Chapter 57: The Most Talented and Beautiful Woman in the Capital
After coming out of the imperial study, Prince Fu did not leave, but waited outside for Qi Wuhan to come out. He wanted to ask the other party what his intentions were.
After waiting for about an hour, Qi Wuhan came out. Seeing that Prince Fu had not left yet, he asked him if he wanted to treat him to a meal to thank him for speaking up for the emperor.
Thank you, uncle!
Prince Fu almost swore, but he couldn't beat him, so he swallowed his anger silently and confronted him from a distance of half a meter, "Are you trying to hurt me on purpose?" He thought that it must be because he looked at Miss Jiang Er a few more times yesterday, so he was retaliated today. He was really petty.
"Your Highness, you should think more about whether you really want to become a monk in the future, or marry that second Miss Cui?" Qi Wuhan added nonchalantly, "But I have heard that the second Miss Cui is not an easy person to deal with." After saying that, he left.
Upon hearing this, Prince Fu became even more terrified and chased after him, asking, "So what do you think I should do?" He was also a bit desperate, desperate to seek help from anyone. If it were any other day, he would never ask Qi Wuhan for help, just like a fat sheep asking for help from a hungry wolf, especially a vicious wolf that would eat people without leaving any bones...
"In my opinion, Your Highness should become a monk." Qi Wuhan gave a serious suggestion. "Being a monk means you are free from all worries and don't need to marry or have children. During festivals, I will take my wife and children to the temple to donate some money to Your Highness."
"..." Prince Fu knew that he had no good words to say. It is better to rely on oneself than to ask others. He had better find a way out himself.
In the next few days, people outside were talking about the peony painting that Cui Jingshu presented to the queen. They talked about how magical it was and how it attracted butterflies as soon as the painting was opened.
As for Jiang Lan's performance at the banquet, not many people mentioned it.
It seemed like someone deliberately spread the news to build momentum for Cui Jingshu, hoping to make up for the reputation she had lost due to the piano-playing incident.
The result was quite good. Now people on the streets were discussing how exquisite and ingenious the painting skills of the second daughter of the general's mansion were. Some even said that the flowers, birds, fish and insects she painted were alive. Not only could the flowers attract butterflies, but the fish she painted could also swim in the water.
Word spread from one person to ten, from ten to a hundred, and finally she became known as "the most talented woman in the capital."
For a time, the most talented woman in the capital was enthusiastically sought after by literati and poets. Someone even wrote a gorgeous poem about the goddess to praise her beauty, which was also enthusiastically sought after, and thus she was called the most beautiful woman in the capital.
Gui'er had been hearing nothing but compliments about Cui Jingshu's beauty and painting skills these past two days when she went out. She felt quite indignant. After all, at the banquet before, in addition to her receiving a hairpin awarded by the Queen, Jiang Lan also received a bracelet awarded by the Queen, which was no worse than hers.
"Miss, how are you inferior to Miss Cui Er? Besides, Miss Cui Er is not even as pretty as you. I think those people are blind. Miss, you are the most beautiful woman in the capital." Gui'er said proudly.
Jiang Lan smiled and said, "If you climb high, you will fall hard. Praising someone too highly is not necessarily a good thing."
Qing'er nodded in agreement. Gui'er only had a vague idea of what it meant, so she privately asked Qing'er what it meant. After Qing'er explained it to her, Gui'er felt less angry.
As Cui Jingshu became famous, another piece of news spread that the emperor wanted to arrange a marriage between her and Prince Fu, and she would become the Princess of Fu in the future.
With Cui Jingshu's identity and status, plus her current fame, it is no longer a question of doubt in everyone's mind that she will become the Princess of Fu. The marriage is only a matter of time.
When Cui Jingshu heard the news from her personal maid Qiu Tong, she felt like the sky had fallen. She immediately went to find her mother, Princess Pingyang, and asked her mother to ask the Queen Mother to help cancel the marriage. She did not want to marry Prince Fu.
However, she probably didn't expect that Prince Fu didn't want to marry her either, and even told the emperor that he wanted to become a monk, so he was kicked out by the emperor.
"The imperial decree granting marriage has not yet come down, and you don't want to get married? If the imperial decree really comes, will you still disobey it?" Princess Pingyang said in a stern tone.
Cui Jingshu was so scared that she dared not speak.
"Your Highness Prince Fu was raised by the Empress, and has a close relationship with His Highness the Crown Prince. His Majesty also dotes on him. Do you think you can endure hardship after marrying him?" Princess Pingyang said in a gentle tone.
Prince Fu's mother died early, so the emperor loved him more. Knowing that he liked flowers and plants, he would reward him with any rare varieties cultivated by the palace gardeners. He also liked to call him to the palace to help appreciate calligraphy, paintings, and antiques.
It can be said that apart from the Crown Prince, the Emperor's favorite is Prince Fu.
Otherwise, when the emperor was about to grant him a marriage that day, he would not have dared to cling to his thigh. If it were any other prince, let alone clinging to his thigh, he would not even be able to cry out.
Even though the emperor kicked him in anger at the time, he still sent someone to check on him at his residence afterwards. He did not issue an imperial decree about the marriage immediately, intending to let the queen slowly persuade him and wait until he agreed before making a decision.
More than ten days had passed since the banquet, and Jiang Cheng still hadn't heard the news that the emperor was going to issue an edict to grant the marriage.
The fact that Jiang Lan was favored by the Queen gradually became a good thing in his mind. He thought that the Queen must have given Jiang Lan the bracelet because she thought she was likable, not because she wanted to make her the princess.
Zhang was torn about this matter and felt very uncomfortable. She wanted to get rid of Jiang Lan as soon as possible to completely eliminate this hidden danger, but she had no definite information and had many concerns.
Jiang Rui has been coming back earlier these days since Jiang Lan asked him why he came back late last time.
Jiang Lan also learned from the black-armored guard who worked as a security guard in the palace that Jiang Rui had not met with anyone from the Prince Rui's Palace in recent days.
But these days she is often lazy, doesn't want to move, and seems to have no interest in doing anything.
As for the reason, she knew it very well.
She had already made up her mind to ask him at the party, but he interrupted her and she didn't ask.
As soon as she thought about it, her heart felt depressed, as if it was filled with cotton. She didn't know when they would meet again, and whether she would ask him again when the time came...
She suddenly looked forward to seeing Yuanbao.
Yuanbao seemed to sense her longing, and flew to deliver a letter to her early in the morning.
After reading the note, Jiang Lan asked Qing'er to tell Zhang that she did not sleep well last night and wanted to go to Sanqing Temple to burn incense and pray for blessings.
Zhang has been feeling unhappy these days and is too lazy to take care of these trivial matters, so she just asks Qing'er to pay more attention.
Afterwards, Jiang Lan took Qing'er and Gui'er out in a carriage. The driver was the black-armored guard who worked as a security guard in the mansion.
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