It snowed last night, and when I woke up this morning, all I could see was white, a blanket of silver.

In Chaoyun Courtyard, Linglong exhaled a puff of white air, rubbed her hands, and opened the curtain.

"Where's the girl? Is she still awake?"

"She's awake, and is dressing in the west room now."

Linglong sighed, and after warming herself up, she walked towards the west room quietly.

Chu Jinyao was sitting in front of a dressing mirror, and Kikyo was holding a round mirror behind her, adjusting the silver hairpin on Chu Jinyao's bun. Chu Jinyao saw Linglong in the dressing mirror and asked, "Has the news come back?"

"Yes," Linglong replied, "Before the beginning of spring, the Marquis will go to the capital to report, so the old lady took advantage of these two days to arrange the marriage between the second young master and Miss Duan." The Marquis of Changxing will report to the

Five Military Camp in March, and the Marquis's mansion will not be able to move into the capital before the New Year, so just after the New Year, before the smell of firecrackers has dissipated, the Marquis of Changxing's mansion is busy again. Everyone is preparing for the upcoming move without stopping.

Kikyo said excitedly, "Yesterday I heard from the old lady's maid that we can move to the capital at the end of February. It seems that the girl's coming-of-age ceremony can be held in the capital!"

The maids in the room were all in a state of joy and excitement, and Chu Jinyao just smiled faintly. The two maids sent from the palace came in and heard Kikyo's words and asked, "So the fifth girl's birthday is in spring?"

"Yes, on March 16th." Chu Jinyao said, "It was not long after the land thawed. The Tatars had gone through a winter of snowstorms and had nothing to eat in the spring, so they went south to invade. I was born at that time."

Born in the war and replaced.

The two maids were sent here for half a year, and they only knew Chu Jinyao's birthday now. They both looked a little embarrassed. A maid explained, "It will be fine when we get to the capital. The girl is the future crown princess, and her coming-of-age ceremony will be held in a grand manner."

After being frightened by Qin Yi, the two maids became much more obedient. They were old people who came out of the palace, so of course they knew what was the most important thing in the palace.

Why did Empress Xiao Qi have the final say in the palace? It was not because Empress Xiao Qi was so powerful or her family was so prominent, but in fact it all came from the emperor.

Perhaps it was because Empress Xiao Qi got it in a special way, and over the years, the emperor had always responded to his new wife, his former sister-in-law. Not to mention the many matters in the harem, even if it was matters in the court, as long as Empress Xiao Qi opened her mouth and acted coquettishly, the emperor would be unable to hold back and agree.

It was precisely because Empress Xiao Qi was favored by the emperor and could even persuade him that the court and the inner palace were very jealous of her. People were afraid of Empress Xiao Qi and respected her, to put it bluntly, it was all because of the emperor behind her.

The prince was thrown to the border for disrespecting Empress Xiao Qi, let alone other people.

The higher the family status, the more obvious the disparity in status. The wife of an ordinary family can still rely on her own strength and ability to compete with her husband and mother-in-law and fight for a place for herself. But this does not exist in the royal family, and the right to speak is always concentrated in the hands of a few people.

To put it bluntly, the masters in the palace are only the emperor, the prince, and a few princes, and now the empress is also one. This is the palace, the concubines and nobles serve the royal master, and the slaves and eunuchs serve these ladies.

The two maids saw that the future Crown Princess seemed to be very valued by the Crown Prince, and the people in the palace were the best at changing their attitudes according to the situation, so they came up with an idea together. Although the orders of the Queen Mother could not be resisted, the new Crown Princess could not be offended too much.

If Chu Jinyao was still liked by the Crown Prince after entering the palace, it would be a big deal.

The two maids dared to be ruthless to Chu Jinyao, firstly because they relied on the support of the Queen Mother, and secondly because the new Crown Princess was not a noble lady. In their eyes, a marquis from another place whose title was passed down to the last generation was not even a low-ranking noble.

