Chapter 9 Finally Meeting Shen Dong

In the room, Bai Ruo gently helped Shen Ninghua set her hair while Bi Zhu was holding a bronze mirror on the other side to let Shen Ninghua take a look at the hairpin.

"Miss, you look like a fairy when dressed up like this."said Hong Ling.

Shen Ninghua seemed a little absent-minded. In the past two days she had been thinking about Chu Junyi's words about the black jade pendant, but she had no clues. She heard Hong Ling's words and regained her presence of mind, smiling, "You are more and more talkative. Have you spent all your time thinking about how to praise me?"

"Why, miss, you 've wronged me. You' re so beautiful that I can keep praising you for three days without thinking." Hong Ling said with her smilingly eyes. Then she got serious after Bai Ruo glared at her, "Miss, you instructed me to keep an eye on what's happening in the mansion, and I dare not neglect my duty at all. Today, the master took a day off and you can meet him when you go to greet the old lady. "

"I have been back for many days, but I haven't been able to see my father. Today I can make amends." There was a trace of irony in Shen Ninghua's eyes. She went to see Shen Dong many times, but was rejected with various reasons. Obviously Shen Dong disliked her.

In Shen Dong's eyes, only Shen Linghan was his daughter and Shen Ninghua was as dirty as a pile of mud on the ground. He was disgusted when looking at her. In her previous life, she was heartbroken by Shen Dong's attitude towards her. After becoming the empress, she secretly supported Shen family for many times. Thanks to her support, Shen Dong was very powerful in the imperial court. However, he took all for granted, and remained dissatisfied with her. When the emperor wanted to dethrone her, he was even the first to support Baili Jinze! How on earth could she contain her hatred!

"Miss, I'm done with your dressing." Bai Ruo gently reminded.

These days, Shen Dong's attitude made the servants in the house more and more contemptuous towards her. If she had not been prepared in advance, she would never be able to consolidate her position in the mansion in the future.

Shen Ninghua raised her hand to touch the hairpin, calmed herself down, and walked towards the Songtao Garden.

After entering the courtyard, she heard a burst of laughter coming out of the hall, one of which was particularly pleasant,

"Grandma, you are not old at all. This eastern pearl only looks elegant on you. If other people wear it, they will be outshined by the luster of the pearl."

Shen Ninghua walked into the hall and saw that the old lady Xiao was laughingly listening to Shen Linghan. As soon as she came in, she felt a sudden silence in the hall, and people's eyesight fell on her.

"Ninghua pays respect to grandmother, father, mother and two aunts." Shen Ninghua curtseyed and pronounced her greetings unhurriedly, as if she had not sensed the awkward atmosphere.

Shen Dong frowned and looked at the daughter in front of him. He was surprised that she had changed so much, but he didn't show any emotion in his eyes, "How dare you come so late to greet your grandmother?"

Shen Ninghua's eyebrows twitched and her eyes swept past the motionless first lady. It seemed that someone had said bad things about her, "Please forgive me, grandma. When I got up, I saw the flowers in the yard were blooming. Therefore, I was delayed a little."

"Being late to greet your seniors because of watching flowers? Where did you develop such habits?" Shen Dong's face was cold, with a trace of disgust in his eyes.

The first lady said, "Don't be angry, master. Ninghua has been away from home for a long time. Se didn't have time to learn all the rules. I was getting Mengyuan and Yulan nurses to teach them rules of etiquette. Let me get one nurse for Ninghua as well."

Shen Linghan also gave her advice, "Yes, dad, I think my sister hasn't seen such a beautiful garden, and therefore forgot the time. I'm sure she won't do this in the future."

Shen Ninghua's heart felt cold. This mother and her daughter were so restless. In a few words, they had portrayed her as one lacking filial piety, not knowing rules and being an ignorant bumpkin.

"Bai Ruo, bring up the thing."

Holding a tray, Bai Ruo walked steadily to Shen Ninghua. Then, she lifted the red silk cloth that covered the tray to reveal a white jade porcelain bottle.

"What is this?" Asked Shen Dong with a frown.

"Grandma and father, when I got up this morning, I saw flowers blooming in the yard. So I collected the dew on the petals before the sun rose. Then I collected the fresh petals of the blooming flowers to make this bottle of perfume. This is my gift to grandma."

The second lady, who had remained silent for a long time, asked, "It's summer and the sun rises early. How did you get up so early? "

Shen Ninghua turned to look at the woman in a long honey-colored dress decorated with patterns of flowers. The second lady was the wife of Shen Liang, Shen Dong's younger brother. She came from a very powerful family, the Su family. She was the best-looking of the three ladies in the Shen family; she also had the most generous and straightforward personality, so she was extremely favored by Shen Liang. Besides, she was especially adept at pleasing people with words and the old lady Xiao loved her companion. What's more, her eldest son Shen Xuanhua, who was only one year younger than Shen Xuanye, was calm and acute and possessed outstanding literary talent. With such a prominent son, how could the second branch of the Shen family be content not to compete with the first branch?

Now that the second lady spoke, at least she was helping Shen Ninghua for the time being. Thinking about this, Shen Ninghua said with a smile, "Yesterday, I noticed grandma looked very tired. When I asked her, she said that she had not been able to sleep well for two days, so I made this perfume and hoped it would be useful to grandma."

"Oh? You said you did it especially for me?" The old lady Xiao finally said, "Let me see it."

Shen Ninghua took the tray and presented it to old lady Xiao.

The old lady opened the cork, smelled a fragrance. The smell instantly made her feel refreshed, then she asked with a slight curious, "What is this?"

"When I was living in the villa, I didn't have anything to do so I learned how to make perfume. Unfortunately, I didn't learn very well. I only learned a little. Please don't laugh at me."

The first lady was furious on her face and glared at Shen Ninghua. Because the founding emperor of the Da'an Dynasty favored a woman who was good at making perfume. Later, for this woman, he even dethroned the empress and the crowned prince, and made her son the next emperor. Therefore, the technique of making perfume was very popular in the country. When did the girl learn this technique?

The second lady said, "Old lady, the eldest young miss is so filial. She must have spent much time to collect dew and petals in the morning to make perfume."

The first lady's face grew paler, and she looked up at Shen Linghan.

"Sister, why didn't you tell us that you made this perfume for grandma? I almost wronged you." Shen Linghan noticed Madam Zhao's hint and said.

"It's just a perfume. I'm glad that grandma likes it." Shen Ninghua said quietly, turning to Shen Dong and saluted, "Father, I have made many visits to you these days, but have unfortunately failed to see father and pay my respect personally. Please forgive me."

Shen Dong looked at the first lady and frowned with "Hmm."

Old Lady Xiao poured two drops of perfume and said with satisfaction, "Ninghua has the best technique of making perfume I have ever seen."

The second lady came forward and joked, "Surely, no matter where one lives, as long as one is smart, one can definitely become distinguished."

Shen Ninghua smiled but didn’t say anything. The first and the second branches had never been in harmony. The second lady's words were just to humiliate the first lady.

"Eh, this porcelain vase is very delicate and it actually looks familiar. It was left by your mother."

Hearing those words, the first lady suddenly looked up and glared at the second lady.