Chapter 140 The Banquet of Rui’an Great Elder Princess
Why did he find it difficult to refuse her? And he even felt that they were supposed to know each other?
Wen Xichi was soberly aware that this feeling was definitely not love at first sight. After all, she was too young, and his mind was settled as still water. Even the abbot of the temple said that with his mind, he could directly become a monk. However, why did he feel that he had met her before?
He silently nodded, with his darkening eyes under his eyebrows…
When Qin Wanru went back to find Shui Ruolan, Shui Ruolan had rested for a while. Seeing that it was time for lunch, they did not return home but went out of the tea house to find a restaurant for lunch.
There had been a waiter waiting at the door. Seeing them coming over, he was very sensible and eager to lead them upstairs.
They found a booth by the window, enjoying the scenery, which was very pleasant.
Having met Wen Xichi and forcing him to guarantee for her mortgage, Qin Wanru finally felt relieved. At least they knew each other now, and she could implicitly tell him to keep an eye on the two people later. She just needed to find an appropriate time to tell him that, he would not die young in this life.
With his talents, if it were not for his illness, he could definitely be a very outstanding official in the imperial court.
Straightening out her thinking, she looked much more relaxed. After eating a little, she stopped eating and leant against the window for watching the scene of bustle.
With the gauze hanging above the window, people couldn’t see the inside from the outside, but could see the outside view from the inside. Although the view was blurred, it was still very attractive to the Young Mesdames of aristocratic families.
In the last life, Qin Wanru had almost never gone out. On the one hand, she could hear people gossip about her no matter where she went. On the other hand, she became so increasingly self-abased that she could hardly keep her head up in front of others. Every time she went out, Qin Yuru mocked and ridiculed her in various ways, and even the Young Mesdames, who had been friendly with her, deliberately made sarcastic remarks against her in front of everyone.
In this life, when she came to the street of the capital again, she could lean against the window and watch the scenery outside. She not only dared to come out, but also took the initiative to come out.
Shui Ruolan ate a little slowly. Seeing Qin Wanru leaning against the window, Shui Ruolan found her both funny and pitiful. Shui Ruolan put down her chopsticks, and her eyes turned red. Being amused by the scene of bustle, Qin Wanru was actually just a child at a young age!
“Mother, let’s go home if you’ve had enough!” On hearing the sound behind her, Qin Wanru turned her head and saw Shui Ruolan wiping her mouth, and then turned around on the chair and sat up straight.
If it weren’t for her cunning eyes, she really couldn’t believe that the little girl, who sat up straight in front of her, was the one, who had leaned against the window in an extremely unrestrained way.
“You can watch a little longer!” Shui Ruolan laughed.
“Mother, I am tired. Let’s go home!” Qin Wanru came over, reached out to hold Shui Ruolan’s hand and gently shook it.
“Well, I’ll take you out again next time if I have another chance!” Knowing that Qin Wanru was afraid to tire her, Shui Ruolan held Qin Wanru’s hand and promised her.
“Thank you, mother!” Qin Wanru nodded with a smile.
As they came out of the booth and were about to go down, she suddenly heard a teenager’s voice, “Second Miss of Qin’s Mansion?”
Qin Wanru turned around subconsciously and saw Chu Liuxin, who came out of the booth beside. She was stunned involuntarily, but after immediately leaning to one side to make a salute to him, she formally went downstairs with the girl servant’s support behind Shui Ruolan.
She didn’t stop at all.
“Oh… I…” Chu Liuxin reached out and blinked his eyes, looking innocent.
“Prince Xin, which family is this young madam from? She looks gorgeous!” A few teenagers who were almost at his age and came with him, also saw what had happened. Looking at Chu Liuxin and the back of Qin Wanru, they all became curious.
“She looks gorgeous, but so young!” someone said.
“She’s so young and looks less than ten years old, but she’s very polite. I’m wondering which family is she from.”
All teenagers were very curious. Some of them, who had not seen her, even deliberately stretched out their necks to look out. But at this moment, Qin Wanru and Shui Ruolan had already gone far.
Chu Liuxin was a bit unhappy. He considered that at least in Jiangzhou, he was a familiar friend of Qin Wanru’s. How could she not greet him when they met? She was so impolite!
“Let’s go!” Chu Liuxin turned around in anger. He was in a bad mood and didn’t want to talk. He squinted at the teenagers who followed him, walked away and went downstairs.
He decided to scare this girl when meeting her next time and see if she dared to ignore him in front of so many people again.
Early the next morning, Yujie wakened Qin Wanru early. After having breakfast, Qin Wanru dressed up and took Yujie to Old Grandma’s yard.
Old Grandma had finished her breakfast, and Shui Ruolan was accompanying her beside. Seeing Qin Wanru coming over, Old Grandma specially waved to Qin Wanru and repeatedly told her to take care of Shui Ruolan lest Shui Ruolan collided with others.
Besides, Old Grandma kept telling them about all kinds of matter, such as being more decent in the first banquet they attended and avoiding making mistakes so as not to be ridiculed… She was so afraid that something terrible would happen to them.
Qin Wanru and Shui Ruolan promised Old Grandma, and then said goodbye to her and went out.
The carriage had already been prepared, and it was the best carriage in the mansion and specially prepared for Old Grandma. Now Old Grandma had specially allowed Shui Ruolan and Qin Wanru to use it.
