Chapter 12 Who will pity me when my beauty fades and my fragrance disappears
After taking their seats, everyone turned their attention to the focus of today's banquet, Prince Xie and Princess Anping.
Prince Xie has a handsome face and extraordinary bearing. He is not only outstanding in literary talent, but also has great attainments in martial arts. Princess Anping also has a beautiful face and superb musical skills. Her father is the emperor, so they are truly a pair made in heaven.
You can't be jealous, you can only envy.
As a result, everyone began to praise them: "Princess Anping and Prince Xie are really a perfect match, they are simply a match made in heaven and a pair made on earth!"
"Yes, yes, this is the epitome of a talented scholar and a beautiful woman!"
Amid the exclamations, Liang Shao suddenly heard a lady next to him say to her companions, "Fortunately, the emperor changed the marriage. This Prince Xie is clearly a complete winner over Liang Shao. I really envy the princess for getting such a good husband like the prince."
"I heard someone say before that Liang Shao said that only the most outstanding woman in the world was worthy of him, but he didn't like the princess of Da Qi, nor the ladies from the capital, but fell in love with that village girl. I originally thought that the village girl was not worthy of him, but now it seems that the two of them are a perfect match."
As they spoke, several people covered their mouths and laughed. Liang Shao's eyebrows and heart were twitching, and a strong anger struck his heart. He gritted his teeth hard, and sparks seemed to come out of his eyes. His eyes were red with anger.
It was getting late, and the eldest prince stood up and said with a smile: "Today's chrysanthemum viewing banquet is really wonderful. Princess Anping won the first prize. You can choose a pot of chrysanthemums first."
Xiwen smiled sweetly, with dimples faintly visible at the corners of her mouth: "I want that pot of green peonies."
Two servants carefully carried the green peony to Xiwen and handed it to the guard beside her. After the other three ladies had chosen the remaining chrysanthemums, the eldest prince announced the end of the banquet and everyone said goodbye and left.
Liang Shao was the one who walked the fastest. He didn't even have the mood to greet everyone, and he didn't even wait for Chen Bing'er. He walked out of the courtyard in a few quick steps and left in a carriage.
When Chen Bing'er trotted out, she could only see the shadow of the carriage going farther and farther away. She had no choice but to trot after it with tears in her eyes, "Brother Liang, wait for me, Brother Liang——"
I don’t know whether Liang Shao didn’t hear it or didn’t want to come back. In the end, the eldest prince sent a carriage to take Chen Bing’er back home.
When they returned to the mansion, the house was quiet. Chen Bing'er pulled the new housekeeper who was guarding the door and asked, "Is Brother Liang back?"
The housekeeper pointed to the backyard and whispered, "The master's face was livid. As soon as he came back, he had someone prepare a few jars of wine for him. Now he is drinking in his room."
Chen Bing'er nodded and turned to go to the kitchen. She knew that Liang Shao was in a very bad mood, but drinking on an empty stomach was harmful to the body. He didn't eat anything at the banquet, so he might be hungry in the middle of the night.
Half an hour later, Chen Bing'er packed three of Liang Shao's favorite side dishes, a bowl of porridge and a bowl of sobering soup in a lunch box and went to the backyard room. The door was wide open and the room was a little dark. Chen Bing'er walked in lightly. The strong smell of alcohol hit her in the face. She covered her nose uncomfortably, put the food box on the table, found a tinderbox in the cabinet beside her and lit the candle.
The dim room suddenly became bright. Chen Bing'er turned to look at Liang Shao. He was drunk and sleeping on the table. His handsome face was bathed in the soft and warm candlelight. His brows were slightly frowned because of boredom, and his mouth opened and closed. It was unclear what he was mumbling.
After smiling and watching quietly for a while, Chen Bing'er took the food out of the food boxes one by one and placed them on the table.
Liang Shao heard the voice and hummed in dissatisfaction, then frowned and opened his eyes. When he looked up, he saw Chen Bing'er smiling gently. He lowered his eyes to look at the food on the table and said unhappily, "Take it away."
Chen Bing'er was stunned, and persuaded in a gentle voice: "Brother Liang, please eat something. I specially made your favorite dishes. Clear porridge is good for warming up the body. It's best to eat a bowl after drinking."
"I don't want to eat, go away." Liang Shao frowned.
Chen Bing'er hesitated for a while, bit her lip and couldn't help but pick up the hangover soup and handed it to Liang Shao: "Well, then you drink the hangover soup..."
Liang Shao's eyes flashed with impatience, and his face was covered with a thin layer of anger. He lost control and knocked over the bowl in her hand, and shouted irritably: "Are you annoying? I said I don't want to eat it!"
The scalding hot hangover soup spilled all over Chen Bing'er's hand, and her tender skin instantly turned red. The air froze for a moment, and a trace of regret appeared on Liang Shao's face. He opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it with a frown.
Chen Bing'er stood there with her head down and her hands covered, not moving. After a long while, she slowly squatted down, picked up the fragments bit by bit and put them into the food box, then turned around and walked towards the door silently.
Liang Shao lowered his eyes and looked at the table, a feeling of regret lingering in his heart, making him feel depressed and extremely uncomfortable.
When she reached the door, Chen Bing'er clenched the food box in her hand, hesitated for a moment, lowered her head and asked in a low voice: "Brother Liang, do you regret agreeing to marry me?"
"I..." Liang Shao looked up, frowned, and looked at Chen Bing'er's thin back, hesitantly.
