The wind is gentle and the fun is endless

At noon, Huanhuan and Xu Qu changed into new clothes sent by Yongshengfang and went to pay their respects to Mrs. Xie.

Mrs. Xie was very happy to see the beautiful couple. She asked Huanhuan, "How is it, Huanhuan? Do the clothes made by Yongshengfang suit your taste?"

After listening to Nanny Quan's words, Huan Huan knew the status of Yongshengfang in her mother-in-law's heart, so she said, "From the fabric to the workmanship, everything is very satisfactory. Thank you, mother-in-law."

Mrs. Xie stood up, walked over and held Huanhuan's hands, and Huanhuan quickly stood up from her seat. Mrs. Xie smiled and stared at Huanhuan, looking left and right. Huanhuan didn't know what was going on and cooperated with Mrs. Xie.

Suddenly, Madam Xie said to Aunt Zhang beside her, "Amin, go get me that light green gauze coat."

Hearing this, Aunt Zhang was stunned for a moment, then said hesitantly, "Madam..."

Mrs. Xie didn't care, but continued, "Don't just stand there, go quickly."

After a while, Nanny Zhang brought in a water green gauze dress. When she unfolded it, she saw that it was a translucent, light gauze coat with wide sleeves and floral patterns. The color was slightly lighter than the dress Huanhuan was wearing, and the edges were embroidered with light pink roses as lace.

Mrs. Xie handed the translucent gauze dress to Huanhuan and said, "This dress matches the one you are wearing, so I'll give it to you."

Upon hearing this, both Nanny Zhang and Huan Huan were surprised, but Xu Qu remained silent with a calm expression.

This kind of translucent flowered gauze made of shark silk or light gauze is an imperial product. The production process is complicated and the material requirements are extremely high. It is very rare among the people.

Mother-in-law gave such a valuable item to Huanhuan. Huanhuan didn't know whether to accept it or not, so she said, "It's better for mother to keep it."

Mrs. Xie smiled and said, "I am old, and you young people should dress up well. Stop being polite, do you still think this is old? Although I have kept this dress for a long time, I have never worn it, so it is not old. How about I get you a new one tomorrow?"

"No, no, this one is great. Thank you, mother." Huanhuan accepted it quickly and tried it on. She looked even more radiant. Mrs. Xie nodded in satisfaction, and Huanhuan couldn't help showing her joy. Xu Qu looked at Huanhuan twice more, but remained calm and silent.

**********

It was the Dragon Boat Festival, and Mrs. Xie took Xu Qu, Huanhuan and Xu Xiangyue to the Shen Mansion in two carriages.

As soon as they arrived at the door, Lord Shen Zhongjun and his wife were already standing at the door to receive guests. When they saw Madam Xie, they immediately greeted her warmly. Madam Shen asked about Xu Xiangyue in a few words. At this time, she saw Xu Xiangyue, who was in the same carriage with Madam Xie, getting off the carriage. Her face was even more smiling. She directly reached out her hand to hold Xu Xiangyue, asking her all kinds of questions and showing her great concern.

The Shen family is also a prominent family in Shanghuai City. They have been struggling for generations and have accumulated a lot of wealth. Walking slowly to the Shen Mansion, I found that there was a small lake in their mansion, and there were two or three cruise ships on the lake.

At this time, the guests in the mansion gathered in groups of three or five. Some were by the lake, some were in the pavilion, and some were under the trees. There were laughter and joy everywhere, and the atmosphere was peaceful.

Huanhuan was also infected by this atmosphere and was very happy. She and Xu Qu were walking slowly by the lake, and not far away, Xiangyue and Madam Xie were still having a lively conversation with Madam Shen.

At this time, there was a young man beside Madam Shen. He was wearing a blue narrow-sleeved casual dress, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, and he looked simple and honest. As the laughter came, he chuckled from time to time, and sometimes scratched his head with his hands in embarrassment, his eyes always stayed on Xu Xiangyue. Slowly guessing, this should be the second son of Master Shen Zhongjun's family.

He looked at his sister-in-law again. Her expression was cold, and it was obvious that her mind was not on the conversation at all. Her eyes never fell on the Second Young Master Shen, and she even seemed to be deliberately avoiding the Second Young Master Shen.

