My Lord, your wife is spreading rumors about you again.

Chapter 16 Flower Viewing Banquet (2)

"See Crown Prince."

All the noble families bowed to Zhang Zhi and were extremely respectful to him. If Mingli was here, he would be puzzled. Isn't this guy the most popular playboy in Kyoto? How could he be so popular?
Zhang Zhi said "hmm" and didn't even look at them. He didn't sit down either. He held the snow-white, sleepy Dahei in his arms. He stood in front of the railing, looking at the women's table, motionless.

Zhang Yang followed Zhang Zhi's gaze and hesitated for a moment. Could it be that his second brother was looking at Ming Yun?
Mingyun was indeed beautiful today, but she didn't expect that she could attract the attention of the second brother. Zhang Yang lowered his head. If the second brother really liked her, and if he gave her his virginity, would the second brother and uncle take care of him more because of this affection?

At the women's table, Madam Wang smiled brightly. She personally walked over, took Mingyun's hand, and asked her to sit next to her. She praised her endlessly, "Look at this Yun'er. She has really changed a lot since she grew up. She is getting more and more beautiful. When she was young, she was a beauty with red lips and white teeth. Now that she has grown up, she is even more beautiful. She can even compare with Concubine Mi and the Goddess of Luo River!"

Ming Yun smiled shyly and lowered her head: "Mrs. Wang, you are too kind to praise me. I am ashamed to accept it."

"Ms. Ming Si." Madam Zang suddenly spoke, her words were directed to Ming Yun, but her eyes were on Madam Jiang. "Ms. Ming Er is too arrogant. All the mistresses and girls from other families are seated, but she is the only one missing. Could it be that after being the wife of an earl for two years, she has become arrogant and looks down on us?"

Mrs. Zang's daughter Zang Ying was Mingyun's best friend. She knew that Mrs. Zang was helping her, so she continued, "When I left, my second sister was only halfway through changing her clothes and putting on makeup. I calculated that we still have to wait for more than half an hour. Mrs. Zang, please be patient. After all, she is the wife of an earl. Although her entire family was exterminated and burned, His Majesty did not deprive her of her title, so."

Ming Yun was so proud at this moment. Ming Li's brocade robe was snatched away by her. As for her tattered clothes, no one with any sense would wear them to embarrass herself.

If she still hasn't shown up after half an hour, then this reputation of being arrogant, looking down on others, and not respecting elders will be firmly pinned on her head for the rest of her life.

Madam Zhang smiled and said, "Oh, after all, she is the eldest daughter of the Ming family. It is natural that she looks down on us."

"The house has changed a lot, I don't recognize some of it, and Third Aunt didn't send a servant or maid to guide me, so I took a detour and was late. I'm sorry."

A clear female voice came from behind the water pavilion. The sound was like the trickle of a glacier stream, or like a sweet and clear spring from the world. It was not pretentious or artificial, and it made the listeners feel very comfortable.

Everyone looked at the same time.

Seeing her, Zhang Zhi's eyes moved slightly, and he smiled secretly. He just stood there, and a group of young masters stood behind him. Zhang Zhi knew that she was going to put on a good show today, so he quietly gathered all these people to watch.

Mingli didn't like fancy clothes, and of course she didn't have any.

She was wearing a light blue plain cloth dress with a few simple orchid patterns embroidered on it. Her hair was jet black, with only a silver hairpin to decorate it. The girl had bright eyes, white teeth, and skin as white as porcelain. She didn't look like she had been married for three years. She looked sweet and harmless, but her big almond eyes were full of frightening cruelty. When she raised her eyes again, she had deliberately concealed her emotions.

She bowed slightly, her eyes sparkling with tears: "Aunt San, next time I will definitely familiarize myself with the route in advance, and I won't be late again."

Zhu's breath stagnated. Why didn't Mingli wear the brocade dress? Could it be that she had already anticipated that she would do something to her clothes, so she used a trick to frame Yun'er?
If this is the case, this woman's scheming is too deep.

