At the Spring Banquet, Qin Weixi said, "Their mouths are on their own bodies..."
Jiang Yuanjun turned to him and asked, "Lord Xu, has the little nun who delivered the jade pendant already left? This matter must be kept secret, lest it bring trouble to the Zhu family. As for the jade pendant, just as I said, it was because I discovered that Brother Ashu had fallen from his horse, but Brother Ashu insisted on suppressing the matter, so I kept the Li family's jade pendant in the Eastern Palace for many years."
Jiang Yuanjun put the jade pendant into his sleeve, and before Xu Lin could reply, he continued, "Lord Xu is honest and upright, and it is a great blessing for the country and the nation to have you. So, I would like to trouble you to take this opportunity to cleanse the Qin family of the bloodstains and restore their innocence. I hope you will do your best, and I will always be there to protect you."
Xu Lin looked up, his eyes wide with shock, and remained silent for a long time.
Luo Ling's eyes were clear as water as she softly reminded him, "Lord Xu."
Xu Lin snapped out of his thoughts, lifted his robes, knelt down, faced Jiang Yuanjun, and cupped his hands, saying, "Your Highness, I will certainly do my utmost!"
At the literary gathering that year, Zhu Ruonv, disguised as a man, composed a poem, and he fell in love at first sight. Upon learning that the girl was his teacher's daughter and unmarried, he was overjoyed. However, having lost both his parents at a young age, he had no one in his family to arrange a marriage for him. Therefore, he inquired among his colleagues and even visited the homes of their parents to learn more, before finally entrusting a matchmaker to propose a marriage.
The matchmaker left happily but returned listlessly. She explained to him, "Let's call it off. I deserve this matchmaking fee. The Zhu family's daughter and the eldest son of the Duke of Dingguo's family are deeply in love, practically childhood sweethearts, only their engagement isn't finalized yet." She looked at the handsome Xu Lin, her expression languid, and gulped down a large bowl of water. "Everyone knows the Duke of Dingguo's heir; he's an exceptionally fine young man. Among all those princes and nobles, few are as outstanding as him."
Xu Lin felt regretful upon hearing this, but still gave the matchmaker the "matchmaking fee" and said, "I was very sorry for this misunderstanding." He added, "Marriage is not easy. Since ancient times, how many childhood sweethearts have been able to form a bond of marriage and stay together for life? I know of the young master of the Qin family. I hope that when the two of them are happily married, you can inform me, so that I can also get a cup of celebratory wine to wish the newlyweds happiness and bliss."
The matchmaker took the heavy purse and left with a beaming smile.
He forgot about the matter, but a few days later, his teacher Zhu Yuanju suddenly came to visit, bringing two ounces of cured meat and some wine. As soon as he entered, he stroked his beard and said, "Qiming, I'm not a good enough teacher! I only know that you lost your father and mother when you were young, but I haven't inquired much about it. May I ask if your ancestors were from Liangzhou?"
Xu Lin was somewhat confused, but quickly replied, "Teacher, what are you saying? During every festival, you allow me to enjoy hot meals at your residence, which is already a great blessing for Qiming. Just as you said, Qiming's ancestors were from Liangzhou, and my grandfather was born in Liangzhou."
Zhu Juyuan looked at the furnishings in the courtyard, which were somewhat poor but well-organized. He was then led into the house, which was also clean and tidy. He was very pleased and turned to Xu Lin, saying, "That makes sense. Many years ago, the founding emperor sent me to Liangzhou to investigate a wrongful case. I was harmed by villains and almost lost my life here. On that snowy day, I was afraid I would have frozen to death on the street before I had bled to death."
"It was your grandfather who pulled me through several feet of snow in a cart and brought me home to be treated. After I recovered, I returned to the capital and sent money through someone, but your grandfather refused to accept it. Then, just as my youngest daughter was born, we arranged a marriage between our two families, which your grandfather agreed to. Soon after, Liangzhou suffered a devastating drought, and the harvest failed completely. Your grandfather, through his resourcefulness, managed to save some grain, but it was looted by thugs. Your grandfather then led your father and his family away from Liangzhou..."
Xu Lin's hand, which was holding the kettle, trembled.
"Since then, so many years have passed without any news. I have inquired in many ways and even sent people to Liangzhou, but to no avail."
The tea filled the cups and bowls, and before we knew it, it had flowed down the edge of the table and onto the ground.
Zhu Juyuan quickly took the teapot and reminded him, "Be careful not to get burned!"
Xu Lin opened his eyes wide, his voice tight, and said, "Teacher, it's you. When I was young, my father mentioned you in snippets of conversation. Back then, when Liangzhou suffered disaster, my grandfather took us to the south to seek refuge. Our family either starved to death on the way or was killed by bandits. However, the local government did nothing. So, when I was young, I vowed to become an upright and honest official who would serve the country and the people when I grew up!"
