"Isn't this a coincidence! I'm at the gate of Minister Zheng's mansion. My wife held a summer lake party and invited families from all over the capital. I was planning to deliver the invitation to Prince Han's mansion before going to Prince Qiao's mansion, but I didn't expect to meet the princess's people here. Here is the invitation. I hope the princess will honor me with a visit in three days." The servant said as he handed over an invitation.
Dongmei took it and thanked them. The boy smiled, bowed to them, and left.
Zhang You looked at the invitation in Dongmei's hand and curled his lips in his heart.
He also said that he didn't know that Qiao Sihui's people would come here.
Who believes it?
It has been three months, and everyone knows that Qiao Si often sends people to deliver things to Li Guanghan, either new pastries or fashionable and exquisite gadgets.
Still saying I don’t know.
But I don't want to make an extra trip.
Originally, Li Guanghan did not accept Qiao Si's things, but since some time ago, he began to accept Qiao Si's things. Although he did not accept them in person, he accepted them anyway.
Everyone said that he had softened his heart and had developed feelings for Qiao Si, and no longer rejected her coldly without caring about her face. So, Qiao Si began to give her gifts without fail.
After delivering the items, Zhang You and Dong Mei were about to turn around and leave. Jin Lu saw that both of them were sweating and asked anxiously, "Hey? Don't you want to rest for a while? Have some tea before you go?"
"No, you'd better go back quickly. The sun is so strong that the ice cream is about to melt." It's better to eat this thing before it melts. After it melts, it won't taste good. Zhang You glanced back at him, urged him to take it in, and then followed Dongmei back.
Jinlu looked at their departing backs, feeling happy in his heart, with a smile on his face.
She actually cared about me and asked me to go back early to avoid being exposed to the sun.
Jinlu walked in with the food box, smiling. When he came back, Jinfu saw his expression and knew what had happened, so he teased him with a smile.
After Zhang You and the others returned home, they gave the invitation to Qiao Si, inviting Qiao San and Qiao San to attend the banquet together.
"Princess, why would they want to hold a lake party on such a hot day?" Dongmei couldn't understand.
Although it’s cool by the lake, it’s so hot that I don’t want to go out.
"In the Mansion of Minister Zheng... I heard that Madam Zheng's daughter, Zheng Jiaren, is getting older but still hasn't married. Could it be that she wants to use this opportunity to find a man of the right age for her daughter?" Jingzhu pondered the rumors in the capital and spoke carefully.
Minister Zheng had a daughter in his old age, having no sons of his own. Naturally, he cherished her dearly. When Zheng Jiaren came of age, many matchmakers came to propose marriage. However, Minister Zheng felt that those were merely seeking connections. They all knew he only had one daughter, and they were simply trying to leverage his connections within the Shangshu Mansion, so he rejected them all.
Minister Zheng had originally intended to find a good husband in the capital, but he was afraid of his daughter being wronged by a noble family, and he was also afraid of her suffering if she came from a commoner family. So he kept putting it off until Jiaren Zheng, now 21 years old, would be 22 in a little while, and still not married. Minister Zheng and his family finally began to worry.
"That's it. Even my third brother is among them. It seems that Madam Zheng really can't find a suitable person." Qiao Si's words made Zhang You and the others laugh and cry.
What Qiao Si said was correct.
Qiao San's image in public has always been that of a playboy.
If Qiao Da of the past was a playboy who was always indulging in flowers, then Qiao San was a dandy who was uneducated and played with women together with Lu Zhanting.
He has always had a bad reputation in the capital.
In the past, when Prince Qiao's mansion was in Dingzhou and he was left in the capital, he had always been obsessed with having fun. People in the capital actually saw clearly that the emperor did not want Prince Qiao's mansion to have a successor and was deliberately keeping him in the old age.
Because Qiao San had been raised in the palace before, the emperor treated him coldly and gave him a sinecure so that he could make a living.
But with his personality, few women in the capital wanted to marry him. If there were someone who only cared about his looks and didn't consider his family background or future, they would marry him. But who in the capital didn't love power? Who didn't love influence?
So in the past few years, there has been no sign of Qiao San getting married.
Now that Princess Qiao has passed away, no one cares about his marriage. All he does all day is report for duty at his idle job and play with Lu Zhanting.
Unexpectedly, in order to choose a husband for her daughter, Mrs. Zheng even asked Qiao San to come. She was so anxious that she lost her mind.
"You should prepare well and send someone to the Treasure Pavilion to pick out some pearl hairpins and jewelry as gifts for Miss Zheng." Qiao Si gave the order and they naturally did as he said.
The day of the lake party soon arrived. It was a hot day, so they set out early in the morning for Mingjing Lake. Located south of the city, Mingjing Lake is shaped like a round bronze mirror. When people sit in the pavilions by the lake and watch the sunset, they can see its clear reflection, hence the name Mingjing Lake.
The Zheng family spent a lot of money to rent two boats, and placed ice in the boats to cool down the heat. It seems that they put a lot of thought into Zheng Jiaren's marriage.
After Qiao Si boarded the pleasure boat, she found a place to sit. Their boat was for the women, while the other was for the men. Once all the guests had arrived, the boats would begin their journey, circling Mingjing Lake several times. When the time was right, the two boats would stop in the center of the lake, connecting them so that male and female guests could move back and forth.
As soon as Qiao Si got on the boat, she attracted the attention of many women. Some of them wanted to curry favor with her and started to surround her and talk to her as soon as she entered the door. Qiao Si just smiled politely and sat there quietly, while they chattered non-stop.
Ever since Li Xianyu was confined, many of them had noticed Qiao Si's abilities and wanted to establish a good relationship with her. When they heard she was pursuing Li Guanghan, they all tried to please her and expressed their opinions. Qiao Si just smiled and said nothing. They thought Qiao Si liked what they heard, so they talked even harder.
Madam Zheng had invited nearly every unmarried woman in the capital. It wasn't that she didn't want to invite only men of marriageable age, thus reducing her daughter's romantic rivals. However, if she only invited these men, how many would be willing to come and meet her daughter? It would be better to go big and invite all men and women of marriageable age.
If her daughter really likes him, then it's not impossible to make it a done deal...
What's wrong with sacrificing some reputation so that her daughter can find a good husband?
Therefore, Yao Yushuo, who usually doesn't like to attend such banquets, was also invited.
She only brought a personal maid with her, and when they entered the room, they attracted many people's attention. They all knew about Qiao Si's feud with her, so naturally they were not happy with her.
Some people disliked her and came up to her to cause trouble.
"Hey! Isn't this Yao Yushu, the daughter of Imperial Tutor Yao? Don't you dislike attending banquets like ours? How could a woman as pure and virtuous as you, so well-read, come to a banquet like us?"
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