Chapter 498: Wan Shuang [Part 2]
The next morning, I got up quickly and went to the ancestral temple to burn incense as it was the first day of March.
When I finished my work and returned to the living room to have breakfast with my family, my father's eyes fell on me and he looked me up and down from time to time.
I put down my chopsticks and before I could ask him what he was looking at, I heard him speak half teasingly.
"Other girls your age would all dress brightly in red and green, but you are always so plain."
I rolled up my sleeves and looked around myself. I was wearing nothing but a lake blue gown without any cloud pattern, and I wasn't even wearing any jewelry. But I smiled nonetheless.
It’s not that I don’t like dressing up, but everything beautiful comes at a price.
If you want to dress beautifully, you must pay attention to color matching and clear layers. Tossing around like this is like piling up layer upon layer of shackles on your body and trapping yourself.
It looks beautiful, but it is so burdensome that it is boring.
"Dad, do you think I look ugly dressed like this?" I asked.
"It looks good, but I'm going to the palace to meet the Queen today, so dressing like this makes me look a little too childish."
I was about to reply, but my mother straightened my clothes and said to my father in front of me:
"Wan'er entered the palace to pay respects to the Queen, not to outshine the other ladies in terms of clothing. If she stood out, she would only attract attention."
It's always like this at home.
My father likes to show off in front of others, but my mother is very reserved. Just by looking at her plain clothes, I can tell that she and I have the same thoughts.
In this case, my father couldn't say anything more.
Before leaving the house after dinner, my mother pulled me aside mysteriously and whispered to me,
"This is your first time entering the palace to meet the Queen. You must be more careful in everything you do. It would be great if you can please the Queen."
I heard from my brother that every time mother came to the palace, she served the empress very well, and looked like a servant, which made him angry.
But everyone knows the mother's good intentions.
The Ning family had no daughter who entered the palace to be a concubine, so there were many things that the women in the harem could not help with. When the mother went to please the queen, she was actually trying to do her best to help her father.
If anything unpleasant happens in the future, the queen will always remember their past friendship and say a few good words in front of the emperor.
I am also a girl from the Ning family, so I naturally understand my mother's painstaking efforts. So I nodded and agreed, and told my mother not to worry.
After entering the palace with my father, he went to the Shangshufang to meet the emperor, while I and other court officials and women were taken to Fengluan Palace to pay respects to the queen.
This is the first time I see the Queen.
Although she is over 40 years old, there is no trace of time on her face and she dresses very elegantly.
She was wearing a bright yellow phoenix robe and a Kunshan Fengyin hair accessory. The hair accessory was gorgeous and beautiful, but also very complicated. If she wanted to do it well, she had to get up more than an hour early to start preparing.
I thought to myself that the Queen’s status was so noble, but she had less time to sleep every day than I did. I felt tired just looking at her.
After paying respects, the Queen invited everyone to enjoy the flowers in her palace. I wanted to be close to the Queen and serve her personally.
But I was overthinking it. The Ning family wanted to curry favor with the queen, and the other court officials and their wives were not foolish either.
Before I could move forward, the queen was already surrounded by people, pushing and shoving each other secretly, and somehow I was pushed to the outside.
Looking at the current situation, I realize that it is impossible to curry favor with the Queen. It would be better to just stand far away and do nothing.
I was admiring the flowers with everyone else, but after a while I suddenly heard the queen mumbling something, as if she was saying that her ring was lost.
When these words fell to the ground, all the female relatives fixed their eyes on the ground.
They all bent down and searched carefully on the ground.
After a long while without any results, she heard the aunt beside the queen say to her:
"Your Highness was admiring magnolias at Guangyang Gate just now. Maybe it fell there?"
The Queen's face was still anxious. "It was my fault for being so confused. You can go find her later."
Guangyangmen...
When I heard the word "land", my ears pricked up uncontrollably.
There are so many female relatives entering the palace today, but I am the only one who came with my father. Court officials and female relatives are not allowed to move around when they enter the palace to pay their respects to the Queen. But my father is currently in the Shangshufang discussing the matter of attacking Zhuyin with the Emperor, and he has reported this to the Queen and the Ministry of Internal Affairs in advance. So I can wait for him outside Guangyang Gate after paying my respects, and then go home together.
No one else can go, but I can. Isn't this a good opportunity to please the Queen?
So I hurriedly stepped out of the crowd and bowed respectfully to the Queen.
"Your Majesty, I am about to go to Guangyang Gate to wait for my father to return home. Why don't you let me help you look for him?"
I didn't dare look up at the queen's expression, but I could feel that her eyes were fixed on me.
"Are you Wanshuang? General Ning's daughter?"
"Thank you, Queen, for your concern. This is my humble servant."
"Your mother has taught you very well. She is a considerate and sensible person. Since you are willing, then go ahead."
With the Queen's permission, I walked out of Fengluan Palace amid the envious and jealous gazes of the other women around me.
I thought that this was a way to win face in front of the Queen and I didn't let my mother down.
But halfway through the journey, Yingxiang suddenly said to me:
"Miss... do you know the Queen's ring?"
I laughed, "It's my first time seeing her, I can't even remember what she looks like, how can I know what her ring looks like?"
Yingxiang's expression became even more embarrassed, "......Then how do we find it?"
I was stunned for a moment when I heard that, but seeing the many palace servants sweeping the road, I said:
"There are so many palace maids cleaning the house on the way. They are heading to Guangyang Gate. Just call some palace maids to follow and look for her. After all, it is the Queen's business, so they dare not be careless."
"That's what you said, but just now I saw that the Queen was so nervous about the ring, why is she now willing to let Miss go find it by herself?"
I wouldn't have noticed it if Yingxiang hadn't mentioned it, but when she said this, I was a little puzzled.
But we were almost there, there was no reason to go back, so I could only bite the bullet and quicken my pace.
It was not until I arrived at Guangyang Gate that I realized that somehow there was not a single palace servant in this area.
Instead, there are only endless flower trees lining the avenue.
The treetops are covered with lavender petals, and when the wind blows, they roll up a charming sea of flowers.
I froze where I was, dazed for a moment.
Yingxiang also pointed at the flower tree and said in surprise:
"Look, young lady! There are only flowers on this tree but no leaves. It's so beautiful and fragrant!"
Such a beautiful scenery made me intoxicated. I couldn't help dancing with the flowers and completely forgot the purpose of my coming here.
Halfway through the dance, I heard applause from behind.
I was startled and stopped immediately, looking back awkwardly.
I saw a tall and handsome man standing at the end of the sea of flowers.
He stood with his hands behind his back, facing me, with a gentle smile on his lips.
I have never seen him.
But this one glance made my heart suddenly tighten for no reason.
It hurts so much.
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