Lady Zhao

Chapter 52

Empress Dowager Dou and Concubine Yue called the servants to look for the Sixth Prince's traces outside. The Empress looked at the sun just in time, and asked the Empress Dowager dignifiedly whether the banquet was held. Empress Dowager Dou nodded, and the empress did not go far Li Shanggong, who was wearing a red-brown female official uniform, signaled to start.

Li Shanggong's eyes were shining brightly, and he stood on the side of the white jade steps and spoke loudly about the process of the Qionghua Banquet, explaining in detail for those ladies from aristocratic families who participated in the banquet for the first time.

The banquet will be held for three days. The first day is mainly to provide opportunities for the ladies to show their talents. The second day is a competition between the gentlemen. The third day is to drink tea, feast, and release palace lanterns. Men and women don't have to be so rigid anymore, there are more opportunities to communicate, but with the eyes of countless palace people staring at them, there will be no troubles.

Today is the first day, and it is the talent competition of the girls. Talents are divided into four categories: piano, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Due to the limited time, there are also seventy or eighty ladies from aristocratic families who entered the palace to make an album. They are divided according to the number of " "Qinqi Calligraphy and Painting" made Linglong wishful balls, temporarily divided them into four groups, and asked them to draw lots from Linglong balls, whichever talent they drew would be included in the same group to prepare for.After lunch, they will start the competition respectively. The judges will be judged by the empresses of several palaces. For example, the noble concubine Yue who is more proficient in rhythm is the judge of the "qin" group.Afterwards, the leaders of the four groups will be selected, and the leaders will go to the Queen Mother and the ladies for the final competition, and present the final test questions sealed by the Holy Spirit. In the locked lacquered wooden box, send it to the sage to have a look, and the imperial pen will point out the leader.

Occasionally, if the answer won the Sacred Heart, His Majesty would personally write an imperial edict and assign the title of county lord to the chief woman, but this was a matter of many years ago, so long that people gradually forgot about it.

After the process was finished, Li Shanggong ordered Gong'e to fetch the exquisite ruyi ball made by Qicai Teng. During this period, the girls' faces were full of nervousness and excitement, and they whispered about their feelings.It's a human being, anyone who is proficient in it must be not good at it, and those who know everything are the proud daughters of heaven, after all, there are very few.

Before Zhao Wenwan was sitting in the case, she raised her eyes and looked at the opposite side carefully, and saw that there was no one next to Zhao Yuanjin, her brows were slightly frowned, why did the elder brother disappear?It is inconvenient for her to move around and look for it, and the competition is about to start, so she has to wait patiently, thinking that the palace is heavily guarded, and nothing can go wrong, besides, with the intelligence of the eldest brother, it should be able to resolve it... So thinking , I still can't help worrying in my heart.

Zhao Wenxi, who was a distance away, was clutching the hem of his clothes nervously, sweating slightly on his forehead, he had already been rude just now, if he didn't have amazing talent, he would really have lost his chance.But the fact that she grew up in the mountains will never be erased. She is not comparable to those real ladies. She has learned piano, chess, calligraphy and painting since she was a child. Except for the extraordinary talent in piano skills, she is not good at other things. Looking secretly at Zhao Wenwan, she is a A lazy look, as if not interested.There was a bit of inexplicable sourness in my heart, if it hadn't been for her fate to be away from Beijing for many years, why would...

Zhao Wenxuan, who was sitting next to Zhao Wenxi, was actually nervous and anxious. She knew how much she weighed, so she didn't dare to spy on the leader, but as long as that bitch Zhao Wenwan didn't get it, it would be fine.Thinking of this, Zhao Wenxuan sneered, she has been with Zhao Wenwan for many years, and she still knows this idiot, except for the skin, she is not good at everything.At her father's birthday banquet last time, if Zhao Wenxuan felt that her gift was damaged and offended her father, she would have gone to her father to expose Zhao Wenwan.

Zhao Wenxuan pretended to comfort Zhao Wenxi and said, "Second Sister, don't be afraid, you will definitely be able to."

Zhao Wenxi returned a soft smile, and caressed Zhao Wenxuan's slender hand a few times, with a bit of an elder sister's love, "Third sister should be too." Then her voice sank, and her eyes became tense again. She had deliberately wooed Zhao Wenxuan back then. , I just felt that when I first entered the capital, it was impossible for Zhao Wenwan to be around a noble girl who could "promote" her all the time, and Zhao Wenxuan was the best candidate.

