The noble girl is beautiful.

In the scorching weather of the dog days, the sun hung fiercely overhead, making it unbearable to go outside. If there happened to be a day without the sun, it would still be oppressively hot, making people uncomfortable.
On this particular day of rest, Shen Yourong woke up early due to the heat. The ice added during the night had long since melted into water by the early morning. She lay in her tent, feeling sticky all over, unable to fall back asleep no matter how much she tossed and turned. Seeing that the sky outside was already bright, she decided to get up and take a bath.
After bathing, she finally felt relieved, feeling much cooler. She put on a simple white silk shirt and her hair was still wet, only tied up with a wooden hairpin. Hua Mei, the maid responsible for her makeup, wanted to attend to her indoors, but Shen Yourong impatiently ordered a long reclining chair to be moved to the courtyard under the soapberry tree, where she sat to enjoy the cool breeze.
In no time, the maids and servants finished arranging the reclining chair and table in the courtyard, with a stove, a pitcher, and an incense burner placed on a small table.
The incense burning in the burner was called “Nine Harmonies Incense,” with a name associated with a legend. Shen Yourong didn’t particularly see its appeal, but it was effective in repelling mosquitoes and bugs.
She lazily reclined on the chair while Hua Mei wiped her hair with a large towel. A maid brought hairpins, but she waved her hand, saying, “I’m not going out today, no need for makeup.”
So she only instructed Hua Mei to bring a pair of floral bracelets she usually wore and put them on her wrists.
Hua Mei said, “Since there’s nothing special today, shall we paint our nails? Judging from the weather, it might rain later, and it would be a pity if those Phoenix Flower blooms in the backyard are knocked down.”
Shen Yourong lazily replied, “Sure, but make sure to pick those multi-layered red flowers; otherwise, the dye will turn out too yellow.”
“Understood,” Hua Mei said before taking a maid to pick flowers. Shortly after, they returned with a servant.
“The young master heard that Miss couldn’t sleep well, so he sent me to deliver a roll of bamboo jade cool mat. The cool mat feels cool to the touch and prevents sweating, making it perfect for summer use.”
Shen Yourong sat up straight, had the servant take it, and said, “Thank you for the young master’s concern.”
The servant then bowed and said, “The young master also asked me to inquire why two second-tier maids were dismissed from the front yard.”
Shen Yourong glanced at Hua Mei, and she explained, “It was because the maids were careless and lost something from Miss’s room, but it has been found.”
The servant acknowledged and received a reward before leaving.
Back under the soapberry tree, Shen Yourong picked up her fan and fanned herself intermittently while Hua Mei and the others conversed. She asked, “Why didn’t you explain clearly to the young master?”
“Explain what?” Shen Yourong said, “That a servant from the Fourth Prince’s residence took my sachet? Upon closer inspection, it’s just a trivial matter, and the rest are baseless speculations. You know the temperament of my brother. If I tell him, it might cause trouble again.”
Du Juan also came over to take a look and placed a packet of alum, “I haven’t had a close look yet, but they’re blooming beautifully.”
Hua Mei and Du Juan then began to pick flower petals together.
Shen Yourong idly picked a few petals, mostly spending her time fanning herself and watching them work.
“Lady Jin from the lady’s residence said that she saw various intricate designs cut out of paper and pasted onto the nails of the women outside, making them look beautiful.”
Shen Yourong said, “I’m not interested in those fancy things. Just dye them red for me.”
Hua Mei agreed and said, “Let me try it first and show you how it looks.”
Shen Yourong nodded with a smile and asked, “When did she go out to burn incense?”
“Just a couple of days ago,” Hua Mei said, “while the young masters and misses were in class, Madam went out by herself.”
She lowered her voice, “I heard that she went for the Second Young Master’s participation in the county exam. She heard somewhere that the Xiangyun Taoist Temple on Xiangyun Mountain has a Taoist priest named Xuan Cheng, who is very effective in such matters.
So she took some people with her, attended a day of lectures, and spent five hundred taels of silver!”
“Five hundred taels?” Du Juan was also surprised, “Madam is really generous.”
Hua Mei rolled her eyes and said, “Those five hundred taels aren’t even hers.”
Shen Yourong asked, “What do you mean?”
Hua Mei explained, “Ask Du Juan, have we received our monthly allowance?”
Shen Yourong looked at Du Juan, who shook her head. Hua Mei continued, “Only the Old lady, the Duke, the Second Old Master, and Madam’s residences have received their monthly allowances.
The allowances for the young masters and misses’ residences have been withheld. It’s almost the end of the month, and we don’t know where the allowances have gone.”
Shen Yourong thought for a moment while fanning herself, then chuckled at her and said, “Alright, I can’t afford to lose your monthly allowance. So, this month, the allowances for our residence will come from me. Just keep it quiet and don’t make a fuss.”
Du Juan agreed, and Hua Mei suddenly remembered something, covering her mouth as she laughed.“
A few days ago, Third Miss threw out a few camellia plants in the courtyard. Madam happened to come out from the Second Miss’s residence and saw it, scolding her for wasting things.
The next day Lady Wu in the residence complained, saying that a few camellia plants were nothing good.
