Qi Xiangyu, Qu Moying and a few other young ladies who wanted to stroll around together, walked out.
She was originally going to reject Miss He Si's offer, but she didn't expect that there were so many young ladies who wanted to come and take a look. It was inconvenient for her to say anything, so she could only take everyone out.
On the way there, she didn't go anywhere else but went to the place where the banquet was held. Calculating the time, everything there should be ready.
The banquet venue was actually very close to this yard. As soon as I went out, I saw a tall flower stand on a piece of open space diagonally opposite.
The huge platform extends into the lake, half of it is in the lake and half is on the shore.
It can be called a lake, but not really. This area is not very big. The gourd-shaped lake surface happens to be a very narrow spot. The men's and women's seats are facing each other from a distance, naturally separated by gender.
Qu Moying's side is the women's seat, and opposite is the men's seat.
About ten meters away, there is a bridge connecting the two places. You can cross the bridge to the other side, where there is also a large open space.
The flower stand is right in front of the banquet hall, and that area is wide.
In addition to the tables on the women's side, there is a large empty space facing the opposite river bank with several empty tables. This should be for the ladies who received the reply posts to paint on the spot.
For replying to a post, the one that has been replied to counts as one part, and the one that is drawn on the spot counts as another part.
The two are evaluated together and the best one is determined.
It was originally just a joke, but now it has become very grand, making the participants in the meeting inexplicably nervous, especially since there are men sitting opposite them and there may be a prince.
There are already several young ladies here checking around, pointing and talking on the opposite side. No one has come over to the men's side yet. It must be because the time has not come yet and it is not convenient to bring them over.
"Did Miss Qu Si bring pen, ink, paper and inkstone?" Qi Xiangyu walked a few steps and pointed to the empty tables. That was where the competition would take place. Qu Moying was the one who received the reply.
"Jingyu County Lord said before that he had brought it." Qu Moying nodded and said while looking at that place.
That place was right in front of the front row of the men's seats. Painting in front of the young masters of the noble families opposite him, the pressure was extremely great.
She hasn't tried it, but wouldn't mind trying.
"Did you bring the best ink? Good ink and brushes can help you draw better." Qi Xiangyu asked again with concern.
When she helped Qu Moying prepare her dowry, she knew that Qu Moying was not good at painting, so she reminded her for fear that she did not understand it.
"It's just ordinary." Qu Moying was silent for a while. She really just took out whatever she had in the house casually. She was originally an ordinary person like a painting and didn't plan to stand out here.
It's just a formality.
"Ordinary ones are not good enough! It has to be better." Qi Xiangyu turned around and said something to Miss He Si in a very low voice. Miss He Si nodded.
Except for when they first met just now, Miss He looked a little aggressive. After they went out, Miss He looked much calmer and her attitude became kinder.
Because Qi Xiangyu spoke in a low voice and only a few words, Qu Moying did not hear clearly.
"Miss Qu Si, I have prepared two sets of pens and ink. I can give you one set. You can use my set later. With good pens and ink, you can produce better paintings." Qi Xiangyu turned her head and whispered to Qu Moying.
The two of them were already familiar with each other. Seeing her say this, he prepared two more sets.
Qu Moying nodded: "Thank you, Miss Qi."
"It's not a big deal in the first place. You have to concentrate when painting. If you are distracted, no matter how good the painting is, it won't be good." Qi Xiangyu reminded him in a low voice, fearing that Qu Moying would be distracted by external things.
Qu Moying understood what was said immediately and a smile appeared on his face.
The people sitting opposite are all handsome young men, all paying attention to the paintings at this moment, and they are very close to each other. If there is a painting that they like, how can they paint properly? Speaking of painting competition, in fact, it is not certain how much level can be really demonstrated at this time.
It's just an elegant gathering.
It would be best if you could do it well, but if you can't do the best, it doesn't really matter. It would also be bad if you were led as a topic by people with ulterior motives.
"Who will perform on the flower stand?" After looking at this place, Qu Moying pointed at the flower stand. This was a little different from what she had imagined, so she asked specifically to clarify.
"We will invite some young ladies from aristocratic families to perform on stage. After the painting is finished, the people who posted the replies will also go on stage to demonstrate!" Qi Xiangyu introduced.
"Didn't you say that you only look at paintings?" Qu Moying raised his eyes in surprise and asked.
"That's what I said originally, but this time is different. There are too many people, and they are not ordinary people. We have to find something to do. If we just look at the paintings, it's actually nothing. A lot of colors are missing." Qi Xiangyu said meaningfully.
Qu Moying's heart moved, and he looked across. There was still no one there. "I heard that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will be here. Is there anyone else?"
"Prince Jing will also come, and some other noble young men will also come. Although there are few people on the men's side, they are all people with excellent reputations in the capital. In the past, we could not even see one of them, but now so many have come at once." Qi Xiangyu smiled and pointed to the opposite side.
