Chapter 2: General Xie's marriage aborted
Having a bad feeling, Xie Yunshuo asked, "Cousin Wei Ning, what's going on?"
When Liu Weining heard that Xie Yunshuo's words were different from Jiang Si's inference, the proud smile on his face did not fade.
Her tone was delicate and there was something behind her words.
"The eldest daughter of the Jiang family said that this is a work of Wang Wanzhi of the Ru kiln. I think it is wrong, but I can't explain it. I think my cousin has a keen eye and will be more accurate."
Xie Yunshuo's expression was unpredictable, and he thought to himself, this is the case again.
I don't know how many times this has happened.
Whenever there was a dispute about something, Jiang Si and he would always hold different opinions.
Often when he felt that he couldn't tell who was winning or losing, she would always be able to surpass him in all kinds of unexpected ways and become the winner.
This incident made Xie Yunshuo, who was considered the most ambitious and unwilling to be outdone among the nobles in the capital, feel very uncomfortable.
Liu Weining once said that he and Jiang Si had conflicting horoscopes.
Xie Yunshuo didn't believe these things at first, but after experiencing so much, he couldn't help but believe them.
At this moment, after experiencing countless hostile defeats, Xie Yunshuo felt that it was not a matter of "mutual restraint" at all, but that Jiang Si was purely unilaterally restraining him.
He was superior to others in every way, but because of her, he suffered countless losses.
When Xie Yunshuo saw Jiang Si's face, he had a heart attack reflexively.
Today, the two of them had their own opinions on this square bottle, and neither of them could convince the other.
The situation was at a stalemate, and no one could be sure who was right or wrong, when suddenly a group of female officials came with palace maids.
Judging from the person in charge's palace attire, hairstyle and jewelry, one could tell that she was a female official of high rank in the palace.
The leader was of high rank and did not need to bow to the young men. He simply bowed and said, "The Empress Dowager saw that you were quite interested in evaluating the vases, so she asked me to invite General Xie and the young ladies to come and have a chat."
Upon hearing this, all the young men and women gathered here became nervous for a moment.
They just said it casually, but it actually attracted the interest of the Empress Dowager?
Everyone looked at Jiang Si and Xie Yunshuo. It was still unclear whether what they said was true or false, right or wrong. When they went before the Queen Mother, no one knew who would be the one with the discerning eye.
After Jiang Si and Xie Yunshuo exchanged glances, their eyes turned to the sky.
If you have a disagreement with anyone other than the other person, you may think that you have made an omission or are biased.
But the other party happens to be an "old acquaintance", so naturally they think they are right.
Even if you are wrong, you must never give up.
What's more, what Jiang Si said was the glaze pattern she had seen several times, so it couldn't be wrong.
Xie Yunshuo was also sure that he was not mistaken.
Therefore, neither of them hesitated, looking straight ahead with a calm demeanor.
Waiting for the moment when the truth comes out, your own judgment is recognized, and your old enemy is defeated and inferior to you.
A group of people followed the female official to the Juxintai, where there was a banquet, singing and dancing, and it could accommodate hundreds of people.
Along the way, everyone walked with people they knew.
Jiang Si was surrounded by her friends, and Xiao Qiangyue was indignant on her behalf: "You're definitely right, but Liu Weining is determined to ruin your plans, so he just found another excuse, right?"
Jiang Si simply said two words, "Dream on," which made her friends laugh.
There were also people in the crowd who were curious about the situation and were whispering.
The imperial concubine's niece Xu Honghan, who didn't recognize Jiang Si at first, asked the people around her.
"Why do Xie Yunshuo and Miss Jiang seem to have a past relationship?"
When she asked this, the people around her started laughing for some reason.
She guessed correctly. If the two people didn't know each other, they would just be polite to each other.
But there seemed to be some deep hatred between these two people, and they didn't even smile when they saw each other.
Isn’t it an old story?
