The system asked me to chase his wife

Among the people present, no one was as curious as Xia Mang to look at a lover; their eyes were all focused on the hairpin banquet.

After all, everyone who comes here is looking for someone for their son or daughter, so they have to open their eyes and look hard, right?
The eldest princess is undoubtedly the one who knows how to have fun, and she knows the ladies' minds very well.

In order to fully showcase the excellence and uniqueness of each young person, the princess arranged a continuous stream of programs.

There are many people who drink tea, stroll in the garden, recite poems and write essays.

The princess even set up a special booth where the young ladies could perform freely, singing and dancing, and even cracking a whip would get applause.

In the words of the eldest princess, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and things like fate are hard to explain.

The most outstanding ones among the men are Yun Xingqing, the son of Master Yun, Yang Huai, the new top scholar, and Xiang Xiu'an who had made sufficient preparations in advance.

The ones that the young ladies are paying attention to are Miss Yun San from Tutor Yun's family, and Miss Gong Er from the Minister of Rites' family.

Also, because Yun Xingqing and Yun Sanniang are siblings, this can be said to have earned enough face for Master Yun.

The ladies who were sitting in the pavilion watching the fun began to think and started to choose their favorite sons-in-law or daughters-in-law.

Liu Wuniang actually performed on stage before. She performed sword dancing, which was very dashing and elegant.

However, in the eyes of many ladies, this was somewhat lacking in the gentleness that a girl should have, so there were rarely any officials' wives who came to Madam Liu to inquire about Liu Wuniang.

Mrs. Liu did not feel embarrassed and just sat there leisurely drinking tea.

Qiao Yuandong came over and sat with her. She stood up and greeted Qiao Yuandong before sitting down with him.

"Mrs. Liu is so relaxed and at ease. I envy her."

Because of Xiang Xiu'an, many officials' wives surrounded Qiao Yuandong to inquire about Xiang Xiu'an, which made her a little impatient. She had to find an excuse to undress to get away.

Madam Liu smiled and replied, "Prince Xiang is a young talent. Who wouldn't say he is the perfect son-in-law to ride on the dragon?"

Qiao Yuandong pursed his lips and smiled: "I wonder if Madam Liu is interested in this good son-in-law?"

Madam Liu's eyes flickered, and she thought about several things. Finally, she sighed and said, "Qi Da is not a good match. My daughter is too dull and unworthy of the prince."

Facing Madam Liu's refusal, Qiao Yuandong did not persuade her any further, but simply said, "There is no rush for this matter. Madam Liu, please think about it slowly before making any decision."

Mrs. Liu seemed to be lost in thought when she heard this. At this time, the eldest princess sent someone to find Qiao Yuandong to talk to her.

When Xia Mang followed Qiao Yuandong to the eldest princess, she found that the lover had disappeared.

After three rounds of drinking, the eldest princess was already a little tipsy. She squinted her eyes and dozed off in the chair.

Xia Mang secretly looked at the eldest princess a few times. She had phoenix eyes, relaxed brows, a delicate nose and cherry lips. She had an extremely majestic appearance.

"Princess?" The maid called her softly, indicating that Qiao Yuandong was here.

The eldest princess opened her eyes. Her drunken look added a bit of charm and tenderness, and her natural nobility made this charm even more alluring.

She affectionately pulled Qiao Yuandong to sit next to her, "Now that you are here, come and talk to me."

How can she act like a noble princess when she speaks in such a coquettish way?

Qiao Yuandong helplessly supported the princess's crooked body and teased her in her ear, "Don't talk to me like that. If your sweetheart hears it, she'll be jealous!"

The eldest princess pouted her lips, like a girl deeply in love, and said in a coquettish voice: "Just let him be jealous, otherwise he will always be indifferent to me."

After hearing the gossip, Xia Mang finally realized that the "Qingqing" they were talking about was the beautiful mistress?
From what the eldest princess said, it turns out that she is the one who is paying for it?
Tsk tsk tsk!
Xia Mang pricked up her ears and wanted to hear more gossip, but the eldest princess started talking about other things.

"I've noticed for you. The third lady of the Yun family is very good. I think she is a perfect match for your brother-in-law. If you are interested, I will ask His Majesty to grant the marriage."

Qiao Yuandong's eyebrows jumped at what she said, but she said calmly, "Don't mess around with the couples. The Queen intends to let the Third Lady enter the palace."

