Not long after breakfast, the Zhao family arrived.
The carriage stopped at the foot of Qingji Mountain, and Zhao Yao stepped down with her father and mother. She had specially dressed up today, wearing a light pink jacket that made her look particularly charming. A white jade hairpin was inserted in her hair—her mother said this would make her appear not so young. She was quite satisfied when examining herself in the mirror, only hoping to catch second brother’s attention for a few more glances.
The three members of the Zhao family caught glimpses of Fenghe Garden’s eaves from the foot of the mountain and couldn’t help but sigh in admiration that this place was truly an excellent retreat from the bustle. At the same time, they marveled at the Qi family’s wealth—to be able to claim an entire small mountain and build a residence in Jiankang where every inch of land was worth its weight in gold, and moreover to build a villa, was truly astonishing.
Seeing his daughter’s somewhat inappropriate excitement and noticing unusual gleam in his wife’s eyes, Zhao Run couldn’t help but sigh.
Recently, during nighttime conversations with Zhao Qishi, he had actually heard that she intended for Yao’er to marry Jingchen, which truly shocked him.
Setting aside the fact that Yao’er was still young, and not to mention whether Jingchen had such feelings for Yao’er, their family statuses alone were completely mismatched.
What kind of family was the Qi household? What was Jingchen’s status? The legitimate son of Jiangzuo’s foremost aristocratic family—he would either be recruited as an imperial son-in-law or marry a daughter of the Fu or Han families. Although the Zhao family was also a prestigious house, it had already declined. Even Zhao Run’s transfer back to Jiankang this time depended on Qi Zhang’s support. Though Zhao Yao could be considered a noble lady, to match with Jingchen, her family status was indeed too low.
Zhao Run intended to advise his wife, but Zhao Qishi had always been strong-willed since her youth. She was originally a Qi family daughter, and her marriage to him could be considered marrying down. She had always been proud and wouldn’t listen to his advice. Now she seemed even more determined to have Yao’er climb up to Qi Ying’s level, thus achieving a complete turnaround. Seeing that both mother and daughter had made up their minds, Zhao Run felt quite helpless but was powerless to stop them, so he could only observe from the sidelines for now.
At the foot of the mountain, Qing Zhu had already been waiting with servants for a long time. When the three distinguished guests alighted from their carriage, he led them up the mountain.
The stone steps in the mountain wound through secluded paths. After the group climbed one hundred and eight stone steps, they saw Qi Ying personally waiting with Qi Ning and Qi Le at the gate of Fenghe Garden.
Qi Ying hadn’t seen his uncle-in-law for many years, so naturally they needed to greet each other properly. Just as Qi Ying was about to bow, Zhao Run stopped him, repeatedly saying it wasn’t necessary. Qi Ying insisted, but Zhao Run laughed and said, “Jingchen needn’t be so polite. If we really calculate it, though I am your elder in the family, you are my superior in the court. Balancing the two, this bow can be dispensed with.”
After Zhao Run was transferred back to Jiankang from Linchuan, he served as Grand Master of the Palace, a position of the fourth rank lower grade. Qi Ying’s position as Deputy Commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs was of the fourth rank upper grade, so he was indeed Zhao Run’s superior.
This was Zhao Run’s joke. Qi Ying smiled and shook his head, saying “propriety cannot be abandoned,” and still performed the junior’s bow to Zhao Run. Qi Ning and Qi Le did likewise.
Standing behind her parents, Zhao Yao watched second brother bow so respectfully to her father, feeling an indescribable joy in her heart. She felt these two were like the most harmonious father-in-law and son-in-law in the world, making her so happy that her cheeks flushed red. She didn’t even notice Qi Le secretly greeting her.
The group entered through Fenghe Garden’s main gate and first went to the main hall for tea. The servants in the hall had already prepared fragrant tea and soft pastries, waiting for the distinguished guests to sit and partake.
This was also Zhao Run’s first time returning to Fenghe Garden. Although he hadn’t yet toured the garden carefully, what he had seen along the way had already amazed him. The Qi family was an aristocratic house, and their main residence was naturally luxurious, but it was too formal and far less elegant and ingenious than this Fenghe Garden. He could tell that the flowers and trees in this garden were very particular—not only were the varieties precious, but their arrangement also conformed to feng shui principles, revealing subtle mysteries everywhere.
Zhao Qishi had also taken in the garden’s magnificent scenery along the way, but her thoughts differed from Zhao Run’s. She thought that although the outside world widely spread rumors that her brother intended to pass the position of Qi family head to Qi Yun, in her view this wasn’t the case at all. Take this private residence, for instance—if the family valued Qi Yun more, why wouldn’t they allow him to build a residence for himself? Qi Yun was already married and even had a daughter. Wouldn’t it be more reasonable for him to build a residence than Qi Ying? This showed that her brother still favored Jingchen more in his heart.
