Chapter 248 Fighting (Two Chapters in One)
In the blink of an eye, it was the Spring Banquet.
Last year's spring banquet was hosted by Princess Jianing. This year, Princess Jiayi has gotten over the pain of losing her son and is in high spirits. She wants to hold banquets every day to show off her little girl.
Therefore, the task of organizing the Spring Banquet fell on her again.
However, the news of the second prince's death was announced in early February. Out of consideration for her dignity, the Empress postponed the date of the Spring Banquet. Although it was still called the Spring Banquet, it was actually early summer.
Fortunately, it is not hot this year. You still need to put on more clothes in the morning and evening. The sun is shining and there is a gentle breeze.
Zhao Shiqing agreed to go to the Spring Banquet with Mrs. Yu early in the morning.
Yan Xia is already engaged, and Yan Er and Yan San, one has been engaged since childhood, and the other is playful and gets angry with anyone who mentions engagement. The others are still young, so Mrs. Yu's participation in the Spring Banquet is just a formality.
Zhao Shiqing is in her prime, and as long as she shows up at the Spring Banquet, she will attract attention. She has already decided to wait until her sister marries to the capital next year before revealing her true identity. As for now, it is definitely not possible.
So she finally decided to dress up as a man.
Anyway, I went there just to see the world, so it doesn't matter whether I'm a man or a woman.
This time it was Xiuxiu who did the surgery herself. She wrapped her chest with white cloth and wore a wide robe, which covered her increasingly slender figure without any flaws.
After disguising herself as a man, Zhao Shiqing looked two or three years younger than her actual age, and there was no sense of incongruity when she walked with the group of young boys from the Yan family.
Madam Yu looked happy, but it was a pity that the second son had already been engaged, the third son was a scoundrel, and the others were still young. Such good girls could not end up in the Yan family.
The most regrettable thing is that such a lovely girl couldn’t be reborn into the Yan family.
Yunzhong Garden is the property of Princess Jiayi. Except for last year, the capital's annual spring banquet is held here.
After not seeing her for two years, Princess Jiayi is still as charming as ever. She looks a little plumper but more radiant than before.
When she saw Madam Yu, Princess Jiayi couldn't wait to show off her little girl to her: "Isn't she cute? Pretty? It's a little girl, born to me!"
Mrs. Yu rolled her eyes and said, "That's all you have."
However, the little girl is fair and tender, so beautiful. How come she was born into Jiayi's belly? It would be so nice if she was in her belly.
"Yes, it's very cute. I'll take it away to play with it for a few days and then bring it back to you."
Madam Yu was about to hold the baby, but Princess Jiayi pushed her hand away and said, "If you like, give birth to the baby yourself. Don't try to steal my baby."
Madam Yu was too lazy to pay attention to her. She thought back to the time when she saw Xiao Tanhua was handsome, but after just a few more glances, Jiayi pretended to faint on the spot and shamelessly fainted in Xiao Tanhua's arms. Others secretly said that the emperor couldn't stand the Xiao family having any talents, so he insisted on betrothing his daughter to the most outstanding eldest son of the Xiao family. But Madam Yu felt that it was a half-and-half situation. Jiayi fell in love with him first, and the emperor went along with it.
"Your Highness, I really envy you. Look how wonderful your life is. You have a husband-in-law to accompany you, and a little girl to take care of you. Unlike me, I have to worry about my son every day. Next year, my eldest son will get married, and I will have to take care of their grandchildren. Alas, I am destined to worry."
Princess Jiayi got angry when she heard this. She started comparing her sons and grandsons since she couldn't compare with her daughter. Just wait, I will let my eldest son get married.
"Oh, that's true, I..."
Before she could finish the rest of her words, Prince Consort Xiao pinched her waist from behind.
Princess Jiayi blushed and her heart began to beat fast, finally realizing that she had almost let the cat out of the bag.
"Humph, for the sake of your daughter-in-law, I won't bother with you."
Princess Jiayi picked up her daughter and waved her in front of Madam Yu twice, then went to show off in front of others.
Madam Yu was so angry that she wanted to hit Duke Weiguo. It was that useless man who prevented her from giving birth to a daughter.
At this time, more than a dozen brats from the Yan family came running over: "Mother (Auntie), it's so boring here, we want to leave!"
Mrs. Yu was annoyed when she saw this group of people. The new clothes she changed into when she went out were now almost as worn as a rag.
Those who knew that this was the son of the Duke's Mansion thought he was a group of petty bandits, while those who didn't thought he was just a group of petty bandits.
She saw Zhao Shiqing and Zhao Tingluo in the group. Other people’s children are really the best. Look at these two, so pleasing to the eyes!
"You two don't want to play anymore?" she asked with a smile and a pleasant expression.
Yan Shiyi's mouth twitched. Is my mother possessed by a ghost? She's like a completely different person.
Zhao Shiqing nodded. In fact, she wanted to come to the Spring Banquet because of Wei Yaer. Now Wei Yaer was in prison. The person she wanted to see didn't come, and most of the others came for blind dates. None of the princes showed up. Besides, Xiao Zhen didn't show up either.
