A group of sisters-in-law arrived at the garden of Huijun Prince's Mansion - this Prince's Mansion was built with huge sums of money after Empress Dowager Gu granted her natal family the title of king. During the more than 30 years that the Gu family was in power, they continued to add and modify it. It can be said that it is extremely luxurious. It can be said that it is different from the former Princess Yongfu's mansion, which has been renamed "Zhi'ai Villa". They are both clan nobles. I also envy Washington.
This season is when the flowers are in full bloom. The garden is colorful and full of rare and exotic grasses. There are moss-covered lake stones, mountain walls covered with sedge, and a meandering shallow stream that disappears and appears, gurgling melodiously. After entering the garden, it feels like you have left the hustle and bustle of the world and stepped into a quiet and beautiful place on the outskirts of the city.
Princess Huijun led everyone around the garden. After appreciating the spring scenery in the garden, she suggested: "How about we hold the banquet at the waterside pavilion near the lake? The apricot blossom forest by the lake is just for children to play. Then The forest is surrounded by bamboo fences, and the only exit is facing the waterside pavilion. If anyone is naughty and wants to play by the lake, we will just watch! "
"The mist of smoke and water can cleanse your mind, it's great!" The first person to answer this time was Mrs. Dou, the wife of Prince Dun. She had just broken a sprig of begonia flowers to play with on the road, and now she conveniently inserted the flower branch into the tree. The Duke's wife, Xiaozhuang, smiled and said between her temples, "Flowers match beauty!"
"Sister-in-law is making fun of me again!" Mrs. Ying Guogong obviously didn't expect that she would do this. She was a little embarrassed for a moment, but with her temperament, she was not willing to sweep away the sister-in-law in the same room for such a trivial matter. To save face, he was stunned for a moment and then hurriedly smiled and said, "If you want to match a beauty, shouldn't you wear the hairpin yourself? Why are you ruining it for me?"
"I am already a very old man. If I continue to be shameless, what does it have to do with beauty?" Although the wife of Prince Dun was joking, the flash of sadness in her expression was still noticed by the sisters-in-law present. In her eyes, as the eldest daughter-in-law of the Jiang family, she is about to have a grandson. Even though she was quite colorful when she was young, she has always been pampered. After all, time is not forgiving. In this spring scene in the garden, it becomes more and more obvious that her youth has passed away. .
Now that she said this, the atmosphere couldn't help but become a little cold. She simply said with a smile to Shuijin Jiji: "Sister-in-law, if you don't mention your age and just look at people, who can say that you are not a beauty? It's just that Haitang is charming and lively. It’s suitable for Sister-in-law Eleven. You can handle peony and peony now. If you don’t believe me, Sister-in-law Eleven will give you a hairpin to show!”
"Wouldn't it be a joke if an old woman still wears flowers on her hairpin?" Prince Dun's wife declined with a smile, "But you are young, so it would be best to wear a few flowers on your hairpin this season!"
"Sister-in-law, you don't believe me?" He Shuijinjiao angrily tugged at Princess Huijun's sleeve, "Sister-in-law, please tell me what I said wrong."
Princess Huijun calmly said: "Well, let's go to the waterside pavilion first, and then we'll pick some flowers from the garden, and we'll put them on together! Sister-in-law, it's hard to refuse, right?"
This was not a big deal, and even Prince Dun's wife would not necessarily refuse to wear a hairpin - so after a few laughs, it was settled.
Qiu Yilan joined in the fun as if nothing had happened, but she was a little suspicious in her heart: "Is it really because of a rush that this hairpin incident happened? Or was it planned?"
I decided to take a good look at the flowers when they were delivered to avoid being tricked.
After a while, everyone entered the water pavilion, and saw that there was a set of iron pear wood and thunder pattern couches inside, with a pot of leafy peonies in each corner, which were in full bloom; the 20-fold glazed figure screen at the top was particularly eye-catching. : The glass is as smooth as a mirror, the base is made of ironwood inlaid with ivory, and is also inlaid with a circle of luminous pearls. It looks extremely luxurious and jeweled.
"Are these all left over from the past?" Princess Jingjun Sheng Shishui couldn't help but ask.
She was a bit petty when she asked this, but her sisters-in-law knew that her background was considered low among the current clan wives, so they didn't take it to heart. Princess Huijun nodded and said: "They are all taken out from the warehouse." She added, "In the past when the Gu family was in power, they plundered countless people's fat and anointed people. There are several things better than this in the warehouse, but we dare not use them privately. Send it to the East Palace for mother to deal with!"
So everyone praised Duke Hui and his wife for their filial piety.
While they were talking, everyone had already taken their seats according to their age. The servants of Prince Huijun's Mansion came one after another, holding golden basins and serving them. Two more rows of maids in colorful clothes brought seasonal fruits, cakes, Fufang drinks, etc., and placed them in turn. Put it on the long table in front of everyone.