The girl who answered lowered her voice and said, "These two have a lot of old grudges. It's not an exaggeration to say they are enemies."
After hearing this, Xu Honghan's tense brows relaxed and her expression returned to normal, as if it was just a false alarm.
She scoffed, "I thought so. No wonder General Xie looked at her several times without even smiling."
The dispute between Jiang Si and Xie Yunshuo was actually not a big deal.
It’s just that the relationships between these young men and women in the capital are complicated, they are close to each other, and they know many people, so many things cannot be hidden.
Originally, given Jiang Si's background and social connections, she and Xie Yunshuo should have kept to themselves and not know each other.
Just like Xu Honghan and Xie Yunshuo were not familiar with each other, it was difficult for them to have a chance to say a word to each other.
But the two of them always get together because of various accidents and coincidences, and end up having unpleasant things happen.
After doing it many times, people around you will be impressed.
Xie Yunshuo has outstanding looks and is capable of standing on his own feet. He has a promising future and is the preferred marriage partner for many eligible girls in Beijing.
Because of this major life event, the relationships between girls of marriageable age are also complicated.
But Jiang Si alone, despite her beauty, was not feared by anyone.
Because everyone knew that even if there was no one in the capital, no one in the world, Xie Yunshuo and Jiang Si would not get married.
Furthermore, according to rumors, the Xie family intends to marry a girl from a scholarly family to Xie Yunshuo.
Those who have friendly relations with the Xie family, such as Grand Tutor Lord Wen, Censor Lord Jiang, and Minister of Personnel Lord Wei, are all top-notch powerful officials.
If these wealthy and powerful families marry into the Xie family, and add the Xie family's military power, it would be considered a perfect match and a well-matched couple.
However, the marriage had not been finalized, and there had never been an exchange of engagement letters. It was just that the children of all the families had reached the marriageable age, and many people were keeping a close eye on the matter.
Many of those present today, whether they were family elders or the younger generations who had a favorable impression of him, looked at Xie Yunshuo.
If this occasion was an ordinary lantern festival or flower show, the ladies of each family might find an opportunity to mention it subtly.
But today is the Queen Mother's birthday, and those who come to the banquet are all flattering and keeping her company, and no one dares to be distracted by anything else.
However, when the Empress Dowager and the Emperor met with their close ministers and royal relatives, in such an atmosphere of singing and dancing and toasting, they would also mention the marriage of the younger generation in their family as a topic of conversation to show their intimacy and importance.
Those who could accompany the Empress Dowager closely and sit in the Juxintai Flower Hall were all princes, generals, and high-ranking civil and military officials.
Xie Yunshuo's father Xie Xingxiu and grandfather Xie Jun, two great generals of the Xie family who guarded a region, were talking to the emperor before a group of juniors were brought before the empress dowager.
During this dynasty, the Xie family had three military generals who devoted their wisdom and loyalty to the Xuan Dynasty in quelling the wars on the border.
The Xuan Dynasty was a time of peace and stability. The Xie family made an indelible contribution to the ten years of prosperity and peace since Emperor Zhao Pei ascended the throne.
But when the emperor asked about the marriage of Xie Yunshuo, Xie's father, with a smiling face, the Grand Tutor Wen, who was sitting on the other side and had originally intended to marry into the Xie family, looked at his wife and felt something was wrong.
The country is prosperous and the emperor is kind and just, but there is no weak king. The emperor's question made Master Wen panic.
Because the emperor should know that the two families are interested in marriage.
Xie Yunshuo, the eldest son of the Xie family, has reached adulthood and is at the right age to get married, start a family and build a career.
The eldest granddaughter of Master Wen is about to come of age.
With the right time, right place and right people, and a well-matched family, a military general and a civil official marry, and both families benefit. The friendship between Qin and Jin is mutually beneficial.
If Taifu Wen marries his eldest granddaughter into the Xie family, it will be a perfect match. The Xie family and the Wen family will be satisfied, but the emperor may not be satisfied.
