Chapter 193 Nothing ventured, nothing gained
"The Princess's Spring Banquet?"
Chuntao placed the invitation on the table. "The steward who delivered the invitation also said that Miss should attend the meeting on time."
Meng Shilan and Shuang'er looked at each other in bewilderment.
What kind of performance is the Eldest Princess putting on?
Shuang'er trembled as she hugged her arms, thinking of the fear she had felt that day.
"Can I not go...?"
"Does the eldest princess only find pleasure in tormenting us because she never married?"
Meng Shilan pursed her lips, wondering what the eldest princess was planning to do...
You can't catch tiger cubs without going to the tiger's den.
It seems I have no choice but to go.
Meng Shilan had never been to such an occasion before, and she still didn't recognize all the ladies of the capital.
The spring banquet is also a good opportunity for the ladies of the house to find a match for their children.
Besides Jinming Lake, which boasts beautiful scenery, Beijing also has Fairy Peak.
There is a sea of flowers at the foot of Fairy Peak.
It was managed by the estate of the Princess's residence.
Every year when all the flowers are in full bloom, the Hundred Flowers Spring Banquet is held.
Although it was called a banquet, the eldest princess did not adhere to the usual banquet format and did not sit around under one roof to enjoy singing and dancing.
Each residence has a bamboo canopy, decorated with the most beautiful flowers.
All the bamboo tents formed a large, open semicircle.
There were no singers or dancers at the banquet.
Poetry, calligraphy, painting, playing the zither, pitch-pot, and flower-shooting were all talents of the young ladies from various families.
A hundred flowers bloom in competition.
It is a flower, and it is also a person.
The bamboo tent in the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion is the closest to the Princess's main tent.
But it was also the most deserted place, with only Meng Shilan and two maids.
I once heard Zhou Wanqing say at the Duke of England's residence that the Princess's spring banquet was both fun and beautiful.
It seems she and the young master of the Gao family hit it off at last year's spring banquet, and the Gao family personally came to propose marriage.
Although Zhou Wanqing was born out of wedlock, she was the best-married of the three daughters who had already married.
Meng Shilan glanced in the direction of the main tent. The princess was leaning lazily against the bamboo couch, her slender fingers pointing to her knee.
He seemed quite satisfied with the performances of the young ladies today.
Meng Shilan withdrew her gaze and leisurely took a sip of tea.
She now understands that everyone in the capital has their own agenda, and even when it comes to framing someone, they will take several steps in the wrong direction first.
The ladies who lived further away from the Meng family were gathered together talking.
Almost half of their conversation revolved around Miss Meng.
Everyone coveted the power of the Meng family, but the young master they had found was already engaged to the He family's daughter.
And Ms. Meng even had two children with her.
Any other flaws would have already broken down the Meng family's threshold.
But unfortunately, they have children.
Now, in the capital, people who have already sent people to visit and arrange marriages are being gossiped about behind their backs, with some saying they want to marry into the Meng family and become their son-in-law.
After all, they don't lack children now.
Meng Shilan knew perfectly well that those people's seemingly casual glances were directed at her.
The news of the poisoning at the shop that day had spread throughout the capital, and business had been affected.
I reckon everyone knows about the feud between her and the eldest princess.
However, they were surprised that she still had the nerve to attend the Princess's spring banquet.
In contrast to the bustling atmosphere of other residences, no one approached the Meng family's tent to speak to them.
When Huang Yuning, the young mistress of the Dong family, stepped forward, everyone cast strange glances at her.
This family was one that didn't usually visit each other much in the capital.
Huang Yuning was indeed rarely in Beijing, and she didn't make any close friends during her entire pregnancy.
She remembered that when she was in postpartum confinement, the first person from the Meng family to visit was not a relative or friend.
"Miss Meng seems to be enjoying herself." Huang Yuning walked into the tent with a smile on her lips.
Huang Yuning, who has already finished her postpartum confinement, is no longer in the mess she was in during that time.
She exudes a carefree and unpretentious air that others lack.
Meng Shilan looked up in surprise, "Mrs. Dong?"
"Don't call me Young Madam. I'm two years older than you. Just call me Sister Huang."
Huang Yuning spoke quickly and directly. Meng Shilan paused for a moment, then readily agreed, "Sister Huang."
She turned to the maid and gestured for tea to be served. "Why have you come, sister? The child is still young and needs his mother."
Huang Yuning smiled, "That child is quite well-behaved. Besides, he is the child my mother-in-law has been longing for. I don't need to worry about him. I'm happy to be free."
"Let me relax and unwind today."
"Furthermore, we will be leaving Beijing when the child is six months old, so we thought we would have a banquet before leaving Beijing to broaden our horizons."
Huang Yuning spoke in a relaxed tone, as if the two were already very familiar friends.
Meng Shilan said, "It's just a banquet. The world is vast, and my sister's knowledge far surpasses ours."
“That’s true.” Huang Yuning laughed loudly, looking up at the sky.
Meng Shilan discovered that Huang Yuning was a person who didn't care about details.
Huang Yuning invited, "I heard that the Princess specially had a horse trail built, let's go horseback riding too."
"My riding skills are not good, please don't laugh at me, sister."
She waved her hand dismissively, "As long as you can ride a horse, these piano playing and singing are nothing special. Let's go riding!"
