Li Xiao was woken up by Momo Zhang early in the morning,
Sister-in-law of the Zhang family also came to the mansion early in the morning.
Everyone had been busy for a month, and this day had finally arrived,
Everyone was very happy.
Li Xiao was the same.
She woke up early in the morning and washed her face with cold water,
She put the dagger away,
And put it in her sleeve.
She tidied up her clothes,
She looked at herself in the bronze mirror. She had indeed grown taller.
She turned to look at herself. She touched her chest with her hand. It was soft and bulging... when did it grow?
No wonder she had been feeling a slight pain recently.
She took a deep breath,
She had just pushed open the door when the maid who was combing her hair and the woman who was putting on makeup immediately walked in.
Lord Chen was already sitting in the courtyard.
"Sir." Even though the maid who was combing her hair was already standing behind the bronze mirror,
She was ready,
She still stood at the door of the room and bowed slightly to Chen Jue.
Compared to the past,
She was much more ladylike now. In terms of figure and etiquette,
She was also becoming more and more decent.
Chen Jue sat in the courtyard,
Facing the morning sun, he looked at the sly light in the little girl's eyes.
"Go and comb your hair. What do you look like with your hair disheveled?" Chen Jue said.
As soon as he said that, Li Xiao finally remembered,
Ah,
Her hair was still disheveled.
Her face turned slightly red,
She narrowed her eyes and quickly turned around to go back to her room.
Chen Jue looked at the empty door and licked his lips.
When they first met, she was still a boy and girl.
Now... she had grown into a graceful lady.
It was as if she had grown up in the blink of an eye.
Her eyes, which were once filled with timidity, were now filled with cleverness, naughtiness, docility, and many other things.
In his residence, with his care and protection, she had become what she was today.
His heart was filled with warmth, spreading throughout his body.
Chen Jue sighed comfortably, and a rare gentle smile appeared on his face.
It was the real kind of... the warm joy of a daughter of the Chen family growing up.
..
After the meal, Chen Jue looked at the sky. Just as he was feeling anxious, Wang Chao rushed in from outside.
"My Lord, County Magistrate Li is here."
The county magistrate of Huizhou, Li Zhun, who was also Chen Jue's uncle, had something to do in the capital half a month later. However, because of Li Xiao's hairpin ceremony, he left half a month earlier and hurried over.
Chen Jue hurriedly nodded. He stood up and said to Li Xiao, "Come with me to welcome your … father."
Li Xiao nervously tugged at his sleeves. He pursed his lips and stood up, nodding at Chen Jue.
…
In the side room, Li Zhun, who had just washed off his exhaustion and dust, looked at the slender and elegant girl in front of him and couldn't help but think, 'No matter what, I and my wife can't give birth to such a beautiful girl.'
As Chen Jue's uncle, Li Zhun was as curious as everyone else. Where did Chen Jue find this girl?
However, just like the rest of the family members, it was better to not ask too many questions about Chen Jue's stubborn donkey.
"Child, come." Li Zhun waved at Li Xiao.
Li Xiao immediately walked in front of him shyly and raised her head to look at Li Zhun. Because of the role played by Li Zhun, she looked at the uncle in front of her and felt a lot of affection in her heart.
Li Zhun was born gentle. His eyes drooped, revealing an aura of harmlessness.
He motioned for the servant to bring over the hastily prepared gift, and then very carefully handed it to Li Xiao, "This is a gift for our first meeting, and also a gift to celebrate your hairpin ceremony."
First, he glanced at Chen Jue. Seeing Chen Jue nod, Li Xiao hurriedly received it with both hands and bowed to thank him.
"With your father … you don't have to be so polite." Li Zhun immediately straightened his chest and braced himself.
Li Xiao smiled slightly and hurriedly bowed again, "Father."
Li Zhun looked at the little girl's well-behaved appearance and nodded with satisfaction. He really did feel a bit of the affection of an elder towards a child.
