"This clay figurine is so lifelike." Zhuang Qingchan stood in front of a stall making clay figurines.
Seeing Zhuang Nianyun looking at him eagerly, Jiang Changning asked with a smile, "Yun'er, do you want a little clay figurine like you?"
"Is it okay?" Zhuang Nianyun asked timidly.
Before she had formed an impression of her father, Zhuang Jiwen died of illness.
Liao lived a cautious life at the Zhuang family, rarely going out, and raised her daughter to have a calm personality.
"Of course, as long as you like it, your cousin will buy it for you." Jiang Changning touched her head.
Zhuang Nianyun smiled happily with her eyebrows curved, revealing her left cheek with a small dimple, looking extremely adorable.
It takes some time to make the clay figures, so several people stood beside the stall waiting.
At this time, a group of people came from the other end of the street. The person in the middle was wearing a gorgeous robe embroidered with silver-white cloud patterns. He looked dignified, with sharp features as if carved with a knife.
He looked around and didn't seem to have much interest in the things sold at the stalls on either side.
I don't know what the people following him are talking about, and he nodded from time to time.
When this group of people were walking quickly past Jiang Changning and others, the man in the middle suddenly stopped and walked towards Jiang Changning.
Zhuang Jichang and Zhuang Jisheng stopped him and asked at the same time, "What advice do you have, sir?"
Upon seeing this, the guards sent by the restaurant immediately moved closer.
The man asked politely, "My name is Qin Zhaoxi. May I know which mansion you two are from?"
After hearing the man's name, Jiang Changning looked up at him.
Qin Zhaoxi, the nephew of the Empress Dowager, the cousin of the Emperor, and the son of the Duke of Xingzhou, is also the object of pursuit of many girls in the capital.
"Hello, Young Lord Qin, we are from the family of Mr. Zhuang Zuo, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue." Zhuang Jichang bowed.
"You are standing here, but is there anything you need help with?" When Qin Zhaoxi said this, the people around him looked like they had seen a ghost.
How could the usually arrogant young prince suddenly become so approachable
"My niece bought a clay figurine. We are waiting here. We have nothing to trouble you, young lord." Zhuang Jichang said with a smile.
Qin Zhaoxi then noticed the clay figurine stall next to him and smiled. If it weren't for this stall, he would have missed this beauty.
"Are these all your sisters?" Qin Zhaoxi asked.
"Yes." Zhuang Jichang did not introduce the girls' names.
This is the street, it's not appropriate to say girls' nicknames out loud.
Qin Zhaoxi didn't ask any more questions. He glanced at Jiang Changning and said with a smile, "I won't bother you anymore."
Not long after he and his men left, the clay figure was completed.
After paying the copper coins, Jiang Changning and his group continued to stroll on the street.
"It smells so good." Zhuang Qingchan took a breath.
Zhuang Jisheng looked around and said, "Someone is selling magnolia flower strings."
Everyone walked over and saw a small basket filled with bunches of fragrant magnolia flowers.
Jiang Changning took a necklace and put it on her hand. Suddenly, she felt someone was looking at her. She looked around and her eyes met with someone on the second floor of the teahouse across the street.
He has a handsome face and a graceful demeanor. He is Prince of Jin, Helian Yu.
When King Jin saw that she saw him, the corners of his lips curled up, he smiled brightly, and nodded slightly.
Jiang Changning had no expression on his face. He calmly looked away, took two strings of magnolia flowers, and tied them around Zhuang Nianyun's bun. "Our Yun'er is a sweet-smelling baby."
Zhuang Nianyun was so happy that she smiled with dimples again.
Jiang Changning's reaction amused King Jin, and his smile deepened. She was indeed a gentle and kind girl.
If Zhuang Yaozong knew what Prince Jin said about Jiang Changning, he would definitely sneer at it.
After that night, Zhuang Yaozong feared Jiang Changning like a tiger.
Not to mention asking him to marry Jiang Changning, he was unwilling to even go in front of Jiang Changning.
Old Madam Huang San was still regretful, "It would be great if the marriage could be arranged before the imperial decree comes down."
"Grandma, please stop talking. Even if Jiang Changning wasn't a concubine, I wouldn't get engaged to her." Zhuang Yaozong didn't want to be beaten again, and soaking in the well water didn't feel good either.
Old Lady Huang San thought her grandson despised Jiang Changning because she was an orphan. "You kid, although Jiang Changning is an orphan, she is favored by the Queen Mother. Besides, the Jiang family..."
"Grandma! Do you want me to die?" Zhuang Yaozong shouted.
Old Lady Huang San was startled and asked in confusion, "What do you mean by that?"
"You remember what happened when I came back that day. That's what she had done."
"How is that possible?" Old Lady Huang San didn't believe it.
"Can someone who can win the favor of the Queen Mother be a person without means? Grandmother, she is definitely not as weak and vulnerable as she looks. It is better not to provoke her."
Old lady Huang San was still skeptical, but Zhuang Yaozong refused to listen to her.
If the cow doesn't want to drink water, you can't force it to drink.
Besides, Jiang Changning is already a concubine, so even if Old Lady Huang San doesn't want to give up, she can only give up the idea of pursuing Jiang Changning.
After returning home, Zhuang Nianyun chattered to Liao about every detail of her time on the street.
Looking at her daughter's red face, Liao was even more grateful to Jiang Changning. "Yun'er, do you like cousin Ning?"
"I like it!" Zhuang Nianyun said loudly.
It seemed that the louder she spoke, the more it showed how much she liked Jiang Changning.
Liao smiled, her eyes doting, "If you like, go play with Aunt Ning more often."
She lived like a dry well, but she couldn't let her daughter live the same dull life as her.
My daughter is still so young and has a bright future.
During the Dragon Boat Festival, the girls played and rested for a day.
The next day, I followed Aunt Peng to learn etiquette as usual.
The days passed by in learning, and by mid-May, beautiful girls began to come to Beijing one after another.
The Zhuang family also welcomed two beauties to participate in the beauty pageant, one was Xie Baoyin, the granddaughter of Old Master Zhuang’s sister, and the other was Lu Xiujie, the daughter of Xie Baoyin’s uncle.
The ones who sent Xie Baoyin and Lu Xiujie to Beijing were Xie Baoyin's brother Xie Zhang and Lu Xiujie's half-brother Lu Pingxu.
When they arrived, Jiang Changning and the four girls from the Zhuang family were still learning the rules in the open flower courtyard.
The person who was entertaining Mrs. Zhuang was Zhuang Jike. When he heard the announcement, he said, "I wonder how pretty these two sisters are?"
Although Jiang Changning is beautiful, she is old-fashioned and always follows rules, which makes Zhuang Jike very disliked.
The appearance of Xie Baoyin and Lu Xiujie did not disappoint Zhuang Jike.
Xie Baoyin is tall, with almond eyes and rosy cheeks, and a radiant face. She wears an apricot-red dress, and looks graceful and elegant, like the most delicate flower in spring.
Lv Xiujie, wearing a pink and blue embroidered skirt, is young and has not yet fully grown, but with her crystal-clear skin and a pair of timid doe eyes, she is also an extremely beautiful little beauty.
"Hello, two sisters." Zhuang Jike only had eyes for the two girls and did not notice the burly Xie Zhang and the handsome and shy boy Lu Pingxu.
Xie Baoyin smiled at Zhuang Jike in a graceful manner.
Lu Xiujie looked at him timidly and hid behind Xie Baoyin.
Two important female supporting characters.
(End of this chapter)