Chapter 31
Beauty
“Tumble, tumble…”
A round black stone was pushed out of the chess box by the kitten’s paw and rolled across the smooth surface of the table.
Gu Yanfei stretched out an index finger and pressed down on the black piece. She said calmly, “I understand.”
She couldn’t have looked calmer, as if it were a trivial matter, or as if she’d expected it.
In his previous life, when she returned from Prince Jing’s Manor, half of Gu Yunzhen’s face had been ruined, making her look like a ghost.
However, because Gu Yunrong had saved Kang Wang’s life, she had won the favor of the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager had personally issued an imperial decree to betroth him to her and made her Princess Consort Kang. When she returned to the residence, she was in the limelight.
No one cared about Gu Yunzhen’s injuries. In front of Gu Yunrong’s glory, Gu Yunzhen’s injuries were insignificant.
In her previous life, she did not go to the manor.
In this life, she wanted to see it.
The perky, active cat went restlessly to pat her hand.
Seeing that Gu Yanfei did not show any gratitude after benefiting from the Third Lady, Xia Lian felt even more uncomfortable. She could not help but say, “Second Lady, it’s fine if you don’t know how to play polo. Princess Changqing invited all the ladies from noble families in the capital. My Lady thought that since you have just arrived, you can make a few friends at Prince Jing’s Manor.”
Her tone was slightly sarcastic.
Gu Yanfei finally gave Xia Lian a look. At the same time, the kitten also turned to look at Xia Lian. “Meow?”
The green cat’s eyes were clear and bright, full of spiritual energy.
When the kitten met her eye, Xia Lian seemed to be struck by lightning. She knelt down, a stunned and infatuated expression on her face. She wished she could stay here forever.
Gu Yanfei covered Qing Guang’s “charmng eyes” and waved her hand, asking Juan Bi to bring Xia Lian away.
“Meow, meow, meow…” The cat was rather dissatisfied. It slapped Gu Yanfei’s hand away and meowed.
This time, Gu Yanfei understood its body language and mercilessly rejected its request. “No, you can’t go.”
“Meow, meow, meow…”
Qing Guang looked at Gu Yanfei without blinking. A faint layer of water appeared in its round cat eyes. It was so beautiful that it made one’s heart palpitate.
Unfortunately, Gu Yanfei was determined and unmoved. She casually grabbed a vine ball and threw it out.
The vine ball rolled away and the bell in the center of the ball tinkled. Feeling as if its body and mind had been summoned, the kitten chased after the ball happily.
“Ring, ring…”
Qing Guang’s attention was only diverted for a moment, but it had not given up. So when it saw Gu Yunzhen the next morning, it rubbed against her.
“Meow~” Qing Guang circled Gu Yunzhen and Gu Yanfei’s skirts coquettishly. Even if Gu Yunzhen did not look at its eyes, her heart softened by its soft voice.
Gu Yanfei was still unmoved. She smiled at Gu Yunzhen and said, “Sister, ignore it.”
Gu Yunzhen reluctantly moved her gaze away from the cat’s back and said gently, “Originally, our Third Sister wanted to borrow Grandma’s big carriage, but Grandma went to the White Horse Temple to offer incense early in the morning. The other carriages in the Marquis Mansion are smaller, so it’ll be crowded with the three of us. Second Sister, why don’t you take a carriage with me today?”
Gu Yanfei naturally had no objections to Gu Yunzhen’s good intentions.
The two sisters went to the gate together. The kitten insisted on seeing them off. Once they were gone, it sneaked into the carriage and quietly hid in Gu Yunzhen’s dress.
On the way to Prince Jing’s Manor, Gu Yunzhen was extremely cautious. She sat upright, afraid that Gu Yanfei, who was in the same car, would notice that something was wrong.
Gu Yanfei naturally knew that there was an additional cat in the car. This was the season when cats shed their fur. The strands of cat fur floating in the air made it difficult for her to ignore them.