"Brother Liang, I'm sorry. Bing'er knows that I embarrassed you today and made you be laughed at by others." Chen Bing'er's eyes were filled with tears, which dripped down her face to the ground. She choked with sobs and said, "But even if you hate Bing'er, Bing'er still likes you."
After saying that, she covered her mouth with one hand and ran out quickly.
Liang Shao felt even more uncomfortable. He closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead with one hand. When he opened his eyes, he saw a table full of food. All of them were his favorite food. The feeling of regret instantly overwhelmed his reason. He suddenly stood up and chased after her. As soon as he stepped over the threshold, he ran into Chen Bing'er who was about to come in with a bowl of new hangover soup.
Chen Bing'er looked at him with red eyes and asked puzzledly: "Brother Liang, where are you going..."
The next moment, Liang Shao hugged her in his arms, put his lips gently against her ear, and said in a firm tone: "Bing'er, let's get married."
Chen Bing'er blinked in disbelief, and the bowl in her hand fell to the ground with a clang, breaking into pieces. She raised her hand and tightly grasped Liang Shao's clothes, smiling with tears in her eyes, "Okay."
That night Liang Shao sent people to pick up his parents and relatives to come to the capital.
Ten days after the chrysanthemum viewing banquet, Xie Fei received the "Landscape Qiu Ming Ink Painting" that Liang Shao lost to him, and a gold-embossed wedding invitation came with the painting.
The wedding invitation invited Prince Xie to go to the Liang Mansion seven days later to attend the wedding of Liang Shao and Chen Bing'er, and specifically noted that he could bring his relatives.
Seven days passed in a flash. Early in the morning, Xie Fei went to the palace to pick up Xiwen and went to Liang Mansion. They had a smooth journey and soon arrived at the street in front of Liang Mansion. The usually quiet street was busy today. From a distance, one could see the lights and decorations outside Liang Mansion, which was very lively.
The carriage started and stopped many times before it stopped in front of the Liang Mansion after a while. Xie Fei helped Xiwen get off the carriage, and they walked into the Liang Mansion hand in hand. Lu Qi called on the guards behind him to deliver the gift.
The Liang Mansion was decorated with red lanterns and red wedding characters hung everywhere, creating a festive atmosphere. When people saw Xie Fei and Xi Wen, they kept bowing and greeting them along the way.
Xie Fei and Xi Wen were of noble status, so naturally they sat in the main hall.
The main hall was hung with bright red ribbons and curtains all around, and on the table in the middle of the hall stood bright red candles with gold inlays. At first glance, the hall looked very prosperous.
As soon as the two of them sat down, Liang Shao and Chen Bing'er began to perform the rituals amid congratulations. After three rituals, the bride was helped into the bridal chamber by the matchmaker, and Liang Shao was pulled by everyone and started to be forced to drink.
After a while, Xiwen blushed and stammered to Xie Fei: "Sir, I, I want to go to the toilet."
Xie Fei nodded: "Then I will send someone to call Tinglan over."
"No need, she just went downstairs to eat. I can just find a maid to take me there." Xiwen said quickly.
"Okay, then come back soon." After a moment of silence, Xie Fei reminded.
Xiwen nodded obediently, then found a maid to take her to the toilet. When she came out, she found that the maid who brought her was gone. The Liang Mansion was busy today, so she guessed that she had been called away.
Thinking of this, Xiwen looked at the fork in the road in front of her, blinked and began to recall the way she came: "Is this the way? Hey, it seems to be this way... Oh, never mind, let's take this way. If I go the wrong way, I'll go the wrong way!"
As she walked, she gradually found that the surrounding environment was unfamiliar and began to suspect that she had taken the wrong road. However, after going around in circles, she still couldn't find the right road. Xiwen gradually became panicked. She looked around, anxiously hoping that a maid would appear, but the whole garden was deserted and no one showed up.
Just when she was about to despair, a pavilion appeared in front of her. From a distance, it seemed as if there was a shadow swaying. Xiwen was delighted and was about to walk over, but a man's voice came from the pavilion: "Bing'er, go back to the bridal chamber quickly. I'll be back soon. How can a bride lift her veil and run out?"
Xiwen was startled. The owner of the voice was Liang Shao. From his words, she knew that the other person was his newlywed wife Chen Bing'er.
At this time, Chen Bing'er's voice was heard complaining: "Husband, Bing'er is worried. I just found out that Princess Anping is coming today. Why did you invite her? Do you... still like her?"
"Nonsense!" Liang Shao scolded softly, "She came here with Xie Fei, I didn't invite her."
Chen Bing'er puffed up her cheeks and snorted, "Why did you avoid the last question? Do you really still like her, husband?"
Liang Shao looked at Chen Bing'er's little girl attitude with a smile and tears in his eyes. This was a side of her that he had never seen before. Chen Bing'er had always been virtuous, kind, generous and capable in front of him. Suddenly seeing her jealous look, he felt not only impatient but even a little happy.
Thinking of this, Liang Shao smiled and hugged Chen Bing'er into his arms, saying softly: "I have disliked her for a long time. I was just amazed by her beauty at the beginning. Now you are the most beautiful person in my heart. Besides, no matter how beautiful she is, she is still a sickly woman. She can't carry on the Liang family's bloodline. She is just a useless vase..."
Xiwen could no longer hear what he said afterwards. She stood there in a daze, tears streaming down her cheeks. Just as she was about to fall, a pair of hands held her up firmly, and she called out distressedly, "Princess!"
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