Time passes day by day, and May Day is gradually approaching.
There was joy inside and outside Ito City, and people were actively preparing for the upcoming festival.
The roads are kept clean, and someone patrols them every morning, lunch and evening to prevent anyone from soiling the ground.
The exterior walls of the houses on both sides of the street have all been washed and some have been repainted. Many people put beautiful flower pots on the windowsill, adding a bit of beauty to the house.
In the open space of the Heroes' Square in front of the palace, workers are erecting tall wooden poles and hanging colorful flags on them. Statues of heroes from past dynasties were cleaned cleanly, and tens of thousands of pots of flowers were placed around them to form various patterns.
People in and outside the city, whether rich or poor, flocked to shops large and small to make big purchases for the festival. Nobles and rich people naturally buy gorgeous and expensive things, while poor people will also buy one or two new pieces of cloth for their homes, as well as some meat and wine.
Young girls frantically search for the latest fashionable dresses, shoes and accessories, and then try their best to dress themselves up. The young men seem to be calm, but in fact they are also secretly practicing a skill or two, planning to perform at the festival and attract the attention of their sweethearts.
This madness swept through the city, and even the Rose Garden did not escape.
Winnie followed Dora's orders and spent four days in a row at major tailors and clothing stores in the city to find out what styles of skirts were popular in the aristocratic circles recently. Marcy went directly to her brothers and bought a ticket from Xiao's Beauty Shop. Collect information there. When they finally felt satisfied, they came back with the selected tailor and the latest fashion catalog, intending to make new clothes for Ming Na. Jenny also joined the discussion enthusiastically.
Jenny has always lived a prosperous life since she could remember. Except for being called by Lilith to be a maid for a few days a few days ago, Jenny has really never suffered much. Now she arrived at the Rose Garden, took off her maid uniform, put on her original long dress, and tied her hair with a bow with a ribbon. She was pretty and looked more like a rich lady than Mingna. She is as interested in dressing up as any other young girl.
The three of them became more and more excited as they chatted. Mr. Tailor huddled pitifully in the corner. After the thirteenth suggestion was rejected, he was completely ignored by the ladies.
Ming Na couldn't bear it. See them talking happily. Then he moved quietly. Plan to sneak out without anyone noticing. Unexpectedly, she only took two steps. Winnie discovered it: "Miss Mingna! Where are you going?!"
Ming Na froze. He turned around and smiled dryly: "I'm going to read the potion book. I don't seem to have reviewed my homework today..."
Jenny rolled her eyes: "Oh. Minna. It's May Day now. Everyone is on vacation. Who would review their homework at this time? And hasn't the college already responded? They will be there after May Day. It’s time to prepare for final exams. New students won’t be admitted until the fall semester. You don’t need to be so diligent now. Put away the books. Relax and enjoy the holidays!”
She just wants to relax and enjoy the holidays. Will you be able to escape
But Winnie stared at her with disapproval: "Miss Minna, Miss Dora told her a lot when she left Mayton. You must attend the May Day dance! She even wrote a special letter Come. You want me to prepare a few more sets of beautiful clothes for you. This matter is very important. You must not escape!"
She rushed to the door. Close the door vigorously. Turn around. He stared at Ming Na with unparalleled aura. Minna really couldn't achieve such enthusiasm. She had no choice but to shrink back to the sofa: "I actually didn't want to escape...it's just..." Her eyes wandered. Suddenly I heard a clanging sound outside the window. He said hurriedly: "I'm just worried about the renovation project of the secret passage. I just want to take a look."
"You won't be able to help if you go there. There are people from the Security Department watching over there, so just concentrate on choosing clothes for the ball!" Winnie spread out several large catalogs on the tea table in front of her with a "pop" sound. , "Pick one! Pick the one you like, don't choose red, red is not popular now, and you already have enough red skirts!"
