Chapter 50: Are you planning to propose marriage?
The news that the Queen Mother was going to hold a banquet in Lu Garden spread quickly, and the ladies of each household were busy selecting materials and jewelry for their daughters, hoping that their daughters would outshine all the other beauties on the day of the banquet and win the favor of the Queen Mother.
Since the news spread, major cloth shops and jewelry stores have been doing a booming business. Good materials and good jewelry have been sold out, and good tailors and good embroiderers are in short supply. Yunxiulou is the leading embroidery house in the capital, and the embroiderers and tailors there are even more difficult to find, and reservations have to be made one month in advance.
As early as a month ago, the embroiderers and tailors in the building were all booked by Princess Pingyang and the wife of Marquis Changxing. The other ladies were unable to hire them and had to resort to other embroidery buildings to hire tailors and embroiderers. Even so, good tailors and embroiderers were still like scarce resources. If they were a little slow, they would be snatched away by other houses.
While every family was busy with their daughters, Zhang was not in a hurry at all. She did not choose materials or jewelry for Jiang Lan, nor did she hire a tailor or embroiderer for her. She had no intention of letting her attend the banquet at all.
It was rumored that this banquet was held to select princesses for the two princes, Prince Fu and Prince An.
Zhang naturally would not let Jiang Lan get such a good opportunity to become a phoenix.
At the same time, Zhang felt a little regretful that she had let Jiang Yao marry so early. If she hadn't married, she could still compete for the position of princess now.
But when Jiang Cheng arranged this marriage for Jiang Lan at the Duke's Mansion, she was so jealous that she wanted to kill Jiang Lan as soon as possible. She also gave Jiang Yao advice on how to tie Pei Qian's heart. Now she regretted her short-sightedness at that time.
She thought again, the second Miss Cui and the third Miss Gu are not married yet, and there is no talk of marriage. It seems that they are waiting for the position of princess. Moreover, the second Miss Cui is the Queen's cousin, and the third Miss Gu's ancestors are also royal relatives. It is best not to let outsiders take over the position of princess. Even if Jiang Yao is not married yet, her chances are not great. At least she is the young lady of the Duke's Mansion who is married in a formal ceremony. She is much better than Jiang Lan, who has a bad reputation.
Thinking of this, Zhang felt much better.
Here, Jiang Lan was watching Qing'er embroidering, and Gui'er was sitting next to her, sorting out the ball of thread and talking about the Queen's banquet. Everyone outside was discussing this important event, and the tailors and embroiderers in the embroidery building had been invited to the mansions of each family to make clothes, so now they couldn't place an order even if they wanted to.
At this point, Gui'er said angrily, "Madam won't even hire a tailor or embroiderer for you, young lady, and she won't even buy you the material to make clothes."
Qing'er said, "I heard that the Queen is holding a banquet to select princesses for the two princes. With such a good opportunity, why would Madam let the young lady go?"
Gui Er said angrily, "I heard that other girls went, so why can't you go?" Then she said proudly, "Our girl is so beautiful, she will definitely be selected."
"When the prince chooses a wife, he looks at her character and talent. Beauty is secondary." Jiang Lan said lightly, and her tone sounded like she was not interested in the matter of choosing a princess. She added, "Besides, with my previous reputation, even if I looked like a fairy, I would not be chosen." At this point, she smiled, as if she was a little happy.
Qing'er and Gui'er exchanged a glance, neither of them quite understanding. Other girls dreamed of being chosen, yet their own girl seemed so happy even after knowing she wouldn't be chosen...
Then they both thought of the same reason: the Marquis.
If the young lady's favorite is the Marquis, then it makes sense that she doesn't want to be chosen.
Seeing that the two of them looked up at her at the same time, as if they had something to ask, Jiang Lan asked what was wrong. They both lowered their heads, shook their heads and said nothing was wrong.
At this moment, a green shadow flew in from the window.
Yuanbao is here to deliver the letter again.
When she saw Yuanbao, Jiang Lan smiled. Not only was there a smile on the corner of her mouth, but there was also a smile in her eyes.
Qing'er and Gui'er observed silently for a moment and were almost certain that their young lady's favorite was Marquis Jin'an, otherwise she wouldn't be so happy to see the green-feathered parrot he kept...
As the saying goes, love the house and love the dog.
Yuanbao placed the small bamboo tube in his mouth on Jiang Lan's hand, then flew to the table and brought back a piece of snack. Jiang Lan thought of the last time Qi Wuhan asked her what she fed Yuanbao and how she had fattened him up. She couldn't help but smile, and the smile between her eyebrows became more obvious. She bent down, raised her hand and shushed Yuanbao, whispering to him not to tell anyone when he returned. She then reached out and gently tapped his little head, smiling and said, "Eat."
Seeing Jiang Lan chatting and laughing with the green-feathered parrot, Qing'er and Gui'er became more and more convinced that the man she liked was Marquis Jin'an, otherwise she wouldn't be so nice to the green-feathered parrot...
As Yuanbao lowered his head to eat some snacks, Jiang Lan opened the small bamboo tube and poured out the note inside. After opening it, she just glanced at the four words written on the front:
I want to marry you.
Her face suddenly turned as red as if it was cooked.
Then look at the four words written at the end:
No regrets allowed.
Her ears were burning red.
Thinking of the last time he bowed so devoutly toward the sky, he said, "Mother-in-law, please accept my son-in-law's greeting."
Thinking of him saying, "We have our parents' orders, so we are not allowed to go back on our word in the future."
A trace of throbbing kept jumping in my heart, and joy kept swimming out like a fish that escaped the net...
When she came to her senses, Yuanbao had already flown away. She sat down on the couch, wondering what his intention was in writing those eight words.
The literal meaning is obvious: to marry her.
But what is the subtext behind the literal meaning?
Are you planning to propose marriage?
As soon as this thought came to her mind, she was shocked.
He seems to be capable of proposing marriage without even saying hello. . . .
Are you coming to my house today?
As soon as this thought came to her mind, she immediately stood up and walked quickly towards the door.
Qing'er and Gui'er saw her leave in a hurry and quickly followed her.
The two asked what happened, but Jiang Lan didn't bother to answer.
After walking out of the yard, she suddenly stopped, thought for a while, and turned back.
She felt that she was overthinking and was almost carried away. How could he come to propose marriage today? If he really dared to do so, she would chase him out with a broom!
About half a minute after returning, Jiang Lan asked Gui'er to go to the gate to see if anyone was coming, just in case.
Before Gui'er came back, she couldn't sit still or stand still. She had a vague expectation in her heart. When she realized this expectation, she immediately suppressed this ridiculous tendency and warned herself not to lose her mind.
When Guier came back and told her that no one had come, she breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time, a trace of loss stirred in her heart.
As for what the reason was, she knew it clearly.
She couldn't continue to get stuck in this confusion. She had to find out the answer to that question. Once she knew the answer, she would make a decision.
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