After listening to Yuan Dong's report, Meng Qi went into the inner room and thought about what she had said to Song Chengze yesterday.
After the two finished talking, Song Chengze went out. During dinner, Hu Changsheng, the apprentice of Zhang Decheng, the eunuch in charge of the outer courtyard, came in and said that the prince wanted to invite some friends to attend the wedding and told her not to wait for him.
This time the head chef did not dare to neglect the dinner, and the "trouble-making" pagoda meat was placed prominently on the table.
After dinner, Meng Qi assigned all the arrangements for today's visit to Madam Liu. She took the list of gifts Madam Hai had sent her and told Madam Liu to worry about the additions and subtractions. She also gave Madam Liu detailed instructions on what to say when she returned to the Huainan Marquis's residence, including to her grandmother, the Marquis's wife, Mrs. Song, and her mother, the Marquis's wife, Mrs. Wang. She also specifically told Madam Liu what to say to the second daughter, Meng Wan.
Then, he arranged some tasks for Yuan Dong. Meng Qi intended to reuse Yuan Dong. Of course, this did not mean that he would not reuse others, but Yuan Dong was more suitable.
Meng Qi didn't know when she fell asleep. Although Song Chengze said that she didn't have to wait for him, he didn't say that she didn't just have to wait for him for dinner or for bed.
It seemed like in the early morning, she got up as usual to drink water, and dimly saw a person lying on the kang by the window.
She tiptoed over and saw it was indeed Song Chengze. He was of average height and usually looked rather thin. But at this moment, his back was to Meng Qi, and the quilt was tucked under his armpits, making his shoulders appear broad and powerful.
Meng Qi didn't dare to pull the quilt up again, but just gently picked up a piece of silver frost charcoal and put it into the incense burner.
That morning, Meng Qi learned from Yuan Dong that Song Chengze had returned around 2:30 PM. Yuan Dong wanted to wake Meng Qi, but Song Chengze said no, telling her to just find him a bed and quilt. Seeing Song Chengze lying down on the kang by the window, Yuan Dong would have cried out in surprise if Meng Qi hadn't mentioned it to her.
Meng Qi looked at the neatly dressed Song Chengze and whispered, "If I don't go back to the Huainan Marquis Mansion today, will it disrupt your original plan?"
Song Chengze said, "It's okay. After I accompany you to meet them, I will go to Bibo Hall. If there is anything, send someone to find me there."
Meng Qi picked up the outer robe that Hu Changsheng had just given Song Chengze, and said, "From now on, Your Highness should sleep on the big kang in the inner room, and I will sleep outside."
Song Chengze took the outer robe and put it on. "No need. It will only take about a month." After saying that, he walked past her and went out.
Meng Qi stood there. It looked like he agreed with what she had said yesterday. He only said it was a month-long thing. Did that mean he wouldn't come to the inner courtyard after the wedding month? Ah, no, he wouldn't come to Jing'an Garden.
Or, should Song Chengze give her a month's chance?
After exhaling, Meng Qi became anxious again. She hated herself even more for not caring enough about her past life, and she didn't know when the opportunity to "achieve merit" would come.
By the time the two arrived at the central hall of the main house in Jing'an Garden, the room was already full of people, including the wet nurses of several young masters and young ladies and the maids who served them, making it seem a bit crowded.
When Nanny Hai saw the two of them sitting in the main seats, she directed the maids to place the mats in place.
Li stood up first, and Yingying knelt down. "Concubine Li greets the princess." Nanny Hai said loudly.
Li took the teacup from the maid and raised it above her head, "Princess, please have some tea."
Meng Qi took it. Li was two years older than Song Chengze, with above-average looks and a slightly thinner build, which only made her look older. No matter how you looked at it, Li had given up on having another child. Song Chengze would occasionally visit Jinmoju, but he'd only visit and rarely stayed the night. At least in her previous life, during the few years she'd been married there, Li had received more respect from Song Chengze.
Meng Qi put down the teacup after lightly touching the corner of her lips, and Yuandong immediately handed a gold-painted box to Li.
Then there was Lin. Perhaps because she felt her outfit yesterday didn't outshine Meng Qi's, or perhaps because she was thinking of Song Chengze sitting there, Lin's outfit today was quite understated. She wore a large peony on her head, the material of which was unclear, but it was incredibly lifelike, with a tiny bee perched on it.
Lin received a notice to pay her respects to the new princess today. She was still undecided between some red and red clothes. A little later, Mother Lu came back and told her that Meng Qi could not return home today.
She was stunned at first. Her first thought was that the incident in the kitchen yesterday had caused a quarrel between the two. But then she thought it was unlikely. Why would the prince be upset with the princess over such a thing? She had heard that the prince didn't have dinner in Jing'an Garden yesterday, and it was unclear when he returned to the inner chambers. It was impossible for something to happen so early in the morning, right? If something had happened, she wouldn't have missed the news.
It is very likely that the prince was angry because of what happened yesterday, that's for sure.
Thinking of this, Lin smiled. She never thought that a piece of pagoda meat would bring so much trouble to Meng. Although she lost the gatekeeper of Jing'an Garden, it was nothing. Compared with making the prince dislike Meng, it was a piece of cake.
At this moment, Lin was kneeling there, offering tea with both hands, and said in a pinched voice, "Princess, please have some tea."
Meng Qi looked at the big peony flower on Lin's head and realized that she knew what Concubine Lian liked.
After Lin finished speaking, there was no movement for a long time. She looked up and saw Meng Qi staring at the peony she was wearing.
When Liunian put the peony on her in the morning, he had said that it might be inappropriate to wear a peony on such a day, especially such a big one. After all, although there was no explicit rule, in the eyes of the world, it was a flower that only the wife could wear.
Lin felt a little regretful now. No matter how happy she was, she had to pretend to be weak and pitiful when the prince was around. She had to remember this in the future. It would be better to do something like this when the prince was not around.
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