Several noble ladies were sitting together under the window, talking about something. They all had lazy smiles on their faces. When they saw Qin Meiniang coming, one of them stopped her and said:
"Where have you been for so long? We are so bored without your sweet laughter!"
Mei Niang mingled among the noble ladies for two hours and was able to basically recognize them all and figure out their personalities. It was no wonder that she was snobbish and specifically targeted those ladies whose husbands had noble titles and who themselves had high ranks. Since ancient times, if you wanted to accomplish something, you generally had to take that shortcut. Although she didn't want to, modern society had taught her too many lessons. Life was not easy, so why should she write her nobleness on her face and ask for trouble
He held the hand of the thirty-something-year-old, delicately made-up wife of Duke Dingguo, and said with a smile, "My dear sister, your hands are so warm and soft. Look at your tight and delicate skin, so white and tender that you can squeeze water out of it! What kind of perfume did you use? It's so fragrant and elegant! I know that you are a master of perfume, so please teach me. I am just stupid and can't make it myself. I can only use the ones I buy, and the fragrance effect is very average!"
The wife of Duke Dingguo was praised in public, and naturally she was very happy. She laughed so hard that her body shook. She grabbed her arm and said, "Look at this little mouth! It's like it's covered with honey, and it's really good at coaxing people. Why do you need to learn from me? Weiyuan Hou loves you so much, how could he bear to let you make perfume by yourself? Even if he buys ready-made perfume, he will definitely buy the best and most expensive perfume for you... Let me take a closer look at your hands, and let's compare!"
Mei Niang smiled and hid behind the wife of Xing'an Marquis: "I dare not! I was taking care of a few pots of flowers and plants in the yard a while ago, and the skin on my hands is rough. I'm afraid you will laugh at me, so I'd better not compete!"
The eyes of the Marquis Changle on the side lit up, and she said, "Madam Weiyuan also likes to grow flowers? Just like me! I also like to take care of flowers and plants in my spare time. I would like to invite you to my house someday to see the flowers I grow in the greenhouse!"
Mei Niang said, "I will definitely go! But the flowers I planted are not worth seeing now... But there is a plum forest over at Jinhua Hall. The plum trees were given to us by the Empress Dowager! They are red, pink, and jade-colored, some are in full bloom, some are half-opened, and some have buds. They are very beautiful!"
Immediately, many young ladies came over and said, "Oh, the white snow and red plum blossoms, the scenery must be beautiful!"
Mei Niang smiled and said, "White snow and red plum blossoms are indeed beautiful! If there were so many beauties to enjoy them together in the plum forest, with all the colors in full bloom, and the people more beautiful than the flowers, wouldn't it be even more beautiful? It's a pity that it's not possible now. It's snowing outside, and it's time for dinner. I should invite all the ladies to the flower hall to have a seat!"
Mrs. Changlehou said, "I'm not hungry. If I can enjoy the plum blossoms, I don't have to eat!"
Everyone agreed: "Yes, yes, it's not too late to enjoy the plum blossoms first and then have dinner!"
Mei Niang was in a dilemma, and the wife of Duke Dingguo patted her on the shoulder: "What's the matter? Are you reluctant to let us enjoy your plum forest? There are many good gardens in the capital, and yours is not the only one with plum forests. It's just that theirs are not in bloom, but yours is. If you don't let us enjoy the plum forest today, I won't eat!"
Mei Niang stroked her shoulder and said with a bitter face: "Good sister, it hurts! Aren't you making things difficult for me?"
Everyone laughed at her funny look. Lady Dingguo liked her very much and rubbed her shoulders while saying:
"Then let's follow your sister's wishes and enjoy the plum blossoms first, okay?"
"But I'm afraid that the ladies will be hungry! The ladies are all plump and beautiful. If they go home today and are found to be thin, won't it be my fault?"
One of the ladies pointed at her and said, "Well, you dare to take this opportunity to laugh at us for being fat!"
Mei Niang covered her mouth and laughed. After pushing and shoving with everyone for a while, she said, "It's not that we don't allow you to go and enjoy the forest. It's just that the forest is really beautiful. I'm afraid that you will be too excited to enjoy the forest and miss the meal. When you come back, the food will be cold..."
She pondered for a moment, then suddenly said in high spirits, "There are winding corridors and water pavilions beside the plum forest. Why don't we learn from the hunters and try living in the wild? We can build a big charcoal fire under the corridor and beside the forest, bring the fine wine and fruits over, cut some fresh beef and roast it over the fire, and enjoy the white snow and red plum blossoms. When we feel like writing poetry, we can even compose couplets... That would be much more interesting than just sitting around the banquet table and eating!"
