tallest building

Chapter 177 Envy

New Year's Eve is just around the corner. Since Wen Mingqian is staying at the temple, he is keeping everything simple.

She sent Aoshuang back to spend the New Year with her family, leaving only Sang Er to keep her company.

On New Year's Eve, she went to the Buddhist hall where Ah Shou and Ah Hui's spirits were enshrined. She placed a small memorial tablet between their two memorial tablets, but it was empty and had no words written on it.

She stayed there all night, only returning to her room to rest at dawn.

If she were still in the Gong family, this would be the busiest time of her life, as she would be opening the doors to welcome the new year on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

But now she can sleep without any worries, sleeping until noon when Sanger brings in lunch before she gets up.

However, one cannot remain at ease in the temple forever. After the second day of the Lunar New Year, families begin to invite guests for New Year's tea.

Wen Mingqian received more than a dozen posts, and this was only before the Lantern Festival.

Of course, not everyone could go, but those who couldn't go were politely informed of their absence and apologized for their rudeness.

On the third day of the Lunar New Year, Wen Mingqian was going to a banquet at the Jiangxia Marquis's residence, so he dressed up a little more and looked a bit more flamboyant than usual.

Before the banquet began, everyone was talking about the Prince of Changliu.

"This prince is already thirty years old, why hasn't he taken a concubine yet?"

"He's stationed at the border year-round, and he doesn't even see a decent woman. How can he even think about getting married?"

"That's not how it works. His Majesty has tried to arrange a marriage for him several times, but he has refused. I really don't know what the prince is thinking."

"Didn't you say that when the prince was young he vowed to never destroy the Xiongnu, so how could he start a family?"

"You actually believe that? Huo Qubing said the same thing, and didn't he also get married and have children?"

"I don't know. Anyway, over the years, many noble ladies in the capital have fallen for the prince, but in the end, they all ended up heartbroken."

"Have all the guests arrived?" asked the eldest mistress of the Jiangxia Marquis's residence with a smile.

"We're still missing Lady Wen," the housekeeper said. "She promised she would definitely come."

"Let's wait a little longer!" said Lady Qian, wife of the Marquis of Jiangxia. "She says she'll come, and she definitely will."

Because Wen Mingqian was mentioned, some people also started talking about her.

"Speaking of which, why did Lady Wen leave the Gong family all of a sudden?"

"Who knows? It's really incomprehensible. Her son entered the Sanjing Academy, which would bring such glory to the family. The Gong family treated her very well. Instead of being the head mistress of the family, she chose to live in a nunnery."

"Yes, I've never heard the Gong family say a bad word about her, nor have I heard of any unpleasant things between them."

"Every family has its own troubles. Only the person drinking the water knows whether it's hot or cold. I think it was Gong Er who broke her heart, otherwise why would she be unable to go on like this?"

"Isn't that entirely true? Maybe she's just too stubborn. Men are like that, they just turn a blind eye. If you're too demanding, how can things ever work out?"

"Didn't they say that Gong Er was already engaged?"

"My God, when did this happen so fast?!"

"It happened before or after the New Year, didn't you hear?"

"Oh dear, this man is really... he just can't wait."

"Don't just talk about men, they'll eventually remarry! The position of mistress can't be left vacant, especially since it was the woman who insisted on the divorce, which is different from being widowed." When Wen Mingqian came in, she was listening to people talking about her, but of course she didn't mind and just pretended not to hear.

Her arrival silenced the murmurs among the crowd, who tacitly exchanged greetings and smiles as if nothing had happened.

"The guests have all arrived, let's take our seats!" Madam Qian said with a smile as she stood up. "It's the first month of the lunar year, we should have a good time."

Wen Mingqian took off her outer cloak. Today she was wearing a gray squirrel fur coat with a silver-red silk veil and a light blue cotton skirt.

Her jet-black hair was styled with a coral comb, and she wore matching earrings and a necklace.

These adornments made her elegant and refined, not to mention that her looks were already top-notch.

However, when everyone's gaze fell on the Spring Water Jade pendant she wore at her waist, their expressions changed.

Some people remained silent, while others exclaimed in surprise.

"This... Lady Wen's jade pendant... is so... so exquisite..." The one who exclaimed was the eldest mistress of the Yong'an Marquis's mansion.

Realizing she had lost her composure, she tried to cover it up with words.

“Grandma has excellent taste; this jade pendant is indeed quite rare.” Wen Mingqian smiled slightly.

"Madam Wen, who gave you this jade pendant?" Lady Linchuan asked curiously.

Her son Xu Mang and Gong Chang'an are good brothers. Although she doesn't have much contact with Wen Mingqian, she can still ask him a question.

In fact, most of the people present were very curious about this, and she had voiced what everyone was thinking.

"This jade pendant was a gift from Her Highness the Eldest Princess," Wen Mingqian said without any hesitation. "She also told me to take good care of it."

Everyone smiled and said a few meaningless compliments, but deep down they were both shocked and suspicious.

Wen Mingqian clearly felt several extremely unfriendly gazes directed at her. She smiled and looked back, recognizing those people.

She knew, of course, that this was too high-profile and would attract hostility, but that's exactly what she was going to do.

Because she was envied, she also demonstrated her abilities, and sure enough, people soon offered her favors.

"Madam Wen, please sit next to me!" The speaker was a woman around thirty years old. She was petite with a pointed oval face. Her almond-shaped eyes gleamed with a sharp light, clearly indicating a kind and delicate person.

"Thank you for your kind offer, Madam. I will not refuse." Wen Mingqian sat down next to her. This lady was Liu, the wife of the Marquis of Yunyang and the cousin of the Princess Consort of Zhao.

Wen Mingqian and she had never sat together before, but now she took the initiative to invite him, which shows that it was all thanks to this piece of Spring Water Jade.

"Hey, where did my handkerchief go?" Not long after the banquet began, Liu couldn't find her handkerchief.

“If you don’t mind, Madam, please use mine! It’s brand new and unused.” Wen Mingqian took out a handkerchief and handed it over.

Women usually bring two extra handkerchiefs when visiting someone's home, and Wen Mingqian happened to have brought two today.

"This handkerchief is so beautifully embroidered, is it your work?" Liu asked with a smile. "It smells wonderful too! What is this fragrance? It smells so good."

“I blended this fragrance myself. If you like it, Madam, please take it,” Wen Mingqian said.

"I've never heard anyone say that Lady Wen is skilled in perfumery. Why don't you come to my residence sometime and teach me?" Liu said partly because she genuinely liked the fragrance on the handkerchief, and partly because she wanted to get to know Wen Mingqian.

"Sigh, this Lady Wen is really good at social maneuvering! Did you see that? It's only been a short while, and she's already getting along famously with Lady Yunyang again." Someone said sourly from not far away.

"Hmph, he's nothing but a sycophant!" someone said bitterly.