Ming Na glanced at the various color pictures of dresses in the catalog and was a little discouraged: "Why bother? I just wear them to play. In fact, my own clothes are very good." These gorgeous and cumbersome clothes , it’s really not her cup of tea…
"What are you talking about?!" Jenny sat next to her with wide eyes, "May Day, May Day! Don't you know the meaning of the May Day dance? No matter whether it is a noble or a commoner, this is a carnival Festival! Men and women who love each other can be together openly, and no one will laugh at them. So, how can we not go to the dance during May Day? How can we not wear beautiful new clothes when we go to the dance?! Not wear beautiful clothes How can your new clothes seduce men?! Don’t tell me that you don’t plan to go dancing with Mr. Alex! He is so noble and handsome. If you don’t dress up charmingly, other girls will seduce him. go!"
Ming Na was stunned: "What does this have to do with Alex? Why should I go dancing with him?"
"Of course it does matter!" Jenny slapped the armrest of the sofa vigorously, "Are you planning to dance with someone else? Frankly speaking, Mingna, you don't know any good men in Ito at all, right? In addition to Mr. Alex, you also have Any other choice?!”
This is a bit weird to say, but it seems to make sense. If I were really looking for a dance partner, it would be Alex.
Wait...this isn't the point, is it? The point is, why did she go to the prom with Alex? ! She had no intention of going at all! Moreover, why did she dress up to prevent others from seducing Alex? Isn't this what lovers do? !
On the other side, Jenny was already sighing: "Where can you find a good partner like Mr. Alex? Not only is he handsome, but he is also tall, capable and of noble birth. When he came over that night , she was still wearing pajamas, and they were custom-made at 'Valen Valen'! Apart from the royal family, that shop only dealt with business from old families. I still remember last fall, when Kris from the Tua family showed off her clothes all over the world. She wanted to marry a nobleman, and she also said she wanted to go to Valenvalen to have her wedding dress custom-made, but she was ignored at all. It was so satisfying!"
She suddenly covered her mouth, glanced quickly at her serious aunt, and coughed a few times uncomfortably: "Sorry, I got carried away for a moment. But Mr. Alex is really nice. He will say hello to me politely. The dress is very simple, but I will never forget to use incense! It is not the tacky stuff used by nobles, the fragrance is mysterious and a little fresh, it is really noble and elegant..."
The corner of Ming Na's mouth twitched, hesitating whether to tell her that it was actually a medicinal fragrance prepared by herself, which had a remarkable effect in repelling mosquitoes...
"I remember that you seemed to have a sweetheart..." Could it be that Jenny fell in love with someone else and looked at her instead
calendar
But Jenny winked at her: "Don't worry, my good cousin, I love Henry and have no intention of stealing your lover."
Ming Na was a little helpless: he was not her lover, let his real lover worry about this kind of thing...
As soon as this idea came up, she suddenly felt a little uncomfortable. What was going on with that depressed mood
Winnie's words interrupted her thoughts: "Speaking of which, when I delivered the cake to the Green Room yesterday, I seemed to see Master Alex arranging a dark blue dress. It was a big dress, very formal! "
Jenny clapped her hands: "That must be what he prepared for May Day!"
"But..." Winnie hesitated, "It seems a little too formal. If it is worn at a dance, it would be too serious."
"Oh, Winnie, that's not serious, that's noble and solemn!" Jenny quickly rummaged through the catalog, "Let's see... I have it! How about this bright blue one? It goes well with Alex. Mr.'s dress, and it has the most popular square collar...the one that exposes the collarbone, and irregular slits on the skirt...I remember last month, the Marquise Kiltas wore an irregular slit. I went to a certain nobleman’s birthday party with her pink dress and long skirt, and everyone was fascinated by that skirt..."
Ming Na blinked: "How do you know?"
Jenny quickly replied: "Mrs. Lilith was also present at the time. I heard from other maids in the Cardiff family. It is said that Mrs. Lilith broke six vases that night because no one paid attention to the newly made skirt she specially made."
Ming Na quietly wiped a drop of sweat from her forehead.
"If we really want to choose this skirt, we'd better make some modifications..." Marcy, who had been silent until now, suddenly interrupted, "Every customer can get this kind of catalog. Maybe someone will choose the same dress as us. payment."
Mr. Tailor finally found the opportunity to speak: "We will only make each dress for one customer..."
But his voice was quickly covered by Winnie's: "I remember Miss Manda had a skirt. The bottom skirt was made of several layers of tulle. It was a little longer than the outer skirt. It was layered and very beautiful. Why not do the same for this skirt? Use light blue yarn?"