"She? The Crown Princess?" The eldest princess was a little surprised, but after thinking about it, she felt that it made sense, and then she started to think about other people.

Just at this moment, the garden suddenly became noisy, and the private chat between the eldest princess and her best friend was suddenly interrupted.

She looked towards the place where the commotion was happening with displeasure, and was about to send someone to check it out when a servant came to report.

"Princess, something happened to Master Xiao Yu!!"

"Ah? Qingqing!"

When the princess heard the servant's report, she sobered up immediately. She shouted "Qingqing" and stood up and rushed out of the pavilion.

When the others saw the eldest princess' sudden action, they also became a little panicked and followed her out to see what was going on.

Qiao Yuandong knew who the "Master Xiao Yu" the servants were talking about. Seeing her good friend so panicked, she couldn't hold her back and had to run out as well.

It was dark and Qiao Yuandong almost slipped on the stone steps, but fortunately Xia Mang was quick to help her.

"Ma'am, please go slower."

Qiao Yuandong nodded, calmed himself down, and walked towards where the crowd was gathering.

Some of the young men who were sitting in the garden earlier, unable to sit still, ran over first after hearing the noise, while the rest were still hesitating whether to go over and join in the fun.

Qiao Yuandong immediately noticed Xiang Xiu'an looking up, and she warned him, "Brother An, don't go over there. It's hard to be at peace with so many people around."

Xiang Xiu'an knew that Qiao Yuandong was worried about his safety, so he agreed obediently. While everyone was in chaos, he quietly slipped to the women's section to find Liu Wuniang.

At that time, the gauze used to separate the two sides was brought down by passers-by, and Xiang Xiu'an saw Liu Wuniang at a glance, who was eager to watch the fun.

He found Liu Wuniang and warned her, "Don't run around. There are people everywhere over there. If you are accidentally pushed into the water by someone, you will get sick!"

Liu Wuniang felt that what Xiang Xiu'an said made sense, but she was reluctant to leave the excitement over there. For a moment, her eyebrows were all twisted together.

Xiang Xiu'an saw through her thoughts immediately and comforted her, "Don't worry, Wu Wendong has already gone. We can ask him what happened later."

Liu Wuniang secretly wanted to go and watch the fun, but when she saw Xiang Xiu'an's serious look, she blinked and agreed.

The place where Lord Xiao Yu had the accident was right next to the Begonia Pond on the east side of the garden. When Qiao Yuandong and Xia Mang arrived, a crowd of people had already surrounded them in three layers.

Some brave and fearless young men, such as Wu Wendong, even climbed directly onto the rockery.

Even though Qiao Yuandong was standing on the outskirts of the crowd, he could still clearly hear the eldest princess's angry rebuke.

"How dare you act wildly in the princess's mansion! Someone, bring me my whip!"

The crowd was immediately in an uproar. The princess was going to hit someone!
Xia Mang stood on tiptoe and stretched his neck to look inside, but he could only see all kinds of heads.

She was so anxious that she pulled a young man riding on a tree nearby and asked, "Hey! What's going on in there?"

Qiao Yuandong glanced at the socialite Xia Mang, but did not stop her because she also wanted to know what was going on.

The young man was watching the fun with great interest when his trouser leg was suddenly pulled and he was still in shock.

Xia Mang then pulled hard again, and the young man was almost pulled off the tree.

He held the tree trunk with one hand and pulled up his pants with the other, looking at Xia Mang with a dark face: "What are you doing?!"

Xia Mang smiled and repeated the question.

The young man had a lot of gossip in his mind but was worried about where to tell it. When he saw someone asking him, his face immediately turned from gloomy to bright, and he started talking about the whole incident.

At the hairpin banquet just now, everyone was already drunk and the young people could no longer sit still, so they got up and walked around while touring the garden.

Among the noble families who attended the banquet was a young master of the Zhaochenghou family. When he strolled over to the Begonia Pond, he met Lord Xiao Yu who was also out to enjoy the cool breeze.

When he said this, a strange excitement appeared in the young man's eyes.

"Speaking of this Prince Ma, he is incredible!"

Xia Mang pricked up his ears and asked, "What's so serious?"

The young man wanted to bend down and whisper in Xia Mang's ear, but he was afraid of falling from the tree.

He put his hand to his mouth and said in what he thought was a very low voice: "He is so Longyang!"

Qiao Yuandong frowned when he heard this, but Xia Mang didn't understand what he meant yet, so she asked, "What is Long Yang?"