"As for the marriage you made with your grandfather back then, it is hereby nullified! Qiming must not do anything immoral or against reason, or ruin someone's marriage. If you insist on doing so, I'm afraid Qiming will have no face to face the ancestors of the Xu family in the future!"
Therefore, Zhu Juyuan adopted Xu Lin as his godson, and ten years ago, when the case of the Duke of Dingguo came to light, he resolutely severed ties with him in black and white, as evidence in a written document.
In the middle of the court session that day, Emperor Kang Le suddenly stood up and stopped the meeting. He clenched his fist and pressed it against his chest. Then, his vision went black, and under the gaze of all the court officials, half of his body leaned against the dragon table.
Chen Guiyi immediately summoned the imperial physicians. Several physicians in the palace were busy and overwhelmed until the sun began to set. Emperor Kang Le awoke from his deep sleep and saw his youngest daughter and eldest son standing before his bed, both crying uncontrollably.
Upon seeing this, Jiang Yuanjun stepped forward and called out, "Father?"
Emperor Kang Le stared intently at him, his pupils contracting: "Father..."
Jiang Yuanfu called him softly, "Father, it's Afu."
Emperor Kang Le snapped out of his thoughts, his eyes flashing as he looked at his two children before him and said with a kind smile, "It's the Crown Prince!" He sighed deeply, "I dreamt of your imperial grandfather. He came to see me and sternly reprimanded me for my faults. Your father truly never expected such a thing to happen. How could the Li family be so audacious! Li Yuanda! Your father's old eyes have clouded his judgment and he has misjudged him."
Jiang Yuanjun said, "It's nothing. The evidence in the Three Bones case is conclusive."
Emperor Kangxi waved his hand: "You may all leave now, let Father have some peace and quiet."
That night, Jiang Yuanjun returned to the East Palace and wrote a secret letter of several hundred words, instructing A Xiao to find the flower-selling girl the next day and deliver it to her.
Meanwhile, at the Liang family residence, Liang Xi was also discussing recent palace matters with his personal maid.
Liang Xi sat before the bronze mirror, filled with melancholy: "My father recently spoke to me about becoming the Crown Prince. But is the Crown Prince's palace something I can just enter whenever I want?"
The maid hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't.
Liang Xi glanced at his reflection in the bronze mirror and immediately sensed something amiss. A blade flashed across his face: "What are you hiding from me?"
The maidservant lowered her head in fright: "That day, Miss, you personally made fish soup and asked me to deliver it to the main courtyard. Before I even entered the courtyard, I heard Master and Madam arguing loudly. It seemed that Master was saying that the Emperor intended to make Luo Zhanshi's younger sister the Crown Prince's consort. Upon hearing this, Madam immediately shouted that Master hadn't made it clear to the Emperor and was just being a coward. She said that either someone from our Liang family would become the Crown Prince's consort, or someone would marry a princess and become a prince consort."
The youngest sister of the Imperial Secretary Luo—that's Luo Zhaoxing! Liang Xi thought to herself, then suddenly remembered the sharp arrow that had grazed her skirt in the Imperial Garden that day. Anger instantly welled up within her.
Just as the Spring Festival banquet was approaching, news suddenly spread in the capital that Luo Songyue's daughter, due to childhood illness, was now frail and emaciated, and was barely able to get out of bed, only managing to stay afloat with her bare bones.
Such a girl is neither fit for the imperial family nor for a high-ranking clan. But she is already from a high-ranking family.
When Tao Qingyun asked the wealthy man in the mansion to send over the wooden box, Qin Weixi was in the library, climbing a ladder to browse through the books.
Feng Hua opened the wooden box, and what greeted her was a long robe and horse-face skirt made of brocade, which was very noble and bright.
Feng Hua exclaimed in surprise, unfolding the dress in her hands. Instantly, the room was filled with shimmering light. She laughed and said, "At first, I thought it was some novel food, not clothes. When Fa Cai came to deliver the wooden box, these were clothes that Xiangshan Shop had announced to sell a couple of days ago. Many noble ladies had already ordered their servants to wait outside the shop."
"And guess what, Miss? This young master Tao offered three times the price of the garment and brazenly led his men to snatch it up." Feng Hua chuckled awkwardly.
"Miss, could this fabric be a gold-woven brocade from Post? Good heavens, how much did the young master of the Tao family spend?"
Qin Weixi climbed down the ladder and approached. Inside the wooden box were two more sets of clothes. The top one was a pale yellow stand-up collar long robe, paired with a white satin jacket with a dark pattern. The horse-face skirt was also embroidered with gold thread.