But if the new Crown Princess was favored, that would be a different matter. Since the two maids were almost sent back to the capital last time, they have grown up and become gradually polite to Chu Jinyao, and the standards of learning the rules have been unconsciously relaxed. After all, compared with life, what is face?

Chu Jinyao naturally noticed it, but she pretended not to know and continued to get along with the two maids in harmony. After all, they are the queen's people, and they are responsible for teaching her the palace rules. No matter what the queen has in mind, on the surface, these two maids are Chu Jinyao's benefactors. Not only does she have to serve them well, but she also has to be respectful and polite to them, so that everyone can see her filial piety to these two maids, that is, to the queen.

On the contrary, if she really let Qin Yi send these two people back to the capital, no one would listen no matter what the reason was. Outsiders would only see that Chu Jinyao, a bride who had not yet married, dared to reject the kindness of the Empress and sent back the nanny sent by the Empress to teach her the rules of the palace. What's more terrible is that it was done by the hand of the prince.

Without waiting for her to be officially canonized, the hat of being a seductress and disrespectful to her mother-in-law can be put on her head immediately. A woman's reputation is a double-edged sword. When Chu Jinyao was a girl, she was almost forced to stay married because of her reputation, let alone the Crown Princess of the current dynasty? There

is only one Crown Prince, but there can be many Crown Princesses. Chu Jinyao was very grateful that the Crown Prince was willing to vent her anger, but she really only had one life.

Speaking of the coming-of-age ceremony, the maids in the room were all chattering, and they had so much to say. The coming-of-age ceremony is the second most important event in a woman's life, second only to her wedding. Now that Chu Jinyao is still the Crown Princess, her coming-of-age ceremony is naturally the biggest event in the Changxing Marquis's Mansion.

The maids were discussing the coming-of-age ceremony with great interest, but Chu Jinyao thought inappropriately that after the coming-of-age ceremony, it would be time to go through the six ceremonies.

Chu Jinyao really felt that she was getting married.

By the end of the first month of the year, the Changxing Marquis's Mansion was filled with neatly packed boxes and cages. Every room and household had packed up their belongings, and they tirelessly gave instructions to the young men and maids over and over again, waiting in a hurry but with joy for the official departure.

Chu Jinyao boarded the carriage with the help of everyone. Linglong carefully lowered the curtain. The driver shouted, whipped the horse, and drove the horse forward. Sitting in the swaying carriage, Chu Jinyao listened to the maids' conversation casually for entertainment. The maids talked about the same things over and over again. The third girl had been engaged in August last year and would get married from the capital this spring, and the second girl had already left Changxing Marquis' Mansion at the end of the year.

Chu Jinyao also vaguely heard that after Chu Jinmiao returned to the Su family, she seemed to be forced by her family to get married, and her dowry was naturally a big problem. At that time, Zhao was afraid that Chu Jinmiao would be wronged, so she specially assigned a maid to her, hoping that the maid would serve her and do heavy work for her. But now, it seems to be counterproductive.

After all, Chu Jinmiao has a younger brother who can't find a wife.

But these have nothing to do with Chu Jinyao. Chu Jinyao did nothing, and she even kindly gave a lot of property to the fake daughter who replaced her identity, to ensure that she would have no worries about food and clothing for the rest of her life. What does it have to do with Chu Jinyao if their family is not doing well?

Before Chu Jinyao left Taiyuan, some gossipers came to tell her that the marriage of the Princess of Huailing County Prince's Mansion was not easy to say. After all, although the affair between Chu Jinyao and the Princess was not known to everyone, those who should know it also knew it.

A woman's reputation is really fragile. The Prince's Mansion used this to force Chu Jinyao, and now it is their turn to taste the bad fruit they planted.

At that time, she was determined to become the Crown Princess. If she succeeded, everyone would praise her. If she didn't, she would be a joke in other people's mouths, not to mention that she would offend the real Crown Princess. In addition, the Princess was arrogant and self-centered, so Chu Jinyao also felt that it would be difficult for her to marry.

