The flower show at Changle Marquis’ Mansion actually invited the King of Qi!
This was beyond Mei Niang's expectations. She had attended flower banquets hosted by noble families of higher status, such as the Mansion of the Duke of Dingguo, but the Prince of Qi did not show up. However, he accepted the invitation from the Mansion of the Marquis of Changle, and arrived on time, with a large number of guards, and was surrounded by people. He just met the carriage of the Marquis of Weiyuan, Xu Junying, in front of the gate of the Mansion of Changle. Mei Niang had just got off the carriage and stood beside Xu Junying. The Marquis of Changle and his wife were originally going to come to greet the Marquis of Weiyuan and his wife, but when they saw the Prince of Qi coming, they quickly changed direction to greet him first. The Prince of Qi got off the carriage and glanced over. Mei Niang was so scared that her heart beat faster. She lowered her head and dodged to the side of Xu Junying, and subconsciously reached out to pull his sleeve. At this moment, she really hoped that his clothes were made of the kind of elastic nylon fabric that would expand, so that it could be stretched into a square backdrop to block her.
Xu Junying turned his head to look at her in a strange way and said, "That's His Royal Highness Prince Qi!"
The King of Qi and the Marquis of Changle and his wife greeted each other and strode over. Xu Junying led Mei Niang to salute him. Mei Niang kept her head down but not too much, and mechanically bent down following Xu Junying's movements. The King of Qi smiled and raised his hand to return the greeting, and said to Xu Junying:
"Marquis Weiyuan, when my arrow wound is healed, let's compete again, and compete in spearmanship, how about that?"
Xu Junying said: "The King of Qi is brave and famous in Xiguan. He must be better than me!"
"Does Weiyuan Hou want to win or lose? You and the emperor have always pushed me into a corner since you challenged me in a duel, and you wouldn't stop until you knocked me down. Do you know how much I hated you at that time? Later, I finally understood your painstaking efforts. You just wanted to suppress my temper, didn't you? Haha! I am just like this, I can't change it, but thank you!"
After the King of Qi finished speaking, he glanced at the timid wife of Marquis Weiyuan and walked towards the palace with his head held high.
Mei Niang waited for him to walk away, raised her head, looked at his back and let out a sigh, then turned around to meet Xu Junying's puzzled gaze and quickly lowered her eyes again.
Mrs. Wang, the wife of the Marquis of Changle, smiled and said to Xu Junying and Mei Niang, "In the entire capital, my family's peonies are the most beautiful. Your Highness the Prince of Qi, under the order of the Queen Mother, personally came to pick a few pots and send them to Puning Temple for care!"
Seeing that Fang Haining, the Marquis of Changle, and Xu Junying had walked to the front, Wang whispered to Mei Niang again, "Look at the women here today. In addition to those of us who are married, there are many young girls who have come. They were all carefully selected and invited. My Lord Marquis received the order from the Emperor and the Queen Mother, and everything is done naturally. In fact, we have also arranged a banquet for the previous families, but the Prince of Qi refused to go. But today he came to my house. Just wait and see which girl catches his eye!"
Mei Niang said: "When the royal family marries a daughter-in-law, can't they just grant the marriage?"
Wang smiled and said, "It depends on who it is. The King of Qi is a man of such temperament. He has said that if you marry him without his consent, the bride will not be allowed to enter the palace. She will only be carried outside the city to offer sacrifices to the river god!"
Mei Niang laughed: "This King Qi... is indeed different!"
No matter how weird, mysterious and different the rumors about the Prince of Qi were, it did not affect the noble ladies' admiration and love for him. As soon as he appeared in the peony garden of the Fang Mansion, it was like the sun attracting sunflowers. Almost all the female relatives turned to him, especially the young girls. If they could take a step forward, they would never take a single step back. They were obsessed with the extraordinary handsomeness and stunning charm of the Prince of Qi. Even if they were asked to take him to the abyss, they seemed willing to do so.
Mei Niang and the wife of Marquis Changle were leisurely leaning on the second-floor pavilion, and under the cover of a clump of evergreen osmanthus trees, they watched the Prince of Qi standing in the flowers, selecting peonies as if he were calling out orders. He just pointed randomly, and the guards brought out some rare varieties, with long flowering periods, pure colors, and full and beautiful flowers. His eyes were so vicious that Marquis Changle was very depressed:
"I have tried my best to hide them! I spent so much effort on the best ones. This King Qi is really smart!"
Mei Niang smiled, not knowing what to say to comfort her. The King of Qi picked the peony flowers, chatted with Changle Hou, Xu Junying and others for a few more words, and then said goodbye. The girls lined up to see him off as he passed by the flower path, and their fiery eyes were shot at him like sharp arrows. But the King of Qi was not a gentleman. He walked with his head held high, his eyes flying, and the beautiful women looked at him without stopping. There was still a faint smile on his face that was charming and seemed to be there and not there. As his handsome figure disappeared behind the flowers and trees, the girls' eyes instantly became empty and dry, without spirituality. Mei Niang seemed to see the pink girls' spring hearts falling on the ground on the corridor where the King of Qi walked, each of them was pitiful and weak, and they were all broken.
Mrs. Changle Hou was very meticulous. She was from Suzhou and Hangzhou, and she could make a variety of exquisite pastries with hometown characteristics. In addition to serving them to guests at the banquet, she also prepared a portion for each guest with elderly and children at home to take home. She would give more portions to guests who were more important. Mei Niang also got two portions, and was very happy. She tasted two pieces at the banquet and felt that they were soft, fragrant and smooth, sweet but not greasy, and tasted very good. On the way home, Mei Niang gave two pieces to Cui Xi and Cui Si in the car to taste, and took the rest back and divided it into several portions. She wanted to give them to the old lady and the wife, and also to Wang Mama and others. She never thought of giving them to Heng'er. In her previous life, her mother said that when children are teething, it is best to eat less sweets.
