Chapter 128 Xu Chumian's Traditional Chinese Medicine
Shortly after the results of the imperial examinations were announced, the Qionglin Banquet was held.
Zhao Lingyao, daughter of the Duke of Zhao, and Xu Chumian, a princess, were both among those invited.
The Qionglin Banquet was held in a royal villa, and the two men arrived at the villa's outer perimeter by carriage.
Qin Ruoyu also came with Zhao Lingyao.
Qin Ruoyu curved her lips into a smile. She seemed to have dressed up carefully today, and her eyebrows and eyes vaguely resembled a person. Zhao Lingyao thought for a moment but couldn't figure it out.
Xu Chumian glanced at it, her brow furrowing unconsciously.
A look of determination flashed in Qin Ruoyu's eyes, and a smile appeared on her lips. After today, she would be completely Zhao Yu's woman.
The women of prominent families all entered through the other side door, while the newly appointed scholars entered through the other side.
After the three entered, they stayed in a palace for a while before heading to the garden when the time began.
Today's Qionglin Banquet was also attended by Emperor Mingde. The Crown Prince and other court officials sat at the front, while the Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) such as Qin Zhitong sat at the back.
On either side of Emperor Mingde were the Crown Prince and Zhao Yu, respectively.
Zhao Lingyao and Xu Chumian were seated not far behind Zhao Yu. Qin Ruoyu appeared as a female member of the Zhao family; if she were a family member of a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), she would not be qualified to attend.
From Xu Chumian's perspective, she could see Qin Zhitong and the people behind him in the distance.
Zhao Lingyao patted Xu Chumian on the shoulder, gesturing for Xu Chumian to look towards the distance.
It must be said that the third-ranked scholar's figure and demeanor were indeed extraordinary.
Zhao Lingyao: "That man's name is Li Mingze. My elder brother said that he seems to be from the Li family of Yanzhou. His grandfather was a government official in the capital. It was only in Li Mingze's generation that this scholar was born."
Xu Chumian nodded, "It does look pretty good."
Suddenly, Zhao Yu looked at the two of them from ahead.
Xu Chumian's gaze unexpectedly met Zhao Yu's. The man's eyes were deep and unfathomable, as if once you looked into them, you would fall into an abyss.
Xu Chumian looked away first, bit her lip, and stared blankly into the void.
Before the banquet began, Emperor Mingde gave a long speech, followed by the Crown Prince and the Grand Secretary of the Inner Cabinet.
Zhao Yu kept his eyes half-lowered and rarely spoke.
Midway through the banquet, Emperor Mingde had already left his seat. The ministers and scholars present were already somewhat drunk, and some of them went to the side courtyards in twos and threes to take a walk and sober up.
The third-ranked scholar was among them and also left the room.
Zhao Lingyao pulled Xu Chumian away and they left as well.
Xu Chumian: "Lingyao, let's take a quick look first. We didn't get a clear view at the restaurant."
Zhao Lingyao gave a perfunctory "hmm" and then impatiently pulled Xu Chumian away.
Zhao Lingyao deliberately didn't call Qin Ruoyu, lest Qin Ruoyu find out and give her another handle to use against her.
Qin Ruoyu clenched her hands when she saw that the two of them left without saying goodbye.
Let's see if these two will still disregard her if she marries Zhao Yu in the future.
This villa has a very large garden, and you have to walk for a long time before you encounter one or two scholars.
Zhao Lingyao and Xu Chumian followed the direction of Li Mingze.
The man stood by the lake, enjoying the breeze and sobering up, his posture elegant.
When Li Mingze was about to turn back, he saw two girls admiring the flowers on the side.
Now that spring has arrived, the crabapple and peony flowers in the garden are in full bloom.
Zhao Lingyao glanced at Li Mingze out of the corner of her eye, muttering, "Oh dear, my earring just fell off. It should be around here."
Xu Chumian: "..."
