Chapter 53 Absurd Birthday Gift
Song Xiwei is a really annoying person, but she is quite popular in the capital.
She is the niece of the current Marquis of Zhongyong. Although she has not separated from the family, her family background was originally just so-so, but she is very popular in the circle of noble ladies.
This person really loves to use petty tricks, and his behavior is quite like that of "those who obey me prosper, those who oppose me perish."
Anyone she takes a liking to will be recruited into her clique, essentially becoming her lackey. If the person disagrees, she will lead everyone to isolate them.
Yang Qing was isolated like that; back then, only Xu Pianran was willing to play with her...
Those were all things from her childhood, but even after so many years, Song Xiwei still harbors resentment towards her for her "disobedience" back then and occasionally picks on her.
In her previous life, after she became empress, this person finally changed his nature and began to flatter her, but Yang Qing is also a very vengeful person, okay?
She didn't understand the little tricks Song Xiwei used back then when she was a teenager; she just felt uncomfortable. But she wasn't just eating for nothing, and she naturally understood them later. How could she possibly give Song Xiwei a nice look again?
No matter how much she tried to please them, they still suppressed her openly and secretly, just like she did back then.
The snow didn't fall until Yangqing's birthday.
Yangqing's birthday party was much grander than the previous ones, and she invited many more people.
Yang Qing was initially quite happy, but the moment she saw Song Xiwei, her good mood vanished.
This person is really shameless; they didn't even invite her, yet she still came.
Yang Qing still remembers that Song Xiwei must have returned to her ancestral home to take care of her ailing grandmother for more than half a year.
It must have been really tough on her; she probably hadn't even had a chance to settle in after returning to the capital before she rushed off to wish her a happy birthday.
But Yang Qing wouldn't appreciate it.
The Song Xiwei before me had not changed much since I left the capital. She was dressed in a simple yet luxurious outfit, and her headdress consisted of only a few pieces, which could be described as plain, but if you looked closely, you could tell that they were all treasures.
This is Song Xiwei's consistent style: pretending to be nonchalant, but actually trying to show off her extraordinary abilities in everything she does.
One thing Yang Qing was very satisfied with was that Song Xiwei hadn't suddenly grown taller; she was still shorter than her.
The smile on Miss Song's face could be described as dignified and generous, but none of Yang Qing's sisters liked her. However, they didn't play together anyway. Those who usually called her "Sister Song" had already gathered around. Even though they hadn't seen each other for more than half a year, they were still very familiar with each other and chatted.
Yang Qing didn't feel anything; she didn't want to talk to these people anyway, but the Second Madam was very unhappy to see it.
She didn't have much of an impression of Song Xiwei, but today was Yang Qing's birthday. What was Song Xiwei doing here, calling her friends and family?
The second wife was very dissatisfied with Song Xiwei for stealing the limelight from her own family. She watched the girl pontificating in her own garden and couldn't be happy at all.
The third wife, her sister-in-law, didn't notice anything amiss and even came over to talk to her, "What do you think of that boy from the Song family? Awen is of marriageable age, and I'm really worried about his marriage. A couple of days ago, someone told me that the Song family is quite interesting. They're a marquis family, which is better than ours. It's just that everyone says the Song family's daughter is good, but that girl Chuying insists that she's full of bad intentions and is crying and begging not to have her as her sister-in-law."
The second wife said, "We are the elders in this matter, and it's difficult for us to truly get along with the children and know their character. Although Chuying is lively, she is also quick-witted, so I think what she said is not unfounded. Besides, look at this girl, she even tries to steal the limelight on someone else's birthday. She's too sharp. Yangqing is too indecisive. If it were someone stronger, they probably would have already made a scene."
The third wife nodded, then sighed, "Alas, do you know who spoke up? It was my sister-in-law from my maternal family. I can't refuse her right away, so I can only gloss over it and say we'll see later."
The second wife laughed and said, "I'm not trying to be mean, but why are you worrying about A-Wen's marriage? With a good mother-in-law like you, I don't know how many families in the capital would be willing to marry their daughters to us."
The Third Madam sneered, "No matter how much effort I put in or how good my reputation is, you know that Wen is so mild-mannered. Let alone young, spirited girls, I wouldn't even look at him if I weren't his mother."
The second wife advised, "Children and grandchildren have their own blessings. Awen is not old and does not need to bring honor to the family. Why force him to strive for advancement?"
After a long pause, he said again, "Since Chuying doesn't like Miss Song, let's just forget about it. Everyone knows she's the apple of your eye, and you'll definitely want her to stay home for another two years. If you really marry a sister-in-law you don't get along with, wouldn't that really cause trouble in the household?"
These words truly struck a chord with the Third Madam, who quickly nodded and said, "Second Sister-in-law is right, that's what I was thinking too. Rongyue and Miss Song are the same age, right? Has her marriage been arranged?"
The second wife immediately sneered: "Find a place? What place is there? It's all your second brother's fault for being so incompetent. It's one thing that he can't have a son, but his daughters are all more troublesome than the last. I don't even want to talk about that wretched girl Huanxi. Yanyun has caused this kind of trouble. Yangqing, as the younger sister, has found a place to settle down first. As for Rongyue, I really don't know what to say."
