The days passed one by one, and in the blink of an eye it was October 20th. The weather was not good, and the wind was bitingly cold.
Jiang Changning was afraid of the cold, so she wore warm clothes and held the hand warmer that Xiulan had specially prepared for her.
"The county lady is still a little weak. It's only October and she has to use a hand warmer. What will she do in the cold winter?" Qiao said with emotion.
The concubine looked at Jiang Changning's small face, which was the size of a palm, and frowned slightly. She was too thin.
"Does the palace not even have the money to buy charcoal-burning earth dragons?" Jiang Changning said in horror, "I need to talk to the prince about this and let him think of a solution. I'm very afraid of the cold."
"Don't talk nonsense. Who said the palace has no money to buy charcoal?" Qiao said nervously.
Jiang Changning patted his chest in a pretentious manner and said, "Sister-in-law scared me so much that I thought I was going to be freezing in the cold winter."
Qiao sneered, "When did you become so timid?"
"I've never been very courageous." Jiang Changning pouted and said in a soft voice.
The concubine looked at her two daughters-in-law, neither of whom were to her liking, and said, "Let's go."
There was a sedan chair with a green curtain ready at the gate of the courtyard. Qiao watched the three people get into the sedan chair and a hint of hatred flashed across her eyes. If it weren't for Jiang, she would have gone out with them today.
The strong woman carried the sedan chair to the ceremonial gate. Outside the gate, there were two carriages with silver tops, black curtains, and the logo of Prince Jin's Mansion embroidered on them.
The Concubine Dowager took Princess Kang Ren in the first carriage, and Jiang Changning sat in the second carriage.
It’s not that there’s not enough room for three people, but it has to be grand.
Of course, neither the Concubine Dowager, Jiang Changning, nor Princess Kang Ren set up any ceremonial guards.
Just as Jiang Changning was holding the maid's hand and was about to get on the carriage, Prince Jin's carriage returned.
Jiang Changning stopped and watched Prince Jin get off the carriage.
Prince Jin glanced at her and walked to the Queen Mother's carriage, "Mother."
The car door opened, and the concubine asked with a smile: "Didn't I tell you to go directly to Prince Qing's Mansion? Why did you come back?"
"Everyone from each government has come out. There are many people and cars on the streets. I would feel uneasy if I don't follow them." Prince Jin said with a smile.
"You just like to worry too much. Okay, get on the carriage quickly and don't waste time." The princess dowager smiled. Of course she was happy that her son was filial and considerate.
Prince Jin walked to the second carriage and looked at Jiang Changning standing there, with a smile on his face. "Thank you for waiting, Princess."
"Why didn't the prince go directly to Prince Qing's Mansion?" Jiang Changning asked the same question as the Concubine Dowager.
Prince Jin did not answer, but helped her into the carriage.
After they sat firmly in the carriage, the King of Jin smiled and said, "I was afraid you would be bored sitting in the carriage alone, so I came back to accompany you."
Jiang Changning was startled and lowered his head in shame.
The fox fur on the scarf tickled his nose, and Jiang Changning couldn't help sneezing.
"Are you cold?" Prince Jin was about to touch her forehead with concern.
"No, I'm wearing very warm clothes." Jiang Changning turned his head away to avoid his hand.
Prince Jin's hand paused in mid-air for a moment, then he retracted it. His eyes were gloomy and his handsome face had a serious expression.
Jiang Changning handed him the hand warmer in his hand, "Please warm yourself up, Your Majesty."
The corners of Prince Jin's lips curled up, and his cold and solemn demeanor dissipated. He held the small hand warmer in his hands with a happy expression.
Jiang Changning heaved a sigh of relief. He was indeed a powerful prince. He seemed gentle and kind, but in fact he was extremely overbearing and would not tolerate anyone's rebellion.
Fortunately, she was rescued in time and escaped.
