Shen Youying blushed at the teasing and pretended to hit her.
The three of them, master and servant, were having a long-awaited, noisy time in the carriage.
The carriage swayed along the long street, the spring breeze lifting the curtains. Outside the window, peach blossoms were scattered by the wind, like a rain of petals.
Lu Minghe sat in the carriage, watching the carriage bearing the insignia of the Prince of Qin's residence drive away.
The evening sunset reflected in his eyes, as red as blood.
.
The carriage stopped at the second gate of the Qin Prince's Mansion, and Shen Youying once again became the cautious and timid Princess Qin.
Upon returning to Tingmei Pavilion, Liuyun reported: "Around noon, Princess Shouning sent an invitation to the Princess Consort to attend the Spring Banquet."
Princess Shouning was the eldest daughter of Prince Kang, and later married the eldest son of Duke Zhu, giving birth to the eldest grandson. With her powerful maternal family and the respect of her husband's family, Princess Shouning was very popular in the capital city of Tokyo. She also loved making friends and having fun, and she was always the one who organized the first spring banquet in Tokyo every year.
Before Shen Youying got married, the Shen family would receive an invitation every year.
Although it was the same banquet, the identities of those attending had changed. This was the first invitation Shen Youying had received after marrying into the Qin Prince's mansion, and since the host was Princess Shouning, she had to attend both out of courtesy and obligation.
Shen Youying accepted the invitation, and after thinking for a moment, instructed Liuyun: "Go and ask the Prince if he wants to come along."
Princess Shouning had a wide circle of friends and a lot of influence; her spring banquet was one of the most lively banquets in the entire capital city of Tokyo.
Besides tea tasting and flower appreciation, there are also tea competitions, Cuju (ancient Chinese football), polo, and other activities, which are suitable for men, women, young and old. Therefore, they are very popular among young ladies and gentlemen. Even those who do not usually like to attend banquets will go to join in the fun at this time.
Therefore, the Spring Festival banquet is also a rare occasion for unmarried young women and men to meet and see each other.
As for married men and women, they can take this opportunity to make new friends and expand their social circles, which can be said to be entirely beneficial.
Shen Youying was naturally going, but sending Liuyun to inquire with the King of Qin was just a formality and a way of saying hello.
After all, in her memory, the King of Qin had never attended the Spring Banquet, and he probably wouldn't go this time either.
After sending Liu Yun away to ask questions, Shen Youying, seeing that it was still early, asked Bai Luo to set out the tea set, preparing to drink tea to pass the time before taking a bath and resting.
As she ground the tea, she chatted with Bai Luodanzhu: "Don't you guys feel that the manor seems much quieter today?"
"I heard it's because Madam Liu was carried out through the side gate in the middle of the night last night, and several maids and servants from Langhua Garden were also punished," Danzhu said in a low voice.
“It shouldn’t be just because of that,” Bai Luo shook her head. She was a lively person and, although she had just arrived at the manor, she was already familiar with many of the maids and servants in the manor and was quite well-informed.
"I heard there are new rumors circulating outside, saying that the prince is obsessed with alchemy and has even taken his concubine's unborn child as a medicinal ingredient for his alchemy..."
She knew everything about the Liu family's affairs, and it had absolutely nothing to do with alchemy.
If Liu had done something to any man, probably no one would have been able to bear such a humiliation, let alone the tyrannical and arrogance of the King of Qin. Especially after Liu was secretly carried out in the middle of the night yesterday, the servants who knew the truth were even more terrified and dared not utter a single word about Langhua Garden and Liu.
But who knew that the more they kept quiet, the more rampant the unfounded rumors became, and they spread like wildfire in just one day.
The servants in the mansion were naturally trembling with fear, afraid of incurring the wrath of the Prince of Qin at this critical juncture.
Shen Youying was also stunned for a moment after hearing this, then shook her head and poured boiling water into the teacup: "This rumor is too absurd."
Bai Luo chimed in, "Who says otherwise? Could it be that those terrifying rumors about the King of Qin were spread in the same way?"
“That’s not necessarily true.” Shen Youying held her wrist suspended, whisking the tea leaves at a steady pace, her eyes focused on the surface of the tea, her long, thick eyelashes drooping down like a butterfly taking a nap: “Those rumors are a mix of truth and falsehood, and no one can say for sure which are true and which are false.”
But instead of trying to discern the truth and having unrealistic expectations, it's better to treat everything as real. In this royal palace, the more cautious you are, the less likely you are to make a mistake.
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