On the third day of the Lunar New Year, Chen Qiu took Lan Yu and Nanny Hua to the Dali Temple's residence just after noon to attend the chrysanthemum viewing banquet.
Lan Yu attended as Chen Qiu's friend. If she attended as the princess of Ye Nan Kingdom, the etiquette would be different.
She is the princess of Ye Nan Kingdom, which is equivalent to the princess of Dayin Kingdom, and she will be received with state etiquette.
The Ye Nan Kingdom is different from the Dayin Kingdom. The Ye Nan Kingdom has no emperor, only a regent and a high priest. The regent is in charge of politics and the military, but decisions on state affairs must be consulted with the high priest before orders can be issued.
The high priest held no real power, but absolute decision-making authority. This was related to the Yenan people's beliefs. Whenever Yenan sent troops to war or implemented a policy, the high priest would divine the outcome, and then the regent would issue the order. However, the regent would add the phrase, "By the will of Heaven!" The high priest's words represented the will of Heaven.
Ye Chen arranged the delivery of quilts and the relocation of the small warehouse in the morning. He sent Mu Qing and the others' carriage out of the city gate before returning to the Duke's Mansion.
Mingyue and Muqing's team, Xing'er and Black Hawk's team, led people to deliver quilts. They prepared twice the amount, firstly because they were afraid that if they prepared less, there would not be enough to share, and secondly to conceal their tracks. After all, there were quite a lot of things in that small warehouse!
Ye Chen has absolute trust in these four people, so he feels more at ease if he keeps Qiu'er with him.
The chrysanthemum viewing banquet is held in the afternoon. People just drink chrysanthemum tea, eat some snacks, look at the chrysanthemums, and watch the singing and dancing arranged by the host.
Of course, there were also unmarried women who would recite poems and compose essays together or exchange skills. This kind of banquet in each mansion was also an important occasion for unmarried women to make friends!
Generally, when the wives of the various families went out, they would bring along all the unmarried daughters of the family, regardless of whether they were legitimate or illegitimate, in order to see the world and to make some good friends.
After Chen Qiu and Ye Chen arrived at Zheng's house, Ye Chen was taken to the men's seats.
Shen Qiu was led to the ladies' table. She saw Madam Zheng coming towards her from a distance, so she bowed her head and said, "Madam, thank you for the invitation!"
Madam Zheng smiled and said to Shen Qiu: "There are many people in Kyoto who would like to invite you to their homes. It would be my honor to have you come to my house!"
"Let's go, the party is about to start!"
At this time, he saw Lan Yu behind Chen Qiu and asked, "Who is this girl?"
Chen Qiu smiled and said, "Look at my memory. This is a good friend of mine who came to Kyoto to see me. She came to your place today because she was the only one left at home, so I brought her here. I hope my madam will forgive me for bringing someone here without asking you!"
Madam Zheng patted Chen Qiu's hand and said, "Why are you being so polite? Even if you brought ten or eight, let alone just one, would I not welcome you?"
"Every time I see you at a banquet, the Duke is always by your side, and I never get a chance to have a proper chat with you. Today, we must have a proper chat!"
Chen Qiu smiled and said, "Apart from banquets, you can also move around more often. I'm not feeling well right now, so I can't visit people casually, for fear of offending others. Madam, you can come to my house!"
Mrs. Zheng smiled and said, "That's great! Let's go over here. The girls from various families are playing pitching pots right now! Do you want to join in?"
Chen Qiu smiled and said, "I won't participate. The girls finally have a chance to go out, let them have fun!"
Lan Yu glanced at a group of girls playing pitching pots and said, "Letting Xiaoqiu play pitching pots is like asking her to mess things up, isn't it?"
Mrs. Zheng laughed and said, "I forgot, you're a martial artist. You're definitely good at aiming!"
Shen Qiu smiled without saying anything, then sat in the seat arranged for her by Madam Zheng, the first seat on the right, which was the most honorable seat.
Although Chen Qiu is considered young among the ladies, her husband is the Duke of Fuguo. None of the ladies who came today had imperial decrees, so they all sat according to the rank of their husbands.
As soon as she sat down, Gu Ruojin was led to the seat below her. It was true that Gu Ruojin's husband Chen Qingyun was a cabinet minister, so his rank was naturally not low.
Chen Qiu and Gu Ruojin nodded and greeted each other. Before they could say anything, someone started asking, "Will this new love and old love start a fight if they sit together?"
Although they spoke quietly, Chen Qiu, with his good hearing, heard it all. It was the same words again. Do these people really like to watch others quarrel?
Lan Yu naturally heard it too, so she leaned over to Shen Qiu's ear and said, "Are they talking about you and that lady? What's with the new love and the old love?"
Chen Qiu whispered: "Yes, that was the woman my husband loved before. I will tell you the details when I get back."
Lan Yu was surprised and was about to ask again when a voice came over. It was Yan Ruyu, the daughter of Lord Yan. Her father was the chief minister of the cabinet. She was Lord Yan's youngest daughter, the same age as Gu Ruojin, and she was still unmarried!
She only said, "Hey, Gu Ruojin, how does it feel to be a stepmother? Doesn't it feel good to have a son who's older than you? Can you respond when people call you mother?"
Lan Yu looked at Chen Qiu, and Chen Qiu shook her head at her.
Gu Ruojin said calmly, "A stepmother is also a mother. This is how human ethics should be. Miss Yan, please don't worry about it!"
Yan Ruyu was a famous beauty in the capital, but before Gu Ruojin got married, she was superior to her in both appearance and talent. When Gu Ruojin married Chen Qingyun, who was seventeen years older than her, Yan Ruyu even mocked Gu Ruojin for a long time.
But when she saw Chen Qingyun's favor towards Gu Ruojin, the anger that had been suppressed came out again, which led to the scene today.
Yan Ruyu sneered and said, "I don't dare to bother. I just don't know if the Duke's wife knows about this Gu Ruojin and the Duke's affair."
Chen Qiu sneered and said, "I wonder what Miss Yan means by this? You asked about Madam Chen's family affairs, and now you're asking about my affairs? Aren't you a little too free?"
"Whether I know it or not, it seems to have nothing to do with Miss Yan."
Yan Ruyu gritted her teeth in anger, then smiled and said, "It has nothing to do with me, but I feel uncomfortable when Gu Ruojin is better off than me, so I'm reminding Madam Guogong that Gu Ruojin is the most beloved person on the Duke's throne! You have to be very careful!"
Chen Qiu turned around and said to Lan Yu: "You are the heir of the Medicine Valley. For my sake, please treat this Miss Yan!"
Lan Yu laughed and said, "I am a doctor. I can only treat the body. I cannot cure this kind of heart disease!"
Yan Ruyu gritted her teeth and said angrily: "Just don't cry when the time comes, Madam Duke!" Then she flicked her sleeves and turned away.
Mrs. Zheng, who had gone to greet the guests, came back and saw Yan Ruyu storming out. She asked, "Miss Yan, what's wrong? The banquet is about to begin!"
Yan Ruyu snorted coldly and said, "I won't keep you company anymore. I'm going back." Then she left Zheng's house.
Gu Ruojin raised his glass to Shen Qiu and said, "Thank you, Madam."
Chen Qiu also raised his glass and smiled at Gu Ruojin. The matter between Ye Chen and Gu Ruojin was over. If Ye Chen had any problems, he would naturally close the door and settle the accounts with him. It was not the turn of others to make irresponsible remarks.
It's strange, don't these people have anything to do at home? Why do they like to ask and worry about other people's affairs?
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