Chapter 89 - 89 088 Lv Zhong's Gift _1

89: Chapter 088: Lv Zhong’s Gift _1 89: Chapter 088: Lv Zhong’s Gift _1 In ancient times, the coming-of-age ceremony for boys and the hairpin ceremony for girls were extremely formal, with many requirements. Aspects such as venue, attire, ritual utensils, and music all had numerous stipulations. However, in modern times, while the Adult Ceremony still emphasizes some traditions, it also has new adaptations. Take the venue for instance, there’s no longer a need to hold the ceremonies in ancestral temples as was done in ancient times. Nowadays, even outdoor venues are permitted. Leng Mei’s Adult Ceremony, due to the large number of invited guests, was held in the Leng Family Mansion. After all, the Leng Family Mansion boasts well over a thousand square meters of space, which is extremely roomy. The venue for the Adult Ceremony was arranged in the very center of the courtyard, where a small stage, about a meter high, had already been set up. Leng Mei’s parents, Leng Feng and Zheng Hongmei, stood on the east side of the stage waiting for the guests, while a host wearing an ancient scholar’s robe held a tray on the west side of the stage. As they made their appearances, the classical pieces “High Mountain” and “Running Water” began to play. Seeing that Leng Mei’s Adult Ceremony had begun, the guests started to gather towards the direction of the stage. However, everyone halted at a distance of around ten meters from the stage. At this point, the three main guests invited by Leng Feng and Zheng Hongmei hurried over. All of these main guests are distinguished female elders. Among them, Lv Zhong recognized only one, who was none other than Xiao Yujie, the wife of Zhao Yuancan. Lv Zhong did not recognize the other two, but they both had a demeanor that suggested they were not ordinary figures. Upon the arrival of these three main guests, Leng Feng and Zheng Hongmei immediately met and greeted them. Afterward, the main guests took their seats in the main guest section, while the other guests were led by members of the Leng Family to the spectator seats. Once everyone had taken their seats, Leng Mei’s father started to step on the stage. Leng Feng was a handsome and refined middle-aged man. Dressed in a crisp suit, he looked very spirited and refreshed. After glancing around, he picked up the microphone and gave a short speech, “Today is my daughter Leng Mei’s eighteenth Adult Ceremony. Thank you all for your gracious presence! Next, my daughter Leng Mei’s Adult Ceremony formally begins! May I invite Leng Mei to come forward and pay her respects to all our guests…” Then everyone’s gaze naturally shifted towards the red carpeted path behind the stage. Leng Mei, wearing a pink dress and carrying a chill that lasted through winter, slowly walked towards the stage. Once in the venue, Leng Mei faced the south and gave a formal salute to the guests. Then, she turned west and took her seat. Her cousin, Dongfang Linglong, helped her comb her hair. Then, after going through a series of rituals including the triple adding and triple bowing rituals, she stood beside her parents, Leng Feng and Zheng Hongmei, while Leng Feng announced the completion of the ceremony to all the attendees. Once the Adult Ceremony was completed, the banquet officially began. As the protagonist of the evening, Leng Mei was quickly surrounded by a group of guests. The elders were the first to give Leng Mei red envelopes or birthday gifts. Then it was the turn of some wealthy guests who came to the ceremony to give gifts. However, because the attendees had previously been warned by Leng Feng, none of them dared to bring out excessively expensive items. After all, with Zheng Hongmei, head of the Hongmei Group, present, would the Leng Family people even value the gifts of gold you offered? Therefore, those wealthy guests and officials who were giving gifts were very self-disciplined. When it came to the contributions from friends of the same generation as Leng Mei, those were scheduled for last. “Sister Leng Mei, Happy Birthday! This is my gift to you, may you always stay beautiful.” Firstly, Zhou Xiongfeng finally managed to get in front of Leng Mei after the adults left. After addressing Leng Feng and Zheng Hongmei, he handed Leng Mei a brocade box the size of a fist. “Thank you.” Upon hearing Zhou Xiongfeng address her as “Sister Leng Mei,” Leng Mei faintly furrowed her brows, nodded lightly at Zhou Xiongfeng, and then casually instructed a servant standing nearby to take the gift box. “Sister Leng Mei, please open it and see. This is a gift I put my heart into getting for you.” Seeing Leng Mei, not even looking at her gift, an anxious Zhou Xiongfeng said. Leng Feng at the side, although not fond of this young man’s personality, he didn’t want to be petty with the younger generation. Moreover, this young man’s father happened to be the richest man in Yan City, so Leng Feng gave him face. Seeing Zhou Xiongfeng’s urgency, Leng Feng couldn’t help but smile, saying to Leng Mei, “Girl, open it and see what kind of gift Zhou Xiongfeng has given you.” “Alright!” Although Leng Mei wasn’t thrilled, she didn’t want to appear impolite on this day. She agreed then picked up the brocade box and opened it. The box revealed a purple glint, and a purple crystal bracelet came into Leng Mei’s view. Seeing Leng Mei open the box, Zhou Xiongfeng hurriedly said, “Sister Leng Mei, this purple crystal bracelet was custom-made by me at a jewelry store. It’s not expensive, but it’s very beautiful and I chose it with a lot of consideration. Your name is even engraved on it, along with a Plum Poem from Wang Anshi.” Leng Mei gave Zhou Xiongfeng an impassive look, casually closed the box, said thank you, and did not speak further. “Ha-ha, this Zhou Xiongfeng isn’t bad, actually knowing how to put thought into picking things.” After glancing at the purple crystal bracelet, Leng Feng knew it wasn’t expensive. It was purely a playful