A life of ups and downs is pure joy

It was phoenix-eye flower season again, and Grandmother had organized a flower-viewing party. All the ladies of Luofeng City came with the head mistress. He Su was busy greeting the ladies of the various mansions. Chang Xinrui also took Lin Qingwan to chat with the ladies of the wealthy families, and from time to time, flattering words and laughter could be heard. Lin Qingyi was playing Cuju with a group of girls. They passed the ball back and forth. When the sound of the flower drums nearby stopped, whoever the ball landed on would perform a fancy Cuju show. Lin Qinghuan sipped tea and watched the fun. Xiao Zhichuan, who had just learned to walk, happily stumbled around in the crowd, occasionally letting out screams of laughter in excitement. Xue Feng, weak after giving birth, had not been feeling well. Although Lin Mo had tried hard to help her recover, her condition had not improved, so she was not seen at the flower party today.

In the first year when the phoenix-eye flowers bloomed, Lin Qinghuan enjoyed a piece of music played by Lin Qingwan. In the second year when the phoenix-eye flowers bloomed, he sent off Lin Qingyao who was getting married. In the third year when the phoenix-eye flowers bloomed, he sat here again and looked at the beautiful women in the yard.

"I guess this pretty little sister must be Miss Lin Wu?" Several girls as old as Lin Mo came to her side at some point. One of them, wearing a crabapple-red brocade skirt with a corset and large water sleeves, spoke up.

"Miss, this is the second daughter of Magistrate Chen and her sisters." Chu Xia bowed to them and introduced her own daughter.

"Hello, Sister Chen." Lin Qinghuan greeted her lightly. Several girls bowed to her. Lin Qinghuan was about to return the greeting, but Miss Chen Er held her back and said, "Sister, you can't."

"Sister, why don't you go over there and join in the fun? Your third daughter is not as quiet as you." Lin Qinghuan followed the gaze of Miss Chen Er and saw that Lin Qingwan in the distance had started to pluck the strings of the zither with a group of young ladies from official families. The beautiful music began to float among the phoenix-eye flowers in the yard, and more and more ladies gathered around to watch.

"Third sister is an excellent pianist, but Qinghuan is not very talented. Apart from loving to eat, I don't have any other skills. It would be better for me to stay here and appreciate the beauties and delicate flowers in the yard." Lin Qinghuan said self-deprecatingly, but it was also the truth.

"Back then, Miss Lin was always the center of attention at this flower fair, so she didn't need to rely on her craftsmanship to attract attention. You, the legitimate second daughter, haven't learned a single bit of your elder sister's skills." Miss Chen spoke without a trace of formality. She then waved her hand and asked the maid to bring a brocade box, presenting it to Lin Qinghuan. "Nice to meet you. My name is Chen Jingshu. Before your elder sister got married, her best friend was my sister, Chen Nanqiao. If you're bored in the future, you can always come to my house to enjoy my company. I'll come uninvited."

"Thank you for the gift, Sister Shu. I was ignorant and didn't prepare anything." She looked at the brocade box in Chuxia's hand and said embarrassedly.

"This is nothing. Sister Qingyao always brings me a lot of jewelry every time she goes to see my elder sister. Please open it and see if you like it." Lin Qinghuan originally thought that she could just open the gift when she got home, but she didn't expect that this girl was so impatient. She took the brocade box and opened it to see that there was a purple-hair brush inside.

"Sister Shu's gift is too valuable, Huan'er..." Before she could finish, Chen Jingshu closed the brocade box and said, "This thing may be valuable to others, but to you it's just a brush. Come on, sister, let's go enjoy the flowers over there." After that, she put her arm around Lin Qinghuan's and without giving her any explanation, she pulled her towards the group of beauties.

"What are they looking at?" I saw this group of girls stretching their heads through the wooden hollow windows in the low wall to look at the lively scene in the yard next door.

"We'll know if we go and take a look." When they got closer, they found that it was the eldest brother and the young masters of the rich and powerful families who were drinking wine while drinking by the stream. On the other side, her twin brother was fighting and wrestling with some peers who liked martial arts like him. It was really lively.

"The eldest son of this marquis's mansion is so handsome and talented. The poem he just wrote was really good."

