At night, Zhao Wu went out again. He was going to visit the Wen Mansion at night. He could only stay in the capital for five days, so he had to take advantage of these few days to do what he had to do.
Xu Lanyin will stay in the capital for a few more days. After Zhao Wu leaves, she will move to her parents' home.
Under the moonlight, the streets were deserted. Zhao Wu and He Xi trotted along on horseback, stopping two blocks away from the Wen residence. Zhao Wu handed the reins to He Xi and walked quickly toward the Wen residence.
When he was approaching the Wen Mansion, he felt something was wrong, so he turned right, as if going to another house.
When Zhao Wu returned home, Xu Lanyin had just gone to bed.
"Why so early?"
"There are secret guards around the Wen Mansion. Although I can bypass those people, I'm afraid there are spies that I can't see." Zhao Wu said.
"From the Pu family?"
"Um."
The Wen Mansion had fallen on hard times and lacked the money or the ability to train highly skilled secret guards. As for families like the Zhou and Pu Mansions, masters like Zhao Wu generally wouldn't visit them at night unless absolutely necessary.
At the beginning of the second morning, at the hour of Si, Chai's carriage arrived at the entrance of the alley. Xu Lanyin and Zhao Wu, along with Xu Lanyue and Zhao Mingxi, along with their gifts, rode out together and went with Chai to the Nanyang Princess's residence.
Princess Nanyang received the notice yesterday, and the Princess, the First Lady, Madam Ma, and Little Star were all waiting. Little Star, in particular, woke up before dawn when she knew her aunt and little cousin were coming today.
Chai and Xu Lanyin came to pay their respects to the princess, and Zhao went to the front yard to meet Prince Consort Chai, while the others stayed here to keep the princess company.
As soon as Xu Lanyin sat down, Chai Zixiao leaned into Xu Lanyin's arms and said coquettishly, "Aunt, why did you come to see me just now? I missed you so much."
Xu Lanyin happily picked him up and put him on her lap, telling him her thoughts.
The eldest princess called Qian Mama, who was holding Zhao Mingxi, over to her. She looked at Zhao Mingxi and smiled, "What a pretty boy." She then said in surprise, "Oh, this child looks a lot like Xiao Ge'er when he was a child."
Ma smiled when she saw it and said, "Yes, they really do look a bit like each other."
Madam Chai smiled and said, "This is inheritance. We are all descendants of the Chai family. Even if we are separated by several rooms, we can still tell the difference."
Xu Lanyin took a closer look at Chai Zixiao's features and eyebrows. They did resemble each other. She thought to herself, "Little Xingxing looks like the eldest princess, while Little Mingxi doesn't look like her grandmother. Their resemblance can't be a Chai family inheritance, it must be a royal one." This trait further confirmed her earlier suspicions.
Soon, Princess Ping, Chai Jingjing, arrived. She was five months pregnant, with a large belly and a lot of weight. She had heard that Xu Lan had returned to the capital, so she asked her mother-in-law for leave to go back to her parents' home to visit her cousin and nephew.
The eldest princess smiled and said, "Hold little Xi'er quickly, it's a pity to give birth to such a beautiful fat boy."
Prince Ping's family has few descendants, and Chai Jingjing dreams of giving birth to a son.
Zhao Mingxi had been held by different people frequently over the past two days, and he had gotten used to it. He didn't make any noise, and even giggled a bit. This made Chai Jingjing even more fond of him, and she held Zhao Mingxi tightly.
A few people also talked about the Peach Blossom Banquet held by the Pu family of Cheng'en Marquis Mansion on the 20th of this month.
When Xu Lanyin heard this, she wanted to attend. However, as the daughter of an eighth-rank official from a distant region, no one would even think of her. Not only her, but even Chai Shi wouldn't have gotten an invitation.
Xu Lanyin blinked her big, bright eyes unconcealedly, and everyone could see at a glance that she wanted to go. She looked like a country bumpkin who wanted to watch the fun.
Her petty attitude made Chai blush. Even though she knew Xu Lanyin had her own reasons for wanting to attend the Peach Blossom Banquet, she lowered her head in embarrassment.
Madam Chai smiled and said, "Yin'er wants to go?"
Xu Lanyin nodded and smiled, "Yes, I want to see the world. I haven't seen the flower viewing banquets held by wealthy families."
Chai Jingjing continued, "The four beauties of the capital have all married. I heard that this Peach Blossom Banquet will produce four new beauties. Madam Pu Si specially invited Li Jijiu, Madam Li San, and the famous scholar Yao to be the judges."
Xu Lanyin became even more interested.
Princess Nanyang smiled and said, "Yin'er will live in my house on the day he turns nineteen. The next day, you will serve me instead of Jun'er's wife."
Princess Nanyang, who loves lively events, would attend such grand events. In previous years, Ma, the granddaughter-in-law, would serve her. This year, Ma had something to do and could not go, so she let her granddaughter Xu Lanyin take over.
Xu Lanyin smiled embarrassedly and said, "If I go, does that mean my cousin-in-law can't go?"
Ma smiled and said, "We hold many flower viewing banquets in the capital every year. This time, my cousin is serving Grandmother, so I am lazy."
What a woman who can talk.
Xu Lan's eyes curved with joy as she said with a smile, "It would be great if there were more opportunities like this."
Pregnant Chai Jingjing wouldn't join in the fun, and suggested to Xu Lanyin, "Peach blossoms are gorgeous and delicate, so clothes shouldn't be too bright; a touch of green is better. Makeup shouldn't be too heavy either; light makeup is best..."
At noon, Xu Lanyin went to the kitchen to make fried milk, which Chai Zixiao liked. Seeing that the princess also liked it, she taught the kitchen staff how to make it.
They played until night, and when the men left the yamen, Prince Chai and Zhao Wu also came here.
Before dinner, everyone sat in the living room chatting and laughing. Xu Lanyin saw that Chai Jun seemed to have something to say to her privately, so she followed him to another room.
Chai Jun's face turned slightly red, and he seemed to be hesitant to speak.
Xu Lanyin joked, "You're so shy. If my cousin hadn't gotten married, I would have thought you wanted me to be the matchmaker."
Chai Jun's face turned even redder and he smiled shyly.
Xu Lanyin wondered, would this man really let her be the matchmaker? He was already married, and she didn't know any daughters from wealthy families... Could it be that he wanted her to be the matchmaker for his concubine? No matter who he chose, she didn't want to do such a wicked thing.
She said, "My cousin is fine, so I'll go over first. Little Star is still pestering me to tell you a story."
Chai Jun quickly said, "I do want to ask my cousin to help me find a good thing." He coughed, cleared his throat, and continued, "It's Sanni. I like and admire that girl. She is beautiful, straightforward, smart, capable, willing to work hard for herself and her family, and has no bad intentions. I want to take her as a concubine and give her a good life so that she won't have to work so hard from now on. As for the owner of the teahouse, don't worry, cousin, I will find someone more capable and it won't affect the teahouse business."
I actually guessed it right.
Xu Lan snorted. He spoke so passionately, but it was all just lust. He had the nerve to come to her; Wang Sanni must have rejected him before. This cousin was a good man, but he had many of the faults of aristocratic men, including lust. Fortunately, he didn't force her to marry him, or resort to underhanded tactics, nor did he treat commoner women like human beings.
Xu Lanyin wanted to nip his idea in the bud, but she also didn't want to ruin her relationship with him, and she didn't want Wang Sanni to ruin her relationship with him.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
