If Jiuzhu were to comment on the birthday banquet held at the Pingyuan Marquis' Mansion, she would say that the food was delicious.
During the banquet, the old lady of Pingyuan Marquis's Mansion sat upright in the main seat. Although she was already old, she still exuded dignity and elegance, without any trace of old age.
On the other hand, the wife of Marquis Pingyuan, who was busy entertaining guests, had a forced smile, probably because she was worried about her husband who was still seriously ill.
From the beginning of the banquet until now, Marquis Pingyuan, supported by a servant, sat at the banquet table for a while and then found an excuse to leave, without touching any wine or meat.
If Jiuzhu had not heard the news that Pingyuan Hou was seriously ill with her own ears, she would have doubted whether this matter was true.
The elegant and noble old lady, the thoughtful wife of the marquis, and the children of the marquis who spoke and behaved freely. In this bustling scene, Jiuzhu looked at every tree and blade of grass in the Zheng family and felt a creepy feeling.
After the meal, the maids brought clean water for the guests to rinse their mouths and wash their hands. Jiuzhu saw the old lady holding King Qi's hand affectionately with a very kind smile on her face.
Jiuzhu remembered what her masters had told her.
Hidden beneath the clusters of flowers may be rare treasures, or they may be the most disgusting and smelly mud.
"After dinner, go walk in the yard to help digest the food." Shen knew Jiuzhu didn't like watching operas, so she reached out and straightened Jiuzhu's clothes: "We will go back in half an hour."
"Okay." Jiuzhu was not interested in what these ladies were talking about, poetry and marriage, nor did she want to admire the Zheng family's elegance and grace. After hearing her mother's words, she got up and went to sit in the bamboo forest next to her.
The bamboo forest was quiet and peaceful, with occasional chirping of birds. Jiuzhu picked up a few pebbles from the ground and sat at the table playing stone throwing with a few maids.
"Miss, I used to play this game when I was little, but I couldn't beat you." The maids admitted defeat and sighed, "Your fingers are so flexible."
"This is very simple." Jiuzhu threw a few stones into the air and caught them neatly: "It's nothing special, just practice makes perfect."
Not to mention catching stones, the two masters even asked her to catch rabbits all over the mountains.
"There are some tips for playing this. Come, come, I'll teach you." Jiuzhu waved for the maids to sit down: "The speed of your hands and eyes must be the same. Don't let your hands deceive your eyes..."
Behind the bamboo forest, the King of Qi heard the voice of a woman talking and stopped.
Even without looking, he knew that the person speaking was the little girl from the Ming family.
The wind made the bamboo forest rustle. King Qi glanced at the faint light pink figure behind the bamboo forest and turned around to leave.
"My Lord."
Turning around and looking at Sun Caiyao who was walking towards him, King Qi smiled tenderly: "Miss Sun."
"Miss, please demonstrate it again. My eyes can follow it, but my hands can't..."
"Okay, this is the last time."
Sun Caiyao turned her head and glanced at the bamboo forest, then knelt slightly towards the King of Qi: "Hi, Your Highness." She smiled and said: "I wonder which ladies are playing in the forest."
King Qi laughed but said nothing.
He is always so gentle and considerate to women. Looking at her with his eyes, she feels as if surrounded by a warm spring breeze and can't help but be moved.
The carefree laughter of the young girl could be heard again from the woods. The laughter was soft, but each one was like a needle piercing Sun Caiyao's heart.
Half a year ago, she had a dream about the future, but she wasn't sure whether it was true or not.
In the dream, the carefree girl in the forest would marry the man in front of her and become the Princess of Qi, the envy of countless women.
The dream was chaotic. After waking up, she only remembered that the prince favored by His Majesty would die two days before the birthday of Concubine Su Gui. Because the Princess of Qi had a private conversation with Concubine Su Gui, she was disliked by Concubine Ning, and the relationship between her and the Prince of Qi became increasingly weak.
Dreams are just dreams, not necessarily true. If the dream is true, it might be a good thing that Ming Jiuzhu is not married to King Qi. At least... she will not be disliked by her mother-in-law or ignored by her husband.
But no matter whether what happened in the dream would happen or not, whether it was true or false, she didn't want Prince Qi and Ming Jiuzhu to have any chance of getting close to each other.
She doesn't believe in fate or dreams, she only believes in herself.