Mrs. Yu did not try to keep them. She told them to go, all of them, otherwise she would get into an argument with someone and her aunt-in-law would see it, which would affect her image as a kind mother.
The Yan family's group left as soon as they said they would, and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
After the children left, Madam Yu, now childless, felt relieved and walked towards Prince Fu's wife.
The Crown Prince's Consort was talking to her youngest son, Xiaobao. Among so many noble relatives, no one spoke to her.
The Prince of Fu was demoted to a commoner and sent to Zhuangzi. Although others scolded the prince for being immoral, they also kept their distance from the prince's wife.
Who would dare to get close to a woman who, along with her son, forced her husband to leave the house with nothing?
But Madam Yu didn't care. Yan Jiu and Zhao Tingluo were good friends. She treated Zhao Tingluo like her own child. She had also known the Crown Princess for a long time, and they had similar personalities.
Madam Yu fully supports the idea that the Crown Prince's wife should let go of the father and keep the son. This should have been done a long time ago. If a man is unfaithful, he is better than a dog.
"The Crown Prince and the ones in my family left early." Mrs. Yu said with a smile.
When the Crown Princess saw that it was her, she hurriedly asked Xiaobao to call for help.
The two hadn't seen each other for some time, so they simply found a quiet place to chat and couldn't wait to share gossip.
"Sister Yu, was the Princess of Changling really imprisoned by Prince Yan?"
"Of course it's true. If someone like her hadn't been arrested, she would definitely come to this occasion today."
"Many people didn't come today, even the Third Prince's wife didn't come. Needless to say, the banquet really didn't feel lively without her."
"Oh, how dare she come here? Feng Yalan is her biological sister, and she's still in Zizhu Monastery. It's all because of her."
"Alas, what a pity for Miss Feng Wu. Although she was a concubine's daughter, she was calm, reserved, and graceful. I don't know what has become of her now."
The two were chatting when one of Madam Yu's maids came trotting over. She brought four maids with her to the banquet today, two with her and two outside. The one who came over was waiting outside for instructions.
"Madam, our young masters encountered the You family at the gate. The eldest son of the You family spoke rudely to the Zhao family grandson. Our young masters couldn't stand it, so they started fighting with the You family."
Madam Yu asked, "You family? Which You family?"
The Crown Prince's wife was also confused. Who was the You family? How dare they speak so disrespectfully to her son?
The maid quickly explained: "The You family is Concubine You's natal family, and Master You is Concubine You's nephew."
At this moment, Madam Yu and the Crown Princess understood everything.
Madam Yu asked, "Which family has more people?"
The maidservant said: "There are seven or eight people in the You family, and there are forty or fifty people in our family."
Madam Yu was startled: "Why are there so many people?"
Maid: "The two young masters from Prince Lu's Mansion just arrived, and we bumped into each other."
Madam Yu understood that there were not only people from the Duke of Weiguo's Mansion on her side, but also people from the Prince of Fu's Mansion and the Prince of Lu's Mansion.
"That's ok, let them fight. They're all naughty kids with so much energy and nowhere to use it. It would be a waste if they didn't beat them. Oh, and keep an eye on Master Abao, make sure he doesn't get bumped or hurt."
The Master Abao she mentioned was Zhao Shiqing.
You can beat those brats at home, but you can’t hurt your sister-in-law.
The maid took the order and left. Madam Yu then asked the Crown Prince's wife, "How dare the You family speak so rudely to A'Luo?"
The Crown Prince's Consort sneered, "Do I even need to ask? This is the Fourth Prince using the You family to pressure us. Ever since His Majesty asked A Luo to play with the Seventh Prince at the Lantern Festival, the Seventh Prince has been asking A Luo to come into the palace to play from time to time, and the Fourth Prince is getting annoyed."
Madam Yu snorted, "If you have the guts, challenge the Third Prince. How can you show off by grabbing a few kids?"
At this moment, Zhao Shiqing was in the battle.
Just as the Crown Princess guessed, You Dalang was indeed here to warn Zhao Tingluo.
The You family was originally not qualified to attend occasions like the Spring Banquet.
Now the Fourth Prince can do work for Emperor Yongjia, the Crown Prince has been deposed, the Second Prince and the Fifth Prince are one dead and one imprisoned, and the Fourth Prince, who was originally sitting on the bench, has suddenly risen to compete with the Third Prince. The You family, as an in-law, has also risen in status, and You Dalang and You Sanniang have also become familiar faces in the capital.
However, the You family wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to find a good marriage for the two. However, the brother and sister have been in the capital for half a year, but they have not been able to find a good match.
It happened to be the Spring Festival Banquet, and Concubine You asked the Fourth Prince to get invitations for his nephews and nieces, hoping that they would find a good match at the Spring Festival Banquet.
However, while Madam You San was at the Spring Banquet, You Dalang was not. He had been waiting outside Yunzhong Garden since early morning, intending to cause trouble for Zhao Tingluo.
In his opinion, Zhao Tingluo was just a little brat whose hair had not yet fully grown. He wanted to teach him a lesson by giving him a good beating and keep him away from the Seventh Prince in the future.
