colorful butterfly

Chapter 1 Birthday Banquet

"Cousin, you must help me this time. This morning, I found a letter left by her in my sister's room. The letter said that she would go out for a few days and took her personal maid with her. I didn’t say where I was going, but I just told us not to worry about her. She will come back in a few days. The family almost searched the entire capital, but they didn’t see a trace. They were as anxious as ants on a hot pot. Tomorrow is my grandmother’s birthday. The banquet is over, and the Jiang family will definitely come to celebrate her birthday, so what should I do if I can't see her!"

You also know that she has always been dissatisfied with the marriage between my sister and Jiang Sijun, and always tried to cancel it.This time he ran away, he must have heard that the Jiang family was going to come to discuss the marriage, so he escaped.My sister was bestowed a marriage by the emperor since she was a child. She was still young at that time, and she never set a date for her marriage. She probably forgot about it, but now the Jiang family came to celebrate her grandma's birthday. , the second is to talk about this matter, my sister had promised, but now she ran away, what should I do!If I can't see my sister by then, I will offend the Jiang family, and I will definitely say that I don't take their Jiang family seriously. You know that our family cannot be annulled in this situation!What can I do? "The young man finished speaking all at once. On the surface, he seemed to be asking for help, but his words sounded like a bit of complaint. He was afraid that he would offend the Jiang family because of the incident.

"Cousin, this matter is really difficult. You still have to continue to look for the whereabouts of your cousin. If you really can't find it, you can only think of other ways. I think there are so many people in your house. See if you can find a woman. Pretend for a while, and find a way to fool it!" The girl replied.

I saw the young man said with a melancholy face, "My dear sister, although this method is feasible, where can I find such a person now? How can those servants in the mansion compare with my sister? So proficient, is the Jiang family so perfunctory, especially that Jiang Sijun, who is the champion of the dynasty! You also know that our Liu family is also a family of scholars for generations. Who doesn't know my sister, but she is well-known Talented girl, you are proficient in all kinds of poems and songs. Where can you find a woman like this? Good sister, you are the best at writing poems. If you are caught in the cold and wear a veil, no one will be able to recognize you, please, my good sister, please help us this time!"

"Cousin, it turns out that you have thought about it a long time ago, and you have put all your ideas on me. You want me to impersonate you. You are brave enough to ask me to do such a rebellious thing. How can you be at ease? !” The girl replied with a look of displeasure.

Seeing this, the boy quickly knelt down, his eyes seemed like lotus leaves filled with water, tears were about to roll down.That pitiful expression was like a baby who had been greatly wronged for not being given milk.Kneeling there and begging: "Cousin, you can't just ignore death, you and my sister are the best friends, how can you bear to see her ruined, I would be fine if I were a woman, I will marry the Jiang family, if not, then I will die This is the thing!"

"Get up, the big man has gold under his knees, how can he kneel casually, I promise you."

Immediately, the young man showed joy, and quickly got up to thank him!He left with a satisfied look.

"Miss, do you really want to go? You are the Princess, what kind of bad idea is this Young Master Biao coming up with!

You'd better not wading into this muddy water, Miss Biao caused her own trouble, let the Liu family solve it by themselves, if the prince finds out about it, he will definitely be angry, what if he is found out, what should we do?"

"Qiuye, I know your concerns, but the Liu family is helping me. Let's not say that my cousin and I are like sisters. Now the strength of the Liu family is not as good as before. If we lose the backing of the Jiang family now, we will definitely lose our position in the court." I can't keep it anymore, those former rivals will definitely wait for an opportunity to make things even more difficult, and the life of the Liu family will be even more difficult in the future. I also heard that the Jiang family may not want to fulfill the marriage contract now. Cling to other powerful families! This cousin is too capricious. Even though I know she doesn't want to marry, the Liu family pins their only hope on her. If they are found out this time, they will leave without permission, do not guard the boudoir, and ruin the family style. This marriage is over. I can't let the Liu family lose power in the court. Although our palace is expensive as a prince, it is just a good reputation and has no real power. The Liu family can also be regarded as a backer of the palace. If the Liu family loses power, The Situ family, which has always been at odds with us, is even more powerful, and it will be even more difficult to contend in the future, so I can only help them tide over this difficulty!"

"Miss, you are right. I did not think about it, or Miss, you are far-sighted and have a longer-term perspective."

"I know that doing so has wronged my cousin and sacrificed my happiness for the sake of my family, but I can only help her this time first, to see if there is any other way to persuade my uncle not to entrust the prosperity of the family to a girl On the body, the boys in the mansion should also improve a little bit, and they can really keep their own status with real skills. The woman who spoke is the Princess of Yongning Palace, named Li Qingzhu, titled Princess Kangping. King Yongning is the younger brother of the current emperor , is deeply loved by the emperor. His status is distinguished, but King Yongning has no actual position. He is an idle prince. The people in the palace are withered, with only one son and one daughter. The Lord has been in poor health since she was a child, and never went out to meet guests, so most people have never seen her, and she is also a good candidate for impersonation. Qiuye is a personal servant girl who grew up with her, and she is deeply trusted.

