After breakfast the next day, the female relatives all went to the dowager's room to sit and chat with her.
"Girl Yun has been stuck in the house reading all day since she came back. It's time to go to relatives' houses," Mrs. Lu said, "You young girls must make a few boudoir friends."
"That's what grandma said." Cen Yunchu stood up and agreed.
"It's not her fault," the third wife Wang said with a smile as she sat Cen Yunchu down: "The older generation in our family doesn't have an aunt, and she is the only daughter in their generation."
Cen Yunchu had nine cousins and no sisters.
Her maternal grandfather's family had been away from Beijing for many years, and the two families were at odds with each other, so it was impossible to talk to relatives there.
Although there are female relatives in the house, they are all aunts and sisters-in-law. They are quite different in age, and there is a wall between married women and unmarried women, so there is not much to say.
So she returned home and spent most of her time studying in her room.
"If you feel at ease, old lady, I can take Sister Yun to my natal home tomorrow." Mo, the wife of Cen Shaoxian, the eldest son of the third bedroom, stood up with a smile and said, "It's my natal sister's birthday in two days. Since she is a hairpin girl, the family is preparing
Give her a break. I didn’t dare to disturb the elders, so I only invited some young ladies of similar age to her. My sister had already asked me to invite Sister Yun Chu over!”
Mr. Mo was slim and handsome, and was always courteous in front of his elders. He was very popular with Mrs. Lu.
Hearing what she said, Mrs. Tai nodded and said, "That's very good. Speaking of which, Yuzhen is fifteen years old. Remember to bring her a gift for me."
"It cost the old lady a lot of money. I'll thank the old lady on behalf of Yuzhen." Mo's blessing came.
"They are all our own children, what can I be grateful for?" Mrs. Lu waved her hand and said, "Girl Yun is at home now, so let her come over and play often."
Cen Yunchu naturally knew Mo Yuzhen, but they had never had a close friendship with her.
She has a cold personality and doesn't like to actively solicit people.
Two days later, on the fifth day of April, Cen Yunchu followed his sister-in-law Mo to the Wuting Marquis Mansion as a guest.
Sure enough, as Mr. Mo said, those who came were all teenage girls, and Cen Yunchu didn't recognize most of them.
Mrs. Mo held Cen Yunchu's hand with one hand and her sister with the other, and said repeatedly: "Yuzhen, sister Yun is a distinguished guest of our family. Don't neglect her."
"Don't worry, big sister!" Mo Yuzhen took Cen Yunchu's hand and said, "Sister Yun, let's go over there to have tea and enjoy the flowers."
The weather at this time is suitable for holding a banquet in the garden. The Mo family's back garden is quite large and has many flowers and plants.
As early as possible, we spread brocade under the shade of the trees, and the snacks and fruits are all colorful.
The girls were in groups, standing or sitting, making it very lively.
As soon as Mo Yuzhen and Cen Yunchu came over, everyone immediately became quiet.
Today, Cen Yunchu was wearing a plain blue short jacket and a thin purple sweat pleated skirt. There were also few decorations on his head, and a pair of small jade hairpins inlaid with precious stones were inserted into his crow-green bun.
This kind of dressing is not only not shabby, but also exudes a different kind of nobility.
Of all the people present, who was not surrounded by flowers and greenery? But compared with her, they seemed tacky.
Mo Yuzhen was a generous person and introduced her to everyone: "This is Miss Yunchu, the daughter of the Marquis of Yong'an. She is not often in the capital, so she is a very rare visitor."
"Sister Zhen is joking, I am not a rare guest." Cen Yunchu smiled. Her teeth were white, neat and fine. As expected, beauty is beautiful everywhere.
However, Cen Yunchu just nodded slightly to everyone, which was regarded as a courtesy.
She was intolerant of worldly affairs, so she didn't take the initiative to talk to anyone.
However, this has made many people uncomfortable with her, thinking that she is arrogant, rude, and contemptuous of others.
After all, all the people present were young girls, and they soon started talking and laughing again.
The sixth lady of the Shi family, who was not tall but had a loud voice, said to everyone: "According to me, everyone should talk about their years and age, so as not to make the sisters scream."
They are all about the same age, ranging from thirteen to eighteen years old. Those who are close to each other can tell whether they are older or younger, while those who are more distant cannot tell the difference.
"That makes sense. Let's use Yuzhen as the boundary. Those who are older than her will speak first, and those who are younger will speak last." The fourth lady of General Yu's family clapped her hands.
Cen Yunchu was a few months older than Mo Yuzhen. When it was her turn, Mo Yuzhen said for her: "Sister Yunchu is one year older than me, and she was born on New Year's Day."
Everyone said: "What a great birthday!"
"I knew it earlier!" Xue Shanshan whispered to the female companion next to her: "Her remarried mother gave her the nickname Dandan because she was born on the first day of the year."
Xue Shanshan is the daughter of uncle Jingping's family and the youngest daughter of his wife, Lao Benshengzhu. She has a spoiled temperament and likes to collect and find out the secrets of other families.
Cen Yunchu was not facing this way at first, but as if sensing something, he suddenly turned his head and glanced at Xue Shanshan.
Xue Shanshan immediately fell silent, and the female companion beside her couldn't help but wince and said: "Oops, didn't she hear me?"
Seeing that Cen Yunchu quickly turned around to talk to Mo Yuzhen, Xue Shanshan snorted and said, "She's not easy-going. She heard it everywhere. Her mother is a maid serving two husbands, why is she pretending to be noble!"
But when she finished speaking, Cen Yunchu turned her face again. She raised her chin slightly, her soft and slender neck was like a proud swan, and the look on her face was one part questioning and one part disdainful. She could clearly hear it!
"We are three or four feet away from her, and the voice is low, but she can actually hear it!" Xue Shanshan said through gritted teeth.
Talking like this not only suits her current mood, but also keeps her mouth as still as possible.
Mo Yuzhen on the side noticed something strange. Although she couldn't hear what Xue Shanshan said, she could guess something about Cen Yunchu's situation. As a host, of course she couldn't let the guests have conflicts, so she put her arms around Cen Yunchu's shoulders and smiled:
"Sister Yun, I'm so happy that you came today. If you have any favorite dishes, I'll ask them to prepare them quickly."
"I don't have any taboos. Besides, I came here today just to try something new. That would be interesting." Cen Yunchu said with a smile.
While the two of them were talking, a little maid who was serving fruit snacks accidentally knocked over the tea cup, and the tea spilled on the skirt of Miss Cui Mingzhu of the Xinyong Palace.
The sheer skirt suddenly became wet.
Miss Cui was immediately annoyed. She slapped the maid next to her without waiting for anything, and yelled, "What a bastard! Are your eyes on the back of your head?!"
The little girl quickly admitted her mistake, and Mo Yuzhen also hurried over.
"Yao Yao Qiao Qiao is not a serious person at first glance," Cui Mingzhu pointed at the little girl, wishing to eat her: "The zombie wandering spirit ran out of nowhere! Showing off to others with a shy face, no?
It's disgusting! You look like a bastard who has a mother but not a mother! Can your claws handle needle and thread?! If only my servants would have cut off your lower half!"
Unlike Xue Shanshan's behind-the-scenes comments, Cui Mingzhu is the most arrogant and always likes to make things difficult for others. He particularly disliked Cen Yunchu from the first moment he saw her!
Naturally, she was not the only one who had such thoughts, because it felt really uncomfortable to be pushed over by others. Even though Cen Yunchu had done nothing, he had already made many enemies.