Unexpectedly, when they got off the car at Hou Mansion, Xu Junying asked Baoju and Cuixi to take the two boxes of cakes and said, "You go back to your room first. I'll go see the old lady and give her a box of cakes as well!"
Mei Niang was very unwilling to see that Wang Mama and the others were not included, but she couldn't argue with him on this point. She could only look at his back and complain: Can you not be so nice? Is there any reward for filial sons and grandchildren? The old lady ignored it. With so many grandchildren, no matter if she really loves you, dear grandmother, you should be filial to her. As for Madam Zheng, it's obvious that she is trying to trick you. She still pretends to be a filial mother. Is it great to raise you since you were three years old? You don't need her to hold you in her arms, carry you on her back, feed you, say a few nice words to you, and give you a warm smile, so you trust her? It's understandable that the stupid child is so stupid, but at this age, and with the matter of the seventh child, it's really wrong that he still doesn't understand!
Mei Niang frowned as she thought about it: It was his fault. Broken bones are connected to tendons. Madam Zheng took care of him when he was young. She did her best to please the old marquis. What memories can a three-year-old child have? He had long forgotten his biological mother. He had some feelings for Madam Zheng. Madam Zheng gave birth to his sister Xu Xiaojuan and the seventh child. For no other reason, just for the reputation of Heng'er and the seventh child, she would keep the secret and would not break up with him. This was probably the reason why he could still keep these people and live freely.
Mei Niang stretched out her hand and gently rubbed her brows: her life was in his hands. Although she was not so afraid of him now, it was not impossible for him to take her life by extraordinary means. Who would suspect that he killed his wife? She was active in the public eye, but she also sent people such a message: Weiyuan Hou and his wife were an enviable loving couple!
This time it feels like one's being too clever for one's own good.
When Xu Junying came back from Jinhua Hall, he actually brought back a plate of cakes for Mei Niang. Mei Niang looked at it again and again in surprise, but she didn't dare to touch it. She wasn't hungry either. She had eaten too much at Changle Houfu at noon. For dinner, Wang Mama arranged hot rice porridge with crispy, spicy and fragrant pickled vegetables for her. She was very happy to eat. She taught Cai Mama to make pickled vegetables. During the New Year, people were greasy after eating a lot of fish and meat, so they took them out for seasoning. The people in Xu's house loved it so much that they quickly taught the aunts who washed and picked vegetables in Xiankelai to make some. They wrote it on the recipe. The price was not lower than that of fish and meat, and it was also very popular with customers.
Xu Junying said, "My cousin Lan had nothing to do today, so she made some homemade cakes. The old lady asked me to give you some to try. How do they compare to the cooking of the wife of the Marquis of Changle?"
Zhuang Yulan, do you want to be compared with the wife of Marquis Changle
Mei Niang smiled and said, "Lord, Madam Changle would not make so many cakes by herself. They are all made by the maids in the mansion. Cousin Lan's craftsmanship cannot be compared with theirs!"
Xu Junying understood what Mei Niang meant and said, "It's just to taste the cakes. When the old lady asks you about it tomorrow, you will know how to answer."
Mei Niang picked up a cake, broke it open, and said with a smile: "Red Lotus Cake made of glutinous rice is soft, sweet and sticky. It is very good and fragrant when eaten hot. It is especially suitable for the taste of the elderly... Will the old lady be happy to hear this?"
Xu Junying looked at her and said, "If you don't like it, give it to Wang Mama, Cui Xi and the others!"
After saying that, he was going back to the East Courtyard. Mei Niang stood up and walked him to the door. Xu Junying stopped and said, "Take a rest. Now there is cousin Yu helping in the old lady's room. You don't have to go to see Heng'er every day. Get up early and go to the old lady's room to serve her first!"
"My Lord has ordered me to get up early tomorrow and go to Jinhua Hall!"
Mei Niang agreed verbally, but thought in her heart: Just go, it's not my turn to do anything. Maids like Ruixue and Ruiyu are capable of doing it. And Bai Jingyu, Fang, Gan, and Zhuang Yulan's marriages have just been decided, so they are reassured and are vying to do their own work. Zheng Meiyu, that flatterer, would come sometimes, but she was too lazy to join them. As the eldest lady, she just needed to pretend and go through the motions.
As if he could see into her heart, Xu Junying said, "The elder is old. She is Heng'er's great-grandmother. She likes you to be around. You must serve her wholeheartedly so that she won't have any regrets in the future!"
Mei Niang watched Xu Junying lift the door curtain and go out, pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes: Feeling regretful? No way!
I have heard Madam Zheng talk about the old master. The old master is a loyal and filial person. He respects and is filial to the old lady. After middle age, he follows the old lady's words as if they were imperial decrees. Xu Junying dared to disobey the old lady and married Qin Mei Niang on his own initiative. I thought he had some personality, but now he is living more and more like his father. Maybe in a few years, he will be even more foolishly filial. Without the old lady, will he worship Madam Zheng? There are also the second master and the second wife. They have sons and daughters, so they don't need him. I guess he will rush to express his filial piety...
Mei Niang teased Xu Junying in her heart while picking up the plate of snacks made by Zhuang Yulan on the table and said to Cui Xi:
"Pour this into the pond to feed the fish, so that the fish can taste the cooking of their future great-grandmother!" (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets at qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.) (To be continued)