The smile on Zhang Zhi's face gradually became more obvious. She was pretending to be innocent, what a delicate and pitiful little girl.

A lady at the banquet said indignantly, "Second Miss, it sounds like you are often bullied in the mansion? After all, you are the legitimate daughter of the late Madam Wen. Although the Wen family has fallen, Madam Wen's reputation for filial piety and virtue has been praised by His Majesty." As she spoke, she glanced at Zhu. "Madam Jiang, your family is a counselor, so you should be familiar with the law. Could it be that I have been trapped in the mansion for too long and don't know that the etiquette has changed now, and the wife of a concubine's son can surpass the legitimate daughter of the left prime minister?"

In the Great Qi Dynasty, the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children was clear, and a illegitimate son would always be a illegitimate son. Even if a illegitimate son gave birth to a daughter, she would still be a illegitimate daughter. The order of seniority was no greater than the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children.

Madam Jiang looked at Mingli with great distress, and felt that her heart was about to break. She was so angry that she slammed the table and pointed at Zhu, asking word by word: "The eldest daughter of the first house wears plain linen clothes, but the third daughter of the concubine wears brocade clothes?! Madam Zhu, you are really a good housewife! Old Madam Ming is too old to manage the family, Madam Meng is in seclusion and worshiping Buddha, and Madam Yun of the second house has been bedridden for many years. In the end, you picked up the opportunity, but what about you? You only care about your own daughter and ignore the legitimate daughter. You are ungrateful and jealous!"

"Mrs. Zhu!" Mrs. Jiang felt that it was not fun to sit and scold, so she simply rolled up her sleeves and stood up: "Before you got married, didn't your elders teach you how to be a wife?"

Everyone present knew that the Zhu family came from a wealthy family, and if it was true, it was not as good as Mrs. Jiang's blacksmith shop. But everyone was concerned about Mrs. Ming, so they tacitly kept silent about it.

Now, Mrs. Jiang's words were tantamount to pressing Zhu to the ground and making her roll around.

Both Zhu and Madam Wang blushed. Madam Wang looked at Ming Yun beside her and felt that there were four burning words written on her face: 'daughter of a prostitute'.

Ming Li was a little surprised. On the one hand, she didn't understand why Mrs. Jiang would defend her so much, but on the other hand, she was secretly glad for her sister. Although the Ming family was a group of inhumane people, besides her and Shan Cha, there were other people in the world who were willing to speak a fair word for her sister.

"Mrs. Jiang, actually, Third Aunt is very kind to me. She even specially prepared a priceless glittering brocade dress for me today. It was just that when I was trying on the dress, I happened to meet Fourth Sister. She said she liked it too, but she said that I just returned home yesterday and all my husband's relatives have passed away, so I am not worthy of wearing this dress, so she took it off."

Mingli's voice trembled as he spoke: "I see, Fourth Sister's outfit is much better than mine."

Suddenly, there was a commotion at the table.

"What? Mingyun's glittering brocade dress was snatched from the second young lady?"

"The Ming family is really going downhill. They don't even distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate children. How can we expect their daughter to have any manners and education?"

In this round, Mingli took the initiative. No matter what Zhu said now, it would be wrong. The opinions of others were not important. The main thing was that Madam Wang must not bear any grudges. She was about to explain when she was blocked by Madam Wang.

"Hey, Madam Zhu, please be at ease." Madam Wang hid her disgust and put on a fake smile: "We have been friends for many years, how could we have a quarrel because of a few words from someone with ulterior motives? I still say what I said before, as long as the dowry is in place, we can get married at any time."

Zhu was relieved at once. She smiled and said, "Okay, with Madam Wang's words, I feel relieved."

Zang Ying was surprised that Ming Yun, who always liked to compete, didn't say a word today. She turned around and saw Ming Yun with a blushing face. She was stunned for a moment and asked hurriedly, "Ah Yun, what's wrong with you?"

(End of this chapter)