Chapter 7: The King of Jin's Consort

  As the year-end was approaching and her injury had just healed, Chen Lan's return to school was temporarily avoided. Unlike the young masters, the Misses of the Chen family did not attend an external school, but instead had a learned and strict teacher at home who taught them the traditional female virtues and briefly introduced the Four Books and Five Classics. However, she was not interested in these subjects and preferred to read and write on her own in her room, feeling more carefree. Fortunately, she had studied calligraphy when she was young and could recognize all the complex characters. Now, she practiced writing a few sheets of model letters every day, and her handwriting gradually became smoother.

  That morning, she was sitting at her desk with great interest flipping through the "Jianyan Notebook" that Chen Yun had somehow found for her. Suddenly, she heard a burst of footsteps outside, and then Qin Fang hastily lifted the curtain and came in.

  Only third-grade maid Hu Jiao was waiting in the house, she quickly walked up and after making a curtsy, said: "Miss, Princess of Jin has arrived. Because the princess's ceremonial instruments were not displayed, the mansion did not open the central gate, now the person has already arrived at Lianxiang Institute and wants to see several misses. The old lady sent someone over to pass on the message, telling Miss to dress up properly and hurry over."

  As soon as he heard this, Chen Lan immediately put down the book in his hand, thought for a moment and asked: "Did the Jin Wangfei often come like this before? Was it always without disturbing others?"

  "The princess is in the palace, where can she often come, but she is extremely considerate of her grandmother. The gifts for the festivals are very rich. This year during the Dragon Boat Festival, the princess did come with King Jin once, and that time was naturally a grand occasion. However, it's not surprising now, as in the past, Princess Qi and Princess Duan would occasionally return to their maiden home, but they didn't like to be surrounded by people either."

  Qinfang said, and then sent Hu Jiao to the west room to prepare. She also helped Chen Lan stand up and explained in a low voice: "It's just that the princess has been married for several years and only gave birth to a daughter. Therefore, this year the palace added two more concubines, who were slightly lower in status but were chosen by Empress Shu herself. Fortunately, King Jin still respects the princess very much."

  Chen Lan walked and pondered, leaving the east wing of the study, from the main house to the west wing, sitting in front of the dressing table. Hong Luo brought the Suanmu Hu pepper around her. Hong Luo opened the ebony jewelry box, and casually picked out the pair of Western pomegranate gold hairpins: "Miss, since the princess came today, do you still need this pair of gold hairpins?"

  "The pair of insect pearl earrings were a gift from the princess, simple yet suitable for meeting people."

  Chen Lan saw Hong Luo slightly stunned, and then nodded and took the pair of delicate and thin insect grass pearl hairpins. She also found a pair of white jade earrings and a string of fragrant wood beads. She knew that this girl was a sensible person, so she nodded in approval. After dressing up, she changed into a new winter outfit made this year, put on the crane cloak given by Zhu Shi, and then took Xinfang and Hong Luo out of the door.

  Arriving at the Lianxiang Institute, she saw that the courtyard was more lively than usual when she came to pay her respects in the morning and evening. Apart from Xiaoyu, there were several unfamiliar maids standing on the steps outside the door, all wearing pale green water sleeves with lotus-colored satin jackets, their heads and hands clean and tidy, without a single piece of jewelry, only the embroidered shoes on their feet had a hundred different patterns. When Chen Lan entered, everyone bowed down to pay their respects, she nodded slightly and passed by.

  As they entered the main room, a maid led Chen Lan into the warm pavilion. There, on the left side of Madame Zhu, sat a woman in her early twenties, dressed in elegant attire. She wore her hair in a high bun and was clad in a large red silk dress with golden threads and colorful sleeves that reached down to her feet. Her face bore some resemblance to Madame Zhu's, but it was more refined and dignified, with eyes that shone like flowing water and lips that curved into a gentle smile. After Chen Lan paid his respects, she quickly came forward to support him, holding his hand and admiring him for a long time before personally escorting him to the first chair on the right side of the room.

  "It's only been half a year since we last met, and now I hear that Third Sister is injured. Today, taking a look at her complexion, it seems to be quite good, so I can finally put my mind at ease."

  The princess of Jin smiled and said, "Have you eaten the swallow's nest that Chen Lan sent over? How is your appetite and sleep these days?" Chen Lan answered one by one, naturally mentioning the golden hairpin on her head and the crane cloak on her body, expressing her gratitude again. After chatting for a while, Chen Bing, Chen Huo, and Chen Quan finally arrived together, seeing that Chen Lan had arrived so early, they were all surprised, but immediately busied themselves to come forward and pay their respects to Zhu Shi and Princess Jin.

  After the ceremony, the four sisters met each other, and Chen Lan saw that they were all dressed in fine clothes and jewelry, obviously carefully made up. She had a number in her mind, and when they sat down again, she heard Zhu Shi laugh and say: "You all live close by, who knew you'd be slower than Lan'er? We've been waiting for so long, how should we punish this?"

