Before anyone could explain her confusion, the young woman in a rose-red jacket came over with two other girls and said with a smile on her face, "This must be the Princess of Jin."
"It's me." Jiang Changning glanced at the maid next to him.
It was her first time socializing with these royal ladies. She was unfamiliar with them and didn't know any of them.
Mrs. Qiao didn't come, but even if she did, she probably wouldn't have mentioned Jiang Changning.
The Concubine Dowager asked the Crown Princess of Prince De to take care of Jiang Changning, and also asked a maidservant to follow Jiang Changning, hoping that she would help in areas that the Crown Princess of Prince De could not take care of.
But Jiang Changning had already glanced at her, but she remained indifferent. Instead, the Dewang Crown Princess whispered, "She is the second wife Jiang of the Baling Palace."
"Hello, Princess Jin, I'm from the Baling Palace." Jiang said with a smile.
"Hello." Jiang Changning said with a smile.
"Sister-in-law Princess Jin, these are my two sisters Jiang Xunying and Jiang Jiayao." Jiang smiled, "Don't be silly, call someone."
"Hello, Sister Jiang." The two Miss Jiang bowed.
This name
Jiang Changning immediately understood what the three princes' wives said and said with a smile, "This is not the right name. I am not as old as you. Besides, we are not familiar with each other. Please call me Princess Jin, Miss Jiang."
After saying this, Jiang Changning stood up and walked away, as if avoiding dirt.
“Sister-in-law, Princess Jin…” Jiang wanted to chase after her, but was stopped by the Crown Princess of Prince Baling who came over.
"Isn't this embarrassing enough?" The Crown Princess of Baling glared at her.
Princess Jin just got married, and she was already rushing to send someone off. She's really not afraid of offending anyone.
"What's there to be ashamed of? A wife's duty is to take concubines for her husband and have children." Jiang argued.
Princess Baling was frail and sickly, and could no longer go out for social events. The Crown Prince of Baling's wife was only a sister-in-law and could not control her brother's wife. In a blink of an eye, this person approached Princess Jin.
Hearing her say this, Prince Baling said unhappily: "Leave them all to the Second Master, the Second Master doesn't have a son yet."
With the Prince's Consort of Baling in the way, Jiang had no chance to come in front of Jiang Changning and annoy her again.
The distinguished guests had all arrived, and Xu came over to invite everyone to take their seats.
The birthday banquet for Princess Qing was of a much higher standard than that for Old Lady Zhuang, and even the Emperor rewarded her with three tables of food.
The dishes at the banquet were very rich and tasted quite good.
On the stage, "Magu Offers Longevity" was sung lively.
After the five kinds of dishes and wine were served, the younger generations of Prince Qing’s mansion began to present birthday gifts.
The Crown Prince and the Crown Princess presented a jade carving of a pine and crane for longevity, the Second Master and the Second Wife presented a double-sided kang screen embroidered with gold thread on a silver base, the Third Master and the Third Wife presented a pair of vases painted with the Five Blessings, and the two princesses also presented gifts.
After the grandchildren presented their birthday gifts, the prince politely thanked the guests and led the men away.
After the banquet, the remaining food was cleared away, tea and snacks were served again, and "Three Stars Congratulations" began to be sung on the stage.
Although Jiang Changning did not drink alcohol, he drank too much tea and felt the urge to go to the bathroom, so he stood up and left the table.
Before she had taken a few steps, she bumped into Xu, and the teacup in Xu's hand fell on her.
"Oh, Aunt Wang, I'm so rude." Xu said in panic.
"Why are you so clumsy, kid? Hurry up and take your Aunt Wang in to change her clothes." The Crown Prince's wife of Prince Qing said in a reproachful tone.
Jiang Changning raised the corners of her lips, but her smile did not reach her eyes, which were cold. In just such a short moment, she had spotted three flaws.
First, the young mistress of the palace would not walk around the banquet holding a cup of tea.
Second, Xu's movements were not smooth. The teacup was not knocked over by accident; she was spilling the tea.
