Trip to the Capital (Part 8)
The Mid-Autumn Festival banquet was held in the evening. After eating the feast and watching the performances, the ministers and their families would also enjoy the moon and share mooncakes together in the palace.
The Great Xia Dynasty only holds two annual palace banquets, one on New Year's Eve and the other on Mid-Autumn Festival. Therefore, the subjects who received the invitations took them very seriously.
After lunch, Mu Lan pulled Wang Pan'er along to start getting ready.
At this time of year, young ladies from the inner chambers would compete to outshine each other in their beauty. Wang Pan'er, however, kept her jewelry and clothes simple and plain. She was careful not to let those arrogant young ladies ride roughshod over her.
That restless group, led by the eldest daughter of the Prime Minister's family, always used the other girls to highlight their own virtue and gentleness.
It's the Prime Minister's residence again; this has created a deep-seated grudge.
Unaware of the details, Wang Pan'er asked, "How could they have become so hostile?"
Mentioning these things, Mu Lan got angry: "Isn't it all for the sake of gaining fame and marrying into a good family?"
Wang Pan'er asked in confusion: "You're not stopping them from finding a good marriage."
"Who says otherwise? We girls don't even want to look at that kind of caged bird life. It's only them who put on a show of being virtuous, obedient, and submissive every day." Mu Lan scoffed. "They'll live their whole lives under the discipline of their fathers and husbands, and they're still smug and proud of it."
"So it's because you don't include them in your play?"
"Initially, factions were formed based on personality, preferences, and family relationships. We were a bunch of wild kids who were used to being wild, and nobody cared about us. The problem was my brother, that troublemaker." Mu Lan said, already grinning. "I don't know which bored bastard came up with a list of noble young masters and put my brother at the top. From then on, he became the object of pursuit for noble ladies."
Wow, he's the top guy in Beijing.
Wang Pan'er became interested: "With your brother's personality, won't he be in for a lot of trouble?"
"I'm even more annoyed!" Mu Lan slammed a gold hairpin heavily on the table, exasperated. "My brother drew a line between us with the saying that men and women shouldn't touch each other, and now those girls are always surrounding me, trying to get to know my brother through me. I shouldn't have told them that my brother likes women with a calm temperament and good character."
"A calm and composed temperament with excellent character, that's fine too, isn't it?"
"The problem is that they interpreted it as virtuous and gentle."
Wang Pan'er: "..."
That makes it difficult to evaluate.
Lin Lan continued, "Then they started vying to show off how virtuous and capable they were, but when they couldn't come up with anything, they dragged us along to highlight how intelligent and virtuous they were."
Showing off is perfectly acceptable, but using unrelated people as stepping stones is indeed a bit unethical.
"So what you care about is that they use belittling you to elevate themselves."
"Otherwise, why would I care about whether I can catch a man's eye?" Mu Lan said with a look of disgust. "Those bastards, whoever gets involved with them is doomed."
Wang Pan'er's lips curled down, and she found it hard not to agree: "They do nothing of substance all day but come up with these gimmicks of aristocratic young masters to gain fame and reputation, and they also criticize women. It is indeed beneath them. It is unwise for those noble ladies to cater to their likes and dislikes."
"As expected, Sister Pan'er is a wise person."
Mu Lan looked at the neatly styled hair in the mirror and nodded in satisfaction. She said to the maid who was styling her hair, "You're skillful. Go and style Pan'er's hair in a nice way too. Don't worry about men's preferences. We should just outdo them and make them watch us and step on us every day."
"Okay, okay." Wang Pan'er sat obediently, waiting for Mu Lan to instruct the maid to do her makeup.
Before Mu Lan could choose a dress for Wang Pan'er, Mu Chuan had a servant bring over a pheasant-shaped robe made of vermilion brocade, adorned with a gold openwork floral crown.
Especially the floral hairpin crown, with its gold threads as fine as silk, is so lifelike that it is clearly the work of a master.
This outfit was quite valuable, and the errand boy respectfully placed the tray in front of Wang Pan'er: "This was made by the Prince a few days ago for you, so that you can wear it to the palace today."
Mu Lan pounded her chest and stamped her feet: "I had forgotten that I already had a rank. If I had prepared these earlier, what would they have had to compete with!"
Wang Pan'er touched the fabric and hair ornament in amazement and realized that the concubines were not vying for the emperor's favor.
