Chapter 114: Ningning is still young, so there is no rush to get married
Fortunately, the Wen brothers and sisters finally behaved themselves better afterwards.
After completing the hairpin and crown ceremony peacefully, Mu Zhiqiu went to the side room to change into his formal dress.
She appeared gracefully surrounded by her admirers and maids.
Wen Xingluo looked over and saw that she was wearing an extremely intricate and gorgeous dress with large sleeves. The hem of her skirt was embroidered with peonies, and the stamens were inlaid with countless colorful gems. The gems and silk sparkled in the light, making Mu Zhiqiu look particularly graceful and noble.
Peony is the national flower and is often used on the queen's clothes, skirts, and hairpins.
Mu Zhiqiu deliberately used so many peony patterns, and his intention was self-evident.
Mu Zhiqiu obviously loved this dress very much. She walked with her back straight, swaying with every step, her cheeks plump, her lips red, and her makeup exquisite. She was dignified and showed the charm of an adult woman.
Wen Rufeng couldn't comprehend this beauty and exclaimed, "Why is her walk so weird?"
Wen Yueyin's eyes were filled with longing, and she explained softly, "Miss Mu walks like a lady from the pre-Qin period."
"Is this gait famous?" Wen Rufeng couldn't understand. "But she walks like a duck."
As the eldest son of the Wen family and the stepson of the King of Zhenbei, he had a strong aura and never lowered his voice when speaking on important occasions, so the guests all heard his comments.
Mu Zhiqiu's foot, clad in Shu brocade embroidered shoes, stopped in mid-air. She paused for a long while, prepared herself mentally countless times, and paid a deep greeting to Wen Rufeng's ancestors before reluctantly continuing to walk forward with the steps of a pre-Qin lady.
As she bowed three times to the guests, she heard Wen Rufeng comment, "Don't you think her hairpin and dress don't match? The hairpin is too plain, it can't overshadow the gorgeousness of the dress, it looks a bit out of place. Yueyin, when you reach the age of marriage, your eldest brother will personally check it for you. Your dress and hairpin must be perfect."
Mu Zhiqiu's face was blue and red, and his nails had deeply pierced the palms of his hands.
Blood stained the edge of her cuffs, and she looked at Wen Rufeng with eyes that seemed to want to skin him alive.
But Wen Rufeng was unaware of anything and even nodded and smiled at her.
If Mu Zhiqiu had not heard that the Wen brothers and Wen Xingluo did not have a good relationship, she would have thought that the siblings were deliberately pretending to have a bad relationship in order to harm her!
She was completely out of mood.
She smiled grimly, bowed three times perfunctorily, and didn't even bother to continue with the process of thanking her family. She went to the next room with a sullen face to change out of her dress.
Hearing the stars falling, he smiled.
Mu Zhiqiu wanted to use the Wen brothers and sisters to make things difficult for her, but in the end she was the one who got annoyed.
This is what they call "you reap what you sow."
After going through the tedious process, the lunch finally began.
The maids presented all kinds of delicacies, and the air was filled with the aroma of meat and wine.
Mu Shangming offered Xie Guanlan a glass of wine and said with a smile, "My daughter has reached the age of marriage today, and will be able to get married in the future. Speaking of which, the commander-in-chief is also of marriageable age, right? Does he have a girl he likes?"
Wen Xingluo pricked up his ears, and his eyes fell on the young man's crimson sleeves.
Xie Guanlan said calmly, "Marriage is a matter of parents' orders and matchmaker's words, there's no question of preference."
Mu Shangming laughed dryly.
Everyone knows that Xie Guanlan is a killing god. Over the years, King Xie Jing of Zhenbei has completely delegated power to him. He is the one who truly has the final say in the Zhenbei Palace.
How can such a person have the nerve to say "it's the parents' orders and the matchmaker's words"?
He was determined to test Xie Guanlan's intentions, so he added, "My daughter has been intelligent and virtuous since childhood. When she grew up, she was well-known for her talent in the capital. Before I took office, many princes and generals came to me through matchmakers to propose marriage. However, my daughter has high standards and has declared that she will not marry anyone but a hero. Now that we are thousands of miles away in Shu County, it seems that there is only one person in the southwest who can be called a hero."