Just moments ago, it was the second wife trying to persuade the third wife, but now the roles have completely reversed, with the third wife now going to great lengths to persuade the second wife. "What effort does Rongyue need to put in? Her character and talent are top-notch in the capital. Every family in the capital with nephews or nieces would want to ask about her. I think you shouldn't be so ungrateful. If my Chuying were half as worry-free as Rongyue, I'd be happy to go burn incense and pray to Buddha."
The second wife said, "She does burn incense and pray to Buddha, but she's not happy about it; she's worried. Look at me now, I'm practically ice-cold, but among all those young men, is there one she can even look at? Either she thinks they're not good-looking enough, or she thinks they're not talented enough. I'm really wondering, where can I find someone who is both talented and handsome to match her?"
Upon hearing the words "a man of exceptional talent and good looks," both the second and third wives felt a jolt in their hearts. They suddenly remembered that there was a man in the capital who was "a man of exceptional talent and good looks."
The Third Madam pondered for a moment before saying, "Rongyue is a person with her own mind, unlike Chuying. Could it be that she has someone in her heart, which is why she is making all sorts of excuses?"
The second wife remained silent, but she already had her own guesses.
In her opinion, Si Jiamu was definitely qualified to be her son-in-law, but the problem was, how could the Si family, a prestigious family, possibly look down on the Chi family?
Marriage is not just a matter between two people, but also between two families. Yang Qing is not yet the Crown Princess, and the difference in their social standing is too great. If Rong Yue really falls in love with Si Jia Mu, she may suffer a lot.
No, she had to get to the bottom of it.
By the time the banquet ended, Yang Qing's face was practically frozen from smiling.
As she was the birthday girl, she naturally couldn't hide anywhere else and could only keep smiling in front of people.
Ugh, this birthday was worse than not having one at all; it was exhausting.
Doukou excitedly checked the birthday gifts, her eyes practically shining. "This year's gifts are much more generous than before."
Liu Ye'er laughed and said, "Look at you, so useless."
Yang Qing said listlessly, "It's all about repaying favors, what's there to be happy about?"
Doukou'er chuckled and said, "This servant has never seen much of the world."
She carefully packed everything away, and when she finished counting, she exclaimed, "Oh!" "The Xu family's daughter didn't come, but she sent a servant with a generous gift. It's normal that she and the young lady are always close. But this Miss Song from the Marquis of Zhongyong's mansion is very strange. She usually doesn't have any dealings with our family, but this time she actually sent such an expensive gift."
She took out the hairpin and showed it to Yangqing, saying, "Look at the pearls on it; even noble ladies in the palace could use it."
Yang Qing glanced at it lightly and saw that the hairpin was indeed inlaid with four or five pearls, each one full and round, clearly not an ordinary object.
However, when she remembered who gave it to her, she lost all interest in examining it closely.
He scoffed, "Fine, just leave it there."
She holds grudges very much. Don't think that all those things can be erased, Song Xiwei.
If she's smart enough, she'll just avoid her whenever she sees her in the future. But if she still has the nerve to come over, then she can't blame her for getting the short end of the stick.
Meanwhile, he couldn't help but think about what Song Xiwei had done before, and the more he thought about it, the angrier he became.
How could there be such an annoying person who speaks so harshly and even leads others to isolate her? Although it was just playful banter among girls, it still left Yangqing with psychological trauma.
Looking back now, Li Shangxuan was undoubtedly partly to blame for this.
At that time, the eldest prince suddenly died of an illness. Li Shangxuan was only the third son and several years younger than the eldest prince. Everyone thought that the eldest prince was the eldest son and the legitimate heir, and the position of crown prince was a sure thing. No one expected that he would be a person with a tragic fate.
Officials are itching to gamble again, while young girls, in the bloom of youth, don't have as many concerns to consider, and their ways of expressing affection are quite blatant.
Yang Qing was probably the only one among them who was familiar with Li Shangxuan. Song Xiwei maintained a dignified and polite image, and was too embarrassed to ask her to do anything, but others would do it for her.
But Yang Qing was very unwilling, as that should have been the time when she and Li Shangxuan were most estranged.
At thirteen or fourteen, she was at a very awkward age. She suddenly realized the difference between men and women. She herself didn't want to get too close to Li Shangxuan, let alone introduce him to other people.
However, others were unaware of her subtle thoughts and assumed that she was keeping something to herself and was unwilling to share it. Song Xi was slightly angry but did not say anything, so naturally someone else took the lead.
It's just that they don't include her in their activities; Yang Qing doesn't care at all.
Anyway, she has Xu Pianran and Chu Ying, so she won't be alone.
Xiaoman dawdled in, not as radiant as before.
Chi Yangqing couldn't help but laugh when she saw this. She knew that Xiaoman had been away all day, probably because Li Shangxuan had called her over for a lecture.
The palace's gifts have already been delivered, and now that Xiaoman has come over, it's probably Li Shangxuan's own gift.
She understood, dismissed Liu Ye'er and the others, and then raised her chin slightly, "What is it? Take it out."
Xiaoman slowly took out a sachet. Chi Yangqing was puzzled. When she took it, she saw that the mandarin ducks embroidered on it were utterly terrible, even worse than Chuying's embroidery.
She stared in silence for a moment, then said something that even she found absurd.
"Could it be that His Highness embroidered this himself?"
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