The ancestral home of the He family was in Baishitan, South Jiangsu. He Hongwen's grandfather, Old Lord He worked as a minister in the Taipu Temple. So they settled down in the capital. The He Mansion was a big mansion with three gates. Minglan had been here several times and known that the house was lived in by Old Master He, Old Madan He, Second Master He and his family, He Hongwen and his mother.
In late June, it was hot outside. Minglan sat on the right side of her grandmother and waved a big fan to cool her and Old Madam Sheng off. It took them more than an hour to reach the Sheng Mansion. Servants of the He Mansion knew Minglan and Old Madam Sheng. At the sight of them, the servants immediately came up to them and greeted them with big smiles. Then some of the servants held their arms and led them to the drawing room in the back yard and some held umbrellas to shade them from the sun.
The He Mansion was far away from the Imperial City (inner part of the capital city) and there were lots of trees in it. Minglan felt cool as soon as she entered the back yard. She let out a lungful of hot breath and took out her handkerchief to wipe her face slightly. Then she asked Dangju to check her appearance. Dangju replied in a low voice, "Lady, you applied the balm but didn't powder your face. So even if there are some beads of sweat on your face, you still look nice."
Xiaotao looked sideways at Minglan whose skin was fine and smooth, and said, "Lady, you can rest assured. There is no sweat on your face."
They went through the Chuihua Door, bypassed the main house and walked into the drawing room in the back yard. All the windows of the drawing room were open. There were various fresh fruits and cakes on a big round table in the middle of the room. Some wicker chairs were placed on both sides of the table. A copper basin containing some chunks of ice was put on the floor next to a small door and a draught kept blowing through the door from outside. The ice melted and the draught became cold, which effectively lowered the temperature in the room. Old Madam Sheng and Minglan both felt refreshed.
Old Madam He, who sat on the left-hand seat, smiled and stood up to welcome the guests, "My dear sister, are you all right now? Come on! Let me feel your pulse first." With that, she reached out to take Old Madam Sheng's wrist. But Old Madam Sheng slapped her on the back of her hand and complained, "I've never seen a host like you. When the guest came, you didn't invite her to sit down or serve her tea; instead, you took her hands and wanted to feel her pulse. What do you mean? Are you eager to prove that you are the real daughter of the famous medical family?"
Some female relatives standing around burst into laughter. A middle-aged woman, who wore a single-layer light yellow chiffon jacket embroidered with flowers and birds and a white skirt, came over and held Old Madam He by the arm before she said with a smile, "Old Madam Sheng, my mother-in-law is very concerned about your health. She has been eagerly looking forward to your arrival."
With that, she invited Old Madam Sheng and Minglan to sit down and asked maids to serve them some tepid soup with heat-dispersing function. Minglan curtsied to the woman who was the second madam of the He family. Then she turned around and made a curtsy to He Hongwen's mother who stood by quietly, before she sat down in the wicker chair.
After everyone sat down, He Hongwen's mother stood up, bowed to Old Madam Sheng and said in a weak voice, "Old Madam, thanks to your kindness, my elder sister and her family live well in the courtyard house. Let me thank you in the name of my sister and her family." Old Madam Sheng waved her hand and replied politely, "Don't mention it. Since we know each other, we should help each other."
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