In the past, if he had been so arrogant, Jiang Lingyao would definitely ignore him. However, thinking that she would have to go to Wanping in the future, Jiang Lingyao's eyes flickered and she gave him a charming smile.
"My husband is a great and true gentleman, and he always attracts my heart."
Duan Nanzhi walked in slowly. He did not go to the dressing mirror where Jiang Lingyao was sitting, but found the Luohan bed beside the bed and sat down neatly.
"My lady's voice is like an oriole. No matter what she says, it is so sweet to my ears."
He stopped talking and changed the subject, saying, "My lady, you should eat less cakes and pastries. You will be thirsty soon. And you can't drink too much tea after entering the palace. It will hurt your throat."
Although Duan Nanqi always looks careless, he is very precise in what he says and does. Although he and Jiang Lingyao are strangers, he will not deliberately harm her, but instead give her many suggestions.
Even though he occasionally made glib jokes, it was not annoying. Instead, Jiang Lingyao was willing to play tricks with him and found it extremely amusing.
Since Duan Nanqi said so, Jiang Lingyao decisively put down the osmanthus cake and said, "Thank you, husband."
Duan Nanqi waved his hands and said, "If you really feel hungry, you can eat fried food such as fried dough twists. They will satisfy your hunger without making you feel dry."
As he said this, he waved to Wen Zhu who was outside the door, and Wen Zhu immediately went downstairs to get it.
Duan Nanqi warned, "Eat less, only eat until you are 50% full. There will be a palace banquet after entering the palace, and it will not look good if you don't eat a single bite."
Jiang Lingyao usually only handed in a badge to ask for an audience with the Imperial Concubine, and had never properly attended a palace banquet. She couldn't help but be curious when she heard what Duan Nanqi said.
"My dear, is it difficult to change clothes in the palace? Or is it that the palace banquet does not allow it?"
"It's not that I didn't allow you to change clothes, but you know the palace banquets are all in the front three halls, surrounded by the main halls, where are the pickling areas? So it's quite troublesome to go back and forth. What if His Majesty remembers you and wants to ask you a question, but you're not there, then that day will be wasted."
Jiang Lingyao sighed: "That's right. I used to be a girl at home and didn't have to enter the palace. Now that I'm married to you, I have to endure this hardship."
Duan Nanqi took a sip of tea to moisten his lips. Hearing this, he raised his eyebrows and said, "Oh, then how about we return this imperial robe that we earned for free? Or do we not want the gift during festivals?"
Jiang Lingyao snorted, "Of course I want it. Once it's in my hands, I can't take it out again."
Duan Nanqiao smiled and shook his head. At this moment, Wen Zhu came up with a food box. Jiang Lingyao had a keen nose and could smell the aroma of fried dough twists immediately.
Wenzhu handed the food box to Xingyun and said with a smile, "Sister Xingyun, wrap two rose cakes in oil paper and take them into the palace for emergency use. Don't take the fried dough twists with you, as they can't be wrapped in this oil paper."
Jiang Lingyao ate three or five small twisted dough sticks, moistened her mouth, changed her clothes, and went downstairs with Duan Nanqi.
Today is the Dragon Boat Festival palace banquet, so you cannot enter the palace to meet your Majesty. Those who will be enjoying the feast with your Majesty are all royal relatives, important ministers and nobles.
Marquis Yongping and his wife have put up a sign saying they are recuperating from illness, so this time, all the people in the mansion, except for Duan Nanqi and his wife who were appointed by the emperor, are the Yongping Marquis's son and his wife who are going to enter the palace.
The palace banquet was at noon, which was still more than two hours away, but the capital had already become busy. All the embroidered red gates were wide open, and carriages poured out and rushed into the Forbidden City.
Jiang Lingyao and Duan Nanzhu's carriage was just behind the prince and his wife's carriage. It only took two quarters of a day to get from the Yongping Marquis' Mansion to the Forbidden City, but today it took a full half an hour.
No matter how patient Jiang Lingyao was, she couldn't sit still any longer.
