The noble girl is beautiful.

Shortly after, the Chinese Valentine’s Festival approached. The mansion began preparations several days in advance, instructing the kitchen to prepare various novelty cakes and making lanterns and lantern towers.
Because July 7th is the birthday of Kui Xing, Lady Yang busily sent people to offer sacrifices, hoping for a good omen for Shen Qingfeng.
The weather was clear that day, the sky a bright blue with scattered clouds. Ji Zhuo arrived at the study and was surprised not to encounter Shen Yourong on his way. He wondered if she was late again.
As he entered the courtyard, he saw many people standing under the leaves by the door. The boys crowded by the windows, peering inside, while a few maidservants chatted and some young ladies stood by the door.
Shen Yourong was among them, wearing a simple gauze dress embroidered with red flowers, standing leisurely and gracefully.
It was indeed unusual to see her arrive early, he thought.
He ascended the steps, watching her laugh and chat with her sisters. Just as he turned the corner, he heard an exclamation followed by the sound of porcelain shattering.
Looking over, he saw several lotus leaf bowls filled with water placed under the leaves. As he walked by, the hem of his garment had knocked one over, spilling water everywhere.
“This is the water the young ladies use to test their needle skills, left out to sun,” Ji Chengyao said, laughing from the window. “Master, you knocked over their water. What are you going to do about it?”
Ji Zhuo lifted the hem of his robe and looked at the young ladies, who all turned their eyes to Shen Yourong.
“Is this your water?” He asked her.
She nodded. “It’s nothing, just a bowl of water. But your robe is wet. You should change it.”
Changming quickly led him to the rear chamber, where he kept spare clothes as the tutor.
After a while, he emerged in a fresh outfit. Shen Yourong had Hua Mei fetch new water and set it back under the leaves to sun. The young ladies returned to their studies, and classes continued.
That day’s recess was particularly lively. Several young masters and the Fourth Prince were discussing where to drink wine. The Fourth Prince suggested, “It’s not appropriate for just us to go. Why not invite the eldest young master of the house, to maintain propriety?”
Shen Qingfeng shook his head. “Elder Brother is probably busy with official duties. I haven’t seen much of him these past two days. Besides, if he knew I was going out to drink, he’d lecture me about not studying seriously.”
The Fourth Prince had to give up on the idea.
Shen Qingfeng then asked, “Should we invite the teacher?”
The Fourth Prince waved his hand. “He is very reclusive. Inviting him would be pointless, and he’s a senior; it would be awkward for him to join us. Let’s not bother him.”
Meanwhile, the young ladies were also chatting. They couldn’t go out drinking but had many interesting games to play.
Shen Qingyan ate berries with a handkerchief and said, “Elder Sister, your needle skills won’t compare to ours this time.”
“I don’t mind if they don’t,” Shen Yourong said. “I’ve never been particularly skilled with my hands.”
Shen Qinghan added, “That’s not necessarily true. You manage to stand the needle every year, and it’s not about the water.” She then looked at Shen Qingyan and asked, “What design are you planning to draw this year? I heard Grandmother say she wants us to embroider some new patterns.”
Shen Qingyan shook her head. “I haven’t decided. My embroidery skills are poor, as you know. Maybe I’ll stick to the old patterns—you draw, and I’ll embroider?”
Shen Qinghan agreed and turned to Shen Yourong, “Elder Sister, what pattern will you draw?”
“I can’t draw as well as Third Sister, just some simple designs,” She said. “As long as it turns out correctly, that’s all that matters.”
Shen Qingyan laughed, “We might outdo you in embroidery this time.”
She smiled, “That would be nice.”
As it approached noon, Ji Zhuo announced the end of the session. Shen Qingyan excitedly pulled Shen Yourong and Shen Qinghan along, running outside. Everyone gathered under the veranda, waiting to watch the needle-threading competition.
Over there, the Fourth Prince and his group hadn’t left either. They were all leaning against the windows, peeking out to watch. Ji Zhuo stood at the doorway, also watching them.
Shen Qingyan sat down nearby, pulled out a pouch from her waist, and took out a few embroidery needles, handing them to Shen Yourong and Shen Qinghan.
Being impatient by nature, Shen Qingyan was the first to try. As soon as the needle touched the water, one end sank immediately, and it slowly descended to the bottom.
