"Fourth cousin!"

"Why are you following me?"

"Fourth cousin." Lin Xining took two quick steps, stopped in front of Chu Jinmiao, and asked helplessly, "What's wrong with you?"

"What can I do? You keep calling her fifth cousin. Yes, I know she's back, and I, the one who's occupying the old place, should give way to her. All of you should go to her place! Why are you still looking for me? Haven't I lost enough face today?"

After hearing this, Lin Xining finally understood what was wrong with Chu Jinmiao. He quickly said, "What are you talking about? We have known each other since we were five or six years old, but today is the first time I met her. I felt that she was all alone and couldn't even find the way, so I brought her to grandma's place. Speaking of intimacy, of course cousins ​​like you and I who grew up together are closer!"

"You also feel sorry for her." Chu Jinmiao sneered, "Yes, she is the real rich lady, and I am a fake. I might be kicked out at any time. She is the one who is pitiful, and it's all my fault."

"That's impossible." Lin Xining softened her voice and comforted Chu Jinmiao, "You are the one who grew up here. For thirteen years, everyone treats you as their own daughter. Although the fifth cousin is back now, she has only lived here for a short time. You have lived here for a long time. Grandma and others want to make up for her, so they pay special attention to her. But in fact, grandma and aunt and others must love you more. Think about it, if there are guests at home, do we have to keep all the good things close to the guests first?"

Chu Jinmiao thought for a while and said reluctantly, "Yes."

"That's it." Lin Xining smiled, "You see, you also understand this principle. This is how it is with you and my fifth cousin. Don't worry, you are the biological daughter who has been raised for thirteen years. Feelings come from getting along with each other."

Chu Jinmiao was convinced, and a smile finally appeared on her face, which had been sullen all the time: "Then why were you so considerate to her today? She is pretty, are you..."

"What are you thinking about?" Lin Xining smiled and reached out to tap Chu Jinmiao's forehead. "To me, it's not an exaggeration to say that she is a stranger. Even if a girl from another city gets lost at home, I will take her out. It has nothing to do with my fifth cousin."

Chu Jinmiao snorted softly: "That's good."

"You, you are still so petty." Lin Xining looked at Chu Jinmiao and smiled dotingly.

"But if there's not the Fifth Miss, there are still the Sixth Miss and the Seventh Miss. Don't think I don't know. Today at the banquet, many girls were secretly looking at you." Chu Jinmiao sighed as she spoke, "You are the legitimate son of the prince's mansion, and I'm just an ordinary lady from a marquis's family, not even a girl from a decent family. We used to be young and reckless, but now we're all grown up. In the future, I'm afraid we won't be as close as we were when we were little."

Lin Xining remembered the purpose of her mother's visit to the Marquis of Changxing's mansion, and said softly, "No."

"Why not?" Chu Jinmiao smiled bitterly. The smile on her face was faint and bitter, and she was obviously thinking about her own life experience. She said, "It's all my fault. I didn't die of illness when I was a child. Instead, I lived to this day and took away other people's wealth."

"Fourth cousin!"

Chu Jinmiao shook her head and didn't want to say anything more. She asked, "Cousin, why did you come back this time?"

Lin Xining was originally told by her family not to tell anyone, but cousin is not an outsider, and she would know sooner or later. Lin Xining thought so, and after seeing that there was no one around, he whispered to Chu Jinmiao: "Mother came back this time to pick two girls to go to the palace to accompany the county mistress to study."

"County mistress!" Chu Jinmiao covered her mouth. The county mistress was a well-known figure in Taiyuan. She was the legitimate daughter of Prince Huailing. To these young ladies from marquis' families, she was an incomparably noble and unattainable existence. Chu Jinyao was surprised and said, "How come it's related to the county lord? Moreover, if the county lord wanted to study, he would have found someone to accompany him in the past. Why is he looking for someone now?" "

Alas, it's all because of that person." Lin Xining quickly pointed to the north and hinted to Chu Jinmiao, "That person is in Shanxi, my uncle, and he wants to let go and try his luck. Our third sister doesn't like to study and plays all day long. My uncle and aunt can't control her anymore, so they thought of finding a few girls from outside to accompany her. With people of the same age, the third sister might be able to sit down."