"It's quite interesting. I agree!" Mrs. Changxing Hou clapped her hands.
"Very good!"
The wife of Duke Dingguo was about to slap her again, but Mei Niang dodged quickly. The wife of Duke Dingguo laughed and angrily dragged her over:
"This idea suits my taste very well! I participated in a hunting trip in my early years and did something like this: I cut beef raw in the wild and roasted it. It tasted really good! The ladies who came today are all young except me, who is older. No one has any dietary restrictions, right? Let's all go have a barbecue together, a barbecue in the snow. How many times can you encounter such an elegant thing in your life! Are you willing?"
"I am willing, I am willing, I sit and listen to others serve me every day, today I will do something myself and see if I can feed myself!"
The noble ladies laughed and followed the wife of Duke Dingguo and Mei Niang out of Jinhua Hall, talking as they walked, and headed towards the plum forest.
After a snowstorm, the plum forest in Jinhuatang was in full bloom beautifully. Under the careful care of the gardeners, several rare green plum trees also blossomed with buds. The branches were no different from those of red and white plum trees, but the most rare thing was the petals, which were emerald green and transparent, like jade carvings, one by one in an orderly manner inlaid on the brown plum branches, extremely delicate and beautiful. Most of the ladies had never seen this delicate and rare green plum, and they all gathered around it, marveling at it. Some people who had seen it stood up and, with some show-off and boasting, introduced to everyone the origin of the green plum and the complicated cultivation process, and also talked about its medicinal value, which made everyone feel even more precious.
While no one was paying attention, Ning Rulan's personal maid Hongye came over and whispered to Mei Niang, "Third Madam asked me to tell Grandma: prepare two banquet tables in the flower hall for the old ladies, madams and older ladies. Grandma, just take care of these young ladies!"
Under the curved corridor, Mother Cai followed Mei Niang's instructions and brought her maids to prepare all the necessary utensils. There were a dozen small round tables, which were filled with fruits, melon seeds, peanuts, fine wine, hot tea, and all kinds of exquisite snacks. There were dozens of soft embroidered cushions and countless small red clay stoves with charcoal burning brightly. There were also several piles of red charcoal fires in the purple-leaf forest under the corridor. Three or five cooks led the maids in plain aprons to string the freshly cut beef, various vegetables and squid slices soaked in hot water into strings with bamboo sticks, put them in bamboo trays, and placed them one by one in fixed places.
The weather was nice and there was no wind. Snowflakes were falling, not in large, dense clumps, but scattered like flowers scattered by fairies. Such scenery was perfect for playing in the courtyard forest.
Mei Niang's secret worry was unnecessary. The ladies usually lived a life of luxury, but once they got such an opportunity, they felt fresh and curious, and their childishness and playfulness were aroused. While enjoying the plum forest, they rushed to grill meat, snacks, vegetables, and sweet potatoes. After grilling, they gave them to each other and persuaded people around them to try the flavors they made. Everyone felt that the seasonings they made were better. In the outdoor yard, they were not restrained as in the house, so they ate and drank freely, played to their heart's content, laughed from the bottom of their hearts, and had a great time.
It was a pity that the old lady's beloved purple-leaf forest had its treetops crushed by a heavy snowfall and was smoked by fireworks, making it look very messy. And the beautiful plum forest was picked by the ladies while they were drunk, wanting to take the flowers home to put in vases, but Mei Niang was also drunk, and she gave flowers to everyone who asked. The newly opened plum branches were almost all picked, leaving only the unopened buds still on the branches.
There were more than a hundred pounds of fresh beef, and there were forty or fifty women in total, including the maids accompanying the ladies. Nothing was left. All the vegetables and snacks were also roasted and eaten up. Eight of the ten jars of fine wine were opened, and the remaining two were opened by the wife of Duke Dingguo. Everyone took advantage of their drunkenness and divided into several groups to guess the numbers. In the end, not a drop was left.
The female guests returned home drunk and happy, and the old lady learned what happened in the purple-leaf forest and plum forest in the courtyard, and was furious. Unfortunately, Mei Niang was already drunk, and Ning Rulan arranged for the maid to carry her back to Qinghua Courtyard in a sedan chair, so she did not hear her reprimand. (To be continued)