Chapter 59 Unrecognized

  By June 5th, Chen Jing got up early and fetched water. After having breakfast, he let Qing Yun go out to take care of the horse carriage, while he headed towards the Shen family's place.

  His elder sister-in-law asked him: "Take Erlang with you, okay? Shen Changyu's banquet is all about scholars. Letting Erlang talk to them might be beneficial."

  "Alright." Chen Jing said, "I'll go ask him."

  Chen Jiong told Li Balang what his sister-in-law meant.

  Li Balang slightly frowned.

  "Can I go? The Shen family didn't invite me. It would be a bit abrupt if I went on my own initiative. Let's do it another day. Next time they invite you, you take the initiative to say something and let the host know." Li Balang tactfully declined.

  Li Balang had never dealt with bookworms before.

  In his impression, those geniuses were very arrogant. Now he has no reputation, going there would be out of place, and besides, nobody invited him, it would only add to the joke.

  Chen Jie smiled and said, "It doesn't matter. I'm not familiar with poetry either, if we go there, they'll just laugh at us. The two of us are together, we can still take care of each other, don't let others bully me."

  A real man shouldn't be afraid of being bullied when socializing outside.

  Li Balang's eyeballs almost fell out, and then he looked at Chen Jing with great disdain: "You're so useless, what will you do in the future? You'd better not go out, just stay home and embroider flowers or sew clothes."

  This remark was also overheard by Chen Jiong's elder sister-in-law.

  Li Balang was scolded again for being late.

  "...far surpass you in talent!" Chen Jing's elder sister coldly reprimanded Li Balang, "If you continue to speak like this, go back to Yaojiang!"

  "You only know how to spoil him! You're treating him like a daughter, aren't you?" Li Balang was scolded by his sister and didn't dare to retort, but he muttered under his breath.

  Li still heard it and was so angry that he raised his hand to hit him.

  Li Balang hastily retreated behind Chen Jing.

  Chen Jiong burst out laughing.

  He didn't mind Li Balang's words. Friends teasing each other, no malice, but rather felt close. Others made fun of him, he didn't care.

  Whether you have the demeanor of a man or not is not determined by what you say with your mouth.

  Everyone made a fuss, but Li Balang still refused to go to the Shen family with Chen Jing.

  The elder sister-in-law didn't force it either.

  Chen Jiong rode alone in a carriage to Nanqiao Lane.

  Nanqiao Lane and Qiwan Lane were separated by more than half of the county town. The horse carriage circled around in the city for about half an hour before arriving at Nanqiao Lane.

  Like Hejingzhong Lane, Nanqiao Lane was also inhabited by only one family, the Shen family.

  Their house had a high gate, majestic and imposing. The open space in front of the gate was wide, with seven or eight horse-drawn carriages parked there, including ordinary blue cloth flat-head cars and luxurious eight-treasure cars; the large gate under the eaves bathed in the bright sunlight at noon, with the inverted door knocker shining brightly like gold.

  Chen Jing let the driver stop the car and went forward to knock on the door.

  He knocked twice, but there was no reaction inside the door, and instead, he heard the sound of horseshoes coming from behind him.

  There is also a horse-drawn carriage coming.

  The green canvas curtain of the carriage was lifted, and a girl in a light green dress came down, with two braids like a maid; she turned around, carried a small stool, and placed it beside the carriage.

  The carriage curtain was lifted again, and Yueting's figure slowly emerged, stepping on the stirrup, holding the hand of the maid, and getting off the carriage.

  She has a slender and elegant figure, with delicate and beautiful facial features; wearing a goose-yellow jacket with intricate patterns, a white skirt with auspicious designs, she walks with a gentle and leisurely pace.

  Chen Jie knew her, she was Shen Nan Hua.

  I saw her last time at the Wànpíng Gé polo field in Yáo Jiāng.

  She was indeed Shen's daughter from Nanqiao Lane.

  "Miss Shen." Chen Jiong and she exchanged greetings.