The meaning of marriage alliance in the words is quite obvious.
Wen Xingluo lowered his eyes and poked the fried fish in front of him with chopsticks.
The fish is sprinkled with salt and Western pepper, and fried to perfection, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.
Facing Mu Shangming's probing, Xie Guanlan sneered, "Father has guarded the border for twenty years, repelling countless enemies. He is truly a hero. But Father is quite old, and he already has a second wife. Miss Mu is still young and the apple of Lord Mu's eye. How can she be his concubine?"
As soon as the words fell, the surroundings fell into an eerie silence.
Mu Shangming's elegant face was distorted in an instant.
Mu Zhiqiu had just come over and sat down when she heard this conversation. The wound on her palm that had just stopped bleeding was pinched open again. Her charming face looked as if it was covered with frost and she felt extremely embarrassed.
Wen Xingluo lowered his eyelashes and took a bite of the fried fish.
The fried fish was delicious.
She curled her lips.
"The commander really loves to joke." Mu Shangming laughed dryly twice to break the awkwardness and casually brushed off the topic. "Speaking of which, your family's Miss Wen is also of marriageable age. I wonder if the palace has any prospects for her?"
Xie Guanlan took a sip of wine slowly.
He glanced at the little girl beside him.
She was concentrating on eating fish, her posture elegant and arrogant. Although she hated Mu Zhiqiu, she never relied on her overly beautiful appearance to deliberately steal the spotlight at her coming-of-age ceremony. Instead, she deliberately put on light makeup and wore a plain skirt.
He smoothed down Wen Xingluo's hair and said, "Ningning is still young, there's no need to rush into marriage."
His fingertips touched the girl's fair and smooth face. She held a mouthful of fish in her mouth and looked at him with her round, watery and clear almond eyes, like a kitten whose attention was attracted by a cat toy while eating.
Mu Zhiqiu clearly caught the tenderness in Xie Guanlan's eyes.
She was restless and upset.
She was famous for her talent and beauty, and her father was highly regarded by the emperor. Even in the capital, she was very popular. Concubine Zhang even intended to marry her to her youngest son as his principal wife.
It was just that the prince was cowardly and had no chance of becoming emperor, so she gave up on him after weighing the pros and cons.
She was always successful against men, and she had never suffered the same loss as Xie Guanlan.
She felt even more resentful towards Wen Xingluo and looked coldly at the plate of fried fish in front of her.
Wen Xingluo was in a good mood and ate a few more bites of fried fish with fruit wine.
While enjoying his meal, he noticed a vicious gaze falling on his food table.
Her heart skipped a beat.
She knew that Mu Zhiqiu hated her, but she also knew how much Mu Zhiqiu valued this coming-of-age banquet, so she thought she wouldn't do anything tampering with the banquet...
She felt her body, but didn't feel any pain from taking poison.
As I was hesitating, a strange heat suddenly surged in my body.
It feels like my period.
Wen Xingluo put down his chopsticks and left the table under the pretext of changing clothes, but when he arrived at the west room, he found that it was not his.
She felt hot all over and her legs were so weak that she had to hold on to Cuicui's hand and hurriedly find a nearby room.
She sat down on the couch, and a strange itchy feeling crawled all over her limbs, as if countless small insects were gently biting her heart. They bit and bit, and bit a huge gap in her heart, which urgently needed to be filled with something.
She calmly instructed Cuicui, "Go and invite the prince."
When she lay down, she curled up uncomfortably.
Somehow, the picture of "Spring Palace Fire-Protecting Picture" that I had seen before suddenly flashed through my mind.
She was probably about to die, but it was a pity that she couldn't taste any good food before she died.
Mu Zhiqiu is so vicious that he deliberately chose this kind of slow-acting poison. He must have done this to torture her first and then kill her!
If she died in the prefect's mansion, she would definitely beg Xie Guanlan to avenge her before she died, and not let the Mu family or the Wen family go!
If Xie Guanlan refused to help her, she would try to act like a spoiled child to him...
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