Chapter 647: Open Your Eyes [Thanks! Thanks again! 37k words owed]

On the Double Ninth Festival,

the sky was clear for ten thousand li.

In the morning,

in the west of the city,

at Madam Wu's polo field,

although the weather was cold in the morning and evening,

the chrysanthemums were in full bloom.

As in previous years, many chrysanthemums of different varieties had already been placed inside and outside the field.

Small paths were left between the chrysanthemums and various flowers and trees in the field, and many sons and daughters of high-ranking families in the capital were walking along the paths among the flowers with their relatives and friends.

The maids and mamas following behind mostly held silk ribbons.

Whenever the young masters and young ladies in front took a fancy to a certain flower or tree, they would tie these silk ribbons, which were written with the names of their mansions, onto them.

The tents of each family by the side of the field had long been raised to two stories. Standing on them and looking out, one could see many wealthy commoners in the capital enjoying the chrysanthemums around the field.

The autumn sun was somewhat dazzling.

Because enjoying chrysanthemums on the Double Ninth Festival in the west of the city had almost become a convention,

the large sun-shading umbrellas set up on the second-floor platform were brought by some families themselves, so the styles and colors were also different.

Moreover, there were often screens placed around the large umbrellas, and from time to time, the scent of tea or incense would dissipate into the air under the blowing of the autumn wind.

Inside and outside the field, and on the upper and lower floors, the ladies and young ladies were mostly talking and laughing, and the surroundings were lively and noisy.

On the second-floor platform,

inside an exquisite screen,

Princess Pingning, the wife of the Duke of Ying, Lady Chai, the wife of Marquis Ningyuan, and several other ladies were sitting side by side on folding chairs, talking and laughing.

At a glance, they were either titled ladies or official wives.

The noble young ladies with bangs were sitting together not far below the ladies.

The noble young ladies would whisper to each other and laugh softly from time to time.

The maids and mamas mostly stood by the screens, waiting for instructions.

A light breeze blew past.

"The mountains are bright and the water is clear, frost comes at night; several trees of deep red emerge from the light yellow. Trying to climb the high tower, the clarity enters the bones; how can it be like the spring scenery that drives people mad."

I don't know which noble young lady, looking at the azure autumn sky, couldn't help but recite an autumn poem.

Miss Yun Mu, who was standing by the Chai family's exquisite screen, heard the sound and poked her head out, looking outside with some curiosity.

After looking at the noble young lady reciting the poem for a few moments, Miss Yun Mu withdrew her gaze, her eyes full of thoughtful expression.

Subsequently,

Miss Yun Mu walked to the side of Chai Zhengzheng, who was sitting under an umbrella talking, and said softly, "Young lady, I seem to have seen the Sheng family's young lady, but I'm not quite sure."

"Mm?" Chai Zhengzheng looked at Miss Yun Mu in confusion.

Miss Yun Mu said in a low voice, "I didn't see Young Lady Minglan and the Xiaotao beside her, so I'm not quite sure."

Gu Tingyi on the other side heard this and raised her chin toward the maid beside her.

The Gu family maid understood, walked to the screen, looked outside, walked back, and said, "Young lady, it's the Sheng family's fourth young lady!"

Zhang family's Fifth Young Lady, with an uncertain look in her eyes, said, "Sheng family's fourth young lady? Is her name... Rulan?"

Chai Zhengzheng smiled and said nothing.

Gu Tingyi shook her head and said, "Fifth Young Lady, her name is Seeing Mo Lan; Rulan is the fifth young lady."

"Right, right, right, that girl Minglan is the sixth young lady," the Fifth Young Lady said hurriedly.

Gu Tingyi nodded, said to the maid, "Ask if the fourth young lady has any leisure time; if so, invite her over to talk for a while."

The Gu family maid acknowledged and left.

Soon,

Seeing Mo Lan appeared by the screen with Luzhong and Yunzai.

Seeing Mo Lan, regardless of her posture or appearance, was already outstanding, otherwise, she wouldn't have been taken a fancy to by Liang Han at a glance.

Her appearance by the screen naturally attracted the ladies and official wives sitting in the upper seats to look over.

