“Yes!” Lili nodded. “I ran into her by chance when the Crown Prince’s wife returned to her hometown to visit relatives before.”
Gu Ziqi's eyes lit up: "I know, Mother told Ziqi that when Ziqi was still in Mother's belly!"
Xia Ning suddenly realized: "So that's how it is. No wonder Ziqi liked you so much at first sight. It turns out that Lili had already met our Ziqi before!"
Cuihong was very pleased and said she would leave them some space before taking her leave.
The view from the terrace was indeed expansive, offering a panoramic view of the entire Li Lake basin.
Although Li Lake is called a lake, it is actually a river.
The banks of Li Lake are covered with clusters of flowers, mainly hollyhocks in pink and white.
Before Shenshi (3-5 PM) arrived and the dragon boat race had not yet started, the banks of Li Lake were already crowded with pedestrians, noisy and lively, all waiting for the dragon boat race to begin at Shenshi.
From their elevated position, Lili and her friends could vaguely see several dragon boats moored on the shore of Li Lake as they looked downstream.
There was a large crowd around, presumably the team members preparing for the dragon boat race.
Lili was in a great mood. She used to watch dragon boat races all the time, and now she felt a bit of that old feeling again.
Xia Ning smiled and said, "In the past, there were many activities for the Dragon Boat Festival in the capital, but compared to here, it always lacked a bit of the lively atmosphere."
“The capital has its advantages, but it’s not the same here without Lili. Lili is here, and Sister Xia Ning might need Lili to keep her company.” Lili said with a grin, linking arms with Xia Ning.
Xia Ning readily agreed, "Who says otherwise?"
Gu Ziqi sat obediently between the two of them, like a little puppy, cute and well-behaved, which inexplicably reminded Lili of Houfu when she was a child.
As she thought about it, Lili couldn't help but pinch Gu Ziqi's cheek, her face full of affection.
So cute! Another adorable little boy. He'll definitely grow up to be a handsome guy who can charm countless girls!
"They're so cute, Sister Xia Ning. How come the royal family has such good genes? They're all so good-looking."
"Genes? What's that?" Xia Ning didn't understand the term, but she understood what she said next.
"Our Ziqi is indeed exquisitely beautiful, just as adorable as Lili was when she was little," Xia Ning teased. "I just wonder, who is the other person Lili was talking about?"
Lili blinked, not understanding where Xia Ning's teasing came from, and said frankly yet doubtfully, "Of course it's His Highness! Sister Xia Ning, have you forgotten? His Highness is so handsome, the most exquisite child Lili has ever seen in her life!"
"Pfft."
Xia Ning laughed so hard she almost fell over. What a silly child.
"You're still a child yourself, how dare you call His Highness a child?" Xia Ning covered her mouth and laughed.
"Hehe, don't worry about the details."
"Hmm... why haven't I seen Young Master Shen today?"
"Are you talking about Brother Shenye?" Lili asked. "Today is a banquet for women, so Brother Shenye can't participate. He sent us to the prefectural government office this morning and then went back. He won't be back until tonight."
"I see."
Xia Ning nodded and said nothing more.
"Is Ziqi really as cute as Sister Lili when she was little?"
Gu Ziqi suddenly asked, his dark, grape-like eyes blinking expectantly.
"Of course." Sister Xia Ning tapped his nose. "You don't know, when your sister Lili was little, she was chubby and fair-skinned, like a little pink dumpling, and she was so pretty. Back then, Sister Xia Ning always loved to pinch your sister Lili's round little face."
Gu Ziqi chuckled, while Lili blushed for once: "Who's the pink-faced girl!"
"And what about His Highness?" Gu Ziqi asked again. "Who is His Highness? I've only ever met the Princess and the First Prince... Which His Highness is this?"
Xia Ning was about to speak when she realized that Gu Ziyi had been staying at the border for the past few years and Gu Ziqi had never seen him.
“It’s your Crown Prince brother,” Xia Ning explained. “His Highness the Crown Prince requested to come to the border for training five years ago and has not yet returned to the capital. Ziqi has never met him.”
"So it's my brother, the Crown Prince?" Gu Ziqi suddenly realized. "Mother told me that my brother, the Crown Prince, has been exceptionally talented since childhood. He has the bearing of a dragon and the grace of a phoenix, and is a qualified Crown Prince."
"The young master's wife speaks so highly of His Highness the Crown Prince?"
Xia Ning was quite surprised. The Marquis Chongbo's mansion had always been prudent in protecting itself and was a staunch supporter of the emperor, treating all the princes equally without any bias.
The young master's wife's blatant praise may not prove anything, but if someone with ulterior motives were to use it to their advantage, it could still have a significant impact.
