Miss Truth
Chapter 321 - 202: Duped_2

Chapter 321: Chapter 202: Duped_2

"Ah! I’ve seen the seventeenth lady," Han Xun suddenly came back to his senses and hastily bowed in greeting.

Ran Yan also bowed in return, and Ran Yun introduced her, "This is the daughter of the East Market Officer, Lady Han."

Ran Yan couldn’t help but twitch the corner of her mouth. The title ’Lady Han’ was something she simply could not associate with a girl of fifteen or sixteen years old; thus, she was relieved her own rank was not too awkward. She was thankful no one referred to her as ’Lady Ran.’

After exchanging a few greetings, the three of them entered the courtyard together. A servant was already waiting at the door. He took the invitation cards from Ran Yun and Han Xun and respectfully offered their maids oiled paper umbrellas, then directed a maid to lead the way.

Ran Yan watched as Ran Yun and Han Xun held their postures, their steps seemed calm, but from their straight backs and stiff necks, she could tell they were actually quite nervous.

Ran Yan looked around the courtyard and discovered that this private garden seemed to encircle two hilltops, covered in pure white snow. The snow was still falling, though it was weakening, and a thick layer had already accumulated on the ground, perfect for a hearty snowball fight. At this thought, the corners of Ran Yan’s lips lifted slightly, but her gaze was tinged with a hint of melancholy.

"Ladies, please wait in the warm pavilion for a moment. My lady will arrive shortly," the maid said with a slight bow.

After thanking the maid, she opened the door to the warm pavilion and invited them inside.

Before entering, Ran Yan glanced around and noticed that it was a building similar to a quadrangle courtyard. There were little pavilions on three sides of the yard, a gallery that connected both sides to the north, and several red plum trees growing in the center, creating an interesting contrast with the artificial hills and rocks. Several guests were already seated in the other pavilions, and some looked out to see the newcomers but closed their doors when they saw unfamiliar faces.

Once inside, Han Xun sighed in relief and plopped down on a woolen felt mat, somewhat annoyed, "Today’s all children from noble families. Thank goodness you came with me; how could I handle this alone?"

"Children!" Ran Yun was casually lying on the table, but upon hearing this, she shot up and exclaimed, "Are you saying there are not only noble ladies but also young noblemen from noble families?"

Han Xun nodded, feigning surprise, "Eh, did I not tell you? But even if I didn’t, you should’ve realized..." She lowered her voice and whispered to Ran Yun, "If it weren’t for that, my father would never have gone to such lengths to get this invitation card."

Ran Yun cried foul, having originally disliked attending gatherings of noble ladies, feeling they were all too proud with their noses in the air. That’s why she had dragged Ran Yan to the event to make a stand, and she had not anticipated it to be like this!

"I heard that this time, Lady Pei has invited many unmarried young noblemen from Chang’an to admire the snow and take pleasure in the plum blossoms. The main purpose is for Lady Cheng to find a husband, and although we’re just there to make up the numbers, it’s also an opportunity to get to know influential figures..." Which girl doesn’t harbor romantic dreams? Thinking of meeting many eligible young men, Han Xun’s eyes gradually lit up.

Lady Cheng Yaojin, hailing from the renowned Wenxi Pei clan in Hedong, came from a family of dukes and counts, with no fewer than a thousand members recorded in history.

To admire the snow and view the blossoms?" Ran Yun’s voice rose a few pitches but she quickly lowered it, remembering there were still many people in the courtyard, and said, "Didn’t you tell me it was a snowball fight?"

The invitation had come from Han Xun, which merely had the address written on it, stating that the bearer could bring a companion, but it did not specify the host or the guests’ names, nor the purpose of the event. Hence, once Han Xun mentioned a snowball fight, Ran Yun was excited, thinking these noble ladies had finally put together something interesting. Turns out, it was even worse.

"This is a good thing, don’t look so unwilling, others are breaking their heads to get in!" Han Xun groaned.

Actually, Ran Yun and Han Xun’s relationship wasn’t very close, but Ran Pingyu was like a gold mine and she was willing to spend money on relationships. The Market Officer received a lot of benefits from him every year, so the relationship between them wasn’t bad. That’s why the Market Officer had gone out of his way to do a favor for Ran Pingyu, allowing Han Xun to invite Ran Yun to come along.

Additionally, Ran Yun was quite pretty; if she caught the eye of some noble person, the Ran family would owe the Han family a big favor.

Ran Yun felt a surge of frustration welling up in her chest. She hung her head and stopped paying attention to Han Xun.

As for Ran Yan, she had come with an open mind, so the change in the nature of the gathering didn’t affect her much.

Shortly after, a maid knocked on the door and brought in some tea and snacks. Ran Yun, with a mindset of not passing up free food, ate nearly half a plate of pastries. Then she grabbed half the snacks from Han Xun’s plate over to her own.

After eating her fill, Ran Yun felt her attendance had not been in vain.

"Ladies, my lady is waiting for you in the plum garden," a voice from a maid came from outside the door.

The three of them tidied up their appearances and then stepped out the door.

It was the same maid who had shown them the way earlier. "Please follow this slave," she said.

By this time, all the doors were opened. Ran Yan casually scanned the room and noticed that the makeup and clothes of these people were very plain. Clearly, they all understood their role as foils. Some were a bit more cunning, putting much effort into the details.

In theory, even if you’re just a foil, you shouldn’t be so obviously ingratiating. Ran Yan guessed that most of these individuals probably didn’t hold very high statuses.

Her guess was soon confirmed. Upon reaching the plum grove, she saw several adjacent pavilions, surrounded by numerous maids and attendants and guards with swords standing all around. Laughter occasionally drifted down from the pavilions.

The maid led them to two other empty pavilions, Ran Yan considered that it might be an arrangement based on status, since both Ran Yun and Han Xun had seen a few acquaintances in each pavilion.

Suddenly, the anticipated snowball fight seemed dull and uninteresting. They had just found seats by the window on the second floor when the voices of men emerged from the plum garden below.

One could guess that there wouldn’t be men and women mingling together to watch the snow and admire the flowers; it seemed they were likely to be confined to the pavilion.

Ran Yan felt that the setup was probably for the ladies to discreetly watch the young men’s appearances and behavior from the pavilion above and perhaps there would be some exchange of poetry or interaction... (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)