After all, Third Miss is also a young lady of the Duke’s residence.
She shouldn’t be unable to handle even a few flowers, especially since the money used wasn’t from the withheld allowance, and so on… This made Madam very angry.”
Shen Yourong laughed and said, “It’s amazing how you know everything.”
Du Juan laughed and said, “Miss, she’s the one who enjoys watching dramas the most.”
After some banter, a few old maids entered carrying red food boxes. Shen Yourong had her meal there, and afterward, she continued picking flower petals.
After picking the flowers, they were washed with water, dried with gauze, and ground in a bowl, adding some alum to intensify the color.
Du Juan went out and picked a few leaves of wormwood. Hua Mei used small tweezers to stack the ground phoenix flower petals on Shen Yourong’s hand, and Du Juan wrapped her fingers with wormwood leaves and wound them with cotton thread, tying a knot.
Shen Yourong looked at her wrapped five fingers and said, “These are done. I can’t move my hands, so I can’t do anything.”
Hua Mei smiled and said, “If there’s anything, you just need to instruct us. We’ll ensure your comfort and won’t let anything disturb you.”
“Oh!” Du Juan suddenly remembered, “The big characters haven’t been written today. How do we explain it to Prince Duan tomorrow?”
Hua Mei also froze and said anxiously, “I forgot about this!”
Shen Yourong, however, calmly blew on her nails and said, “I’ve already wrapped them up, and it’s not acceptable to take them off now. Besides, calligraphy cannot be mastered in a day, nor can it deteriorate in a day. I’ve been practicing for over a month; taking a day off won’t hurt.”
Du Juan sighed and smiled bitterly, “If all the scholars studying outside were like Miss, they’d probably starve to death.”
Shen Yourong decided to slack off for a day and urged Hua Mei to continue wrapping her nails.
As the afternoon wore on, the weather became increasingly sultry, and after a startling thunder, heavy rain poured down.
Shen Yourong and her maids stood under the leaves, watching banana leaves scatter in the rain. The sound of rain falling on the soapberry tree almost drowned out all other sounds.
The rain was heavy, and the wind was strong, carrying moist air and the smell of earth, sweeping away the sultry heat of midsummer. Shen Yourong looked at her hands for a while, and Du Juan advised, “Miss, it’s humid outside. Let’s go back first.”
She, thoughtfully, said, “With such heavy rain, Master won’t send someone to urge me.”
With that, She returned in a good mood.
In the evening, when the lamps were lit, She unwrapped the wormwood leaves covering her nails, revealing delicate fingers with fingertips as red as peach petals.
Hua Mei brought water to wash her hands and said, “If Miss feels the color is not deep enough, you can apply it two or three more times, and the color will be richer.”
She was already very satisfied. She ordered some exquisite dishes from the kitchen and a pot of chilled Jin Hua wine. Outside the window, the night rain fell, and inside, the master and servants laughed and talked.
By the time the wine was drunk, Shen Yourong was a little tipsy, her eyes hazy.
Seeing this, Du Juan quickly cleared the table and took her to bed.
The next day, Shen Yourong woke up late, almost late. But she was used to arriving at the school just in time, so it was nothing unusual in the eyes of others.
Ji Zhuo began his class, glancing at her. She lowered her head and didn’t meet his gaze, looking guilty.
After a while, he announced a break, then said, “Miss, come here.”
He often called Shen Yourong behind the screen like this, and everyone in the school was used to it.
She followed him behind the screen, and he sat down in the circle chair, looking quite relaxed. “Where are yesterday’s characters?” he asked.
She obediently stood there and said, “I didn’t write yesterday.”
“Why didn’t you write?” He asked again.
She reached out her hand to show him, “I wrapped my nails yesterday and couldn’t write.”
His gaze fell on her hands, her fingers delicate like scallion roots, with fingertips as red as peach petals, suddenly breaking into his eyes. These were precious, soft, and full of the charm of a young girl.
His eyes flickered slightly, moving his gaze away from her fingertips, and asked, “You didn’t write because of this?”
Shen Yourong decided to play dumb and pretended to be innocent, “Isn’t it pretty?”
“Pretty,” his voice was cold, “But how can you forget to practice writing because of this? Can’t you distinguish priorities?”
She whispered, “Of course, cosmetics are more important. You can see that I didn’t write yesterday.”
“Why do you need to practice calligraphy to calm your mind?” She said, “Being in the women’s quarters, who do I need to show my determination to?”
Ji Zhuo continued, “Characters reflect the person. If the characters aren’t good, how can others look at you?”
She argued back, “If characters truly reflect the person, why not add a calligraphy test to the imperial examination to distinguish loyalty and treachery? Why insist that all scholars use the official script?”
He was speechless, looking at her, lost in thought.
This was the first time she had explicitly expressed her dislike for calligraphy. She hoped he would know that she was not a talented person and would not watch her practice calligraphy anymore.
After a long time, he suddenly smiled and said, “you are truly extraordinary. Ordinary copybooks are of no use to you.
Tomorrow, I’ll give you a new copybook, with four large characters every day. I hope you can learn the essence of calligraphy from it.”