Chapter 740: Very Kind [Thank You! Again! 38k Words Owed]

At the main gate.

Looking at the carriage where Elder Madam Sheng sat,

Xu Zaijing and Zhaizhang bowed deeply: “Auntie Ancestor.”

Qi Heng, Gu Tingye, and the others also bowed and greeted her.

Lu Zezong glanced at Qi Heng, then at Xu Zaijing, and followed suit: “Auntie Ancestor.”

The elder madam’s smile grew even warmer as she said softly, “You must be Zongge from the Lian State Duke’s mansion?”

“Yes, Auntie Ancestor,” Zhaizhang smiled.

“Good! Truly a distinguished young man.”

“Thank you for your praise, Auntie Ancestor,” Lu Zezong replied with a bow and a smile.

After smiling and nodding, the elder madam turned to Xu Zaijing: “Jingge, did your maternal grandfather and grandmother come today?”

“They did, Auntie Ancestor,” Xu Zaijing smiled.

“Good! Let’s go,” the elder madam nodded with a smile.

The elder madam’s carriage passed through, and the Sheng family’s carriages followed behind.

“Greetings, Auntie Wang / Mother-in-law / Lady.”

Xu Zaijing and the others bowed and bowed again, addressing Wang Ruofu with different titles.

Liu Mama, Caihuan, and others standing beside the carriage curtsied in return.

Rulan, beside them, followed Wang Ruofu’s instructions and nodded slightly to Xu Zaijing and the others without showing her teeth.

Wang Ruofu cast a pitying glance at Zhaizhang.

After lowering the carriage curtain, Wang Ruofu sighed: “Today, nearly every noble household in the capital has sent someone. Just look how hard your eldest brother-in-law is working! I wonder what your sister looks like at the second gate.”

“Actually, Cousin Jing is working hard too! I wonder if he’s worn out,” Rulan said.

“What nonsense! Can this little thing tire out Jingge?” Wang Ruofu frowned. “Why are you so concerned about him?”

Rulan shook her head, looking troubled: “Mother, you’ve never gotten up early to attend lessons—you don’t understand.”

Wang Ruofu’s carriage moved inward,

while behind,

Chang Bai and Chang Feng had not mounted their horses to follow—they remained halted at the main gate.

Xu Zaijing looked at Chang Zhi, seated before Chang Bai, and smiled: “Why did you bring Seventh Young Master like this?”

Chang Feng beside him said: “Seventh Young Master said he wanted to learn horseback riding, so Second Brother put him in front.”

As he spoke, Sheng Changzhi bowed and greeted them.

In the last carriage, Mo Lan and Ming Lan also lifted their curtains and waved greetings to Xu Zaijing and the others.

Standing beside Liang Han, Qi Heng grinned like he’d eaten a bag of happy nuts, staring at the Sheng family’s carriage.

Seeing Mo Lan nod to him, Qi Heng smiled warmly and nodded repeatedly.

This gesture made Mo Lan’s cheeks flush slightly before she lowered the curtain.

“Yuanruo. Yuanruo?”

“Huh?”

Qi Heng, snapping back to attention, looked toward Zhaizhang who had called him.

“Big Brother Zhang, what is it?”

“You and Tingye and the others go in—the guests have mostly arrived.”

“Oh! We’re coming right in.”

“You’ve worked hard,” Zhaizhang smiled and nodded.

Inside the Xu family’s inner courtyard,

in the spacious hall,

Wu Dangzi was chatting with several ladies and official wives.

“I say, Sister Wu, today when I came to the Xu residence, I didn’t see you at the second gate—I thought you hadn’t come!” one lady laughed.

Wu Dangzi replied: “No choice—now that the Xu Marquis’s wife has two capable daughters-in-law, I don’t need to crowd in.”

“Sister Wu speaks truly—the two ladies at the Xu second gate are clearly sharp and efficient! The way they speak, I feel as if bathed in spring breeze.”

Those in the hall nodded in agreement.

In the past, when the Yongyi Marquis’s mansion had events, the mistress Sun Shi usually took charge; the noble ladies of the capital rarely knew of the two daughters-in-law’s abilities.

Today, they saw that Xie Shi and Sheng Shi were both formidable.

