Yinshuang helped Chunlan brush the mud off her skirt. Although it was still a little dirty, it wasn't noticeable unless you looked closely, so she didn't need to change her clothes.
Shen Wan and Shen Wei sat in the pavilion for a quarter of an hour, rested enough, and when it was almost time for the banquet to begin, they got up and left the pavilion, heading towards the more crowded area of the garden. The timing was perfect; just as they arrived, a maid from the Duke of Wei's mansion came over to invite everyone to take their seats.
There were quite a few guests at the Duke of Wei's mansion to celebrate his birthday today, enough for seventy or eighty tables. It was quite noisy and lively. The banquet for the male guests was set up in the courtyard, while the banquet for the female guests was arranged inside the house. The maid led Shen Wan and the others to their seats.
Shen Wei, Shen Wan, Shen Ying, Princess Danyang, and Princess Huai'an were seated at the same table. It was clear from the seating arrangement that the Duchess of Wei was truly satisfied with Shen Wei. The Duchess of Wei's mansion arranged Shen Wei's seat according to her status as the wife of the heir apparent. Even the third young lady of the Marquis of Wuding's mansion was not qualified to sit at this table.
What pleased Shen Wan even more was that she was sitting right next to Princess Huai'an. She had never expected to run into Princess Huai'an at the Duke of Wei's residence; it was a pleasant surprise.
Of all the people at this table, Shen Ying was the closest to Shen Wan, and also the one with the worst relationship with Shen Wan.
Princess Huai'an sat down and smiled, "I didn't expect to see Princess Ling again so soon."
Shen Wan also laughed and said, "I thought we'd meet again at the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet."
Princess Huai'an thought so too. She said, "Our Prince An's Mansion has only been in the capital for a few days, and Prince Ling has already helped our Prince An's Mansion twice."
Twice?
Didn't we just help the Prince An's mansion once?
Shen Wan was somewhat bewildered, but she quickly realized that the help Princess Huai'an was referring to was Chen Yu's advice to the Dali Temple to let the Taoist priest escape. Only by having Prince An and Princess An go to the Dali Temple to bail him out could they put pressure on the Dali Temple by claiming there was no plaintiff, and fine them ten taels of silver, allowing Prince An and Princess An to take Prince An's heir away.
For the Prince An's mansion, a fine of ten taels of silver was practically the same as no fine at all.
Seeing the grateful look on Princess Huai'an's face, Shen Wan's smile was tinged with guilt, as if she had sold the Prince An's Mansion and the Prince An's Mansion was still helping to count the money.
Unfortunately, Xie Jingyan was still "sick," so Shen Wan couldn't invite Princess Huai'an to the Ling Prince's residence to enjoy flowers and tea. Princess Huai'an, mindful that Shen Wan had to take care of Xie Jingyan, also didn't make a verbal invitation. However, the two chatted happily, laughing and talking. Shen Wei, sitting to Shen Wan's left, kept glancing at them. Her elder sister and Princess Huai'an had only met twice, yet their relationship was already so close.
Shen Ying sat opposite Shen Wan, but she couldn't care less about Shen Wan. She was being flattered. Xie Jingyin helped her down from the carriage, a scene witnessed by many. In addition, Shen Ying used a little trick, pretending to almost twist her ankle. Xie Jingyin helped her up and spoke caringly, all of which told everyone that although she was not pregnant like Fu Shu, she was very much in Xie Jingyin's heart.
Today is the birthday banquet at the Duke of Wei's mansion. For the first time, Shen Ying is experiencing what it means to be the center of attention. She is currently feeling quite smug and doesn't notice Shen Wan's unusual behavior. In Shen Ying's eyes, Shen Wan is someone who will soon be a widow, like a grasshopper in autumn, with only a few days left to hop around.
In her previous life, Shen Wan had heard Princess Huai'an talk about Huaizhou. She deliberately guided the conversation, and Princess Huai'an began to tell Shen Wan about the interesting things that had happened in Huaizhou with great interest.
Shen Wan had heard these things once in her previous life, and she still found them interesting when she heard them again. Just as they were chatting and laughing, a maidservant hurried in and whispered a few words in the ear of the Duchess of Wei. The Duchess of Wei put down her chopsticks and said to the noble ladies, "You all eat first, I'll be right back."
Lady Wei got up and left. Once outside, she frowned and said, "What's going on? So many people and they can't even soothe a child?"
The maid said, "We've tried to comfort him, but for some reason, the young master keeps crying and fussing. No one can soothe him, and he keeps asking for the Duke..."
Normally, the maid would simply have someone take the young master to the Duke to hold, as the Duke also liked to hold the young master. But today was the Duke's birthday, and he was busy. Even if the maid had a few extra lives, she wouldn't dare to take the young master directly there.
But the young master was so hard to soothe that he was crying so hard he could barely breathe. The maid had no choice but to go to the Lady of the Duke of Wei.
Lady Wei hurried forward, worried that the large number of people in the manor today might have frightened her grandson. Before she even entered the house, she heard her grandson's heart-wrenching cries, which tugged at her heartstrings.
As soon as she entered, the young master reached out to her, wanting her to hold him. The Duchess of Wei took her grandson from the wet nurse and gently coaxed him, "An'er, be good, An'er, don't cry..."
The little one gradually stopped crying, but was still fussing, refusing to be held by the Duchess of Wei, calling out, "Grandma, Grandma..."
Although he is two and a half years old, he still doesn't speak very fluently. He can't say "grandfather" but can only say "grandpa".
The Duchess of Wei said, "An'er, don't cry. Grandmother will take you to find your grandfather."
The little one nodded obediently. Although he stopped crying, his little shoulders were still trembling. He was so well-behaved that he touched the heart of the Lady of Wei.
As long as the child doesn't cry, it's fine to take him to see the Duke of Wei. The grandson paying respects to his grandfather on his birthday adds to the festive atmosphere.
The road was quite long, and fearing that the Duchess of Wei might not be able to carry him, a maid took the young master from her arms. The young master clung tightly to the Duchess of Wei's neck, refusing to be carried by the maid. The Duchess of Wei said, "I'll carry him."
She carried the young master to the banquet.
The Duke of Wei sat there drinking. It was his birthday banquet, and almost all the civil and military officials were present. He was in a good mood. When he saw the Duchess of Wei carrying her grandson, the Duke of Wei said, "Why did you bring An'er here?"
Lady Wei scolded, "It's all because you spoil An'er too much. He's been crying and getting upset since I last saw him. I can't even coax him back to sleep."
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