Xu Chumian also pretended to search with Zhao Lingyao. She raised her eyes to look at Zhao Lingyao, but saw her heading straight for Li Mingze.
"Young master, my earring is missing. Have you seen it?"
Zhao Lingyao raised her chin slightly, waiting for Li Mingze's reply.
Li Mingze's expression was cold, and he immediately took a few steps back. "I haven't seen him yet, and I've only been here for a short time. Miss, you can ask the servants in the other courtyard to help you search."
Zhao Lingyao pursed her lips, looking troubled: "But you were the only one here just now."
Li Mingze remained neither humble nor arrogant, saying, "Miss, you can look around some more."
After saying that, Li Mingze left without looking back.
Zhao Lingyao watched his retreating figure and stomped her foot in annoyance.
Xu Chumian chuckled, "We're not in a hurry. As long as we're in the capital, we'll have a chance to meet again in the future."
Seeing that Zhao Lingyao was still puffing out her cheeks, Xu Chumian advised again: "Besides, you can see that his behavior was measured just now, and he is not a frivolous person. If he really said something offensive or impulsive to you just now, then he is very likely to be of bad character."
That made sense, and Zhao Lingyao understood immediately. She took Xu Chumian's arm and said, "Okay, I know, let's go back to the banquet."
When we returned to the table, most of the people were still there.
After changing her clothes, Qin Ruoyu returned to the banquet. She gave a wink to the maid beside her, who nodded and left.
Zhao Lingyao's mood improved considerably. She raised her glass to her side and asked, "Sister Chumian?"
Xu Chumian's wine glass was empty.
Zhao Lingyao spoke first, calling the palace maid who had just been pouring wine for Zhao Yu.
Xu Chumian: "Lingyao, I'll just drink this osmanthus wine."
Zhao Lingyao clicked her tongue, "Osmanthus wine is the most intoxicating, but let's drink Jiangnan Yi instead."
The palace maid hesitated.
Zhao Lingyao urged, "Aren't you coming over yet?"
The palace servant had no choice but to bite the bullet and go.
Qin Ruoyu had a bad feeling. She was about to speak when she saw Zhao Yu in front of her pick up the wine glass that had just been filled.
Qin Ruoyu didn't care about Xu Chumian anymore. Fine, let her drink it. The most important thing today was that Zhao Yu had to drink that cup of wine.
The palace maid poured it in anyway, but it wasn't full.
It's only half a cup, so it should be alright.
Zhao Lingyao was in high spirits, and Xu Chumian didn't notice the expression of the palace maid beside her. So she clinked glasses with Zhao Lingyao and drank.
After drinking the cold wine, Xu Chumian felt her limbs heat up again.
Then, before Zhao Yu could even touch his wine cup to his lips, someone from the Crown Prince's side arrived.
They said they wanted to invite Zhao Yu over to discuss something.
Zhao Yu put down his wine cup, got up, and left.
Qin Ruoyu could only watch Zhao Yu leave his seat. She suddenly stood up, but her throat felt like it was blocked by something, and she couldn't say anything.
Such a good opportunity, yet Zhao Yu let it slip away.
Qin Ruoyu harbored resentment. She didn't know when the next opportunity would come. Today, there were too many people and too many eyes. Most of the palace maids who hosted the banquet were from the other courtyards, and there were also many scholars attending the banquet. It would be difficult to find out the whole story.
Qin Ruoyu's face was extremely pale...
Xu Chumian glanced at Qin Ruoyu, her gaze slightly narrowed. She pursed her lips, looked away, and then spoke a few more words to Zhao Lingyao.
Soon, Xu Chumian realized that something was wrong.
She had only drunk half a cup of wine when her limbs began to feel increasingly hot. She had drunk Jiangnan Yi wine before, but it had never had such an effect.
As the banquet was about to end, Xu Chumian took her leave.
"Lingyao, I have some matters to attend to at my residence, so I'll be leaving now."
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