Feeling the curious gazes of the ladies and official wives, Seeing Mo Lan hurriedly bowed in a salute with her maids in a well-regulated manner.

Although the Duchess of England and Madam Chai had a look of confusion at not recognizing her, they both nodded with a smile and continued their conversation.

Princess Pingning sized up Seeing Mo Lan, frowned slightly in slight discomfort, but didn't say much.

Seeing this, Seeing Mo Lan breathed a sigh of relief and bowed to the noble young ladies sitting there.

The maids beside the noble young ladies hurriedly returned the salute.

"Sister Seeing Mo Lan, sit quickly!"

Gu Tingyi smiled and made space, letting Miss Yun Mu place an embroidered stool there.

"Thank you, Sister Tingyi," Seeing Mo Lan said with a smile.

Chai Zhengzheng looked at Seeing Mo Lan with a slightly scrutinizing meaning.

When making eye contact with Seeing Mo Lan, Chai Zhengzheng smiled and said, "I heard from Sister Tingyi that Young Lady Seeing Mo Lan is currently studying in a school?"

Seeing Mo Lan nodded reservedly: "Yes."

Zhang family's Fifth Young Lady asked in confusion, "Then what time does your school start studying?"

Seeing Mo Lan glanced at Gu Tingyi, who was smiling, and said, "The several older brothers have to sit in the hall at 5:30 AM; my sisters and I can be a bit later, just go when the sky is bright."

The Second Young Lady of the Huang family of Shoushan Earl, Meng Jie'er, was Gu Tingyi's future sister-in-law and was sitting beside Gu Tingyi at this time.

Listening to Seeing Mo Lan's words, Meng Jie'er widened her eyes and said, "Wow! That's really early! When my brother was studying, he had to get up early in the morning to exercise; I imagine those several brothers also have to get up early, right?"

Gu Tingyi nodded: "Right, my second brother has to get up at 4:30 AM!"

Chai Zhengzheng said thoughtfully, "I heard from Princess Consort that my little cousin also has to get up early for morning exercises, but not as early as Second Brother Gu."

Zhang family's Fifth Young Lady sighed: "Xu Wu Ge Xu looks even more formidable than Second Brother Zheng; I don't know how he practices."

Seeing Mo Lan took a deep breath, looked at the noble young ladies sitting around, turned her head, and said, "Yunzai, you are familiar with the maids of the Xu family brothers in the school; have they ever mentioned it?"

Yunzai lowered her brows and eyes, bowed in a salute, and said, "Returning to Young Lady, this servant has inadvertently heard a few sentences of chatting; it seems Young Master Xu has to practice martial arts and exercise before 5:00 AM."

When the Fifth Young Lady heard this, her face was full of admiration as she said, "Heavens, having to get up so early; if it were me, I definitely wouldn't be able to get up!"

The several young ladies sitting there laughed lightly one after another.

"By the way, did that girl Minglan come today?" Zhang family's Fifth Young Lady asked.

Gu Tingyi also laughed and looked at Seeing Mo Lan curiously.

Seeing Mo Lan tried hard to squeeze out a smile, nodded politely, and said, "Sixth Sister came; at this time, she should be strolling in the small paths among the flowers in the field with Eldest Sister and Fifth Sister."

"Speaking of which, I haven't seen her for some days; I don't know if her pitch-pot has made any progress." The Fifth Young Lady said with great interest.

Before Seeing Mo Lan could speak, Gu Tingyi scanned everyone and smiled: "Speaking of Sister Minglan, I just remembered! My eldest sister-in-law returned to the Xu family on the Autumn Festival and saw many items with extremely good embroidery skills at the Xu Hou's mansion."

"After asking Xu Hou's wife, I found out that they were brought back to the Sheng family by the Xu family's second eldest daughter-in-law."

"Among them, the most exquisite embroidery skills were done by Minglan's mother."

Chai Zhengzheng looked surprised: "There aren't many things that can make you praise them like this, Sister Tingyi."

Gu Tingyi waved her hand with a smile: "Zhengzheng, you will know that what I said is not false after you have seen them."

After Gu Tingyi finished speaking, Zhang family's Fifth Young Lady stood up directly, walked to the railing, looked at the small paths among the flowers in the field, and said, "I'll take a look at where that girl Minglan has gone."

