Chapter 168: The Ceremony Held for Her
This was the first time Deng Youning saw him dressed so brightly since they met in Liangcheng when they were young.
His usual clothes are plain white, moon white, silver white...
Apart from the black he wore before his death in his previous life, he had never seen any other colors.
When Li Tianzhuo saw Deng Youning wearing the dress he had chosen personally, his eyes lit up. He knew that this dress suited her best.
"Today you..."
They both spoke at the same time, each wanting to praise the other for being different today.
"You go first."
Li Tianzhuo touched his nose awkwardly and let Deng Youning speak first.
"You look very...spirited in red."
Deng Youning thought for a moment and then spoke.
Li Tianzhuo smiled softly in some surprise. He thought Deng Youning would ask him about her clothes and jewelry.
Without waiting for his answer, Jun Wenying and Li Qinghuan came running over and pushed Deng Youning away, as if they were deliberately taking her away from Li Tianzhuo.
Li Tianzhuo followed them silently and walked towards the banquet together.
The moment the girls came out, the originally noisy and laughing party suddenly fell silent.
Li Qinghuan was the first one to walk out. Although she was very beautiful, most people knew her as the owner of Wuying Tower, so naturally they no longer felt any novelty about her.
Immediately afterwards, Jun Wenying pushed Deng Youning out.
Deng Youning was still very curious, why did they ask her to come up?
Her seat should be in the audience, not on the stage!
The quiet crowd suddenly burst into exclamations.
They seemed to have seen a celestial being!
The girl in front of me is whiter than snow, with skin as smooth as jade and beautiful eyebrows.
She has a slender and tall figure, and she is not as frail as the noble ladies in the city. Instead, she has a strong and unrestrained demeanor.
Just by looking at her temperament, everyone guessed that this person could only be the Princess Youning who had just returned to the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion at the beginning of this spring and had caused a stir in the city!
"Hey, isn't it said that today is the twelfth princess' coming-of-age ceremony? Why is the Princess of Youning coming up on stage to join in the fun?"
"Yeah, judging from her attire, she doesn't look like she's here to be a minister or a sponsor, right?"
"I heard that she was abandoned by the Deng family in Nanxin Country for sixteen years. She has long passed the age of marriage. Why is she still wearing her hair in a girl's style today?"
If the guests hadn't started talking, Deng Youning wouldn't have noticed that her hair had just been combed into loose strands by the ladies at Wuying Studio.
Apart from the pearl hairpin made by Li Tianzhuo himself, there were no other hair accessories on her head.
Deng Youning was also confused about this. She looked at Jun Wenying and Li Qinghuan nervously, but they subconsciously avoided her gaze.
She frowned, not knowing what everyone was doing.
Jun Chenyi exchanged glances with Deng Yanan beside him, and they stepped forward together to address the crowd:
"Any girl under the age of 20 can hold a coming-of-age ceremony."
"My cousin, the daughter of the former Duke of Zhenguo, You Ning, was abandoned by Deng Zheng and the Gu couple in the enemy country's Ten Thousand Snake Valley for sixteen years and has not celebrated a birthday yet."
"Today, I, the king, will make the decision to have her and the twelfth princess hold their coming-of-age ceremony together."
When Deng Youning heard Jun Chenyi's words, her face was full of surprise and flattery.
Deng Yan'an nodded at her, indicating that it was indeed the case.
This grand coming-of-age ceremony was something Li Tianzhuo had been thinking of organizing for her several months ago.
Li Qinghuan and Jun Wenying saw Deng Youning's surprised look and they couldn't stop laughing, as if their plan had succeeded.
They themselves didn't expect that they could keep their mouths so tight.
Maybe between County Lady Youning and Commander Li, they are more afraid of offending Lord Li!
"This is a surprise given to you by everyone. The coming-of-age ceremony is the most important for girls, and it carries the infinite blessings of relatives and friends."
Li Tianzhuo wiped his hands with the wet towel handed to him by the maid while walking towards Deng Youning.
Behind her, another maid handed her a very delicate peach wood comb.
Li Tianzhuo naturally picked it up and said to everyone:
"Princess Youning has been lonely since she was young. After returning to the Duke's Mansion, she has experienced so many things and has never had a moment of peace."
"Today, on the occasion of the twelfth princess' coming-of-age ceremony, I hope that she can always be at peace and have a bright future."
After he finished speaking, Li Tianzhuo picked up the comb and started combing Deng Youning's hair while reciting a blessing.
The way he combed hair was skillful and methodical. He practiced each step dozens of times, and it was only muscle memory that made him forget how to do it smoothly.
"On an auspicious day in a lingering month, you will be wearing your first clothes. Abandon your childish ambitions, follow the will of nature and become virtuous..."
"Ningning, I dared to ask Madam Han for the position of the bridegroom. I hope you don't think this is inappropriate."
Amid the discussions of the guests, Li Tianzhuo finally combed her hair and put a hairpin on Deng Youning.
From ancient times to the present, there has never been a man of the same generation who got married with a hairpin, so he is considered to be very creative.
But Deng Youning, who was equally rebellious, didn't think there was anything wrong with it. Looking at the bun that Li Tianzhuo had combed for her in the bronze mirror, she thought it looked pretty good.
"Azhuo, when did you secretly learn this skill of combing hair without telling me?"
Deng Youning asked curiously.
"If you like, I want to comb your hair for you forever."
He lowered his eyes and stared at her, a smile evident at the corners of his lips, and his eyes were filled with tiny sparks of light in just a few breaths.
Deng Youning didn't say anything, as if agreeing, with the corner of her mouth slightly raised.
In this life, the queen is dead. Although the prince and the Wu family have not fallen yet, she will make sure they can't cause any trouble!
After Deng Youning's coming-of-age ceremony was completed, Jun Wenying's coming-of-age ceremony was held normally.
However, halfway through, a group of uninvited guests broke into the Ninth Prince's Palace.
Those who came were the Imperial Guards and the Jinwu Guards!
They were all murderous, as if they were here to catch the murderer.
"The twelfth princess, Jun Wenying, poisoned the emperor. Now that the evidence is irrefutable, we are here to arrest the murderer."
"Anyone who obstructs will be punished as an accomplice."
The leading general of the Jinwu Guard loudly announced the emperor's oral order.
Everyone was stunned!
When the guests who came to attend the coming-of-age ceremony saw this scene, they didn't want to get into trouble, so they ran away without even saying goodbye to Jun Chenyi.
Deng Youning, Li Tianzhuo and others stepped forward.
"May I ask the general what the twelfth princess has done wrong? Today is her coming-of-age ceremony. I hope the general can explain it to us in detail." Deng Youning asked politely, with dignity in his tone.
The general was really helpless. How could he, a minor official of the fifth rank, afford to offend these people present?
He had no choice but to sigh and tell the truth.
The emperor had been weak these days and everyone thought he was sick, but he didn't expect that he was poisoned again.
But this poison was so strange and rare that no one in the Imperial Hospital could cure it.
At the same time, the palace maid who was cleaning Jun Wenying's room found the same poison that the emperor was poisoned with in her room and presented it to the emperor.
The emperor was immediately furious and ordered a tour of the twenty princesses for personal interrogation.
What's more, the entire imperial kitchen is now under the jurisdiction of the Twelfth Princess.
When it comes to poisoning the emperor, Jun Wenying is the easiest to succeed!
When Deng Youning heard this, she immediately suspected that someone was framing Jun Wenying and wanted him to take the blame.
But she is now too suspicious, and the emperor has ordered that no one is allowed to interfere with the hunt for the murderer. For now, Jun Wenying can only stay in jail for a few days and suffer a little.
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