Chapter 534 Attending the Birthday Banquet
Aunt Zhou followed the Third Prince on horseback and fled all the way to Xuzhou.
Not long after they left the city, a torrential downpour began in Cheng'an County.
Due to the heavy rain, the emperor postponed his return to the capital and could not set off for another three days.
Zhou Ruiyuan roughly guessed that the emperor already knew their identities.
He and Du Wanchun had been waiting for news from Cheng'an County. When they heard that the Third Prince and Aunt Zhou had not met the Emperor, they both breathed a sigh of relief.
A few days ago, Du Wanchun and Zhou Ruiyuan received an invitation to Lord Lu's birthday banquet in the capital.
These days, they are worried about Aunt Zhou's safety and have no heart to attend the birthday banquet.
Lord Lu was a senior official in the court, and they had always looked down on Zhou Ruiyuan, who came from a humble background.
Zhou Ruiyuan had just arrived in the court. Although he had Lord Zheng and some trusted confidants to look after him, he could not openly offend him.
The Lu family specially sent a servant from Master Lu's side to host the banquet, just to tell the couple that they must attend this birthday banquet.
After receiving the letter that Aunt Zhou was safe and sound, Du Wanchun began to make arrangements to attend the birthday banquet.
That day, Du Wanchun specially entrusted the children to Mr. Yuan and Hai Qingyang. Then, the two of them took the congratulatory gifts and went to the Lu family in a carriage.
The Lu family had served as officials for three generations, so their status was naturally higher than that of Zhou Ruiyuan, a newly appointed official.
While the two were in the carriage, they heard people outside whispering, "Have you heard? Lord Zhou and Madam Zhou are coming too."
Most of the officials in the court were from prominent families. A few who had passed the imperial examinations served as county magistrates or prefects in various prefectures. It was practically impossible for someone as young as Zhou Ruiyuan to be promoted several ranks so quickly.
These women have always looked down on poor farming families. They appear poised and elegant on ordinary days, but when no one is around, they still can't help but gossip about them.
“When they first came to the capital, I saw them a few times at General Mo’s residence. Although Madam Zhou was from a peasant family, her looks and figure were no less than those of noble ladies in the capital.”
"So what if she has a good figure? She's still just a peasant woman. If the Emperor hadn't adopted the second son of the Zhou family as his godson, they wouldn't have a place at this birthday banquet today."
The one speaking is the eldest daughter of the Lu family.
The eldest daughter of the Lu family has already married, and coincidentally, her husband is also a scholar. Although he passed the imperial examination this year, his official rank is only fifth grade, which is naturally inferior to Zhou Ruiyuan.
The eldest daughter of the prestigious Lu family was no match for this peasant woman, and naturally, she was filled with resentment.
The other ladies immediately chimed in with a few flattering words, saying that the Zhou family was just lucky; otherwise, with their education, how could they have achieved their current positions?
The few people standing at the back had good eyesight and immediately saw the Zhou family's carriage when they looked up. They whispered a few words to the women, telling them to stop talking.
Miss Lu, however, disagreed and even said a few veiled things to Du Wanchun in front of their carriage.
Du Wanchun listened from inside the carriage, completely oblivious.
Zhou Ruiyuan held her hand and comforted her, saying, "From now on, we won't come to these kinds of banquets."
Du Wanchun smiled and shook her head, saying, "It's alright. The less we come, the more they'll look down on us."
After saying that, he took Zhou Ruiyuan's hand and slowly stepped down from the carriage.
Du Wanchun was dressed very simply today, in a light blue dress, with only a pearl hairpin on her head.
At first glance, this pearl hairpin looks quite ordinary, but under the sunlight, you can vaguely see the large pearl on it shimmering with a faint blue light.
It's as if the deep blue sea has been etched onto it.
Ruiyuan acquired this pearl at great expense; if it were sold, it would be worth at least several cities.
These women had seen many precious ornaments, but they had never seen such rare and priceless pearls before.
They all looked at them with shock and envy.
However, some ladies and young women did not recognize its value, such as Miss Lu.
Miss Lu glanced at Du Wanchun and said sarcastically, "My father is having a birthday banquet today, and Madam Zhou is wearing this. Anyone who didn't know better would think we were having a funeral."
There was nothing wrong with Du Wanchun's clothes today, except that they were too plain.
Miss Lu deliberately seized on this point and exaggerated it.
Du Wanchun bowed to them and said softly with a smile, "Miss Lu, please don't say that. Be careful that the passing guests don't really think that the Lu family is holding a funeral. If Miss Lu tries to explain later, I'm afraid she won't be able to explain it clearly."
Miss Lu is, after all, a married daughter. Her attendance at her father's birthday banquet today is naturally to curry favor with him. If what Du Wanchun said is true...
Lord Lu will probably blame me.
She was both angry and annoyed, but she had no choice but to suppress it.
Du Wanchun bowed to the other ladies and then followed Zhou Ruiyuan into the Lu residence.
Miss Lu stared coldly at Du Wanchun's retreating figure, tightly clutching the handkerchief in her hand.
At this moment, the lady standing to the side could no longer help but exclaim, "This Mrs. Zhou is really low-key. Although her clothes are simple, the beads on her head are enough for us to buy several sets of clothes."
Miss Lu's expression changed. "Really? Those few beads are worth that much?"
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