Chu Jinmiao didn't understand at first. Who was that person? Why didn't Lin Xining say it clearly? But after hearing the latter part and thinking about the direction of Lin Xining's finger, Chu Jinmiao was so scared that she almost cried out: "You mean, the prince?"

"Huh!" Lin Xining hurriedly covered Chu Jinmiao's mouth. Chu Jinmiao's mouth was covered and her eyes widened in shock. Lin Xining quickly looked around and breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that no one was there. When he turned around, he realized what he had done. He quickly let go, took two steps back, and said incoherently: "I'm sorry, fourth cousin, I was rude just now."

As he said this, Lin Xining's face turned red.

Chu Jinmiao shook her head in a daze, saying, "Nothing." But in fact, she didn't pay any attention to Lin Xining's actions. All her thoughts had flown to another person.

Go to the palace to accompany the county lord to study, maybe you can meet the prince. If the county lord really becomes the crown princess, what about the companion?

In Rongning Hall, Chu Zhu dismissed the servants and talked about this with Old Madam Chu.

"Mother, you also know that the prince is in Datong now. The prince has connections in Datong. They said that the prince seemed to have suffered a lot of injuries in the last pursuit of the Tatars. He has been recuperating at home these days and has not seen any guests. The prince sent people to visit him and wanted to find out what the prince was thinking, but they were stopped by the eunuchs in the East Palace. Although he couldn't see the prince, he is in Shanxi and he can't run away. According to internal information, the general wanted to persuade His Royal Highness to come to Taiyuan to recuperate. After all, the border is too dangerous."

Even the well-informed Mrs. Chu was shocked and gasped: "His Royal Highness is coming to Taiyuan?"

"Who can say for sure without the Crown Prince's word?" Chu Zhu said, "But it should be 70% certain."

"Oh, my ancestor." Mrs. Chu's heart was pounding. She couldn't help but stand up and walk around the hall to calm her fear. When Mrs. Chu calmed down, Madam Gu came forward and helped her sit on the Luohan bed. Old Madam Chu exclaimed, "If the prince comes to Taiyuan, it will be a great honor for our Chu family! If our Changxing Marquis Mansion has the honor to receive His Royal Highness the Prince, we will be very proud to meet our ancestors in the future."

"That's right." Chu Zhu smiled, "Big brother was so busy the past few days, most likely he was asking about this matter."

After Chu Zhu's reminder, Old Madam Chu also thought of it. Some time ago, after bringing the fifth girl back, Changxing Marquis was so busy that he was not seen for half a month. It turned out that he had heard the news at that time. Old Madam Chu complained, "He is really something. Why didn't he tell me about such a big thing? I could have been mentally prepared in advance."

"Mom, the bigger happy event is still to come." Chu Zhu smiled meaningfully.

"Oh?" Old Madam Chu looked at Chu Zhu suspiciously. Chu Zhu saw that she had kept the secret for long enough, so she spoke proudly: "Mother, although the Prince's Mansion is not in Taiyuan, it is less than a day's journey from Taiyuan. When His Royal Highness the Crown Prince comes to Taiyuan, there are not many families that can accommodate him. Without the order of the Huailing Prince's Mansion, who dares to promise to accommodate the Crown Prince? So obviously, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's first stop must be our palace. Mother, you also know that the county lord of the palace is twelve years old this year, and the Crown Prince is seventeen. Look at their ages, isn't this a match made in heaven that can't be stopped?"

Old Madam Chu finally understood what the Lin family was planning. The Huailing County Prince's Mansion is one of the few princes of different surnames in Dayan. The emperor has been increasingly suspicious of the princes in recent years. Even the emperor's own brothers have not been treated well, let alone the Huailing Prince, who is a prince of different surnames. If the county head really becomes the crown princess, then the Huailing Prince's Mansion will be a step up.

