Early the next morning, Lian Qiao woke Jiang Ruan bright and early. Since Jiang Ruan had instructed Bai Zhi to attend to Nanny Zhou, Lu Zhu and Lian Qiao would accompany her on today’s outing. After Lu Zhu served Jiang Ruan her breakfast, Lian Qiao was already eager to help her change clothes.

Lu Zhu laughed, “Sister Lian Qiao is so anxious, anyone who didn’t know would think Sister Lian Qiao was the one visiting today.”

“You little hoof, talking nonsense! Watch me not tear your mouth apart,” Lian Qiao said. “How many days has it been since our young miss properly dressed up? I’ve said before that our young miss has the makings of a beauty. Just thinking about how everyone’s eyes will pop out when our young miss goes out later makes me incredibly happy.”

Jiang Ruan smiled, “The beauty in the Jiang manor isn’t me.”

“Miss, are you talking about Second Miss?” Lian Qiao was straightforward and spoke without reserve. “Second Miss does have good looks, but she’s too plain. She looks fine now while she’s young, but if she gets older and continues to be so bland, she’ll seem rather tasteless. How could she compare to our miss’s captivating beauty?”

Jiang Ruan laughed helplessly, “Don’t you know that what’s popular in the capital now is precisely this kind of refined and ethereal beauty? Someone like me would be considered vulgar and common.”

Lu Zhu, who had been tidying things on the table, couldn’t help but speak up upon hearing this: “Miss, you’re quite wrong there. Literary scholars all claim they love lotus flowers that emerge from mud yet remain unstained, but people in this world often spend thousands of gold to buy a pot of Luoyang peonies. Who has ever seen anyone spend thousands of gold for a pot of pond lotus?”

Lian Qiao nodded as well, “Exactly.”

Jiang Ruan shook her head and said no more. Lu Zhu cleaned her hands and had Jiang Ruan sit before the vanity table. “What hairstyle would miss like?”

“Whatever you prefer,” Jiang Ruan said. “Just don’t let it be inappropriate.”

After fussing around for the duration of a stick of incense, they were done. The carriages outside the Jiang manor gates had long been prepared – two carriages total. Jiang Susu, Jiang Ruan, and Xia Yan would take one; Jiang Dan and Jiang Li would take the other. Both carriages had to depart together for the Shen manor. Minister Shen and Jiang Quan had places where they needed to support each other in officialdom, so their relationship had always been good.

When Lian Qiao and Lu Zhu followed Jiang Ruan out the door, they could see from afar that Jiang Li and Jiang Dan had already arrived first, standing beside Xia Yan talking with Jiang Susu. Jiang Li was the first to notice Jiang Ruan and smiled, “Big sister has such important status, making mother and sisters wait for quite a while.”

“It’s Jiang Ruan’s fault,” Jiang Ruan smiled. “After all, this is my first time entering the Shen manor since returning. I asked the nannies in the courtyard about some matters to avoid losing propriety when the time comes, lest others say our Jiang manor people don’t understand proper etiquette.”

Xia Yan smiled amiably, “Why say such things? Ruanruan is dressed so beautifully today that people can hardly recognize her – so very pretty.”

Both Jiang Li and Jiang Susu’s eyes simultaneously flashed with a hint of something strange. Gold-threaded hundred butterflies through flowers bright red foreign satin narrow Mandarin jacket with silver trim, jade-scattered flower foreign satin skirt, gold-pinched cloud-carved red fragrant sheepskin small boots – they had originally thought such an outfit would surely overwhelm Jiang Ruan, only making the clothes overshadow the person. Who knew that Jiang Ruan would harmonize extraordinarily well with these garments, as if this outfit had been naturally prepared for her. There wasn’t the slightest bit of constraint; instead, she transformed that intensely passionate bright red into a kind of noble bearing and tranquility, which then flowed into subtle charm, making people unable to help but stare in wonder. Everyone present felt that beauty was aggressively compelling – the eldest miss who had once been bullied by anyone was now completely unfamiliar.