The streets were crowded with carriages and horses, and the pace of movement was very slow. It took nearly half an hour to reach Prince Qing's Mansion.
A big Chinese character for longevity was pasted on the gate of the palace, and big red lanterns with the word longevity on them were hung.
As soon as the carriage stopped, Prince Jin and Jiang Changning got off quickly and rushed to the front to serve the concubine.
Of course the concubine could get off the carriage by herself, but that would make Prince Jin and Jiang Changning seem unfilial.
Prince Jin helped the Concubine Dowager get off the carriage, stepped back, and whispered, "Follow Mother, don't be afraid."
The male guests and female relatives were not in the same place, and it was the first time for Jiang Changning to attend such a birthday party.
Jiang Changning smiled and said, "I'm not afraid as long as the prince is backing me up."
After entering the Chuihua Gate, strong women from Prince Qing's Mansion brought in three sedan chairs.
Jiang Changning helped the concubine onto the sedan chair first, then sat on the second sedan chair, and turned back to instruct the maid, "Take good care of the princess."
The architectural layout of the palace is similar, but the scenery is very different.
The first Prince Qing loved the south of the Yangtze River, and the Prince Qing’s Palace was designed with a Jiangnan landscape of small bridges and flowing water.
Although it is early winter, the garden is still lush and green, with various cold-resistant flowers competing for beauty.
After passing through the Crescent Gate, a young woman wearing a silver-red straight jacket embroidered with peonies came to greet us, "Grandma, you are finally here. Grandma has been talking about you for several times."
She is the wife of the eldest grandson of Princess Qing and the eldest daughter of the Prince of Wei, Xu.
Mrs. Xu smiled and said, "I think this is Aunt Wang who just married into our family. Hello, Aunt Wang."
"Hello." Jiang Changning smiled at her. Being young but of a higher generation was quite embarrassing.
Xu led everyone into the main hall of the inner courtyard. In addition to the birthday girl, Princess Qing, there were also Princess Ding and Princess Changshan.
Princess Qing was older than the Dowager Consort of Jin, Princess Ding, and Princess Changshan, and looked more plump than them.
She is not tall and her plump figure makes her look very kind and gentle.
"Sister-in-law, this is my little daughter-in-law." The Princess Dowager of Prince Jin said with a smile.
Jiang Changning stepped forward to greet Princess Qing, who took her hand and said, "What a rare beauty. Congratulations, sister-in-law, for having such a good daughter-in-law."
"She is a good and filial child." No matter how dissatisfied the Princess Dowager of Prince Jin was with Jiang Changning, she would never speak ill of her in public.
Princess Ding and Princess Changshan also complimented him, "You are so lucky to have such a pretty daughter-in-law."
The Jin Wang Consort Dowager politely replied: "Your daughters-in-law are also beauties."
The women from various royal palaces came over one after another. Jiang Changning had already come out of the main hall and was led to the side hall to stay with the young princesses, princes' wives, princesses, county ladies, and other girls.
On the first day of Princess Qing's birthday, all the guests came from the palace of the royal family.
Although she was a new bride and not familiar with everyone, her status was there and no one dared to ignore her. They would bring her up when chatting.
As they were talking, two young women came in. The one leading her was wearing the attire of a prince's consort, while the other was wearing a rose-red jacket embroidered with plum blossoms.
They also brought two young and beautiful women with them. Jiang Changning didn't care much about those two women at first.
The Dewang Crown Prince's wife showed disgust on her face and said contemptuously: "Whenever there is a banquet, you bring people to send it off. You are shameless and really annoying."
"The Jiang family doesn't have much else, but they have many daughters. What should we do if we don't send them out?" The Princess of Changshan covered her mouth and giggled like a hen laying eggs.
"Who do you think she is going to send him to today?" The tone of the Princess Consort of Prince Ding was full of gloating.
Everyone's eyes were focused on Jiang Changning, and Jiang Changning was stunned. "What do you mean?"
(End of this chapter)