A restaurant named after Jinling naturally represents the most luxurious level in the city.
Located at the foot of Qixia Mountain by the Mingjing Lake, it is a three - story white building in the shape of a swallow's wing.
The white building adopts the most popular Western European architectural style at present. The white marble columns are all carved with statues of Western beauties.
When the car carrying Si Jiangchen and me drove into the lakeside parking lot with a fountain, the last glow of the sunset had sunk behind the mountains, leaving only the sky full of rosy clouds burning like a fire on the horizon.
Si Jiangchen got out of the car first, opened the door for me and took my hand, leading me into the restaurant.
The entire Jinling Restaurant had been booked by the Si family today. On the performance stage in the first - floor hall, a group of fair - haired and blue - eyed foreigners were playing music.
As soon as we entered the door, two fashionable women immediately walked over. They both looked in their thirties. One had curly hair, and the other had her hair coiled with a gold hairpin inlaid with jade at her temple, looking extremely noble.
"Achen, why are you just coming now? You're the main character. You'll have to drink three cups of penalty wine later for making us old folks greet the guests for you!"
The curly - haired woman smiled and leaned towards Si Jiangchen, talking in a lively way.
"Third Aunt and Fourth Aunt are joking," Si Jiangchen still had a calm look on his face. "How can you be 'old folks'?"
"How can we not be old? Compared with the little beauty beside you, we're just old cucumbers painted green," said Fourth Aunt, who wore the jade hairpin, glancing at me. "This must be the fiancée picked up from the Du family in Duyang Town. She's so fresh and lovely..."
"These are my father's two concubines," Si Jiangchen simply introduced them. It seemed that he didn't want me to get too close to them, so I just smiled and nodded at them.
Seeing that I wasn't very enthusiastic towards them, Third Aunt still smiled and said, "I thought Achen would marry a considerate daughter - in - law. It seems that birds of a feather flock together. Miss Du is as silent as a gourd with its mouth sawn off!"
"You!" Third Aunt came up and put her arm around mine. "When you got home, you didn't even go to see the master first. We've been waiting for you in the mansion all day!"
"Ah?" I couldn't help but look up at Si Jiangchen. It was he who took me to his yard. He didn't say anything about taking me to see the "master".
"Du Xinghe wasn't feeling well. I let her go back to my place to rest first." It was obvious that Si Jiangchen had an ordinary relationship with his family and didn't want me to have too much contact with them.
"The master and the others have been waiting to see their future daughter - in - law. Hurry up!"
Seeing Si Jiangchen's always cold attitude, Third Aunt felt bored. She then pulled me towards the spiral staircase on the second floor.
The second floor was different from the first - floor hall. It consisted of a large private room and four or five small ones.
At this moment, the door of the large private room was open. On the leather sofa in the rest area sat an old man with slightly gray temples, wearing a pale yellow silk Chinese jacket with a front opening. He was holding a fan and talking to a middle - aged woman beside him. When he saw the two aunts leading Si Jiangchen and me in, he stopped talking and slightly raised his chin to look at us.
"Master, we've been waiting for you for so long," Third Aunt pulled my hand and pushed me in front of the man and the woman. "It turned out that Miss Du wasn't feeling well after getting off the train, so she went to Achen's mansion to take a nap... It's a pity for us. We've been waiting eagerly!"
Saying that, she covered her mouth and laughed.
"What's so funny?!" The middle - aged woman sitting beside the old man gave a cold snort, looked me up and down, picked up the cup on the tea table and took a sip. "Xianglan, since my sister passed away, how has the Si family's rules become so corrupted?"
After being scolded, Third Aunt didn't defend herself. She just pursed her lips, lowered her head and stepped back behind us.
"Sure enough, she's a woman from the countryside?" The middle - aged woman slammed the cup on the tea table and said coldly, "Doesn't she even know to come and visit the elders first?"
"You know I'm from the countryside," I had followed the refugees to flee from famine everywhere, and my temper was no longer as gentle as before. At the station, the Si family had given me a hard time. Those two little girls had annoyed me, and now in the restaurant, it was surely another boring argument.
I didn't like the infighting among women or the way of talking in a veiled manner. "Do I know where the Si family's door in Jinling is? If you're the head of the Si family, instead of scolding the impolite younger generation of your Si family, why do you pick on me?"
"You! You!!" My words were clear and fast, leaving the middle - aged woman sitting on the sofa pointing at me speechless.
"The rules of the Si family are better managed by the Si family members," Si Jiangchen then slowly walked to my side, put his hand on my waist and said indifferently, "Auntie, you don't need to worry about it."
Only then did I realize that this woman didn't really have the surname Si. No wonder my words left her without a word to refute.
"Brother - in - law, look! Look! Since my sister passed away, even Achen doesn't respect me anymore!" The middle - aged woman was in a hurry. Being from the south with a gentle voice, her eyes were red. Although she was middle - aged, she still looked pitiful. She reached out and grabbed the arm of the gray - haired old man, on the verge of crying. "It seems that there's no place for us in Jinling anymore."
It was needless to say that the man sitting in the main seat on the sofa must be Si Jiangchen's father. He vaguely resembled Si Jiangchen about five or six times. Presumably, he was also a handsome man who could charm thousands of women when he was young.
The man gently patted his sister - in - law's hand, signaling her to let go. "Zhuqing, don't say that."
"It's all your fault," I whispered and complained.
Being held by Si Jiangchen on his side, I quietly reached out and pinched the soft flesh on his waist. If he had been willing to take me to see his father, I would have given him face even if I was feeling unwell.
Si Jiangchen's waist was very firm. I couldn't even pinch it. He still had a calm look on his face and said to his father extremely distantly, "The engagement with the Du family is just a deal. There's no need to be like an ordinary family."
"A deal?" Before Si Jiangchen's father could say anything, the auntie looked at us again. "Then Achen won't marry the woman from the Du family?"
"Auntie, for the Si family, it's a deal, but for me," Si Jiangchen tightened his hand on my waist. "Du Xinghe will be my only wife."
"Woo - hoo - hoo..." Just as Si Jiangchen finished his words, a low sobbing sound came from the dining room behind the lounge.