Chapter 237 Stunning Everyone

It’s the first day of March, a sunny day.

This year, due to the victory in the war in southern Xinjiang, the emperor was very pleased and ordered the Ministry of Rites to hold a grand ceremony on the first day of March.

As early as a month ago, various departments began to arrange Jinming Lake and Qionglin Garden.

This year's navy dragon boat race was led by five princes who were over thirteen years old. The five dragon boats were fully prepared and had trained for more than a month.

The ceremonial guard accompanying the emperor also trains every day to ensure that the celebration goes smoothly.

According to regulations, on this day, common people and dignitaries can enter Jinming Lake and Qionglin Garden to play to their heart's content, and officials are not allowed to impeach.

But that's what I said.

In fact, there is a clear difference between the places where ordinary people can play and the places where dignitaries can play.

Jinming Pond is located on the northwest side of Shuntianmen Street, with a circumference of nine miles and thirty steps. After entering the garden gate and walking more than a hundred steps to the west bank of the pond, you will find the Linshui Hall and five large halls.

There are many recreational activities on the front and back corridors at the end of the road to the five main halls.

For example, there were stalls selling performances, gambling, food, jewelry, clothing and other kinds of stalls. Umbrellas of various colors were open and connected together. People in different clothes were playing here. At first glance, it was colorful and lively.

A few hundred steps west of the Linshui Palace, there is a fairy bridge that is a hundred steps long from north to south. It is composed of three arches and spans five halls like a rainbow. The five halls just span the central axis of the pool and are exactly opposite to the Linshui Palace.

There are pavilions, towers, rockery and bamboo forests built around it, which is beautiful beyond words.

This is where the dignitaries come to have fun, and ordinary people generally cannot enter.

His Majesty will hold a banquet in Linshui Hall. Linshui Hall and the five main halls are all excellent venues for watching the navy dragon boat championship competition.

There is a Lingxing Gate on the south side of Xianqiao, with a colorful pavilion on each side of the gate.

When the navy performed to compete for the trophy, the singing girls from the Jiaofangsi would sing and dance on the colorful pavilion.

Further to the south, a Baojin Tower was built. This is the tallest building in Jinmingchi and has the best view.

After the banquet, the emperor would lead his concubines here to watch the navy dragon boat race and enjoy various performances.

The east bank of Jinming Lake is lined with weeping willows and has many tents and sheds for rent for people to watch the games. Rich businessmen would risk their lives to get here, both to watch the games and to get closer to the dignitaries.

The ladies were all dressed up beautifully, and the men were dressed in fine clothes and looked elegant.

Daliang is an open-minded people, especially it is normal for men and women to interact with each other. Such grand ceremonies are also a place for men and women to get to know each other and for people of different powers to enhance their feelings by interacting with their families. There are not too many restrictions.

Gu Huan was wearing a skirt made of crescent-shaped white cloud brocade. The collar and cuffs of her skirt were embroidered with blue daffodils outlined in silver thread. Her skirt swayed with her steps, like rippling water on a lake.

Paired with jewelry and earrings made of large and small pearls, it is simple yet luxurious, dignified yet lively.

There is a pearl flower ornament between her eyebrows.

Her whole body is as gentle and elegant as a pearl, setting off her jade-like face and adding a bit of ethereal air.

As soon as she stepped into the hall, there was a sudden silence.

Everyone looked over there, all in amazement.

She stood among the noble ladies with their hair full of pearls and jade and dressed in colorful clothes, like a pure white peony, standing out from the crowd.

The male guests who heard the noise also looked over.

Among the top noble circle, not many people really know Gu Huan.

Not long after she became Mu Junyan's concubine, she secretly went to Juzhou. When she came back, Mu Junyan had passed away.

Although her net worth doubled as a widow, she stayed indoors to observe mourning.

When the Mu family's military power was still not settled, various forces wanted to use their female relatives to make friends with her and find out her true strength.

But she rejected all the visiting invitations, and only recently did she hint that she was ready to come out and move around.

Someone caught a glimpse of her appearance at a wedding, but as time passed, the memory of her appearance became blurred. When seeing her again today, it seems that her whole temperament has completely changed.

In a moment, some people came to their senses, and those who had long wanted to make friends with her immediately came forward to greet her.

"Mrs. Mu, you are here."

"Is that Yun Guang Jin that you are wearing? It is priceless."

"Is this jewelry of yours custom-made by Linlanglou? It must be the work of Shopkeeper Qiu. It is exquisite and unique, with a novel style that I have never seen before."

