Chapter 108: Xu Nian is shocked by the beauty when she first meets him. The Crown Prince's Concubine Guo Yi invites him
This was the first time that everyone in the palace saw Xu Nian. Although Prince Zhenbei and the Crown Prince had seen her from a distance before, Luo Jinan was holding her tightly at the time and they did not see Xu Nian's appearance clearly.
Zhenshu sat up straight and looked over carefully. She saw that the girl had eyebrows as green as distant ink without any makeup, eyes as clear and bright as autumn water, a straight and beautiful nose, a cherry-like mouth as red as without any makeup, and a faint smile on the slightly upturned corners of her mouth, which was fascinating.
Not only Princess Zhenbei was amazed by Xu Nian's beauty, but even the Crown Prince's wife was shocked.
Today Xu Nian was wearing a moon-white silk dress embroidered with gorgeous peach blossoms, which swayed gently with her steps, making the dress look lifelike.
Luo Jinan, who was standing beside her, was also wearing a robe of the same color as her. The two of them standing in the hall were truly a pair of golden boy and jade girl, extremely dazzling.
"Your humble daughter Xu Nian pays homage to the prince and princess, the crown prince and crown prince's consort." Xu Nian bowed her head in greeting, then knelt down to perform a great salute.
But before her knees touched the ground, she was pulled up by Luo Jinan.
"Father and mother hate these customs and formalities, just greet them."
Xu Nianwei raised his head and looked upward, only to see the Princess of Zhenbei smiling with her eyebrows curved.
"Jin'an is right. Miss Xu, there's no need to be so polite. Come over here and let me take a good look."
Xu Nian walked over as she was told. Zhenshu looked left and right and was extremely satisfied. Not only was she well-versed in etiquette, but her appearance also matched her son's.
Zhenshu took Xu Nian's hand and led her to sit next to her. She asked softly, "Calling you Miss Xu seems too distant. How about I call you Nian'er?" Then she took the brocade box handed to her by Wei Mama and said, "This is my meeting gift for Nian'er. Take a look and see if you like it?"
Xu Nian took the box and opened it. It turned out to be a jade bracelet. Judging from its quality, it was worth a lot. He quickly refused and said, "Princess, this gift is too expensive. I can't accept it."
After saying this, she cast a look for help to Luo Jin'an, who was sitting below her. However, Luo Jin'an didn't care and said, "Just keep what my mother gave you. There are many good things in my mother's private storehouse. Don't be embarrassed."
Zhenshu was so angry at her son's words that she didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "You know I have a lot of good things. I'm afraid all my good things have gone into your private collection. Now you want to teach Nian'er bad things." "Come on, Nian'er, the elder's gift cannot be refused. Keep it with peace of mind, otherwise these good things will fall into the hands of that kid."
Luo Jinan smiled evilly, "Isn't that better? My things are all Nian Nian's anyway."
Xu Nian's face turned red with shame at Luo Jinan's words. Looking at everyone in the hall lowering their heads and trying to hold back their laughter, she became even more angry at Luo Jinan, this stupid person who dared to say anything without even considering the occasion.
Guo Yi smiled lightly, knowing that once His Royal Highness said this, this Miss Xu would definitely be the Princess of the County. Even if the Prince and Princess were dissatisfied, they could not shake the Prince's decision, not to mention... She glanced at the Princess, who was smiling happily, and she seemed to like Miss Xu very much.
Zhenshu looked at her little son who had something to say and couldn't help laughing. It seemed that the girl from the Xu family had really won the boy's heart. But she was very happy to see it happen. Just because the girl from the Xu family could make Jin'an sit down and chat with them willingly, she was very satisfied.
"Okay, stop complaining to me. You grown men should just do what you want to do. We women should just talk in private."
Prince Zhenbei and Luo Jinhuai, who had remained silent, stood up. They did have official business to attend to. If they had not come to see Xu Nian this morning, they would have gone to the military camp long ago.
"Mother, I will take my leave first."
Luo Jinhuai followed the prince and was about to walk out of the hall. He turned around and saw Luo Jinan still sitting there drinking tea. He wondered, "Second brother, aren't you leaving?"
The three princesses at the top also looked over when they heard the voice and said, "Jin'an, go and take care of your affairs first."
"I'm fine."
Zhen Shu was choked by her son's words. Seeing Luo Jin'an starting to act like a spoiled brat again, Xu Nian quietly glared at him and said softly, "Didn't His Royal Highness the Prince say before he came here that he would go and see the effect of the craftsman making sugar today?"
Luo Jinan was about to say that he had never said that, but when he looked up at Xu Nian, who seemed to be smiling, he said frankly, "Yes, I did say that. Look at my memory. I'll be back soon. Nian Nian, I'll pick you up later."
Xu Nian breathed a sigh of relief as he watched Luo Jinan walk away. Luo Jinan's mouth was a little out of control now, so it was better for him to leave.
Xu Nian looked at the princess and the crown prince's wife who were smiling at him ambiguously, and said with an awkward smile: "Your Highness is so hospitable... hehe... so warm..."
"Pfft" Guo Yi thought that Miss Xu was quite interesting, and at first glance, she was a person with a pure mind. If she could really become the princess of a county in the future, she would feel much more at ease.
His Royal Highness the Prince has a special status, and his power in the mansion is even higher than that of the Crown Prince. She is really worried that the future Princess Consort will be domineering, and then her life will be really difficult.
"I will shamelessly call you Sister Xu. You were injured before, and I couldn't disturb you. Now that you have recovered, you should at least give me some face and let me be the host."
Xu Nian stood up and bowed, "Sister Crown Princess, you are too kind. It is my honor to have you invite me to the banquet. There is no reason for me to refuse."
Guo Yi clapped her hands and smiled, "Then I've made a deal with my sister. I'll have someone deliver the invitation to you when I get back."
Xu Nian naturally agreed. At this moment, she saw the little girl in Guo Yi's arms looking at her curiously, and then she remembered that the gift she brought had not been given away yet.
"My Lady Princess, my Lady Crown Prince, I came here in such a hurry that I didn't bring any nice gifts. These are the herbs from my farm and some lip balms and perfumes I made myself. I hope you don't mind."
Zhenshu nodded with satisfaction. She naturally didn't care about the value of the gift, but she was very impressed by Xu Nian's ability to treat people.
"You are such a thoughtful girl. I heard you put a lot of effort into preparing these things."
Xu Nian lowered his head and smiled, "Your Highness Princess, you are too kind."
Nanny Wei and several maids took the gift boxes, opened them one by one and showed them to the princess. Zhenshu didn't care much about the medicinal herbs. After all, there were plenty of rare medicinal herbs in the storehouse of the palace. What made her curious were the bottles of perfume.
Even though the porcelain bottle containing the perfume was still some distance away from her, the delicate fragrance of the flowers was already filling her face.
"Nian'er, the scent you made is very unique. I can smell the fragrance of the flowers for a long time. It is very different from the scent of the current Shengchao."
Xu Nianqian smiled and said, "This perfume does last longer, because its concentration is higher than that of ordinary perfumes. In fact, the lasting time of the fragrance is also related to the choice of incense materials. Some incense materials have lighter fragrances and are easier to evaporate, so the lasting time of the fragrance is naturally shorter, and some..."