Meiwan sat under the pavilion along with the women in the family, the little girls played in the garden beside them. It was a cool afternoon and all the ladies wore bright colored dresses and sipped refreshing tea. Early spring had given away to late spring, and it'd been almost three months since the Lu siblings had arrived at Yan Mansion.
In her time spent with her aunts and cousins, she'd come to love them all very much. Looking now at their smiling faces as they chatted with each other, Meiwan felt at peace again. Her world was turning out to be a happy one despite what had happened a few months earlier.
"It's long been time for you to marry, child." Aunt Yan Xiang said to her daughter who blushed.
"Mother!" Yan Tu scolded her mother out of embarrassment. Talk of marriage to a young lady was usually done in private bewteen the mother and daughter, not in front of so many others, even family.
Yan Xiang laughed gracefully, her beautiful face beaming with happiness as she teased her eldest daughter. Meiwan's other aunts giggled along as well, enjoying the moment.
"Really dear, do you have any interest in the fine young men of our city?" Yan Xiang scooted closer to Yan Tu. "Tell me and I'll propose marriage tomorrow!"
"I don't have any mother!"
Dissasified but understanding her daughter's answer, Yan Xiang leaned back and nodded, sighing dramatically. "What a pity. It seems I won't be a grandmother in this life, I suppose I'll have to wait for the next one."
"Mother, you still have your other two children." Yan Wei reminded, however not so interested in the conversation.
"Of course I have two other daughters! But how can I marry off the younger ones before the eldest is married?!" Yan Xiang pouted while waving her hand.
Meiwan smiled. She so dearly enjoyed seeing the closeness of this family and knowing that she was apart of it too. Her other aunts remained silent while nibbling on their pastries, however, secret smiles fleeted between the two. Meiwan glanced at her aunt Tang Heran, and thought about her. She still hadn't figured out why her aunt lived in the Yan mansion, when she was married and with a child. Her other aunt, Yan Ming still carried the Yan family name but also had a child. Had she been married previously and widowed? Or was there another reason behind the unusual circumstance?
The girl brushed the thoughts away and returned her attention to the mother and daughter, still discussing, and avoiding, the topic of marriage.
"Why hasn't sister Tu been married yet?" Meiwan asked, making the two pause.
Yan Xiang frowned sternly at her daughter, though in fun. "This child has been graced by her father, and hence he hasn't made a match for her. I believe he just can't bare to see his precious daughter move away!"
At this, Yan Tu smiled and nodded proudly. "I am father's favorite." She said with a playful sparkle in her eye. "Father promised he wouldn't force any of his daughters to marry."
"I'm his favorite!" Yan Shi interjected, a bit to serious.
"Never the less, father has promised us not to make an arranged marriage for either three of us." Yan Wei informed. "He'll probably say the same to you when you're of age."
It was a strange thought to Meiwan. Knowing now that her uncle would be the one to marry her off instead of her own father. The feeling made her sad, but at the same time happy, since she would be able to marry a man of her own choosing... within reason, she guessed.
"So sister Tu hasn't found anyone suitable for her yet?" She directly asked her cousin.
Yan Tu looked to hands folded in her lap and shook her head.
"There was one." Yan Shi spoke abrubtly, but Yan Wei hushed her.
"A'Shi is speaking nonsense. Don't pay attention to her." The second sister frowned at the younger one and used her finger to push her away.
Meiwan nodded, acceptingly. If there were secrets, it would be best to let them rest, or wait until her cousin chose to tell her herself. After a lull in the conversation, it picked up again, and everyone was chatting cheerfully. A maid brought another dish of cakes and brought more tea, and Meiwan returned to her silence.
In the three months staying in the capital, she had gone to school regularly and spent time with Yan Shi. Due to upcoming Spring Exams, all of the male students were studying intensely, including young masters Jun and Shang. Of course they weren't actually studying, but their fathers insisted on keeping them home when class was over for further learning. That meant that Shang Qinglou no longer had time or opportunity to bother Meiwan anymore, which relieved her.
Besides spending time with her younger cousin, Meiwan did her best to involve herself with Yan Tu and Yan Wei. The two older cousins spent their time mastering the four arts and maintaining good reputations as the daughters of an official. Yan Shi wasn't like her sisters though, and didn't care too much to be a perfect young lady. Instead, she preferred to hang out in the city and explore new hobbies. She was however, talented in the arts and had no reason to further herself in them. Meiwan on the other hand, had begun taking in-mansion lessons from nannies and hired tutors, but still made no progress.
It was beginning to feel pointless to her, so she no longer put in the same effort as when she first started. Neither of her cousins, nor her aunts, were able to assist her. She did find victory in the little things, and found she injoyed solving minor issues with servants. Several times now, maids had gone to her for advise on how to end disputes, or do their work better and more efficiently.
Meiwan smiled to herself, no longer listening to her aunts' and cousins' conversation. She glanced out into the garden and watched as the two youngest cousins, Tang Sisi and Yan Fuli, flew kites. Their maids, who were similar in age laughed along with them as they pulled the string to make the paper object fly higher.
"Mother! Look at my kite!" Sisi exclaimed and pointed to the sky.
Tang Heran smiled and applauded her daughter's success. "So high?! You've quite the talent in flying kites, child!" She yelled across the distance.
"Let's have a gathering here in Yan mansion."
Meiwan's attention was brought back to her aunt. Yan Xiang swirled her small cup and watched as the liquid moved.
"That way we can formally intorduce Wan'er and let her get to know all the young ladies in the capital."
The other aunts nodded in agreement. To them it was a splendid idea. However, Meiwan's back stiffened and she sat straighter, a response she recognized to be a result of anticipating future problems.
"We can also envite sons of officials." She continued. "Maybe Tu'er and Wei'er will find someone who sparks their fancies." This comment recieved an eye roll from all three of her daughters.
"Mother, can we go too?" Fuli appeared outside the pavilion, her kite abondoned in the grass.
Yan Ming glanced to her sister-in-law, her brows raised. Yan Xiang huffed and pursed her lips before shaking her head.
"A'Li, this is for the grown girls, you wouldn't want to spend the whole day with the older people, would you?"
The girl's eyebrows lowered so far over her big eyes and her lip turned into a pout, "First aunt doesn't want me to go!"
Yan Xiang threw her head back and laughed at the child's unhappy face. She then gestured for her neice to come and stand next to her, and tipped her chin up with her finger.
"I'll let you and Sisi plan your own party another day, hmm?"
The girl thought a moment and looked in the direction of her cousin, who was still in the garden, and then turned back to her aunt. She nodded, though the frown on her face remained. Fuli then turned around and raced off to grab her kite and continue flying it.
"These girls," Yan Xiang scolded lightheartedly. "The young ones want to socialize and meet other children their age, while the elder ones... plan on hiding in this mansion!"
Yan Tu chuckled at her mother's remark, while hiding her smile behind her hankerchief. "Mother knows her daughters well. We'll marry, eventually.
"Yes mother, don't let yourself worry." Yan Wei said calmly, her eyes roaming the garden absent-mindedly.
However, the youngest one huffed. "I won't marry till I'm old!"
This made everyone under the pavilion laugh, including Meiwan. Yan Shi looked bewildered at the response given to her, as though what she had said had been strange, which only furthered the merry laughter.
So it was decided, Yan mansion would be holding a gathering for all the young ladies and gentlemen of the capital city. The purpose would be to introduce one girl to the social circle, and find husbands for the other three. It was going to be quite the event.