The spring banquet in Hutu was quite successful. There were no vicious female supporting characters or clueless girls who wanted to cause trouble and seek attention, as Changning had worried about. They were all quite well-behaved and proper.
That makes sense. If children don't learn the rules properly, which family would feel comfortable letting them go out? Wouldn't that just bring trouble upon themselves?
This is feudal society, the ancient Qing Dynasty, where class hierarchy was at its peak. There aren't many idol drama plots here.
Changning listened to her daughter chattering about what she had seen and heard at the time. It was quite lively and joyful. There were some treasures that Prince Zhi had spent a lot of money to search for, as well as flowers that were being carefully cultivated and were in full bloom.
The group of girls also went horseback riding, pitch-pot, mahjong, drinking games, and poetry recitation.
Of course, they don't drink alcohol; they just have fruit tea to go with the flow.
Speaking of poetry, she specifically praised the girl from the Xilin Gioro family, saying that she could compose poems on the spot, was very talented, and had the makings of a female poet.
Changning thought for a moment, "Xilin Gioro clan? Who is that?"
"I heard from them that she is a princess from the Ortai family, and her father is an official in the Imperial Household Department."
Changning suddenly realized that it was his family. She had heard of him before and vaguely remembered that this Ortai was also an important minister of Yongzheng. However, like the Thirteenth Prince, his rise to power was not in this dynasty, but in the Yongzheng era.
Changning remembers him because Ortai was in charge of the southwest region, including Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangxi. He supervised the three provinces, implemented the policy of replacing native chieftains with centrally appointed officials, and made outstanding contributions.
As for why a Northeasterner from Changning would pay so much attention to Yunnan, it can only be said that Yunnan and Hainan are the fourth and fifth provinces where Northeasterners gather.
She studied at a university in Yunnan and spent a few years there. She loves the rice noodles there, so she often eats them even now at home.
However, speaking of which, the daughter of the Ortai family is really that amazing! According to Hutuli, that girl is a year younger than her!
This is truly a child prodigy! Even Hu Tuli can't spontaneously compose poetry! (Original work)
Changning was quite interested in her, not only because of her exceptional talent, but also because Hutuli kept talking about this new sister he had just met.
She had seen talented women before, like Zhang Gege in the Fourth Prince's harem.
Unfortunately, there's nowhere for her to showcase her talents now. In the backyard, she just spends her days huddled together with Princess Gao.
I heard before that she could publish a poetry collection every year, but now there's been no news about it.
Hopefully, this Xilinjueluo woman won't end up like Zhang Gege.
Changning always felt a little regretful.
The mother and daughter chatted for a while, then heard some noise ahead. They called Tingfeng over and asked, and sure enough, it was the Prince who had returned.
However, he went back to the palace.
While Changning was overjoyed, she also knew that she should go to the palace to report back to the Emperor.
Upon hearing the words "traveled and weary," Changning figured he probably hadn't eaten properly either, so she quickly sent word to Eunuch Ma to prepare some Sichuan dishes to go with the meal.
Seeing that Hutu still wanted to stay, Changning tapped her forehead: "Go back quickly. You've already used everything today. Eat less sweet and spicy food."
Hutu pouted, but she knew she couldn't bother her father and mother. She was old enough to understand, and only said she would come to see her father tomorrow.
Changning ordered several dishes and waited for Yinzhen to return.
Then we heard from the front that the Thirteenth Prince had arrived.
Changning thought to herself that this was probably another plea for help; the Fifteenth Princess had been betrothed and would be marrying off this year.
As expected, in the study, the Thirteenth Prince first inquired about the hardships of the journey with Yinzhen, and then brought up the matter of Princess Heshuo Dunke.
"What? Father Emperor has already decided to send my eldest brother's eldest daughter to serve in Mongolia?"
When Yinzhen heard the news from the thirteenth prince, even his usually calm face showed some panic.
Yinxiang nodded quickly. This time, he really wasn't asking for help; he had come to deliver a message.
Because of his fifteenth sister's situation, he kept a close watch on the Imperial Household Department day and night, fearing that they might tamper with his sister's dowry if they were careless. What if they discovered something was wrong after she was married off? Would they expect the princess to come back crying and write a memorial to the emperor?
As a result, he was the first to notice something was wrong when he was watching closely. The Imperial Household Department had a set routine for preparing dowries, but there had been a sudden increase in the dowry these past two days. It couldn't be that it was for Princess Dunke's dowry, so it could only be that someone else was going to give gifts to the Mongols.
Who else could it be?
All the princesses in the palace have been married off, and now among the princes, only a few daughters from the Prince Zhi's family are of marriageable age.
Therefore, after Thirteen guessed the Emperor's intention, he kept thinking about sending a message to Fourth Brother. However, without any evidence, he could not write a letter and leave any handle, otherwise it would seem as if he had been watching every move in the palace.
We can only wait for Fourth Brother to come back.
Upon hearing that Yinzhen had returned, he rushed over immediately to discuss the matter with him.
He knew that his fourth brother's family had two princesses, Yierha and Hutuli. Based on his understanding of his fourth brother, he would not give up either of his daughters and was unwilling to abandon either of them.
Then we need to come up with a set of rules for this.
The eldest princess of the Prince Zhi's family has already married, so how far behind are the younger daughters?
This can't be done like he did at the last minute, otherwise we'll just be making a mess of things. We need to discuss it beforehand.
Seeing the Thirteenth Prince's concerned expression, Yinzhen felt a warmth in his heart and patted him on the shoulder.
"Thirteen, your brother knows your heart. Your fourth brother didn't spoil you for nothing. I remember your kindness in this matter."
Thirteen felt embarrassed by his words: "What's the big deal? Fourth Brother, you're like my own brother. I don't know how I'd get by without your help. I'll do anything to help you. Just tell me what to do!"
Yinzhen nodded and told the thirteenth prince to return to his residence first. This matter couldn't be rushed; he would think it over carefully.
After the thirteenth prince left, Yinzhen's previously gentle expression suddenly turned cold. He let out a long sigh, composed himself, and then strode towards Qingzhi Courtyard.
As soon as you enter Qingzhi Courtyard, you can smell a spicy aroma, which immediately makes Yinzhen hungry.
As he stepped through the curtain, he was greeted by a table laden with delicious-looking dishes. Yinzhen swallowed hard, and seeing Changning still sitting and about to move, he quickly stepped forward to stop her: "What are you doing?"
Changning gave him a reproachful look: "I just wanted to welcome you."
"No need, no need. You're feeling heavy, I'll come and keep you company."
After quickly washing up, Yinzhen sat down next to Changning and served her food.
A pot of taro and chicken was placed in the center of the table.
The fragrant and spicy aroma that Yinzhen smelled came from this dish.
The plump taro rolls in the red oil, and the chicken is cut into small pieces, including chicken thigh meat, wing root, and even the whole wing middle. The skin is fried to a golden brown and soaked in red oil, making it look very appetizing.
Turning the chopsticks down, there were quite a few side dishes inside: green vegetables, mushrooms, tofu skin, bamboo shoots, etc. Yinzhen picked up a piece of soft and glutinous taro and gave it to Changning. The taro was stewed until it was very soft, and it would fall apart with the slightest touch of the chopsticks.
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