As the hostess, Madam Shen naturally had many things to do and people to entertain. After a while, she took her leave and asked the Second Master Shen to accompany Madam Xie and Xiangyue to go around. After Madam Shen left, the Second Master Shen, Madam Xie and Xu Xiangyue walked towards Huanhuan and Xu Qu.

The Second Master Shen greeted Xu Qu and the other two first, and said that he would take the four of them around the mansion. However, Xu Xiangyue said, "No need. Master Shen must have a lot of things to attend to today, so he doesn't need to accompany us all the time. Besides, my sister-in-law and I are going to where the girls are gathering, so we won't bother Master Shen anymore."

Xu Xiangyue's "order to expel the master" made Mr. Shen a little embarrassed, and Madam Xie scolded him, "Xiangyue, don't be rude."

Xu Xiangyue was very confident and said, "I came here to accompany my sister-in-law today. What's wrong with what I said just now?"

Madam Xie looked very helpless, but Xu Qu tried to smooth things over and said, "Brother Shen, why don't we go to Tingzhu Pavilion? Remember, every time we come to your house, that's where the young masters gather to compete in poetry."

Upon hearing this, Mr. Shen said, "Okay, then Mr. Shen and Brother Xu will move to Tingzhu Pavilion and say goodbye to the ladies and Miss Xu first."

The Second Master Shen and Xu Qu walked to the southwest of the Shen Mansion. Huanhuan and the other two watched them disappear behind a weeping willow by the lake. Xiangyue turned around and said to Huanhuan, "Sister-in-law, I'll take you to Baoqin Pavilion, which is usually where the girls get together."

As soon as the voice fell, a joyful voice was heard, "Sister-in-law, Xiangyue, Huanhuan, you are all here."

Hearing this, Madam Xie and the other two turned around and saw that it was Xu Qu and Xiangyue's second aunt who had arrived. Huanhuan and Xiangyue hurriedly bowed to the second aunt, the wife of the second master of the Shen residence. Madam Shen came over and held one hand each of Huanhuan and Xiangyue's with both hands, saying, "All the beauties of our Xu family are here. They are dressed so beautifully today and look even more radiant. They are truly the most beautiful young wives and girls in the entire residence!"

Huanhuan had a good impression of Second Madam Shen, and when she heard her compliment, she smiled and replied, "Second Aunt, you are too kind."

Xiangyue was also very happy to see Second Madam Shen, and said, "Second aunt, I was just wondering why I didn't meet you in the Shen Mansion." Her words seemed even more intimate than when she was talking to Madam Xie.

"I just arranged some things on behalf of my eldest brother and his wife, and I just finished them." Mrs. Shen answered Xiangyue and was also explaining to Mrs. Xie.

"Sister-in-law, how long have you been here? The banquet will not start for a while, why don't we go to the middle hall and sit down," asked Mrs. Shen.

"It didn't take long, okay." Facing the lively and cheerful Mrs. Shen Er, Mrs. Xie's second sister-in-law, Mrs. Xie finally started a conversation.

"Second aunt, my sister-in-law and I are just about to go to Baoqin Pavilion." Xiangyue said to Mrs. Shen.

"Oh, you see, I am really young. Young people naturally like to play with young people. Go ahead and come to the middle hall to find me and your mother later." Mrs. Shen agreed immediately. Mrs. Xie didn't know what to say, so she agreed.

Xiangyue led Huanhuan along the path in the garden and finally arrived at the Baoqin Pavilion. Huanhuan took a look and saw that there were indeed many young women in the pavilion. Most of them were gathered in groups of three or four to talk, and some were playing the piano together.

So this is what the gatherings of the ladies and ladies from wealthy families are like, Huanhuan thought silently in his heart.

As soon as she and Xiangyue stepped into the threshold of Baoqin Pavilion, several ladies came up to talk to Xiangyue. Soon, Miss Shen, the daughter of Lord Shen Zhongjun, also said goodbye to other guests and came over to greet Xiangyue.

Huanhuan secretly thought that Miss Shen's attentiveness might be related to her second brother's affection for Xiangyue, and other ladies seemed to like Xiangyue very much, so there must be a deeper reason. It is inevitable that there are some petty intrigues among these women, especially for a cold and beautiful woman like Xiangyue, who is easy to be jealous. But seeing that Xiangyue is so popular despite her cold temperament, Huanhuan guessed that it might be related to her straightforwardness. After all, most people don't like people who play tricks, but like people who are frank and honest.

