The banquet started at noon, and Chen Li planned to go an hour earlier. It would not be good to go too early, as there would be a lot of gossip where there were many daughters of officials.
"Auntie, you look so beautiful today!"
Chen Li pursed her lips and smiled, poking his fair and tender cheek, “Auntie only looks good today?”
"No," he said firmly, "Auntie is beautiful every day."
"I'm trying to make my aunt happy again."
"No, I don't. If you don't believe me, ask my grandparents."
As he spoke, he looked at Shen Changshan and Lin Cuicui who were sitting there, asking them for confirmation.
Lin Cuicui nodded with a smile, "Where are you going today, A-Li?"
Chen Li took the little carrot head at her feet and walked over to sit down, "Mom, today is Ah Hui's birthday. She invited me to go. We will leave soon."
"Well, this dress is quite suitable for attending a party."
Chen Li nodded, thinking the same thing.
Shen Qi'an moved his fingers slightly, but thinking that it was a banquet hosted by a woman, it was not appropriate for him to go.
Chen Li chatted with her family for a while before leaving in a carriage. Sitting in the carriage, she couldn't help but chuckle when she thought of her eldest nephew's behavior just now.
Chen Li agreed and went back to bring him some pastries. Only then did he smile and see her out the door.
I don’t know who this nephew takes his personality from. His elder brother and sister-in-law are not like that.
Putting all these behind me, the past two years have passed in a flash. There is a high possibility that my third brother will take part in the imperial examination next year, and he will move up step by step from being a student to a scholar.
Not really. I haven't thought about it in the past two years. Isn't the current situation unstable?
Now that the new dynasty has been established, it is time to recruit people.
When she thought of two years, Chen Li remembered what Pei Yu said, that she would wait for him for two years. As the two-year deadline was approaching, she saw the person who had made the promise.
When she lifted the curtain of the carriage, she saw the withered scene of winter. She still liked spring the most, when everything was full of vitality.
…
Pei Yu, who was far away in the capital, was very busy during this period. It was not until the first snow fell in the capital that he threw away all the things in his hands and headed south with two subordinates.
He was afraid that if he went later, what if he broke his promise and Ali thought he was a man of no credibility?
The emperor of Northern Yan, Xie Yunci, felt very complicated when he heard that Pei Yu had abandoned the things in his hands and ran out of the capital overnight.
He asked the commander of the imperial guards standing beside him, "Do you know why Prince Jingnan is so anxious to leave the capital?"
He Hong, the commander of the Imperial Guards, lowered his head and said in a low voice, "I don't know."
Xie Yunci thought for a moment and then said, "Could it be that he's going to see his sweetheart?"
"That should be the case. Last time I said I wanted to marry my cousin to him, but he didn't agree. He even said he already had a lover. I thought he was lying, but I didn't expect it to be true."
A hint of amusement flashed across Xie Yunci's face. "He wonders what kind of girl could catch the eye of Prince Jingnan?"
He Hong on the side lowered his head and said nothing. Besides, the emperor didn't expect him to answer. He could just listen. If he really said something, he would offend the emperor.
…
Chen Li came to the gate of the Su Mansion, followed by a maid named Xiuqin. She was holding a box in her arms. Chen Li took it and asked her to hold the pot of plum blossoms.
When he arrived at the door and showed the invitation, a maid led him in.
She arrived quite early and there were not many people there at the moment. The little maid, having received instructions from her mistress, led the person directly to her yard.
Su Zhihui was wearing a goose yellow brocade robe today, which made her look cute and lovely.
"Ali, you're here!"
When she heard the maid report that Chen Li had arrived, she stood at the door waiting.
Chen Li handed her the box, took off her cloak and walked in, followed by the maid behind her.
"Are you thinking about me? Or my flowers?"
Su Zhihui chuckled, "All of them, all of them!"
This girl has always been the most honest, and Chen Li likes this about her the most.
"Green calyx!"
Su Zhihui looked at the well-maintained pot of green calyx in front of her, and joy filled her eyes.
He rushed over and hugged Chen Li, "Ali, you are so kind!"
Dong Shuang sighed upon seeing this. Fortunately, there were no outsiders in the room. As for Miss Chen, she was probably used to it just like herself.
"Ali, my mother is going to arrange a marriage for me."
"Has it been decided yet?"
Su Zhihui shook her head. "Not really. We're still investigating."
"Then why do you look so unhappy?"
"I'm in the capital, which is too far away. If I go there in the future, it will be difficult for me to come back. Although my grandfather and his family are also in the capital, my parents and brother are not here."
When you hear what made her sad, you don't know how to comfort her for a moment. After all, you are an outsider and can only listen to these things.
Just as she was about to speak to comfort her, she heard the little maid outside the door announce, "Miss, cousin is here."
The depressed expression on Su Zhihui's face instantly became serious, but Chen Li could still see from her eyes that she and this cousin did not get along.
Soon, the little maid came in carrying a delicate woman. Her face was soft and weak, with a faint smile on the corner of her mouth.
"Why isn't my cousin here now?"
Jiang Yining took a wooden box from her personal maid and handed it to Su Zhihui, "Cousin, this is my birthday gift for you."
Su Zhihui wore a generous and decent smile on her face. "Thank you, cousin. I'm just entertaining friends right now, so I'm afraid it's not convenient for me to talk to you."
Jiang Yining smiled softly, "It's okay, we are a family, there is plenty of time to chat, you can chat slowly, cousin will leave first."
After saying that, he smiled gently at Chen Li, then stood up and left.
Su Zhihui curled her lips, talked to Shen Li for a while, and then led her to the courtyard where the banquet was held.
Since all the guests were young ladies, a courtyard was specially chosen and the good-looking daughters of Commander Su and the daughters of his uncle's colleagues in the officialdom were invited.
Chen Li sat aside and listened to their conversation. At first, it was not that no one came to talk to her, but after hearing that she was a country girl, they all stayed away.
She was not annoyed by this, but instead felt at peace.
Not long after, a young lady suggested, "I heard that there's a plum forest in Lord Su's backyard, next to a lake. The scenery is very beautiful in winter. I wonder if Miss Su could take us to see it."
Su Zhihui nodded. He was also annoyed by the chattering of these people surrounding him.
The group arrived at the plum forest. The plum blossoms had not yet bloomed, but there were already many buds hanging on the branches. Even in winter, the scenery of the Su Mansion Garden was very nice.
Su Zhihui was entertaining the guests in the front, and Chen Li followed at the back. The group of young ladies were usually very pretentious, and when they saw a pavilion in the middle of the lake, they immediately wanted to go over and take a look.
As Su Zhihui was walking, she suddenly felt someone pushing her from behind, and she fell forward uncontrollably.
“Ah~”
The ladies around exclaimed, but their voices seemed to be choked halfway through.
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