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In the winter of the second year of Pingkang, it snowed at night without wind.
Wen Youqing, who was in a light sleep, was awakened by the sound of falling snow breaking branches. It seemed that the red rosewood bed that Cui Junji spent a lot of money to buy could not make her sleep well.
The man next to him was breathing steadily and was not woken up.
Wen Youqing stared at the face with twisted branch patterns on the bed curtain with her eyes open for a long time. Her eyes were dry, but she still didn't feel sleepy at all.
The lines were winding like snakes, just like the red marks left on her skin by the jade belt when Cui Junji pinched her waist last night.
She never liked servants serving her closely, so she quietly got up and wanted to see the snow scene.
But just as she stood up, the man beside her got up before her, blocked her to the inside of the bed, and covered her tightly with a quilt, as if afraid that she would be cold. When he spoke, his voice was still slightly hoarse with heavy sleepiness, and he asked: "It's cold outside, what do you want? I'll get it for you."
Her interest was gone, and she lay back down, saying, "No, I just can't sleep."
The man wearing shoes suddenly became nervous. He turned over to Wen Youqing, supported half of his body, and asked, "Does your chest hurt?" while untying the belt of her underwear.
Ever since her miscarriage, she'd developed this condition, leaving her chest feeling as hard as stone. She'd always endured it, but then she suddenly developed a fever. Since then, Cui Junji, already cautious, had become even more paranoid, fearing anything might happen to her.
As soon as the word "no" came out of his mouth, Cui Junji had already slipped into the quilt like a fish.
Cui Junji's eagerness to "help her" really made Wen Youqing think too much.
Sure enough, the lips under the quilt became more and more restless, and the hands also became restless, stirring up trembling inch by inch. The seductive voice, lingering with hot desire, emerged from the quilt, from the chest to the side of the neck, to the ear, "A Qing~"
Outside, the snow was falling heavily, and the gentle snapping of branches could be heard again. Wen Youqing turned her head away from Cui Junji's moist lips, "The snow is so heavy, I'm worried."
The hand that made the killing decision stirred up the wet desire. Cui Junji felt that his body and soul were all on her, and he was happy and sad with her. He followed her words and said: "I remember the auspicious snow in the thirteenth year was also this heavy. You said that next year would definitely be a good harvest year."
In the tenth year of Changle, twenty-year-old Wen Youqing's engagement was broken off, and she fell from being the most talented woman in the capital to being despised and abandoned. The scene of the previous year had always weighed heavily on her heart.
It was like a blood clot that was difficult to relieve, squeezing out drop by drop, making her feel nauseous and painful.
Wen Youqing suddenly pushed Cui Junji away, climbed up, clutched her loose underwear, and ran out, completely ignoring the shouts of the people behind her.
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In the seventh year of Changle, the first heavy snow fell in the capital.
The little maid outside the window was sweeping and playing with the snow, and the sounds came into the house intermittently, but Wen Youqing didn't even have time to look at it.
After placing the last stitch and looking at the longevity picture, Wen Youqing breathed a sigh of relief.
There is also a poem embroidered carefully on the exquisite embroidery. The words on the front and back are different, but there is no stitching. The front side reads: Cranes in the South Mountain lead the purple clouds, and the stars in the sky bring longevity.
On the back is - Jade tree wind carries fairy palm dew, golden orchid post reflects Xie Tingfang
Although the old lady of the Wang family was from a branch of the Wang family, she was on good terms with my grandmother, and they were close friends, so a gift like this was enough.
Even when she was relaxing, she didn't dare to bend her waist. She maintained a dignified demeanor and slowly let out the depression in her heart.
Wen Youqing's waist and legs were sore from sitting for so long, so she stood up, opened the door, and stood by the pillar on the corridor for a while like a puppet that dared not move, watching the two little maids playing.
Seeing that her mistress was not afraid, the maid Si Shi immediately bowed and handed her a snowball, saying with a smile: "This is the snowball I made. Miss, just squeeze it and throw it away. Don't let your hands get cold."