Looking down at the silver cup in front of her, the maid carefully poured Fufang drink into it. Qiu Yilan raised the corners of her mouth slightly and showed a playful smile: "The utensils are all made of silver. This is for fear that I might poison her at a banquet. Or is it to dispel my wariness?"
It's just that the silverware poison test is too narrow. Although the silver cup is smooth and bright now, it is impossible for her to let down her guard. After everyone raised the cup, she only touched her lips briefly before putting it down.
Until the wife of Prince Gui started a conversation, most people participated. She just quietly took out a rhinoceros horn hairpin from her sleeve and lightly scratched it in the cup. When she saw that it was OK, she nodded slightly - this hairpin was borrowed from Swing.
No matter "Tianya" was before or after Dali Dingding, or even the role that continues to the present, he has done a lot of research on the use of poison.
For example, Ulan Xiang was thought up by people from "Tianya".
Since I know how to prepare poison, of course I also have experience in detoxification and prevention.
According to the original words of Swing about this rhinoceros horn hairpin: "The world is so big, of course I dare not say that it is not poisonous because it cannot detect it. However, it is such a strange poison. I think it does not necessarily have to be put in the food. It can be done quietly." You've been tricked silently. Unless you don't go to the appointment, you won't be able to escape!"
But, "If Princess Huijun really got hold of this kind of poison, why would she waste it on you? If we just kill your husband, wouldn't we just drain the firepower?!"
After all, this party is not just a meet-and-greet, it is a serious banquet. There is nothing to eat during the whole banquet. Not to mention the torture, Princess Huijun is called back to cry to the Crown Princess. The Crown Princess will definitely question Qiu Yilan. Suspicion of my sister-in-law!
Qiu Yilan didn't want to give Princess Huijun such a chance!
After everyone enjoyed the cakes and fruits for a while, a servant came in from outside to ask for instructions: "The Queen just ordered the maids to pick off the flowers in the garden, and now they have picked out the ones that are blooming best. I wonder if they should be presented now or not. Later?"
"Bring it up now?" Princess Huijun asked, looking around, "The flowers are picked with energy now, otherwise they will wither if left alone for a day!"
"That's what the eighth brother and sister said." Prince Dun's wife and Princess Shenjun agreed, and no one else had any objections.
So the servant went out to spread the message, and then dozens of maids in pink came in carrying ebony lacquer trays painted with gold. The plate was filled with flowers of various colors, arranged neatly, and they were obviously sprinkled with water before picking. It will look like the blossoms are full of dew, and the petals are condensed with beads. They are already colorful and colorful, but now the room is full of spring.
After all, the fragrance of flowers comes from nature. Although it is fragrant in a room at this moment, it is not unpleasant. However, Qiu Yilan still frowned and carefully put down the silver cup: the two poisons she has dealt with the most, Sleeping incense and mulberry incense are both harmful to people through their fragrance. Nowadays, the mixed fragrances in the room are most suitable for covering up this type of behavior, but they must be guarded against.
Although there are many people here, including Princess Huijun, what if she finds a reason to give the antidote to others afterwards
She just observed silently for a while, but she didn't find any clues.
At this time, an ebony lacquer plate had been passed to Princess Jingjun, who was above her. Princess Jingjun fiddled with the flowers on the plate, turned to her with a smile and asked: "Sister Nineteen, what flowers do you like?"
"I think all the flowers are pretty, but there's nothing I particularly like or dislike." Qiu Yilan smiled, "Where's Sister Sixteen?"
"I have always liked flowers with bright colors and large blooms. Peonies and peonies are all good!" Princess Jingjun said, but she chose a light pink rose to compare with her temples and asked, "Do you think this one is similar to the one on the temples?" Do I have a matching makeup look today?”
Qiu Yilan looked at the plate in surprise: "Aren't there two peonies and a peony?"
Princess Jingjun hurriedly made a silent gesture to her, turned around to see the others choosing in twos and threes, pushed the lacquer plate towards Qiu Yilan, leaned towards her, and whispered, "I like it, I like it. First of all, my beauty is limited, so I rashly got the hairpin of the King of Flowers, but instead I lost my beauty. Secondly, the fourteenth sister-in-law just said that peony is suitable for the elder sister-in-law, and now the eighth sister-in-law has also got the hairpin, how can I do it? What about using it again?”
At this point, she chuckled, "If you ask me, the person who is most suitable for hairpin peonies here today is actually you - look towards the main seat, remember to only take a look and don't look at it more. Chi' is really so beautiful that she's almost dripping with beauty, but is the eighth sister-in-law wearing a hairpin... I just looked over, and what I saw first was the flowers rather than the people! But if you wear the hairpin, you must be a person and a flower. Held down by flowers!"
