Chapter 259
Garden Party (2)
The Zhu family’s young ladies were looking very eye-catching, as they had all dressed beautifully. Even Mu Mingtang could spot Mrs. Zhu and the young ladies right away, even though she was still in the carriage. After the carriage stopped, Mu Mingtang slowly got down, just in time to see Mrs. Zhu walking towards her with the daughters of the Zhu family.
Mu Mingtang said with a smile, “Greetings, Mrs. Zhu.”
“We pay our respect to Prince An and Princess An.” After Mrs. Zhu greeted, young ladies of the Zhu family also bowed their heads and greeted timidly, “Greetings Prince An, Princess An.”
“We came a bit late. Did we make you wait for a long time?” Mu Mingtang gave them a pleasant smile as she asked.
“No… replying to Princess An, we also just got off the carriage not long ago.” Mrs. Zhu peeped at Xie Xuanchen, who was standing behind Mu Mingtang, and said with an apologetic tone: “His Royal Highness, Prince An has also come. We have embarrassed ourselves by occupying Prince An and Princess An’s precious time and stopping you at the entrance. Please forgive us.”
“What is Mrs. Zhu talking about? You might not believe it, but I have been waiting for spring to come so I can go out for a leisurely walk and also meet with you as we have promised before. I’m really glad to have Mrs. Zhu and these young ladies around.” After Mu Mingtang said those words, she took a few more steps towards Mrs. Zhu and said in a low voice: “You don’t need to think too much. I originally planned to come alone, but Prince An also followed along. So I’m late because of him.”
Suddenly having one more person in their group, so Mu Mingtang made things clear with Mrs. Zhu.
Mrs. Zhu was also a person with a family and children, so she understood the situation as soon as she heard Mu Mingtang’s words. “Princess, don’t worry. This concubine can understand your situation. Today, we were all able to gather here because of the blessing of Prince an and Princess An. Prince and princess should spend more time together and enjoy. Please don’t worry about us.”
Mu Mingtang repeatedly tried to explain to Mrs. Zhu and others but couldn’t persuade them and finally gave up. They all walked into the polo field together.
The place was very spacious and dispersed. It was filled with grass, trees, and many elegant pavilions. There was a large polo field in the middle, and there were also various places allocated to play different sports such as hammering, throwing pots, and archery.
The hostess of this spring banquet was the wife of a well-known marquess who was very famous in the upper-class of the society. She was one of the top socialites and had a wide range of friends. She was an expert at planning feasts like these and was always tactful to ensure that every guest was having a comfortable time. Nobles in the capital would always give some face as long as it was a party hosted by her.
Mu Mingtang, who also knew of this well-known Marquise, thought that this occasion would be very suitable to introduce Zhu family daughters, who had been outside the capital since they were born and had no roots in the capital or any connection to the nobility in the capital. Since the gathering was hosted by the famous socialite, many upper-class families came to attend their banquets, which gave a great opportunity to the Zhu family to choose sons-in-laws for their daughters.
Mu Mingtang and the daughters of the Zhu family entered the venue together. People in the field saw a group of well-dressed and beautiful women entering the door. “Which family’s daughters are these? They are so young and beautiful. How come we have never seen them before?” The people around soon started to inquire about the Zhu family.
“I don’t know either. Madam Li knows everyone in the upper-class, but it’s hard to say that she would invite just anyone, they also must have some status in the capital. Yo, look at the woman on the right. She is so beautiful. How come I don’t know that there is such beauty in the capital?” A few sons of noble families talked with each other while eyeing Mu Mingtang and others because they had not seen them before. The group of young ladies didn’t look like they were female entertainers or someone from the merchant family, but clearly had a noble aura around them.
While everyone was speculating, they all saw Madam Li hurrying towards the newly arrived group of young ladies, and greeted them with a deep bow. After raising her head, she was startled to see a man standing behind Mu Mingtang, and hurriedly bowed her head again to greet him.
Observing the situation from a certain distance, the group of noble young men became even more puzzled. “Although the Li family does not have any official position, it is still a noble family with a high status in the society. So why did Madam Li personally go there to welcome them? They can’t be someone from the royal family, right?”