In her youth, she loved pale yellow the most. But during her ten years in Jiangnan, she often wore a snow-white silk dress, hiding in the family courtyard. Until before she set off for the capital, she went to pay her respects to her grandmother, who looked old and her eyes filled with tears. She sighed repeatedly, "What a clever and mischievous girl you were! Forget all these clothes. Now that you're back in the capital, you should wear bright colors. Let others know that our Luo family's daughter is returning to the capital in style."
She lightly brushed her fingertips across the fabric, and at the very bottom was a bamboo-colored long gown known as "light bone gauze," with a cool texture and priceless quality. It was the most refreshing and light to wear in the summer, and it was once very popular in the capital, but it was extremely expensive. Only Princess Zhenhui, the daughter of the Emperor and Empress, had ever owned one.
Feng Hua laughed: "Oh, I know. This is just some black-hearted, rotten-hearted rumor that's been spreading lately. Young Master Tao is trying to clear your name, Miss! In my opinion, that long coat and horse-face skirt made of brocade is the best. Let those people see that my Miss is doing just fine!" She praised repeatedly to show her satisfaction: "It's like someone has brought you a pillow when you're sleepy."
Qin Weixi said, "They can talk, just ignore them. If they listen to everything, then we might as well not live like this."
She gazed at the dazzling lights in the room and the vibrant clusters of flowers blooming outside the window, and nodded with a smile.
Thinking back to the mouth ulcers that had frequently appeared on Tao Qingyun's lips since returning to the capital, she had previously asked the imperial physician who came from the palace about it. The physician told her that it was probably a mental illness and asked if the patient had encountered any troubles. He also advised her to eat more light foods on a regular basis.
She instructed Fenghua, "Don't let the cook prepare any food today. I'll make some light dishes and have the servants in the mansion deliver them to the Tao residence." She added, "Also, go to a pharmacy in the city and get some herbs to reduce internal heat. Send them along with the food."
Feng Hua smiled and agreed.
The following day, a spring banquet was held in the palace. In the pavilion and waterside terrace behind Kunning Palace, noble ladies from various families sat around several stone tables. Palace maids were brewing tea around the stove from time to time. Behind a hanging flower gate, behind a small and lush garden, was a small lake and a clear pond. On the shore of the pond, two or three noble young men were reciting poems and painting. In the adjacent annex, people were playing chess and drinking tea.
A young woman from a prominent family was sipping tea while secretly glancing at the small garden out of the corner of her eye.
Liang Xi arrived alone, dressed in her finest attire, without Li Chuirong accompanying her this time.
Years ago, when the Marquis of Wuding held a banquet, she and Tao Qingyun were amazed that the daughter of the Marquis would be named after a tree. It wasn't until Tao Qingyun told her that Li Chuirong was not originally named Li Chuirong. She was the legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Wuding, but because her fate clashed with that of her soon-to-be-born younger brother, her name was deemed unsuitable for a noble birth. Therefore, she was given a name by a Taoist.
What he knew was that Li Chuirong, on the verge of his younger brother's birth, listened to the slander of his fourth aunt in the mansion, almost causing his mother and unborn child to die. Marquis Wuding almost expelled him from the family genealogy, but in the end, his mother pleaded for him to change his name and move to a side courtyard of the Marquis's mansion.
However, when she was young, Tao Qingyun spoke of these two people with a slightly annoyed expression, her tone somewhat sarcastic.
"The Liang family intends to make her the Crown Prince. Don't they realize how many people are desperate to get in? There are still the Qin and Luo families ahead of her. But what's so great about that deep, golden palace?"
Looking at Tao Qingyun's slightly annoyed face, she asked with a puzzled expression, "What about Li Chuirong?"
He chuckled softly: "Oh, I didn't know. I've only heard that if these noble families have no other options, at the very least there's the Marquis of Chengyi's mansion."
The eldest son of the Marquis of Chengyi died young, following his sick wife in a suicide pact. Only the nearly seventy-year-old Marquis of Chengyi and his young and promising grandson, Tao Qingyun, who had not received any imperial favor, remained.
Is marriage the only option between noble families in this world? A marriage based solely on mutual affection, without any regard for romance or daily companionship?
Like the late emperor and empress, may they stay together forever, their love stronger than gold.
In the first year of the Kang Le reign, the new emperor ascended the throne, and the young imperial grandson entered the Eastern Palace as the crown prince. Several of her childhood playmates gathered at Xiao Penglai, where she discovered a secret about Liang Xi that was hidden in his heart.
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Author's note: Hehe, a new character is about to appear.
Every banquet Xiao Xixi attended after returning to Beijing was like a battlefield.
Qin Weixi sighed deeply: "High-ranking families are often rife with trouble. No one can slander my Luo family's Xiaoxing. I will fight demons and monsters for Xiaoxing!"
Luo Jiaxiaoxing said with a grin, "Sister, look at the brightest star in the sky, that's me. We're really good sisters!"
Thank you for reading, everyone! [Starry-eyed]
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