After Zhao Run finished discussing garden matters with Qi Ying, they talked about his recent experiences returning to Jiankang, then chatted about court affairs, which the several children present found quite boring. Seeing the three young ones were extremely bored, Qi Ying allowed Qi Ning to take his younger brother and sister to tour the garden together. The two young masters were naturally delighted to hear this, though Zhao Yao wasn’t particularly happy—after all, she would be content even sitting idly in the hall. Although it was somewhat boring not understanding what her father and second brother were discussing, being able to see second brother was always good.
However, since second brother had already spoken, and third brother and fourth brother looked so eager, she couldn’t decline further. So the three performed their bows to the elders and second brother, then withdrew from the main hall together.
Fenghe Garden was extremely large. Worried they might get lost, Qi Ying had Qing Zhu assign several servants to follow them. However, what kind of people were Qi Ning and Qi Le? Where would they need anyone to guide them? This wasn’t their first visit. Though they couldn’t be called very familiar with this place, they weren’t strangers either. In no time they were strolling through the garden, introducing the garden’s furnishings and scenery to Zhao Yao as they walked.
As the three walked, Zhao Yao noticed an arched stone gate in the garden with the two large characters “Wang Garden” written on it. Passing through the stone gate revealed a unique little world—a small pond with a pavilion beside it, lotus planted in the water, and green bamboo planted all around. She found that place beautiful and interesting, and stepped forward wanting to walk toward the stone gate, but was pulled back by Qi Le.
Zhao Yao turned to look at Qi Le and asked, “Why is fourth brother pulling me?”
Qi Le answered, “That place can’t be entered. Second brother doesn’t allow people to go there.”
Zhao Yao was puzzled. Qi Ning laughed and added from the side, “He’s not deceiving you. When he first came, he also wanted to drill into that little garden and was caught by Bai Song, who dragged him out by the back of his collar.”
Seeing that third brother had even revealed this matter, Qi Le felt he had lost face in front of sister Yao’er and was quite annoyed. He heard sister Yao’er ask, “Such a thing happened? I see that garden has nothing particularly special about it. Why doesn’t second brother allow people to enter?”
Qi Ning shrugged and said, “Who knows?”
Zhao Yao remained puzzled and looked toward Wang Garden again. It wasn’t any rare scenery, and she wasn’t particularly eager to go there. But once she heard that second brother didn’t allow others to enter this place, she became especially eager to enter. She secretly thought that someday she would definitely get second brother to allow her in—others couldn’t enter, but she could.
However, though she harbored such grand ambitions, she knew she didn’t yet have such favor with second brother, so she suppressed the small resentment in her heart and walked past Wang Garden with the two brothers into the plum grove.
The plum grove was filled with white plums, their fragrance assailing the nostrils like a fairyland on earth. This was Zhao Yao’s first time seeing such an exquisite garden, incomparably superior to the Zhao residence. Her heart was filled with admiration, and she walked happily around the plum grove, lively and playful like a butterfly. Today she wore a light pink jacket, which made her appear especially beautiful among the flowers. Qi Le chased after her, feeling that this sister who had grown up with him since childhood had blossomed into a graceful young lady, completely unlike the little girl who used to catch fish and climb trees with him. His heart was beating rapidly.
At this moment, Qi Le saw sister Yao’er suddenly stop in her tracks, staring blankly in another direction. Qi Le pushed her and asked what was wrong, but she didn’t answer. Looking sideways at third brother, he saw third brother was also staring straight in the same direction as sister Yao’er. Finding this strange, he also raised his eyes to look.
He saw a young girl standing under the white plum trees on the other side, about the same age as Zhao Yao. She had a red mole between her eyebrows, was slender and spirited, and was so beautiful she didn’t seem real, standing among the flowers like a flower spirit.
That was Shen Xiling.
Seeing her from afar, Zhao Yao’s heart suddenly tightened. She had been spoiled by her parents since childhood and, being born snow-white and adorable, had always received praise. Her mother had told her that given time when she grew up, she would become a beauty famous throughout all of Jiankang City. But upon seeing Shen Xiling, Zhao Yao suddenly felt she was inferior. She had never felt this way before, but now this uncomfortable feeling was lodged in her heart.
Who was she? Why would she appear in second brother’s villa?