Li Xiao also served tea to Li Zhun. Everyone in the room, except for Chen Jue, who was always taciturn, quickly became friendly.
Li Zhun was a mild-mannered county magistrate, but also had a bit of the long-winded elder, asking all sorts of questions.
Li Xiao answered one by one. Not only did she not feel annoyed, but she also felt a lot of warmth in her heart.
Because of Lord Chen, she had a lot more care and love.
… … …
After lunch, Chen Jue took Zhang Tang, Sister-in-law Zhang, and the others to the door and began to greet the guests.
That Lord Chen, who had always been proud of Chen Jue, actually personally greeted the guests, even though he did not care about greetings or hospitality.
Wang Yi brought his mother and Cousin Chai into the manor. He first sneaked to Li Xiao's courtyard and saw that the little girl had just freshened up and was sitting by the pavilion. He hurried over and put a writing brush on the table.
"A mink writing brush. I made it myself." After saying that, he hurried away without waiting for Li Xiao's response.
Xu Ting came with his sister and cousin-in-law. After entering the manor, his behavior was exactly the same as Wang Yi's.
He was much calmer than Wang Yi. He was not afraid of strangers as he walked around Lord Chen's house. When the people in the manor saw him, they did not stop him.
When he arrived at the door of Li Xiao's courtyard, he saw Momo Zhang talking to Li Xiao. He did not care and walked in with steady steps.
When Li Xiao saw him, she immediately stood up. "Brother Xu."
Xu Ting nodded and then nodded at Momo Zhang. When he reached the small stone table, he took out a small square box and placed it on the table.
"A writing brush. It's made of squirrel hair." After saying that, he nodded at Li Xiao, turned around, and left.
Momo Zhang looked at Xu Ting's back and could not help but say, "Are they all preparing to open a writing brush shop?
Or do they all want the little miss to study hard and write essays? "
When Li Xiao heard Momo Zhang's words, she burst out laughing.
… … …
In the afternoon, when the sun was setting, all the madams and young misses were present.
Zhao Zhifang's wife was also present. However, she only brought her concubine's daughter. Her own daughter was Weilai.
Because of the death of her only son, Zhao Xun, her hair had turned a lot whiter.
Standing in the crowd with a solemn expression, she gave off the feeling that she was out of place.
The Zhao Family's concubine's daughter, Zhao Fu, stood next to Madam Zhao. Before long, she had sneaked over to Sixth Miss Zheng's side.
"Do you know this Older Sister Li Xiao?" Zhao Fu usually went out with Madam Zhao, so she was more familiar with the young misses of the various family clans.
Sixth Miss Zheng was originally the daughter of the main wife, so she usually looked down on Zhao Fu. Now that there was no one else to talk to, she reluctantly chatted with her. "We've never spoken, but we've met once."
"I heard that she's not Lord Chen's cousin, but an adopted child. Her relationship with Lord Chen is unclear." Zhao Fu pursed her lips.
"Mhm, she has a wretched appearance."
When Sixth Miss Zheng recalled Li Xiao's tender cheeks and timid expression, she felt especially uncomfortable.
When Zhao Fu heard Sixth Miss Zheng's words, she turned to look at her. The Zheng Family all had long faces, long noses, long chins, and long foreheads. Very few were good-looking.
"Lord Chen usually doesn't interact with the capital's aristocrats. Could he have invited a noble lady or madam?
In my opinion, today's coming-of-age ceremony is just a formality. It'll definitely be wretched. "
Zhao Fu pursed her lips. "If it weren't for Lord Chen's status in the capital, Mother definitely wouldn't have brought me here."
Sixth Miss Zheng glanced at Zhao Fu and couldn't help but snort. Forget it. If it really was some important occasion, why would Madam Zhao bring a concubine's daughter like you instead of her own daughter?
Although she thought this, she only said, "My family is also … My father was entrusted by Lord Chen and had no choice. My mother could only bring me here to attend the ceremony.
What damned young miss, a small family from a small county town … "Was she worthy of them going to such great lengths to attend the ceremony?
