While these people were stunned, Jiuzhu lifted her skirt and walked to Shen's side: "Mother, let's go."
"Keep calm and don't panic." Shen smiled: "In the future, when you meet someone you don't want to talk to, just keep smiling and droop your eyelids slightly, and they will know to leave on their own."
Jiuzhu laughed softly: "Wouldn't that make me seem too arrogant?"
"No, this is not arrogance, it's the dignity of a superior." Shen glanced at the people who had just surrounded Jiuzhu and said, "A truly smart person would not use such a stupid method to please you."
Jiuzhu sighed: "Let everything take its course. Life in the capital city is so hard."
Shen smiled and said, "I forgot. Taoism teaches that everything should be left to fate and one should be at ease as one pleases. Your personality is somewhat Taoist."
She patted her daughter's arm, hiding her worry very well.
But after marrying into the royal family, can Queen Su and Prince Chen allow their daughter to remain like this?
"With the character of County Lady Ming, when she marries into the royal family..." Princess Huai and Sun Caiyao walked side by side. After witnessing Ming Jiuzhu being flattered and then hurriedly leaving, she said with a somewhat regretful tone: "No matter how innocent a girl is, when she marries into the royal family, she will become a vine entwined with the tree."
After saying this, realizing that something was wrong, Princess Huai smiled at Sun Caiyao and said, "It was just a joke, please don't take it seriously. Mother is not feeling well, I will go and help her back to the palace."
Princess An and Princess Jing also went to serve their mothers-in-law. Sun Caiyao stood there, looking at the outer hall where there were fewer and fewer people, not knowing where to go.
"Tonight, is it the Lantern Festival?" She touched the phoenix-tail gold hairpin on her head and smiled bitterly. It had been less than forty-nine days since her mother-in-law passed away, and as her son and daughter-in-law, His Highness and she could not only not wear mourning clothes, but also had to wear brocade clothes and gold hairpins on the day of the coronation ceremony, and perform the ritual of three bows and nine kowtows to Empress Su.
In previous years, during the Lantern Festival, she would always go to the streets with her father, brothers and sisters to guess lantern riddles and watch street operas, but this year, she was afraid that no one would be able to accompany her.
"The Crown Princess..." The palace maid looked at her worriedly. The Crown Princess had not had a good rest in these days and had lost a lot of weight.
"Nothing." Sun Caiyao returned to Zhangliu Palace, took off her hairpins and headdresses, and changed into a plain brocade dress. She leaned against the window and watched the sky gradually darken.
It’s so late, where has your Highness gone?
The Mingyue Palace was hung with red lanterns and red embroidered balls. Even the palace maids and eunuchs wore red belts around their waists, as if they were holding a wedding.
Emperor Long Feng looked at his son who was staring at the red lanterns and was distracted, and asked with a smile: "Little girl from the Ming family, will you go to the lantern show with your family tonight?"
"This is the first time for the little girl to celebrate the Lantern Festival in the capital, so of course she wants to watch it." Prince Chen regained his focus: "Father, why are you asking this?"
"Go if you want to." Emperor Longfeng waved his hand and said, "The little girl has had a hard time in the past. As her fiancé, you should not miss her first Lantern Festival in the capital."
Prince Chen moved his butt and sat back down: "Father, I am not the kind of person who forgets my parents just because I have a wife. I will accompany you tonight."
"Really?" Emperor Long Feng raised his eyebrows.
"Really." Prince Chen looked at the sky which was already darkening, gritted his teeth and nodded.
Emperor Longfeng looked at his son, who was physically present but mentally distant, and smiled as he kicked him, "Get lost! Your mother and I are having an important day together. Who wants you to accompany us?"
Prince Chen dodged the kick and poured tea for Emperor Longfeng and Empress Su: "You really don't want me to accompany you?"
"I heard from Liu Zhongbao that the eldest, second and third sons have taken the princess out of the palace to play." Emperor Longfeng stood up and took Empress Su's hand: "Your mother and I will also go out of the palace in plain clothes later. If you want to stay in Mingyue Palace, I will not force you..."