  The woman was slightly unexpected, gazing intently at Chen Jing. When she changed into women's clothing, her hair was styled in a cloud-shaped bun, with a simple pearl hairpin inserted at the temples, setting off her complexion which was even more radiant and fair than pearls.

  Her face is free from powder and rouge, yet her skin is as smooth as a lily.

  A faint emotion flashed across her eyes. It flashed by, and then her eyes were calm again, she nodded slightly, walked past Chen Jing's face, and didn't return the courtesy.

  It seems like she doesn't know Chen Jing.

  The little servant of the Shen family came to open the door and saw her, bowing his head and saying: "Has tenth young lady returned?"

  She nodded.

  The maid supported her as she stepped over the high threshold.

  Chen Jiong thought, last time at Wangpingge Stadium, Shen Nanhua was very generous and took the initiative to answer questions, leaving a good impression on Chen Jiong. Why is she pretending not to know him now?

  Chen Jie is still Chen Jie, even his clothes haven't changed.

  Did he mistake someone for me?

  Are they twins, so they look alike?

  He thought for a moment, then felt it had nothing to do with him and didn't care. He stepped forward, handed the invitation to the servant, and announced his name: "I am Chen Jing, here at the invitation of Shen Si Gongzi."

  "Are you Mr. Chen?" The young servant's demeanor immediately became respectful, and he invited Chen Jing in, "The Fourth Young Master specifically instructed me to come and greet you. Please hurry, they have been waiting for you for half a day."

  It's still early now, and the guests should not have arrived yet, so they won't be waiting specifically for Chen Xing.

  The little servant on the gate can talk.

  Chen Jiong smiled and entered the door, following the servant to the Western Flower Garden where the banquet was being held.

  Shen Shiguniang and her maid went straight to the Weeping Flower Gate. Before they had walked past the winding corridor, Shen Nanhua's footsteps slowed slightly. Finally, she stopped in her tracks and turned back to look.

  Watching the tall, slender figure in grayish-blue clothes heading westward, Shen Shigong's gaze followed him until his silhouette disappeared at the corner gate. Then, she lightly lowered her dense eyelashes to cover up her emotions.

  "Miss, did you recognize the man just now?" asked the maid.

  Shen Nanhua lowered her eyelids and continued walking in, without responding.

  The maid didn't know whether she recognized her or not.

  This Shen Shiguniang, usually has a good temper, others think she is easy to get along with, weak and gentle; but after being with her for a long time, you will know that she is very opinionated, and her emotions are never revealed, it's hard to really know what she is thinking.

  She is not a weak person.

  She didn't answer when she saw her, and the maid didn't dare ask more questions, following her into the inner courtyard.

  —*—*—

  The Shen family's Western Garden has an arched gate with two characters engraved on it: Tea Garden.

  This is the name of Xihua Garden.

  Entered the tea garden, but saw that every place was built with precision and care. The small path paved with bluestone slabs, both sides were full of flowers and grass. The trees and plants were lush and verdant, the fresh flowers were in full bloom, and as I walked by, my clothes were fragrant with scent.

  The flower bed is full of camellias.

  Fresh and beautiful white peonies, gorgeous blood-red lotus flowers, delicate and charming phoenix nest orchids, and many more that Chen Jing didn't recognize, filled the entire courtyard.

  Not far away in the pavilion, there were loud voices of people talking.

  In an instant, Shen Changyu went forward to welcome Chen Jing.

  He invited Chen Jing into the pavilion and sat down.

  Today's guests, about fifteen or sixteen people. In the large pavilion, everyone surrounded and sat full. The table was filled with pens, ink, paper and inkstones.

  "Chen Jiong, Chen Yang and." Shen Changyu introduced Chen Jiong.

  Then everyone was at a loss.

  Among scholars, even if they haven't met in person, they've heard of each other's reputation, so they can exchange a few words of praise.

  And Chen Jiong didn't even have a small reputation.

  "...and he is Chen Zhang's younger brother." Shen Changyu had no choice but to introduce again.