The convoy of the Changxing Marquis's Mansion stopped and started for three or four days, and finally arrived in the capital at dusk. After a long journey, the people in the Changxing Marquis' Mansion were extremely tired and just wanted to get into the mansion as soon as possible to have a good sleep.

The mansion of the Changxing Marquis in the capital was far inferior to the one in Taiyuan. However, the land in the capital was very expensive. If it were not for the reward from the palace, the Changxing Marquis' Mansion would not be able to buy a mansion in this area.

However, after they arrived at the Marquis' Mansion, a small episode occurred.

The old servant who was guarding the door said that the house to the east of the Marquis' Mansion had been vacant for a long time. It was said to be someone else's ancestral home. Many people came to ask but it was not for sale. But a few days ago, it was suddenly bought by someone.

Then, the old servant took out the deed of the house next door.

Marquis Changxing was stunned for a moment, and suddenly remembered that the last time the prince came, he seemed to have casually asked where their house in the capital was. After a moment of silence, Marquis Changxing took the deed and said, "I understand. You don't have to worry about it. I have my own arrangements. By the way, who sent this deed?"

The old servant shook his head and said, "It was sent by a man in yellow clothes. He didn't say anything, just handed the things to me and asked me to keep them well, and then left."

"Did he leave any words?"

"No."

"Marquis." Zhao came over and said to Marquis Changxing, "Let's put other things aside for now. It's getting late. Let mother and the girls go in and rest first."

Marquis Changxing glanced back and saw Chu Jinyao just got off the car. The maids and servants behind her were busy moving boxes from the car. Marquis Changxing looked for a while and asked Zhao, "Has Jinyao's yard been arranged?"

"Mother has already asked people to clean it up. We can move in when people come."

"Leave it there for now and don't let her move in. Let her rest in her mother's yard for a few days."

"Miss." Kikyo ran back breathlessly and said to Chu Jinyao, "The old lady said that your yard has not been cleaned up yet, so let us move the things to the old lady's yard first."

Not cleaned up? Chu Jinyao felt something was wrong, but it was not a big deal, so she nodded and said, "Okay, I'll bother you for a few days."

As for Marquis Changxing, he went to the house next door to take a look that day and found that the courtyard was well maintained and the paint on the pillars was new. He just needed to move in some small things and he could live there. Marquis Changxing didn't know what kind of mood he should have. As a father, he was a little delicate, and as a minister, he seemed to have to thank the prince for his kindness. He

really had to guess what the master meant.

Chu Jinyao lived in Madam Chu's annex for three days and finally recovered her strength. But she had too many boxes and it was inconvenient to pile them all in the old lady's house. However, after a few days, Chu Jinyao unexpectedly received news: "You said that our family has also bought the house next door, and now you want me to move there?" "

The Marquis has already opened up the wall between the two houses, which is convenient for entry and exit and daily life. It is reserved for the young lady to live in."

What's going on? Why did the Marquis of Changxing expand the house for no reason? Chu Jinyao moved to the east in confusion. But the servants were right. The house in the east was originally independent. Although it was not big, it had everything from the front hall to the garden. After it was connected to the Marquis's Mansion, Chu Jinyao could go back to pay her respects at any time. But once she closed the middle door, she felt as if she had an independent residence and was extremely free.

Old Madam Chu originally planned to move to the capital at the end of February, but she didn't expect that it would happen much sooner. By mid-February, they had already settled in the capital.

The Marquis of Changxing had just settled down, and before they could even catch their breath, the capital had already begun testing the new royal relative.

Princess Rong'an's only daughter, who was also the second young lady of the Duke of Wei's Mansion, invited Chu Jinyao to visit the Duke of Wei's Mansion.

Also present on the day of the banquet were Princess Baoqing of the Prince Rui's Mansion and two young ladies of the Marquis of Zhenbei's Mansion.

When Chu Jinyao saw these names, she was shocked. These four people were almost representatives of the top noble ladies in the capital. All of them were royal relatives and often walked in front of the emperor and empress. Their attitude could be said to be the attitude of all the noble ladies in the capital.