"Miss." Chunfen whispered in Jiuzhu's ear, "There seems to be someone behind the bamboo forest. I'll go check it out."
"Don't go!" Jiuzhu grabbed Chunfen's wrist and said, "If you don't know who is talking and what they are talking about, don't go and watch."
"Curious..." Jiuzhu stood up and pulled Chunfen in another direction.
Curiosity can kill you.
After walking out of the bamboo forest, Jiuzhu saw the middle-aged man with the scar on his chin again. He was wearing the clothes of a steward. When he saw Jiuzhu coming out of the bamboo forest, he bowed to her with a flattering smile on his face.
When Jiuzhu passed by him, she stopped and turned to look at him.
Seeing the nobleman suddenly stop and look at him, the middle-aged man bent his waist lower and lowered his head more respectfully.
"Are you the steward of the Marquis' Mansion?"
"In reply to your words, I am the manager of the outer courtyard of the Marquis's mansion. If you need me to run errands for you, please let me know."
Jiuzhu looked at him for a long while and said, "Stand further away."
"What?"
Jiuzhu left with her maid. The steward looked up in confusion. What did the noble man mean by this?
He touched the scar on his chin. Was it because the scar was too ugly that it frightened the noble? Thinking of the origin of the scar, his face gradually became gloomy.
After the guests left, the smile on the old lady's face slowly disappeared. She fiddled with the rosary in her hand and said, "Zhenzhen, I saw you today. It seems that you are deliberately avoiding Miss Ming?"
Zheng Zhen stood up nervously: "Grandma, there is a misunderstanding between me and Miss Ming."
The old lady nodded slowly: "Although she will become the abandoned child of the Ming family sooner or later, you must not be disrespectful in front of her before Prince Chen loses power."
If the Ming family really valued this daughter, they would not have sent her to a Taoist temple for so many years in the name of praying for her health.
The three brothers of the Ming family have a cold attitude towards Prince Chen. Your Majesty thinks that by marrying the daughter of the Ming family to Prince Chen, the Ming family will support Prince Chen. This really does not understand the persistence of scholars in certain aspects.
Back then, the three brothers of the Ming family were willing to be exiled to a cold and bitter land for the sake of the current emperor. Now, they are willing to sacrifice a daughter for that persistence.
In terms of talent, virtue, benevolence and righteousness, Prince Chen is far inferior to Prince Qi. Moreover, Concubine Su has been at odds with the civil officials for many years, so there is no possibility that the Ming family will support Prince Chen.
Throughout history, it has never been uncommon for a man to sacrifice a daughter he doesn't care about for the sake of family honor.
"But grandma, the Ming family didn't arrange any male guests today." Zheng Wangnan was a little worried that the Ming family would get closer and closer to Concubine Su and her son in the future, causing trouble for His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi.
"It doesn't matter whether he comes or not." The old lady smiled: "As long as he doesn't support Prince Chen, it's enough for us."
"My ears are burning." In the carriage, Jiuzhu covered her red ears and said, "Is someone saying something bad about me?"
Shen was amused by her puffed cheeks and aggrieved look, so she took out a cloak and put it on her: "The weather is getting colder, don't freeze your ears."
Jiuzhu was puzzled, she was not cold.
It must be someone else who is saying bad things about her.
Wearing a thick cloak, Jiuzhu felt a little hot, so she secretly opened the curtain a little and found King Chen riding on horseback.
"Your Highness." Jiuzhu poked her head out and asked with a smile, "Where are you going, Your Highness?"
Seeing the little head sticking out of the carriage, the Prince of Chen rode his horse to the side of the carriage and bent down to look at her: "A group of fierce horses have arrived at the Royal Stables. I want to go and take a look."
"Oh." Jiuzhu was not very good at riding a horse, and was even less interested in tall and fierce horses, so he retracted half of his head.
"Since we've met, I'll take you to pick a horse." The Prince of Chen felt tired of speaking with his back bent, so he simply jumped off the horse and said, "There are many cute ponies in the Royal Stables. I'll give you whichever one you like."
"Your Highness."
The voices of other women were heard in the carriage. Prince Chen was stunned for a moment. A woman dressed in gorgeous clothes walked out of the carriage and saluted him.
Isn’t this the little girl’s mother, his future mother-in-law?
Prince Chen thought about it, dropped the reins in his hand, and bowed to Shen in return.