Sure enough, the previous hard work was not in vain, and it still has some effect. Thanks to Zhao Wenxuan's reminder of Princess Jinping's "flower reputation" and the banquet just now, I understand the reason. I didn't continue to make mistakes, and I won't make mistakes again in the future. .The corners of Zhao Wenxi's mouth were pursed and she was secretly calculating. Although she is not happy now, it is because her fate is bad and she has become an orphan. In time, when she grows up and is in full bloom, no one can stop her from becoming the daughter of the phoenix.

Zhao Wenwan looked at the two "sisterly love" and sneered, asked Gong'e to refill a cup of tea for herself, and drank it slowly. She also knew Zhao Wenxuan, that person followed Aunt Xia's temper, selfish and cruel, maybe Zhao Wenxi's previous gesture of friendship may have been a little shaken, but it was just a lead for the two to make friends. If Zhao Wenxi had no value for Zhao Wenxuan, even if she had some good feelings in her heart, she would definitely not rely on Zhao Wenxi. She is the kind of person who puts her own interests first no matter what she does, and is very good at clinging to her, and if she can't, she will kick her away.

This is what she learned from Aunt Xia by ear and eyes. Thinking about Aunt Xia's temperament because of her background, isn't it the same? Relying on clinging, Zhao Wenxuan inherited the mantle without knowing it. If he insists on going his own way, the ending will definitely be the same as Aunt Xia's.

However, Zhao Wenwan behaved very differently from other girls. She was not worried about what she would get, because no matter which item she got, Zhao Wenwan, as a modern person, was not familiar with the ancient "qin, chess, calligraphy and painting". After brush calligraphy, I can still write a few readable fonts. Fortunately, I don’t have to worry about drinking tea.

The tea in the court is different. Zhao Wenwan shook the exquisite jade cup, because the maid who was serving seemed to have no intention of revealing the uniqueness of this cup. With the heat, a few green leaves in the cup bloomed in a flash, spinning like a dancer's ribbon with the shaking, which is really beautiful.

Thanks to Princess Yongping, she chose this seat to be able to use such a good cup, paired with top-quality Biluochun, and the Lanyue Pavilion with heaters placed here and there is really special, with flowers, grass, and beauties Accompanying, there is nothing uncomfortable about seeing Gu Jingxing, the deadly enemy of the script.

If Gu Jingxing knew what Zhao Wenwan was thinking, he might vomit blood. Zhao Wenwan would have no idea that the cup in her hand was unparalleled in the world, and the princess had never had it. It was because Gu Jingxing heard that Zhao Wenwan was coming, so he took it out and gave it to his sister. Princess Yongping was very happy, hugged her sixth brother and kept praising her, until finally Gu Jingxing said: "This set of cups and cups is for personal favors. During the Qionghua Banquet, you will sit with Miss Zhao from Dingguo's mansion." Son, when Gong'e brings the Linglong Ruyi ball to you, ask Gong'e to avoid the ball "Qin" and don't give it to Zhao Wenwan."

Hearing the words, Yongping blinked his round eyes in surprise, then understood, and smiled narrowly at Gu Jingxing, "Hehe, let me tell you why Brother Six thinks of my sister today."

"Miss Zhao is kind to me." Gu Jingxing pretended not to understand her jokes, and said indifferently with the corners of his lips tensed.

Yongping wrinkled his nose secretly, but he didn't believe it at all, "I heard that Miss Zhao is very good at the piano, and the reputation of Miss Zhao's piano skills was spread all over the party in the Duke's mansion early in the morning." What are you thinking, Sixth Brother? Why are you helping others? I think you are harming others. Even if you don’t like Miss Zhao, you can tell from the Qiongshan Palace that she is devoted to you. Why break her up? The road to victory."

Gu Jingxing thought of the violinist behind the rockery at that birthday banquet, but he didn't explain it aloud. The name Zhao Wenwan has gathered more and more mysteries in his heart these days. But if she said she didn't like it, why she did what she did was really unpredictable, but she didn't realize that she had already devoted too much attention to a woman and couldn't take it back.

In the end, it seemed to be a headache from Yongping's nagging, and he said in a calm voice, "You just do it, if you don't want to, I will take this set of jade cups."