Chu Jinyao accepted the temptation from the capital. On the day of the banquet, she changed into a bright red cloud-brocade skirt with precious flowers and a silver-white satin blouse with makeup flowers, and went to the banquet alone.

This was the first time that she did not have to worry about her status and was dressed in expensive fabrics. The cloud-brocade was already as brilliant as clouds, and after Chu Jinyao carefully modified the details, it looked even more plain and gorgeous, and radiant.

Even if Chu Jinyao was willing to bring people to this kind of banquet, the other girls in the Marquis' Mansion were unwilling to go.

Forget it, the little demon who has just become a spirit should not show off in front of the real dragon and phoenix. Let Chu Jinyao go by herself.

Last year, the Crown Prince suddenly wrote back, asking the Emperor to arrange a marriage for him and a woman. Although the relationship between Qin Yi and Empress Xiao Qi was rather complicated, the position of Crown Princess has always been a popular choice among many families in Beijing. However, a newcomer suddenly appeared and snatched the throne. Who in Beijing could be willing to accept this? Even the inner cabinet had complaints. But the Crown Prince was so determined, and the Empress fanned the flames. After a while, the Emperor had no more opinions.

The three most noble people in the world agreed, so what was the point of others objecting? Everyone watched the imperial edict of marriage being issued from the palace and announced to the world by the Ministry of Rites. The choice of Crown Princess was set in stone.

Since last June, the capital has been very curious about this unknown Crown Princess. When the year-end examination showed that the Marquis of Changxing was selected into the Five Military Camps of the capital, the ladies could no longer hold back. Led by the only daughter of Princess Rong'an, they took the initiative to send invitations to Chu Jinyao. They wanted to see how capable this woman was who could make the Crown Prince take the initiative to ask for marriage.

Princess Baoqing and the two young ladies from the Marquis of Zhenbei arrived early. They sat in the warm room of the Duke of Wei's mansion, surrounded by servants, with elegant manners and soft conversations. At this moment, they heard a voice of greeting: "The fifth young lady of the Marquis of Changxing has arrived."

Everyone stopped talking and laughing and looked up outside. After a brief moment of loneliness, the four noble ladies all sighed in their hearts.

Oh, men. Crown Prince Qin Yi has been a lone man in the capital since he was young, and he disdains to associate with those second-generation rich men who ride horses and fight birds, sleep with flowers and willows. They thought that the prince was different, but the facts proved that men are all the same.

Princess Baoqing smiled and said, "This future crown princess is really good-looking. Brother Crown Prince is very lucky."

After Chu Jinyao entered the room, she bowed to Princess Baoqing according to the rules. Although everyone present had an amazing family background, only Princess Baoqing had a rank and a title, so Chu Jinyao only paid her respects to Princess Baoqing. As for the rest, such as the princess's daughter and the queen's niece, although they were of noble status, they were strictly speaking commoners. Chu Jinyao only nodded and greeted them with the etiquette of equals. She herself also had the title of Crown Princess. Even if she was not married, she could not lower her status like this and kneel down to pay respects to these people.

Princess Baoqing looked at Chu Jinyao and smiled, "So you are the sister of the Chu family. Get up quickly. Why do we sisters have to worry about these things?"

Although she said so, she still waited for Chu Jinyao to pay respects before speaking.

Zhao Lanhui also smiled and said, "I was stunned. You got there first." She looked at the maids around her and said, "What are you doing? Hurry up and show Miss Chu a seat."

Chu Jinmiao kept a gentle and slightly shy smile and greeted everyone one by one.

The host Zhao Lanhui is the only daughter of Princess Rong'an. She looks like her father, with a beautiful face, unlike the current royal family, with sharp eyes. Princess Rong'an is the emperor's sister and the most favored princess in the capital. After she came of age, she was betrothed to the second son of Duke Wei. In this dynasty, the son-in-law of the emperor cannot participate in politics, so after marrying the princess, the second son of Duke Wei can only take some idle jobs in the leisure department and has no hope of a career in the government. Because of the strict rules set by the founding emperor, most of the marriages between princesses and their husbands were not good. The same was true for Princess Rong'an. She had been married to her husband for many years and had only one daughter, Zhao Lanhui.

