Chapter 38 Beauty Beyond Reason

Chapter 38 Beauty Beyond Reason

In the carriage heading to Duke Zheng's residence, Xi'er couldn't help but frequently glance at the new maid beside her.

This maid named Azhi was arranged by the general temporarily and appeared to be no more than fifteen or sixteen years old. However, it was said that she had some martial skills, which made her capable of protecting the lady without arousing suspicion.

Xi'er felt uneasy about this, with many conflicting thoughts in her heart.

Chang Suining, on the other hand, took this time to look through the list of participants for the flower festival. This list was secretly compiled by Chang Kuo and included all the families who received invitations to the event.

Some names were familiar to her, while others belonged to newcomers. Whenever she encountered someone worth knowing, she would casually ask a question.

Xi'er always eagerly answered, and whenever Suining pointed at a name, she would immediately say, "…this servant also knows!"

This gave Chang Suining a taste of the joy of pointing out what she didn't know and getting an answer.

Amidst such exchanges, they soon arrived at Duke Zheng's residence.

The flower appreciation banquet was set up in the garden of Duke Zheng's residence.

Duke Wei Qin loved the beauty of lush flowers, so he particularly adored plants. It was rumored in the capital that Duke Zheng's residence covered twenty-three acres, with only one-fourth occupied by buildings, the rest being gardens. Others had a garden within their residence, but he built his residence within a garden.

In this vast garden, various rare flowers and plants could be seen everywhere. Even though it was early spring, the garden was already filled with vibrant colors.

"How did they bring out that red stone peony? If it gets damaged, Duke Zheng will be furious!" A servant in the Wei family garden looked at the unique plant, the only one of its kind in the entire capital, and was terrified.

"Madam ordered it to be moved… Madam said, if it has bloomed, not showing it to people would be a waste. Flowers that no one sees have no reason to bloom."

"Does Duke Zheng know about this?"

"Duke left early this morning and locked the courtyard gate before leaving. These were all moved by us as per Madam's orders, climbing over the wall…"

"Understood…" The servants looked at those priceless flowers with even greater trepidation, fearing that one of the ladies might pluck a petal—such an act would surely lead to severe consequences when Duke Zheng returned!

Today, Madam had given extra pay to all the servants working in the garden—making it clear that this was indeed a dangerous task.

As the Wei family servants diligently carried out their duties, all the female guests suddenly turned their attention to the same spot.

Simultaneously, conversations grew louder.

A servant followed their gaze and saw a young girl who had just appeared in the garden, walking towards them.

In the bright spring light, the girl was also in her youthful bloom, her face more captivating than the surrounding spring scenery, like a newly bloomed red stone peony, pure yet enchanting.

Yet, her eyes held a touch of coldness, adding an indescribable heroic charm that seemed out of place on her face, blending together to create a chaotic yet striking beauty, making her stand out almost dominantly, too intense to look directly at yet impossible to ignore.

In gatherings of young girls, comparisons of dresses and jewelry were inevitable, but at this moment, everyone seemed oblivious to each other's attire.

"Who is she? I've never seen her before…"

"Perhaps she's from a newly relocated official's family?"

"Sister Wei, do you know who she is?" asked a group of little girls around a purple-clad girl in hushed tones.

The purple-clad girl was Wei Miaoqing, the daughter of Duke Zheng.

This exquisitely dressed girl reluctantly tore her gaze away from the newcomer, feeling a sudden sense of crisis, and whispered to the housekeeper, "Fang, find out everything about her within half an hour!"

The housekeeper responded solemnly and returned shortly, reporting in a low voice, "Lady, I've found out everything. She is the young lady from General Chang's residence in Xingning Fang, named Chang Suining. She just came of age last year, enjoys poetry, is timid and frail, and not good at socializing. She has only one elder brother and usually prefers light-colored clothing…"

"Chang Suining?!" Wei Miaoqing interrupted the housekeeper, shocked. "She is Chang Suining?!"

Wasn't she the one who gained the title of the first beauty after merely stepping out for incense last year?

Ever since childhood, she had heard her father often mention that her mother, Lady Duan of Duke Zheng, was the most beautiful woman in the capital, and she inherited her mother's looks. She had always believed that once she grew up, she would inherit that title from her mother—

But now, at the crucial moment of her coming-of-age ceremony, a Chang Suining suddenly emerged!

How could she accept this?

Fortunately, her mother assured her—it was just rumors without any basis.

Yes, just exaggerations to fool those who hadn't seen her.

However, at this moment…

Wei Miaoqing's eyes were red with rage, a mix of jealousy and disbelief—

"Fang, did you see that? How can anyone… how can anyone…" Wei Miaoqing walked a few steps aside, taking another look at the girl's profile, nearly collapsing from anger. "…how can anyone be so unreasonable in beauty!"

Being human, wasn't this absurd!

It was outrageous!

She wanted to ask, Mother Nüwa, is your conscience clear?

The housekeeper glanced at the young ladies nearby and quickly reminded her in a low voice, "Lady, think carefully before speaking…"

"I've thought about it a hundred times!" Wei Miaoqing nearly tore her handkerchief to shreds.

At that moment, the girl she had been staring at turned her head slightly and looked at her, even approaching a few steps closer.

Wei Miaoqing immediately composed herself, trying to maintain the grace expected of the hostess.

Seeing the effort to appear dignified, Chang Suining smiled slightly.

This was the first time she met this girl, but her face was identical to Duan Zhenyi's when she was young, making her identity easy to guess.

Seeing Chang Suining smile at her, Wei Miaoqing paused for a moment, then nodded slightly, managing a polite smile in response: "Lady Chang, please feel free to walk around and enjoy yourself."

Looking at the young lady in the crowd who resembled a graceful and proud peacock, Chang Suining found her innocent and adorable. She instinctively tilted her head slightly and smiled, saying, "Thank you."

Wei Miaoqing felt a blur before her eyes: "...!"

Taking advantage of the opportunity to speak with her friend, she turned around and avoided looking at that unreasonable face, muttering inwardly—she didn't seem like someone who was shy or bad at socializing... Damn it, the rumors were unreliable in this regard!

"Look, the Cuis have arrived," a young lady whispered.

Due to their status, the presence of the Cui family always drew attention wherever they appeared.

Cui Tang walked over with several of her cousins and the lady of the second branch of the Cui family.

Cui Lang had also come, but even though it was a flower fair primarily for leisure, some attention had to be paid to proper etiquette between men and women.

In the garden, one could see that the men were on the right, while most of the women were on the left, separated by winding streams, small bridges, or bamboo and rock landscapes. There was no need for anyone to remind them where to go; it was a mutual understanding seen at a glance.

Because the central scenery did not obstruct the view much, this flower fair had long been a good occasion for ladies from various households to discreetly observe eligible young people.

Over the years, many good matches had been made at these events.

Mentioning this, Lady Duan of Duke Zheng couldn't help grinding her teeth—while many others had found matches, her own son always went against the grain!

But recently, Lady Duan had sensed something unusual about her son.

This was mainly due to the servant woman who had returned from Hezhou, and secondarily to Changji—