Princess Mingxin may not know much about the things happening in the martial arts world.
But she knew everything about the noble ladies in the capital.
Women are good at socializing, and they have good memory and logical connections. Just introducing a noble lady can make it seem like they are talking about a whole bunch of relatives and friends.
Princess Mingxin took Liu Qiaoer all the way to the inner courtyard of the Duke's Mansion.
The women stayed in the inner courtyard and the men in the outer courtyard, but when they went out for fun, everyone could meet in the back garden or by the lake.
The Duke's Mansion is very large and there is also a cruise ship. Although the lotus flowers have withered now, it does not affect everyone's interest in sightseeing at all.
"That is the eldest granddaughter of Duke Ying. She married the son of the Minister of Justice. A Duke Ying of the first rank married a high-ranking official, which is considered marrying down. But Duke Ying did not suffer any loss either. Her brother is a deacon in the Ministry of Justice."
The Duke of England is just a figurehead. A first-class duke would be demoted to a marquis in the second generation, and to an earl in the third generation. The earl is the fourth rank, while the Minister of Justice is the third rank.
Putting aside the Duke of England, they can be considered a good match, and he can also use him to seek an official position, which is a typical case of marriage recommendation for officialdom.
Princess Mingxin continued, "The eldest daughter of Master Lu married the son of the Marquis of Zhenguo Mansion, which is considered a good match, but the rest of the daughters are not so good at marrying up. I heard that the second daughter was engaged to the son of the scholar of Longtu Pavilion, but that man is a bit of a playboy and doesn't seem to like her yet."
When Liu Qiaoer came, she also did some research on the official positions in the imperial court. She seemed to understand what was said, but felt that it was a bit like the official position system of the Song Dynasty.
Princess Mingxin's father is a first-rank prince, and was granted the title of General of the Cavalry, a first-rank official in the entire court. I'm afraid that the next step will be to be promoted to the king of the opposite sex.
Therefore, wherever Princess Mingxin went, she was always respectful and greeted with a smile.
"The relative of Lu Taifu, the youngest daughter of the Marquis of Zhenguo, was originally going to marry into the Lu family, but was snatched away by the son of the Imperial Censor. Lu Taifu is a shrewd man, and he immediately let his second grandson marry the Imperial Censor's third daughter. I heard that she was a concubine's daughter raised by the wife. Although her status was lower, she was well educated."
The nobles and aristocratic families in the capital city all had intermarriages with each other. Basically, the fourth rank was a hurdle, and the nobles above the fourth rank intermarried with each other. It was not so easy for those below the fourth rank to climb up.
Liu Qiaoer was confused after hearing this: "There are so many nobles in the capital. I'm afraid that when you're shopping, you can just pick up a brick and smash a first-class mansion. People below the fifth rank don't consider themselves officials here."
In local areas, the prefect is a fifth-rank official.
Princess Mingxin nodded: "It's okay, today we mainly want to see who has a grudge against Yunxi. So far, we can only get information from the girls of the Lu family."
The two of them first went to pay their respects to the Duke's wife. Although they all knew that Princess Mingxin's marriage was decided by the Queen Mother, her presence still showed that the host family had a lot of face.
In ancient times, wealthy people held banquets which lasted a long time, starting at ten in the morning. They would first watch a play and the performances of the invited girls from the music troupe, and then eat.
It was similar to a buffet, but the people who served the dishes were the maids around them. The maids knew their masters' tastes, and the meals, snacks, and fruits were all in the next room.
If anyone wanted to eat something, the servants would get it.
The masters sat there, enjoying the singing and dancing performances while eating.
Some couples would gather together to talk and chat. I have to say, they were really ladylike. They didn't speak loudly and made no noise when eating. They all behaved properly and paid great attention to etiquette.
The ladies did not eat much. They mostly ate snacks, fruits and drank some fruit wine. Most of the delicious food was provided by their maids.
Liu Qiaoer followed Princess Mingxin and prepared a lot of delicious food.
Watching the maids of Miss Lu San and Miss Lu Si carrying the plates to the side hall, Liu Qiaoer followed them without saying a word.
"That chestnut cake is what the young lady loves. What about the lotus seed soup? It should be over there." Lu San's maid asked Miss Lu Si's maid.
Suddenly, Miss Lu Si's maid Gui Rong burst out laughing.
"When I think of lotus seed soup, I think of the joke that the country bumpkin made. Our lotus seed soup is sweet in itself, but she insisted on adding sugar to it. It's neither red nor white, so ugly."
Guirong smiled, and the other maid also smiled.
"The country bumpkin is ignorant and wants to be on equal footing with our first-rank tutor's daughter. It's really giving her face."
Gui Rong snorted coldly: "Now it's finally quiet, I'm afraid I'll never come back."
Another maidservant asked quietly, "I heard that she was abducted by kidnappers and then found back. Does that mean she is still innocent?"
Gui Rong smiled and said, "If it were me, I would just hang myself with a rope."
The two maids went to pick out some snacks. Suddenly, Gui Rong called a maid and said, "Oh, Miss Tang is finally here. Our girl has been waiting for so long."
She was a girl in brocade shorts and looked very capable, except for the Tang Sect badge clearly hanging on her waist.
At first glance, he is obviously from the Tang Sect.
The maid came over to greet them enthusiastically and started to choose snacks.
Gui Rong asked, "I heard from my daughter that the trap your daughter set up last time was broken by someone? Did you find the person who did it?"
The Tang Clan maid shook her head and said, "It was broken yesterday. Our girl saw the fire over there and realized that the person who broke the mechanism must be an expert. He burned the whole room and there is nothing left."
When Liu Qiaoer heard this, her heart tightened.
Fire, house, office.
The only house that caught fire nearby yesterday was the one where Lu Yunxi lived. It seemed that the mechanism was indeed related to the people from the Tang Clan.
Back at the banquet, Liu Qiaoer told Princess Mingxin the news she had heard.
Princess Mingxin pointed at her and said, "Although the Tang Sect has no official positions and belongs to the Jianghu sect, it has good relations with these noble families, and her position was arranged there..."
Behind Miss Lu, behind the third Miss was the fourth Miss, and behind the fourth Miss was Miss Tang's table. But at this time, Miss Tang was sitting in the first row with Miss Lu.
Liu Qiao'er was a little puzzled: "It seems that they have a good relationship... What should we do? Should we talk separately or what?"
Who knew that Princess Mingxin was sincere? She rolled up her sleeves and waved to Shuangjiang: "Go and call that girl named Tang over to me."
As expected, those who are powerful tend to speak directly.
Shuangjiang came to Miss Lu San without saying a word. No one knew what he said, but Tang Yuan looked at Mingxin with surprise, and really came over happily.
Seeing Princess Mingxin, she bowed deeply. Mingxin didn't ask her to stand up, but asked, "Yesterday we found a girl in the house next to the Lu family. I heard that you designed the mechanism of that house, and the secret room as well?"
This one sentence confused Tang Yuan. After all, he was young, and a trace of panic flashed in his shocked eyes, but he regained his composure in just a moment.
"I don't understand what the princess is talking about."