Shen slightly turned aside to avoid the salute and glanced at her daughter who was still sitting in the carriage with half of her head sticking out. She had saluted the Prince of Chen countless times, but this was the first time she saw the Prince of Chen return a half-salute to her.
In the past, the two of them were just a relationship where one person gave the gift and the other received the gift. Now, seeing that the other party was going to take her precious daughter to choose a horse for the royal carriage, Shen felt a little complicated.
"I didn't know Madam Shen was also in the carriage. This prince..." Prince Chen turned his head and looked at Jiuzhu's big dark eyes. He twisted his tongue and said, "I'm sorry, young man."
Alas, he was most impatient to deal with these civil officials and their wives, and he was exhausted just talking to them.
"Your Highness is too polite." Shen smiled. Even if you dare to be rude, what can I say?
At the Royal Stables, His Majesty dares to pick horses at will for his carriage and even urges his daughter to go with him. Apart from the Prince of Chen, who else has such courage?
"Are there any white ponies?" When Jiuzhu was very young, he went to Lingzhou City with his teachers to buy things and saw a rich young man leading a pure white pony, which was extremely cute.
"Yes." Prince Chen secretly hooked his finger at her: "How about going or not?"
Jiuzhu was a little excited. She rubbed her toes towards the outside of the carriage and secretly glanced at Shen.
"Come back soon." Shen pretended not to notice that Prince Chen put his hands behind his back and secretly hooked his finger at Jiuzhu: "You don't know how to ride a horse, stay away from the fierce horse."
"Please rest assured, Madam. I will take good care of her."
Shen sneered in her heart, I am most worried about going out with a devil like you.
"Don't worry, mother. I will be a good boy." Jiuzhu jumped off the carriage and trotted to the side of Prince Chen, with a smile on her face saying "little white horse, little white horse, I want a little white horse."
Shen was puzzled. Her daughter was usually polite and distant to other young men, so why did she trust Prince Chen so much?
She looked at Prince Chen's face. Could it be that a man's face could seduce a woman?
What a blue-faced disaster!
Turning back to the carriage, Shen opened the curtain and saw her daughter smiling innocently and waving goodbye to her.
never mind.
Shen lowered the curtain. This was her daughter's future husband, so she had to be in a good mood and not get angry. Her daughter was still young and would need her mother's care in many ways in the future, so she must not get angry and make herself sick.
Looking at the bright side, at least Prince Chen is willing to call himself a junior in front of her.
The Royal Stables raised various breeds of fine horses. Jiuzhu looked at the endless stables and exclaimed, "How much money does it cost to raise so many horses?"
"Little girl, you need to think bigger." The Prince of Chen played with the whip in his hand. "These horses are all fine breeds carefully selected from horse farms across the country. Under the careful training of the grooms, the best war horses are bred and then sent to the army in large quantities. Good war horses are the sharpest weapons of soldiers."
"Awesome." Although Jiuzhu didn't know how to raise horses, she believed that a horse that could help soldiers guard the border must be a good horse.
Seeing Jiuzhu's admiring look, Prince Chen became interested and introduced Jiuzhu to the advantages of various horse breeds. Finally, he took her to pick a dwarf horse.
"Come, ride on it and try it." Prince Chen personally helped Jiuzhu to adjust the saddle.
Jiuzhu was a little scared, but she didn't want the little fairy boy to think that she was timid: "I am a little scared, only a little."
The little feet have retracted and are only a little bit?
Prince Chen pulled Jiuzhu's waist up with one hand and easily lifted her onto the horse's back.
"Don't be afraid." Prince Chen felt that he was particularly patient with this little girl whose brain was not very useful: "I will lead you."
"Then, then don't let go. I'm not afraid, I'm just not familiar with the Royal Stables." Jiuzhu mustered up the courage to straighten her back, and when the horse started moving, she weakly retracted her back.
"Okay, I won't let go." Prince Chen held the horse with one hand and covered the smile on his face with the other.
Well, I just accidentally became a puppy. Actually, I'm not scared at all.
"Your Highness." The attendant walked up to him and asked in a low voice, "The horse you chose has been harnessed. Do you want to tame it now?"
Prince Chen glanced at the frightened puppy on the horse and sighed.
"Forget it, I'll come next time."
Why did he bring this little girl to the horse farm when he saw her just now?
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