As for why he wanted to warn Zhao Tingluo, You Dalang actually didn't understand it.
The Seventh Prince is just a little brat, and the Emperor doesn't usually favor him, so he poses no threat to the Fourth Prince.
The Fourth Prince is seeing things all the time. Everyone he sees seems to be trying to compete with him for the throne.
However, the You family wants to take advantage of the power of the Fourth Prince, so You Dalang will do whatever the Fourth Prince says.
Unfortunately, You Dalang's luck was not very good. Although he waited for Zhao Tingluo, Zhao Tingluo was accompanied by people from the Yan family.
When it comes to fighting, You Dalang doesn't dare to provoke the Yan family, but this is Yunzhong Garden, and he intuitively feels that the Yan family's kids dare not act rashly.
But he didn't expect that the Yan family didn't take action, but the two freaks in Prince Lu's Mansion took action.
Broken Stone Brothers: "You dare to bully my brothers? You're courting death! Beat me, beat me to death!"
The two brothers rushed over first, one hit him on the left cheek and the other hit him on the right cheek. Before You Dalang could react, he was hit and his nose was bleeding.
Even though there is no such person in the You family in the capital, in their hometown, they are undoubtedly the prince's in-laws. You Dalang is a famous little bully. He is the only one who beats others, and no one else beats him.
You Dalang suddenly became anxious and started punching people, and his servants followed suit.
The brothers of the Yan family were also anxious. You, the You family, have so many people and you beat up the two brothers Dashi. Isn’t this bullying?
"Brothers, come on, and those from Prince Lu's Mansion, your young master is getting beaten, why are you still standing there like idiots? Come on!"
There was a fight outside Yunzhong Garden. Zhao Shiqing originally wanted to protect the youngest ones, but six-year-old Yan Shisan and five-year-old Yan Shisi rushed out from beside her like two wolf cubs, grabbed the legs of the You family servant and bit them.
Zhao Shiqing...Well, when it comes to fighting, your Yan family is the best.
The brothers of the Yan family are good at fighting and biting, and the servants of the You family are all martial artists.
A servant rushed towards Zhao Tingluo. Zhao Shiqing was quick-witted and picked up a brick that someone had thrown at him and hit the servant on the head.
The servant was suddenly hit by a brick, his head broken and bleeding. Zhao Tingluo went up and kicked the servant twice.
The maid came running over and found Zhao Shiqing in the crowd: "Master Bao, my wife asked me to look after you. Please come with me quickly."
Just as Zhao Shiqing was about to leave, the servant who had fallen to the ground suddenly got up and, with all his might, grabbed hold of her feet.
Zhao Shiqing shook a few times, but the boy held on tightly. When it seemed that she couldn't get rid of him, a stone suddenly flew over and hit the boy's elbow. Her forearm felt numb and one hand loosened. Zhao Shiqing took the opportunity to free her foot. Not satisfied, she kicked the boy several times. The boy didn't have the strength to get up anymore. Then she looked in the direction where the stone was thrown.
I was delighted when I saw this.
She knew who it was without even having to look at the strange new fake face.
Xiao Zhen!
Where did this guy come from?
The winner was also decided here. You Dalang and the people he brought with him were all defeated.
By the time Zhao Shiqing came to her senses and wanted to say hello to Xiao Zhen, Xiao Zhen had disappeared.
Everyone was very happy. When Zhao Tingluo said he would treat everyone, everyone agreed and went to the restaurant arm in arm.
It was not until they left that people from Princess Jiayi's mansion came out to clean up the mess.
Someone rushed to report to Prince Consort Xiao, who had finally welcomed his eldest son, but before he could enjoy the joy of family life, he heard about this matter.
Xiao Zhen said, "It was the You family who provoked them, causing trouble at the gate of Yunzhong Garden. Who gave them the face? Send them to the Fourth Prince's residence, and then send someone to the palace to report to the Empress."
Now that the Fourth Prince is a favorite of the Empress, this matter must of course be reported to the Empress.
Prince Consort Xiao didn't want to cause trouble, but since his son said so, he did as he was told.
Even though his son doesn't live at home, he has the final say at home. Both he and the eldest princess have to listen to him.
The next day, the fourth prince went to the palace to apologize.
He didn't expect You Dalang to be so stupid. Seeing Zhao Tingluo with the Yan family, he still wanted to cause trouble. Couldn't you change the occasion and wait until Zhao Tingluo was alone before taking action?
Serves you right!
Because of this incident, he offended Prince Fu's Mansion, Prince Lu's Mansion, and Duke Weiguo's Mansion at the same time.
The Fourth Prince gritted his teeth and spoke out what he had thought of on the way: "Father, although the situation of the Tongzhou flood is still uncertain, I believe that when it comes to matters concerning the country, no matter how trivial, I would like to go to Tongzhou with the officials of the Ministry of Works to dredge the river. I hope that Father will give me this opportunity!"
He knew that this was a thankless task, but now that You Dalang had caused such a big disaster, he had no choice but to choose this path.
Emperor Yongjia thought about it and agreed.
Soon, the Ministry of Industry also reported the list of accompanying officials, and Yang Shengqiu was on the list!
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