Shangguan Wanning's uncle Zheng Binghong was a powerful general and a recognized talent.
However, in her memory of her previous life, her uncle had never married even though he was middle-aged. Even though matchmakers had been knocking on his doorstep, he remained indifferent because he could not forget the eldest princess who had married far away as a foreign minister.
They fell in love at first sight during my uncle's martial arts exam. When my grandfather was about to submit a petition to the late emperor to ask for a marriage, news came that a foreign country had requested a marriage alliance.
At that time, the only person of the right age was the eldest princess.
In order to stabilize the border, the late emperor had no choice but to marry his beloved eldest daughter to a distant border town. From then on, the two lovers were separated from each other.
It is said that the eldest princess has not been able to give birth to a child after her marriage to a distant place. After her husband died, she asked to return to the Central Plains.
The empress dowager loved her daughter, and the emperor was willing to accept his own sister, so he sent people to bring the eldest princess back to the Central Plains.
In the previous life, I never saw the eldest princess again until my uncle died.
Shangguan Wanning always felt that this was a pity.
"Ning'er, we're here."
Madam Shangguan's call brought Shangguan Wanning back to her senses. She followed her mother out of the carriage and, under the guidance of the eunuch, went from the west gate to the Empress Dowager's bedroom.
Along the way, Shangguan Xiaoxiao followed the steps of Shangguan Wanning and her daughter, being very careful, fearing that she might make a mistake.
Many young ladies from famous families and noble ladies from the court gathered in the imperial garden. As soon as Mrs. Shangguan appeared, she was pulled away by other ladies to have relationships with the concubines, leaving Shangguan Wanning and Shangguan Xiaoxiao to chat with the unmarried girls.
Everyone was constantly complimenting Shangguan Wanning, leaving Shangguan Xiaoxiao aside.
This made Shangguan Xiaoxiao hold a grudge.
"Hey, look, she is the eldest princess. She is so beautiful."
Shangguan Wanning looked back and saw a beautiful, graceful woman walking towards her, surrounded by palace maids.
She is only in her thirties, and time has not left many traces on her face.
Shangguan Wanning only took one look and she could understand why her uncle could not forget her.
A group of people gathered around, eager to please the eldest princess.
The eldest princess responded gracefully and her eyes couldn't help but linger on the crabapple buds in the imperial garden.
Shangguan Wanning was startled and walked to the crabapple flowers and recited a poem.
"The branches are covered with new green, and the small buds are hiding a few red dots; cherish your love and don't show it easily, and let the peach and plum blossoms bloom in the spring breeze."
The eldest princess' body stiffened slightly, and a strange light flashed in her eyes.
She looked at Shangguan Wanning, sizing her up and down.
This little girl with fair skin, bright eyes and white teeth actually made her feel inexplicably close to her.
"Whose daughter are you? Who taught you this poem?"
The eldest princess' heart was trembling inexplicably, and a young man's face appeared in her mind.
Shangguan Wanning stepped forward and bowed, then answered, "My name is Shangguan Wanning, and this poem was taught to me by my uncle. Please don't laugh at me, Princess. My uncle is a warrior and doesn't know how to write poems. But this is the only poem he often recites. I've heard it so many times that I've memorized it."
The princess walked over and helped Shangguan Wan Ning up. Her eyes became softer and she whispered softly, "I never thought... you've grown up so much..."
She clearly remembered that the year she got married, Shangguan Wanning was just one month old.
In the blink of an eye, it feels like a thousand years.
"Come on, come with me to see our mother." The eldest princess took Shangguan Wanning's hand and went to pay a visit to the empress dowager.
Such an honor made many other women look at him with envy and jealousy.
Shangguan Wanning's purpose was not this. She recited this poem to the eldest princess in the hope that she would know that after so many years, the young man back then still had his heart full of her.
At the palace banquet at noon, the emperor took his seat with the empress, Concubine Liu, a group of beauties from the harem and the princes.
After everyone paid their respects to the Empress Dowager according to ancestral rules, the imperial kitchen began to serve dishes one after another.
The sounds of stringed instruments further highlight the peace and prosperity of the times.
"My son, my palace hasn't been so lively for a long time." The Queen Mother glanced around with a smile, nodded with satisfaction, and said with a smile, "Now I look at these young girls who are just 28 years old. They are like flowers in the imperial garden that are about to bloom, so tender that water can be squeezed out. I have to admit that I am old."
"Mother, how could that be? You have a long life ahead of you. How can I manage the harem without your guidance?" The Queen offered a glass of wine to the Queen Mother.
The Queen Mother took a sip and said, "It's rare that everyone is here today. I want to see whose daughter can be called a true lady from a noble family."
After saying this, the Queen Mother winked.
The eunuch at the side bowed in understanding and made a gesture, and a palace maid came over with a tray with writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone on it.
"I know that besides doing housework at home, you have also learned some poetry and songs. There is a different topic on the paper in front of you. Please write a poem based on it as a birthday gift to me."
Everyone was a little surprised, but they all wanted to perform well in front of the Queen Mother, so they couldn't wait to open it.
Shangguan Wanning’s title is “Ye”.
She wrote a simple poem, not wanting to be disrespectful or stand out, because among all the women present, she was the only one who knew the Queen Mother's true intention.
In her previous life, she did not attend the Queen Mother’s birthday banquet.
The day before the birthday banquet, she ate the crystal cake sent by Xiao Zhenting, and her whole body was covered with red rashes. Later, thinking back carefully, this was clearly a trap set by Xiao Zhenting, deliberately preventing her from attending the Queen Mother's birthday banquet.
Because Xiao Zhenting knew in advance that the Queen Mother wanted to choose a prince for Xiao Yujue. He was afraid that she would be chosen and the Shangguan family would have to stand on Xiao Yujue's side.
So in this life, she didn't even touch the crystal cake that Xiao Zhenting sent her yesterday.
The eunuchs collected everyone's poems. After the empress dowager had a look at them, they handed them to the queen. Both of them took out the works they were satisfied with and exchanged them.
"I heard that the young lady of Lord Shangguan's family is very talented in writing, even better than the top scholar. But why... today, she seems to be not up to standard?"
The Queen cast her gaze towards Shangguan Wanning with a meaningful inquiry.
Shangguan Wanning secretly groaned.
Two years ago, when she was drinking tea in Zuixianlou, she happened to meet the new champion of that year. She couldn't stand his arrogance, so she challenged him to a competition on the spot.
As a result, she won the applause of the whole audience with her skills in music, chess, calligraphy and painting.
This incident spread throughout the capital and became a famous story.
Now, it has become a trouble.
From the Queen's perspective at this time, she would probably prefer to find Shangguan Wanning as the Crown Princess to check and balance the growing power of Concubine Liu and her son.
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