Phoenix Hairpin

The sun was shining brightly in the east and the breeze was blowing mildly.

   A girl in red galloped on horseback.

   This jujube red horse is tall and mighty, with smooth fur and powerful hooves. It is a rare horse of high pedigree.

   There are only three such horses in the capital.

  Two of them are in the imperial stable. There was another one, which was given to King Xingyang by Emperor Yongjia two years ago. King Xingyang gave the horse to his daughter whom he loved more than his life.

  The sun shone on the long mane and bright eyes of the horse, and also on the face of the girl in red.

   The girl's smooth face seemed to be plated with a layer of light, her complexion was cold and bright, and her expression was high.

 This is Lu Mingyu!

  A beautiful girl in a light blue dress stuck her head out of a carriage window and smiled at Lu Mingyu: "Xiaoyu, why did you come on horseback?"

  Lu Mingyu tightened the reins, turned over, and dismounted, the black and smooth blue silk was picked up by the wind and quickly scattered over her shoulders.

   This blue-clothed girl was surnamed Shen and her boudoir name was Lan. Her father was a minister of household affairs, in charge of the treasury.

  Miss Shen was not tall, with a plain appearance and not so dense hair. She was slender with a pretty face, and the graceful bearing of an official's daughter.

  Lu Mingyu and Shen Lan; one was a general’s daughter, and the other was a daughter of a civil servant. One dared to love and dared to hate, and the other was gentle, subtle, and self-controlled. Two completely different girls, but they were boudoir friends.

  Lu Mingyu felt warm when she saw her former boudoir friend.

  Shen Lan was three months older than her. In her previous life, Shen Lan married a prominent scholar.

   Mr. Shen's gaze in picking his son-in-law was much stronger than that of Lu Lin.

   That Xinke Jinshi came from a scholarly family. After three years in the Hanlin Academy, he sought an outside posting and left Beijing to take up his post. The official journey was smooth, and a few years later he became the prefect of Jinling.

   On the day Shen Lan left Beijing with her husband, Lu Mingyu, who was already the Third princess consort, went to see her off in person.

   Shen Lan held her hand reluctantly and said softly, "Let's say goodbye today, I don't know when we can meet again."

"Xiaoyu, you are now the daughter-in-law of the Tian family, and you have two mothers-in-law on your head. This outspoken and outrageous temper has to be restrained a little. You are now newly married Yaner, His Royal Highness the Third Prince treats you very well. Only I'm afraid that over time, there will be changes. You must cherish it a lot."

   At that time, she was still immersed in the sweet love of the newly married, raised her eyebrows with a smile, and answered confidently: "Sister Shen has been worrying too much. He will never fail me."

  Shen Lan sighed softly and stayed silent.

   And she, in just a few years, suffered from the anger and pain of being maliciously provoked by her mother-in-law and her husband's gradual separation.

 All this because she was too proud and confident, thinking that if a husband and wife loved each other, they will be able to grow together.

   But I don’t know that people in this world are sinister.

  The mother-in-law who weeps weakly and wipes her tears all day long is narrow-minded, sinister, and vicious. The seemingly innocent and honest brother-in-law has a dark and twisted heart. Li Hao's sharp eyes seemed to be stuck in front of his mother and brother.

   Now that I think about it, it’s not that Li Hao doesn’t understand.

   It's just that in his heart, his mother and brother are more important than her.

  …

  Lu Mingyu didn't want to think about it anymore, so she calmed down and smiled at her friend: "I'm tired of riding in a carriage, it can't be as comfortable as riding a horse, so I came on a horse."

  It is not uncommon for the ladies of the Wei Dynasty to go out on horseback.

   However, today is the Queen's banquet, so you have to be cautious. Therefore, the ladies who came to the palace banquet were carefully dressed up and sat dignifiedly in the carriage.

  On horseback, Lu Mingyu was the only one.

  Shen Lan saw Lu Mingyu's inattentive look, smiled, and said lightly, "You, you are always so willful. Get on the carriage quickly and sit down for a while."

  The Shen family's carriage was in fourth place, and after three more, it was time to enter the palace.

  Lu Mingyu readily agreed and was about to get on the carriage.

The girl in the fifth carriage was unhappy, she stuck her head out and glared at Lu Mingyu: "Lu Mingyu, get in line. We all have waited for more than half an hour, and you rubbed Sister Shen's carriage as soon as you came. Hello!!"

  This girl, about fourteen or fifteen years old, was dressed in a light yellow shirt, with a delicate face and a hint of arrogance in her smart eyes. It was Jin Can'er, the daughter of the Minister of Industry and Commerce.

The name is a bit tacky, but the Jin family has been a famous family in the past. The family has been passed down for hundreds of years and had a profound heritage.

   Jin Shangshu got a daughter at the age of fifty, so she was particularly pampered and petted. Jin Can'er is used to being domineering in her home, and she can't change her bossy temper when she speaks outside.

   However, when it came to a domineering temperament, Lu Mingyu was second to none and no one could dispute that with her.

  Lu Mingyu glanced at Jin Can'er: "You feel so angry today, what are you going to do about it? If you are not convinced, let's make an appointment for another day, and we will compete on the martial arts field."

  Jin Can'er: "…"

  Lu Mingyu does not show her skills on weekdays, only shows 30% of her divine power and only 50% of her skills. Rao is like this(1), and she is also an unparalleled master in the circle of noble ladies in the capital.

   As for Jin Can'er's delicate appearance, it's not a rivel for Lu Mingyu's two punches at all.

  Jin Can'er has suffered a few losses and will no longer be willing to compete with Lu Mingyu. At this time, she gritted her teeth bitterly, and spit out a few words: "Barbaric!"

Lu Mingyu gave a leisurely smile: "Yes, I have such a savage and cunning temper. If anyone provokes me, I will punch her and beat her to the ground. Eh, think about how others dare to be angry but don't dare to say it!"

  Jin Can'er: "…"

  Shen Lan laughed out loud.

  Jin Can'er blushed with anger, glared at Lu Mingyu, and angrily pulled down the bamboo curtain.

Can’t you just dare to be angry?

Light laughter came from several carriages that were close to their carriage.

  The capital is certainly not small, but the circle of top ladies is not too big. There are no more than thirty or forty civilians and military generals of the third rank or above. The ladies who received invitations to the palace banquet today are not that familiar with each other, and most of them have met each other.

   Lu Mingyu's famous name, who does not know?

   The daughter of the King of Xingyang, the number one master among noble girls. She is equally famous for her beauty and her fierce temper.

  Jin Can'er can also bully some soft-hearted people. When she met Lu Mingyu, she immediately kicked the iron plate.

  Lu Mingyu got on the carriage, and Shen Lan was still chuckling: "Even besides the palace gate, you don't hold back a bit."

  Lu Mingyu's eyes flickered slightly, twitched the corners of her mouth, and smiled with a pun: "Yes, I am born with this temper. If I have any grudge, I will mitigate it on the spot, and I will never leave it for the future."

  What coming to Japan(2), what is slow plotting, how can it be compared to cutting the mess with a quick knife?

Shen Lan's smile deepened, she glanced at Lu Mingyu, took out the dressing box, took out the comb, and combed Lu Mingyu's slightly messy hair: "Yes, yes, I know that Fourth Miss Lu is amazing. Don't move now, I'll fix your hair, don’t be disrespectful in the Jiaofang Palace."

  Lu Mingyu didn't reject her friend's good intentions, smiled, and nodded slightly.

1. Not very clear but I guess it is speaking of how our FL is great in martial arts. 

2. Again not clear but I guess the author is trying to say that it is better to handle mess then and there and not keep it pending.