Chapter Twenty-Three
Not long after the Mid-Autumn Festival, Gu Leyao received a special invitation.
Logically speaking, Gu Leyao, now a first-rank official's wife, should be able to freely choose which banquet to attend based on her mood.
She has to receive invitations to all sorts of banquets in the capital, big and small, but Gu Leyao may not necessarily attend.
She preferred to stay in the Prince's mansion, studying medical books with the senior doctor or tending to the flowers and trees with Chun Tao, rather than wearing a hypocritical mask and engaging in superficial banter and laughter with others at banquets.
But this invitation was special because it belonged to the Princess Consort of Qin.
The Prince of Qin is the only surviving brother of the late Emperor, the only living uncle of Li Heng and the Emperor, and an elder of the royal family. Gu Leyao cannot refuse to attend this banquet.
It is said that the Queen Consort of Qin loved chrysanthemums the most, and the chrysanthemums in her mansion were of all shapes and sizes, with many precious varieties.
Every autumn, the Princess of Qin would hold a chrysanthemum banquet, and all the noble ladies and daughters of the capital would come to admire the magnificent autumn chrysanthemums.
Gu Leyao had the steward of the manor select some suitable gifts: a set of jewelry inlaid with jewels depicting the three gods of fortune, prosperity, and longevity, and a set of jewelry inlaid with cat's-eye stones. Although the gifts were few, they were valuable enough to be worthy of the status of the Princess Consort of Qin.
On the day of the banquet, Gu Leyao took a carriage on time and went to the Prince of Qin's mansion with Chuntao to attend the chrysanthemum banquet.
When Gu Leyao arrived, it was still early, so she went directly to Princess Qin's courtyard and greeted her.
Princess Qin was over fifty years old, with gray hair at her temples, but she had an elegant and noble appearance, showing that she had been pampered for a long time.
She spoke to Gu Leyao politely, telling her to feel at ease and make herself at home.
Princess Qin said that, but Gu Leyao didn't dare to take it seriously. The Prince Qin's mansion wasn't her real home, so how could she be so carefree?
Princess Qin still had to entertain her old friends, so Gu Leyao didn't disturb them. She smiled and presented the gifts, then took Chun Tao out for a stroll around the Qin Prince's residence.
The cooks in Princess Qin's residence also had their own special skills. People in the capital loved to eat roast lamb, and the cooks in Princess Qin's residence could make 36 different dishes from just one lamb, which was very famous in the capital.
Gu Leyao took a bite of the mutton cooked by the cook and thought it tasted alright, but it didn't seem to be any better than the mutton at home.
She quietly added a piece of cold lamb intestine to Chuntao's plate, saying, "I don't think it tastes as good as the ones at home. You should try it."
Chun Tao savored the sheep intestines carefully, then nodded gently, confirming Gu Leyao's answer, "There are many ways to cook mutton, but the taste hasn't gotten any better."
Gu Leyao suddenly remembered that when it was cold before, she asked the cook in the manor to prepare a lot of meat and vegetables, wanting to eat hot pot with Li Heng. However, Li Heng's leg ailment flared up, and they couldn't eat together.
Or, when they have dinner, let's make some hot pot with mutton. The tender mutton rolls, dipped in rich sesame sauce and peanut sauce, taste absolutely delicious.
Gu Leyao had decided on dinner for the day, which made her feel much more relaxed. She also had the leisure to take Chun Tao to admire the chrysanthemums in all their different shapes and sizes.
Seeing their interest, the servants of the Prince of Qin's mansion eagerly introduced the varieties of chrysanthemums to them. "Your Highness, this is the Golden Silk Chrysanthemum. This flower can be used in medicine to improve eyesight and clear heat. This is the Green Peony, its color as green as jade, vibrant and lush. This white one is the Jade Phoenix of the Jade Terrace. It can be given to an elder to celebrate their longevity..." [1]
It must be said that the Queen Consort of Qin really loved chrysanthemums. Almost all the new varieties of chrysanthemums in the Great Zhou territory were here. Red, white, purple, and yellow chrysanthemums could be seen here.
Gu Leyao once heard a blogger explain in a short video that chrysanthemums have always had a good meaning in ancient China, symbolizing longevity and wealth. However, later Japan used chrysanthemums as flowers to commemorate the dead, and this concept gradually spread to China. Only then did the Chinese people regard chrysanthemums as a symbol of the dead.
Gu Leyao and Chun Tao strolled around the garden, stopping and starting, and had explored most of it. They were looking for a place to sit down and rest when they suddenly saw a woman in a pale yellow coat walking straight toward them.
Gu Leyao felt that this person looked familiar. After thinking for a while, she finally found the girl in a corner of the original owner's memory. Her name was Xu Peiyi, and she was the legitimate daughter of the Duke of Ningguo's mansion.
Xu Peiyi was Gu Baozhu's good friend. In the original owner's memories, Xu Peiyi was always worried that Gu Baozhu would be bullied by Gu Leyao. She took the initiative to stand up for Gu Baozhu many times and ridiculed the original owner as a country bumpkin in front of others, which prevented the original owner from entering the socialite circle in the capital and caused her to suffer a lot of ridicule.