Although the princess and her husband did not have a good relationship, their daughter Zhao Lanhui was not a small pity. Zhao Lanhui had a lot of say in both the Duke of Wei's Mansion and the palace because of her mother's noble status.

Sitting next to Zhao Lanhui was Princess Baoqing, the daughter of Prince Rui. According to the will left by the founding emperor, once a prince came of age, if he could not become the crown prince, he would be named a prince and return to his fiefdom, which was called the country. If a prince was not recalled to the capital, it would be regarded as a rebellion.

However, Prince Rui was an exception. Although he was in his fiefdom, he had been close to the emperor since childhood and had been trying to get closer to him over the years. His legitimate daughter was sent to the capital since she was young and was raised by Empress Qi. Facts have proved that Prince Rui's method was right. Princess Baoqing was especially favored by the emperor because she was raised by Empress Qi. Her treatment in the palace was almost better than that of a princess. The emperor even made an exception for Princess Baoqing and gave her a title long before she was married.

As for the remaining two girls, it was even simpler. The older one was called Qi Xuan and the younger one was called Qi Rong. They were both daughters of the Marquis of Zhenbei, and Qi Rong was a legitimate daughter, so she was even more noble.

The Zhenbei Marquisate has produced two empresses in succession. The elder Empress Qi gave birth to the crown prince Qin Yi, and the younger Empress Qi has been favored by the six harems for more than ten years. She has a legitimate prince and a legitimate princess under her knees. It can be said that her status is stable and popular. The Zhenbei Marquisate, the maiden family of the younger

Empress Qi, has also risen to a higher level and has great power. Perhaps the only unhappiness of the Zhenbei Marquisate now is that it is somewhat alienated from the crown prince Qin Yi.

Chu Jinyao thought about the family background of everyone present, and felt more and more heavy on his shoulders. It is hard to say about Princess Rong'an's only daughter Zhao Lanhui, but Princess Baoqing, Qi Xuan and Qi Rong, I am afraid they will not stand on her side.

In fact, Chu Jinyao really guessed most of it. Qi Rong is looking at Chu Jinyao now, with a sense of scrutiny. The Zhenbei Marquisate has tasted the sweetness and intends to have another imperial consort. If it weren't for the unwillingness of the young Queen Qi, perhaps Qi Rong would be the current Crown Princess.

However, no matter what people think in their hearts, they all appear to be kind. Princess Baoqing holds Chu Jinyao's hand and keeps asking Chu Jinyao if the journey is OK, if she is used to living in the capital, and finally even asks about the customs and habits of Shanxi.

Chu Jinyao believes that the less you say, the less mistakes you make, and the better it is to say nothing. Most of the time, she pretends to smile shyly, and only replies a few words when she is asked occasionally. Chu Jinyao knows that she is no match for these proud ladies, so she can only be extra careful, at least not to make mistakes. Now she is not only Chu Jinyao, her words and deeds also represent the face of the prince.

Princess Baoqing asked for a while, and felt it was very boring. She turned to ask another thing: "Sister-in-law, I heard that you will soon be a marriageable lady?"

Chu Jinyao was shocked and said quickly: "No, I dare not be called a princess."

Princess Baoqing waved her hand and said: "What's the big deal, the imperial edict has been issued, and now the palace is just waiting for you to come to the age of marriage. Once you come to the age of marriage, the Ministry

of Rites can perform the six ceremonies. By the way, sister-in-law, you are new to the capital, who are you going to find as the sponsor?" This question hit the nail on the head. The main guest at the coming-of-age ceremony is a respected lady, and the sponsor is usually the woman's own good friend or sister. If it were the past, Chu Jinyao could just ask the sisters of the Chu family to be her sponsors, but now she also represents the face of the prince, Chu Jinyao is really a little worried.

Chu Jinyao smiled and said, "I just came here, I am not familiar with the capital, and I haven't thought about it yet."

