After the marriage, the cousin was spoiled by the whole family of the Marquis's Mansion

Chapter 19 Attending the Banquet
In the swaying carriage, Zhong straightened the bun on Rong Peilan's head and spoke softly.

"The eldest princess is your majesty's elder sister. Her husband has been dead for many years, and her son died while suppressing a rebellion ten years ago. She only has a daughter, Princess Danyang, by her side."

"When Danyang was only a few months old, his husband died of illness, and since then, Danyang has become a bit more arrogant and domineering."

"The princess is a kind person. As for Danyang, just stay away from him."

Rong Peilan nodded.

She had also heard of Princess Danyang.

She had countless male lovers and loved handsome men.

Young Master Liu San of the Pingchang Earl's family was famous for his handsomeness. Princess Danyang had once been obsessed with him, and he suffered terribly.

The matter was settled only after Princess Danyang was called into the palace by His Majesty and reprimanded.

This story is still widely circulated in Yanjing today, and even now in teahouse gossip, one can still hear many stories about Princess Danyang.

Today is the eldest princess' birthday. Princess Danyang held a grand banquet and invited everyone in the court.

The officials in the court avoided this daring princess, but due to the eldest princess's reputation, they had to go.

When Zhong and Rong Peilan arrived, many carriages were already parked in front of the princess's mansion.

The servant at the door shouted, "Madam Xinlinghou, the young mistress is here!"

The princess's mansion is very spacious, almost twice as big as the Xinling Marquis's mansion.

The house is decorated with carved beams and painted rafters, rockery and flowing water, and even the beams are made of golden nanmu.

There are countless paintings by famous artists hanging under the corridor. Walking along it does not feel like a birthday party but more like a banquet to appreciate famous paintings.

Rong Peilan suddenly remembered that when she was traveling with her parents as a child, her father would select the most beautiful scenery to paint wherever they went, and her mother would be in every painting.

Her father hugged her countless times and said shamelessly that in the future he wanted to "be better in calligraphy than Wang Xizhi, and better in painting than Wu Daozi."

Then I always fall asleep quickly due to my mother’s merciless ridicule, and my dreams contain everything.

Just as Rong Peilan was looking at the paintings in a trance, a surprised and cheerful female voice came from the front.

"Oh, the Zhong family girl."

A middle-aged woman in luxurious clothes, accompanied by a young girl.

Mrs. Zhong also greeted her with a look of surprise, "Sister Pei!"

"When did my sister arrive in Beijing? She didn't even inform me. If we hadn't met at the Princess's Mansion, would you have continued to hide it from me?"

"I just arrived in Beijing yesterday, and I haven't even sorted out my house yet." Pei's eyes fell behind Zhong, "This must be Yunzhang's wife."

Mrs. Zhong pulled Rong Peilan to her side and said, "Lan'er, this is my childhood friend, the wife of Uncle Wenyuan."

Then he pointed at the little girl and said, "This is the third girl, Xu Jiayi."

Rong Peilan bowed, "Hello, Madam Bo, Hello, Sister Xu."

Finally, Mrs. Zhong pointed at Rong Peilan and said with a smile, "Zhang'er's daughter-in-law, Rong Peilan."

When Pei saw the expression of the old sister, she knew that she was very satisfied with this daughter-in-law. When she thought of her own son, she couldn't help but envy him.

"Sister, Yunzhang has already married, but our Qifeng still doesn't want to see her. I'm really worried to death!"

Zhong couldn't help but smiled and covered her lips. "Don't worry, you just arrived in Yanjing, there are many good girls. I will come to your house in a few days and tell you in detail!"

Pei's eyes lit up, "Don't wait a few days, I will come to your house to look for you tomorrow!"

"Okay, okay." Mrs. Zhong waved her hand cheerfully, "I'll take my daughter-in-law to meet the princess. I'll come find you later!"

Seeing her good friend, Zhong's steps became lighter. It had been almost ten years since they last saw each other.

After passing the corridor, you will reach the eldest princess's courtyard.

The princess's mansion is luxurious and extravagant, but the Fu Shou Tang where the eldest princess lives is solemn and simple. There are no excessive luxurious decorations, only some plain calligraphy and paintings hanging on the wall.

Compared to the bustle outside, the courtyard was much quieter. Laughter could be heard from far away, which made the courtyard seem even more desolate. Even the maids and servants were rare.

The room was covered with thick carpet, so you couldn't hear any footsteps when you walked in.

The incense burner on the table emits wisps of green smoke, and the elegant fragrance is refreshing. The moment you come in, you seem to feel a little clearer.

There are a lot of calligraphy and paintings on the wall. Judging from the handwriting, they should all be from the same person. The painting style is very mature, but the craftsmanship is extremely rough.

Rong Peilan had never seen such a strange painting.

I think it was painted by someone very important to the princess, probably the prince consort who died young.

Behind the thick beaded curtain, only a figure could be vaguely seen lying on the couch.

Zhong brought Rong Peilan and bowed, "Your Highness, Ji Zhong and your daughter-in-law are here to see the Princess. May the Princess be blessed with good health."

The room was silent, and the rubbing of clothes while moving seemed particularly harsh.

If I hadn't seen the figure behind the bead curtain when I entered the room, I would have thought this was an empty house.

After a long while, a low voice slowly rang out from behind the beaded curtain, "Get up."

"Thank you, Princess."

Rong Peilan helped Zhong stand up.

The pearl curtain rustled, and a maid walked out, holding a brocade box that was three fingers wide and one foot long.

"The princess was not feeling well and was unable to attend the prince's wedding. This is the princess's gift to the newlyweds."

Zhong was a little surprised. She didn't expect that the princess still missed him.

He took the brocade box and bowed again, "Thank you, Princess."

The voice behind the beaded curtain sounded again, "Okay, I want some peace and quiet, you guys go and have fun."

"Yes, I will take my leave."

After the two of them left, the princess, who was already in her forties, stared at the gate for a long time before she slowly asked, "Does the child look like him?"

The nanny knew what the princess was talking about. She sighed and said, "Yes, and no."

Hearing Mammy's sigh, the eldest princess suddenly laughed, "Why, do you still feel that I haven't let it go?"

Mammy smiled and then shook her head.

There was another long silence in the room, and only after a long time did a faint sigh come out.

Only after leaving the eldest princess's Fu Shou Tang did the place become truly lively again.

Rong Peilan opened the brocade box, and inside was a top-quality mutton-fat white jade hairpin, an extremely rare treasure, but it was for men.

The head of the hairpin was carved into two gourds, with two words engraved under one of the gourd leaves.

Zhong looked over, and Rong Peilan subconsciously held the end with the inscription in her hand.

"This is a rare, top-grade mutton-fat jade." Zhong was a little surprised that the gift prepared by the eldest princess was actually for Zhang'er.

Seeing that her daughter-in-law looked a little stunned, she thought that the gift given by the princess made her lose face. She was obviously the one who came to celebrate the birthday, but the gift was for Zhang'er.

She put her hand on Rong Peilan's arm and whispered, "Lan'er, yesterday, Madam Zhang from Ruyifang sent someone to say that a new batch of jadeite materials had arrived. Tomorrow, I will help you pick out some materials with good water content and make jadeite headpieces for you."

Rong Peilan's mind was in a mess at the moment and he could only nod randomly.

Two words engraved on the hairpin.

Pingyuan.

Her father, Rong Pingyuan.

(End of this chapter)