The young man glanced at her unhappily, perhaps feeling embarrassed to talk about such things with a girl, but he couldn't help gossiping.

So he explained with a slightly red face: "I like men!"

"Oh." Xia Mang let out a long "oh". After she understood the connection, she took another breath.

"Don't say that this prince flirted with the eldest princess, Master Xiao Yu?!"

"Oh, that's right!" The young man slapped his thigh, then winked and said, "Do you think this is the end?"

Xia Mang even stretched out his neck, just like a civet waiting to be fed melon.

The princess was so angry. Could it be that Prince Ma had raped his lover?

Tsk tsk tsk!
As a result, the young man told Xia Mang a development direction that he could never have imagined.

"When Prince Ma saw that the woman was very pretty, he took advantage of the alcohol and tried to force himself on her. But when he stripped her clothes, he found that she was actually a woman!"

Wow, there is a shocking twist.

The princess' favorite lover is actually a woman? ! !

Xia Mang's little brain almost crashed for a moment. If Qiao Yuandong hadn't hurt her hand, she would not have been able to recover.

She looked at Qiao Yuandong in a daze, but found that Qiao Yuandong was even more dazed than her.

After the young man shared the news, he turned around and went back to watch the fun, "Hey, the whip is coming, Master Qiao is going to suffer this time!"

A servant brought the eldest princess' whip. It was impossible to tell what kind of leather the whip was made of, but it was shiny black and rolled up on the tray like a dragon.

The crowd immediately made way for the whip, and Xia Mang was able to see the situation clearly.

She immediately saw Lord Yu, or should she call her Miss Yu, who was being protected in the arms of the eldest princess?

Miss Yu was wearing the outer robe that the eldest princess had taken off her body, revealing the messy collar underneath. Her hair was disheveled and shapeless, and it was obvious that she had experienced a fierce struggle.

Perhaps because she was so humiliated, she buried her head in the eldest princess' shoulder, leaving only a section of her slender white neck exposed.

The eldest princess's face was filled with anger, and she held the person in her arms tightly with one hand. Even though Xia Mang was far away, he could see her slightly trembling hand.

The culprit of the whole incident was lying on the ground shaking, and kept explaining that he had recognized the wrong person in the dark and had sex after drinking.

Also kneeling on the ground was the wife of Marquis Zhaocheng. She had never expected that her useless son would cause such a big disaster when she came to the banquet happily today. With tears in her eyes, she patted Prince Qiao several times and turned to the princess and said, "My son is useless. He offended the princess today, so he deserves to be punished."

The wife of Marquis Zhaocheng hoped to retreat in order to advance and calm the eldest princess down, but she made a wrong calculation.

The eldest princess wouldn't listen to these words at all. When the servant brought a whip, she picked it up and whipped Master Ma with a snap.

The thin silk he was wearing could not withstand the beating. With a ripping sound, the outer robe of Prince Ma was instantly torn open, revealing the snow-white inner garment.

“Ouch!” Master Ma let out a terrifying cry of pain, and his kneeling body fell to the ground. The pain made his whole body twisted.

The people watching the excitement all stood further away, fearing that the whistling wind from the whip would blow them.

The eldest princess was holding a long whip in her hand at this time, and her rage revealed the domineering nature of a noble family.

Looking at Master Qiao writhing on the ground and screaming in pain, there was no trace of pity in her eyes, and the whip in her hand became heavier each time.

He deserves to die for offending her sweetheart!

Seeing bloody marks appearing on Prince Ma's body and his initial cries of pain becoming more and more heart-wrenching, Lady Zhaochenghou finally couldn't bear it anymore.

She threw herself on Master Qiao and cried, "I only have this one son. Princess, please have mercy on me!"

The eldest princess looked icy as she stared at the wife of Marquis Zhaocheng who was protecting Prince Qiao, and said without mercy, "Pull her away!"

So what if you only have one son?

I am not just a lover!
The servants stepped forward hesitantly. The officials' wives standing nearby saw that Master Ma had fainted, and they were afraid that the matter would get out of hand.

First, the wife of the Duke of Anguo stepped out to smooth things over: "Your Highness the Princess is easily upset. If you get angry over such an inconvenient person, you will lose your status."

Lady Xu Guogong also said, "That is to say, he dared to act wildly in the princess's mansion, he deserved to be beaten to death, but then again, he is the direct descendant of Marquis Zhaocheng, you should give Marquis Zhaocheng some face, and also consider your majesty, right?"