Princess Yongping thought about that set of cups for a long time, so she quickly called Gu Jingxing, "I can't help you, just keep the cups."

The corner of Gu Jingxing's mouth curled up slightly, he touched Princess Yongping's head, and left in satisfaction.

Little did they know that this behavior actually misunderstood Princess Yongping, thinking that the Sixth Prince was not kind, and wanted to break Zhao Wenwan's infatuation. With good intentions, before the lottery, she reasoned that she was unwell and delayed her attendance, which would not be considered breaking her promise. The set of cups and cups naturally belonged to her.

Then what Zhao Wenwan draws is what it is, and it has nothing to do with her, but it depends on luck.

Concubine Yue Gui, who is also Princess Yongping's concubine, is secretly observing at the moment. Her son doesn't care about the future princess. She has to keep her eyes open and check carefully. Come on, the Miss Zhao family who beat your maid last year, heard that she was obsessed with Jing Xing, why does she look different now?"

Last year at the Qionghua Banquet, Zhao Wenwan was insolent and had offended Concubine Yue once, so she knew Zhao Wenwan's unruly character. If she became her own daughter-in-law, wouldn't it be Jing Xing who suffered?

"The country is easy to change, but the nature is difficult to change. I don't see any changes." Yue Guifei said coldly, thinking that she should find a gentle and gentle personality suitable for Jing Xing, so she quietly summoned Li Shanggong and whispered in her ear Whispering softly, Li Shanggong glanced at Zhao Wenwan meaningfully while listening, and finally nodded in agreement.

Only then did Concubine Yue adjust her clothes and sit upright, she then looked at the girls on the female seat and carefully sized them up one by one.

The six maids came out each holding a delicately colored basket, and asked the girls from each family to draw exquisite Ruyi balls from both sides. The maid carrying the purple basket came around and asked Zhao Wenwan to take one respectfully. Cautious and well-mannered, Zhao Wenwan looked into the basket, there was only one left, could she still use it, but she really didn't care, took it out, put it on the side of the table, and was not in a hurry to open it, Gong'e As soon as Fushen left the table, he turned around and faced the gaze of Shangli Shanggong, showing a flattering look of having completed the confession, and retreated to the side.

One of the women's family members made a sound as if the nest had exploded, and the men's side was also talking about it, and Zhao Wenxi who was next to him seemed to be relieved and made a small chuckle, and Zhao Wenxuan who was next to him languished. , drooping her head, she got the "Chess" group which she was least good at, Zhao Wenxi's beautiful eyes filled with a trace of complacency, and tentatively asked Zhao Wenwan, her words were concerned, "Sister, what did you draw?"

She took a deep look at Linglong Ball, "I didn't open it either?"

"Sister, don't you worry? What if it's something you're not good at?"

Zhao Wenxuan laughed immediately, with a tinge of sarcasm, and hurriedly said, "Sister, she's not worried."

Zhao Wenxi paid attention to his wording, "That's right, my sister is so charming, she must be proficient in everything."

"Yes, when Wen Xue and I were learning piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, our eldest sister was still dreaming. In the dream, there must be Duke Zhou teaching me?"

A meaningless smile appeared on Zhao Wenwan's lips, and he said slowly to Zhao Wenxuan: "Third Sister has played chess, right? Don't learn from the previous ones. Don't distinguish between black and white. I'm at the bottom. I don't care anymore, anyway, I'm from the Duke's Mansion." The eldest daughter, you don’t have to worry about being a good girl, but once your Aunt Xia leaves, my sister is alone, in case you lose someone again in this competition, just follow what you said just now, be careful—you won’t be able to get married.” Then he chuckled, He said again, "Sister's words are far away, it's just a competition, but the concubine of our Duke's Mansion should not be bad, father is waiting for you to honor the Duke's Mansion!"

Zhao Wenxuan's teeth trembled in anger. She played chess and was doomed to be buried in the crowd of banquets. She clenched her fists, and her blood surged up, "I want to see if my sister can win glory for my father." ?”

Zhao Wenxi acted as a peacemaker from the sidelines, "Third sister and elder sister should stop talking."

Zhao Wenxuan was still unconvinced, and leaned over Zhao Wenxi to reach the exquisite ball on Zhao Wenwan's desk. What Zhao Wenwan is least good at is rhythm. It can be said that she has a five-tone insufficiency. .