No matter how dignified Wen Youqing was, she was still a child after all. She couldn't play around in the snow, so she fiddled with the snowball to comfort herself.
Suddenly, Si Shi said again, "The eldest lady of the Jingyi Marquis family has sent our lady an invitation, saying that she will be hosting a snow-viewing banquet in a few days. Does the young lady want another new dress made?"
A piece of clothing cost four or five taels, and the family's monthly income was less than a hundred taels. This piece of clothing was not too much, not too little either. However, Wen Youqing was troubled by the fact that she had to attend four or five banquets a month. She had to go to various banquets every month, so there was no need for her to wear new clothes every time.
But since it's not new clothes, I'm always afraid that someone with bad intentions will grab hold of it and make random guesses and rumors. Something about being disrespectful to the head of the family, being stingy and mean...
In short, no matter what, it all comes down to this: how can you be worthy of being the mistress of the Cui family?
Actually, she didn't have to be one. Wen Youqing asked Sishi to take money from her box to make new clothes, complaining to herself. As soon as the idea came out, she laughed at herself for being "sour grapes".
The Qinghe Cui family has been a family of nobles for generations. Although they are not as good as the Wang family, the princess marrying into their family can be considered marrying up, not to mention that she is the daughter of a fifth-rank civil servant. If she really marries into their family, it would be like climbing the ladder to fame.
Wen Youqing didn't dare to think about it, feeling awkward and apprehensive about the unknown. It was just that people around her had told her she was engaged, and after hearing so much about it, she'd decided she should learn to be a good housekeeper, be generous and dignified, be well-informed, and be a wife worthy of him.
Now that she has the reputation of being the most talented woman in the capital, it shouldn't be too different.
Half a month later, at a banquet at the home of Marquis Jingyi, Wen Youqing, dressed appropriately and with proper etiquette, chatted with the noble ladies of the capital with ease. The topics of their conversation were nothing more than poetry, flower arrangement, and trivial matters.
After the social event, Wen Youqing declined the front seat that had been promised to her by the Marquis of Jingyi's family and sat down in the most inconspicuous place with Miss Huo, chatting idly. Huo Qizhang asked, "You've been a virgin for two years now, and there's still no news from over there?"
Marrying into the Cui family was like carving a road through a mountain that needed a road. As she grew older, Wen Youqing gradually became overwhelmed.
Only to her close friends did Wen Youqing dare to reveal her true feelings: "They gave me some gifts during my coming-of-age ceremony, but it was just for show. There wasn't much else. Maybe because Master Cui is still young, they weren't in a hurry."
"No rush? You're already three years older than him, and he's not that old. Aren't all his family members children? Don't you know how much criticism a woman will face if she's three years older? Are you going to wait until he's twenty before proposing?"
As they were talking, a noble lady came over to ask whether the Cui family had made an offer of marriage. The noble lady brought two other noble ladies with her, and they were obviously part of the group who were watching the fun.
Wen Youqing smiled gracefully, covering her face with her silk fan, and whispered softly, "It's just a joke from an elder. Don't take it seriously. As long as our friendship is still there, that's fine. If you ask three times a day and insist on a contract token, wouldn't that ruin the friendship?"
This was said tactfully, not only strengthening the relationship by taking advantage of the fact that their ancestors had served in the army, but also regaining face and slapping the face of the person who was trying to get the information.
After a few more pleasantries, countless noble ladies gathered around Wen Youqing to chat, reciting the birthday poem that had made her famous a few days ago. It wasn't until Wen Youqing excused herself to get some tea that she disengaged from the crowd.
Finally, only Wen Youqing and Huo Qizhang were left. Huo Qizhang's eyes were filled with joy as he said, "It's tiring to see you acting so pretentiously every day. You have to say those words to choke those playboys, and you have to socialize at the same time. I'm really learning from you."
Wen Youqing finally curved her eyes and said, "Thank you, thank you."
After Luo Fan, the two smiled at each other.
Just as they heard a commotion in the distance, Wen Youqing put down the cake in her hand and said, "Which young man or lady has come again? Why is it so noisy?"
