The noble girl is beautiful.

The excitement of the Festival lasted for two or three days and then passed. The household was busy gathering things and taking inventory.
The young ladies were not concerned with mundane matters. On that particular day, it was the third young lady’s birthday.
Everyone gathered in the old lady’s room to eat watermelon and discuss how to celebrate her birthday. Shen Yourong and Shen Qinghan wanted to organize a day of entertainment with theatrical wine, which would also serve as an excuse to skip school.
However, Lady Yang said that the third young lady shouldn’t have a big celebration, especially since their grandmother wasn’t feeling well in the summer heat and didn’t enjoy noisy gatherings.
Therefore, it was not appropriate to have a grand celebration; it was enough for the sisters to play together. This was how they had celebrated the second young lady’s birthday before.
Shen Qingyan agreed, and Lady Yang instructed Shen Yourong to take good care of her sisters and have fun with them.
Just as they were talking, the Fourth Prince arrived, saying he had come to pay respects to the old lady.
During his stay in the mansion, he often came to pay respects to the old lady, speaking affectionately and acting like a close junior.
She liked him, as did the girls around her, but her grandsons didn’t quite meet her expectations. Shen Shuo’s temperament was too cold, which she didn’t like, and Shen Qingfeng, following his mother’s instructions, was not close to her either.
The twins from the second branch were cute, but they were still too young to understand the her preferences.
The Fourth Prince strode in, dressed in beautiful attire, and gave his respects to her. She hurriedly called out to him, and the Fourth Prince also greeted Lady Yang before greeting Shen Yourong and her sisters.
“I went to the palace yesterday, and Her Majesty was pleased to see the embroidery work of the young ladies. She instructed me to bring these festival gifts for you.”
He waved his hand, and his attendants brought in the items.
The gifts for the three young ladies were the same: two pieces of blue sujuan, two pieces of floral cloud chiffon, a pair of crystal paperweights, a pair of rings, and two pairs of golden plum flower hairpins.
The three young ladies thanked him and took their respective items back to their seats.
He said, “Mother has another item for the eldest young lady.”
With that, he personally took out a small square brocade box and opened it to reveal a pair of golden silk pearl earrings. The pearls were as big as lotus seeds, shining brightly with a warm light.
“These are pearls from the hepu that were taken off the crown of Empress Wenxuan of the Jin Dynasty. They have been preserved for hundreds of years without losing their luster. Mother specially ordered craftsmen to make them for the eldest young lady.”
The old lady took the earrings in her hand and said, “These pearls from Empress Wenxuan’s hepu, combined with the craftsmanship of the palace, are probably unmatched in the entire capital. Hurry up and accept the gift.”
Shen Yourong stood up and bowed to the Fourth Prince, “Thank you, Your Highness, thank you, Mother.”
The Fourth Prince smiled, “You don’t need to be so polite, Eldest Sister.”
As he spoke, his gaze fell on Shen Qingyan, who was talking to Shen Qinghan and hadn’t looked at him. His gaze quickly moved away, and he continued to chat with the old lady.
After returning from the old lady’s place, Shen Yourong returned to her room, tossed aside her cloak, and lazily lay on the couch.
She held the pearl earrings in her hand, shaking them a few times, making a faint sound as the pearls collided. Du Juan brought a plate of cherries and placed it in the ice tray.
Shen Yourong put the earrings back into the box and said, “Put them in the bottom drawer of the dressing table.”
Du Juan took them and put them on the dressing table. Shen Yourong picked up the fan and fanned herself, feeling uncomfortable. She said, “Tell the kitchen to send some cold su lao, with less honey and more fresh fruit.”
“Yes.” Du Juan called a little maid to the kitchen to get the food. In a short while, the little maid came back with a food box.
She opened the food box in the outer room and saw that besides the su lao that Shen Yourong wanted, there was also a bowl of egg gruel, a plate of white cloud slices, and a three-fresh lotus seed cake.
Du Juan took out a few snacks and placed them on a red tray, which she then brought to Shen Yourong’s room.
Shen Yourong felt annoyed and wanted something cold to eat. Du Juan didn’t dare to stop her, only advising her to eat some snacks first to avoid damaging her stomach with cold food.
She ate two pieces of snacks and then picked up a small silver spoon to eat the su lao. The sweet and sour su lao mixed with the fruity pulp quickly dispelled the annoyance in her heart.
“On the third sister’s birthday, go pick out a few things to send over as gifts, following the example of the second sister’s birthday.” She instructed.
Just as she was speaking, Hua Mei returned from outside. Her older sister, Li Qiu, was Hua Mei’s elder sister in the eldest young master’s courtyard, and she brought back a bottle of sour plum powder for her.
When Hua Mei heard Shen Yourong’s instructions, she put down the things and, together with Du Juan, began to look for items. At the same time, she said, “When I went to Mingyue Pavilion, I saw my sister looking for a pair of black and white jade chess pieces. She said the Eldest Young Master ordered them to be given to someone.
But she didn’t find them and asked me to come and ask if they were here with our young lady.”
“Jade chess pieces,” Shen Yourong thought for a moment and said, “There is such a thing, it’s on the antique shelf in the study, and it was brought over from my brother’s place before.”
She instructed Hua Mei to find them and casually asked, “Who are they for?”