Zhao Wenwan pressed the ball quickly with his hands and eyes, his domineering sideways leaked, the corners of his mouth slightly curved, "Don't bother my sister to open it for me."

"I don't think my sister dares to look at it? You can't do any of them." Zhao Wenxuan said sharply.

"Third sister is so full of words today, let me let the other sisters present be a witness, what if I win the leader?"

The young ladies sitting next to the three sisters of the Zhao family had also been chattering overtly and secretly to each other, and now they were all looking forward to watching a good show, and echoed Zhao Wenwan, "That's right, Wenxuan, tell me."

Zhao Wenxuan was so forced that she suddenly sneered twice, and said without thinking: "If my sister wins the top spot, I will bow down and help my sister put up the skirt to attend to thank the emperor." Thank you for the emperor's favor?Then the leader of the four groups would have to win again, Zhao Wenxuan would really let herself go down the stairs, and the girls from the forensics would cast a sneering look at her. Is such a bet interesting?They also know a thing or two about Zhao Wenwan, so it's not bad to be able to win a group of leaders.

Zhao Wenwan is an idiot, she doesn't need to be afraid at all, Zhao Wenxuan thought in her heart, but seeing Zhao Wenwan's confident gaze, she couldn't help but feel guilty, and deliberately increased the difficulty of the bet.

Everyone thought that Zhao Wenwan would refute Zhao Wenxuan's words, but they didn't expect her to make a decision immediately, very straightforward, "Okay, I will follow my sister's own suggestion. If you lose, you can't blame me for bullying you."

"I also advise my sister not to talk too much. My sister hasn't won yet. What if you lose? I can't just be punished."

"But let you ask as you please."

It sounds like Zhao Wenwan is at a loss. Apart from challenging the unattainable position of the leader, Zhao Wenxuan is also allowed to make arbitrary demands.

Zhao Wenxuan also happily responded, and continued, "Can you show us what you're smoking?"

Zhao Wenwan smiled, and dexterously twisted the Linglong Ball with ten fingers, revealing a corner of the silk cloth...

All the ladies looked at each other, poked their necks and looked forward to seeing what Zhao Wenwan was drawing. When the silk cloth was opened, a high-ranking Gong Elian suddenly walked up. It was the personal maid next to the princess, who walked to Zhao Wenwan. He walked up and said softly: "Excuse me, Miss Zhao, the second lady of Marquis Anyuan over there is not feeling well for peony pollen. It happened that a few girls next to the seat planted the newly picked peonies in the warm pavilion. The princess sees that there is a vacant seat at your side. I just want the girl to sit here, does Miss mind?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Wenwan was stunned for a moment, and asked back, "Which is the second lady of Marquis Anyuan?"

Someone laughed and said, "Of course it's Xue Yuan, the cousin of our Crown Princess's family, Miss Wang."

"Oh? Wang Xueyuan?" Zhao Wenwan burst out word by word, and his words were suddenly tainted with coldness, just like the weather outside Lanyuexuan, without the slightest temperature.

Dingguo Duke's Mansion and Anyuan Marquis Mansion... this...

These two families once had a marriage contract. Wang Xueyuan was known as a talented woman in Beijing, and she was originally married to Zhao Yuanli as a talented woman. Unfortunately, the eldest son of the Zhao family suddenly fell ill for some reason, and she could be regarded as a sick child. There are rumors that Zhao Yuanli's temperament has become irritable and weird, and his health is getting worse. He is not sick and has not faded out of the circle of sight. He guessed that the third young master in the capital will become the fourth young master in the capital. However, the person who recognized the Zhao family today only saw Zhao Yuanjin present, and there was no Zhao Yuanli next to him. .

There was a few young ladies who were the daughters of upstarts who had been promoted to Beijing with their fathers. They didn't know the inside story at all, and those who liked to gossip laughed and said, "When the two families broke up, Marquis Anyuan aggressively called the Duke of Daoguo to ask for an annulment. .”

"Why? Is it so easy to break off the engagement?" Miss Xingui asked curiously.

"It was not easy at first. Both families are rich and powerful, but Zhao Yuanli and Miss Wang's elder brother Wang Bowen are classmates and the two families have a marriage contract. They have a good personal relationship. Hearing that Wang Xueyuan is worried about Zhao Yuanli's health, Wang Bowen invited Zhao Yuanli to come. I went to the teahouse and brought Wang Xueyuan with me."