"Soft gauze is better, three layers are enough." Marcy turned to look at Ming Na, "How about changing the skirt to gray-blue? I think this color matches your skin better."
Ming Na opened her mouth, sighed, spread her hands and said, "Please feel free to..."
"How can this be casual?!" Jenny looked disapproving, then she approached her aunt and showed her the booklet in her hand, "How about embroidering cloud patterns on the skirt? It must be as beautiful as a dream."
"Clouds are too simple, I think passionflower is better." This is Winnie's voice.
Then came Marcy: "Would you like to add some decoration to the sleeves? Ribbons? Bows? Or make small flowers out of lace?"
The three ladies were discussing among themselves again. Ming Na looked at the depressed Zai Xiang in the corner of the room, sighed, and quietly retreated to the door. Suddenly she remembered something and interrupted the ladies loudly: "I have only one request! It must not be a long skirt! At least it will allow me to ride a horse and walk striding. I don't want to step on my skirt on the street!"
"What?!"
"This is ridiculous!"
"No one has ever appeared at an aristocratic ball wearing a skirt that exposed their calves..."
Minna quickly closed the door, blocking all the screams behind the door, and then breathed a sigh of relief.
The sun was shining brightly outside the house, and green grass had been planted in the dirt in the front yard. A small cart was parked next to it, filled with small pots of flowers. A cousin arranged flowers of the same color into a small square array, wiped his sweat, looked up and saw Ming Na, waved and said hello: "What do you think? I just bought the flowers from the suburbs, take care of them for a few more days." , it will be in good bloom during May Day.”
Ming Na knelt down and looked around, nodding repeatedly: "Thank you for your hard work. But why don't you do like my second cousin and review with a book to prepare for the Transportation Department exam?"
The cousin smiled: "I'm not that kind of person. I'm more interested in growing flowers. It's the best to be able to grow whatever you like like now. Look, there's a big garden in the back garden. As for the piece of land, I guarantee that it will be beautifully tidied up. It will be even better than the best garden in the city!" After a pause, he came closer and asked in a low voice: "When will those people finish the work? Our back garden has been completely destroyed. They took half of it!”
Ming Na also lowered her voice: "The half belongs to them, there's nothing we can do about it. But part of the nearby woods is ours, you can go and explore there."
My cousin was interested: "Really? Then I want to plant some fruit trees. I used to be in charge of the orchard when I was in Gutenberg..."
There was the sound of a carriage at the front door. It was a small carriage used when going out for shopping. My cousin and another cousin got out of the carriage carrying several boxes and greeted with sweat profusely: "Burley, come and help!"
Cousin Burley walked over immediately, and Minna also helped to move a box, which seemed to be quite heavy. She caught a glimpse of a dozen jars in the carriage, three large packages of meat, potatoes and vegetables, and a few bouquets of flowers placed in the corner, all wrapped in cardboard to prevent damage to the petals. She was a little curious: "What are these bought for? Are they inserted into bottles?" It seems like there are too many
"On the plugs and clothes, use the leftovers to insert bottles." My cousin wiped his sweat, "They are all prepared for May Day. Marcy, Jenny, and Jenny's sisters, cousins and cousins Sisters, they all need to make new clothes. They want to attend the dance, and we have to spend money..."
Ming Na blinked and looked at the boxes in everyone's hands. Another cousin smiled bitterly: "Satin, soft satin, all kinds of tulle, lace, rosettes, ribbons, fake pearls... What's in your box?" Dance shoes, my brother went to buy fabric for gloves. The girls in our family like to make their own."
Minna was silent. Well, women are women after all. In such a carnival festival, no one is willing to give up the right to dress up.
The sound of a carriage sounded outside the door again. Burley looked over and asked, "Is the cousin back?"
It was someone from the Cardo family who came, respectfully handing over a letter: "Miss Minna, our young master is back. His Excellency the Earl said that he would like to invite you to come over for dinner today."
Young Master? Does he mean his uncle's youngest son, Feld, who is only eleven years old
Minna remembered that Bevan once mentioned that this cousin went to the south with his grandfather to escape the cold last winter, but he did not expect to come back until near May Day. She has never seen this brother before, wonders what he looks like
(It’s late again, sorry...)