Chapter 335, Birthday Banquet
"Miss, the lady asked me to bring you an invitation."
Daohua was burning incense. There are many mosquitoes in the summer. If you don't burn some incense, the mosquitoes will annoy you to death. Seeing Pingtong coming over with an invitation, he looked surprised and asked, "Whose invitation is it?"
Ping Tong smiled and said, "It belongs to the young prince."
Daohua took the note, opened it and saw that it was Xiao Yeyang inviting her to attend his birthday party on June 1st.
"How could I have forgotten this? It's almost the first of June."
As he spoke, he looked at the address written on the invitation and said in surprise, "It's being held in Ningmen Mansion!"
Ping Tong smiled and said, "Isn't it? Madam said it's a good thing we're in Ningmen Mansion. If we were somewhere else, we'd have to go through a lot of trouble again."
Daohua agreed: "That's right."
After Pingtong left, Daohua began to fall into deep thought.
What gift should I prepare for Xiao Yeyang?
After a while, Daohua suddenly thought of something and a mischievous smile appeared on his face.
Or make a pig's head cake, a big one.
After flying kites at the last Flower God Temple Fair, she knew Xiao Yeyang's zodiac sign, so it was only right to give him a pig's head cake.
In the blink of an eye, it was May 30th.
That afternoon, Mrs. Zhou brought Zhou Jingwan to the Yan family.
"Jingwan, why are you here?"
"Yan Yiyi, are you not welcoming me?"
"Miss Zhou's presence has brought glory to our humble courtyard."
After Zhou Jingwan met Old Lady Yan and Madam Li, Daohua took her to her own yard.
Zhou Jingwan looked at Daohua's yard curiously and said with a smile, "Yiyi, your yard is better than the one behind the state government office. It's spacious and exquisite."
Daohua smiled and said, "If you feel good, then stay here for a few more days."
Zhou Jingwan nodded quickly: "Okay, I couldn't ask for more."
When they entered the house, Zhou Jingwan saw the Rengui mat spread out on the ground and immediately rushed over: "Yiyi, where did you get this mat? Get me one too."
"You have no idea how miserable I am this summer. I often can't sleep due to the heat. I want to use more ice, but my mother won't let me, saying it's bad for my health."
Daohua shrugged and said, "I probably can't help you with this. This mat was given by Xiao Yeyang. He originally wanted to give it to my grandmother, but she thought the color was too tender and my mother didn't want to use it either, so she gave it to me."
Zhou Jingwan exclaimed, "The young prince is too partial. I'm familiar with him, but he only gives you the goodies he has."
After saying that, he rolled around on the mat for a few times, then sat up and looked at the rice flowers.
"You know, this cool mat is very rare. My grandfather had one, and it was a gift from the emperor. But it's not as comfortable as yours, and it's also quite old."
Daohua was not surprised at all, as almost everything Xiao Yeyang sent was of the highest quality. "I didn't know about that."
Zhou Jingwan rolled her eyes at her and said, "What do you know? I've taken a look around your room and I see quite a few fine things. There are several sets of utensils from famous craftsmen and kilns. They're almost as valuable as my grandfather's collection."
"It's not as exaggerated as you say!" Daohua smiled and shook her head, then looked around her room. She liked the open view and didn't put many items in it. Most of the things she put there were her favorites.
But, you know what, most of them were really given by Xiao Yeyang.
“I don’t really understand any of this.”
For example, Ding kiln, Ru kiln and the like, others can recognize them at a glance, but she can't tell them apart. When choosing, she relies entirely on her feelings and puts whichever one looks good.
Zhou Jingwan: "You, you just don't care about these things." After saying this, she paused and asked curiously, "Have you met the young prince's cousin?"
Daohua: "Are you talking about Jiang Wanying?"
Zhou Jingwan nodded.
Daohua's expression faded a little: "I have seen it. I saw it when I went to the provincial government last time during the Dragon Boat Festival."
