, escorting an imperial eunuch holding a bright yellow imperial edict.
“Imperial edict arrives! Fourth Young Lady of the Jing’an Marquis’s Manor, receive the edict—”
The eunuch’s shrill voice rang out in the open space. Before anyone could react, they hurriedly knelt in confusion.
Ming Tan was completely stunned.
She was to receive an edict? What edict? Why was it being announced at the Pingguo Duke’s Manor? Had they read the wrong name? Surely it should be for the Fourth Young Lady of the Pingguo Duke’s Manor, but the Pingguo Duke didn’t seem to have a fourth daughter.
She remained dazed for a while until Zhou Jingwan tugged at her, and she obediently knelt properly.
The eunuch unrolled the edict and read aloud: “By the will of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: The fourth daughter of the Jing’an Marquis’s Manor is refined and virtuous, proper and intelligent, capable and gentle. Now that she has come of age and is awaiting marriage… We hereby bestow her in marriage to Jiang Xu, the Prince of Dingbei, as his Princess Consort. Let the appropriate officials choose an auspicious date and prepare the ceremony for the conferment. So be it!”