Huo Qi Zhang was already engaged to a man from an inferior family, so she didn't have any etiquette to observe. She stood on tiptoe early to look into the crowd, and even jumped up.
The earring hit Huo Qizhang's cheek, but when she saw who was coming, she didn't care about the pain. She pulled Wen Youqing's sleeve and tried to drag her out of the crowd, saying, "Your fiancé."
Fortunately, Huo Qizhang didn't make a loud noise, and they were outside the crowd, so no one heard them. Wen Youqing quickly hit Huo Qizhang and said, "Don't go. It's not like we haven't seen each other before. Just say hello casually."
Wen Youqing had met Cui Junji and had heard of his talent from others. Faced with someone who excelled in every way, Wen Youqing was actually secretly delighted. In this day and age, it was rare to find someone with such good conditions and even some gossip.
She was born again and has been trying hard to make herself live comfortably in this era. Thinking about marrying such a person in the future, she can be a parasite for the rest of her life as long as she maintains her face, which is really not bad.
But the other party didn't believe her, and she couldn't just go up to him without caring about her dignity and reserve. Her words and actions had to be polite.
So Wen Youqing continued to sit in a corner, looking at the young man who was surrounded by stars out of the corner of her eyes.
Cui Junji was only fourteen years old this year, and his appearance still had a childish look, but he already had the kind of stunning looks that made people feel as if they were born to a god. No matter whose family the elders were, they would always show some favoritism towards him. Even the wealthy and powerful children around him would sigh and ask, "Why isn't he a girl?" when they saw his face.
"If a girl had a face and family background like this, the Cui family would have another imperial concubine." Huo Qizhan sighed.
"It's hard to say." Wen Youqing half-hid the corner of her mouth with a meaningful smile with her fan. While the current emperor wasn't tyrannical and unjust, he was mediocre, lustful, and had his share of male favorites. The Cui family wouldn't bet on such an emperor.
More importantly, what is the emperor in front of the aristocratic families? Why should they waste their blood ties to win him over?
Huo Qizhang pursed his lips and raised an eyebrow in understanding. "You really are either in school or at home every day. How do you know so many things...like that?"
"It's always the same." No matter what era, as long as there are people, power, and class divisions, unbelievable things will exist.
The complaints were only temporary, and soon the two started chatting about gossip in the capital again.
Off to the side, after Cui Junji paid his respects to the elders of the Marquis of Jingyi's mansion, he was surrounded by people drinking and playing games. Originally, both the host and the guests were having a great time. However, there were always those who disliked Cui Junji, such as the second son of the Wang family.
In theory, the two are cousins, but the Wang family's son is a legitimate son from a collateral branch, so their real relationship is very different.
Wang Xiuwen was constantly being told by his elders to emulate Cui Junji. Naturally, he felt unconvinced and said sarcastically, "Brother Cui is indeed favored by the elders. I heard that he was engaged since childhood, and he's a much older sister."
The last few words "big sister" were pronounced very heavily, which made people feel uncomfortable.
Cui Junji was still young, his emotions easily revealed, and his face darkened in an instant. Fortunately, he was well-educated and quickly suppressed his resentment and anger. He smiled softly and said, "She is a sister, and I heard she is a talented woman. Although the marriage proposal was just a drunken joke from the elders, if it really happens, it will be a blessing for me."
Wang Xiuwen couldn't get any pleasure from such a complete clean-cut meal, so he continued sarcastically, "My dear brother, you're really not picky about food. You can eat anything. Even the Shen family kid would pick on someone like that."
This statement insulted three people at once, and everyone's faces turned sour. The nobles were busy trying to smooth things over. Then, cheers came from the women's section, and everyone looked over at them across the winding stream.
I saw a girl in green clothes throwing five shots and hitting the target four times. When she put down her hand, her clothes fluttered, the jade ornaments in her hair moved slightly, and she made a beautiful sword flower with her long chopsticks. She looked like a banished immortal, and she was very lively among the dignified ladies in the picture.
When the girl saw a foreign man looking at her, she did not avoid him. She bowed frankly and continued to play by herself.
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