The Lotus Appreciation Banquet was three days away.
Having received the invitation, Ling Jingyan immediately set about preparing for the occasion. There was no time to have new clothes made, but buying jewelry was certainly still possible.
Sun Shi was initially reluctant. “A’Yan, your jewelry box is already stuffed to the brim — there isn’t any more room. Why would you need to buy more jewelry?”
“But those have all been worn before. We’re going to attend a banquet at the Princess’s residence — surely we can’t show up wearing old jewelry!”
Ling Jingyan argued her case with great conviction. “Mother, think about it. On the day of the banquet, every young lady in attendance will be from a prestigious family. They’ll all be trying to outdo one another with their finery. When A’Shu and I go out representing the Ling Family, we simply cannot embarrass the Ling name in front of others!”
“There isn’t enough time to have new clothes made. Fortunately, some of the new garments we had made recently haven’t been worn yet, so a few more elegantly crafted pieces of jewelry should be all we need.”
When all was said and done, the jewelry simply had to be bought.
Unable to prevail against Ling Jingyan, Sun Shi waved her hand in feigned exasperation. “Oh, fine, fine — as always, you manage to have the last word. Tomorrow I’ll have the manager from Zhenbao Pavilion come to the house, and you and A’Shu can each pick out a few pieces.”
Ling Jingyan broke into a beaming smile at once, tugging at Sun Shi’s arm and acting spoiled. “Mother is always the best to me.”
Sun Shi could not help but scold her a little, yet the indulgent smile on her face was impossible to hide.
Ling Jingshu smiled and spoke up. “First Aunt, since Cousin Yan is selecting some jewelry, there is no need for me to do the same. Before we left for the capital, Grandmother specially gifted me two full sets of solid-gold headdress jewelry, and between that and what I have saved up on my own, I already have more than enough. There is no need to add anything new.”
“That simply won’t do!”
Before Sun Shi could even respond, Ling Jingyan rounded on her with wide eyes. “If we’re buying, we buy together. If you’re not buying anything, then I don’t want any either.”
At a moment like this, Ling Jingyan was showing a remarkably loyal and generous spirit.
Ling Jingshu smiled. “Cousin Yan, I’m not just being polite. I truly have enough jewelry — there’s no need to add more.”
In truth, she had no intention whatsoever of going all out with her appearance in order to dazzle the crowd.
Princess Changping had specifically organized this Lotus Appreciation Banquet and invited a great many young ladies from prominent families. If Ling Jingshu were to disregard all of that and steal the show in a blaze of glory, it would surely earn her Princess Changping’s resentment and jealousy.
So it was better to keep things simple and understated.
Ling Jingyan did not quite grasp Ling Jingshu’s reasoning and continued to insist. “Who ever heard of a person having too much jewelry? Tomorrow when the manager from Zhenbao Pavilion comes, each of us will pick out four pieces. It’s settled!”
Sun Shi: “…”
She had originally planned for each of them to pick just two pieces — how had it suddenly doubled?
Since Ling Jingyan and Ling Jingshu were adding jewelry, she naturally couldn’t leave out Jiang Shi. Adding it all up, there was no telling how much silver would be spent tomorrow. Sun Shi mentally ran a rough calculation and immediately felt a pang of pain at the expense.
But the words had already been spoken, and there was no graceful way to take them back.
Sun Shi steeled herself and said, “Very well, we’ll do as A’Yan says. Tomorrow everyone picks four pieces of jewelry. Yueniang, you as well.”
Jiang Shi was not particularly surprised. Sun Shi, as a mother-in-law, had a sharp tongue on occasion, but she was not truly harsh in nature, and treated her as a daughter-in-law reasonably well.
Jiang Shi smiled and gave her thanks. “Thank you, Mother-in-law.”
And so the matter was settled.
Ling Jingshu simply held her tongue and stopped objecting. After all, just because she bought the jewelry didn’t mean she had to wear it!
