On the day of the Winter Solstice, light snow began to fall early in the morning.
The court granted a half-day rest, and Song Ziyu rushed back from the military camp in the afternoon, taking Song Lin to Cuizhu Hall to pay his respects to Madam Zhou.
Song Yu then returned to Xingzhi Courtyard.
He placed a silver ingot on the table.
"The prize I won in today's archery competition is not worth much money, but I'm giving it to my mother for good luck on the Winter Solstice."
Jiang Wan accepted it with a smile.
"Mu Feng told me that you ate and lived with the soldiers in the army, and you surpassed Song Lin in every martial arts competition. The generals all think highly of you."
In the past, when people in the army mentioned General Song's son, they only knew Song Lin.
Now that I've seen it with my own eyes, I know he's an arrogant, lazy, and dissolute playboy.
In contrast, Song Yu, despite being so outstanding, did not compete or fight for anything, which earned her great favor.
This is exactly the scene Jiang Wan wanted to see.
"Once you establish a firm foothold in the army, if Song Ziyu shows any favoritism in the future, others will speak up for you without you having to say a word."
Song Yu agreed, his eyes and brows showing a very obedient and gentle expression.
"lady."
The colorful butterfly reported from outside the door.
"Aunt Ru is at the door, waiting for you to leave the mansion together."
Jiang Wan nodded, and was about to speak when she heard Song Yu say something.
"Mother needs to change her clothes. It wouldn't be good to neglect the guests. Son, go and attend to her first."
Jiang Wan smiled and said, "That's fine too."
The fabric sent by Song Tingyue has been made into a padded jacket and skirt, its sky-blue color exceptionally elegant.
Jiang Wan looked at herself in the mirror and saw a jade hairpin in her makeup box that matched her perfectly, so she casually put it in her hair.
Upon exiting the gate, they saw Aru and Song Yu standing at the entrance, with Cai Die waiting to one side, her expression somewhat strange.
Jiang Wan walked over, and as soon as she got closer, she smelled the familiar fragrance on Aru's body.
The group walked towards the gate of the mansion.
Song Yu suddenly said, "Aunt Ru's rouge must be quite valuable, and its fragrance is very special."
Aru's face stiffened for a moment, then she smiled and said, "I don't know anything about these things. I just thought it smelled nice, so I used more of it."
"It contains borneol."
Jiang Wan smiled faintly and glanced at Aru.
"Adding this fragrance to rouge has a remarkable effect on skin care; no wonder your skin looks so good lately."
Aru smiled.
Song Yu's eyes were deep, but he still smiled and said, "I see."
Cai Die looked at him and suddenly felt a tremor in her heart.
Just now, Young Master Yu said he wanted to say a few words to Aunt Ru and asked her to stay away.
She didn't hear what they were saying, but she saw Aunt Ru looking at Young Master Yu with fear and an extremely ugly expression.
It's like...being extremely frightened.
How could that be?
Young Master Yu is gentle and kind, and he would never deliberately make things difficult for anyone.
Butterfly shook her head, banishing the strange thought from her mind.
Three carriages departed from the General's Mansion and slowly drove towards Wangchun Tower.
When they got out of the car at the restaurant entrance, they saw Pei Xi and Pei Jin each holding a skewer of candied hawthorns, as if they were waiting for them.
"Second Prince, Third Prince."
Song Tingyue greeted the two first, her eyes full of smiles: "It's wonderful that His Majesty has allowed you to leave the palace for the festival."
Pei Xi snorted.
"Even the Crown Prince finds the palace banquets boring and comes out to enjoy himself. How can Father Emperor keep us from doing that?"
Pei Jin quickly tugged at his sleeve and looked around, saying, "You must not speak ill of His Highness the Crown Prince."
"Look at the guts you have!"
Pei Xi glared at him.
"How could Consort Rong, who was so arrogant and domineering in the harem, have raised such a coward as you!"
"Shh!" Pei Jin said nervously, "If Mother finds out that I went out with you, she will definitely scold me."
Jiang Wan observed the two of them calmly.
Since their encounter in Qiyun Mountain, Pei Xi and Pei Jin have been bickering, but their relationship seems to have become closer.
In the imperial harem, Pei Xi's birth mother, Consort Yun, and Consort Rong had long been rivals for the emperor's favor and were mortal enemies.
And Pei Jin…
Rumor has it that her birth mother was of humble birth and died young, and she was raised in the palace of Consort Rong from a young age. For more than ten years, she was treated no differently than her own child.
However, as a prince, his personality was indeed too timid.
"Let's go, my brother is already waiting upstairs."
Pei Xi shouted and beckoned everyone to go upstairs.
What was originally a family banquet at the General's Mansion became more solemn due to the presence of three princes, thanks to Song Tingyue.
Of the three, Pei Feng is undoubtedly the most senior and talented.
Song Ziyu personally offered the toast, not daring to be negligent.
Judging by attitude alone, it was far less than the intimacy and flattery shown towards Pei Xuan.
It seems that the person Song Ziyu truly wanted to rely on was Pei Xuan.
Meanwhile, Song Tingyue had already secretly formed an alliance with Pei Feng.
Jiang Wan took in everything, silently drank a sip of soup, and looked towards the opposite side.
That was the room where she and Pei Xuan had arranged to meet that evening; it was very convenient to get there from there.
There is still more than an hour before the meeting.
"Madam likes this duck soup, let me have another bowl for you."
Aunt Ru suddenly spoke up.
She leaned closer, and the fragrance intensified with her movements.
Today, the rouge she wore seemed unusually heavy.
Jiang Wan choked and frowned.
Song Tingyue noticed this scene and exchanged a glance with Gu Yurong; their eyes were fixed on each other.
"By the way, there is something I need to announce today."
Song Tingyue smiled and took something from the maid's hand.
"This is the golden-handled, red-tasseled spear left by my grandfather. It was personally bestowed by the late emperor and represents the loyalty and merit of our Song family. It is a treasure passed down through generations of our family."
"My grandfather told me to leave this to the most promising child in the next generation."
She looked at Song Lin.
"Today, your aunt is entrusting this gun to you. You must work hard and live up to the glory of the Song family."
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