A voice suddenly came from the side. "I heard that Lord Chen's cousin is very pretty?"
Sixth Miss Zheng and Zhao Fu both turned to look in that direction.
They saw that it was the young miss of the assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites, who was currently asking Wang Yi's cousin, Chai Hengyu.
"She's very pretty and very delicate and adorable."
When Chai Hengyu looked up and saw Sixth Miss Zheng and Zhao Fu's gazes, she smiled faintly, but her voice was somewhat unyielding.
She had only walked over and stood there for a while, but she had already heard a lot of discussions about Li Xiao's identity.
A lot of people didn't have a good impression of Official Chen, and some even called him a cruel official.
Chai Hengyu had always been influenced by Wang Yi and felt that although Lord Chen's personality wasn't likable, he was a hero who didn't like to show off.
However, the capital's womenfolk circle had always been an Asura's field of exaggeration and vanity. It was hard to find a young miss who hadn't grown up in this circle and suddenly entered it without being skinned.
After being bullied, humiliated, and crying for a while, one would eventually get used to it.
However … a little girl like Li Xiao … Chai Hengyu recalled her pure and clean appearance when she smiled, her timid and introverted demeanor untainted by the mortal world … Lord Chen shouldn't let Li Xiao mingle in the capital's circle of madams and misses, right?
Raising her in a boudoir or a Dali Monastery … wasn't that also pretty good …
"Who do you think Lord Chen can invite to be Sister Li Xiao's guest of honor?" Sixth Miss Zheng withdrew her gaze from Chai Hengyu and turned to ask Zhao Fu.
Without waiting for Zhao Fu to speak, the daughter of the assistant minister of the Ministry of Appointments, Fourth Miss Yu, suddenly turned around and interjected, "I don't think he can invite anyone.
Lord Chen doesn't have good relations with the people in the capital.
Hmph, which madam would be willing to take on this kind of role?
This Sister Li Xiao isn't some noble young lady. Letting her be the guest of honor at her hairpin ceremony?
She'll lose her status for no reason! "
On the side, Fourth Miss Yu had been listening to Sixth Miss Zheng and Zhao Fu's conversation for a long time and had long wanted to ridicule them.
Zhao Fu listened to Fourth Miss Yu's enjoyment and lowered her head to snicker. "I don't think he can invite anyone.
My mother has also been asking around for a long time, but she hasn't heard of any madam coming to be Sister Li Xiao's guest of honor. "
Sixth Miss Zheng snorted coldly and raised her head to look in the direction of the eastern steps.
The musicians had already started playing.
Everyone's gazes fell on the end of the main aisle. They were all guessing who Chen Jue would invite to be Li Xiao's hairpin ceremony guest of honor.
Most people were whispering in private. Most of them were pessimistic and mocking.
Just like Sixth Miss Zheng and the rest.
Although some madams were much steadier and didn't openly mock, they had already mocked and ridiculed in their hearts for a long time. If they said it out loud, they probably wouldn't lose out to the harshness of children.
The madams and misses attending the ceremony were either quietly or in discussion as they gazed at the main aisle.
Suddenly, someone let out a sigh — that sigh came from the edge of the main aisle. Clearly, that person had already clearly seen the face of the guest of honor.
Because of that person's exclamation, everyone became even more curious and craned their necks to look in that direction.
That madam in her early forties was wearing a dark gold robe with red embroidery. Her hair was adorned with a golden hairpin inlaid with jadeite, and the jade pendant at her waist glowed faintly with a dark green jade bracelet.
Half of her boots were actually embroidered with a single-tailed phoenix!
She walked with her head held high and her chest puffed out. Her expression was proud, and her eyes were indifferent, but they revealed the dignified bearing of someone who had been in a high position for many years and was sought after by everyone.
"Ah!"
"Wha?"
"Ssss —"
Exclamations rose and fell from all directions. Sixth Miss Zheng and the rest were so shocked that they were biting their hands and gaping, unable to say anything in response!