The cushions in the carriage were so soft that they felt particularly comfortable to sit on them. Qin Wanru helped Shui Ruolan to recline and then sat down.
Just as they were about to leave, Qin Wanru heard Yujie whisper, “Miss, I just saw the Meixue, Young Lady’s maid. She seems to have looked towards us for a while!”
With a glimmer of sparkle across her eyes, Qin Wanru looked calm and smiled slightly to indicate that Yujie didn’t need to say more about this.
As such a person, how could Qin Yuru be willing to see them go to a banquet…
“Young Lady, Young Lady, Second Miss and Madam Shui have set off for the banquet. I heard that it is the banquet of Rui’an Great Elder Princess!” Meixue rushed back after inquiring about where they were going, and hurriedly reported it to Qin Yuru as soon as she entered the house.
“The banquet held in Rui’an Great Elder Princess’s Mansion?” Qin Yuru stood up in surprise.
“Yes, it is held by Rui’an Great Elder Princess. It’s said that she has sent an invitation card to Second Miss and Madam Shui.” Meixue gasped while covering her chest.
“How dare they go on their own?!” Qin Yuru only felt the rage inhibited in her chest. She was so angry that her face turned green. She reached out to press her desk and gnashed her teeth in anger. “Prepare the carriage for going to Duke Yong’s Mansion!”
As the elder sister, she didn’t attend the banquet, and Qin Wanru did. What would others think of her? No, she must attend the banquet too.
“Yes, I’ll go to tell them to prepare.” Meixue nodded and asked after hesitation, “Should I report it to Madam?”
“No!” Qin Yuru shook her head resolutely, turned to sit in front of the dressing table and told Meiyan, “Dress me up. I’ll show others who is the noblest and most beautiful Young Madam in Qin’s Mansion. She’s just a little girl who is unqualified to compare with me!”
She was the young lady of Qin’s Mansion at her best age. Qin Wanru, a little girl who was unfledged, wanted to trample over her without seeing whether she was qualified. She wanted to show Qin Wanru that even in the Rui’an Great Elder Princess’s Mansion, she was also the Young Lady with whom she was incomparable…
They needed to pass by several bustling streets on their way from Qin’s Mansion to Rui’an Great Elder Princess’s Mansion. Qin Wanru kept watching all of these with interest and didn’t feel bored. When Shui Ruolan reclined and closed her eyes, she watched the scenes outside with gusto through the gauze of the window.
When they arrived, she still wanted to see more!
Rui’an Great Elder Princess was the emperor’s aunt, so her mansion covered an extremely large area. It was even faintly comparable with Prince Chen’s Mansion which Qin Wanru saw that day. From the incessant stream of horses and carriages in front of the mansion, Qin Wanru could see that there were considerable female guests coming to Great Elder Princess’ mansion.
There were three gates in front of Rui’an Great Elder Princess’s Mansion, including the side gates on the left and right sides and the front gate in the middle. But everyone basically walked through the side gates, because there were just a few people who could make Rui’an Great Elder Princess open the front gate. They were all elder Mesdames of noble character and high prestige or imperial members.
The carriage of Qin’s Mansion entered the left gate with other carriages.
As soon as they entered the gate, an old maid forced her way to them with a smile through carriages. After looking at the carriage of Qin’s Mansion, she asked the cart driver, “Is it the carriage of Qin’s Mansion?”
“It’s the carriage of our Qin’s Mansion!” The cart driver put down the whip in his hand and said respectfully.
Even if she was just an ordinary old maid, she was from Rui’an Great Elder Princess’ Mansion. As a cart driver of Qin’s Mansion, he couldn’t afford to offend her.
“Please come with me, our Great Elder Princess has already told me to ask the carriage of Second Miss of Qin’s Mansion and Madam Shui to move from the side,” the old maid said with a smile, looking very gentle without taking advantage of Rui’an Great Elder Princess’ power to be arrogant. She seemed to be nice, which made the cart driver of Qin’s Mansion feel slightly relieved.
As an ordinary cart driver, he felt a little flustered when coming to this mansion of an imperial Princess.
“Go with this nanny!” Receiving Qin Wanru’s instruction, Yujie lifted the curtain and said. She then smiled at the old maid in the carriage, considering it a salute.
After several turnings, the old maid led the carriage of Qin’s Mansion to a parking lot. There were just a few carriages parked here, unlike the place which was full with no room to park.
After the carriage stopped completely, Qin Wanru and Shui Ruolan got out of it.
The old maid was originally curious about what a Young Madam made Great Elder Princess bear her in mind and even specifically order that the carriage of Qin’s Mansion should be parked in a better place. At the sight of Qin Wanru at this moment, she could not help but secretly admire that this Young Madam looked gorgeous with a sweet and cute smile.
She was a Young Madam who made people feel comfortable.
“Madam Shui, Second Miss of Qin’s Mansion, please come with me!” The old maid smiled and led the way.
Qin Wanru supported Shui Ruolan and walked behind her. On their way, the scenery was excellent. The scene in front of them was really good enough to be part of an imperial residence. Everything was exquisite and pleasing to the eye.
As they walked there, there seemed to be more people who were going inside. Qin Wanru and Shui Ruolan slowly integrated into the crowd, and walked inside with a group of female guests.
The old maid still stood outside, carefully leading the way. Coincidentally, at the intersection ahead, Qin Wanru saw a familiar face…