Lili wasn't surprised, after all, the Chongbo Marquis's Mansion was already half a member of the Crown Prince's faction in secret. In addition, although the people in the Chongbo Marquis's Mansion didn't like to take sides or fight for profit, they were people who cherished talent and had a pair of eyes that could distinguish right from wrong.
Gu Ziyi acts with a clear conscience and genuinely wants to serve the people, so it's not surprising that the people of the Chongbo Marquis's mansion appreciate him.
Lili smiled and said seriously to Gu Ziqi, "Ziqi, you can't tell anyone else what your mother told you, understand?"
Xia Ning nodded in agreement: "That's exactly what I was thinking. If these words are used by someone with ulterior motives, who knows what kind of trouble they might cause."
Gu Ziqi shook her head: "Ziqi has not told anyone else. Mother said that no one can be told, but Ziqi thinks that Sister Lili can know."
The two chuckled; the little embryo was rather adorable.
"Speaking of His Highness the Crown Prince, he's been stuck at the border for almost six years now, hasn't he returned to the capital yet?"
Lili: "I don't know about that. His Highness has his own plans. I asked him once before, and he said there's nothing to do back in the capital, so he'd rather stay on the border."
Xia Ning was speechless and lowered her voice: "Is that really what His Highness the Crown Prince said? You don't know, the Eastern Palace has been empty for six years, and many ministers in the court have been secretly speculating about all sorts of things. I heard my father say that some people even guessed that His Highness the Crown Prince was actually being confined to the border by His Majesty while he was ostensibly training there."
Lili looked puzzled: "There's such a saying?"
"Yes! And the eldest prince..."
Xia Ning wanted to continue the discussion with Lili, but it was already late afternoon, and the ladies who were chatting and laughing in the inner room became restless. Yu Siting pulled Bai Weiwei and came to the terrace first.
Xia Ning had no choice but to shut up: "Let's talk about it later."
Lili nodded.
Yu Siting excitedly pulled Bai Weiwei onto the terrace, but her face fell the moment she saw Lili.
"What a disappointment."
Xia Ning said coldly, "If you're going to spoil the fun, don't come over."
Yu Siting shut her mouth, looking annoyed.
Lili didn't take this spoiled young lady to heart. Yu Siting was unreasonable and domineering, but she was also very simple. Although she was a bit stupid, she couldn't hide her thoughts on her face.
What really disgusted Lili was Bai Weiwei, who was standing next to her.
Based on Lili's many years of experience, this is definitely not a white flower, but a white tea.
Hmm, white flowers and green tea, white tea.
Lili could still feel a bit like looking at Siting as a primary school student, but Bai Weiwei kept causing trouble, so Lili just couldn't stand Bai Weiwei and decided to turn her face away and avoid seeing her.
Lili didn't want to cause any more trouble, but she couldn't resist Bai Weiwei's desire to spar with her.
Bai Weiwei's gaze fell on Gu Ziqi, who was sitting obediently next to Lili. Her eyes darkened slightly, and her fingers under her sleeves clenched together in resentment.
Bai Weiwei hesitated for only two seconds before walking over there. Yu Siting, who had originally wanted to pull Bai Weiwei to the other side, had no choice but to follow.
Bai Weiwei smiled gently: "It seems that Ziqi likes Miss Chen very much."
Xia Ning and Li Li didn't say anything.
Bai Weiwei was not discouraged: "Our Ziqi has been pampered since he was a child, so Miss Shen will have to take good care of him. He's just a child."
Gu Ziqi hurriedly grabbed Lili's arm, trying to clarify, "No, no, Ziqi isn't spoiled at all. Ziqi is easy to coax!"
Bai Weiwei: "..."
Xia Ning and Lili exchanged a smile and coaxed Gu Ziqi in a low voice, "Okay, okay, our Ziqi is the most capable."
Gu Ziqi was relieved. Lili looked up and asked, "Miss Bai, is there anything else?"
Bai Weiwei felt a pang of sadness, but since many people had already gathered on the terrace, she kept quiet and smiled, saying, "It's nothing."
He then took Yu Siting elsewhere.
As he turned his head, a dark glint flashed in his eyes.
No sooner had the two left than Madam Yang and Bai Yu arrived hand in hand.
The two had just talked about things from five years ago, and only then did Madam Yang realize that Lili had actually met the young master's wife five years ago.
Bai Yu was happy to see that the group was getting along well.
After she told Yang about what happened back then, Yang also told her about Lili. Only then did Bai Yu have a clear understanding of what Lili had done in the past few years.
This is a person of great righteousness!
She knew that Lili was exceptionally intelligent five years ago, but she never expected that she also possessed great wisdom and had helped so many people to have enough to eat.
Unlike the other ladies, Bai Yu might have thought that it was a bad thing for a young woman to work in the fields, but she thought it was the best thing ever.
If Gu Ziqi follows Lili, he might even pick up some of her cleverness.
