Chapter 31 Peony Banquet
Princess Kangle has collected various rare flower species at her villa, and there are special people to serve her on weekdays.
Different flowers bloom in every season, and mid-April happens to be the peony season.
Peonies are the most gorgeous flowers in the world and are loved by everyone. In previous years, Princess Kangle would also hold a flower viewing banquet and send out invitations to invite people to other mansions to view the flowers.
Originally, the princess had someone in charge of the banquet, but this year the princess personally instructed that the Shen family's aunt and sister-in-law be added to the banquet list.
On the day of the banquet, Shen Yuan sat in front of the dressing table yawning early in the morning, while Qingdai played with her hair.
She suddenly had a feeling that she had attended more banquets in the past four months than in the entire past year.
"Girl, you have to go to bed early at night from now on."
"I went to bed early last night. There is no relationship between going to bed early and getting up late."
Because she had to go out today, Shen Yuan went to bed early for half an hour last night, but this did not prevent her from yawning when she got up today.
When going out today, Qingdai specially picked out a honey pink tulle dress with scattered flowers for Shen Yuan. It was lively and elegant, and very suitable for this kind of weather.
The one who went out with Shen Yuan today was Qingdai instead of Baizhi. Qingdai was the smartest and most stable of the four maids, so in more important occasions, they all tacitly let Qingdai follow the girl.
He Ying calculated the time before going out, and the two of them arrived neither too early nor too late.
"Young Madam Shen and Miss Shen, right? Come this way."
As soon as the two got off the carriage, a smiling nanny came forward to lead the way for them.
The village is built at the foot of the mountain. There are no other houses around it. There is a very shallow stream winding in front of the village.
The houses in the villa are also different from those in the city. They are deliberately built to imitate the low-rise houses in the countryside and look very simple from the outside.
But once you pass through the double doors and go inside, you will find that this is a completely different world with dazzling scenery at every step.
The place for viewing flowers is in a small courtyard near the mountain. The courtyard has no walls but is surrounded by a fence with vines entwined on the fence, occasionally dotted with small flowers of various colors, which is quite interesting to look at.
When Shen Yuan and his sister-in-law arrived, the princess was talking to someone next to her. As they approached and were about to greet each other, they were grabbed by the hand.
"Let's not talk about that today. Just treat this place like your own home."
Princess Kangle's attire today was not particularly gorgeous, but her expression still revealed the aura of a superior.
There is no doubt that Princess Kangle is the one who has been favored by time. Time has not left too many traces on her face. No matter how Shen Yuan looks at her, he can't tell that the princess actually has a son as old as Xie Hui.
"I have heard that Miss He has just moved to the capital in previous years. Today, after seeing her, I realized that saying that she has just moved to the capital is not accurate. She is obviously a person of both talent and beauty."
He Ying bowed slightly, "Thank you, Princess."
"I never flatter anyone." After saying that, he turned to Shen Yuan and said kindly:
"I've specially asked someone to prepare a lot of snacks today. I'll try some of them later."
Shen Yuan also recalled the rules she had learned in the past and replied, "Thank you, Princess."
Shen Yuan and He Ying had no contact with the princess in the past, but when they saw her today, they felt that she was approachable and very amiable, and they did not feel that there was anything wrong.
But the other women around them all felt more happy.
Some people were surprised when they heard that the princess had invited a daughter of a fourth-rank official to the banquet today.
Today, seeing how warm and friendly the princess was to the two of them, he was even more surprised.
Some people speculated that it might be because Lord Shen of the Shen family and Lord Xie, the princess’ only son, were colleagues?
But no matter what they thought in their hearts, at least they appeared to be warm and friendly to Shen Yuan and the other person. The princess' attitude was clear, and everyone else just had to follow suit. It was always right to be cautious.
Afterwards, people arrived one after another. Among them were older ladies, young wives like He Ying, and unmarried girls like Shen Yuan.
Shen Yuan looked around and found the faces familiar. He had probably seen them at other banquets before, but he didn't know anything more about them.
Now she follows her sister-in-law to learn how to be a housekeeper, but she has not yet learned how to deal with interpersonal relationships. The relationships between families in the capital are very complicated. If you throw two stones from any building, they might hit two people who are related by marriage.
In the past, Shen Yuan was most impatient with these things, so she had no idea which families had come today.
But there was also an "acquaintance" she recognized, the girl from Duke Jingguo's family whom she had seen at the last Cuju match.
He Ying recognized them all. At a glance, she recognized several wives and daughters of dukes and marquises.
Of course, there were also people whose family backgrounds were not top-notch like theirs, but she always felt that the princess treated them differently.
"Ah Xi, you invited us here today to admire the flowers. How come we haven't seen even a leaf after sitting for a long time? Are you reluctant to let me see it?"
The person who was speaking was Zhou Zhongan's mother. She had known the princess for many years. They had been good friends since Xie Hui and Zhou Zhongan were not yet born, so she spoke casually.
"Since you are so impatient, I will have someone bring the flowers out for you to see."
As everyone was talking, a girl in palace dress came in from outside.
"Aunt, I'm not late."
Since she was called Princess Aunt, the identity of this girl was obvious.
Everyone stood up and was about to salute again, but they were immediately called back, "Today, my aunt has the final say. I am here to join in the fun, so you don't have to do this."
It can be seen from the title that Princess Zhaoyang is extremely favored. There are many princes and princesses nowadays, but there is only one legitimate daughter of the harem, Princess Zhaoyang.
Princess Kangle is closer to the Empress. After all, she is the Emperor's first wife and she has known Princess Kangle for a long time. Naturally, their relationship is unmatched by that of other concubines.
Therefore, the Queen's daughter, Princess Chaoyang, was also closer to Princess Kangle.
"You came at the right time. I was just about to ask someone to bring some flowers."
"Yes, as the saying goes, it is better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early. We have been sitting here for a long time without seeing any flowers. When the princess came, the flowers came too."
"It seems that my aunt loves me and is waiting for me."
Soon, many servants came in carrying flower pots. The ones at the front were common varieties of peonies, while those at the back were less common, and their expensiveness could be seen just by looking at their colors.
There are Yao Huang and Wei Zi, of course, but there is also one with two heads, and the two flowers are different colors, which is really amazing.
There is also a flower that is green in the middle and purple all around, two colors in one flower, very beautiful.
Suddenly, all kinds of peonies filled the small courtyard. Any pot of peonies here would be worth a fortune if taken outside, but now they are placed right in front of people, making people feel that their eyes are not enough to see them.