“By the way, Sister Wu, I heard that the elder sister who married into the Sheng family will come today too?” someone asked.

“Yes, she’s coming today!” Wu Dangzi smiled.

Hearing this, several older ladies and official wives in the hall began whispering among themselves.

The elder madam was once the only daughter of the illustrious Yongyi Marquis’s mansion, raised from childhood in the palace under the Empress Dowager.

After her coming-of-age ceremony, her daily comforts and expenses in the capital, thick with noble houses, were among the highest.

Moreover, in her youth, the elder madam was proud and fiery, with clear likes and dislikes; she stubbornly married the third-place imperial scholar, stirring up the winds of Bianjing—stories of her still circulate today.

Of course, some who spoke of her did so with nostalgia and regret;

others, with smug delight and cold mockery.

Many younger women today had only heard her name, never seen her.

Hearing the murmurs around her, Chai Zhengzheng looked puzzled at those beside her: “Sister Tingyi, Fifth Lady, have you heard of this elder madam?”

Madame Chai had spent most of her life away from the capital with her parents; Zhengzheng rarely heard stories of the past from her.

Zhang’s Fifth Lady nodded: “My mother has mentioned her a few times.”

Gu Tingyi smiled and nodded: “I’ve heard from the Xu Marquis’s wife.”

Rong Feiyan blinked, listening intently.

Looking around at the noble ladies, Zhang’s Fifth Lady smiled: “Whenever I did something boastful, my mother would look at me with utter indifference.”

“I asked her several times why she was so unmoved—and she said, if you’d seen the Yongyi Marquis’s daughter in her youth, you’d be the same.”

“Wu Dangzi plays polo well enough, I hear she’s utterly obsessed with this elder madam.”

“Ah?” Chai Zhengzheng, who had seen Wu Dangzi’s polo skills, gasped in surprise.

Gu Tingyi smiled and pressed her lips together.

Rong Feiyan hesitated: “I’ve never seen this elder madam—I wonder what she looks like.”

Gu Tingyi smiled: “Since coming to the capital, the elder madam rarely goes out; when she has matters, Lady Hou usually handles them—we naturally haven’t seen much of her.”

Zhang’s Fifth Lady thought a moment: “She’s probably like my mother—stern expression, frightening when she frowns.”

“And when she walks, maybe like Feiyan, chin raised like a proud little peacock.”

Rong Feiyan blushed: “I—I don’t!”

“Hah!” Gu Tingyi covered her mouth and laughed: “That’s not true at all—Elder Madam Sheng is very kind!”

“Fifth Lady, what are you saying?” Xu Anmei walked over and smiled.

Fifth Lady frowned, glanced aside, then brightened when she saw Anmei: “Ah? Sister Anmei. How come I didn’t see you before? We were talking about Elder Madam Sheng.”

“I went to see Ningjie,” Anmei replied. “You’re talking about Auntie Ancestor? Hmm… let me tell you a little story about her.”

Seeing the expressions of Chai Zhengzheng, Rong Feiyan, and the others, Anmei smiled: “My little brother’s dragon steed? Auntie Ancestor rode it too.”

Before Rong Feiyan and the others could exclaim, Anmei continued: “The servants say that day, Auntie Ancestor rode faster than little Wu!”

“Ah?” The noble ladies gasped again.

“By the way, do you know Madam Kong?” Anmei continued.

Rong Feiyan nodded eagerly: “Yes, yes! Madam Kong taught me for a while—so strict! Posture, etiquette, hanging paintings, tea, flower arranging, incense—I learned so much.”

Anmei raised an eyebrow and smiled: “I heard that in the palace, many of Madam Kong’s skills were taught by my Auntie Ancestor.”

“Gulp.” Rong Feiyan involuntarily swallowed.

Zhang’s Fifth Lady glanced around: “So this elder madam plays polo well, understands etiquette and incense, and comes from the highest family—oh my heavens—”

“If I’d been born in her time, I’d probably have said a few snide remarks too.”

Hearing this, the noble ladies around her laughed.

At this moment,

a maid’s voice called from outside: “Elder Madam Sheng and Lady Hou have arrived.”

At these words,

many in the hall turned their gazes toward the door.

(End of Chapter)