"I will not disturb my father and mother any more. I'll take my leave." Prince Chen stood up and ran a few steps, then turned around and ran back, stretching his hand in front of Emperor Longfeng.
Emperor Long Feng rummaged in his sleeves and threw a purse into his hand: "You are already an adult, and you still need your father to pay for you to go out with your fiancée."
"Father, give me some more." Prince Chen continued to hold out his hand: "It's enough for two people."
"Liu Zhongbao." Emperor Longfeng sighed helplessly: "Give him a banknote."
Liu Zhongbao took out a few banknotes from his pocket and asked with a smile: "Your Majesty, which one do you plan to give to His Highness?"
Prince Chen jumped up and took all the banknotes in his hands: "Thank you, father, thank you, mother, I will take my leave!"
Looking at the happy back of His Royal Highness Prince Chen, Liu Zhongbao smiled and bowed to apologize: "I failed to protect the silver, please punish me, Your Majesty."
"Stop, stop. I think you are deliberately failing to protect the silver." Emperor Longfeng smiled instead of getting angry: "Let's go outside the palace and watch the fireworks."
When Prince Chen ran to the Ming family with the silver and the dragon guards, he found out that the Ming family had been out for half an hour and the servants didn't know where they were going to play.
Looking at the bustling crowd, the smile on the Prince's face gradually faded. Walking on the crowded streets, he found that apart from the large number of people and the old-fashioned style of the lanterns, the Lantern Festival was not very interesting.
Talented men and beautiful ladies were guessing lantern riddles, military commanders were carrying bags of things for their wives, and the Lantern Festival stalls were filled with guests, with hot steam rising in the cold night.
"Your Highness," the dragon guard asked in a low voice, "Do you want to return to the palace now?"
"No need, I'm just taking a walk." He saw a lantern stall selling puppy lanterns, so he paid for one and held it in his hand.
The music performed by the entertainers was not pleasant to listen to, the acrobatics on the sidewalks were so clumsy that one could see through them at a glance, and even the clownish performances that made people laugh were boring.
The candle in the lantern was about to burn out, and the light flickered. The King of Chen stopped and looked up at the full moon in the sky. He sneered and turned to the dragon guard and said, "Go find a new candle."
"Brother, that lamp is so beautiful." Jiuzhu pointed at a lamp on the lamp stall and said, "I want to buy it."
Ming Jiyuan looked down at the four or five lamps in his hand and nodded without any principle: "Buy."
"Shopkeeper, how much is this lamp?" Jiuzhu walked to the front of the lamp shop and pointed at the top lamp.
"Girl, this is our display, we don't sell it." Seeing that the little girl was pretty and likable, the shopkeeper explained in a good mood: "You can take a look at our other lamps."
"You're not going to sell it?" Jiuzhu slumped her shoulders in disappointment: "Okay."
Ming Jiyuan saw this and quickly comforted him: "Why don't we go somewhere else?"
"Okay." Jiuzhu nodded, but the brother and sister walked two or three streets and couldn't find a lamp like the one they had just seen. Jiuzhu sat down on a stone bench by the roadside dejectedly: "It seems that I won't be able to buy such a beautiful lamp tonight."
"Do you like that lamp?" Ming Jiyuan bought two masks and handed one to Jiuzhu: "Then I'll help you think of a solution."
"No need, brother." Jiuzhu shook her head: "His Highness is in the palace tonight and can't come out, so I thought of buying a few beautiful lamps and bringing them into the palace to show him. It doesn't matter if I can't buy them."
"Are these lights bought for His Royal Highness Prince Chen?"
"No." Jiuzhu pointed at one of the lamps with a smile: "This one is for my brother. I just noticed that you secretly looked at this lamp several times. The remaining lamps are for my father, mother and sister Chunfen."
"What about yours?" Ming Jiyuan asked with a smile.
Jiuzhu was stunned: "I forgot..."
