difficulties
After thinking about what happened at Dafosi Temple, Jingwan decided to thank Lu Chang. If it weren't for him that day, she would probably be dead by now.
When they arrived at Lu Chang's courtyard, they couldn't find him. Instead, they saw Bo Jun come out—he had come to collect books. Lu Chang was now working in the Secretariat and had lent Bo Jun several classics that were not available on the market.
“My cousin went to Bingzhou with the Princess yesterday. I heard there was a major flood there, and he’s gone to help with the disaster relief.”
Although he couldn't understand how the position of Secretary of the Imperial Library, which only dealt with books, was related to disaster relief.
Jingwan nodded. "Never mind, let's talk about it when he gets back."
After the New Year, the weather got even colder, but Pingdu rarely sees snow all year round, only gusts of wind blowing intermittently. Fortunately, the weather has been sunny for several days, so people's moods are not too low.
Winter's chill forces even farmers to halt their work, pondering how to survive the winter. The people of Pingdu fared somewhat better, but the further north one travels, the colder the weather becomes. When heavy snow falls, the poor can only lie on straw, wrapped in tattered sheepskin coats; even cotton-padded clothing is a luxury.
The autumn harvest cannot be stored for winter; after three seasons of hard work, the family's wealth has long been emptied by the heavy taxes and levies.
But the troubles of wealthy families are how to pass the lonely and boring time. When the weather clears up, invitations are sent out to hold a grand banquet at home. Looking at these newly sent invitations, the Duchess of the State picked and chose and decided to attend the banquet of the Princess of Runan.
Families hold banquets to foster relationships and showcase their wealth, sending out gold and silver like flowing water, competing to see who is the "richest."
The Duchess also wanted to hold a banquet at home, but after checking her money, she gave up and sat dejectedly in front of her dressing table, hoping that her son would pass the imperial examination this spring and bring her honor.
Princess Consort of Runan came to Pingdu with Prince Runan at the end of last year. Prince Runan is a local prince who can only report to the capital once every three years and cannot enter the capital without the king's order. He also has a residence in Pingdu, so the princess consort came with her daughter and will return to her fiefdom after the New Year.
Before marrying the Prince of Runan, Princess Sun was a trendsetting woman in Pingdu, and her clothing and style were the model for others to follow.
The Sun family is an old and prestigious family that has produced two empresses. They have been protected by the royal family for generations. Even though their daughter married a prince, her family background is comparable to that of the royal man. Therefore, the Prince of Runan respects his wife very much. The two have only one daughter, Princess Boping.
Although she had two concubines, neither of them could have children before the queen gave birth to the crown prince, which shows the queen's status.
Wang had not originally received the invitation. If the Duchess had not asked her if she wanted to go with them, she would not have known about the Princess's banquet.
Wang was naturally dissatisfied, so she slammed the invitation on the table and left. However, two days later, the people from the Wang family sent her a replacement invitation, inviting her to the banquet.
Wang had never met this princess. When the princess was in the capital, Wang was just a concubine in the Gao family and had no right to enter the mansion. Later, the princess went to Runan with the prince, so it was even more impossible for them to meet.
The Duchess was furious that someone she didn't even know looked like could receive an invitation to such a relationship; she was sure it was the eunuchs backing her up!
She recalled the day she abandoned Shijun, forbidding her, as a mother, from saving her own daughter, and her hatred intensified, bringing tears to her eyes. When Shijun came in, she saw her mother crying again, and she gently wiped her tears, her eyes filled with desolation.
On the day of the banquet, everyone wore their best dresses from their closets to avoid being looked down upon by the princess.
Gao Yun tied her hair into two small buns on either side of her head, each bun secured with silver flowers and adorned with two strings of gemstone flowers. She also wore two long, transparent jade earrings. A far cry from her former extravagance, she had been dressed extremely elegantly lately.
As she was touching her hair, she heard Shi Jun ask, "Where is Jing Wan?"
Gao Yun rolled her eyes: "Mom said she's not taking her this time. She's a jinx; nothing good ever comes out of her when she comes along!"
Shi Jun smiled gently and said, "After all, she's not a stranger to us. If she doesn't go, it would be bad if others suspected that our Gao family was mistreating her."
The Duchess was surprised that her daughter was so concerned about her cousin today, and glanced at her with astonishment.
When these words reached Wang's ears, she wouldn't have cared in the past, but now that she needed to find a good family for Gao Yun, her reputation couldn't be bad, so she still asked Jingwan to go with her.
This was the first time the girl from the Northwest had attended such a lavish banquet. Although the Prince of Runan's manor in the city was wealthy, it was located within the city and could not be far away. The banquet was arranged at the Mountain Retreat Manor outside the city. The manor was so large that one could live a normal life without ever leaving the manor.
Facing mountains and backed by hills, with a lake to the east and a river to the west, the estate boasts fertile fields and irrigation canals, pavilions and ponds, and even a meditation hall and temple. The thousand acres of fertile land yield abundant produce; the vegetables and fruits served at banquets, and even the livestock, all come from the estate. Therefore, when Jingwan sat on a boat on the lake with several other young ladies, looking around, she couldn't believe that this landscape was unique to one family. She simply kept her mouth shut, listening to the noble ladies chat about how their estate was also trying to emulate the Prince of Runan's estate and add other things.