Seeing Shen Xiling, Qi Ning also had complex thoughts. He saw this young girl was dressed simply but not in the attire of a maidservant in Fenghe Garden. Connecting this with the Miss Fang that Qing Zhu had mentioned during breakfast, he formed a guess. He was both excited and couldn’t quite believe it—this young girl was indeed quite pretty, but her age seemed rather too young. He hadn’t expected that second brother, who usually acted like a proper gentleman, would privately…
Qi Ning clicked his tongue in wonder, and when he looked at Shen Xiling again, his face reddened somewhat. He thought to himself that this younger sister… was rather too beautiful and alluring…
At this moment he saw Zhao Yao walking toward that young girl with an unpleasant expression, and couldn’t help but find it amusing. Unlike Qi Le, he already understood human nature and could see Zhao Yao and his aunt’s intentions—they wanted to climb up to second brother. But his foolish younger brother couldn’t see people’s intentions at all and still eagerly approached them. He really didn’t know what to say about it.
Zhao Yao walked up to Shen Xiling, looked her up and down, and asked with her chin slightly raised, “Who are you? How did you come to be here?”
Seeing several people suddenly appear before her, Shen Xiling was also somewhat startled.
She had only been strolling leisurely in the garden and unexpectedly encountered strangers. She didn’t know who these people were, but seeing that these young masters and miss were dressed in brocade, she assumed they were of extraordinary birth and perhaps honored guests of Second Young Master Qi.
Shen Xiling was naturally sensitive and had already detected that the young lady in the light pink jacket before her held some hostility toward her. She didn’t know the reason for this and didn’t want to offend her, only wanting to avoid her.
She didn’t answer, only stood and nodded to Zhao Yao before planning to leave. Seeing she was about to leave, Zhao Yao naturally wouldn’t allow it and made to grab Shen Xiling’s wrist. Just then, she heard Qi Ning laugh and ask, “Miss, are you Miss Fang?”
Upon hearing these words, the others all froze. Qi Le was surprised that the young girl before them was the one who had made egg custard for second brother. Zhao Yao was shocked that second brother had such a person by his side, and even Qi Ning knew about her, showing this had been going on for some time. Shen Xiling was especially confused, not knowing who this unfamiliar young master was and how he would know the false name Qi Ying had given her.
She felt somewhat guarded and secretly assessed the group. Though Qi Ning and Qi Le didn’t look very much like Qi Ying, their eyebrows and eyes had some vague resemblance. She guessed these two were young masters of the Qi family. Since Qi Ning had mentioned her name, she couldn’t avoid them further. She bowed to the three and said, “This humble woman is Fang Jun. I greet the miss and two young masters.”
Zhao Yao hadn’t intended to give Shen Xiling a pleasant face, but hearing Qi Ning address her as “miss” and seeing Shen Xiling’s elegant manner and good upbringing, she couldn’t help but guess she was from a prestigious family. However, after thinking it over, she couldn’t recall which high-ranking family in Jiankang was surnamed Fang, so she guessed she was new to Jiankang. Since she couldn’t determine the person’s identity, she couldn’t treat her too harshly. So she restrained her earlier temper somewhat, softened her expression, and said, “Miss Fang is too polite. I am Zhao Yao, second brother’s cousin.”
Qi Ning and Qi Le also greeted Shen Xiling. Qi Le asked with a smile, “How does Miss Fang come to be here? How are you acquainted with my second brother?”
Being still young, Qi Le didn’t know how to speak tactfully and bluntly asked this question, leaving Shen Xiling unable to respond. However, Zhao Yao thought Qi Le’s question was excellent—she desperately wanted to hear who this person was to be staying in second brother’s private residence.
Not knowing how to answer without causing trouble for Qi Ying, Shen Xiling’s expression showed some hesitation. Qi Ning saw her difficulty, rolled his eyes, and smiled, “We’re getting thirsty from touring the garden and plan to go back for some water. Would Miss Fang like to come along?”
Shen Xiling always kept in mind Qi Ying’s instruction from the previous night: “speak little and move little—the more you say, the more mistakes you make.” Naturally, she didn’t want to get entangled with these people and shook her head in polite refusal. However, Zhao Yao wouldn’t allow it and had already grasped Shen Xiling’s hand, saying, “What’s there to decline? I also just recently returned to Jiankang with my parents and have no friends around me. Since I happened to meet you, we can have a conversation.”
Before Shen Xiling could figure out how to respond, Qi Ning smilingly made the decision for her, saying, “Then let’s go find second brother.”
Author’s Note: I want to pat Qi Ning’s shoulder and tell him: That’s your future sister-in-law. If you’re blushing now, that’s very dangerous. Young man, be careful not to narrow your path, okay?