The other noble young ladies who had been sitting for some time also stood up one after another and walked toward the railing.

Last year's chrysanthemum appreciation meeting,

there was only one tent on the first floor selling boutique jewelry.

Looking down from a high position this year,

there were already quite a few selling other things on the first floor.

Raising the round fan in her hand to shade the sunlight, the Fifth Young Lady narrowed her eyes and scanned the small paths in the field.

There were quite a few people strolling in the small paths at this time, and there were also those stooping to appreciate the flowers, so for a moment, it was a bit difficult to distinguish.

Suddenly,

"Neigh!"

A horse's neighing sound could be vaguely heard in the distance.

Everyone on the second floor looked toward the source of the sound one after another.

"Whose horse was startled?" Seeing Mo Lan said with some hesitation.

"Sister Seeing Mo Lan, looking at the direction, it's not that a horse was startled. It should be the Qiji Gathering held by Madam Wu over there, someone is training horses." Gu Tingyi said with a smile.

Seeing Seeing Mo Lan's confused look, Gu Tingyi continued: "Last year, my brother and a group of people went to Maotuo Ridge to pick horses, and they were covered in dust when they came back!"

"Madam Wu held a Qiji Gathering over there this year, selected some good horses from the Northwest and Mongolia. Young noblemen who want to select good horses can just go there!"

"Oh, oh!" Seeing Mo Lan nodded repeatedly: "No wonder Second Brother and Third Brother didn't go to appreciate flowers, but went there instead!"

"Mm? Sheng family's Brother Changbai actually came out?" Gu Tingyi said in surprise.

Looking at the confused expressions of her good friends to the side, Gu Tingyi explained: "This one is a classmate of my second brother and Xu Wu Ge Xu; he usually studies hard at home and rarely goes out!"

"Oh!" Zhang family's Fifth Young Lady nodded and continued to look into the distance, saying, "I don't know if he tamed a good horse."

Withdrawing her gaze, the Fifth Young Lady scanned the flower paths in the field and the second-floor platform and said, "By the way, we've been here for so long, why haven't we seen Rong family's Feiyan young lady?"

Hearing this, Seeing Mo Lan also pricked up her ears to listen.

Gu Tingyi shook her head.

Chai Zhengzheng said softly, "Perhaps she went to Huayang Mountain... Today, the Emperor and the ladies in the palace should all be climbing high at Huayang Mountain."

"Zhengzheng is right." The Fifth Young Lady nodded.

Just as everyone wanted to turn around and sit back, Chai Zhengzheng's movements stalled. She looked downstairs, then smiled and waved downward.

Soon,

Hualan brought Minglan, Rulan, and Pinlan up to the second floor, stepping on the stairs behind the tent.

After Hualan reached the second floor, a smile immediately appeared on her face, and she nodded with a smile toward the noble young ladies of each family.

And Rulan, who was following behind, was stunned for a moment after seeing Seeing Mo Lan,

then her eyes became anxious, and just as she was about to speak, she felt her sleeve being tugged.

Rulan turned her head and saw Minglan shaking her head slightly at her.

This turn of events,

Chai Zhengzheng and the others naturally kept in their eyes.

Subsequently, although Rulan tried hard to adjust and cover up, she could still make people see the anger in her eyes.

Hualan brought people into the screen,

Chai Zhengzheng and the others bowed in a salute one after another, some calling her Second Eldest Daughter-in-law, some calling her Sister Hualan.

After Hualan returned the salute with her younger sisters with a smile, she walked toward Madam Chai and the others.

After another round of greetings, Madam Bai looked at the several Lan sisters and smiled: "Hualan, I know your three younger sisters, but who is this young lady?"

Hualan smiled: "Returning to Auntie, she is my younger cousin Pinlan from my maiden family. Taking advantage of today's opportunity, I brought her to Madam Wu's place to open her eyes."

Pinlan, who was named, could only smile and bow in a salute again.

Madam Chai smiled and said: "This young lady's eyes are lively, and her movements are free and easy; she looks like a good one."

The several ladies and official wives sitting there nodded one after another.

"Sister, why don't you thank Madam Chai for the praise?"