She was a bit unhappy and glanced back at Ji Chengyao, who was leaning out of the window watching.
He didn’t say anything, just smiled at her. She smiled back, pursing her lips in amusement.
Shen Qinghan was the second to try. She was very careful and also very nervous, holding the needle in one hand and tucking her sleeve with the other. The thin embroidery needle landed on the water, trembled slightly, and then stood upright.
She let out a long breath and looked towards Shen Yourong.
Shen Yourong put down her fan and picked up a needle, gently placing it on the water. As soon as she let go, the embroidery needle floated away without sinking.
Shen Qingyan was unhappy. “I’m the only one who couldn’t make it stand.”
Little Shen Sihui wanted to try as well. Shen Qinghan patted her on the head. “You’re still too young; you don’t even know how to do embroidery. This is for the older girls.”
Shen Sihui wouldn’t listen and insisted on playing, so Shen Qingyan played with her again. Afterward, everyone dispersed.
In the afternoon, Shen Yourong, having nothing to do, remembered a recipe for lychee incense and decided to give it a try.
The lychee incense is made using lychee shells, along with ingredients like pine nuts, musk, cyperus, and cloves.
Just a few days ago, after eating lychees, they had saved many shells, which had already been cleaned, dried, and left to marinate in white wine for three days.
She set up a small stove under the soapberry tree in the courtyard and slowly roasted the wine-soaked lychee shells over a low flame. As the wine evaporated, the sweet aroma of the shells became more pronounced.
Once they were almost dry, she used a mortar to grind the shells into powder. She was very patient, chatting and laughing with her maids, Hua Mei and Du Juan, as they ground all the shells into fine powder.
The powder needed to be sifted, and only the fine powder that passed through the sieve could be used for making incense.
Hua Mei brought over various jars and bottles filled with different spices, such as musk and cloves.
As Shen Yourong was blending the spices, Bai Yue suddenly entered the courtyard and remarked with a smile, “Oh, what a lovely sweet scent.”
Du Juan quickly took the items from Bai Yue’s hands and offered her a seat.
She sat down on an embroidered stool, smelled the incense in Shen Yourong’s hand, and said, “It doesn’t have the vulgarity of traditional incense like agarwood, sandalwood, dragon’s blood, or musk.”
Shen Yourong smiled and replied, “It’s nowhere near as precious as those types of incense; it’s just for fun.”
She put the blended incense into a box and asked, “What brings you here, Sister?”
Bai Yue smiled and said, “I almost forgot the main reason I came. The writing you submitted has been annotated by our master. Also, I heard that he accidentally spilled water on your drying work earlier today, so he drew some patterns as an apology.”
She took a stack of papers from a tray, all of which were patterns drawn by Ji Zhuo. He had probably heard Shen Yourong’s comment, so he drew conventional and error-free patterns like peonies, peony roses, crabapple flowers, water lilies, etc. They didn’t look like ordinary patterns but rather like meticulously detailed paintings, very exquisite and beautiful.
At the bottom was a drawing of bamboo covered in snow, with lifelike bamboo trees and a profound theme.
Holding this drawing, Shen Yourong remembered the purse she had lost earlier, which had a plain green base embroidered with pale purple bamboo leaf patterns.
She looked at Bai Yue and said, “Please tell the master that I really like the drawings. Thank you very much.”
Bai Yue then stood up and said, “I’ll take my leave now.”
Shen Yourong handed a box of incense to her. “If you don’t mind, please take this as a gift.”
“Oh, thank you, Miss.”
She left with the box of incense.
Ji Zhuo was reading in his room, reclining in a chair with his long robe trailing on the floor, his relaxed posture exuding a natural grace.
Bai Yue entered to report, “Eldest Young Miss accepted the painting and said she liked it very much.”
He acknowledged with a nod and glanced at her. “What’s that smell on you?”
She presented a box of incense given by Shen Yourong. “Eldest Young Miss was blending fragrances in the courtyard. I got a bit of it on me.”
He put down his book and picked up the incense box to smell it. “It’s sweet and fragrant, a scent young ladies would like.”
He set the incense box on the table and tapped his fingers on the surface. “I remember there’s a piece of intact yellow wax agarwood in the palace.
Since she likes blending fragrances, give it to her. Tell her… she’s improved her calligraphy greatly, and it’s a reward for her.”