Before Gu Leyao could react, Xu Peiyi had already walked up to her with a clatter. Like a little swan with her head held high, she uttered vicious words beneath her beautiful appearance, "Who do we have here? It's the Princess Consort of Dingbei. These days, even sparrows can fly to the top and become phoenixes. Looking at you now, dressed in gold and silver, things are really different now."
Behind her, Gu Baozhu gently tugged at Xu Peiyi's sleeve and whispered, "Peiyi, don't get into a conflict with Gu Leyao because of me. She's a first-rank princess now, and we can't afford to offend her. Let's leave quickly."
Hearing this, Xu Peiyi's anger flared even more, and she patted her hand to comfort her, "Baozhu, don't be afraid of her. So what if Gu Leyao is a first-rank princess? Who in the capital doesn't know that her husband can't even stand up now? He's just a cripple. What are you afraid of her for?"
Gu Leyao didn't pay much attention to Xu Peiyi's talk about how a sparrow could rise to become a phoenix.
In her view, it was just a few sarcastic remarks, nothing serious.
But when Gu Leyao heard Xu Peiyi say that Li Heng was a cripple, she was instantly enraged. She took three steps in two and stood in front of Xu Peiyi, staring at her for a while. Xu Peiyi still held her head high, meeting Gu Leyao's gaze without any guilt, and did not feel that she had said anything wrong.
Gu Leyao grabbed Xu Peiyi's head and slapped her twice. "Xu Peiyi, what do you think you are? How dare you openly criticize a prince of the highest rank? What rank do you have to say such things? This is an act of insubordination and overstepping your bounds. Even if your father, the Duke of Ningguo, came, he would have to kneel and beg for forgiveness before the Emperor's Hall of Diligent Governance!"
Xu Peiyi's head was buzzing from the blow, and her eyes widened as if to say, "How dare you hit me?"
Gu Leyao was angry and slapped her twice more.
Gu Baozhu cowered behind Xu Peiyi like a quail. Gu Leyao pulled her out and slapped her twice. "Don't think I can't see it. Xu Peiyi is charging ahead, but you're the one stirring things up from behind. Gu Baozhu, everyone has eyes. Don't treat others like fools and only think you're smart."
Gu Baozhu covered her face, crying with tears streaming down her face, sobbing softly, looking utterly pitiful.
But this only made Gu Leyao angrier!
"Stop playing the victim here. From now on, get the hell out of my sight, or I'll beat you every time I see you." Feeling that wasn't enough, she kicked Gu Baozhu again.
Gu Baozhu immediately stopped sobbing and became as docile as a quail.
After venting her anger by beating the man, Gu Leyao turned around and found everyone in the garden had gathered around. Unfazed, she pointed at Xu Peiyi and Gu Baozhu behind her and loudly proclaimed, "Our Prince injured his leg while protecting millions of people of the Great Zhou. If it weren't for his valiant fight on the northern frontier, leading the Great Zhou army to a series of defeats against the Liang army, do you think you'd have the good life you have today? Slandering heroes is the most shameful thing a country can do; it's no different from treason! If I ever hear anyone talking about my husband behind his back again, I'll beat them every time I see them! You all know I'm from the countryside, I don't care about dignity or propriety. What I, Gu Leyao, say today, I mean. Remember this!"
After speaking, Gu Leyao glared fiercely at the people around her, and no one dared to meet her eyes.
Gu Leyao breathed a few sighs of relief before walking over to Princess Qin and recounting the events of the day to her in detail.
Princess Qin is, after all, an elder in the royal family, so Gu Leyao must make things clear to her to prevent petty people from stirring up trouble here.
Princess Qin never expected that today's flower-viewing banquet would turn out like this. She was anxious, angry, and ashamed. She comforted Gu Leyao, "Don't be angry. I will definitely teach these people a lesson."
She asked Gu Leyao to stay and calm down before leaving, but Gu Leyao refused, saying that the prince in the manor was waiting for her to come home for dinner and that she would not stay any longer.
Gu Leyao boarded the carriage to return to the manor. She instructed Chuntao not to tell the prince about this matter, saying, "After we return to the manor, do not mention this again."
Chun Tao clenched her fists, but still nodded.
She felt that everything that happened today was the fault of those people, so why couldn't she tell the prince?
But the girl told her not to mention it, so she didn't.
*
The flower-viewing banquet was originally supposed to last a day, but they returned after only half a day. The steward of the manor was puzzled, but Gu Leyao told him that she wanted to go home early and have mutton hot pot with the prince.
The butler was unsure of the connection between the two matters, but nodded to indicate that he understood.
Young people don't understand things, so don't meddle.
Chun Tao, on the other hand, had a sour face. Seeing this, the housekeeper secretly slipped her a bag of candied fruit to sweeten her mouth.
After returning to the manor, Gu Leyao put on a smiling face and pretended that nothing had happened. She asked the cook to make a lot of mutton rolls, beef rolls, and black chicken rolls, and made a bowl of sesame sauce and peanut sauce.
The broth for hot pot with mutton must be clear. Gu Leyao uses old hen broth, skimming off the surface oil, keeping only the clear chicken broth, and adding simple seasonings such as goji berries, dates, ginger, and scallions before cooking the meat. [2]
They were just about to eat when someone outside suddenly came to report, "Your Highness, Your Highness, the Crown Prince has arrived!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than a little boy, as big as a calf, burst through the door with a bang.
"Royal Uncle and Royal Aunt, I'm here!"
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