Fairy Peak, when viewed from the side, resembles a beautiful woman lying beside an ear, hence the mountain is not high and has a gentle slope.
Riding a horse up there isn't difficult at all.
The two rode away.
Immediately, a figure from the group of guards not far away followed.
The road up the mountain has been repaired, and there are quite a few young men riding horses in twos and threes.
Once they were far from the main tent, Meng Shilan slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.
When I greeted the Princess just now, I acted as if I didn't know her.
Guo Fan also took the opportunity to search the manor, but found nothing else unusual.
Apart from the arrows from the southern border army that day.
She almost believed that what happened in the shop that day was just a misunderstanding.
"Is that him?" a voice said.
"Yes, I did not admit my mistake."
The two had just ridden halfway up the mountain when they saw four or five teenagers pointing and whispering at Meng Shilan.
Meng Shilan glanced at them and didn't recognize any of them.
Huang Yuning also noticed those children who were neither too old nor too young.
She frowned and demanded loudly, "Which family's child is so rude!"
The boys laughed and joked as if they had heard the funniest joke in the world, without any seriousness whatsoever.
One of them was even bolder, exclaiming, "You're General Meng's granddaughter?!"
"Your mother had a child out of wedlock, and you also had a child out of wedlock. It's true that like mother, like daughter."
"You have ruined the family's reputation! This family of loyal and heroic souls has been disgraced because of you!"
Meng Shilan frowned. "Whose family are you? Ignorant and rude, I want to see which master is behind that crooked beam above you."
The boy sulked, "We won't be polite to someone like you!"
Huang Yuning snorted coldly, "Then I'll have to ask your teacher who taught you this. Even the sage treated an old beggar with respect, how can you be more than the sage!"
"We men are naturally different from you women!"
The boys were naive and arrogant.
She wanted to step forward and teach the children a lesson, but Meng Shilan stopped her, saying, "If they hadn't been taught by their families, they would never have said such things."
Her gaze turned slightly cold. "To avoid being accused of arguing with children, I'll just ask their parents later if their household's etiquette is above that of the imperial court."
After saying that, she glanced at the group of boys again.
"Let's go, don't ruin your good mood."
The boys, however, acted as if nothing had happened and walked away laughing and joking.
A group of spoiled rich kids.
As Huang Yuning rode on her horse, she grew angrier and angrier. "These sons of noble families nowadays are all so arrogant, thinking they're some kind of dragon among men!"
“We had previously argued with my in-laws about whether to take the child with us or leave him in Beijing to be raised by them.”
"Now I feel that no matter how hard it is, I must keep him by my side and never leave him in the capital!"
Meng Shilan nodded in deep agreement.
The scenery at the top of Fairy Peak is magnificent.
It offers a panoramic view of most of Beijing, which is much more beautiful than the flowers and plants below.
Huang Yuning looked at her relaxed expression, as if she had finally taken off her mask.
The corners of her lips unconsciously turned up. "I find Miss Meng somewhat peculiar."
"Why do you say that?" Meng Shilan turned to look at her.
Her eyes and brows were bright, as if all the light in the world shone upon her.
Huang Yuning turned around and looked at the capital city, which seemed both far away and near, just like her.
"I sense that you don't like Beijing. I heard you were in Dingxian before. Although it's a small county, I think you must have been happier there than here."
Meng Shilan lowered her eyes slightly, then smiled broadly.
"For Sister Huang, being carefree and unrestrained is the most important thing. But for me now, being alive is the most important thing."
Huang Yuning looked at her face. She was only in her early twenties, but she had a maturity and experience that was completely inconsistent with her age.
She didn't ask any more questions, but simply turned her horse around.
Her tone rose, "Now let's see who gets to the foot of the mountain first?"
“Okay.” Meng Shilan readily accepted the invitation.
The two men's horses rode side by side.
Suddenly, Meng Shilan's horse reared up high!
She was so frightened that she immediately grabbed the horse's neck and almost fell off its back.
Before Huang Yuning could react, Meng Shilan's horse had already charged into the dense forest like a madman!
Change can happen in the blink of an eye.
Then a burst of laughter came from not far away.
Huang Yuning then realized that it was those same boys who had been hiding behind a boulder and had secretly used slingshots to shoot at Meng Shilan's horse, causing it to run wildly.
"you!"
Huang Yuning retorted angrily, "If anything happens to Miss Meng, do you think your father will still protect you? Do you think Master Meng will let you off the hook?!"
The boys didn't take it seriously at all, mounted their horses, and rode off laughing and joking.
Huang Yuning looked at the dense forest, hesitating whether to go in and search.
A rapid sound of horses' hooves approached from afar.
It was Zhou Congxian.
Huang Yuning didn't know him, but she recognized his flying fish costume.
"Commander! Miss Meng's horse went mad after being hit by those children's stones, and it carried Miss Meng into the woods!"
"You should quickly find someone to go look for it!"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Congxian's expression immediately changed. He took out a signal flare from his pocket, lit it, and launched it into the air.
Without saying a word, he spurred his horse and galloped into the dense forest.
The woods are dense, and few people come here.
As soon as Zhou Congxian entered, he noticed something unusual; the horse he was riding became restless.
His brows furrowed tightly.
Someone has sprayed pesticides in the woods!
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