Jiang Ruan smiled, “All the younger sisters are also very beautiful. Mother saying this will surely embarrass me.”

With such warm and affectionate conversation, everyone boarded their respective carriages. After getting in the carriage, Jiang Susu leaned against Xia Yan’s embrace, keeping watch on Jiang Ruan from the corner of her eye. She had originally thought that with three people crowded in the same carriage, Jiang Ruan would definitely feel uncomfortable. Who knew that as soon as Jiang Ruan got in the carriage, she picked up a travel journal to read, her gaze calm and composed, making Jiang Susu, who had wanted to speak, unable to find her words.

The journey passed peacefully. After traveling for some unknown duration, the carriage stopped in front of the Shen manor. After everyone got out of the carriages, a servant who guided guests at the entrance of the Shen manor came out to receive them. Xia Yan handed over the invitation card, and soon a plump old nanny emerged from inside, smiling, “Madam Jiang has arrived! Our madam has been waiting for you!”

Xia Yan smiled in response. After walking for a while, they were led into the main hall where Madam Shen was indeed already waiting with tea prepared. Upon seeing Xia Yan, her face showed extreme warmth as she said, “Sister, you don’t come sit often these days. If it weren’t for my birthday, I’d probably be eagerly waiting with longing eyes for you to come!”

Xia Yan also smiled, “These past days with Ruanruan just returning, I’ve been busy managing things up and down. Don’t blame me.”

Madam Shen then turned her head, her pair of shrewd eyes fixing on Jiang Ruan, a flash of amazement crossing them: “This must be the eldest Miss Jiang! She truly is a beauty in the making.”

Jiang Ruan stepped forward to pay her respects. Even hearing Madam Shen’s somewhat presumptuous words, she remained unperturbed and spoke with gracious composure: “Madam Shen is too kind with her praise.”

Madam Shen’s gaze was like someone appraising an object. Lian Qiao and Lu Zhu, who were following beside her, felt displeased and imperceptibly shifted their bodies to block Madam Shen’s probing gaze.

A flash of resentment crossed Jiang Li’s eyes. Unwilling to be ignored, she stepped forward and gave Madam Shen a sweet smile: “Greetings, Madam.”

However, Madam Shen’s attitude toward Jiang Li was quite cold – she merely acknowledged her before looking toward Jiang Susu with a smile: “Su’er has become even more lovely these days, looking just like a little celestial fairy, making even me jealous to the point of red eyes.”

“Mother, what are you saying about being jealous?” Before the words had finished, a delicate voice could be heard from outside, and a young girl in pink shirt emerged from within. Upon seeing Jiang Susu, she excitedly rushed over: “Sister Su’er!”

Jiang Susu smiled and took her hand: “Sister Mingzhen.”

Shen Mingzhen was the precious pearl in Minister Shen’s palm. Minister Shen’s household had three sons, but only one daughter. In Jiang Ruan’s previous life, her impression of Shen Mingzhen was only that she was Jiang Susu’s close friend, but she never understood why Mingzhen always harbored hostility toward her. Every time she had conflicts with Shen Mingzhen, it was always Jiang Susu who resolved them. When people had called her a useless beauty who only knew vulgar musical and dance skills that only lowly entertainers would know, Shen Mingzhen had contributed greatly to spreading such words.

In her previous life, Jiang Ruan didn’t understand – she had never provoked Shen Mingzhen, so why did Mingzhen insist on opposing her? Now thinking about it, everything became completely clear. On the road of her previous life filled with enemies everywhere, separated by the distance between life and death, seeing this old acquaintance again as time swiftly flowed back to when nothing had yet happened, she wondered what Shen Mingzhen’s fate would be in this lifetime.

As if sensing her gaze, Shen Mingzhen turned her head. Upon seeing Jiang Ruan’s appearance, she was first startled, then immediately became inexplicably angry: “Who is she?”

Before the surrounding people could speak, they saw Jiang Ruan smile slightly, a trace of ambiguous emotion flowing from the corners of her eyes, as she said in a light voice: “The Jiang family’s Ruanruan.”