Seeing her asking about her daughter, Madam Wang was slightly startled. Then, coming to her senses, she explained with a wry smile, "My daughter is not feeling well today. I was afraid that she might pass her illness on to you, so I didn't come today. I hope you won't blame me."
There was a hint of guilt in Mrs. Wang's tone, but her expression was evasive.
Zhao Yunzhu saw it, but did not ask any more questions. She ordered someone to take Madam Wang to sit down.
…
All the guests who came to the banquet today came one after another.
The wife of Lord Lin, the garrison commander, and the ten-year-old daughter of the Lin family.
The wife of the prefect, Mr. Li, and her thirteen-year-old daughter.
There is another one, the wife of the previous prefect, Lord Xu, and his five-year-old daughter.
Everyone sat around a table.
"Today, thanks to all the ladies for not disrespecting me, I will offer tea instead of wine. I thank you all for taking care of my prince these days."
"Concubine Yun, these are our responsibilities."
"Yes, yes, Concubine Yun, there is no need to be so polite with us. It is our blessing to have the honor of meeting Prince An and Concubine Yun."
"Yes, yes!"
After some compliments, everyone picked up the teacups on the table and drank tea instead of wine.
Because Zhao Yunzhu always had a smile on her face, everyone thought that Concubine Yun was kind, and before they knew it, they started chatting with her about family matters with a smile on their faces.
Zhao Yunzhu listened with a smile, adding a few words from time to time.
The young ladies from three families gathered together to play.
Seeing that the topic was brought to Mrs. Wang, Zhao Yunzhu asked everyone to chat and laugh with her.
She quietly came to the three young ladies, and Linglong took out the three purses that had been prepared long ago and presented them to the eldest lady.
"Concubine Yun."
“…”
“…”
The three people who were playing saw Zhao Yunzhu coming forward.
He immediately suppressed his smile and saluted hurriedly.
Zhao Yunzhu reached out and helped the three people up, took the purse from Linglong, and stuffed it into the hands of the three people one by one.
"This is my welcome gift to you. I hope you don't mind it."
The three young ladies took the purse in surprise and held it in their hands, at a loss as to what to do.
"Open it and take a look. Do you like it?"
Zhao Yunzhu tried to ease the atmosphere, but the three of them did as they were told stiffly.
When they saw what was in the purse, the three of them widened their eyes again.
What was contained in the purse was actually a red gold pearl hairpin, and it was quite heavy, worth at least a hundred taels.
This was naturally the first time they had received such a valuable item.
The three of them didn't know whether they should accept it, so they could only look to their mother for help.
At this time, the three ladies' eyes also fell here.
Seeing that Zhao Yunzhu had no other intentions, he didn't want to spoil her interest, so he nodded silently and told someone to accept the things.
The three young ladies did as they were told.
Then he bowed again and expressed his gratitude. "Thank you, Concubine Yun, for your kindness."
“…”
“…”
"I'm glad you like it. Then you guys continue playing. I won't disturb you."
Zhao Yunzhu knew that the three of them would have a hard time having fun with her around, so she didn't want to spoil the fun and ordered someone to bring some food, cakes and tea.
Just as Zhao Yunzhu turned to leave, the sleeve of her right hand suddenly dropped down.
She lowered her head and saw that it was Miss Lin from the family of Lord Lin.
"Concubine Yun, I recently heard from Father that Sister Wang went to the riverbank. Father also said that Sister Wang and Prince An were talking and laughing all day long."
Although Miss Lin is only ten years old, she is a young lady raised in a family of officials.
She naturally understands some things.
Now that she is older, she has naturally become a little more knowledgeable about matters between men and women.
Today, Concubine Yun treated them so well and gave them such a valuable gift.
Naturally, she didn't want to hide this matter from Concubine Yun anymore, because she heard from her mother that Madam Wang had lied to Concubine Yun just now.
I'm afraid this matter is not simple.
Zhao Yunzhu was stunned when she heard this.
Coming back to reality, he said, "Thank you very much."
Her tone was sincere. Seeing that Miss Lin had loosened her grip on her sleeve, she smiled and said, "You guys continue playing."
What happened here did not alarm the ladies who were chatting.
But Zhao Yunzhu had already lost interest.
Even when they came forward, they looked a little sleepy, and several ladies stood up to say goodbye.
Zhao Yunzhu did not stop them. She only returned to her room after seeing off the ladies of each family.
"Miss, why is Miss Wang still pushing me? I've never seen such a shameless woman. Isn't she afraid of ruining her reputation? Your Highness is really something!"
Linglong stood up for her eldest daughter.
When he mentioned Prince An at last, he thought of what Miss Lin said, and secretly made a note of Prince An in his heart.
Miss Wang is so eager to help. If the prince insists on driving her away, how can these rumors still spread?
If Miss Lin had not shown kindness today, who knows how long their eldest daughter would have been kept in the dark.
Zhao Yunzhu frowned, fearing that this was not a simple matter. "This matter is probably a little strange. I understand the prince's temperament."
Qin Zongzhi used to dislike Wang Min so much.
Now Miss Lin said that the two were talking and laughing on the river bank.
This is not normal.
Besides, Qin Zongzhi's personality is not that two-faced.
I am afraid that this concerns the levee and the livelihood of the people, and may cause misunderstandings among others.
"Miss, should we go there? Maybe we can bring some food to the prince?"
Seeing that her eldest daughter was indifferent, Linglong felt anxious and could only ask tentatively.
Zhao Yunzhu shook her head, trying to figure out the reason. She already had the answer in her mind. "It's okay, just wait and see."
"But……"
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