She laughed inwardly but pretended not to know.
Prince Jing’s Manor was located on Shengping Street in the western part of the capital. It was about five to six streets away from the Dingyuan Marquis Mansion and was about an hour’s drive away.
The coachman had timed it very well. The two carriages from the Marquis Mansion arrived at Prince Jing’s Manor on time.
Prince Jing’s Manor started from Crescent Lane in the south and ended at Old Locust Tree Lane in the north. It occupied a vast area and was at least the size of two Dingyuan Marquis Mansions.
Princess Changqing was holding a banquet today, and the street where Prince Jing’s Manor was located was also much more lively than usual. Carriages and horses stopped outside one after another, and among them were all kinds of regulation red wheelbarrows. It could be seen that there was no lack of relatives among the invited guests.
The servants of the mansion welcomed the guests in an orderly manner. The carriages entered the mansion from the east corner gate and stopped at the junction between the outer gate and the main gate.
After Gu Yanfei and her sisters alighted from their carriage, a servant girl from Prince Jing’s Manor greeted them respectfully and led the way.
The maid led them through the grand mansion with heavy doors.
Gu Yunzhen was a little distracted. She occasionally looked back in the direction of the carriage, worried about the kitten.
Before she got out of the carriage, she had told Qing Guang to stay in the carriage obediently. Qing Guang had also meowed in response. It wouldn’t run around, right?
By the time Gu Yunzhen came back to her senses, they had already arrived at the garden on the west side. They crossed a small bridge on the lake and arrived at the horse farm on the other side of the garden.
Two water pavilions had been built by the lake, connected to each other by winding water corridors. Hazy screen doors hung around the water pavilions, dancing with the wind and giving off a dreamlike effect.
At this moment, the Zhuoxin Water Pavilion near the racecourse was crowded with people. Lots of jewelry could be seen adorned on the ladies, and the place was filled with the sound of laughter.
The young men and women gathered in twos and threes to talk and drink tea. It was as dazzling as spring flowers blooming.
The culture of the Great Jin Dynasty was enlightened, and the status of women was much higher than that of the previous dynasty. The interaction between men and women was not strict, and these prominent families in the capital would hold such a grand event from time to time.
“This way, ladies.”
The maidservant led Gu Yanfei and the other two into the pavilion and walked towards a yellow-robed girl sitting at the head of the table.
The 15 or 16-year-old girl was dressed in a fitting apricot-colored embroidered butterfly riding suit. On the outside, she wore a light robe embroidered with clouds with golden threads. A pair of butterfly shoes could be seen under her skirt.
“Princess.” Gu Yunrong curtsied to the yellow-robed girl. A faint smile appeared on her lips as she introduced Gu Yunzhen and Gu Yanfei beside her. “This is my eldest sister, Yunzhen, and my second sister, Yanfei.”
“At ease.” Princess Changqing’s gaze swept across their faces.
Princess Chang took a few more glances at Gu Yanfei and thought to herself that this girl’s appearance was quite outstanding. She turned her gaze to Gu Yunrong and smiled intimately. “Yunrong, you’re finally here. We definitely can’t lose to my Third Brother today!”
Gu Yunrong agreed with a smile.
As they spoke, two men and a woman entered the water pavilion behind a maidservant. The woman in blue smiled brightly at Gu Yunrong.
Princess Changqing took Gu Yunrong aside while Gu Yanfei and Gu Yunzhen were led to the west side of the water pavilion by the maidservants. They passed by the two men and the woman.
“Thud.”
The folding fan in the young man’s hand slipped from his hands. The maidservant leading the way hurriedly stopped, picked up the folding fan on the ground, and handed it to him respectfully. “Young Master Li.”
Young Master Li took the folding fan and knocked it gently on his palm. His gaze followed a slender and graceful figure as he bragged to his cousin, “Do you see that? There are still beauties in our capital!”