The noble girl is beautiful.

After being ill for three or five days, Shen Yourong recovered and returned to school. It was the golden autumn season, with many chrysanthemums displayed outside the window. The flowers were as large as palms, white as clouds, green as jade, and the yellow chrysanthemums were brilliantly golden and very beautiful.
Shen Yourong rarely arrived early. Shen Qingyan had picked a tray of chrysanthemums and placed them on the desk, and was just pinning flowers for Shen Qinghan.
The Guo sisters also wanted to come. Their brother Guo Yu had been released a few days ago, having been cleared of any involvement in the scandal. Although his academic honors were still undecided, at least he was safe.
The Guo sisters had returned to their previous delicate and charming ways.
Shen Qingyan, impatient, said, “Come, come, let me pin these for you.”
She took a pair of purple-red chrysanthemums and pinned them on the heads of the Guo sisters. Guo Xuezhu protested, “This color is not fresh.”
“I think it suits you well.” Shen Qingyan picked a few small yellow chrysanthemums, twisted them into a small bouquet, and pinned it to Shen Qinghan.
The Shen family’s twin boys were watching from behind the screen. “Third Sister, can we have two flowers too?”
She gave them two chrysanthemums. The twins pinned them on their heads, then took them down, plucking the petals and scattering them on each other.
Shen Qingyan angrily said, “I shouldn’t have given you any.”
Just then, Shen Yourong entered. “It smells so good.”
Shen Qingyan said, “Look at what they’ve done to my flowers! Of course it smells good!”
The twins grinned, “Forgive us, Sister, forgive us.”
Shen Qingyan huffed, handed the flower tray to Shen Yourong, and let her choose.
The tray was filled with vibrant, colorful flowers, looking very beautiful.
Shen Yourong touched the eight-treasure chrysanthemum hairpin on her head and said, “What a coincidence, I already have one on my head.”
Shen Qingyan wanted to see it, so Shen Yourong took off the chrysanthemum hairpin and gave it to her. Shen Qingyan and Shen Qinghan examined it together. It was a gold chrysanthemum hairpin, with pearl beads in the flower center and various gemstones embedded in it.
Shen Qingyan praised, “It’s exquisite.”
Guo Xuezhu grabbed it and said, “Yourong, this hairpin is beautiful. How come I don’t have one? You must have plenty. Give this one to me.”
Shen Qingyan snatched it back, “What nerve you have, asking for things so shamelessly. What are you, a beggar?”
Shen Qinghan covered her mouth and laughed, Guo Xuezhu’s face turning red with anger. Guo Chunzhu approached and said, “Third Sister, it’s just a matter of sisters exchanging jewelry. Why speak so harshly?”
“Exchanging jewelry? What have you given her?” Shen Qingyan retorted.
Guo Chunzhu hesitated, then removed a thin jade bracelet from her wrist, “This jade bracelet, though not valuable, is a birthday gift from my brother and has great sentimental value.”
Shen Qingyan scoffed, holding the flower tray, “These chrysanthemums, though not valuable, are picked by my own hands, and have great sentimental value. Sister, how about exchanging your hairpin for this tray of flowers?”
Shen Yourong chuckled, pinned the hairpin back in Shen Qingyan’s hair, and said, “I don’t lack jade bracelets, but I do love this tray of flowers.”
Guo Chunzhu, furious, left with Guo Xuezhu.
Shen Yourong looked around and admired a green glazed round brush washer on the desk. She placed a large green chrysanthemum in it and added some water.
Ji Zhuo walked in and saw the green flower in the brush washer on Shen Yourong’s desk. He put down his book and said, “A brush washer is for washing brushes, not for arranging flowers.”
Shen Yourong didn’t look up, “Master, if you don’t know the art of flower arrangement, how can you understand its principles?”
He smiled, sat down, and said leisurely, “The young lady is right.”
He didn’t mention it again and started the lesson as usual. Shen Qingyan glanced at Shen Yourong, then at Ji Zhuo, feeling a bit puzzled.
In the afternoon, after Shen Yourong had napped, someone from the courtyard came, saying the old lady requested her presence to meet a guest.
She changed her clothes and went to the old lady’s courtyard, meeting Shen Qinghan and Shen Qingyan on the way. Talking about the guest, Shen Qinghan said, “I heard it’s a fortune-teller, very talented.”
Shen Qingyan shook her head, “I don’t really believe in these things. What about you, eldest sister?”
Shen Yourong said, “Since the old lady invited him, he must have some skills.”
They chatted idly and arrived at the old lady’s courtyard. Inside, she was sitting on a bed, with Lady Yang and Lady Li seated on either side. After Shen Yourong and the others greeted them, they were led to the flower hall, where a screen stood. The fortune-teller was outside.
The man was over sixty, with white hair and beard, but he stood like a pine tree, sat like a bell, his eyes bright and clear, showing no signs of age.