item, nevertheless, he was also a bit pleased. After accompanying his daughter to inspect the gifts from those wealthy officials, upon noticing that nothing of high value had surfaced, Leng Feng sighed a breath of relief. He then apologized to the other guests who were congratulating Leng Mei and left his daughter’s side, joining his wife Zheng Hongmei to attend to others. However, Zheng Hongmei looked rather puzzled at Lv Zhong before leaving, leaving Lv Zhong quite baffled. But Lv Zhong didn’t read too much into it. When almost everyone had finished giving their gifts, Lv Zhong also brought his gift forward to Leng Mei, saying, “Uh, congratulations on becoming an adult, Happy Birthday.” “Thank you!” Leng Mei nodded her head. Although her words were calm, a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes. She gazed deeply at Lv Zhong and curiously asked, “Lv Zhong, may I see the gift that you’ve brought?” Taking the box handed by Lv Zhong, Leng Mei, for some reason, felt a little curious and took the initiative to ask about it. “I’ve already given this to you. You can open it without my permission.” Lv Zhong laughed and said. “Thank you….” Leng Mei expressed her gratitude. Then, she began to carefully unwrap the packaging of the gift box. … “Mom, Uncle, Auntie, and sister-in-law, Lv Zhong is here today, you might not know yet. Hmm, he’s over there. Seems like he is giving a gift to Leng Mei.” As she spoke, Zhao Ziyu pointed towards the crowd where Lv Zhong was. Lv Zhong? Xiao Yujie, Zhao Yuanyi, Ji Ying, Liu Wanqiong all felt their hearts leap up and followed Zhao Ziyu’s direction. On seeing Lv Zhong, they hurriedly made polite excuses to the people around them, “Excuse us,” and walked towards Lv Zhong. Dongfang Linglong also looked towards Lv Zhong. After the last incident and the Zhao family’s regard for Lv Zhong, she knew about his unpredictable medical skills. Seeing the Zhao family members heading towards Lv Zhong, she was hesitant and felt embarrassed to join them due to the incident a few days ago. She was still feeling reluctant to face Lv Zhong who saved her. “Should I go and thank him? After all, he really saved my life.” Dongfang Linglong thought and overcame her shyness. She started making her way towards Lv Zhong. She was not one to be ungrateful. Meanwhile, Dongfang Baoyu and Ao Yuling next to Dongfang Linglong were looking at Dongfang Linglong, Zhao Ziyu, and the beautiful woman, Liu Wanqiong, with doubt. They also followed… On the other side. Zheng Qiuli also saw Lv Zhong and tugged at her father’s clothes in surprise, “Huh, dad, did you see? Little brother Lv Zhong is here, he’s giving a gift to little Leng Mei.” Hearing this, Zheng Tianle nodded vigorously, “Ha ha, indeed, it’s Little Zhong. He bought brush and ink, paper and inkstone from my shop yesterday. He must be giving a calligraphy work to little Mei Mei. I must go and see Little Zhong’s calligraphy and painting level…” Before he finished his sentence, Zheng Tianle was already hurrying over to where Lv Zhong and Leng Mei were. “Grandpa, wait for me. I also want to see Uncle Lv Zhong…” Seeing her grandpa leave, Situ Weiqi cried out. Hearing Situ Weiqi’s shout, Zheng Qiuli quickly picked up her son and said to an elegant middle-aged woman next to her, “Eldest Sister, I’m also going to take a look. That kid is from Lv Family of Nanyue” After saying this, she also rushed in Lv Zhong’s direction. ******** Upon hearing this, they jolted and stared at Lv Zhong in the crowd. They looked at Lv Zhong with complex and bewildered eyes. Seeing Zhao Yuanyi’s family, Zheng Tianle, and Zheng Qiuli rush towards Leng Mei again, many people were surprised. Their attention then followed these people. Even Leng Feng, Zheng Hongmei, and others noticed this situation and couldn’t help but move curiously towards Leng Mei. With Leng Feng, Zhao Yuanyi, Zheng Tianle and others once again heading towards Leng Mei, many people wanted to join in on the action and followed. Thus, the attention of everyone in the Leng Family Mansion began to spontaneously gather again towards where Leng Mei was. Everyone was somewhat curious. They did not understand why Zhao Yuanyi, Zheng Tianle, Leng Feng, and others were heading towards that young girl Leng Mei again. Her Adult Ceremony was already over. … Searᴄh the NôᴠeFire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Leng Mei opened the gift box to see a painting scroll. Her heart stirred as she slowly unrolled the painting. A post station, an ancient road, the howling North Wind, withered branches, a carriage, and plum blossom braving the snow… An ancient charm hit her head on. Leng Mei could even feel an extreme chill emanating from the painting. Then, Lu You’s “Bu Suanzi & Addressing Plum” appeared in Leng Mei’s sight. Edge of the roadside broken bridge, desolate without an owner, already dusk, alone in sorrow… It’s Dong Qichang’s calligraphy! And the essence of Dong Qichang’s calligraphy was captured very well in it. The elegant style could be felt at the first sight. Moreover, the author’s signature on the painting also caught her attention: Lv Zhong made this for classmate Leng Mei’s 18th birthday on February 13th of the Yi Mo year… Shock! Genuine joy! Leng Mei felt that this was the most treasured gift she received today. “Mei Mei, quickly let grandpa see, let me see Little Zhong’s calligraphy and painting…” At this time, Zheng Tianle rushed over excitedly, almost snatching the painting from Leng Mei’s hands. Zheng Tianle had a high level of accomplishment in traditional Chinese studies, and he had been dealing with antiques and calligraphy paintings all his life. His appreciation ability was unparalleled in Yan City. He was able to sense the strength of the painting in Leng Mei’s hand and was incredibly excited as a result. Leng Mei understood her grandpa, and of course she wanted to hear her grandpa’s evaluation of this painting. So, she immediately handed the painting in her hand to Zheng Tianle.