Gasp! She's a Time Traveler Using Modern Tech to Improve Ancient Life-Chapter 576 - 574: Spring Banquet (Part 1)

The day after tomorrow, early in the morning, Lin Wanwan traveled back through time from the modern era to her room in the Great Tang. Upon opening the door, Hong Yan, Yun Shang, and two former palace maids from the Liang Dynasty Palace, Ji Yue and Cai Yun, walked in to help her with her grooming and dressing.

Previously, by the standards of aristocratic daughters, the number of servants in Lin Wanwan’s room was still too few, with only Hong Yan attending to her closely.

Although Yun Shang was nominally a first-class personal maid, she was also working as a housekeeper, while Hua Nong doubled as Lin Wanwan’s private chef. Neither of these two excelled in personal service.

Now, Li Shimin happened to reward her with ten slaves, so Lin Wanwan selected two of the three palace maids from the Liang Palace to serve her closely. They were evidently more familiar with the customs and etiquette of noble families, which was Lin Wanwan’s initial conclusion after interviewing the ten slaves.

Princess Xiangcheng’s spring banquet would certainly attract only nobility, so Lin Wanwan naturally needed to dress meticulously to avoid any breach of manners.

Today, Lin Wanwan was dressed in a blood-red pomegranate skirt with a shawl draped over her shoulders, embroidered with lifelike flowers. She wore a pair of forked-toe shoes, inlaid with cloud-shaped golden ornaments.

Her thick, dark hair was styled into the Flying Celestial bun, adorned with a Mutton Fat Jade comb gifted by Li Shimin, and further embellished with several pearl gold hairpins.

Her earlobes bore gold-filament hollow pearl earrings, and her natural makeup was hand-applied by Lin Wanwan herself. She also painted a Tang Dynasty palace’s popular fire cloud-shaped forehead ornament, maintaining an appearance of both nobility and lightness.

Once Lin Wanwan was dressed, Hua Nong went to the Xiao Family kitchen and returned with a bowl of bird’s nest porridge.

In truth, just before traveling through time, Lin Wanwan had ordered a lavish lunch at a modern restaurant, so having more bird’s nest porridge made her feel quite full, but she ate it nonetheless.

After interacting with several noblewomen in Mao County, Lin Wanwan learned many unspoken rules from them—such as aristocratic women needing to have "bird-sized" appetites, unlike common field workers who gobbled down food.

To avoid appearing uncultured at gatherings of socialites, these women would eat enough to fill their stomachs at home before heading out. This way, even if the banquet offered the most delicious food, the noble women, already full, wouldn’t have much of an appetite.

Initially unaware of this rule, Lin Wanwan attended two parties at others’ homes and ate as seriously as a worker would, as much as she liked.

This attracted sideways glances from others, and rumors about her being an uncultured person from the countryside reached her ears. Although she heard and noticed this unwritten rule, she remained indifferent and continued her ways.

However, today was different. Perhaps because the hostess was a national princess, or perhaps she simply didn’t want her family to look down on her, Lin Wanwan decided to become a well-mannered socialite of the Great Tang.

After preparing everything and finishing breakfast, Lin Wanwan moved to the flower hall to join Xiao Yixun’s mother, the Lu family, and the unmarried ladies of the mansion.

Since Princess Xiangcheng extended an invitation to Xiao Deyan’s house, it was naturally impossible to invite only Lin Wanwan.

Moreover, Xiao Deyan’s house and Xiao Yu’s Duke Mansion both belonged to the Lanling Xiao clan.

Although Xiao Deyan’s Imperial Uncle’s House became increasingly plain after entering the Great Tang, unlike the Qi-Liang House, who truly achieved the prosperity and decline with Tang, the two sides, after all, belonged to the Nanling Xiao clan, naturally still in and out as friends, supporting each other.

Among the many sisters waiting in the Xiao Mansion’s flower hall, Xiao Yixun was conspicuously absent, but everyone was accustomed to this and did not mention her.

Before Xiao Yixun was diagnosed with a split personality and sent to Qiantang for treatment, the mansion never brought her along to social engagements.

Xiao Shen and his wife never intended to marry off their sick daughter, so they naturally didn’t need to introduce her to elders from other families. The Imperial Physician had already said she wouldn’t live long, so keeping her in the boudoir to spend the rest of her life was fine.

There were rumors outside about the Xiao family having an albino daughter, but few had actually seen her.

In fact, it was just because Lu had only one son and one daughter, so even though Xiao Yixun was unloved by Lu, as the only legitimate daughter, she received her due entitlement, not one bit less.

Lin Wanwan surveyed the scene in the flower hall, secretly guessing that Xiao Yixun’s aloof and unsociable nature might have been the result of emotional neglect at home.

Otherwise, even if Xiao Yixun suffered from albinism and couldn’t be exposed to the sun, she could accompany her mother out wearing a veil that covered her whole body, so why keep her confined at home?

It’s well known that Tang people loved spring outings and autumn hunts; there was no place for homebodies in Tang.

With a touch of melancholy, Lin Wanwan swayed in the Xiao Mansion’s carriage as it traveled.

Fortunately, both locations were in Kaihua Square, so it took only a quarter of an hour’s jostling in the carriage to arrive in front of the Duke Song Mansion.

Nowadays, the Duke Song Mansion, due to housing a princess, was adorned with double halberds at the gate, giving it a grand appearance.

Lin Wanwan and her party naturally entered through the side door. In such aristocratic families, the main door hardly opened a few times throughout the year.

Inside the door, there were maids and older women waiting to receive the guests. Lin Wanwan and her group followed a middle-aged matron through winding corridors to the main hall, passing by small bridges, flowing waters, gardens, and rock formations. Everywhere were intricately decorated buildings and artful scene-changing windows, far more opulent than Xiao Deyan’s mansion.

The young unmarried ladies from the Xiao family couldn’t help but feel a bit envious, which inevitably showed in their eyes. After all, they were still young girls, unable to hide too much emotion.

However, when Lu observed Lin Wanwan with her peripheral vision, she was slightly taken aback. This rustic lady from the countryside was not fazed by the wealth before her. Her expression remained calm and natural, displaying an indifference to the luxury around, which surprised Lu.

Of course, Lin Wanwan couldn’t possibly be daunted by the scene before her. That’s a joke! Never mind the modern skyscrapers shining with golden splendor, even the ancient garden architecture she had come across when purchasing fabric in Gusu was no less impressive than this mansion!

Besides, her own warehouse was stocked with a trove of rare timber. Speaking of wealth, who in the Great Tang could compare with her? Not even Li Shimin!

She could afford pepper freely, enjoy winter melons, and have her fill of grapes, could Li Shimin do that?

The middle-aged matron leading the way was also discreetly observing Lin Wanwan, for she had to report back to Princess Xiangcheng afterward.

When she was receiving guests at the gate, it seemed casual, but she had specially arranged to welcome the ladies from Xiao Deyan’s household.

If it hadn’t been Lin Wanwan and her group that appeared, this middle-aged matron wouldn’t have approached.

In fact, she didn’t know what Lin Wanwan looked like, but Princess Xiangcheng said that once the matron saw Lin Wanwan, she would know which one she was because she was very beautiful.

At first, the matron thought that there are so many pretty noblewomen, how could she distinguish? But at first glance of Lin Wanwan, she indeed immediately recognized her.

Needless to say, her beauty was striking, and her demeanor was exceptionally unique, unlike any ordinary lady.