Third, it is the look of pity in Xu’s eyes.
At a banquet, people's clothes were deliberately wetted and asked to change clothes. There must be a conspiracy behind this.
It was her first time as a guest and she hadn't offended anyone, so why did Xu do this
Jiang Changning was very curious and did not refuse Xu, so he followed her out.
After walking for a while, Jiang Changning stopped and asked, "Where are you taking me?"
"I'll take you to change your clothes." Xu said with a smile.
Xu's expression froze, and she smiled awkwardly, "Aunt Wang, the weather is cold, you need to change your clothes quickly, please follow me."
"Xiaochun." Jiang Changning called.
"I'm here." Xiaochun took a few steps forward.
"Madam, let's go over there and talk." Jiang Changning pointed to the corner.
"Aunt Wang..." Before Xu could finish her words, Xiaochun covered her mouth and dragged her over.
Jiang Changning pursed his lips and smiled, then casually broke off a branch from the roadside.
Xu had already evacuated all the servants along the way, which made it easier for her to act.
When they reached the corner, Jiang Changning asked directly: "Tell me, what do you want to do?"
"Take Aunt Wang to change clothes..."
Jiang Changning stuffed the branch into Xu's mouth and said, "I like dealing with smart people. If you keep talking nonsense, I will mute you and make you speechless forever. By then, I wonder if the eldest grandson of the Qing Palace will divorce his wife?"
Xu looked at Jiang Changning in horror, "Ahhh!"
Jiang Changning took out a branch and said, "Go ahead."
"Yes..." Xu gritted her teeth, "It's the emperor. The emperor wants to see you."
According to etiquette, the Emperor would not summon women from outside the royal family, especially alone, in this way.
It goes without saying what the emperor wants to do.
Jiang Changning's face darkened, "Shameless."
He threw the branch away and said, "No need to change clothes, I'm going back to watch the show."
After saying that, Jiang Changning took Xiaochun back.
"This... What should I do?" Xu slumped on the ground in despair. She had no way to explain to the Emperor, and she had offended Prince Jin's Mansion again.
Jiang Changning entered the hall without changing his clothes, which surprised the Crown Princess of Prince Qing.
But this amount of time was not enough for Jiang Changning to go to that remote courtyard to meet the emperor.
How did the Xu family do things
It was impossible for Princess Consort Qing to ask Jiang Changning, nor could she abandon her guests to look for Xu. She had to suppress her uneasiness and watch the show with Princess Consort Qing and the others.
The emperor, who was in a remote courtyard, had been waiting for Jiang Changning for a long time and had become impatient. "How do the people in Prince Qing's Mansion do things?"
"Your Majesty, this place is a bit far from the main hall for the banquet, and women walk slowly." The eunuch explained speculatively.
The emperor thought about it and felt that it made sense, so he sat back on the couch and continued waiting.
A quarter of an hour passed and no one came.
The emperor's face was as gloomy as water. "Asshole, asshole."
The eunuch lowered his head, not knowing how to appease his angry master.
Another quarter of an hour passed, and the eldest grandson of King Qing arrived, "Your Majesty."
"Where are the people?" asked the emperor.
"The Queen Mother of Prince Jin has always kept people by her side, so we can't find an opportunity." The eldest son lied.
"Waste." The emperor was extremely angry, but he had no choice but to return to the palace.
As soon as he entered the Qinzheng Palace, the Queen Mother came and asked, "Where did the Emperor go after leaving the palace?"
"I just went to the street for a private visit in disguise." The emperor had already thought of the words.
"Your Majesty, it's not that I forbid you from leaving the palace, but you are the emperor. When you leave the palace, you should bring more people with you to avoid danger." The empress dowager did not doubt it. After all, it was not the first time for the emperor to leave the palace.
"Don't worry, mother. Next time I go out, I will bring Guard Zhang and the others with me." The emperor was afraid that the empress dowager would question him again, so he quickly took the memorial and pretended to read it.
Seeing this, the Queen Mother had no choice but to leave first.
(End of this chapter)