"Why are you so slow?" She looked at Duan Nanqi who was sitting next to her and reading quietly, and couldn't help but be a little surprised, "You actually like to study?"
Duan Nanqi paused for a moment while holding the book, then pushed the book in front of Jiang Lingyao. "What else can you do if you don't read? It will take at least two quarters of an hour before we can enter the Dongying Gate. After entering the Dongying Gate, we have to wait another two quarters for the palace maid to show us the way. It will take another two quarters of an hour to go around in circles before we can enter the palace."
Jiang Lingyao could hear Duan Nanxi's Tang Monk chanting sutras, but her eyes were fixed on the book in front of her.
I saw that the book said: The young lady is only 28 years old, and her marriage was decided long ago. She was crowned with a bridal robe and thought it would be a happy marriage. However, her husband had another fairy in his heart. After marrying her, he looked on coldly. The young lady was so disappointed that she cried behind the rockery, but was blocked by a tall scholar in the rockery...
Jiang Lingyao: “…”
Jiang Lingyao's face flushed red. She didn't even look at Duan Nanqi, and just said, "What are you reading? What if you run into your father in a few days and he asks you what book you've been reading recently?"
Duan Nanxiyuan wanted to tease her, but when he heard his father-in-law's name, the smile on his face froze and he couldn't laugh anymore.
"It's just for fun, don't take it seriously, ma'am, don't mention my father-in-law," Duan Nanqi sighed, stuffed the book back under the stool, and said, "I ran into my father-in-law in the government office two days ago. He was quite amiable."
Whenever Duan Nanqi thought of Jiang Zhisheng's immortal face and his phoenix eyes that were exactly like Jiang Lingyao's, he couldn't help but shudder.
"My dear, your father-in-law is like this at home..." Duan Nanqi considered the words carefully, "So stern?"
Jiang Lingyao saw his face turn pale, and couldn't help but smile. She said, "No, my father is so kind and amiable, the most kind and benevolent."
"Husband, do you have any opinions about Daddy?" Jiang Lingyao asked softly.
Duan Nanqi: “…”
Duan Nanqi sighed, not daring to say anything more, and only said: "My father-in-law taught me well, it is me who did not make progress and disappointed my father-in-law."
The two of them chatted back and forth, which was surprisingly much more relaxing than the boring wait before. Only when they finally sat down in the side hall did Jiang Lingyao breathe a sigh of relief.
She was accompanying the wife of the Prince of Yongping today, and the two of them were sitting together at the back. At the front were the ladies of the inner court, followed by the wives of dukes and marquises, wives of first-rank officials, and so on. She and the wife of the Prince of Yongping happened to sit at the back of the hall according to their ranks.
Although she was already a fourth-rank lady, not many people could enter such palace banquets. She was "invited" by Duan Nanqi to accompany the wife of the Prince of Yongping to enter the palace and see the world.
The wife of the Yongping Marquis's son was surnamed Wen. She was born into a noble family and was neat and dignified. Seeing Jiang Lingyao was very curious, she couldn't help but look around and whispered, "Qian'er may rise to a higher level in the future. When that happens, you can sit in the front and bring honor to our Yongping Marquis's Mansion."
When Jiang Lingyao heard this, she covered her face and laughed softly again.
She always knew how to please her elders. Seeing that no one seemed to care about them, she snuggled up to Wen Hongxu and said obediently, "That won't do. I'd be scared if I entered the palace alone. I'd only feel at ease if my aunt took me there."
Wen Hongxuan tapped her forehead and said, "You little bastard, you are the only one who talks sweetly."
Wen Hongzhu was about the same age as Zhou Huiniang, but she came from a family of military generals, and her aura was completely different. She was not as weak as other ladies in the imperial court, but instead had an unshakable and majestic aura.
Jiang Lingyao recalled carefully that compared with her, Duan Jianchuan, the son of Yongping Marquis and Duan Nanqi's uncle, was more frail. He didn't say a word the whole day, and when he spoke, he spoke slowly and softly, never in a hurry.