Qi Rong and Princess Baoqing smiled and said nothing. It was Zhao Lanhui who said, "Don't worry, with your current status, you can invite anyone you want. If you have an idea, just tell me, I will be your lobbyist."

Chu Jinyao had to admire Zhao Lanhui's high level of speaking. His words sounded enthusiastic and full of consideration for her, but at the same time, it also revealed that Zhao Lanhui would not be her sponsor.

"Thank you, Second Miss." Chu Jinyao also replied with a smile, her expression was calm, and she didn't seem anxious about it. Qi Rong originally wanted to see a panic expression on Chu Jinyao's face, but she looked at it for a while and gave up in dismay.

Forget it, let Chu Jinyao, a country girl, worry about it herself.

Throughout the afternoon, Chu Jinyao smiled more and talked less, and she was concentrating on listening to the other four girls talking about gossip in the capital or interesting things in the palace. In fact, Chu Jinyao was completely confused. She didn't even understand the names in the conversation, but she still kept smiling and accompanied them throughout the whole process.

When it was getting dark, after the carriage of the Marquis of Changxing Mansion drove out of the Duke of Wei's Mansion, Linglong excitedly pulled Chu Jinyao's hand and said, "Girl, you are so calm today, just like the noble lady in the opera, quiet and gentle."

"I am quiet because I don't understand what they are saying." Chu Jinyao got on the carriage, and then she dared to let herself breathe a sigh of relief. She felt that the pressure on her shoulders was much heavier. If Chu Jinyao was like a frog in a well coming to the ground after returning to the Marquis of Changxing Mansion from the Su family, then now, she was like seeing the height of the sky.

No wonder the ladies in the capital look down on those from other places, they really have the capital to be proud. With a distinguished family background and the most meticulous education since childhood, the gap between these top noble ladies and others will only grow bigger as they grow older.

Linglong looked at Chu Jinyao with some worry. Chu Jinyao shook his head, held her hand, and said, "Don't talk about it, go back home first. We will work hard after we return home."

After hearing about what happened to Chu Jinyao today, the old lady frowned in embarrassment. Originally, she planned to let Duan Yinghua, a lady from the governor of Shanxi, be a sponsor for Chu Jinyao, but sponsors are generally girls who have not been engaged, so Duan Yinghua is not quite suitable.

But if she really can't find one in the end, she can only ask Duan Yinghua to come. After all, this is the best person in terms of status, age, reputation, etc., as far as the old lady Chu knows.

Chu Jinyao returned to her yard worriedly, and as soon as she entered the house, she immediately asked Jiejing to find a book for her. When listening to Princess Baoqing and Zhao Lanhui talking today, Chu Jinyao heard many allusions that she didn't understand. It was not until the end that she understood that these were all from the historical records.

It turned out that Mrs. Chu believed that girls should be raised in a delicate way and raised safely until they get married. And Chu Jinyao didn't know that it turned out that the noble ladies in the capital did not think that women without talent were virtuous. Just like Princess Baoqing and Zhao Lanhui, they also grew up reading the Four Books and Five Classics. When Zhao Lanhui was a child, he even started to learn with his cousin.

This is too terrible. Chu Jinyao immediately asked someone to go to the second young master and ask his brother to recommend a few books for her. Chu Jinyao could only hope that the evil supplement would be useful.

Chu Jinyao put out the energy of taking the imperial examination and spent several days flipping through the difficult and hard-to-understand classics. In the end, she almost felt that she could not recognize the words. At the same time, Old Madam Chu was also inquiring about the situation in the capital. She asked people for a long time and finally had no choice but to write a letter, hoping that someone would invite Duan Yinghua to come.

At the end of the year when the exam was taken, Lord Duan and his family were also promoted and transferred back to the capital.

However, things are unpredictable. Before Old Madam Chu sent the letter, someone came from the palace.

The Queen Mother invited Chu Jinyao into the palace to chat with her.

Homely words...

The author has something to say: [Little boss Xiao Qi will be on stage soon]