The birthday banquet started lively. All the well-known and respected families in the capital came to celebrate their birthdays. The old birthday star, Mother Liu, was wearing a bright red robe with the word "Fu" embroidered with fine gold thread. It is filled with precious pearl hairpins, as if the outfit of the Queen Mother had fallen into the world and was worn by her, looking so graceful and luxurious. It seems that the Liu family spent a lot of effort to hold this birthday banquet. This old lady, although already He is in his sixtieth year, but he speaks and behaves quite elegantly, and there is a faint sense of nobility about him.

Speaking of this, the Liu family is the daughter of the former prime minister, and she is quite talented. The Liu family was also very prosperous back then. Several generations held important positions in the court. Relying on the former fame of the ancestors, the emperor still treats the Liu family favorably, but now that the emperor is getting old, the princes are eager to move for the throne, and their various forces are secretly competing for the throne. The entire court was disrupted, and the people lived in the heat of the water.

"Master, I secretly discovered that Situ Nan's subordinate, Hei Feng, is sneaking around in the mansion. He must be plotting something?" A small guard whispered.

"Sure enough, the Situ family won't be so honest. How can we let go of this great opportunity, Lin Zi, keep an eye on him, I really want to see what kind of shady tricks he is going to do?"

"Master, I understand, I will find a way to stop them from doing evil things."

The young master who spoke was Jiang Sijun, the eldest son of the Jiang family, and the future son-in-law of the Liu family. Lin Zi was his personal bodyguard.Just half a month ago, a word came from the Situ family, saying that if the Jiang family could get married with the Situ family, it would surely stabilize the Jiang family's position in the court. Jiang's father saw that the Liu family had lost power in the court, and was afraid of hurting himself, so he was thinking of climbing The high branch of the Situ family, the boss, just suffers from the fact that there is no way to dissolve the engaged engagement. This marriage is a marriage bestowed by the current emperor and God. Who would have the guts to call it quits? Never thought that the Situ family would use such shady means to solve this problem.

Jiang Sijun didn't really like this Miss Liu who had never met before, but felt that doing so was too cruel to Miss Liu's family, and she was an innocent person anyway, so he felt pity for him, and secretly prevented the Situ family from taking action.Another main reason is that he doesn't like Situ's daughter and doesn't want to marry her.

"Miss, the preparations are ready. The Liu family also announced that you have contracted a cold and it is inconvenient to meet guests. Don't be rude and wear a veil to attend."

"Qiuye, Yinhua, I will stay at the banquet for a while. After serving tea, I will lie about feeling unwell and leave the banquet. You two must be careful and play by ear."

"Miss, don't worry, everything has been arranged."Princess Kangping wears the same hairstyle as her cousin, and wears her cousin's clothes. From the back, she does have a similar body shape. A blue veil is ingeniously crafted. The outermost side is inlaid with this white lace, which just covers her face. On the face below the eyes, there are only two eyes that are as clear as lake water, and they are piercing. Her eyes are much more delicate than her cousin. She is ready, just like an actor who has already memorized his lines and put on makeup. It's time to go on stage.

The banquet ceremony officially began. First, the eldest son of the Liu family read a congratulatory speech for his mother's birthday:
Fu Shou Mian live a hundred years old, healthy and walk like the wind

In his later years, he had his own auspicious light, and the sunset of the crane dance was very red...

Next is a beautiful dance, the sleeve dance. This dance has high requirements for the dancers. Without years of dancing skills, the long sleeves cannot be thrown so neatly and flexibly, like a gorgeous peony.Every petal bloomed at the same time to form a huge flower, which bloomed lifelikely. Everyone moved in unison, and every movement was seamlessly connected. Even if they were dancing with the fairy Chang'e in the sky, they would not be inferior.Everyone was amazed.

After the dance, we started to eat. There are various dishes on the table with unique shapes. People eat with gusto. On the surface, they appreciate the hospitality of the Liu family. The family is well-off. Now the Liu family is like a rusty copper coin that has been re-plated. Gold is precious on the surface, but in fact it has long been worthless.Everyone talked happily, the wind was clear and the clouds were calm, and there was a harmonious scene. They wrote poems and discussed poems, each showing his talents.In fact, it is not the case, everyone casts aside in their hearts, a chicken that falls into the water cannot turn back into a phoenix.

The Mrs. Jiang and Mrs. Liu naturally sat together with Mrs. Jiang and Mrs. Jiang's family, like a canary seeing a little magpie, exuding the aura of a king. Let's reverse the situation.The Liu family did not dare to speak loudly, for fear of offending them.

