Lady Zhao

Chapter 50

In the blink of an eye, it was the end of the month, and it was a sunny day. In front of Dingguo's mansion, there was a black-painted flat-topped carriage, and behind it was a luxurious carriage with emerald green cover and pearl tassels, ready to go.

The Qionghua Banquet is a biennial feast held in the palace. Royal nobles, nobles, nobles and nobles' children who are old enough to be invited are all invited, as are princes and princesses. The banquet lasts for three consecutive days, and there are many kinds of competitions and games. To the extreme, it can be described as a grand event in the palace.

Zhao Wenwan was resting on the cushions in the carriage. After all, Bao Chan and Xue Yan had been tossing about in the morning, and she was still a little sleepy at the moment. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of the other two who looked like peacocks spreading their tails, and twitched the corners of her mouth. Zhao Wenxi was better. , at least the beauty can hold back the outfit, Zhao Wenxuan like this... Seeing Zhao Wenxi put the bright red vermilion hairpin on her hairpin, the two exchanged nervously and excitedly, shaking their heads secretly.

The lack of aesthetics is horrible.

The Qionghua Banquet is held in Lanyue Pavilion. In the garden, the beautiful trees are verdant and the exotic flowers are burning. There is not a single scene of falling in late autumn, but the prosperity carefully arranged everywhere, which shows the grandeur.A clear stream zigzags from the depths of the flowers and trees and flows under the rock gaps. The flying towers on both sides are inserted into the void, and the carved and embroidered sills are all hidden among the trees in the valley. One side of the clear springs converges at the front and flows out of the Grand View Garden. There is a white stone road across the stream. Can pass to the other side.

When Zhao Wenwan and his group arrived, they saw many graceful figures standing in the garden. Apart from the daughters of the clan, there were more dignitary and family daughters standing there, singing and laughing, like an unfolding scene. Beauty pictures, each has its own merits.

Except for Zhao Wenwan, it was the first time for Zhao Wenxi and Zhao Wenxuan to participate, and they were somewhat restrained. They followed Gong'e into the room and sat together in a well-behaved manner.The same is true for most of the noble ladies, their eyes are bright and bright, but their words and deeds are cautious.

Talking loudly and laughing, came Princess Yunqing and Princess Jinping. The former wore a fragrant bucket pattern cloak with icing on the cake, and a flowing colorful dark flower cloud brocade palace dress. The latter had an ancient pattern of double butterflies and a cloud-shaped thousand-water skirt with a red peacock pattern on the outside. The feathered satin cloak was bright and attractive, and compared with the nervousness of everyone, it seemed more self-satisfied.

There were constant eyes on the two of them. Who didn't know that Zhao Wenwan, who was known as the most beautiful woman in Beijing, was the most popular of the two, and they were the targets of the young talents at the moment.

But the two of them didn't notice it, they continued to make noise, they kept calling their acquaintances, and naturally they didn't let go of Zhao Wenwan who was willing to be invisible.

"Sister Wan, we haven't seen each other for a while, how are you doing lately?" Princess Jinping came up to him affectionately, and put his arms around Zhao Wenwan, squinting his eyes and smiling as if he just saw the person next to Zhao Wenwan, "This is Sister Wenxi who just came back. I wasn't in Beijing a while ago, but I just saw her today. She looks really handsome. I heard that Sister Wan found it by accident. How could she be?" What a coincidence!"

Zhao Wenwan withdrew her arm without a trace, and was uneasy and kindly familiar with this person, and replied with a smile, "Who said it was not, Wenxi, I have met Princess Jinping, this sister has excellent dancing skills, especially in imitating butterflies. The most portrait, Yan crowns the capital."

When the words fell, Princess Jinping's expression froze. How could she fail to hear that she was mocking her reputation as a "flower butterfly" in Beijing, but there were so many people that she couldn't get angry, so she had to bear it secretly.

But Zhao Wenxi didn't know the inside story, and said with a hint of flattery, "I don't know much about singing and dancing, so I don't know if I can ask the princess for advice."

"...I can't bear it." Princess Jinping was very angry. In her opinion, the two came together, and she refused after gnashing her teeth and left angrily.

