She was the eldest daughter of the third branch of the Yao family, the youngest among the girls in the family. Her older sisters had all married, and none of their husbands' families were of higher social standing than the Marquis of Runan's family. In other words, she would not suffer from a sense of imbalance in her mindset because she was inferior to others.
Moreover, the old lady had known Yao Zhiwei's grandmother since childhood and had watched Yao Zhiwei grow up. She knew that Yao Zhiwei loved books since childhood and did not value material possessions. Therefore, there was no need to worry that she would be greedy for fame, fortune and power.
After days of heavy rain, the sky cleared up the day before the seventh day of the seventh lunar month.
The old lady invited Yao Zhiwei to celebrate the festival with her granddaughters, citing Wuyou's upcoming marriage and her wish to spend her last Qixi Festival at her parents' home.
The girls of the Jun family had received prior notice and knew that the old lady's true intentions were not what they seemed. They all obediently cooperated so that their brother could successfully meet his sister-in-law and marry her as soon as possible.
Wushuang also thoughtfully invited Chu Wan over, so as not to arouse Yao Zhiwei's suspicion if she saw that Chu Wan was the only outsider present.
Because of the bad weather, Chu Wan had been staying at home for many days and was quite bored. On Qixi Festival, she went to the Marquis of Runan's residence early in the morning to air out clothes and books with Wushuang.
Of course, they were only in charge of giving orders; the maids were the ones who actually did the heavy lifting and moving things. Wushuang was therefore quite free, and she would occasionally flip through her books, and casually mention to Chuwan the source of her beloved books.
“I was still young when I was in Quanzhou. Although my parents didn’t restrict me too much, they were still worried about me going out too often. If I wanted to read any books, I would write to my brother Bo at the academy and ask him to buy them for me. I didn’t like sending servants because they would just buy books according to the book list and sometimes they would get the wrong editions. Brother Bo was different. When he went to the bookstore, he would also pick out other books for me.”
"Does Brother Bo like reading?" Chu Wan asked.
“Yes, he planned to take the imperial examination and become an official when he was young,” Wushuang said. “But later, something happened in his family, so he changed his mind.”
Chu Wan nodded. She was too young to remember when the Wang family met their end. However, Wang Hongbo was Jun Shu's adopted son, and quite a prominent figure among the young talents of the capital. She had naturally heard others discuss his background. Thinking about it, Wang Hongbo was truly pitiful, losing both his parents at such a young age. Fortunately, he had the care and support of Wu Shuang and her parents, and Wang Hongbo didn't become extreme or cold because of the loss of his family. On the contrary, he was more warm-hearted and considerate than most men.
Well, she hasn't actually had much contact with men.
But compared to her older brother who abandoned her at the slightest disagreement and ran back to the capital with her uncle, and her seventh cousin who had always been fond of scaring her since childhood, they were all so much better!
She should treat Brother Bo well, just like Shuangshuang's family.
Chu Wan silently made up her mind.
When Yao Zhiwei arrived, it was nearly evening. The three sisters welcomed her to the ends of the earth, where a feast of Qiaoguo (a type of traditional Chinese pastry) was held by the lake in this courtyard.
After the five people were seated, the maids served dishes one by one.
To ensure the girls enjoyed their meal, Wushuang requested Lu Zhenniang to cook all the dishes herself, including the Qiaoguo (a type of pastry) served afterward. These seasonal Qiaoguo, made primarily of flour, sesame seeds, and molasses, sounded quite ordinary, but Lu Zhenniang's skillful hands transformed them into a variety of shapes, from weaver girls to small animals and flowers—each unique, sweet but not cloying, and fresh and interesting in appearance.
The girls are around the same age and have similar upbringing, so they don't need to deliberately find topics to talk about and can chat happily without any worries.
The tea and snacks were removed and replaced with fruit.
The fruits and melons eaten during the Qixi Festival were also unique, all carved into exotic flowers and birds. The last watermelon served was carved into a blooming peony, which amazed the five little girls who had seen many good things since childhood.
The most surprising thing wasn't the peony-shaped melon, but the person who served it to the table.
She was dressed in the same light blue skirt and jacket as the maids in the main kitchen of the Marquis of Runan's mansion, and her hair was neatly styled in two buns, looking perfectly normal. But when she walked up to the stone table and looked up, Chu Wan exclaimed in surprise.
"Sheng... Cousin Sheng, how could it be you?"