He knew about this, but he asked about it in public. It seemed that he was showing his closeness to the Xie family and his appreciation for Xie Yunshuo, but in fact he was trying to warn him.
But before this, the emperor had always treated the Xie family with love and trust, and had given them power, and the Xie family was also loyal.
Such a harmonious relationship between the monarch and his subjects can only be compared with that between Emperor Lu and General Cao two hundred years ago.
Master Wen had hesitated at first, but because of the emperor's kindness, he ultimately wanted to move forward selfishly and promote his clan.
He should have thought that even the most benevolent monarch would have fears and selfish desires.
Master Wen lowered his head and immediately changed his mind, deciding to find another wealthy family to marry his daughter to.
Meanwhile, Xie's father also understood the emperor's hidden message and replied with a forced smile, "Your Majesty, I haven't considered this matter yet. Yun Shuo's character is still unsettled, and he hasn't passed the imperial examinations yet. We'll proceed slowly once he's settled down."
The emperor sipped his tea and said slowly, "Don't worry, my child. As his father, we should make the decision for him."
Zhao Pei has always been like this. When speaking to his close ministers, he is always gentle and kind. He is a benevolent monarch that is rare in history.
Among the officials sitting below today, those who had guessed the emperor's intention were still frightened and just smiled, with no one interrupting.
Afterwards, the female official who went out to look for someone returned to report.
The empress dowager, who was sitting in the center, had a faint smile on her face, but suddenly her expression brightened up.
"Let them all come in."
The reason for this incident was that not long ago, the Empress Dowager's granddaughter, Princess Pingyang, was standing by the balcony and saw people gathered under the maple forest arguing, so she told the Empress Dowager about it.
The Queen Mother was curious and sent someone to invite someone.
After bringing the people in, the empress dowager ordered someone to explain the ins and outs of the dispute, and specifically asked Xie Yunshuo to speak.
The Xie family was neither a noble family nor an in-law family, yet the emperor and the empress dowager treated them so well, which shows how much they were valued.
Everyone knew that the Queen Mother favored him alone among the group of people because winter was approaching.
Every winter, due to the shortage of supplies and frequent invasions by the Turks in the far north, General Xie Jun had to go there in person to take charge and calm the people in the border areas.
Xie Jun is over sixty years old and is about to send people on a long expedition, so naturally he should be given more favors.
Not only grace, but also honor and favor.
After Xie Yunshuo paid his respects, he explained the reason to the empress dowager in a proper manner.
When the empress dowager heard that what they were talking about was the square vase that was once presented by Concubine Qi, she smiled deeply.
Concubine Qi is the most favored concubine by the emperor in the palace.
The vase she presented was made using the most difficult relief technique and was painted with exquisite glaze patterns, which quite pleased the empress dowager.
The palace maids guessed the empress dowager's thoughts and specially displayed it for everyone to enjoy, to secretly give Concubine Qi face.
After listening to Xie Yunshuo and Jiang Si's comments and speculations, the Queen Mother immediately laughed.
Immediately, all the high-ranking officials and their wives sitting in the hall also laughed.
The Queen Mother sat lazily, playing with the Buddhist beads in her hand.
"You two, one guessed Wang Wanzhi, the other guessed Lin Chengzhang, who is more confident in guessing correctly?"
Judging from the Queen Mother's attitude, this vase is obviously of great significance.
Xie Yunshuo was fine, but Jiang Si, who met the Queen Mother for the first time, was immediately confused.
She vaguely realized that this matter should not be simple.
It is not a question of who is right or wrong.
Xie Yunshuo answered cautiously: "I am a foolish person and don't know what is right or wrong."
He said it so modestly, but Jiang Si knew that with his temper, he must feel that he was right and she was wrong.
Now it was Jiang Si's turn to answer.
For a moment, most of the distinguished people present turned their eyes to her.
How she should respond was an extremely challenging question.
Xie Yunshuo was also waiting for her answer.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
