Chapter 62 I Should Call You King Ruichong
The next day, Jiang Xue got up before dawn, changed into simple casual clothes, and practiced with Chen Jin in the yard for half an hour.
At the end, Jiang Xue said to Chen Jin, "Did you get a rough idea of what Fu Dong asked you to investigate last night?"
Chen Jin said: "Your Highness, the delegation will enter the capital at 9:00 pm. At that time, the people from the Honglu Temple and the chief and deputy envoys of the reception will be waiting at the city gate. After entering the capital, they will stay in the temple clothing hall. After resting, the reception envoy will accompany Prince Rui Chong to the palace to pay homage to His Majesty at 3:00 pm."
Jiang Xue nodded. It was Si time, so there was still one hour left.
Jiang Xue asked: "What about the other thing?"
"I have inquired with the guards of the Ministry of Rites. The prince consort has been in the Ministry of Rites for the past two days and has not gone out. There are many officials in the Ministry of Rites, so it is unknown who he has met privately."
Jiang Xue raised her eyebrows and asked, "How do you ask?"
"Wu Anlang has a badge that allows him to walk in front of the emperor. I showed him the badge and said that I was asking him about the emperor's will. I didn't just ask the son-in-law, I asked about the daily life of many officials in the Secretariat. Before leaving, I told the guard not to say anything."
Of course, there was a little coercion.
Jiang Xue laughed and said, "Does this count as a false imperial decree?"
Chen Jin said: "It doesn't count. Your Highness is the master and we are all subjects. Your Highness's decree is also an order."
Jiang Xue nodded to him, and after he left, she asked Fu Dong to call Lu Qiongshuang.
Fu Dong came back after searching for a while and said, "That's strange. How come I can't find my cousin anywhere in the yard?"
Jiang Xue thought about it and said, "It doesn't matter. She will come back later."
That girl, I'm afraid she slipped away to see her immortal senior brother.
Fu Dong saw that Jiang Xue was sweating slightly and said, "I'll have someone prepare some bath water for Your Highness to take a bath."
"Don't worry," Jiang Xue smiled, showing her white teeth, "I'll go fetch some water."
Fu Dong wanted to fall down after hearing this, but there was nothing he could do.
Jiang Xue was busy carrying water, walking up the stairs, and lifting wooden boxes. It was almost noon when she finished all the work.
She was about to take a bath when she heard a rustling sound against the wall.
Lu Qiongshuang jumped down from the courtyard wall and saw Jiang Xue there, so she was about to tiptoe back to the room.
Jiang Xue looked at her sneaky behavior and shouted, "Come here."
Lu Qiongshuang turned around and said to Jiang Xue with a playful smile, "Cousin, you're here early! I was just practicing Qinggong on this wall."
Jiang Xue did not respond to her words. She just walked slowly to the stone table and sat down. Without even looking at her, she asked, "Did you see the real person?"
Lu Qiongshuang walked over dejectedly, sat next to Jiang Xue, and said, "What kind of real person is this? He's even a god, but he didn't get a single hair."
Jiang Xue raised her eyebrows and asked, "Didn't you see him?"
Lu Qiongshuang nodded and said, "I think this senior brother is really something. A man of seven feet tall, he actually didn't ride a horse, but sat in a carriage. The doors and windows of the carriage were very tight. I went to squat by the city gate before dawn and followed him all the way to the temple clothing store, but didn't see anything!"
Jiang Xue said: "It seems that the people have already arrived in the capital."
Lu Qiongshuang was surprised and asked, "How is it possible? As the head of the diplomatic corps and the regent of a country, how could he enter the capital quietly? What is he doing here?"
Jiang Xue tilted her head and looked up at the sky, saying, "That's a good question. Why don't you just go and ask him directly when the time comes?"
Lu Qiongshuang frowned and said, "Cousin, you don't know that in addition to the guards sent by our palace, the Gan countrymen also brought a lot of people to the Temple Clothing Hall. It was guarded so tightly that I originally wanted to sneak in to look for it, but I didn't expect that I couldn't even get in."
Jiang Xue said: "It's okay, I'll take you to see him in a few days when I can find a reason."
She smiled lovingly at Lu Qiongshuang and said, "Go change your clothes quickly. You want me to take you to the palace banquet wearing this? You are not afraid of your grandfather getting angry, but I am."
Jiang Xue called Fu Dong and asked her to pick out a piece of Jiang Xue's palace dress and send it to Lu Qiongshuang's room, then she went to wash up.
After they had lunch, Xiaochun Fudong began to comb Jiang Xue's hair.