"Mrs. Mu, you can go out now. I'll send you an invitation next time, and you must honor me."

Gu Huan responded with a smile, and her manners were dignified and proper, which surprised those who looked down on her from the bottom of their hearts.

Another group of noble ladies gathered together, and suddenly someone laughed and said loudly: "Sister Jiang, you are going to enter the palace soon. I heard that you will be a noble concubine when you enter the palace. I am so envious of you."

Immediately afterwards, those around him echoed the sentiment.

"Sister Jiang is different from others. The Imperial Concubine is her aunt, and the Empress Dowager is her great-aunt. She has a strong backer."

"When Sister Jiang becomes pregnant with the heir to the throne, she will be promoted to imperial concubine."

Jiang Ruoxi pursed her lips and smiled: "Don't dare to talk nonsense, the emperor has all four concubines, there is no place for me."

"You are young and beautiful, so you have a great chance."

Jiang Ruoxi couldn't help but be delighted. Her pretty face blushed with shyness, but her eyes glanced in the direction of Gu Huan.

Upon hearing this, Gu Huan turned around and met Jiang Ruoxi's malicious eyes.

She wants to enter the palace as a concubine?

Come to think of it, the fact that Jiang Ruoxi was determined to marry Mu Junyan but was rejected has long been known to everyone.

Who wouldn't be disgusted by any prominent family?

Her willful and capricious character was also revealed to everyone through this incident. Everyone knew that whoever married her would have unrest in his family.

The Empress Dowager loved her the most. Since there was no suitable person for her to marry among all the civil and military officials in the court, the Emperor was the most suitable one.

However, it is hard to say whether Concubine Jiang is happy about it or not.

It's a bit uncomfortable to think that my own niece shares the same husband with me.

Seeing how she is determined to get to the top, what do the other three concubines think?

Gu Huan pursed her lips and smiled.

Besides, after tonight, whether she can enter the palace is another matter.

Gu Huan withdrew her gaze indifferently and continued to chat with the ladies and girls around her.

When Jiang Ruoxi saw Gu Huan's indifferent attitude, she was immediately filled with anger.

He laughed sarcastically, "Sister-in-law, look at how useless you are. Those who climbed into bed with him all got a third-rank imperial decree, and you are also a widow, so how come you got nothing?"

The person called sister-in-law was Qian Peiqin, Jiang Ruoxi's second brother and Jiang Duo's wife.

She was also dressed in white today, in mourning for her husband.

Qian Peiqin had a stiff face, bit her lip and said nothing.

Her eyes were burning with anger as she stared at Gu Huan. It was this bitch who killed her husband!

She was afraid of being disliked and didn't want to come, but her mother-in-law and Jiang Ruoxi forced her to come, saying that since she was a widow, she needed to mingle with the wives of high-ranking officials and build relationships with them.

A noblewoman beside them sneered: "Some people are just shameless. It's fine if they climb into bed with someone else, but they dress up to seduce others even before their husband's body is cold."

Another noblewoman said with a gloating expression: "Sister Qian, although you are both widows, I am a third-rank imperial concubine, and you are the wife of a criminal."

Hearing this, Qian Peiqin could no longer hold back and sneered, "Her imperial edict was stolen!"

Jiang Ruoxi's eyes widened: "Oh, what do you mean?"

Those who were curious and gossipy gathered together and asked why.

Qian Peiqin bit her lip again and said nothing.

Jiang Ruoxi wanted to kick her twice, what a useless coward.

She was brought here to deal with Gu Huan.

The hatred for her husband's murder is irreconcilable, but she couldn't even fart for a long time!

Jiang Ruoxi gave him an expression that said, "I understand."

She raised her voice, and the people around her suddenly quieted down and listened attentively.

Jiang Ruoxi glared at Gu Huan, "Not only is she having an affair with her own brother-in-law, she also has a very good relationship with Aunt Pei's brother. I heard that the young master of the Pei family bought a house for her to hide away as a beautiful woman. But who knew that she was so powerful that she quickly climbed up the social ladder and dumped her."

"But she is greedy. She keeps her eyes on the pot while eating from the bowl. She continues to seduce the young master of the Pei family. She uses the large amount of grain and gold and silver donated by the Pei family to promote her to the third rank. Tell me, how can there be such a shameless woman?"

The noble ladies surrounding Jiang Ruoxi immediately started talking.

Pei Yi's wife Qian Peizhu was standing next to Qian Peiqin. When she heard the princess talking about her husband, her face turned very ugly.