Princess Kangping looked down on the Liu family's obsequious appearance, and looked down on him from the bottom of her heart. What was the Jiang family worth? A few generations ago, they were not worthy of carrying shoes for the Liu family.Mother Jiang's neck was stiff, like the tip of a pen that hadn't been used for a long time, no matter how much water soaked it, it was so hard.Father Jiang's smile seemed to hide a knife in his folds, which made people shudder. He was looking at that Jiang Sijun, just like the person in the picture scroll. Although he was fresh and elegant, he had no human breath.With such a family, it's no wonder that the cousin doesn't want to marry. Thinking about these people who peeked at the palace when they were young, they no longer look like they used to. It seems that fame and fortune have already changed these people's faces.

Mother Jiang looked at Liu Shiyue out of the corner of her eye, looked her up and down, and said in a voice mixed with air-conditioning that came through the ice, "Shiyue, I haven't seen you for a few years, and she has grown up so much. The last time I came to your mansion, I didn’t see you. I thought you were hiding from us on purpose and didn’t want to marry. This time, I was caught in the wind and cold again. I don’t know which god in the sky our Jiang family offended in the past life, so that our future daughter-in-law will behave like this. A body!"

Princess Kangping replied through the veil: "Why don't I want to see you, Auntie, you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen, I always wanted to see you in my dreams, but I was young and ignorant, afraid of saying the wrong thing, I made you unhappy, and I hope you will forgive me, your lord has a lot, and you will definitely forgive me, right?" Princess Kangping felt disgusted after she finished speaking, but she just said that she didn't want to offend the Jiang family and embarrass the Liu family.

The smile on Mother Liu's face seemed to be engraved on it, but only floated on her face, and she said in a honey-like voice: "My in-laws, please don't get me wrong, Si Jun is really talented, I don't know how many girls are in love with him, How could we miss such a good marriage, not to mention the emperor bestowed the marriage, we are too happy to be happy, how could we not be willing!"

When Mother Jiang heard the compliment, it was like the frozen spring water nourishing all things. The joy brought by her, her smile bloomed like a flower, and she said with a smile: "It seems that I misunderstood, but my family Si Jun is indeed She is a good-looking talent, and all the women in the capital envy Shiyue, they all say that your ancestors must have accumulated virtues, so you can have such good fortune and get such a good marriage." Mother Jiang seemed to be holding something rare in her hand. Zhenbao couldn't bear it in her heart, so she took the opportunity to show off everywhere.

Li Qingzhu's face suddenly turned red, she was angry, a burst of anger flowed from her blood, but she insisted on holding back to a corner of her body, suppressing it, how could a girl as good as her cousin marry into such a family? What status is there to speak of, they must not be so cheap.Then he tried his best to calm down his angry mood, coughed lightly, and said: "Auntie, Shiyue is naturally a blessed person. The fortune tellers used to say that I have a prosperous husband, and that the person who marries me will definitely marry me in the future." I am afraid that some people have no noble character and cannot support the blessings I brought. It was Shiyue's fault in the past. I offer you a cup of tea today. I hope that Auntie will forget about the past and forgive me. past.

Mrs. Jiang's face turned green after hearing what she said, and there seemed to be angry gazes from many dead ghosts in her eyes, and the smile on the corner of her mouth became stiff.Princess Kangping still couldn't hold back, and she was very relieved when she said it, but the Liu family was really stunned and thought it was over.

But according to the rules, tea is to be served to the future mother-in-law, so Princess Kangping ordered the servant girl to bring good tea to honor the future mother-in-law.Even if they don't want to, the Jiang family can't behave in front of so many people, and can't abide by etiquette, so they can only accept the tea from this future daughter-in-law who hates her teeth.

Lin Zi winked at Jiang Sijun's side, and Jiang Sijun understood at a glance that he was going to attack Liu Yueshi, and the tea was poisonous.

Princess Kangping has never seen someone as arrogant as Mrs. Jiang, so she couldn't understand it. She said some inappropriate words, but she still smiled on her face. Naturally, she didn't know that tea was poisonous, so she picked up the teacup and knelt down. I offered tea to Mrs. Jiang. After I had to drink three cups in a row, my mother-in-law was done drinking one cup. Princess Kangping was about to bring the first cup to his mouth. Unexpectedly, the beautiful man who lived in the picture scroll spoke, The sound he made seemed to be the deep sound played by a precious ancient qin that had been lost long ago, and it was extremely pleasant.He only heard him say: "Miss Liu, if you are sick, don't pay attention to these old rules. When you recover from the illness, it will not be too late to serve this cup of tea in the future. Don't drink it today!"

Mrs. Jiang was very surprised. She didn't expect her son to speak for that little girl. She may not have heard for several years that her son would care about any girl. She was very happy at first, thinking that he was not interested in women, but now finally Seeing some hope, but the other party is Liu Shiyue, I feel quite upset, but I can't be disrespectful under the eyes of everyone. If this is spread, I will get a bad name of not being considerate of my sick daughter-in-law, it will be too embarrassing. He said insincerely: "My son is still careful, I almost forgot, Shiyue, you should stop drinking before you recover from your illness!"

Princess Kangping hurriedly replied: "That's not okay, it's etiquette, I can't break the etiquette. You must drink this cup of tea." Mother Jiang winked at her son, telling him not to speak.

(End of this chapter)