5 Invitation

Yan Qiu Yue woke up feeling quite refreshed the next morning after a fun night out with her brother and friends. After changing out of her sleepwear and freshening up, she went to go pay her respects to her grandmother in Lotus Courtyard.

Madame Lin's paternal family was that of First Class Marquis Zhang. The current marquis was Madame Lin's nephew. While only a marquis house, the Lin family had climbed up from third class after one of their daughters had entered the palace. Noble Consort Lin had only thus far given birth to a royal daughter, but she was still very much favored by the emperor and rumor had it that she was pregnant again. Therefore, while Madame Lin had been said to be marrying up when she married the previous Duke Ning, nowadays the Zhang Marquis house was one that many in the capital were trying to curry favor with.

"Good morning, Grandmother." Yan Qiu Yue curtsied and presented Madame Lin with a small bouquet of flowers. "I picked these at the Mid-Autumn Festival. Don't know if they'll suit Grandmother's tastes, but I thought they might brighten up the room."

Madame Lin had been feeling under the weather for the last few days. She smiled kindly at her only granddaughter and hurriedly had an older maid help Yan Qiu Yue to rise. "There's no need for all this ceremony, child. Let this old woman have a look at these flowers." It was an autumnal bouquet with chrysanthemums as the main flower. Chrysanthemums were famous for blooming in the fall, but they also symbolized longevity. It was truly a thoughtful little gift. Madame Lin's smile deepened and one of her maids came forward to take the flowers and put them in a vase. "You are always a good, filial child." She bestowed a pair of jade bangles to Yan Qiu Yue. "These sorts of things look better on the young. Better if Yue'er has these."

"Granddaughter won't be too polite, then." Yan Qiu Yue grinned, accepted the bangles, and handed them to Chu Hua to take care of.

There was a long pause before Madame Lin finally spoke again. "So, in the end, you didn't go to the banquet." Yan Qiu Yue made a little noise of acquiescence. "Well... Well. I suppose Grandmother can hardly blame you."

"At least Second Brother and Second Sister-in-Law were able to go in my stead."

"Yes, if that one could rise a little higher, it would be better. It's good to be cautious, but I fear with our Yan family's modest means, we won't be able to help Yue'er in the future." It went without saying that the Holy One had only bestowed this marriage in an attempt to stifle Prince Rui's ambitions. His decree might have been filled with flowery words of wanting to help his juniors make a love connection, but only fools would take the words of a ruler at face value. The Ning Duke household had long been accustomed to staying lowkey and avoiding taking sides despite their status as a Noble Duke, but now that seemed to be working against them instead.

Madame Lin then thought of something else. "It's a positive thing if more madams were able to gaze upon Yi'er, as well, though who knows if any decent families will want to join with ours now." It was a great joke that Yan Xiang Yi was in his 20's and still unmarried while his youngest sibling was about to become a bride. Who knows how many portraits of young noblewomen had been shown to Yan Qiu Yue's older brother over the years, but that one hadn't reacted at all.

"I believe First Brother will find the right woman when the time comes. He is, perhaps, just a little picky."

"Is that supposed to be a comfort to this old one? Who knows when I'll be able to see any great-grandchildren at this rate!"

Yan Qiu Yue could only smile and shake her head helplessly. She did not want to point out that her father was even older than Eldest Brother when he'd finally married her mother.

After exchanging some more words and receiving a lecture from her grandmother along the lines of "Stop reading about that Inspector Yu and start properly preparing for your wedding!" Yan Qiu Yue left Lotus Courtyard. She didn't know if she particularly wanted to face her mother's sad eyes at the moment, so she thought to walk around the garden for some exercise.

"The weather is quite good today. Young Miss, why don't you invite the Sun or Song misses over to play?" Zhi Lan offered.

"Afraid I can't trouble them two days in a row. Especially Ah Fang's father, he doesn't bear for her to be out and about too much."

While Yan Qiu Yue's family certainly cherished her and doted on her, there was a difference between that and the treatment Sun Fen Fang received as the only child of her entire family. General Sun had no siblings and he and his wife only had this one daughter. There was no luck among the general's concubines, either, and they were eventually all sent off to the country after years of disappointment. Sun Bo had been granted the title of a Noble Duke, but at this rate, it seemed that it would only last for one generation. Still, he treated his daughter like a treasure.

"Why don't we go and feed the fish, then?"

Just as Yan Qiu Yue was about to accept, Mu Rong came running over yelling "Young Miss!"

"Don't know whose servant you are, acting like a chicken being shot at!" Zhi Lan scolded. "Our miss wouldn't use anyone so immature." Mu Rong calmed down and apologized profusely. Yan Qiu Yue impatiently waved her hand. She wanted to know what had happened.

"You've received an invitation for a gathering from the young miss of the Marquis Xu family. She invites everyone to come and view the chrysanthemums in two days."

It had been some time since Yan Qiu Yue had received an invitation from someone outside her inner circle of friends. Since her engagement to Prince Rui's heir, it seemed other noble families didn't know how to treat her. There were some who wished to get closer to her in order to gain favor with Prince Rui, but the prince's estate had been cool towards the marriage. Betrothal gifts still hadn't been sent and Yan Qiu Yue had only met Princess Rui once since then. Thus, these power-hungry people weren't sure if that sort of tactic could work. There were even more nobles who did not approve of Prince Rui's heir whatsoever and so wished to distance themselves from Wei Hong Sheng's future wife. Still, at this point, it had been about two months since the decree. Perhaps the novelty and initial awkwardness of the situation had already worn off.

Yan Qiu Yue wasn't very familiar with the girl who sent the invitation but knew that the Xu Marquis was a third-class marquis family. She figured that the young miss only wanted to invite as many people at or above her family's rank as possible.

She had no real reason to refuse, but also no real reason to accept. "Wait until tomorrow." Someone of her status need not reply to the invitation immediately. "If Li'er or Ah Fang go, then I will certainly accompany them. If not, I don't mind staying inside my compound finishing my reading. I have to finish before I can lend the book to Xia'er, in any case."

Her maids agreed and the group continued walking around the garden before heading back to Peony Courtyard. Upon returning, Chu Hua and Li Mei still made preparations as if their young miss was determined to go. After all, perhaps the Sun young miss wouldn't attend the gathering with that strict father of hers, but it was almost a given that Song Lu Li would. Her family was also a third-class marquis and the Ji Marchioness was rather desperate for her children to climb higher. Whatever she thought inside, Song Lu Li had no choice but to go to these parties and banquets in order to put herself out there and, if possible, put in some good words for her still-unmarried older brother.