Mu Lan looked on expectantly: "Today, we'll have to rely on you to keep things in order."
Whether wearing this outfit makes a good impression or not is secondary; the important thing is not to bring shame to the Princess's residence.
Wang Pan'er didn't have time to talk to Mu Lan anymore. She urgently summoned a slightly older nanny to cram for a last-minute lesson on palace rules and etiquette.
When the eldest princess learned of this, she specifically instructed the nanny not to make a fool of herself, but to let outsiders judge as they pleased, as it wouldn't hurt them. She told her not to make things difficult for the two young ladies.
The news that the Emperor had bestowed a marriage upon the Prince had already spread throughout Bianjing.
The princess's sedan chair was allowed to enter the palace gates. The moment the princess and her three juniors stepped out of the sedan chair, everyone's attention was drawn.
They silently sized up the future princess consort, who came from a merchant family, and most of them scoffed in disappointment.
An ordinary merchant's daughter, who appeared in public, was able to make the handsome prince descend from the high platform. Everyone thought she was a stunning beauty, but upon closer inspection, she was quite ordinary. To say she was beautiful would be an understatement; however, her beauty was nothing special.
Some of the noble ladies who had given up on the idea started to get excited again. They thought, if someone like Wang Pan'er could marry into the Princess's household and become a prince's wife, why couldn't they take her place?
The eldest princess and her two children didn't care about the thoughts of the ministers and their families. Mu Chuan, in particular, led Wang Pan'er to the women's seats, gave her a long list of instructions, and then reluctantly left, turning back every few steps.
Even without looking, you can tell it's incredibly precious.
Once she took her seat, she was protected by the eldest princess and the county princess, which made those with ulterior motives envious.
The seating arrangements for women were not as strict as those for men.
Of the two empress dowagers, the Empress Dowager Consort, the mother of the current emperor, has lost her son and is now in a weakened position. The current emperor's birth mother, the Holy Mother Empress Dowager, is reshuffling the power structure of the harem. The Holy Mother Empress Dowager is not a reserved person. After the women paid their respects, she allowed them to move around freely and offered them a seat beside her, chatting casually with the eldest princess.
The younger generation, in twos and threes, formed small groups according to their usual closeness or distance with each other.
Shen Yujiao and her group circled around Wang Pan'er in amazement, chattering and commenting on her.
"You're already willing to use brocade to make clothes even before you're officially married. Your Highness is truly generous."
"Lan'er, you have a title now, why don't you do something similar?"
Why bring up something you shouldn't talk about? Mu Lan said, half-sarcastically and half-helplessly, "Now that you have a wife, you've forgotten your sister. My brother can't remember me either, and coincidentally, I've forgotten myself too."
Everyone's teeth ached: "You forgot something so important? You're a princess now, things are different from before."
Mu Lan pouted: "I haven't even gotten used to being a princess yet. It's all so unreal. I still can't believe that my mother just divorced my father like that!"
"Let me tell you something you're interested in." Shen Yunjiao waved her hand, summoning seven or eight heads to huddle together, then said mysteriously, "Do you know what happened to Lord Lin after he was divorced?"
Mu Lan hadn't had time to inquire about this biological father's situation these days; she was curious: "What's his situation like?"
Shen Yunjiao clicked her tongue twice: "What a madman! He actually thinks he's about to return to officialdom and rise to the top in one step."
Someone asked, "How could he have such unrealistic fantasies?"
Shen Yunjiao said, "Perhaps he's been fooled by the prestige of the Princess's mansion and has been misled by those opportunists, making him think he really has the talent of a king or general. I even saw him causing a scene at the palace gate today."
Someone chimed in, "I saw it too. It's truly an eyesore and incredibly embarrassing. They don't even consider the relationship between His Majesty and the Princess. Being expelled from the Princess's residence, what good days can they expect?"
Shen Yunjiao said, "His Majesty probably spared him his official title because he is the biological father of Lan'er and the Prince. I also heard that Lan'er's grandmother throws tantrums every day, saying that the Princess is heartless and ruthless."
Grandmother genuinely adored Mu Chuan, clinging to her precious grandson without ever letting go. But her affection wasn't pure; she needed this grandson to enhance her own reputation and that of the Lin family. Over time, Mu Chuan, being no fool, found it increasingly difficult to become close to her, not to mention Mu Lan, who was neglected due to her patriarchal mindset.
Mu Lan's expression turned sour upon hearing this.