Chapter List 106 | 105
Chapter 105:
"I heard you've all gathered here to celebrate the Qixi Festival, so I came especially to bring some festive gifts." Qiao Sheng smiled brightly and calmly explained her purpose.
Apart from Yao Zhiwei, the other four women all knew about her feat of disguising herself as a man and riding a horse far away without her elders' permission. Compared to that, disguising herself as a maid to deliver melons and fruits was a trivial matter, and everyone laughed and didn't ask any further questions.
Qiao Sheng clapped her hands, and a girl of about the same age as her walked out from the shadows under the corridor.
Chu Wan recognized Chunjiang as the maidservant that her maternal grandmother, Madam Xiao, had given to Qiao Sheng.
Chunjiang walked quickly to Qiao Sheng's side and handed her the wicker basket he was carrying. But Qiao Sheng did not immediately take out a gift from the basket. Instead, she kept glancing at the stone bridge that was crossing the lake from the other side, and complained to Chu Wan: "Little Wanwan, I invited you but you didn't come. You even replied that you were coming to see Wushuang. You are so biased. It's heartbreaking."
Compared to her cousin, whom she had only met a few times in her entire life, Chu Wan certainly preferred playing with Wu Shuang. However, she was still a little embarrassed to have someone say it to her face like that, and stammered, "Shuangshuang's invitation came first. I've already promised her, and I can't go back on my word." As she spoke, she took Wu Shuang's arm and shook it gently, "Otherwise, Shuangshuang will be angry with me, right, Shuangshuang?"
This action was clearly a plea for help, and Wushuang nodded hastily, saying, "That's right, that's right! I hate it when people don't keep their promises to me. If that happens, I'll cut ties with them!"
The two have excellent chemistry, complement each other well, and excel in both singing and songwriting.
However, Qiao Sheng was slow to react to the topic she had brought up: "Alright, alright, I'm the older sister. It's no problem to make a little sacrifice so that you sisters-in-law can get along well." As she spoke, she withdrew her gaze from the distance, took out a palm-sized brocade box from the wicker basket, and handed it to Yao Zhiwei first.
As a guest, and meeting Qiao Sheng for the first time, Yao Zhiwei naturally had to be very polite. She didn't rush to open the gift she received, but thanked him repeatedly with great courtesy.
The girls from the Jun family traveled with Qiao Sheng and became familiar with each other, so they were less particular about etiquette. The youngest, Wu Hui, received her gift a little later than Yao Zhiwei, but she opened it before Yao Zhiwei.
Lifting the exquisite mother-of-pearl inlaid box lid reveals a brownish-red eight-legged spider lying steadily on a bright red velvet lining.
Wu Hui was stunned. After staring at him for a few moments, she suddenly realized what was happening, dropped the brocade box, and cried out, "Spider! Spider!"
Wuyou sat down next to her, and had just received the gift. Before she could even open it, Wuhui grabbed her shoulder and forced her to tremble along with her. The brocade box was even knocked to the ground.
A series of hurried footsteps sounded on the stone bridge diagonally behind the girls. Junheng, who had arrived at the agreed time, happened to witness his sister's distraught wailing from afar. He rushed over, picked up the spider that Wu Hui had discarded on the ground, and was about to throw it into the lake when he suddenly froze.
A clear, melodious laugh rang out almost simultaneously beside him: "It is a spider, but a honey spider. Don't be afraid."
The speaker was Yao Zhiwei. When everyone looked over, she calmly broke off a leg from the "spider" and put it in her mouth. After chewing and swallowing, she even commented, "Brown sugar, honey, and osmanthus flowers, it tastes good."
After Wu Hui's roar, Wu Shuang and Chu Wan, who were startled, huddled together arm in arm. They looked at each other with suspicion, nodded to each other, and opened the box at the same time.
"It's sweet, but not cloying." Chu Wan imitated Yao Zhiwei, breaking off a spider leg and carefully licking it.
Wushuang held the brocade box up to her eyes and examined it closely. The sugar spider was about a quarter the size of her palm, exquisitely crafted and lifelike; no wonder it had startled Wuhui.
“Yes, it’s fake.” Junheng held the sugar spider he had picked up in his palm and presented it to Wu Hui. “Take a good look, it won’t move.” After saying that, to prove that what he said was true, he poked the sugar spider’s back a few times.
Seeing this, Wu Hui stopped crying and gradually calmed down.
Seeing that Wu Hui's face was streaked with tears, Jun Heng asked Yuan Xiao to accompany her back to her room to wash up again. After the two left, he put on a stern face and his serious gaze fell on Qiao Sheng.