Lady Xu, the Duke of Xu, said this with great skill, first criticizing and then praising, and then dragging the emperor into it.

Tell the princess clearly that if she really kills Marquis Zhaocheng's son today and Marquis Zhaocheng makes a fuss, it will be difficult for the emperor to be caught in the middle!
After Lady Xu finished speaking, the eldest princess's face froze and she didn't whip with the whip in her hand.

At this time, a cold voice came from the crowd, as ethereal as the morning mist.

"Lady Xiao Yu may have been frightened. Your Highness, please take her to rest first." Qiao Yuandong walked into the crowd and gave Mrs. Zhaocheng Hou a slight wink when passing by her.

The wife of Marquis Zhaocheng immediately understood what she meant, and dragged her bloody son away with gritted teeth.

When Lord Xiao Yu, who was leaning in the eldest princess's arms, heard someone call his name, he subconsciously trembled.

The princess suppressed her anger instantly, and whispered in the ear of the person in her arms, "Are you scared? I'll take you to rest, don't be afraid."

As she spoke, the princess raised her head and glared at the wife of Marquis Zhaocheng and the prince Ma, who were still not far away: "I will definitely ask your majesty to make the decision on this matter!"

There was murderous intent in her words, as if the person who had spoken so sweetly just now was not her.

Hearing this, it was obvious that the eldest princess would not give up. Mrs. Zhaochenghou's face turned pale, and Prince Ma, who was lying in her arms pretending to be unconscious, fainted completely.

Because of today's farce, the Hairpin Flower Banquet was cancelled.

The eldest princess left with the delicate girl in her arms, and everyone got on the carriage to go home with their own thoughts.

After today, I'm afraid the news will spread throughout the capital.

The eldest princess was furious for a woman!
The Zhaocheng Marquisate has offended the eldest princess, and its future may be worrying. However, what will happen in the end depends on the eldest princess' attitude.

To put it simply, this matter was nothing more than Prince Ma offending a woman of humble status.

To put it in a broader sense, if Prince Ma dared to act wildly in the Princess's Mansion, he would be ignoring the dignity of the royal family.

If it involves Marquis Zhaocheng's political stance, I'm afraid the entire Marquis Zhaocheng's Mansion will be in trouble!

Xia Mang and Rong Zhu accompanied Qiao Yuandong in the carriage back to the mansion. Rong Zhu had been following Xiang Xiu'an, so she only knew what had happened in the garden now.

"Ah? That young lady Yu is a woman?" Rong Zhu was also shocked. She opened her mouth for a long time and finally said, "This is too much."

It's been a long time since there was any follow-up.

After a period of buffering, Xia Mang can now accept it.

As a modern person living in the 21st century, what kind of monsters and demons has Xia Mang not seen?

She stroked her chin and said, "It's okay. The princess just fell in love with a girl. Emotions are hard to control."

It's understandable, it's understandable.

Anyway, she is not the one in love with the eldest princess!

"But. But." As an ancient person, Rong Zhu obviously found it difficult to digest this matter quickly.

Qiao Yuandong suddenly said, "Okay, this is His Highness' private matter, don't talk nonsense, no matter what others say, don't spread it."

The leader spoke, and the two little maids naturally nodded obediently.

After working hard for a long day, people tend to feel sleepy when they calm down.

Rongzhu put a thick pillow behind Qiao Yuandong. Qiao Yuandong leaned back and closed his eyes to rest. The two maids also began to doze off little by little.

Xia Mang was a light sleeper, so she fell asleep as soon as she closed her eyes. Her body tilted and she was about to fall to the ground, but Qiao Yuandong reached out and grabbed her.

Because of this obstruction, Xia Mang leaned towards Qiao Yuandong.

Qiao Yuandong had no intention of dodging, and even lowered his shoulders to let her lean more comfortably.

Looking at Xia Mang who was sleeping soundly, Qiao Yuandong suddenly remembered what she had just said.

Emotions are hard to control.

Gradually, her clear pupils became deeper and deeper.

Early the next morning, the eldest princess drove into the palace.

At the same time as she entered the palace, the censor also submitted a memorial impeaching Marquis Zhaocheng, criticizing him for not educating his son properly and for offending the royal family.

There were also some brave ones who reported the eldest princess and criticized her for disregarding moral principles.