No wonder there are other talent shows. Being appreciated by these people might mean a good marriage, and under the name of replying to a post, it sounds even more elegant.
The barrier between men and women means that even if young ladies have talents, they are kept hidden in their boudoirs, and very few of them come to the fore. Now that there is such an opportunity to demonstrate openly, many young ladies want to come to the fore.
The reason why Liu Jingyu's banquets grew from just a few people to their current scale is also due to this reason.
"There are so many people performing, why do we have to let the few who responded to the reply to the message go on stage?" Qu Moying was still a little confused. Her long eyelashes fluttered twice, she looked at the tall flower stand, and said bluntly.
First they painted on the spot, and then they performed. Qu Moying found it tiring. She thought that she should take a break at this time and watch the best performances of the young ladies from the noble families above. There was no need to drag herself up there to demonstrate.
Qi Xiangyu understood what Qu Moying meant and smiled meaningfully, "Ms. Qu Si is naturally reluctant, but what about the other ladies? This banquet is based on their reputations, but in the end, it is not them who are famous, but others. Some people will definitely not accept it."
Qu Moying smiled sweetly. It turned out that several young ladies who had received the reply posts were also interested in going up to the flower stand.
She was just thinking too much about herself.
"The other ladies will perform first, and the ladies who received the reply notes will line up at the back. They will draw first, and when they are done, it will be their turn to perform." Qi Xiangyu pointed to the previous venue again.
At this time, more girls have come over, some are looking at the venue, some are watching the fun, and some are sitting in the corners.
Fruits and snacks had already been placed, and we were waiting for the ladies to sit down.
The maids were already ready and were waiting to serve the young lady at her seat.
"Would you like to sit over there first?" Qi Xiangyu pointed and asked.
Qu Moying nodded.
After asking a few young ladies who were accompanying me, they also felt that it would be more appropriate to sit down there first rather than going outside to enjoy the scenery. It was almost time now and it looked like the party was about to start. Although no one came from the men's seats opposite, there were already servants waiting there, so it should be soon.
Turning to the seat opposite, Qu Moying found a seat at an angle. Although it was also in the front, it was not facing the opposite side, so no one came to sit down yet.
Qi Xiangyu originally wanted to follow Qu Moying to sit at the middle seat, but Qu Moying shook his head and said that he liked quietness and it was better to sit here, as the view here was wide and there were more scenes to see. It was also in the front and the view from the flower bed above was also clear, though it was a little to the side.
Ladies of low status are not able to come forward, while ladies of high status are unwilling to stand so far away. As a result, no one has come forward until now. When more people come, naturally someone will come and sit here.
Seeing that she insisted on doing so, Qi Xiangyu could only let her sit here. This was the Liu Mansion, and she and Liu Jingyu were cousins. No matter what their specific relationship was, at least on the surface she had to help Liu Jingyu entertain guests. Naturally, she couldn't sit in the corner. After instructing the maids beside her to serve carefully, Qi Xiangyu took the other ladies around her to the middle table.
What made Qu Moying feel strange was that Fourth Miss He actually followed Qi Xiangyu. In terms of her status, she was actually a little inferior, but when she followed like this, Qi Xiangyu and the other ladies around her didn't say anything, which probably meant they agreed.
When Qi Xiangyu came to her house before, she never mentioned Fourth Miss He. But after just a few days, she became very close to this Fourth Miss He, which was really strange.
"Go ask about Fourth Miss He." Qu Moying ordered.
Yudong took the order and turned to go behind her. There were two maids waiting to serve her. When they saw Yudong coming, they hurried forward.
"Sister, does your young lady need anything?"
There were fruits and snacks on the table. When Qu Moying came over, a maid served her tea. But this time Yu Dong came over, so it must be that this young lady still had some needs.
"Whose family is that young lady from?" Yu Dong calmly pointed at the fourth young lady He who was following Qi Xiangyu. "She's the young lady next to the eldest young lady of Duke Qi's mansion, the one wearing a pink and purple dress."
"That's Fourth Miss He, who is related to Prince Jing's Mansion." The maid took a quick look and immediately replied with a smile. It seemed that she should be quite familiar with her.
The maid in Minister Liu's mansion recognized Fourth Miss He at the first sight
"Miss He Si? Are you helping Miss Qi to welcome the guests?" Yu Dong understood what his young lady meant when she glanced at him just now, so he took the opportunity to ask.
"I'm helping Miss Qi to welcome guests. Miss Qi brought a lot of people with her, and Miss He also helped a lot. Miss Qi has been bringing Miss He here these days." The maid replied.
Yudong then asked several other young ladies before coming back and the two maids stepped back again.
After listening to Yu Dong's report, a hint of sadness flashed in Qu Moying's eyes. This Fourth Miss He was too attentive. This was so abnormal. Didn't Liu Jingyu know