Miss Truth
Chapter 358 - 226 Pei Jing

Chapter 358: Chapter 226 Pei Jing

The Zheng mansion was located in the northwest corner of Anxing Square, covering more than twenty acres with a south-facing entrance. It comprised front, back, east, and west courtyards; the back courtyard housed the female quarters, the east courtyard was occupied by adult sons of the Zheng family, and the front courtyard contained the study and the main hall, among others. The destination for Ran Yan and her companions was the west courtyard.

The entire west courtyard was dedicated to entertaining guests, complete with banquet halls and guest rooms.

The Servant led Ran Pingyu and the others to the west courtyard and then the male guests had to part ways with the ladies.

At a fork in the path, Maids were there to guide Mrs. Luo and the others to the Jifang Pavilion where the women gathered.

Ran Yan initially thought their attire was too lavish but upon standing outside Jifang Pavilion, she felt as though she was entering a sea of flowers. With over a hundred people including masters and maids all in the main hall, everyone had put considerable thought into adorning themselves such that even the most extravagant dress barely stood out.

Jifang Pavilion was divided into many smaller pavilions, similar to a restaurant, with private rooms and a grand hall. Except for a few highly esteemed Ladies who garnered much attention, most people didn’t know each other’s rank but were familiar faces from regularly attending banquets, thus Mrs. Luo sported an appropriately generous smile on her face, nodding and greeting those she recognized.

Throughout the journey, there were as many as twenty-three such acquaintances.

Mrs. Luo led Ran Yan and her two sisters further inside, intending to find a private room to sit down, when a sweet voice called out, "Mrs. Luo!"

Mrs. Luo stopped in her tracks, following the voice to see a young woman around twenty-four or twenty-five years old, dressed in an apricot-colored Luo dress with a tea-yellow Qidi-patterned embroidery, wearing a blue-green lightweight silk shawl, her hair piled high in a cloud-shaped bun, her face painted a pale white, with a hint of rouge lightly brushed on her cheeks, and a small cherry mouth adorned with two red dots at the dimples.

The makeup of the geishas in Japan might very well have originated from this. Ran Yan found it somewhat difficult to accept at first glance, especially when she noticed that many others had painted a stark white layer as well. With people coming and going in the room, perhaps out of etiquette, the sound was not very loud, which gave Ran Yan the illusion of being in a morgue where corpses pretend to be alive.

"Lady Shangguan," Mrs. Luo greeted with a smile, her face full of astonishment and admiration, "Your facial makeup is so exquisite! Who was the skillful artist who did it?"

Lady Shangguan chuckled, "It’s still the same as before, repainted over and over. We can only strive for refinement. However, Mrs. Luo’s peach blossom makeup is even more approachable."

As she heard their conversation, Ran Yan quickly glanced over Mrs. Luo’s face; she had been listening to Ran Yun in the carriage and hadn’t paid any attention to Mrs. Luo. A hurried look now gave her the impression that Mrs. Luo had a very healthy complexion. It seemed that the peach blossom makeup was more acceptable than the facial makeup.

"Ah, who might these three ladies be?" After exchanging pleasantries with Mrs. Luo, Lady Shangguan turned her gaze to Ran Yan and her sisters. To her surprise, they were three beauties each with a distinctive temperament!

Mrs. Luo introduced Ran Yan with a smile, "This is the legitimate daughter of our Ran family, the Seventeenth Miss."

Ran Yan bowed to Lady Shangguan, "I’ve seen Lady Shangguan."

"Truly a natural beauty!" Lady Shangguan took one look at Ran Yan but her attention was captured by the Lilac Spring Rain Skirt she wore, "I’ve never seen this pattern before. Who embroidered this dress for you?"

For a woman, it was evidently the beautiful dress rather than the beautiful lady that commanded greater attention.

Before Ran Yan could reply, Mrs. Luo spoke up, "The Seventeenth Miss loves to ponder these novel items when she’s not studying, and this pattern was drawn by her. She even had the owner of Qiluo Records make it. The embroidery on Eighteenth Miss and Ah Yun’s dresses were also designed by her!"

Lady Shangguan then shifted her attention to Ran Meiyu and Ran Yun, admiring the exquisite embroidery on their clothes, and praised, "Seventeenth Miss truly has artistic talent to be able to create such unique and beautiful designs!"

Ran Yan was not about to take all the credit, "Lady Shangguan overpraises me. The pattern took a bit of effort, but it’s really the craftsmanship of Qiluo Records that’s commendable."

Lady Shangguan, hearing Ran Yan’s humility, took a greater liking to her, and after briefly greeting Ran Meiyu and Ran Yun, she drew Mrs. Luo and Ran Yan into a discussion about new patterns, soon attracting a crowd of noblewomen.

Ran Meiyu’s expression soured; many Ladies occasionally glanced over their embroidered dresses. Noticing Ran Yun, who also seemed edged out, Ran Meiyu suggested, "Ah Yun, let’s go elsewhere. There’s still time before the banquet begins."

Ran Yun, too, was feeling bored, "I know of a little warm pavilion nearby where many young women will likely be. Let’s go there."