Living confined within the inner chambers of the estate, one saw the same few faces every day and dealt with nothing beyond the petty, mundane affairs of household life. Even the smallest thing was enough to stir excitement and delight.
For Ling Jingyan, having new clothes made and picking out jewelry were matters of the utmost importance.
The very next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Ling Jingyan came bounding over with bubbling enthusiasm. “A’Shu! A’Xiao! Are you both dressed and ready? Come on, let’s go together to pay our respects to Mother.”
Ling Jingshu smiled teasingly. “Cousin Yan, ever since I moved into Luoxia Courtyard, this is the first time I’ve ever seen you up this early.”
Ling Jingyan winked playfully. “On ordinary days there’s nothing going on — it’s just the morning greeting, so what does it matter if I’m a little late. Today is different. If I go early to pay my respects to Mother and keep her company at breakfast, she’ll be in such a good mood that she might just let me pick out a couple more pieces of jewelry.”
A perfect example of not getting out of bed unless there was something to gain!
Ling Jingshu couldn’t hold back her laughter.
“Cousin Yan, your thinking is really quite practical.” Ling Xiao was also tickled, and laughed as she teased, “Though you’d better not let First Aunt find out — otherwise, even if you came to have breakfast with her every single day, she still wouldn’t soften.”
Ling Jingyan waved her hand breezily. “Don’t worry. As long as neither of you says anything, I won’t say anything either — how would Mother ever guess what I’m up to? Come on, come on, let’s go right now.”
As she spoke, she couldn’t wait any longer and grabbed Ling Jingshu by the hand.
Ling Jingshu smiled warmly and let herself be pulled along.
When they arrived at the main hall, Sun Shi was already seated at the head of the room, and Jiang Shi had arrived a step ahead of them and was keeping her company in conversation.
Ling Jingyan walked up with a grin, curtsied, and said cheerfully, “Mother, your daughter is here to pay her respects.” Then, with an eagerly ingratiating smile, she added, “I woke up early today, so I came to have breakfast with you, Mother.”
Sun Shi cast Ling Jingyan a sidelong glance and smiled slowly. “The sun must have risen from the west today — how is it that you’re here so early?”
Ling Jingyan said warmly and brightly, “I woke up early, so I came early, that’s all.”
Sun Shi gave a faint, knowing smile. “Let me say this upfront — I said four pieces of jewelry, and four it will be. Don’t think that flattering and fawning over me will get you any extra.”
Ling Jingyan: “…”
The whole room burst into helpless laughter.
Fortunately, Ling Jingyan had thick skin. Having her scheme laid bare caused her barely any embarrassment, and she simply smiled as she took hold of Sun Shi’s arm and headed to the dining hall.
Ling Jingshu and Jiang Shi exchanged an amused glance and followed along.
Such free and easy behavior came naturally to Ling Jingyan, and Sun Shi was not the least bit bothered by it. Jiang Shi, as a daughter-in-law, and Ling Jingshu, as a niece-by-marriage, however, could not allow themselves to be quite so uninhibited.
After breakfast, the manager from Zhenbao Pavilion arrived.
Pearl hairpins, solid-gold bangles, jade earrings, agate hair combs — several jewelry cases were laid out in neat rows on the table, each one filled with exquisitely crafted ornaments that caught the light in a dazzling, ever-shifting shimmer, almost too much for the eye to take in at once.
Women were simply born without any resistance to pearls and jewels.
Ling Jingyan’s eyes lit up instantly, and she practically rushed over on the spot. She looked at this piece, tried on that one, utterly captivated and unable to put anything down.
By comparison, Jiang Shi was far more composed, walking over at an unhurried pace and bending her head to make her selections.
Ling Jingshu was the most coolly detached of all. Only after Ling Jingyan and Jiang Shi had finished choosing did she cast a brief glance over the remaining pieces and casually pick out a few.
Nothing too conspicuous, and nothing too expensive either.
Sun Shi watched it all in silence, and could not help but privately marvel. Compared to a young girl of the same age — namely, Ling Jingyan — Ling Jingshu was so much less trouble.