"You." Ming Jiyuan laughed and put on the mask: "Let's go, brother will accompany you to choose the lamp you like."
Jiuzhu followed her brother's example, put on the mask, and followed him hopping and skipping: "Brother, I just saw a lot of talented people guessing lantern riddles. You are so talented, why don't you go?"
"Guessing lantern riddles is a chance for many students to show off. I have already entered the court as an official, so why should I make things difficult for them?" Ming Jiyuan was afraid that his sister would get lost, so he told her, "There are many people on the road, hold on to my clothes, don't get lost."
"Then let's go watch the lantern show." Jiuzhu grabbed Ming Jiyuan's clothes and said, "There are a lot of people gathered there."
"Okay." Ming Jiyuan held a few lanterns in one hand and protected his sister with the other. He steadily squeezed into the crowd and occupied an excellent viewing position.
Through the mask, he couldn't see the expression on his sister's face, but he knew that his sister must be smiling happily at this moment.
She exclaimed with the crowd and clapped with them, carefree and innocent.
Under the flames and silver flowers, she took off her mask, and her beautiful eyes were filled with happy stars.
If he had a choice, he didn't want his sister to marry into the royal family.
But in order to buy a lantern for the Prince, she had to walk several streets, not paying attention to the street scenery, and had no time to taste the Yuanxiao.
"Brother?" Jiuzhu saw her brother looking at her and touched her face in confusion: "What's wrong?"
"Put on the mask." Ming Jiyuan helped her put on the mask: "The lantern show is over, shall I take you to taste the Lantern Festival?"
"Okay." She nodded in agreement, and as she passed by lantern shops, she subconsciously looked for the lantern she liked.
Suddenly, Jiuzhu saw a man from a distance holding a puppy light in his left hand and the light she had chosen in the other hand. He ran up to her quickly and said, "Sir, please stay."
The man holding the lantern stopped and turned to look at her in the mask: "Ming Xiaozhu?"
"Your Highness?!" Jiuzhu took off the mask: "How do you know it's me?"
"Don't mention you're wearing a mask. Even if your whole head is covered, I can still guess it's you." He lowered his head to look at the lights in his hand and handed them all to her: "Here, for you."
The candles in the lanterns were flickering. Jiuzhu took the two lanterns and asked, "Are you buying them all for me?"
"Who else can I buy it for besides you?" Prince Chen looked at the mask on her face carefully: "Where did you buy this? I want to buy one too."
Jiuzhu turned around and looked at Ming Jiyuan: "Brother, where did you buy this mask?"
"Walk about a hundred steps forward, and you'll find a stall selling masks." Ming Jiyuan looked at the puppy light in Jiuzhu's hand. He remembered that his sister's zodiac sign was dog.
"So the Third Young Master Ming is here too." Prince Chen nodded politely to him, "I wonder if Minister Ming and Madam Ming are traveling with you?"
"Your Highness, my parents have other arrangements." Ming Jiyuan looked at the Lantern Festival lantern in Ming Jiuzhu's hand and said politely, "Just now, I wanted to buy this lantern for Your Highness to send to the palace. I walked three streets but couldn't buy it. I didn't expect Your Highness to buy it himself. Maybe this is fate."
"Your Highness, my sister is young and naive. Please send her back to the mansion before midnight." Ming Jiyuan smiled slightly and said, "I will take my leave first."
Prince Chen looked at his future uncle with satisfaction. No wonder people always praised Ming Jiyuan as a gentle and elegant gentleman. What a kind person he was.
"Brother." Jiuzhu called Ming Jiyuan, with reluctance in her eyes: "Why did you leave first?"
"I remembered that I still have some things to deal with." Ming Jiyuan looked at Prince Chen: "Your Highness will accompany you well."
One was walking around the streets, trying to buy the best lamp for him.
One of them bought her a puppy light, held it in his hand, and walked on the busy street for an unknown amount of time.
How could he be willing to be the Queen Mother who draws the Milky Way with a hairpin?
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