Chapter 453 - 164: Marquis Jingning’s Residence (Part 2)
Lakeside Water Pavilion, gentle breezes and pleasant warmth, red railings and green planks, winding corridors, emerald trees and exquisite flowers, the scenery was extremely luxurious, especially the flowers planted along the railings, all of which were extremely rare and precious varieties. The pairs of turquoise mandarin ducks and red-crowned white cranes in the lake added to the rarity; not to mention the artificially constructed rockeries and the pavilions adorned with objects that were clearly no ordinary items.
It would be a waste not to take a moment to appreciate such beauty. As Yueyao walked along, she took in the views, pausing whenever she saw something she liked, even showing a smile.
Nanny Hao, aware of her lady’s particular quirk, reminded her in a hushed tone, "Miss, the Heir’s Wife from Marquis Jingning’s Residence is still waiting for you!" If she allowed the young lady to continue on her way, they’d never make it to lunch.
Yueyao hadn’t noticed the expression of those around her, but at Nanny Hao’s reminder, she came back to her senses and, with a smile, said to the lady next to her, "The estate’s views are so beautiful, they’ve absolutely enchanted me."
The Servant Woman was surprised to hear Yueyao’s words but showed no sign of it on her face, instead responding respectfully, "Thank you for your appreciation, Miss Xie." Marquis Jingning’s Residence had recently received many guests, and among the visiting ladies who were seeing the marquis’ household for the first time, some were stunned by the wealth and grandeur, wearing expressions of astonishment like country bumpkins, while others pretended to be indifferent but their eyes roved everywhere. Yet none of them, except Yueyao, leisurely admired the scenery along the way. It took her more than double the time to walk a path that should have been covered in a quarter hour, without showing a trace of embarrassment. Upon entering the courtyard, they found its corridors filled with vivid, fresh flowers.
Yueyao was led by the Servant Woman into a small drawing room, which was, relatively speaking, decorated simply compared with the opulence they had seen along the way.
Yueyao had Nanny Hao and Xi Yu accompany her to the courtyard, while the old nanny who had followed them did not enter. One old nanny said to the same Servant Woman, "Nanny Chen, you’re being too polite to her. She claimed to have seen splendor in Jiangnan, but she’s just as shallow as any of them." Yueyao’s behavior, observed by those with keen eyes, seemed unseemly. Moreover, today Yueyao’s attire was not particularly remarkable, as she wore only a simple set of Jade ornament.