Chapter 121: Enemy (Two chapters combined into one)

The day of the Spring Banquet arrived in a blink of an eye. Fan Qiujun dressed up early. Her entire outfit was made at great expense by an embroiderer in a hurry. It was simple and elegant yet bright, graceful yet not ostentatious.

But the person who came to pick her up was only Nanny Yun from Prince Liang's Mansion, but there was no sign of Zhao Yunnuan.

Fan Qiujun was displeased. This nun was so rude.

We can discuss the marriage now, and when she is no longer in mourning, marry her off far away.

So what if she has the title of princess? As long as she marries far away, even the empress cannot interfere in her family affairs. Besides, what good marriage can a princess of a vassal king have? She will either marry a poor family or a poor scholar. By then, poor relatives will come to her house to ask for money every now and then. How can she still be so arrogant?

As for Zhao Shiqing who was far away in Baihe Mountain, Fan Qiujun didn't take him seriously at all.

She is just an adopted daughter. Looking at her a few more times is like giving alms to her.

Nanny Yun remained silent, but she could clearly see the disdain in the cousin's words.

The weather in Liang was warm, and the wisteria was already in full bloom, adorning the vast villa with a dreamlike beauty. Not only were the wisteria walls in bloom, but also a variety of exotic flowers had been brought out from the greenhouses, displaying a dazzling array of colors.

When Fan Qiujun arrived, there were ladies gathered in groups of three or four everywhere in the villa. The Prince Liang's Mansion was still in mourning, so the ladies' dresses were mainly elegant, but they complemented the wisteria in the garden. It was obvious that they had put a lot of effort into their appearance.

They were chatting, reciting poems, or painting, each enjoying their own part.

Fan Qiujun's eyes quickly swept over the ladies, but she did not see Zhao Yunnuan.

The displeasure in her heart grew stronger and stronger. What happened? Zhao Yunnuan had not arrived yet after he had picked her up. Was he deliberately leaving her out in the cold, or did he simply not take her seriously?

No wonder my mother always said that girls should get married when they grow up, otherwise they will get into trouble sooner or later if they stay at their parents' home.

Zhao Yunnuan will be twenty years old after the Chinese New Year. She is still staying in her parents' home at such an old age. It's because her aunt is cowardly. If she were in another family, she would be sent to the farm even if she couldn't get married.

At this moment, a commotion came from not far away, and then a eunuch sang loudly in a shrill voice: "The eldest princess has arrived - Miss Meng has arrived -"

The ladies who were originally scattered like pearls among the flowers now all gathered there, each with a look of joy at being reunited after a long separation.

Fan Qiujun snorted in her heart. These women from Liang were no less mediocre than those from Wu. They were all trying to curry favor with the powerful. She didn't believe that they wanted to see Zhao Yunnuan so much. They were just pretending.

Wait, Miss Meng?

Could it be that Miss Meng who came with Zhao Yunnuan is the granddaughter that the old Hanlin Meng found in the mountains?

Yes, in the eyes of Fan Qiujun, who is 28 years old, Miss Meng, who is already in her prime, is an old woman. Since she is the granddaughter of the Meng family, doesn’t that mean she is the old granddaughter?

Thinking of this, Fan Qiujun no longer cared about laughing at those ladies. She lifted her skirt and walked towards that direction, and her maid Min'er hurriedly followed behind her.

Zhao Yunnuan was introducing the woman standing next to her to the other ladies. The woman was tall and slender, and wore a plain dress as well. Her cloud-like hair was only adorned with two mutton-fat jade hairpins. Her attire was not much different from that of the other ladies in the garden, but her long eyebrows, bright eyes, and calm demeanor made her stand out from the other ladies around her. However, she was not like the peony among the flowers that dominated the beauty.

She is very beautiful and dazzling, but she also leaves some room for improvement, making people unable to help but feel favorable towards her and want to get closer to her, like apricot blossoms welcoming the drizzle, or summer lotus intoxicated by the moonlight.

Fan Qiujun's face turned pale. Is this the granddaughter that the Meng family found?

Didn't he grow up in the mountains, crude and ugly, and not worthy of being in a refined society?

Isn’t it that your youth has faded and you are too old to get married?

Fan Qiujun took two steps back, but forced herself to keep her footing. What happened to her?

Although this woman is quite pretty and has a certain grace, anyone who is not blind can see at a glance that there is a frost in her eyes, which is something that a pampered girl in a boudoir does not have, and which cannot be faded no matter how much she takes care of herself.

When you are old, you are old.

She had just turned sixteen. If she was a bud about to bloom, then this woman surnamed Meng was a withered flower.

Fan Qiujun smiled, feeling proud that she could think of the word "fallen flowers and withered willows".

With a smile on her lips and light steps, she walked beautifully, like a willow swaying in the wind.