To put it bluntly, the lover was just a jester, and the key point was that she was a woman. The eldest princess actually beat the prince of the marquisate for such a person.

The key point is that the eldest princess also found an official position for the woman. How could a woman be an official?

This is a crime of deceiving the emperor. She is a royal noble and she dares to break the law knowingly. Shouldn't His Majesty the Emperor punish her?
After this matter spread in the capital, the discussions among people there became much more exciting.

What a strange woman! The princess doesn't like men but loves makeup.

Some young men who want to avoid taking detours even called out: Can the princess please not be too rigid about gender?

The storytellers in the teahouses of major taverns compiled new books overnight and began to tell the story of how the eldest princess beat the young man from a noble family for the sake of a beautiful lady.

Qiao Yuandong received a command from the palace early in the morning. The Queen Mother invited her to the palace for a chat. She guessed that the Queen Mother just wanted to find out what happened last night.

In order to prevent the Queen from waiting any longer, Qiao Yuandong changed his clothes and went out. When he entered the palace to see the Queen, it turned out to be about what happened at the Hairpin Banquet.

After all, the queen has to call the eldest princess "elder sister-in-law" when she sees her. If something happens, she has to take care of the eldest princess no matter what.

But in order to know how to get around it, you still have to know what is going on.

Qiao Yuandong told the Queen the whole story.

It started from how the prince offended his lover, who turned out to be a girl, and went on to how the eldest princess almost beat Prince Ma to death for the female lover.

The Queen's eyebrows rose little by little as she listened, and in the end her pupils were dilated.

Finally, Qiao Yuandong finished speaking, and she took a deep breath.

After sorting out the key points, the queen finally spoke, and her words were full of mixed feelings.

"No wonder the Imperial Sister came to see Your Majesty so angrily this morning, and no wonder so many memorials from the Imperial Censors were handed in."

Qiao Yuandong looked at the queen's expression and asked, "How is your majesty going to deal with this?"

In this matter, each person has his own reasons. Even if Prince Ma was a playboy and absurd, it was very unfair that he almost lost his life because of a lover.

Qiao Yuandong guessed that the wife of Marquis Zhaocheng might not just sit there and wait for death, and might even go to the palace to plead with the Queen for mercy.

The Queen naturally knew all these intricacies. She showed a look of not knowing whether to laugh or cry, "Leave it to Your Majesty. I don't care."

As she spoke, she sighed, "I've been busy with Jing'er's affairs lately, so I don't have the energy to care about other people's family affairs."

Qiao Yuandong knew that the Queen was not saying this to push the matter onto His Majesty, but was secretly favoring the eldest princess.

The eldest princess is your majesty's biological sister, and your majesty will certainly not let the eldest princess suffer any grievances.

Knowing what the Queen meant, Qiao Yuandong changed the subject and said, "Has the Queen chosen the Crown Prince's principal wife?"

Crown Prince Xiao Jing is the eldest son of the Queen. He is fifteen years old this year, and when Qiao Yuandong sees him, he can call him nephew.

When the queen heard her ask this, she became interested.

"After much searching, I finally chose the third daughter of Master Yun. I've seen that girl before. She is very talented, intelligent, and beautiful. She has some of your charm before you got married."

After hearing this, Qiao Yuandong just pursed her lips and smiled. She was not surprised at all that Yun Sanniang could become the Crown Princess.

The Yun family has always been good at educating their children. Yun Sanniang had already shown her talent when she was only seven or eight years old.

It is widely rumored in the capital that the Third Lady is a talented woman of the time, on par with Lady Dong of the Qiao family.

Qiao Yuandong knew Yun Xingqing when he was young, so he had a very good impression of the Yun family. He was also very happy for Yun Sanniang for her current fame and status.

However, I'm afraid that Madam Yun San would not be willing to compare herself with a person like her who is weak and incompetent.

Seeing Qiao Yuandong lower his head and remain silent, the Queen continued, "My aunt once came to the palace to look for me and wanted me to choose a daughter of the Qiao family to be the crown prince. The palace said that even a good girl would be fine, but I refused."

Qiao Yuandong suddenly came back to his senses and frowned, "Mother is so confused."

The queen nodded slightly, very satisfied with Qiao Yuandong's sobriety.

The Qiao family is now in a high position and is also a royal family. In such a prosperous situation, instead of trying to restrain their influence, Mrs. Qiao even wants to enjoy the glory!
(End of this chapter)