Shen Yourong stepped out from behind the screen, bowed to the old Taoist, walked a few steps in front of the screen, and then returned behind it.
Shen Qingyan and Shen Qinghan whispered to each other. Following the maid’s instructions, each of them walked out for a moment.
The old Taoist watched and wrote on a piece of paper. The face-reading soon ended, and they returned to the old lady’s side.
The old lady and Lady Yang and Lady Li chatted about household matters. A maid brought in a red tray with three sheets of plain paper. The old lady first looked at Shen Yourong’s, smiled, and congratulated her, “Congratulations to the old lady, and to the young lady.”
Shen Yourong received her slip. It read, “Bright moon in the sky, honor beyond words.”
She pursed her lips and smiled.
Shen Qinghan and Shen Qingyan also took theirs, and the sisters shared their readings.
“Eldest sister, what does yours say?” Shen Qingyan asked.
Shen Yourong, covering her slip, asked, “What about yours?”
Shen Qingyan showed hers, which read, “Ups and downs, great success or great failure.”
“Mine is better,” Shen Qinghan said, revealing hers, which read, “Fortune and longevity, prosperity and honor.”
Shen Yourong showed hers. Shen Qinghan congratulated her, while Shen Qingyan, holding her slip, seemed deep in thought.
Shen Yourong put away her slip, “It’s all just flattery and auspicious words.”
Afterwards, everyone dispersed. Shen Yourong returned to her room, sat on the couch, holding the slip, lost in thought.
Hua Mei came in, smiling, “Did you hear? The old Taoist said our young lady’s fortune is honor beyond words!”
Du Juan signaled Hua Mei to stop, who paused and asked, “Why?”
“Does the young lady not like to hear such things?”
Hua Mei fell silent, but Shen Yourong asked, “Everyone knows?”
Hua Mei entered the room, “It’s just the maids talking for fun.”
Shen Yourong pursed her lips, tossed the slip onto the table, “Put it away with the pearl earrings. Don’t take it out again.”
As evening fell, rain began to patter outside. Feeling restless, she barely ate half a bowl of porridge.
Hua Mei, trying to cheer her up, said, “Miss, I passed by the garden today and saw the night-blooming cereus. It might bloom tonight. Shall we go and see?”
Du Juan objected, “You encourage the young lady to go out in this rain? What if she catches a cold?”
“The rain isn’t heavy. Besides, it’s quiet in the garden during rain.”
Shen Yourong, tempted, said, “Let’s go then, just the few of us. Don’t disturb too many people.”
Du Juan had no choice but to find a satin cloak, saying it was windproof and wouldn’t get wet.
Shen Yourong and her maids took a lamp and an umbrella, and went out.
The cool night rain cleared her mind. She exhaled, feeling much relieved.
In the Furong Tower, Ji Zhuo was painting by the window. His steward, Changming, reported, “Jiang Hong is sentenced to autumn execution, the men exiled three thousand miles, the women enslaved. A Ministry of Rites official was beheaded, and the Minister resigned.
Now, the new Minister is our ally. Also, the Duke of Grace’s mansion was found guilty of buying academic honors, and the emperor confiscated their property.”
The Duke of Grace was the late Empress’s family. She had been dead for years, and the emperor hadn’t remarried, showing deep affection. It was surprising he targeted her family now.
“After the Empress’s death, the Duke of Grace held onto military power more tightly. I doubt he would risk such a scandal.”
Changming speculated, “The emperor might have used this to eliminate him.”
“Jiang Hong’s family is exiled, but the Duke’s family is executed. What do you think?”
Changming pondered, realizing the emperor’s ruthlessness.
“Find a way to save the Duke’s heir. There’s an additional exam next spring. If he passes, we’ll know if the Duke was framed.”
Changming bowed, “Understood, I’ll arrange it.”
Ji Zhuo, drawing a night-blooming cereus, said, “With the Duke’s military power gone, only the Duke of Qi’s Northern Army remains in the court.”
Changming agreed, then remembered, “Today, a Taoist visited the Duke of Qi’s mansion to read the fortunes of the ladies. The eldest daughter’s slip read, ‘Bright moon in the sky, honor beyond words.'”
Ji Zhuo paused, “Honor beyond words?”
“Yes, everyone says she has a phoenix’s fate.”
Ji Zhuo looked out the window. He was painting a night-blooming cereus, but his view was blocked.
Shen Yourong crouched carefully by the cereus, watching it bloom quietly. Rain dripped from her cloak, wetting her skirt. She wore moon-white embroidered shoes, now dirty from the rain.
She wiped her shoes with a handkerchief, looking a bit unhappy. Her maids seemed to be comforting her. One held an umbrella, another shielded her as they moved inside.
He felt a pang of tenderness, thinking, “She’s still a young girl. How can she bear such a heavy burden?”