Because it was a palace banquet and there were foreign guests, it had to be more formal and grand. Xiaochun Fudong spent half a day combing Jiang Xue's hair into a high double-knife half-turned bun, with six silver-gilt silk flower-shaped pearl hairpins on each side, and a small phoenix crown in the middle, with six pearl tassels spitting out of the phoenix's mouth covering her forehead.
Jiang Xue changed into a bright red palace dress with gold embroidery. The skirt was embroidered with gold mountains and auspicious clouds, and the wide sleeves were embroidered with diagonal flowing cloud patterns. She looked elegant and noble.
Lu Qiongshuang changed her clothes and stood at the door waiting for Jiang Xue. When she saw that she had finished dressing, she opened her mouth wide and said, "Cousin, you really look like a princess. You are so graceful."
Jiang Xue glanced at her and walked forward in silence.
Xiaochun said: "Your Highness, the palace has sent a carriage to pick you up."
Jiang Xue nodded and said to Lu Qiongshuang, "Why don't you leave now?"
The five carriages sent by the Queen were already waiting outside the gate of Gu's mansion, and they were accompanied by palace maids from the Queen's palace. When they saw Jiang Xue coming out, they immediately knelt forward to greet her.
Jiang Xue said nothing, just walked into the car with the support of Dong Xiaochun, stepped on the car seat and sat in the middle.
Lu Qiongshuang hurriedly followed.
The group marched towards the palace in a mighty procession. When they arrived at Xuanhua Gate, Eunuch Feng was waiting. Seeing that there were not many carriages in front of the palace gate, Jiang Xue asked, "When will the banquet start?"
Eunuch Feng leaned forward and replied, "Your Highness, you arrived a little early. The Empress ordered you to be taken to Yi'an Palace for a short visit. The ceremony will start in about an hour."
Jiang Xue nodded and took Lu Qiongshuang onto the sedan chair.
When they arrived at Yi'an Palace, they found that several ladies of honor were already seated there, including Lu Qiongshuang's mother, Shen.
Lu Qiongshuang immediately stood up straight, obediently and quietly.
Several people stood up and saluted Jiang Xue, who calmly asked them to sit down. Not long after, Queen Lu came out.
Jiang Xue and Lu Qiongshuang sat beside the queen. They sat in Yi'an Palace and chatted with Queen Lu for a long time. Lu Qiongshuang couldn't sit still, so she pulled at the corner of Jiang Xue's clothes and whispered, "Cousin, sitting here in this dress, my mother is still staring at me - my waist is sore from sitting so long, please go out for a walk with me."
When Empress Lu heard this whisper, she smiled knowingly and said, "Xue'er, take Qiong Shuang to Changle Palace to rest for a while."
Shen said in embarrassment: "Qiong Shuang is rude, I am afraid she will always disturb Your Highness."
Empress Lu smiled kindly and said, "It would be better for the two sisters to be closer. She just came back not long ago, so please forgive her."
Shen had no choice but to nod.
Jiang Xue and Lu Qiongshuang bowed to the queen and left. As soon as they stepped out of the palace, Lu Qiongshuang stretched lazily.
"So, where do you want to go?" Jiang Xue looked back and made sure that Aunt Shen was not looking in this direction before asking Lu Qiongshuang.
"I remember there was a swing in Yi'an Palace when I was a kid," Lu Qiongshuang said with a smile, "Cousin, I don't want to walk too much in this outfit. I'm so tired. Let's go sit on the swing."
Jiang Xue nodded and said, "It's in Xiaoxiang Pavilion. I don't know if it's broken or not because no one has taken care of it for so many years. Let's go."
After saying that, he led Lu Qiongshuang towards the east.
The two arrived at Xiaoxiang Pavilion. Fu Dong Xiaochun went forward to check it out, tried to push it a few times, and said to Jiang Xue, "I think Aunt Dong has someone to take care of her. This swing is pretty sturdy. Your Highness and Miss Cousin should play slowly, it should be fine."
Jiang Xue pointed at Lu Qiongshuang and said, "She plays, but I don't."
After saying this, he walked to the corridor and sat on the railing, staring blankly.
Lu Qiongshuang sat on the swing and asked Fu Dong to help push it. After playing for a while, he suddenly jumped up from the swing, pulled out a hairpin, and threw it at a locust tree near the palace wall, and shouted, "Who's there?"
Jiang Xue stood up alertly, and Xiaochun stood in front of her.
Lu Qiongshuang was about to call the guards when she saw the man jump down from the tree. He was wearing a silver mask and stood facing them without saying a word.
Lu Qiongshuang was surprised and said, "You are the something-something from Wanbaolou——"
"Ji Ying, should I call you—King Rui Chong?" Jiang Xue said coldly.
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