Chapter 119 How did he end up at Lu Ji's side?
The injustice done to Concubine Shu was redressed, and the Ningguo Mansion regained its former vitality.

In a blink of an eye, Wang Fengyi had been in the mansion for more than a month. Thanks to the careful care of the ladies and young ladies in the mansion, on this day, she ordered the maids to prepare fragrant tea and fruits, and invited famous actors to entertain. She held a tea party in the flower hall of the mansion and invited the girls from the east and west mansions and young wives. In addition, Qin Xiaoning was also invited.

When Qin Xiaoning rushed to the flower hall, Wang Fengyi was waiting at the door with her maid.

She was wearing a crimson plum blossom cape and a gilded phoenix hairpin, looking very dignified and elegant. When she saw Qin Xiaoning coming over, Wang Fengyi smiled and greeted her politely, "I haven't seen Miss Qin for a while."

Qin Xiaoning took the gift from Song Zhi who was following her and handed it to Wang Fengyi: "It's just a small thing, not a token of respect."

Although she had not had much contact with Wang Fengyi, Qin Xiaoning could see that she was a person who valued gifts. This time she was hosting a dinner, so Qin Xiaoning could not come empty-handed.

Wang Fengyi accepted Qin Xiaoning's gift with a hint of surprise in her eyes: "Miss Qin is so polite."

If it were the Wang family, the girls would bring small gifts on such occasions, but in the mansion, the girls did not have this habit. Perhaps it was because the mistress of the house, the lady of the Duke's house, had a rough temperament. Wang Fengyi discovered that the young ladies in the mansion seemed to be unrestrained, at least compared with the girls of the Wang family, they were really lacking in etiquette.

Take today's occasion when she was hosting the party for example. All the girls came empty-handed, except for this concubine of the lowest status who brought gifts.

She didn't really care about the gift, but Qin Xiaoning was so thoughtful that Wang Fengyi couldn't help but look up to her.

Seeing her politeness, Qin Xiaoning smiled and said, "It's not a valuable thing, please don't despise it, cousin."

"How?"

Wang Fengyi was talking to Qin Xiaoning, and his eyes unconsciously looked at her.

The little girl doesn't look older than her. I don't know where she comes from. Although she is a concubine, she is very graceful in her gestures and has a very good appearance. The last time I went to the ancestral temple was the first time I met her. Judging from the attitude of the ladies and young ladies in the mansion towards her, this girl should be very favored. The Lu family has a clean family tradition and few of their sons take concubines. I don't know how this girl ended up being taken by Lu Ji.

Wang Fengyi was thinking about these things unconsciously in her mind, and suddenly came to her senses: She was just a guest, what did the affairs of the prince's concubine have to do with her?

"Miss Qin, please come in." Wang Fengyi quickly collected her thoughts and called the maid beside her to lead Qin Xiaoning into the flower hall.

Seeing Qin Xiaoning coming, the girls who had arrived earlier greeted her: "Sister Qin, come and sit over here."

Qin Xiaoning walked up the steps and sat down next to the Sixth Young Lady. She looked around at the young ladies in the East Mansion and asked casually, "Why didn't I see the Third Young Lady come over?"

The seventh girl replied, "My third sister is engaged, so I'm afraid she can't come."

As soon as the seventh lady finished speaking, the third lady of the East Mansion followed Li Lanchun into the flower hall. The seventh lady looked at the third lady with a look of surprise on her face: "Third sister actually came out? Don't you have to follow the nanny to learn the rules today?"

The third girl sat down and threw her handkerchief: "Don't mention it. I've been detained for so many days that my bones are almost soft. Today I begged my mother to let me out to breathe." Glancing at the third girl's depressed look, the sixth girl pouted and said: "Getting married is really scary."

"Don't worry." The third girl glared at the sixth girl: "In a few years, you will be like me, ah! No freedom anymore."

Seeing this, the Seventh Miss came over and joked, "If the Third Sister had married Shen Qingshu, she wouldn't be saying such depressing words right now, right?"

As soon as the seventh girl said this, the other girls came over to join in the fun.

The third girl said angrily, "If you keep talking nonsense, I'll go and complain." Seeing that the girls were unmoved, the third girl pushed Li Lanchun aside and said, "Sister-in-law, can you control them? As the eldest daughter-in-law of the Lu family, you just let these little hooves talk nonsense without restraint?"

Li Lanchun put down the dried fruit she was eating and said to the third girl with a smile, "If you don't have any evidence, how can they use you to bully others?"

"Sister-in-law, you are a clan wife, why are you so unruly?" The third girl's face turned red with anger, and she turned her head and snorted, "I will ignore you."

Seeing that people were angry, Li Lanchun pretended to be threatening and said to the other girls, "Your third sister is already engaged. From now on, don't mention Shen Qingshu or Shen Baishu anymore. It's nonsense."

As she said this, she smiled and pulled the third girl over, coaxing her, "What's so good about that book? The young master of the Duke of Qi's mansion that Third Aunt picked for you is the best match in the world. If you marry him, you will be the Duke's wife, and your title will be the same as your eldest aunt."

Before Li Lanchun could say anything, the Sixth Miss interrupted, "From now on, I have to call you the Duke's wife? Oh! That sounds so old-fashioned. Only people my mother's age would call you that."

"Don't talk nonsense." Li Lanchun glared at the Sixth Miss, then slowly said, "The old Duke of Qi's Mansion passed away early, and the eldest son of the Qi family inherited the title early. When our third girl enters the house, she will legitimately be the Duke's wife."

The fifth lady echoed Li Lanchun and said, "Third sister married such a noble woman, isn't it a hundred times better than marrying Shen Qingshu? Although he was a third place winner, I heard that he went to another city to be a prefect, a low-ranking official. How can it be better than marrying into the Duke of Qi's mansion and becoming the Duke's wife?"

After hearing what Li Lanchun and the Fifth Miss said, the Third Miss finally calmed down a little. After hearing what the Fifth Miss said, the Sixth Miss echoed, "This Shen Qingshu is the same. He chose to go to another place to suffer instead of marrying into a family as prestigious as our Lu family. I don't know when he can finally become an official in Beijing."

"You really don't know what's good for you." Seventh Miss followed up and said, "It's a good thing that Third Sister didn't marry her."

Several girls were chatting here when they saw Wang Fengyi leading the second wife, Xia, slowly approaching. Li Lanchun saw them and asked hurriedly, "Oh my, why are you out?" Then she stood up and helped Xia's hand to sit down, muttering to herself, "You are only three months old now, you should rest in your room."

The pregnant Xia is now the number one protected person in the mansion. Everyone in the mansion is eagerly looking forward to her giving birth to the first boy of this generation.

Like her mother-in-law, the Second Lady, Xia Yun was also from a scholarly family. She was a bit shy, and seeing Li Lanchun making such a fuss, she blushed and replied, "I've been bored in the room for quite a while, and I really can't stay any longer. I know you guys are having fun here, so I came out to relax."

Wang Fengyi ordered someone to fetch a soft pillow for Xia, and then teased Xia in a nice way: "Since the third cousin is so restless, this baby must be a boy."

(End of this chapter)