Pinlan hurriedly said: "Thank you, Madam, for the praise; Madam is too flattering."

The several ladies smiled.

Madam Bai said: "Hualan, come over and sit with us to chat, and let your four younger sisters go play by themselves."

"Yes, Auntie," Hualan said with a smile.

"Mother, then we'll go downstairs to stroll," Gu Tingyi said with a smile.

Madam Bai waved her hand with a smile.

Watching Gu Tingyi and the others disappear outside the screen, Madam Bai looked at Hualan and said: "Why didn't I see your mother, Wang Da Niangzi, today? Did she come?"

Hualan smiled appropriately and replied: "Auntie, she came! Since entering the field, she has been talking with relatives from my maternal grandfather's family."

"It's relatives from the Feng family, right?" Madam Chai smiled.

Hualan nodded: "Yes!"

Madam Bai smiled: "Is there a young lady of suitable age in the Feng family? Looking for your younger brother?"

Hualan nodded with some embarrassment: "Yes! Today is just to take a look! My younger brother only knows how to study hard; relatives might not necessarily look favorably upon him."

Looking at the polite Hualan, the Marchioness of Yuan, Madam of Shoushan Earl, who had been silent, smiled: "Hualan, you are being modest; passing the provincial examination before the age of twenty is not common even in the capital."

Seeing each other all the time in Bianjing, Hualan wouldn't be embarrassed in front of the Marchioness of Shoushan Earl, so she smiled and said: "Madam is right..."

Subsequently, Hualan glanced slightly at Princess Pingning and smiled: "But there are too many outstanding young masters; the young masters studying in my maiden family's school have all passed the provincial examination. My younger brother feels quite a lot of pressure in his heart."

Hearing this,

the Duchess of England and the others turned their gazes toward Princess Pingning along with Hualan's gaze.

According to their age, Qi Heng was only a little younger than Changfeng.

That is to say, among those studying in the Sheng family school, Qi Heng was the second youngest.

A smile appeared in Princess Pingning's eyes: "Hualan, you are even praising your own younger brother along the way!"

Hualan smiled,

Princess Pingning continued: "Speaking of which, Yuanruo being able to have such results is largely thanks to the Sheng family having such an atmosphere of learning, and even more so to Scholar Zhuang's excellent teaching!"

While everyone upstairs was talking,

Chai Zhengzheng and the others had already gone downstairs, walking along the tents of each family on the first floor.

Looking at Minglan, who was sandwiched between Gu Tingyi and Zhang family's Fifth Young Lady, and Pinlan, who was talking and laughing with great interest on the side, Seeing Mo Lan rolled her eyes with some jealousy.

Rulan, who was looking at Seeing Mo Lan angrily from the side, leaned over and said in a low voice: "Fourth Sister, what do you mean by rolling your eyes at the younger sisters?"

Seeing Mo Lan glanced sideways at Rulan and said nothing, walking on her own.

Rulan continued: "Just now when we entered the polo field, you and Eldest Sister said you were going to change clothes, but you..."

"What about me?" Seeing Mo Lan tilted her head and blocked her mouth with a round fan, refuting in a low voice: "After I finished changing clothes, you had all walked far away; how could I catch up alone?"

"You!" Rulan stared and was speechless, then said in a low voice: "Eldest Sister and the others all slowed down and walked slowly!"

"Fourth Sister, if you had just chased, you would definitely have been able to find us! Who knew you didn't even think about catching up with us, but just thought about climbing high branches and showing your face in front of the ladies of high-ranking families!"

Seeing Mo Lan took a deep breath and said in a low voice: "I didn't know you were walking slowly."

"Besides, do you think everyone is like you, getting nervous when seeing people? You must know that the ladies in the upper seats just now were nodding in approval when they saw me!"

"I am also winning face for the Sheng family!"

Just as Rulan was about to continue speaking, she saw Minglan in front turn her head to look, and even the noble young ladies like Tingyi and Zhang family's Fifth Young Lady turned their heads.

Seeing Mo Lan immediately changed her face, smiled, and looked forward.

Rulan was stunned and also tried hard to smile. After the people in front turned their heads and continued walking forward, Rulan gasped for breath and glared fiercely at Seeing Mo Lan again.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 648 =====