"I think the second young master is cuter."

"I also like the type of eldest son, who is gentle, refined, elegant and easy-going."

"Young Master, you see there will be another Marquis Luo Feng in the future. I wonder which of them will inherit the title."

The girl next to them watched the fun and talked shyly about it. It was a large-scale star-chasing scene.

"Who is more popular with the girls from Luofeng City, Big Brother or An Cai?" Lin Qinghuan asked curiously.

"Of course it's Brother Lin Yuzhi. He's both talented and handsome, his character is even better, and his knowledge is incredibly high. He doesn't look like the child of a military commander at all." Chen Jingshu's eyes were full of admiration when she spoke of her older brother. After she finished speaking, she glanced disdainfully at the girls who were discussing Lin Yuzhi nearby, raised her voice, and continued, "Some people don't even consider their own status and can discuss anyone."

The girls nearby looked back at them, their expressions changed drastically, they saluted and left with their heads down in displeasure.

Chen Jingshu stood in the best position, quietly watching Lin Yuzhi from a distance, with a smile in the corner of her eyes. Lin Qinghuan also looked at Lin Yuzhi who was chatting happily with others. Big brother is good-looking, no wonder he has so many romantic interests.

"Whose family is the young master sitting next to my elder brother?" Judging from the unusual clothing of this person, he did not look like the son of an official in Luofeng City.

"I can't see his face clearly." Chen Jingshu glanced at him and said casually, her eyes returning to Lin Yuzhi. This should be the big brother's number one fan in Luofeng City.

"I was wondering who's here, with such a grand show." A lazy and slow voice came from the distance. A girl in a light blue brocade Shangluo dress, a white chest-binding long skirt with a long train, a single bun on her head with an exquisite jade and gold hairpin inserted diagonally, followed by five or six girls of the same age came over.

"Yuan Huixue, I'm in a good mood today and don't want to talk to you. Let's go wherever it's cool." Chen Jingshu looked back at her and replied without any annoyance.

"Sister Chen, this is the Marquis' Mansion, not your Chen Mansion. You are used to being domineering." Yuan Huixue rolled her eyes and looked at Lin Qinghuan with the same disdainful sneer. She walked over and gently squeezed her. It turned out that Lin Qinghuan was blocking her way. She saw Lin Yuzhi at a glance and her eyes were full of joy.

Chu Xia was about to step forward and scold her, but Lin Qinghuan pulled her back and shook his head, thinking that she was just his older brother's little love interest, so why should he bother with her? He could just watch the fun.

"There are so many seats over there, why are you sticking so close to me like a sticky candy with a choking throat?" Chen Jingshu pulled away her sleeve in disgust and took two steps back. Her sister from the same family next to her supported her unstable body.

"I just like this position. It's the best place to see the flowers and the scenery. I believe that sister is generous and will not be so stingy. You guys come over too." After saying that, he called the girls who were with her.

"People need dignity, and trees need bark. Yuan Huixue, even if you haven't read many books, you should still understand the principle of first come, first served." He glanced at her and continued, "No wonder. After all, you're just the child of a wealthy family. You can't expect to read many books. No wonder Guanglumen doesn't leave home with half a brain."

"Sister Chen is always full of good books. I know that she learned these sharp words from some serious book. I wonder if she saw them from the notebook under some dirty woman's bed?" After she said that, the girls next to her covered their mouths and laughed happily.

"Looking at your unpresentable delicate and artificial appearance, it's no wonder that you know what's hidden under that filthy woman's bed. You must have something on your mind." Lin Qinghuan couldn't help laughing after hearing what Chen Jingshu said.

Yuan Huixue glared at her, walked up to her and said angrily, "Who are you? How dare you make fun of me?" After saying that, she raised her arm and was about to slap Lin Qinghuan, but her wrist was instantly pinched by Hong Qi.

"Yuan Huixue, before you cause trouble, don't you find out who you are causing trouble for?" Chen Jingshu was so scared that she walked forward and pushed Yuan Huixue, yelling loudly.

"Who can you be dressed like that? Who are you trying to scare?" Yuan Huixue walked forward and grabbed them unconvinced, shouting at Hong Qi, "How dare you, a servant, pinch my wrist? I will make my father rude to you." Lin Qinghuan looked at himself and saw that he was wearing simple clothes, so he didn't look shabby at all.