During the banquet, the female and male guests sat on opposite sides of the woods. There were also childhood sweethearts who had played together since they were little, crossing the ditch to play together. The adults did not interfere, but secretly observed whether the families whose children were playing together were worth getting closer to.
Qin Ziyou never expected to see Jingwan here. He was just tired of staying here and wanted to find a quiet place by the lake. But as soon as he stopped, he saw several girls chatting and laughing as they boarded a small boat moored on the shore. The person with her head down, holding up her skirt with one hand and being helped onto the boat by the boatman with the other, was none other than Jingwan.
Unaware of his surroundings, he took two steps back, turned around, and went to a small slope, where he was shaded by the trees so that Jingwan could not see him.
I always felt anticipation and joy when I saw her.
He sat on the slope, covering his face and remaining silent. When he looked up at her again, all he wanted was to hold her hand and take her away from here, far away, to a place where no one knew them.
Behind him, he heard his friends laughing and talking, and for the first time, he felt out of place among them.
Several young men, unwilling to sit at the main table, had their servants spread blankets on the grass, set out fruits and wine, and lay down in twos and threes, drinking, chatting, and basking in the warm sun, thoroughly enjoying themselves.
When Princess Li Changying of Boping carried over the pastries, she looked around and found that one person was missing. One of the young men, who understood the princess's thoughts very well, smiled and said, "Looking for Ziyou? Well, he said he went over there to relax."
Li Changying blushed, placed the pastries heavily in front of them, crossed her arms, and snorted coldly, "Who's looking for him?"
This princess had spent some time in Pingdu when she was young and was quite familiar with these young men. Although she was a girl, she was born in Runan, a place known for its open-minded people, and even her personality was like that of a boy. The prince named her "Changying," which was taken from the story of Zhong Jun, who said, "I am willing to accept the long tassel and bring the King of Nanyue to the capital." This shows how much the prince valued this girl.
That's what they said, but after finishing a piece of pastry, Qin Ziyou still hadn't returned. So Li Changying got up and went to look for him under the pretense of finding something to eat.
The crowd laughed behind her. She grinned, touched her flushed face, and walked faster and faster.
Sure enough, when she saw Qin Ziyou hiding under the shade of the trees, staring blankly at the lake, she didn't call out to him. Instead, she straightened her skirt and sat down beside him, watching the scenery on the lake.
There were several small boats on the lake. Some girls were boating on the lake, chatting and laughing. Others were servants of the manor, who were picking water lilies from the lake. The water lilies had withered, but their roots were still connected, forming a patchwork that was not very pretty.
Li Changying smiled slightly. She loved this time, surrounded by mountains and rivers, sitting with the person she admired, wishing that it could last forever.
Qin Ziyou remained silent until Li Changying finally spoke up, saying, "It's been a long time since we last met. When I see you this time, I feel that you are different from before."
The Sun and Qin families had a close relationship. Whenever Li Changying returned to the Sun family as a child, he would always insist on going to the Qin family to play with Qin Zi. They were childhood friends.
Later, the princess took Li Changying back to Runan and they never saw each other again. However, every year she would send a letter from Runan, along with some local specialties or novelties, all sent by Li Changying.
Qin Ziyou would also write back a letter, chatting about trivial matters with her, until the two or three years later, when they finally stopped corresponding.
"Changying, I..." Qin Ziyou opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the girl, "Your father must have told you why my father only returned after the New Year."
Qin Ziyou nodded: "I'll tell you." He wasn't an indecisive person; some things should be said, but if they weren't, they would cause trouble. It was better to make things clear now.
Qin Ziyou said, "Changying, I'm sorry, I can't marry you. Even though our parents have already decided on this marriage, I still can't marry you."
As expected, after arriving in Pingdu, the first person Changying visited was Qin Ziyou.
The young man's sincerity towards his friend remained, but he only treated her as a friend, and remained a friend from beginning to end, without ever crossing the line.
Time changed Changying, causing her to develop feelings for her young friend, but unfortunately, it did not change Qin Ziyou in the slightest.
Even though she was disappointed, she still smiled and said, "You have a girl you like."
She saw right through him, without a trace of doubt.
Qin Ziyou nodded: "I love her very much, and she is the only one I want to marry."
She was very curious about what kind of girl Qin Ziyou liked, but her pride wouldn't allow her to ask.
"Your father will not agree," was all she could say in the end.
The couple's parents had discussed their marriage years ago, but the princess was unwilling for her daughter to marry so early, which delayed it for two years.
Their marriage doesn't need to involve simple, laughable romantic love; it only needs to maximize the interests of each other's families.
On the way to Pingdu, Changying thought she was very lucky to be able to marry the boy she liked. They were well-matched and their parents even blessed the marriage.
I only found out today that there's no such thing as a free lunch; the young man has someone he likes, but it's not her.
"What will you do if your father disagrees?"
He thought, I want to take her away.
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