Zhao Wenxi, who was left in a daze, was quite embarrassed, and she didn't know what had offended her. Zhao Wenxuan pulled someone close to her ear and said a few words, and then she saw Zhao Wenxi's complexion turn from green to red, and she obviously understood the reason. , when he looked at Zhao Wenwan again, there was a trace of hidden resentment in his eyes.

"The third miss of the Lin family just made a mistake at the palace banquet. I heard that the marriage is extremely difficult, and the second sister has to be careful." Zhao Wenxuan has tasted some sweetness in pretending to be good these days, so she naturally fell in love with Zhao Wenxi, a good card that she could rely on. Take it easy, reminded.

Zhao Wenxi was a little nervous immediately. Unlike those who were born in Beijing, they were used to big scenes, so they themselves had a little bit of Mu Lanyan's identity, so that they wouldn't be ridiculed by the maids from the countryside, but they were actually a little apprehensive.He secretly glanced at Zhao Wenwan, fearing that this person would make some kind of moth to deal with him and embarrass him at the palace banquet.

In this room, Zhao Wenwan focused on the dim sum in front of him unaffected at all. Zhao Wenxi has been worried for a long time by his calm appearance, but Zhao Wenwan still wants to come here today as an invisible person. In this kind of blind date scene, women are often right and wrong. Just a lot, she didn't want to get involved at all.As for those who want to make her unhappy, she has a lot of ways to make the other party unhappy, because of this aura leaking out, the few who wanted to find fault weighed it and dared not.

Zhao Wenxi stretched his neck and looked at it for a long time, then turned his head and asked Zhao Wenxuan in a low voice, "Didn't you say that you also invited the sons of various families, why didn't you see them?"

Zhao Wenxuan saw her thoughts, but she didn't show it on the surface, "Young masters of the aristocratic family will not enter the garden until before the banquet."

The Qionghua Banquet not only allows young ladies to compare their talents, but also provides opportunities for the children of aristocratic families to "get acquainted", especially those who are of marriageable age.It's just that there are no elders present, and you can't be too indulgent, so there are only women in Lanyue Xuan at the moment, and the men can only be ordered to enter before the Queen Mother arrives.

At this time, a palace lady in red clothes slowly approached, and passed on the Queen Mother's order, asking the sisters of the Zhao family to go to Ci'an Palace to speak.

In the side hall of Ci'an Palace, Aunt Yun has been waiting for her for a long time. She is from the Dou family. It's a little more cordial.

Seeing Zhao Wenwan, he greeted Zhao Wenwan with a happy smile, and without any formality, he took Zhao Wenwan's arm to look him up and down, nodded and praised, "But we haven't seen each other for a few months, Wen Wan seems to have grown taller again, wearing this dress looks even better. It looks slimmer."

Zhao Wenwan had heard her grandmother talk a lot about Aunt Yun before, but now seeing that she was not born, she pretended to worry about Aunt Yun's stature, "Petite and dainty are good-looking. It's not good for grandma to act like a baby."

"You." Aunt Yun was amused by her, "Who said our girl Wan is not good-looking, it must be because her eyesight is not good. Your grandmother was quick to refuse last time, so she sent you here now, but you have to Live in the palace for a while, so as not to hide you so tightly."

Saying that, seeing the two people behind Zhao Wenwan, she said with a gentle smile, "This is Wenxi Wenxuan, she looks so big, come, go with aunt to see the Queen Mother."

Zhao Wenxi and Zhao Wenxuan heard that it was not easier than in Lanyuexuan, they secretly twisted the corners of their clothes and held their breath, remembering the etiquette, they responded.

Aunt Yun had seen it before, and it couldn't compare to Zhao Wenwan's graceful posture, which made people feel more comfortable, so she naturally dragged Zhao Wenwan into Ci'an Palace.

In the palace, a furnace of good incense was burning in the dark blue cauldron, the maid was steaming high-quality new tea on the tea stove, and the empress dowager was drinking tea leaning on a cushion embroidered with hundreds of phoenixes. Mrs. Zhao is a bit similar, but she is better maintained and a bit younger.