Zhou Jingwan: "What do you think of her?"
Daohua thought for a moment and said, "She looks OK, but her health seems a little off."
Zhou Jingwan smiled: "She is a famous sick beauty in the capital. You can't touch her. If you meet her in the future, try to stay away from her so that she won't blame you if anything happens to her."
Daohua immediately said, "I will definitely stay as far away from people like this as possible. Besides, I live in Ningmen Mansion and she lives in the provincial government, so we won't run into each other."
Zhou Jingwan: "That being said, what if? She is the young prince's cousin. How can she not come to the young prince's birthday this time?"
Daohua thought about it and agreed: "Don't worry, I will stay away from her."
On the first day of June, Madam Li took the four Daohua sisters, as well as Madam Zhou and Zhou Jingwan who came to stay overnight, to Governor Guo's villa in Ningmen Mansion.
The villa is located in the county town near Ningmen Pass. We arrived at our destination in less than an hour.
Dong Yuanyao, Su Shiyu and others had already arrived. After Daohua and Zhou Jingwan paid their respects to the ladies of each family, they ran to find them.
"I thought you were going to live in my house!"
Daohua said to Dong Yuanyao with a smile.
Dong Yuanyao: "I want to, too, but my mother and Aunt Su have an appointment. We came here by boat early this morning. I'm still dizzy. I don't know what the young prince was thinking. Wouldn't it be better to hold the birthday in the provincial capital? Why did he have to come to Ningmen Mansion?"
Daohua: ".It must be because Governor Guo is here."
Afterwards, several people talked about other things.
After a while, Zhou Jingwan felt a little bored. Looking at the empty stage, she muttered, "The stage is already set up, why isn't anyone singing on it?"
Dong Yuanyao curled her lips and said, "Because the distinguished guest hasn't arrived yet."
Daohua looked over and asked in a low voice, "Are you talking about the Jiang family?"
There was some resentment in Dong Yuanyao's tone: "Apart from them, who else has such a big style?" Seeing Daohua and Zhou Jingwan looking at him, he whispered again.
"You don't know, but recently whenever the provincial government holds a banquet, the Jiang family is always the last to show up. Some families, in order to please Madam Jiang, must wait until she arrives before ordering their performances."
Daohua and Zhou Jingwan looked at each other, both with a look of relief.
Fortunately, their families are not in the provincial capital, so they don’t have to interact with such people.
Just then, there was a commotion among the crowd.
Dong Yuanyao said directly: "It must be Madam Jiang who brought Jiang Wanying here."
Daohua and the others turned around and saw that it was indeed Mrs. Jiang and Jiang Wanying who had arrived. However, what surprised them was that Xiao Yeyang had come with them.
After Xiao Yeyang sent Mrs. Jiang and Jiang Wanying to the female relatives, he immediately turned around and left. Before leaving, he searched the crowd with his eyes, and his gaze lingered on the familiar green figure for a moment before moving away.
"Yeyang is such a thoughtful kid. Knowing his cousin was weak, he eagerly came to pick us up early in the morning. He spent most of the day asking about our well-being, which delayed us quite a bit and kept us waiting."
As soon as Mrs. Jiang arrived, she said these words to the female relatives present with a smile on her face.
The ladies of each family were all very smart and immediately understood the hidden meaning in Mrs. Jiang's words.
"How long have you been in Zhongzhou? Are you already rushing here to claim sovereignty?"
Mrs. Dong looked down upon Mrs. Jiang's behavior and sneered at Mrs. Li, Mrs. Zhou and Mrs. Su.
Mrs. Li and the other two smiled but said nothing.
A female member who wanted to curry favor with the Jiang family immediately said, "I heard that Miss Jiang and the young prince grew up together in the Empress Dowager's palace. Doesn't this mean they are childhood sweethearts?"
Mrs. Jiang smiled and did not deny it.
Jiang Wanying lowered her head shyly.
(End of this chapter)
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