The two people in the room were talking happily, but someone was being ungrateful. Jiang Lingyao was waiting to see when her mother would come over when she heard a familiar voice: "Oh, who did I think it was? Not Duan Wanku's new wife?"
Jiang Lingyao turned around and saw Meng Xinyue, the third daughter of the Minister of Rites, who had been at odds with her. Meng Xinyue was half a year older than her and had just gotten married this year. Her husband was also a member of the Imperial Guard, with a salary of the fifth rank of the Imperial Guard, and was the legitimate son of the Earl's family. He was now requesting to be named the Crown Prince, but the Emperor had not yet issued an order.
Therefore, Meng Xinyue was also able to enter the palace by imperial decree.
Jiang Lingyao turned around and saw that it was her, and immediately raised her eyebrows: "Why, I remember you... Oh, I don't remember which family you married into, may I ask which family your husband is from?"
Meng Xinyue was so angry that her face turned red. She said, "You are laughing at me now, but don't you know that everyone in Yanjing is laughing at you and Duan Nanqi?"
Jiang Lingyao remained calm and said, "Oh, there is such a thing? When I have nothing to do, I play mahjong with my aunt and sister-in-law at home. Occasionally, when the weather is fine, I will take a walk with my aunt, and wait for my husband to come home in the evening, so that the family can reunite happily. I didn't know..."
Jiang Lingyao was surprised: "I didn't know you were so leisurely and would gossip about other people's affairs. I am busy all day long and have to read books and play the piano with my husband in the evening. I am so handsome."
The discussion is infuriating. If Jiang Lingyao is second, no one dares to say she is first.
Even the usually eloquent Meng Xinyue couldn't resist her weird tone and she almost lost her temper on the spot.
"Jiang Lingyao, what are you so proud of? Everyone knows that Duan Nanqi never came to your house, and you lived in separate rooms on the second day of your marriage. What do you mean by a beautiful woman? Does your husband know how to read? I'm afraid he's just a clerk in the Jinyiwei."
Jiang Lingyao lowered her eyes and took a sip of tea. When she looked up again, she was smiling like a flower.
She had a smug smile on her face, as if she were a victorious chicken, and she looked gorgeous.
"Oh, I remember now. Your husband is... a paid officer of the Jinyiwei. He has never been to the Nanbeizhenfusi Yamen. No wonder you didn't know..." Jiang Lingyao said slowly, "I didn't know that my husband is now a real official. Unfortunately, he happens to be a Zhenfushi, which is only slightly higher than your husband by one rank."
Meng Xinyue's expression suddenly changed.
She spent the whole day at home chatting with her aunts and sisters from her natal family. Someone spread the news that Jiang Lingyao and Duan Nanqi were acting out a big drama in the mansion all day long. They hated each other and wished they would never see each other again. This made Meng Xinyue very happy. She was so happy that she woke up from laughing in her dreams for several days.
She had never liked Jiang Lingyao's bright face. Why did everyone pamper her when she was at her parents' home? Why did everyone praise her no matter what she did? Why?
Sure enough, no one is born lucky.
Look, Jiang Lingyao is so proud, but wasn't she married to a worthless playboy by the emperor?
Who in Beijing doesn't know what Young Master Duan is like? It would be strange if these two could live a happy life together.
It's only been a few days since they got married, and news of discord has already spread?
Meng Xinyue knew early this morning that Jiang Lingyao would enter the palace. She had waited for so many days just to make fun of Jiang Lingyao in person, but she didn't know that Duan Nanqi actually got the real position.
The actual fourth-rank Jinyiwei Zhenfushi is no joke. Even if his husband can be conferred the title of prince in the future, the title in the family is not inherited, and if it is passed down to the next generation, I am afraid that the only title left is the Qingche Duwei.
Hearing this, the wife of the Marquis of Zhengyang, who had been silent all along, spoke up at the right time: "Oh, my little girl, it's just a joke, Madam Wen, you won't take it seriously, right?"
Wen Hongxuan and Jiang Lingyao exchanged a glance, then turned around and said, "Of course I don't take it seriously."
"There's no need to take it seriously, right?"
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