Seeing that Old Lady Chu understood, Chu Zhu continued, "It's still uncertain when the Crown Prince will come to Taiyuan, and no one knows when he will come, but the county lord can be prepared early. The county lord is of noble status, and she grew up being able to call the shots, so she has a rather arrogant temper. The county lord is arrogant at home, but how can she contradict the Crown Prince? If she wants to seek the position of Crown Princess, the county lord's temper will definitely The prince and princess wanted to force the county lady to study and learn the rules, so as to temper her temper. However, the county lady refused to study hard and drove away two teachers in one month. The prince and princess had no choice but to choose a few girls from outside to accompany the county lady to study. As long as the county lady could calm down, it would be a great achievement. "

Old Madam Chu understood: "What your mother-in-law means is..."

"Yes. What our old lady meant is that the Changxing Marquis Mansion is also one of the most respectable families in Taiyuan. The rules and character of our girls are trustworthy, so the ancestor and the princess want to pick two girls from our family to be the county lord's companions."

Old Madam Chu was already smiling when she heard the latter. She clapped her hands excitedly: "Okay, okay, the girls in our Changxing Marquis Mansion are naturally the best. Tomorrow I will let the girls dress up and you can come and take a look."

"Mother, how can the palace choose a companion so carelessly." Chu Zhu held Old Madam Chu's hand and smiled, "I came back this time just to send you a message. The real companion candidate must be approved by my mother-in-law and the princess. How can I make the decision!"

Old Madam Chu also laughed and said, "I was confused."

"I have met several girls today, and I have a general idea of ​​what they are like. Mother, I have brought two nannies from the palace this time. Let them teach our girls some manners first. In a few days, the princess will hold a banquet in the palace, and we will bring all the girls there. This will be a formal meeting." "

Okay, I understand." Old Madam Chu said this, but she secretly made up her mind that she could not let these girls run wild anymore. She originally thought that her daughters would get married sooner or later, and when they went to marry into other people's families, they would be set rules by their mother-in-law. Therefore, Old Madam Chu was reluctant to be too harsh on her granddaughters. She wanted them to live a good life in their parents' home before they got married. But now it seems that they can't be left alone like this.

The next day, someone came to pay respects to Rongning Hall early. Because Chu Zhu was there, the girls all dressed up to stand out among their sisters. The girls were secretly competing with each other, and suddenly the curtain moved, and Chu Jinmiao came.

Chu Jinmiao got the inside information from Lin Xining, and she dressed more carefully today. She wore the most expensive dress made of satin, the color was plain, but it was full of brilliance and noble. She embroidered a circle of butterfly flowers on the hem of her skirt with gold thread, the white brocade reflected the gold, and it was very noble.

When the other girls saw Chu Jinmiao, they secretly scolded her, saying that you are the only one who is favored and subsidized. Makeup satin is a high-end fabric in Yunjin, which can be said to be the most expensive among the expensive. When Chu Jinmiao wore it, no one said anything.

Chu Jinmiao was secretly proud. This was the dress she had carefully prepared. The fabric alone was worth hundreds of taels, not to mention the accessories such as gold thread and edging. She was determined to get the position of companion reader in her aunt's hand.

At this time, the maid called out crisply: "The fifth lady is here!"

Chu Jinyao walked into Rongning Hall with a smile. As soon as she entered the door and stood still, she found that everyone's eyes were looking at her.

What's wrong? She was a little stunned. Why are people dressed like this? Especially Chu Jinmiao, is she going out today?

Chu Jinyao was a little scared by people's burning eyes. Today she was wearing the brocade dress given by the old lady. Yesterday, the Seventh Girl splashed water on her, so Chu Jinyao hurried back to change her clothes, which resulted in her wearing her newly made brocade skirt today. She was afraid that the dress would be too plain, so she made some patterns on the pleats of the skirt. Chu Jinyao was wearing a brocade dress that was as bright as clouds. Because there were many pleats, the hem of the skirt was stacked up, like a peacock spreading its tail. At first glance, she seemed to be standing in the glow of the clouds, with a light and gorgeous look.