Nanny Yun had already introduced Fan Qiujun to those ladies before. Everyone knew that she was the niece of Princess Nie's family and was considered the eldest princess's cousin.

Therefore, when they saw her coming, the ladies all made way for her, which made Fan Qiujun more confident.

She has uncles who are officials, a noble family, a generous dowry, and is young and beautiful.

She has everything that Miss Meng has, but Miss Meng doesn't have anything that she has.

She had inquired and found out that although the Meng family was not completely destitute, they were also stretched to the limit. Although old Hanlin Meng had found his granddaughter, all the family resources were given to the children born to his second wife. All that was left for Miss Meng was the false reputation of coming from a scholarly family.

With this kind of background, she is nothing in front of Prince Liang's Mansion.

Fan Qiujun walked up to Zhao Yunnuan, smiling brightly: "Cousin, why did you come just now? Yun'er has been waiting for you for a long time."

Zhao Yunnuan nodded slightly and said to Fan Qiujun, "Miss Fan, you've come just in time. Let me introduce Sister Meng to you."

Fan Qiujun's smile froze on her face, but the villains in the hearts of the ladies around her were screaming wildly.

One is Miss Fan and the other is Sister Meng, and the difference in their relationship is immediately apparent.

The funniest thing is this Miss Fan. The eldest princess is a princess conferred by the emperor. When we see her, who among us doesn't bow respectfully and call her "Princess Madam"? But this Miss Fan calls her "cousin". Does she really think that anyone can call the eldest princess "sister"? Does she think she is the second lady?

Zhao Yunnuan, however, had already smiled and said to Fan Qiujun, "Sister Meng is engaged to the prince. For now, we can still call her Sister Meng. The next time she appears, everyone will respectfully address her as Princess."

All the ladies smiled and congratulated him. They had heard the rumors before, and when they saw Zhao Yunnuan and Meng Xiaotang appear together today, they knew that today's Spring Banquet was specially organized by Zhao Yunnuan for Meng Xiaotang, allowing her to make her official debut at the Spring Banquet and also taking the opportunity to announce the engagement of the two families.

Amidst the congratulations and praises, Fan Qiuyun's heart grew colder and colder.

"My cousin is engaged? When did this happen? Does my aunt know about it?"

The maid Min'er pulled her sleeve hard, trying to stop her from talking, but she couldn't help it. She had risked her life to come to Liangdi, and was almost killed by that bitch Nie Rongrong. But now, she hadn't even met Zhao Tinghan, but Zhao Yunnuan told her that Zhao Tinghan was already engaged?

Are you kidding her?

Yes, Zhao Yunnuan must have done it on purpose. It was obvious that after they met Zhao Yunnuan that day, when they presented generous gifts to Nie, Nie looked at her with kindness and love. She held her hand, asked her many questions, and even gave her a pair of bracelets as a reward.

Yes, my aunt must not know about this. How can there be any marriage without the consent of the parents? Is this an uninvited marriage?

Zhao Yunnuan smiled helplessly, as if explaining to the ignorant younger generation at home: "Such a major matter, how could it be possible without Mother's approval? It's just that the Liang Palace is still in mourning, so everything is kept simple. I'm afraid this will be unfair to Sister Meng. However, the proper etiquette of the royal family will be observed without fail. Miss Fan, why not stay in Liangdu for a few more days? In three days, the Liang Palace will propose marriage. Although Brother Wang can't come back, he will ask my cousin Rui to go to the Meng Mansion on his behalf. My cousin Rui is a talented writer and eloquent. I'm afraid all the scholars in Liangdu will go to the Meng Mansion to share in the good fortune."

The cousin Rui mentioned by Zhao Yunnuan is named Zhao Tingrui. He and Zhao Yunnuan have the same great-grandfather, but he is from a concubine's family.

This Mr. Rui was a famous talented and romantic man in Liangdu. He had also been Zhao Tingxuan's study partner. Nie disliked his recklessness and replaced him.

However, since Zhao Tinghan came back, Zhao Tingrui often went to Wang Ling, so it was obviously Zhao Tinghan's decision to let him go to the Meng family to propose marriage.

But Fan Qiujun didn't know these things. In her opinion, Zhao Yunnuan was lying.

"Impossible! How could my aunt arrange a marriage for my cousin so casually?"

Zhao Yunnuan's face turned cold, and he said in a cold voice, "My brother is marrying according to the imperial decree. Does Miss Fan think that mother will disobey the order?"

Before he finished speaking, the ladies all knelt down, but they all secretly glanced at Fan Qiuyun.

Min Er quickly poked her hard, and Fan Qiujun finally reacted and knelt down: "Yun Er didn't mean that, Yun Er... I dare not..."

Zhao Yunnuan's eyes passed over the top of her head and looked at the other ladies: "Why are you all kneeling? Please don't be so polite."