"Ziqi, have you been a good girl and listened to your two older sisters?"
"Um!"
Bai Yu was very satisfied, and took the opportunity to pull Lili over and give her the hairpin from her hair.
Lili wanted to refuse, but Baiyu winked at her secretly: "It's been five years since we last met. I finally get to see you. You have to give me a chance to thank you, don't you?"
Lili was slightly taken aback, then smiled and said nothing more.
The sound of gongs and drums filled the air on Li Lake, creating a spectacular scene.
On the river, dragon boats emerge from the water like dragons, cutting through the waves and moving forward.
The oars flew, splashing water everywhere.
The riverbank was teeming with spectators, their cheers and shouts deafening. The lively scene was a testament to their passion and energy.
The exciting scene on Li Lake, and the people cheering along the shore, were all seen by the people on the terrace.
Everyone's attention was drawn to it, and they placed bets with great interest on which of the five dragon boats would win.
The young ladies present were all at an age where they loved to play and chat, and they all pulled their friends aside to discuss things.
Wow, that's rowing so fast!
"Yeah, how do you think they can row so neatly? It looks so spectacular."
"Hey, guess which dragon boat will win?"
I guess the one at the very front!
"Then I'll guess the last one, what if they pull off an upset?"
Xia Ning was also caught up in the atmosphere and said, "The view from here is really great. We don't have to squeeze through the crowds below, and we can see the whole scene clearly. Lili, guess which dragon boat will win?"
Lili looked closely and said, "I guess it's the one in the middle."
"The middle one?"
Xia Ning looked up at the river. Li Li was talking about a blue dragon boat, which was perfectly positioned, temporarily in third place, neither too far forward nor too far back.
"Others either guess that the ones in front are always in front, or that the ones behind are making a comeback against all odds. Why do you think the one in the middle is?" Xia Ning asked curiously.
"The mean is the foundation of all things under heaven. The Doctrine of the Mean is not necessarily outdated."
This was a novel idea, and Bai Yu pondered it for a moment: "This idea is quite interesting."
The route chosen for the dragon boat race is quite long; at this pace, it will take about fifteen minutes.
Bai Weiwei glanced around casually for a while, then suggested, "The dragon boats are so exciting, and the hollyhocks are so beautiful. With such a sight, why don't we compose a poem to add to the festivities?"
The poetry writing part had been announced early on, and many of the ladies had prepared in advance, so no one objected.
Those who hadn't prepared beforehand, seeing that no one else had any objections, naturally didn't raise any objections either.
"It's a bit boring for one person to write a poem. How about we try something new, one person taking turns writing a line, how about that?"
This made many young ladies hesitate. Women valued the three obediences and four virtues, and only needed to know about other things. The activity of reciting poems was usually only among scholars.
However, since no one had raised any objections to the poems he had written before, it was not appropriate to say anything now.
Bai Yu had no objection; it was very common for women to compose poems and discuss literature among themselves in the capital.
Seeing this, Bai Weiwei smiled, walked to the center of the terrace, and set an example.
“Then I’ll start with the first line,” Bai Weiwei said after a moment’s thought, “The dragon boats on Li Lake are as swift as the wind.”
Everyone looked at each other, racking their brains for a solution.
Bai Weiwei was a noblewoman from the capital, far superior to the daughters of minor local officials like them.
Although this job is not easy, if you can do it well, you'll gain a reputation as a talented woman in front of others.
However, Bai Weiwei couldn't wait any longer after only a short while.
Can anyone continue the sentence?
Everyone looked hesitant, but Bai Weiwei smiled gently and charmingly: "I've heard that Miss Shen has been exceptionally intelligent since childhood and has quite a bit of insight into literature. I wonder what insights Miss Shen has?"
Bai Yu was somewhat displeased. Putting aside the fact that no one else had said they couldn't answer, such a direct call to name someone, regardless of whether the other person could answer or not, was a bit too targeted.
Just as Bai Yu was about to interrupt, Li Li stepped forward and said softly, "The dragon boats on Li Lake are as swift as the wind, and the sound of gongs and drums shakes the blue sky."
Bai Weiwei was shocked, her eyes momentarily blank and incredulous.
It has tonal patterns, rhyme, and parallelism (it's forced, my literary talent is limited (╯﹏╰)).
Bai Weiwei gritted her teeth: "Brave warrior, row your oars and ride the waves."
Lili lowered her eyes and pondered for a long time: "Heroic spirit soars to the clouds and shines red in the sun."
"The hollyhocks in the courtyard are in full bloom!"
“Swaying gracefully, with countless charms.”
"Quietly guarding the passage of time adds to the ancient charm!"
"Thinking back to those days, my feelings are boundless."
Bai Weiwei: ! (◎_◎;)
Lili: (???)?
Lili calmly and confidently answered each question, while Bai Weiwei became the one who lost her composure.
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