  "Big sister hasn't been here for so long, of course we have to dress up!" Chen Bing said with a sly glance at Chen Lan, then smiled and said, "I didn't expect third sister to hurry over so quickly, it's quite far from Jinxiu Pavilion to here, third sister is really fast! By the way, big sister, this is the hairpin you gave me before, I wear it every day, take a look, does it look good?"

  The King of Jin's consort saw Chen Bing and came up to turn around in a circle, entwining herself to ask for evaluation. She smiled and praised her, saying that good things also need people to set them off. Then she again praised Chen Huo and Chen Quan several times. Chen Quan was as cold and distant as ever, but Chen Huo smiled and said: "Elder sister, don't just praise us. Let me say, under the sky, there are few people who can wear red and bring out its color. Only you are suited to wearing this bright red, it sets off your spirit and complexion. As for being elegant and stately, who can compare to you?"

  As soon as this was said, not only did Zhu's wife smile, but even the King of Jin's consort looked radiant. She immediately took off a water-colored jade bracelet from her hand and gave it to Chen Huan. Chen Lan watched coldly from the side, seeing that although Chen Bing smiled happily, his eyes were fixed on the bracelet, seemingly both envious and jealous. Without making a sound, she took a sip of tea until the King of Jin's consort asked about several of their cousins, finally asking about Chen Yan, at which point she smiled slightly.

  "Fourth brother is now more sensible than before, every day practicing calligraphy and doing homework, all with great diligence." Seeing the King of Jin's consort listening very seriously, Zhu Shi also did so. She sighed again, "It's just that he works hard, but I worry about his body. I heard that because it was too cold this winter, many students in the school got sick, and when they went to school, there were coughs all over the place. I would like to ask the old lady for her permission, since Chinese New Year is approaching, why not let him rest at home for a few more days, so as not to exhaust himself, or catch an illness."

  Madam Zhu heard this and was somewhat surprised, then nodded: "What you said is also true, this winter seems to be particularly cold, I heard that there is an old man who is not in good health and actually froze to death in his sedan chair during the court session... Amitabha! In that case, let him rest at home for a few days first. He's still young, and studying isn't urgent."

  "Yes, thank you for your concern, old lady!"

  Chen Lan hastily stood up to thank her, and then looked at Zheng Mama with her eyes. These days, Zheng Mama often came to her Jinxiu Pavilion, and she treated her as a serious elder every time, without any disobedience to Zheng Mama's words. Xinfang had also taken on several embroidery tasks and had just personally delivered them yesterday, naturally also mentioning a few sentences of concern about Chen Yan moving to the outer courtyard. If she hadn't known that Zhenrong still hadn't been assigned to serve Chen Bing, and Zhu Shi seemed to be paying extra attention to herself these days, she wouldn't have dared to take such a risk.

  As expected, Zheng's mother first smiled and said that the old lady loved her grandson, then sighed: "The other day, the second and third madams were talking about moving a few older young masters to the outer courtyard. But now it seems that all the children in our family are plagued by disasters, every year they spend money on medicine and doctors, and with so many people serving them in the inner courtyard, it's still like this. Who knows how it will be when they move to the outer courtyard?"

  As soon as this was said, the expressions of the people in the house changed instantly. Even Chen Tai, who was usually cold and frosty, paid extra attention. Zhu Shi glanced at Zheng Mama and saw that Jin Wangfei had opened her mouth to ask a question, so she explained: "This was proposed by your two aunts, and I originally thought it made sense. But before, Lan Er said something like this, which reminded me. Let's just delay it for now and talk about it again in a year."

  The Jin Wangfei and several mothers on the side couldn't help but smile and say that the old lady loved her grandson, while Chen Yu, who had been cold as ice all along, let out a soft sigh of relief and glanced at Chen Lan with a complex expression. After chatting for a while, soon one of the wives came up to ask where lunch was being served, this time Chen Lan naturally couldn't help but stay behind, and accompanied the Jin Wangfei and Zhu Shi to eat together with his sisters.

  After finishing the meal, the table and food were cleared away, and someone brought tea. When the tea was served, Princess Jin Wang held the lid of the small teacup with her right hand's two fingers, as if she wanted to drink the tea, but in the end, she handed it over to a maid beside her. Then, looking at Zhu Shi, she said: "Grandmother, actually, I came today not only to visit you, but also for another matter."

  As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the room was stunned. Chen Lan immediately stood up and prepared to withdraw, while the other three also hastily got up. Princess Jin saw Zhu Shi nodding, but waved her hand to indicate that they didn't need to leave. After everyone sat back down, she said: "Sisters are all grown up, this isn't a big deal, it's just embarrassing. Last time when Wang Ye came here with me, he couldn't stop praising your maids. I thought Wang Ye was just casually mentioning it, but only recently did I find out that he had actually taken a liking to Zhen Rong in front of you. I also know that Zhen Rong is someone you care about deeply, but..."

  It's Zhen Rong again!

  PS: New book seeking recommendation votes, this is the most urgent thing at present, comrades, please leave one or two votes when you pass by, thank you.