"Isn't that good? The second miss of the Wang family is kind and righteous, and she didn't indifferent to Mr. Zhao because of his illness."

"It's a pity, Wang Xueyuan is ruthless. I heard that Mr. Zhao has been withdrawn and irritable since his illness. When Wang Bowen went downstairs to order the shopkeeper in the restaurant that day, the people who were present that day saw Wang. Xueyuan came out yelling for help, her white and tender face was still painted, the corners of her mouth were dripping with blood, she kept crying in fright, her body trembling, the servant who greeted her in the store saw Zhao Yuanli smashing tables and chairs like crazy, The second young lady of the Wang family must have been beaten by him when he was in a frenzy, and Marquis An Yuan then ran to the Zhao family to withdraw from the marriage, and all the nobles of the family know about this trouble."

"In this case, it is reasonable for Anyuan Hou's family to withdraw the engagement, and I can't blame Miss Xueyuan."

"Well, yes. Later, the Zhao family proposed to Zhao Yuanli, and no young lady dared to accept the marriage."

Zhao Wenwan had inquired about her elder brother's resignation a long time ago, and she has always been brooding about it. She didn't believe that it was something that her elder brother could do, and she didn't want to hurt his heart by mentioning that unpleasant memory.Fortunately, the clever young servants cultivated in the dark are slowly getting on the right track, and they can be sent out to investigate the teahouse incident back then. With Zhao Zhong's narration, Zhao Wenwan already has some evidence in his hand, and he just needs to collect all the evidence to return his elder brother's innocence.

What happened back then was that the brothers and sisters of the Wang family designed the elder brother to deliberately invite the elder brother to the teahouse and drug the elder brother to make him violent. She didn't know if Wang Xueyuan was really injured that day, but such a gentle elder brother, like a spring breeze, would rather If you hurt yourself, you won't hurt anyone else.

Afterwards, Zhao Yuanli was carried back to the mansion by someone. His already weak body became more and more unbearable. He turned around before the gate of hell was closed several times, and the outside world was dressed up and down. All kinds of false rumors appeared one after another, almost destroying that person, besieging Duke Dingguo's mansion as if being manipulated, everyone sympathized with Wang Xueyuan, and felt that Zhao Yuanli was more and more hateful, and they tried their best to slander, and their words made money.

Even though Zhao Yuanli, who was finally rescued, was ill, he had heard a lot and seemed more and more depressed.Afterwards, the old lady sent everyone away and asked Zhao Yuanli if he really hit the Miss Wang family. Zhao Yuanli only had dark eyes and firmly denied it. The two talked, and no one knew the content.

On the second day, the old lady went to Anyuanhou's mansion to return the Geng invitation, and said that the two families would no longer communicate with each other. The old lady stood at the door and said slowly to Anyuanhou who came out to see him off, "Miss Xueyuan deserves to be married." Not Zhao Yuanli." Then he left.

Marquis An Yuan didn't know whether the old lady's words meant a pity, or...

Zhao Wenwan knew that her grandmother must have believed in her elder brother.

As soon as Zhao Wenwan thought of how hurt his elder brother had been, Zhao Wenwan's heart trembled, he gritted his teeth, and threw the Linglong Ball aside, the silk cloth just happened to be exposed, and it read - "Qin".

Zhao Wenxuan didn't want to care about Zhao Yuanli, she was only worried that Zhao Wenwan would win, but when she saw the word "Qin", she couldn't help secretly heaving a sigh of relief, she was very proud, and she wanted to see how Zhao Wenwan lost.

"Third sister is going to suffer, isn't my sister very good at playing the piano? I heard from Lu Yun that my sister's birthday banquet..." Zhao Wenxi frowned slightly to express concern.

Zhao Wenxuan laughed mockingly, and whispered, "Sister, she doesn't know how to play the piano." Although she didn't know what method Zhao Wenwan used for the birthday banquet, she was only sure that Zhao Wenwan couldn't play the piano, not at all.

Gong'e was still waiting for Zhao Wenwan's response. If it wasn't for the lack of space, she would add a few more cases later, which would lower her status too much, so she had no choice but to find a vacant space here at Zhao Wenwan's place. "What's Miss Zhao's intention? Slave servant, please reply to the Crown Princess Concubine."

The corners of Zhao Wenwan's cold mouth were tense, like a string, getting tighter and tighter, and finally parted the red lips...

(End of this chapter)