Shen Yunjiao comforted her, "But Lan'er, don't worry. Everyone says that Her Highness the Princess is kind and benevolent, and they didn't believe your grandmother's crazy talk."
Wang Pan'er also tugged at her hand: "If you're worried, it's fine to go and see her. After all, blood is thicker than water."
"What are you looking at?" Mu Lan's lips curved down slightly, revealing a hint of vulnerability that was hard to detect. "My cousin didn't strip him of his official title, so he and his mother are not going to starve to death. When they were tormenting me and trying to use me to exchange for resources to support the Lin family, did they never think about how hard it was for me?"
Shen Yunjiao reached out and lifted the corner of her mouth: "Don't be so down, or people will laugh at you."
No sooner had she finished speaking than the eldest daughter of the Prime Minister's mansion, accompanied by three or five followers, sat down at the table next to them.
The group of people were all well-mannered, which made their gossiping together look haphazard and disorganized.
Wang Pan'er: "..."
It's really annoying!
Her eyes darted around, and an idea came to her. She put on an innocent smile and asked in a pure and kind tone, "Who are these ladies over there?"
Her appearance was so fake and pretentious that as soon as she spoke, everyone noticed that Wang Pan'er was different from usual. Coupled with the cunning in her eyes, everyone readily introduced her to her.
Her naive and unsophisticated identity as a merchant's daughter, coupled with her approachable and harmless face, became her most powerful weapons at this moment.
After everyone finished introducing themselves to Wang Pan'er, Wang Pan'er raised her innocent eyes and asked naively, "Then why didn't they come to greet me?"
The group of sisters: "!"
Sister, is there a cannon in your mouth? It's so powerful!
Wang Pan'er blinked, looking innocently at the eldest daughter of the Prime Minister's family and the others.
If one greets someone politely, one naturally lowers one's rank; if one does not greet them, one is ignoring the proper etiquette.
The eldest daughter of the Prime Minister's mansion froze, and the noble ladies behind her also changed color.
Wang Pan'er sat properly in the chair, and asked Shen Yunjiao as if she didn't know anything, "I come from a humble background and haven't studied etiquette for long. Is this proper way of receiving greetings?"
Shen Yunjiao's lips were almost about to burst open, but she pursed her lips and forced herself to suppress it: "The demeanor of a future princess consort is naturally in accordance with the rules."
Wang Pan'er looked at the noble ladies with a smile.
Beneath her smile, the noble ladies, though unwilling, had no choice but to respectfully clasp their hands together in front of their chests, slightly bend their knees, and bow, saying, "Greetings, Princess Consort."
Wang Pan'er's eyes revealed a look of amazement: "As expected of a noble lady from a prestigious family, her demeanor is so elegant."
At this point, the eldest daughter of the Prime Minister's family could no longer maintain her fake smile. Her face fell, and she got up to leave.
"Wait a minute," Wang Pan'er called out to them, "You haven't paid your respects to the princess yet."
This is truly killing someone by destroying their spirit.
After the group of noble ladies greeted Mu Lan, their faces turned increasingly dark.
Wang Pan'er glanced at the only one who didn't have a dark expression. She noticed Wang Pan'er's gaze, and their eyes briefly met.
Wang Pan'er caught the well-hidden envy in her eyes. After the noble ladies left with dark faces, she whispered to Mu Lan, "Given Miss Lu's temperament, how could she be with them?"
Mu Lan sighed: "Sister Lu is very good. She is the empress chosen by my cousin, but it has not been announced to the noble families yet. It's a pity that the future empress has to be a role model for noble ladies, so she can't mingle with us."
Women disciplined by patriarchy and bound by imperial power have never been winners.
Even though Wang Pan'er used her status to deflate the arrogance of the Prime Minister's eldest daughter and others, she couldn't help but sigh: "It's a great fortune that we were able to awaken under the Confucian ethics of preserving heavenly principles and suppressing human desires. But the vast majority of girls will never have this opportunity in their lives. To their families, they are commodities, interests that can be exchanged, but they are never seen as complete human beings. If any of them awaken in the future, they should be united as one."
Shen Yunjiao and the others fell into deep thought because of Wang Pan'er's words.
Finally, she looked up at Mu Lan with a complicated expression and said seriously, "Lan'er, now I know why you always say that your brother is clinging to Sister Pan'er. If I were a man, I would also wear down Sister Pan'er's doorstep."
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