Lin Qinghuan was afraid that Hong Qi would show her double swords in excitement, which would scare these delicate young ladies, so she winked and asked Hong Qi to go down first. After all, everyone who came to the mansion was a guest. The eldest sister said that those who were invited to the Lin Mansion for tea must be Dad's friends, and as a girl of the Lin family, she must be generous.

"Don't be angry, sisters. It's just a matter of position. Why make a fuss over such a small matter and let everyone watch the fun?" More and more people came to watch the show, and everyone was whispering to each other.

"What are you looking at? Do you think you can join in the fun?" The girl next to Yuan Huixue said, pointing at the people next to them.

"What happened?" Lin Qingyi came over with a leather ball in her arms, one of her trouser legs tucked into her boot. Seeing the angry Yuan Huixue and the resentful Chen Jingshu, she said, "Did you two have another fight? Qinghuan, why are you joining in this fun?" She turned around and saw her younger sister in the crowd.

"Qing." Yuan Huixue looked at Lin Qinghuan in horror. She staggered and almost fell to the ground. The girls next to her also lowered their heads and dared not speak.

"Third sister, I'm enjoying the flowers with my two sisters." Lin Qinghuan walked forward and held Yuan Huixue, and then held Chen Jingshu with one hand. It seemed that these two girls wanted to be my sister-in-law.

Only then did Lin Qingyi see Lin Yuzhi behind the hollow wooden window. She knew about half of what was going on and said nothing more. The beauty in the distance was still talking, completely unaware that the two beauties here had caused a farce for him, a harmless young man.

"One of them is the daughter of the prefect, and the other is the daughter of a wealthy family. They grew up together and were very close. But after meeting their eldest brother, they started to quarrel like fighting cocks. Whenever they meet, they always quarrel. Seeing the two of them gives me a headache." Lin Qingyi sat in Fengmu Pavilion, watching the girls in the yard chatting with Lin Qinghuan.

"They are both competitive girls. It would be strange if they didn't quarrel when they are together. But it is quite lively." It is really funny to think about the bickering between the two of them.

"I heard from Chuxia that Yuan Huixue was rude to you?" Lin Qingyi suddenly remembered, looked at Lin Qinghuan seriously, checked him, and asked.

"Chuxia, nothing can be hidden from that snitchy mouth of yours." Lin Qinghuan patted Chuxia next to him. The little girl was still thinking about making a few more arguments with a wronged look on her face, but seeing that her daughter looked unhappy, she decided to give up.

"Yuan Huixue is a girl with a bad temper. She has always been a bit of a bully since she was young. Big brother will definitely not like her." Lin Qingyi said slowly as she looked at Miss Yuan who was losing her temper in the distance.

"What about the Chen family?"

"No, Big Brother won't marry any girl from Luofeng City." Lin Qingyi replied nonchalantly, then turned to look at Lin Qinghuan seriously, "You, me, Second Sister, Third Sister, none of us can make our own decisions. It seems like we can only be arranged like Big Sister."

"What if I marry someone as ugly as that evil-faced ghost?" Lin Qinghuan asked in a panic.

"I don't think Dad would let that kind of person enter our Lin Mansion." After saying that, the two of them giggled again.

After admiring the flowers and eating the banquet, the flower show ended, and the wine-drinking party also ended. Carriages from various mansions came to pick up their masters, and the noisy Lin Mansion became quiet again. Lin Qinghuan, who had been busy all day, went to bed early after drinking his medicine.

"The second daughter of the Lin family is quite weak. I thought she was so powerful." Yuan Huixue sat in her boudoir, with several maids helping her to wash and dress.

"I heard that she has been ill, but everyone in the mansion treats her very well, especially the eldest son of the Lin family, who dotes on her extremely." The personal maid told her young lady the news she had heard.

"Hmph, everyone is blocking my way. The most annoying one is Chen Jingshu. She is everywhere. Hey, don't you have eyes? It hurts so much when you comb my hair. Pass the comb to me. You are so clumsy, get out." When Chen Jingshu was mentioned, Yuan Huixue was furious and could only vent her anger on the girl who did the hairdressing.