  Everyone's expression is a bit strange.

  Chen Zhang has not returned for over two years, except for the Chen family themselves who do not curse him, outsiders all think he is already dead. If he were alive, no matter how difficult it was, sending a message back would still be possible.

  Everyone seemed to understand each other and exchanged pleasantries, but they couldn't help sneaking glances at Chen Jing.

  Chen Jiong smiled.

  Poetry gatherings are nothing more than writing poems and then praising each other. This kind of thing doesn't happen often, but when Shen Changyu organizes it, the influence is relatively big.

  The dozen or so people who came today are not just from Wangxian County, but also from other places.

  They arrived relatively early, and Chen Jing surprisingly was indeed the last one.

  Everyone has been waiting for him for some time now.

  Waited for half a day, and waited for an unknown person. It's hard to avoid disappointment, and some people are uncomfortable in their hearts.

  "...... I got a Snow Tower a few days ago. Let's make it the theme for today." Shen Changyu said with a smile, and quietly instructed the little servant beside him to move the flowers.

  Xue Ta is a tea flower name, similar to Bai Bao Zhu, both are snow-white tea flowers.

  Soon, the young servant brought a basin of snow tower and placed it in the middle of the desk.

  A blue and white porcelain basin, filled with brown soil, the mud is clear and smooth, the green leaves are dense. The elegant white tea, layered and full, stands proudly on the branch head.

  The snow tower is very beautiful.

  Everyone can't help but praise it.

  Then, they exchanged their insights and started filling in the blanks.

  Chen Jing sat with her legs crossed, watching from the side.

  He didn't quite agree with Shen Changyu's way of doing things. He knew Chen Jing wouldn't be good at poetry, yet he still invited him over like this. If any of the friends present didn't like Chen Jing and spoke out of turn, wouldn't they offend someone?

  Since you've invited Chen Jiong, it should be for treating an illness.

  Why can't you be more straightforward?

  So Chen Jiong is so bored.

  He picked up a handful of melon seeds from the fruit plate on the table and slowly cracked them open.

  "...... Brother Chen, being so calm and composed, do you already have a well-crafted phrase in mind?" A student sitting closest to Chen Xuan curiously asked him, seeing that everyone else was deep in thought while he was carelessly cracking melon seeds.

  Chen Jiong's appearance was surprisingly confident and self-assured.

  He is like this, outsiders think he is a bit arrogant.

  "I? I'm here to have fun." Chen Jing said.

  The student's face changed color slightly.

  Chen Jinn's words made the scholar mistakenly think that Chen Jinn looked down on their learning, and compared today's poetry gathering to a casual play.

  Come and play...

  Several people nearby also heard it and looked up, glancing at Chen Jing with less friendly eyes.

  Chen Jing didn't look at them, but under their gaze, pulled out a piece of paper.

  "Let's see what masterpiece you can come up with!" Some students were more sensitive, and Chen Jing's words left a very bad impression on him, making him resentful.

  Chen Jing took out a piece of paper, and they thought Chen Jing was going to write something. Three or four people actually stopped what they were doing and looked at Chen Jing.

  Even one of the students moved a few steps and shifted Chen Jing's body.

  But then Chen Jing took the paper, and instead of writing hastily on it, he slowly retreated back to his chair and sat down. The paper fluttered between his slender fingers, and soon a small boat shape appeared in his hand.

  He folded a small boat with paper.

  Everyone was slightly shocked and didn't know what Chen Jing wanted to do.

  Chen Jing stretched out his hand to grab some melon seeds, slowly cracked them open with his teeth, and then carefully spat the shells into the small boat he had folded.

  He's just making something out of a gourd shell!

  "Hmph!" A student felt teased and let out a cold snort.

  Everyone was deep in thought, carefully considering their words. The pavilion was relatively quiet. A cold snort from the scholar broke everyone's train of thought, and they all looked up at the sound.

  Even Chen Jiong, who was quietly eating, curiously looked up.