Hua Mei replied, “They’re for Prince Duan, to be sent to Dongzhai.”
Shen Yourong paused and said, “For Prince Duan? When did my brother become so close to him?”
No one answered her question. Meanwhile, Du Juan had finished arranging the gifts for Shen Qingyan and brought them for Shen Yourong to see. She nodded after seeing them and ordered her to send them over.
After resting in the afternoon, Shen Yourong got up from her nap and lazily came to the writing desk to write. Ji Zhuo’s daily four-page large characters made her head ache every time she thought about it.
Du Juan came in to change the tea, saw that she had only written one page and wanted to stop and rest.
Hua Mei came back in a flurry, saying, “Miss, the Third Miss’s courtyard is really lively.”
Shen Yourong casually asked, “What’s going on?”
“The birthday gift sent by the Fourth Prince is quite rare,” she replied.
“What did he send?” Du Juan, who was sewing on the side, also seemed curious.
“It’s some pigments,” Hua Mei explained, “According to the maids in their courtyard, those pigments are ground from various gemstones, such as white from pearls, red from coral, gray from obsidian, and there are also peacock stone, turquoise, turquoise… I don’t really understand how beautiful the colors are, but they say it’s very rare.”
Du Juan shook her head, saying, “That’s too extravagant.”
Shen Yourong didn’t think so, “For a good painting, color is key. Throughout history, many have used gemstones to grind pigments.”
Hua Mei asked, “But what about poor families? Do they stop painting?”
“There are also colors extracted from plants,” Shen Yourong explained, “such as sappanwood, gardenia, mulberry, purple root, madder root, which are much cheaper than pigments ground from gemstones.”
Hua Mei asked again, “What’s the difference between colors extracted from stones and plants?”
Shen Yourong thought for a moment, “I don’t know. I’m not good at painting, I can only watch from the sidelines.”
Just then, Shen Shuo walked in from outside and asked, “What are you doing?”
Hua Mei and Du Juan hurriedly served tea, while Shen Yourong, sitting at the writing desk under the window, said, “Practicing calligraphy.”
He only sat down in the evening and asked, “What were you all talking about that was so lively?”
“We were talking about the birthday gift the Fourth Prince gave to the Third Miss,” Shen Yourong replied, putting down her brush and holding the tea, “he gave her some expensive pigments ground from various gemstones.”
Shen Shuo chuckled lightly, “He knows how to please the little girls.”
She didn’t respond, and Shen Shuo asked her, “I heard that the Lady Mother rewarded you with a pair of pearl earrings?”
“Yes,” her expression became lazy, “Although they’re not eastern pearls, they are pearls from the hepu of Empress Wenxuan of the Jin Dynasty, which can be considered unique.”
He sneered, “You didn’t follow the Three Rites and Six Ceremonies and expect to be rewarded with eastern pearls? That’s really improper.”
She took a sip of tea and said, “In my opinion, this is just the Lady Mother expressing her attitude. It may not necessarily be to please me, but more likely to urge the Fourth Prince.”
He pondered for a moment, “Are you saying that the Lady Mother can see that the Fourth Prince doesn’t want to marry you?”
She smiled, “I can’t guess the Lady Mother’s and the Fourth Prince’s thoughts.”
Shen Shuo frowned, not knowing what he was thinking.
She suddenly remembered something and said, “I sent you that pair of black and white jade chess pieces. Did you see them?”
“I saw them,” he replied.
She looked at him and asked, “When did you become so close to Prince Duan and specifically look for that set of chess pieces to give him?”
“It’s not considered close,” he explained, “He reminded me of something.”
“What did he remind you of?”
He glanced at her, “He reminded me that the Fourth Prince is close to the Third Miss. As for our eldest sister, she’s quiet in school, pretending not to see anything, like a living Bodhisattva on a high wall.”
Shen Yourong paused. That day at Peach Blossom Lodge, Shen Shuo had seen it too. He thought that she had been wronged but couldn’t react, so he quietly reminded him.
Who knew that Shen Yourong was clear-minded and had thought of it as a good opportunity?
She thought for a moment, “He reminded you, and you just used a set of jade chess pieces to repay the favor?”
“Of course not,” Shen Shuo said, “Favors can’t be repaid so easily. I gave him the jade chess pieces to tell him that I acknowledge his favor, and I will repay it in the future.”
She nodded and fanned herself, saying, “I didn’t expect my master to be so considerate of me. It seems that I can’t slack off on my homework in the future.”
He looked at her coldly, saying, “He’s not just your master, he’s also His Majesty’s younger brother, the distinguished Prince Duan.”
She paused, “What are you trying to say?”
He put down the teacup, “From His Majesty to the Fourth Prince, none of them are easy to get along with. Is he, Prince Duan, really a kind-hearted and pure person who rises above the mire and remains unsullied?”
Why not? Shen Yourong and Ji Zhuo had been master and student for a month or two. He was knowledgeable, eloquent, and he himself was like a polished and gentle gentleman, not to mention he was so good-looking.
Such a good-looking person, how could he be a bad person?
She didn’t say anything, but she obviously leaned towards Ji Zhuo.
Shen Shuo sneered, “Just wait and see, he’s definitely not as simple as he appears.”