Everyone stood up, only Fan Qiujun was still kneeling there. Just now, she felt the pressure brought by Zhao Yunnuan. She lowered her head, her nails digging deep into her flesh.

She still didn't believe that Nie would agree to this marriage.

In fact, Fan Qiujun was right. Nie did not agree.

She had just met the father and daughter of the Fan family when Zhao Yunnuan arrived and told her about the marriage with the Meng family. Nie immediately rejected it.

She had never met Meng Xiaotang, but she opposed anything that Zhao Yunnuan wanted to see happen.

Zhao Yunnuan said in a cold voice, "Brother is in the royal mausoleum and cannot report this to you personally. I am speaking for him now. Mission accomplished. Madam Zheng, go find the jade ruyi that grandmother left behind. I will take it away now."

Hearing this, Nie was like a cat whose tail was stepped on. She jumped up without caring about her manners and said, "Don't go looking for her! Don't go!"

Nanny Zheng's foot was suspended in the air as she stepped forward. She looked at Nie and then at Zhao Yunnuan.

Zhao Yunnuan smiled slightly. "That jade ruyi was left by my grandmother to my eldest grandson's wife. I'm leaving it with you for safekeeping. If you like it, I'll have someone carve a few more and send them over."

She remained calm and said to the embattled Madam Zheng, "Madam Zheng, go quickly. No one knows where the things in Suining Palace are kept better than you."

Nanny Zheng sighed, but without hesitation, she walked out quickly.

Nie pointed at Zhao Yunnuan and cursed, "You unfilial daughter! Why wasn't it you who died back then? Why?"

The smile on Zhao Yunnuan's face disappeared. Why wasn't she the one who died? Haha, these words actually came from her own mother.

It was Aying who died, but why did Aying die? As a mother, didn't she have any responsibility for Aying's death?

Why would Nie Qionghua kidnap Aying for no reason? It was all because of her as a mother.

"Mother, if I were you, I would recite sutras and pray for my father and Aying, do good deeds to atone for their sins, and beg for their forgiveness for the rest of my life.

Forget it, I see you're getting sicker, and Nanny Zheng can't handle it alone, so I'll send a few more people over."

After saying that, Zhao Yunnuan turned around and left. The sound of broken porcelain came from behind her, but she did not look back.

As soon as she walked out of the house, she saw Nanny Zheng returning with the Jade Ruyi in her arms. Zhao Yunnuan opened the brocade box and took a look. Confirming that this was the one left by her grandmother, she nodded and said to Nanny Zheng, "The deed to that farm has been given to your son. I'll have him bring my grandson to visit you in a few days."

Nanny Zheng's eyes lit up. Two months ago, her daughter-in-law had a difficult delivery, and it was Zhao Yunnuan who helped her invite an old midwife who had retired from the palace for many years to come and save her daughter-in-law and her grandson.

Not only that, Zhao Yunnuan also gave her a small farm, so that even if she no longer had a job in the palace in the future, their whole family would still have no worries about food and clothing.

That night, there were more than a dozen people in Suining Palace. Nie had no choice but to "get sick" again.

Three days later, Zhao Tingrui, dressed in fine clothes, rode a tall horse, and went to the Meng Mansion with betrothal gifts to propose marriage.

The most prosperous streets of Liangdu were filled with people watching the fun. Children squeezed forward, waiting to grab the wedding money. Although there was no music, the wedding money from the Prince of Liang's Mansion was scattered all the way. Amid the blessings of the people, the team carrying the betrothal gifts moved forward.

The princes came to propose marriage, but the number of betrothal gifts was only a dozen loads less than that of the crown prince. The first load had already been carried into the Meng Mansion, and the second load had just been carried out of the Liang Palace.

In a private room of a restaurant facing the street, the father and daughter of the Fan family stood at the window, looking at the team passing by downstairs with grim faces.

"Father, I can't accept this. I really can't accept this. Who can't do this? Why is it that old woman surnamed Meng? How can she compare to me? It's all Zhao Yunnuan's doing. My cousin lives in the royal mausoleum and must have never even seen that old woman surnamed Meng. And my aunt, she must not know about this. It's all Zhao Yunnuan's doing."

"Nonsense!" Master Fan rebuked in a deep voice, "How could the eldest princess conceal the Prince of Liang's marriage? Since she said that Princess Nie agreed, then it must be true. Daughter, we've been fooled by that woman!"

The "woman" that Mr. Fan mentioned is Princess Nie.

Fan Qiujun was stunned at first, but she soon understood: "Wasn't my second uncle's death in vain?"

Master Fan sneered, "It's better not to have this princess. She's just a sickly woman. With my daughter's looks, she can even be a concubine. Don't worry, Dad will find a better marriage than this. The hardships you endured on the road were not in vain. You tried to play tricks on our Fan family, but I will make her pay the price. What she owes us will be returned tenfold!"