"Wen Wan pays homage to the Emperor's Aunt." Zhao Wenwan knelt on the ground, pressed his right hand on his left hand, and slowly bowed down with his forehead on his palm. After he got his mind, he stood up with both hands at his eyebrows, and then put them down after standing upright. Exactly, very thoughtful and elegant.Zhao Wenxi and Zhao Wenxi followed closely behind and saluted, but they were a little unfamiliar and clumsy.

"Okay, there are no outsiders here who don't need to abide by these rules. Your grandmother is the most annoyed by this. She didn't want you to come here before, and she didn't think that Aijia is also your aunt. How could it be really embarrassing for you to go? The older you get, the more confused you become." "The queen mother pretended to be angry and said, and her words revealed an intimacy that outsiders could not match.

After a pause, he looked at Zhao Wenwan and asked, "Which one is Wenxi?"

When Zhao Wenxi was called, his fingertips trembled, and he was slightly relieved to meet the empress dowager's benevolent eyes and the kind face that resembled the old lady's, and called the emperor's aunt.

The Empress Dowager called her over, looked at it carefully, and said three good words in succession. Zhao Wenwan knew that she was happy for the old lady. The loss of the second wife and the loss of Zhao Wenxi became the biggest cause of death in the heart of the old lady. , Now that I got it back, it can be said that the medicine has cured the disease, and my body is much healthier. It is not surprising that the empress dowager, who is her own sister, feels this way.

Zhao Wenxi's wrist was held by the queen mother, stiff like a piece of wood, and she didn't know how to react for a moment. Seeing the red eyes of the queen mother, Aunt Yun stepped forward and said in a lively manner, "Queen mother, it was Miss Wan who found him. The relationship between sisters is really wonderful, Miss Wan's relationship with Miss Wenxi is just like you and Mrs. Zhao back then, the relationship is so good that it is enviable."

"Yes." The queen mother let Aunt Yun interrupt her, her mood improved, and she ordered Aunt Yun to fetch the gift she had prepared earlier in the morning. When the mother-of-pearl black lacquered box was opened, the bright gold inside dazzled the eyes.

Let the three maids gather around her, and the Queen Mother took off the heavy red gold wish locks that were worn around their necks one by one. Zhao Wenwan only felt his neck sink, probably several times.

"I prepared this thing in the early years, but what I lack is the opportunity to give it out. Now it's all right. The girls have grown up so much. It's time to find a good husband. The emperor's aunt will take care of you. You must choose one that pleases you.”

Both Zhao Wenxi and Zhao Wenxuan blushed, revealing the tenderness of their little daughters. On the contrary, Zhao Wenwan nodded solemnly. What seemed unreserved to outsiders was very natural to her. She said with a sullen face after some thought "With the imperial aunt guarding the gate, Wen Wan is naturally at ease." Then there was a bit of determination to entrust the rest of her life to her eyes.

Everyone present was taken aback for a moment, and then the empress dowager laughed out loud at her serious and funny appearance, and Aunt Yun also shrugged her shoulders, obviously holding back her laughter.

"Oh, when did Miss Wan be so funny?" The empress dowager couldn't help but couldn't control Zhao Wenwan's slightly hurt and accusing eyes.

In fact, this is also due to her way of getting along with Mrs. Zhao. Unexpectedly, the two sisters are very easy to use. The queen mother's golden thigh is obviously several times thicker, so grab it decisively!
"Aunt Huang..." Zhao Wenwan groaned as if she blushed from embarrassment.

The empress dowager gradually stopped laughing, and when she looked at Zhao Wenwan again, she felt that this child was very different from before, there was no arrogance in his eyebrows, but a bit of tranquility, and he liked her quite a bit, so he couldn't help but move his mind , tentatively asked, "Then Wen Wan, how about being the granddaughter-in-law of Ai's family?"

Zhao Wenwan was taken aback for a moment, and almost fell into the pit of the Queen Mother's sudden turnaround. She forgot to hide the shock on her face for a while, but when she realized it, she thought of her stalking and stalking comments in the past. Now she wished she could get away with the Sixth Prince, her lowered eyes rolled around, and she suddenly looked sad.

"Auntie Huang, Wen Wan suffered enough from wishful thinking, and finally decided to let it go..." Don't let me jump into the fire pit, Zhao Wenwan swallowed the second half of the sentence and did not dare to say it, but she clearly expressed her attitude .

(End of this chapter)