Lihoumen

Chapter 11 Entering the Palace
Although the palace banquet was in the evening, there were some cumbersome procedures for entering the imperial city, so at noon, Ajiang came to urge Qingqing.

Qingqing finished washing and dressing herself up, and then followed Ajiang out of the house.

The luxurious carriage for entering the palace was ready, and Shen Han was sitting in the carriage, having obviously been waiting for a while.

The moment he saw Qingqing, Shen Han was stunned for a moment, then opened the car curtain and stretched out his hand to her. Qingqing hesitated for a moment, then put her hand in his palm and was pulled into the car by him.

This luxurious carriage was very spacious, with flowered carpets covering the interior. There was also a desk in front of the couch, on which were placed tea sets, fruits, snacks, and the like.

Qingqing sat down on the carriage couch with Shen Han. She realized that Shen Han was paying attention to her. Qingqing straightened her dress and asked, "Is it appropriate for me to dress like this for a banquet in the palace?"

Although she was a noble lady, to be honest, she didn't have any precious jewelry.

The dress she wore today was moon-white, and even Qingqing herself felt it was too plain, but most of her clothes were dark-colored, not as suitable as this one. The bright red dress she wore for the tea ceremony yesterday was very nice, but Qingqing knew that in the palace, red was only worn by the empress dowager and the queen. Even the imperial concubine was not allowed to wear bright red, so the red dress was naturally inappropriate.

Then there is the jewelry on her head. When she got married, the family gave her a few tassel hairpins. However, as a noble lady, she was required to be able to "control the hairpins", which is what Nanny Yu often reminded her in her ear: when she walks, the tassels on the hairpins must not swing at will.

Qingqing has practiced this hairpin-controlling technique for many years, but still hasn't gotten the hang of it.

She was afraid that this would be disrespectful after entering the palace, so she did not wear a flowing hairpin, but only used a pearl flower to pin her hair in a bun.

Hearing this, Shen Han looked at her again and replied calmly, "That's fine."

Qingqing could tell that he was dissatisfied with her appearance, so she lowered her eyes and whispered, "This is the best dress I can afford."

She half lowered her head and bit her cherry lips slightly. There seemed to be a thin layer of mist in her big eyes, and even her voice lacked confidence.

To be honest, Qingqing was still very scared about entering the imperial city suddenly.

Shen Han looked at the people around him and said, "I neglected it. When I have time, I will ask them to buy you some clothes."

When Qingqing heard him say this, she felt relieved, so she raised her eyes to look at him and smiled at him faintly.

Those eyes seemed to be filled with watery light, clear and flawless.

Shen Han looked at those eyes, and the Crescent Spring he saw in the desert many years ago suddenly emerged in his mind.

When he was young, he and his predecessors went north to fight against the barbarians. The army lost its way in the desert and walked aimlessly for three days and three nights. Just when the soldiers were on the verge of despair, a spring suddenly appeared in the desert. The spring lay quietly in the vast Gobi Desert, bringing people joy that was simply beyond words.

Later, I learned from local elders that the spring was called Crescent Moon Spring. Legend has it that a lovesick goddess turned her tears into the spring because she couldn't wait for her lover to return.

That year, when he first saw her eyes, he thought of this spring.

Watching it again today, he couldn't help but think of it again.

He looked into her eyes and said, "My elder brother and his wife are also attending the banquet today. My elder sister-in-law will naturally remind you of some subtle etiquette. I will also be by your side after you enter the banquet, so you don't have to be afraid."

This was the first time that the couple had appeared in public together. Qingqing was naturally pleased that he was considerate of her. She nodded and replied, "I understand. Thank you very much."

Shen Han was not good at speaking, and they seldom spent time together, so the two of them had very few words to say to each other along the way, and most of the time, they were in silence.

When the carriage slowly entered the Xuande Gate, Qingqing got off with Shen Han.

Eldest brother Shen Feng and Li had arrived earlier.

After Shen Han got off the car, he stood aside with Shen Feng to talk about important matters. The four brothers of the Shen family were all born with good looks. Shen Feng had a handsome figure and a gentle and elegant temperament. As a military general, Shen Han was tall and straight, with a cold and restrained temperament, and had more masculine charm.

Although the two brothers have very different temperaments, they are both outstanding and eye-catching.

While the two brothers were busy talking, Li came over to look for Qingqing. The two sisters-in-law were both surprised when they saw each other.

Qingqing was stunned by Li's imperial attire. Although she recognized the imperial attire, it was the first time she saw the dignified Li wearing it. Li was dignified and solemn by nature, and wearing this dress made her look even more wealthy and majestic. The faintly glowing burnt blue crown on her head was so dazzling that it was hard to open one's eyes.

It is truly both noble and majestic.

Li was also mesmerized by Qingqing in front of her. She had never seen Qingqing dressed up carefully before. Today, she saw her wearing a moon-white skirt with orchid patterns, which made her figure look even more slender. Her beautiful face like a hibiscus, set off by this fairy-like dress, made her look as beautiful as a fairy in the Moon Palace.

After being amazed, Li saw that Qingqing only had a jade hairpin and a few pearl flowers on her head, and she couldn't help but frowned slightly.

It is beautiful, but it does not seem noble enough for a palace banquet like this.

Qingqing saw what Li was thinking. She subconsciously adjusted the jade hairpin on her head and asked in a low voice, "Sister-in-law, is my headdress too simple?"

Although Qingqing knew that Li looked down on her as a sister-in-law who was born in the common people, she also knew that Li was a person who knew the overall situation. In such occasions, they represented the dignity of the Xuanping Marquis Mansion. As the saying goes, if one suffers, all suffer. Li would not just watch her make a fool of herself and do nothing.

As expected, seeing Qingqing asking for advice humbly, Li pulled her aside and whispered, "Your jewelry is indeed a bit plain. Why don't you even wear a tassel?"

Qingqing replied truthfully: "To be honest, I am not good at using hairpins, and I am afraid of being impolite."

Li frowned even more when she heard that, and nodded slightly, saying, "It's better not to wear it than to be laughed at and disrespected." She sighed and said, "Forget it, that's it. Those who come to the palace are not good people. When you go in, you should talk less and try not to show off."

Qingqing bowed slightly to Li: "Thank you for your advice, sister-in-law."

After entering the Xuande Gate, eunuchs would check the name tags of every noble person entering the palace. When they entered the imperial city, they would see many officials wearing various official uniforms who had also been ordered to enter the palace for a banquet, as well as ladies who were dressed in luxurious attire.

Those noble ladies were all dressed in gorgeous clothes, with dazzling pearl hairpins on their heads. They were calm and steady in their every move. Qingqing paid close attention to their footsteps, and sure enough, every step was just as measured, a precise two-inch distance.

In the past, Qingqing always felt that Nanny Yu was nitpicking when teaching her etiquette. It was not until she saw that all the noble ladies were like this that Qingqing completely understood that these noble ladies had been exposed to these rules and etiquette since they were born, and after they became adults, they studied and practiced them diligently every day. These norms had already been firmly ingrained in these noble ladies like flesh and blood.

But these are things that a commoner like her cannot make up for simply by her own efforts.

(End of this chapter)