Just as Huanhuan was thinking, Xiangyue pulled Huanhuan over and introduced the girl next to her to Huanhuan, "Sister-in-law, this is the third daughter of Lord Shen Zhongjun, Shen Wan'er. Wan'er, this is my new sister-in-law."

"Hello, Miss Shen." He bowed slowly to Miss Shen.

"Hello, Madam Xu, welcome to my Dragon Boat Festival banquet. I hope you have a great time today." Miss Shen also returned the greeting very politely.

At this time, Xiangyue said to Huanhuan, "Sister-in-law, Wan'er just bought a pipa. Would you like to go with us to take a look?"

Huanhuan was not very good at playing musical instruments, and said, "I don't know much about music theory, so I won't go."

Xiangyue didn't force it and said, "Okay, wait here for me, I'll be back soon."

Huanhuan hurriedly said, "Go ahead, don't worry about me, I'll go around."

After Xiangyue and Miss Shen left, she slowly walked to a row of bookshelves, picked up a book at random, lowered her head and flipped through it. The warm wind blew in from the window, and a burst of whispers faintly reached her ears.

"Look, this is the Xu family's new daughter-in-law. She's quite pretty."

"Look at the clothes she's wearing. You can tell they're made of fine material. Look at that translucent gauze dress. Not every concubine in the palace can wear it."

"With Yongshengfang as our backing, we can use silk and satin at will, and even kesi silk is no problem. What's the big deal about a mere gauze dress?"

"Huh, is this the daughter of the eighth-rank minor official who received more than fifty boxes of betrothal gifts but only gave five boxes of dowry? I heard that Master Xu chose her himself. I wonder what the eldest son of the Xu family likes about her."

……

After hearing this, Huanhuan finally understood that she, as his wife, was chosen by Xu Qu himself. She just didn't know why Xu Qu chose her.

She was flipping through the book slowly and casually. In between flipping through the pages, she caught a glimpse of a figure not far away staring at her. She tilted her head slightly and saw a girl in light blue clothes looking at her intently. When she met the girl's eyes, she immediately turned her head away.

At this time, Xiangyue and others came back, and everyone started chatting together again.

Not long after, there were some noises coming from the door. It turned out that on the path not far away, the second young master Shen was leading a group of young masters to the central hall. The girls in the Baoqin Pavilion looked at the young masters on the path through the open doors and windows.

Huanhuan stood in an inconspicuous corner and looked at the young masters. She soon found Xu Qu's elegant figure. At this time, she found that from her angle, she could see the people in front of her staring at Xu Qu, who was walking at the end of the team. "It's her." It was the girl in green who had stared at Huanhuan before. The girl's eyes followed Xu Qu until the figure disappeared.

At this time, the blue-dressed girl next to the green-dressed girl touched her and said, "Don't look anymore, those gentlemen have gone far away. Hey, who are you looking at?"

The girl in green withdrew her gaze and said nothing.

Seeing this, the girl in blue whispered again, "Your family has been arranging marriages for you over the years, but you always disagree. Are you still thinking about Master Xu?"

The girl in green nodded and then shook her head.

The blue-dressed girl advised in a low voice, "You and Master Xu have only met a few times. Although he is considered one of the most handsome men in Shanghuai City, you don't have to be obsessed with him all the time."

The girl in green said with a hint of sadness, "I just, I just feel that others are inferior to him in every way when I look at them."

The blue-dressed girl sighed slightly and said, "Didn't you promise to marry Mr. Xu back then? Why didn't it come to fruition? If it had happened, you would have married into this wealthy family, and there would have been no point in being the daughter of an eighth-rank official."

The girl in green bit her lip when she heard that and said, "It was all because of my old-fashioned father. He was fine at first, but later I heard from somewhere that he was a naughty, uneducated, and unmotivated playboy, so he wouldn't agree to anything."

The girl in blue said, "Your father, Lu Tongzhi, certainly has the connections to make inquiries. Who knows, maybe this Mr. Xu is just a splendid exterior with a rotten heart. Besides, Mr. Xu is married now, so you should not be too infatuated with him and ruin yourself."

All of this conversation was heard by Huan Huan in the corner. She was moved by the sincerity of the young lady in green. Before she could think about it, she heard Miss Shen San calling out to the ladies in the Baoqin Pavilion, "The banquet is about to begin. Everyone, please go to the central hall."