Chapter 192 Before the Birthday Banquet

February is called Ruyue, and is also known as Huachao.

A light chill lingers in the morning air beyond the green willows, while spring's exuberance bursts forth on the red apricot branches.

February 12th is the Flower Festival.

After entering February, the thing that noble ladies in the capital talked about most was the Flower Festival.

During the Flower Festival, the weather gradually warms up, and people can go out for a spring outing. Skillful girls cut out colorful paper and stick it on the flower branches, which is called "appreciating the red".

On the day of the Flower Festival in Jiangnan, every household worships the Flower Goddess and goes to the Flower Goddess Temple to burn incense and pray for the Flower Goddess to bestow blessings and for the flowers and trees to flourish.

This festival is popular in the Jiangnan region, but it doesn't attract much attention in the capital.

But this year is different.

This year, the capital city gained a new princess, born on the Flower Festival.

Her birthday banquet was actually organized by the Imperial Household Department.

But what right does an eight-year-old girl have?

There are countless noble ladies in the capital, so why should she, the daughter of a salt inspector, be able to become a princess?

Given her family's background, the daughter of the Duke of Liguo, Liu, was also capable of becoming a county princess.

However, because of her bad temper, she offended people.

Now that she is about to be engaged, her head is still bald, so she can only be called the Liu family girl, unlike others who can be called Princess Lin.

Someone whispered in her ear that both Liu and Lin have the wood radical in their names, so the Lin family girl must have stolen the Liu family girl's luck, otherwise the Liu family girl would have been granted an official title long ago.

The Liu family girl agreed with this and felt that she was not greedy. She did not want to be a princess, she was content to be a county princess.

Can a princess be divided into two county princesses?

The Liu family girl felt she was being very reasonable, and she wanted to have a serious talk with the Lin family girl.

It would be best if the Lin family daughter didn't become a county princess, but the two of them became county princesses together.

Daiyu had no idea that some people harbored such thoughts.

If she knew, she would definitely say, "If you have the means, I'd even give you the title of princess."

Little did she know that celebrating a birthday, not even a full year old, would be so complicated.

On the day of the Flower Festival, she had to change three sets of clothes from morning to evening, and also change her hairstyle and jewelry. These were already the simplified requirements requested by the original nanny. Originally, according to the regulations of the Imperial Household Department, she was supposed to change six sets of clothes.

Daiyu felt that she couldn't do anything that day, and could only follow their orders like a puppet.

Originally, Daiyu had hoped that it would be her own birthday, so that it would at least be in accordance with her wishes.

Later, it was only the beginning of February when the Imperial Household Department started to arrange things at their home, matching her with appropriate clothes according to her rank. It was a very complicated and meticulous process.

There was simply no room for them to freely express themselves.

So when Daiyu received the gifts from Lin Ruhai in Yangzhou, she threw a tantrum.

She was going back to Yangzhou to visit her father.

When Wang Xifeng saw Daiyu's condition, she assumed that it was because she had mentioned Uncle Lin that Daiyu had become sad. Fearing that she would be scolded by Yuan Hongqu, she quickly took her leave and fled.

"Daiyu, would you like to go for a walk outside the city?"

Yuan Hongqu did not respond to Daiyu's request.

Daiyu was somewhat surprised. In the past, when they went out, the nanny would always prepare for a long time. How could she just leave like that today?

Daiyu nodded subconsciously.

Lan Su went to the backyard and fetched two horses. Daiyu had already changed her clothes, into a set of ordinary home clothes, with a small cloak and a veil that the original nanny had modified, covering her completely.

Since Hongqu's riding skills were average, Lansu and Daiyu rode together on one horse.

The three of them, on two horses, had only been on horseback for a quarter of an hour since they decided to set off.

There weren't many pedestrians on the road, but they still had to be careful controlling their horses within the city.

Once outside the city, the sky was high and the land was vast, the grass was green, and the willows were like smoke. Lan Su let go of the reins and ran freely.

The horse she was riding was the same one that had accompanied her all the way to the capital. Since arriving in the capital, it had never galloped so freely, so the horse was very excited.

The two girls on horseback felt the same way.

Daiyu had just learned to ride a horse, and Lansu would occasionally take her for a few laps, but she had never experienced anything like this before, riding the wind as if she were about to fly away, feeling both excited and scared.

Yuan Hongqu had fallen far behind, but she did not urge her horse to catch up.

Daiyu's laughter drifted over from afar.

The laughter was loud and clear.

Not ladylike at all.

She is not at all like Lin Daiyu.

However, it was very enjoyable.

It was as if all the pent-up frustration had been released.

Yuan Hongqu waited until the laughter subsided before urging her horse to chase after them.

"Granny, I've thought about it for a long time, but I still can't understand why the Imperial Household Department is holding this birthday banquet for me."

"They went to such great lengths, sending invitations not only to everyone on the list we wrote, but also to officials who had even the slightest connection to Yangzhou."

Is this for my birthday?

"Am I the lucky charm you mentioned before, Granny?"

Daiyu was slightly out of breath, but that didn't stop her from asking all the questions that were on her mind.

She's a very perceptive child; if she had answers to these questions, she might not be worried.

What frustrated her most was that everything was like a tangled mess, blocking her way and making her overthink and unable to sleep.

Yuan Hongqu felt somewhat guilty; she should have questioned the Imperial Household Department sooner.

Because she believed in avoiding trouble and not wanting to bother others, she tried to get a few things done, but to no avail, so she chose to accept them.

Daiyu, however, perceptively noticed the problem in the middle.

"Lord Lin received a list before the New Year, and that list involves a wide range of people. It not only involves the salt administration in the Huaiyang area, but also the salt administration in the Guangdong and Guangxi regions."

Yuan Hongqu only learned about these things yesterday from Eunuch Chen Li.

"Is my father in danger?"

"That's probably true. There are many people who want him dead." Yuan Hongqu said with a hint of helplessness.

"Father wants to resign from his official post?"

"I've said that before, but Lord Lin has lofty aspirations and has always put the greater good before personal interests."

"Is the birthday banquet just to put Father's mind at ease?"

Yuan Hongqu nodded.

"Also, to divert some people's attention and make it easier for Lord Lin to work in Yangzhou."

Daiyu's eyes were filled with tears.

Am I a hostage left behind in the capital by my father?

"Lord Lin loves being an official, but he loves you even more! Daiyu is not a hostage." Seeing Daiyu's tears, Yuan Hongqu felt a pang of pain in her heart and quickly explained.

“Miss, I heard from my brother in a letter that he’s very busy right now. My brother is Lord Lin’s personal bodyguard, so if he’s very busy, it can only mean that Lord Lin is in a very dangerous situation,” Lan Su explained.

"Since that's the case," Daiyu blinked, tears still falling.

"I can't hold my father back, Granny. Tell me, how can I help him?"

"good."