Chapter 144 Birthday Banquet

Lu Qian frowned and retorted, "How do you know I haven't thought it through?"

Song Lingyi was speechless for a moment, unwilling to argue with him any further. "But I have no intention of getting married at the moment. Besides, it's my parents' orders and the matchmaker's words. You should listen to your uncle and aunt."

Neither Lu Qian nor Xiao Mingyi is a good choice for her.

"I'm going back now. You should go and apologize to your uncle and get the key to the courtyard back."

Seeing her determined expression, Lu Qian didn't waste any more words and stepped aside to make way for her.

…

In early February, the Duke's Mansion held a birthday banquet. The entire house was decorated with lights and swept clean.

At first light, the mansion began to bustle with activity. By noon, close friends and relatives of the Duke's family began to arrive. Carriages and sedan chairs lined the front door, and canopies formed a cloud-like cloud, creating a bustling scene. The Duke and his wife met Lu Qian at the main entrance to greet the guests, while Ling Yi and Lu Yu stayed in the inner hall, tending to the old lady and chatting with the relatives.

Kyoto at that time was no longer as cold as it was in the first month of the year. Song Lingyi did not hold a copper hand warmer. She wore a pink brocade shirt and a moon-white mud-gold skirt. Her hair was disheveled and she was indescribably dignified and elegant in her every move.

The relatives all knew that the Lu and Pei families had broken off the engagement. Seeing that the girl was becoming more and more graceful, they couldn't help but introduce suitable men to the old lady.

But the old lady was very clever, and she managed to get the matter of finding a son out of the way while chatting and laughing. And the female relatives, seeing the old lady's ambiguous attitude, did not dare to bring it up again.

"How dare you bring that up? There's a young man named Wang from the north of the city. He's about the same level of dandyism as your brother, but his looks are way worse. He even has several mistresses..." Lu Yu leaned close to Song Lingyi's ear and whispered.

Song Lingyi took a sip of hot tea and asked softly, "How do you know about such a private matter as having a concubine?"

"Chu Yizhou told me." Lu Yu smiled, "He follows my brother around all day, so he knows a lot."

The upper class of Kyoto was limited, and the nobles, headed by the young prince, were the objects of the officials' and sons' scramble for favor. If they wanted to know any news, they only had to give a command, and someone would go and find out. Any slight movement would not be hidden from the eyes of these young men.

"And that young master of the Li family is also..."

The cousins ​​were whispering to each other as guests arrived one after another. Qingyue came to pass on a message that Wang asked the two sisters to go to the side hall to greet the guests.

As soon as they entered the side hall, the room was filled with noble ladies dressed in red and green, all looking at them. The two sisters smiled and saluted everyone, and the noble ladies stood up to return the greeting. Because of the fight that occurred at the engagement banquet, the Duke and his wife did not invite the three families of Wang, Zhao, and Lin this time, and the atmosphere was relatively harmonious.

The main gate of the Duke's Mansion.

At first, Lu Qian was able to greet people with a smile, but as time went on, more and more guests came, and he gradually lost his patience. He had a stiff smile on his face and was thinking about how to avoid greetings and play touhu and cuju in the mansion when Princess Changyang's carriage slowly stopped at the gate.

The Duke and his wife carried Lu Qian forward to pay their respects, and then instructed Lu Qian to lead Princess Changyang to the inner hall to congratulate the old lady on her birthday.

Just as he was worried that he would not have the chance to enter the mansion, Lu Qian immediately agreed and led Princess Changyang into the mansion.

Servants were bustling along the corridor.

Lu Qian walked briskly. If he had to lead the way for Princess Changyang, he would have already rushed into the group of young masters.

Princess Changyang was dignified and walked slowly. When she saw Lu Qian frowning, looking back every few steps and silently urging him, she became angry and couldn't leave.

"Does it feel unfair to you to lead the way for this princess?"

Lu Qian turned around when he heard the voice, put one hand on his waist, and swung the tourmaline jade pendant hanging around his waist with the other hand, looking unruly.

"Of course I'm not wronged, but you're moving too slowly. I'm busy later."

"What can you be busy with?" Princess Changyang raised her eyebrows with a sneer, "You're probably busy fooling around with the young masters."

Lu Qian smiled and said, "Are you leaving or not? If you don't leave now, I will leave."

"lead the way."

Princess Changyang's biological mother was Wang's distant cousin, so the two were related and could be considered cousins, but they rarely visited each other. Therefore, even if Lu Qian was occasionally rude, Princess Changyang would not take it too seriously.

The two of them walked along the corridor towards the inner hall. Suddenly, they heard a few young men talking and laughing at the corner:

"I just went to the inner hall to pay my respects, and heard that several ladies wanted to propose marriage to Miss Song."

"Brother Pei has only been away from Beijing for a short time, why are you already thinking about getting married?"

"Miss Song has connections with the Duke's Mansion. There are so many families in Kyoto who want to marry her. She should get some information as soon as possible."

"As long as Brother Pei successfully completes the task assigned by the Crown Prince, he will surely rise to prominence after returning to the capital. If Miss Song is a smart person, she should wait for Brother Pei to return to the capital."

"It's a pity that chaste women are so rare in this world."

Lu Qian heard every word these young masters said. Song Lingyi, who was already depressed and thinking about Pei Zhao, became furious when she heard these words. She was about to rush over and teach these young masters a lesson.

But before Lu Qian could rush over, Princess Changyang grabbed his shoulders, pulled him back, and strode over.

"The Lu and Pei families are only engaged, and the two haven't gotten married yet, so how can they talk about chastity?"

Princess Changyang raised her chin and said coldly, "Besides, there aren't so many things in this world that are taken for granted. Now that the engagement has been broken off, whatever choice Sister Song makes is her freedom. Why should you worry about it?"

When the young masters saw Princess Changyang's posture, they were frightened and nodded in agreement.

"Retreat immediately, and don't let this princess hear these nonsense again."

Those young masters hurriedly left this dangerous place.

Princess Changyang turned around and saw Lu Qian leaning against the pillar. She looked a little surprised and asked, "Why did you want to meddle in other people's business?"

If I remember correctly, Song Lingyi and the princess had a very ordinary relationship.

"These words were not said by me, but by Jianzhi. I am just conveying them on his behalf." Princess Changyang looked proud and had a slight smile on her lips.

As soon as he heard Pei Zhao's name, Lu Qian's face fell.

"Aren't we going to celebrate grandma's birthday? Let's go."

"Wait! What are you rushing for?!"

The two of them entered the inner hall one after another. While Princess Changyang was congratulating the old lady on her birthday, Lu Qian turned around and went to the east courtyard where the young masters were.

A melodious sound of piano came from the side hall. It turned out that a noble lady was playing the piano to liven up the banquet. The tune was as elegant as flowing water in the mountains, and the jade-like sound of the harp was lingering.

Today was the most harmonious and peaceful banquet Song Lingyi had ever had since she came to Kyoto. She sat among the noble ladies, holding a bowl of soup, chatting and laughing freely.

When the song ended, Princess Changyang walked into the side hall amid the cheers of the crowd. She glanced at the noble ladies present, her demeanor dignified and relaxed.

"I don't know which sister played the piano just now. Her skills are very skillful. At first, I thought it was the Pei family's sister playing the piano."