Qiu Yilan glanced at the throne as she said, and she saw that Princess Huijun held her head high, as if she was about to spread her wings and fly, with a "Qinglong" hairpin that was made of deep red and nearly ink. "Lying in the ink pond" - and the wife of Prince Dun, who was chatting and laughing next to her, only had a light purple peony in her hair.
She briefly understood the meaning of Princess Jingjun's words, then looked away and said with a smile: "It's just for fun, it's not our fault, so why bother to spoil their interest?"
Since flowers and birds belong to different families, the flower king peony is often used to match the bird king phoenix, and the phoenix is often used as a symbol of the mother who cares about the world. Previously, I told Shui Jin that both peonies and peonies were suitable for Prince Dun's wife, but Prince Dun's wife finally only chose peonies, but gave up peonies to Princess Huijun. The meaning of this side was very clear.
Princess Jingjun now said that Qiu Yilan was the right person for Peony, which was also a statement.
Qiu Yilan was a little dissatisfied with the particularity of the hairpin - her parents-in-law were both in good health. If they lived as long as Emperor Zhaode, it would be too early for their generation to enter the Zishen Palace!
Now we are comparing peonies to each other. Empress Tao, who is currently residing in Zishen Palace, excuses herself to recuperate and not care about worldly affairs, may dare to be angry and dare not speak out, but if the Crown Princess of the East Palace knows about it, she will probably be unhappy no matter how much she favors her daughter-in-law. Bar? Who mother-in-law can stand her daughter-in-law being so impatient? The Crown Princess herself hasn’t even lived in Bei Que Palace yet!
So she casually picked a goose-yellow rose from the plate handed to her by Princess Jingjun, then signaled her servants to turn the lacquer plate away, and finally said to Princess Jingjun in a low voice, "Didn't Eighth Sister-in-law just say that? You have to hurry up. Hairpin, otherwise the hairpin will wither after a while... So, what is different about the hairpin now? "
Princess Jingjun smiled: "That's right!"
The two of them smiled tacitly, and Princess Jingjun picked up the silver cup and took a sip of Fufang. Just as she was about to say something, a servant suddenly came over, bent down and whispered a few words in her ear, "Jiangjun The princess suddenly frowned and said to herself: "This child!"
Then he explained to Qiu Yilan, "Gui'er started crying for some reason while playing with his brothers and sisters. The wet nurse couldn't help it. I have to go and have a look... Everyone is in high spirits now, so it's better not to disturb the others. Wait. If anyone asks, can you please let me know?"
Qiu Yilan responded with a smile and watched her leave.
Not long after Princess Jingjun left, she came back with Jiang Jinggui in her arms. At this time, the atmosphere in the room was still warm, so no one else noticed. It's just that Princess Jingjun was the only one to bring her child to the banquet, and she looked a little embarrassed. After sitting down, she hugged her son with red eyes from crying to her lap, and then explained to Qiu Yilan in a low voice: "When we were in Northern Xinjiang, This child has been following me for almost a moment, but he felt uncomfortable when I let him play in the apricot forest! No, he didn't cry when I left, but he just insisted on following me... I had to bring him over to sit for a while. ”
When his son wasn't paying attention, he lowered his voice and said, "Hurry up and coax him to sleep and carry him down!"
Qiu Yilan smiled and said, "I think I just came to Beijing and I'm not used to it. I'll wait until I have friends to play with."
Princess Jingjun said: "It's just that this child is still young and not suitable for studying in Wencui Pavilion! At home, his sister is a few years older than him, and she is a girl, so it is not easy to play with her..."
The two talked about their children for a while, and Jiang Jinggui suddenly became interested in the pearl flowers on Qiu Yilan's temples, and wanted to touch them - Qiu Yilan naturally would not dissatisfy her nephew, and stretched out her hands to hold him in her arms, Lower your head and let him play with it.
"Gui'er, be obedient! Just touch her, don't hurt your aunt!" Princess Jingjun warned.
Jiang Jinggui was also well-behaved. As expected, she just touched her for a while and then gave up. She turned around and opened her arms to her mother to hug her.
But Qiu Yilan was quietly reminded by Hibiscus: "Prince Jingjun accidentally stepped on your skirt..."
She took a look and saw that there was indeed a clear footprint on the hem of her skirt that Jiang Jinggui had stepped on, and it was covered with dirt and fallen leaves - after all, the child had played in the apricot blossom forest before.
"This child..." Princess Jingjun also noticed it at this time. She quickly put down her son and brought a handkerchief over to wipe it with her. However, after most of the dirt and fallen leaves were wiped away, a dark mark was still clear. Qiu Yilan saw this and stopped Princess Jingjun: "I'm going to change my clothes! Anyway, I brought spare ones."
Princess Jingjun felt a little guilty: "Shall I go with you?"