"Your Highness, are you really going to marry Lady Jingyu?" There were no outsiders around at the moment, so Zhao Qingxuan boldly asked what was in his heart.
"That's what mother meant." Pei Luoan nodded.
"Did you...really go with her to light the same lantern before?" Zhao Qingxuan asked again. Many noble families knew about that incident, and of course he had heard his mother talk about it too.
"Yes, I went." Pei Luoan said frankly.
"But didn't you say... that you were deeply in love with the Crown Princess?" Zhao Qingxuan stuttered, his face flushed.
"I have to listen to what my mother said." Pei Luoan's face darkened, his eyes fell to a certain spot in the window, and the corners of his lips showed a bitter smile.
“But…but before Jingyu County Lord…” Zhao Qingxuan stopped talking in time. He didn’t dare to say this, nor did he dare to really make it clear.
Liu Jingyu had intended to discuss marriage with King Jing before, but it didn't come to fruition in the end. So, it seems that the Lord of Jingyu County did nothing wrong.
"Okay, let's not talk about this anymore. I know, but I don't want to know. Hanyue is gone, so it doesn't matter who you marry." Pei Luoan seemed to understand, but also seemed not to understand. The meaning of these words made Zhao Qingxuan's thoughts turn several times, and finally he had to give up what he was going to say next.
It has been said very clearly, I know it myself, so how could the prince not know it
"Your Highness, Concubine Ji from your mansion had a quarrel with the Qu family before. It was also on the day of the Qiqiao Festival. The rumors outside are not very good." Zhao Qingxuan no longer mentioned Liu Jingyu's matter, and implicitly reminded Pei Luoan of another thing.
There was nothing wrong with the prince himself, but he was subject to a lot of rumors and suspicions because of Ji Youran and Jingyu County Lord.
"She is the Crown Princess's cousin." Pei Luoan said.
"Your Highness, even though she is the Crown Princess's cousin and you look up to her, her current behavior has already affected you." Zhao Qingxuan said with a serious face.
Pei Luoan nodded; "I know. It was because of the Crown Princess that I gave in to her again and again. I have already told her to reflect on this."
The Qu Mansion, especially the East Mansion of the Qu Mansion, although not important officials, is still a court official after all. Moreover, Qu Xuexin is now forced to practice with her hair uncut. She is also a poor person. It is said that it is related to the prince's woman. Some court officials have already expressed their opinions. Some of Qu Zhilin's fellow censors also intend to submit a memorial to the prince.
Of course, behind these things, there is also the shadow of King Jing's faction.
If no one instigates, the court officials will not dare to criticize the current crown prince and future emperors.
"Okay, don't worry about my affairs. I'm here today to help you choose a suitable wife for the prince, so that the princess won't be worried about you." Pei Luoan shook his head, stopping Zhao Qingxuan from speaking again, and smiled as he passed the matter over.
Seeing that the prince was unwilling to talk about his affair anymore, Zhao Qingxuan tactfully stopped, stood up, and walked to the window sill. A veil was dropped in front of the window, so people from inside could see outside, but people outside could not see inside. This was the only way to the inner courtyard, and it happened to be a good opportunity to observe every young lady.
Of course, there are also well-informed ladies who know that today's banquet is also related to the prince's selection of a wife.
A lady was walking over there, walking very slowly. When she got here, she stopped
She came down, then asked the guide something, and sat in the pavilion on the side for a while, and even smiled sweetly to the maid, looking very cute. If she hadn't deliberately looked over here a few more times when she left, Zhao Qingxuan would have thought it was just an accident.
But now, when he looked at it, he felt a strong displeasure.
Too pretentious! He didn't like it. He still liked some straightforward ladies. Unfortunately, he only knew of such a lady, and she was not someone he could desire.
Thinking of some things, her heart darkened, but she quickly gathered her thoughts and turned her head with a smile: "Your Highness, if you really come over to take a look, maybe you will see someone that suits your taste. There are thousands of beauties in this world. With your status, what kind of beauty can you not get?"
Pei Luoan didn't come over, but shook his hand, then looked around the pavilion: "Your work is good, but some places still need to be modified, otherwise it will not be perfect."
"I made a sample for Your Highness, so I naturally followed the original drawing. Your Highness is different. You can change what you see in my drawing if it is unreasonable. Your Highness has deep feelings for the Crown Princess. If the Crown Princess knew about this, she would definitely thank Your Highness."
Zhao Qingxuan pointed at various places, then stopped in front of the window sill: "Your Highness, do you think this place needs to be improved? Is it a little small?"
Pei Luoan nodded. He also felt that the window sill was a little small, and it didn't protrude enough, and it wasn't grand enough. If it was built in his own prince's mansion, it would certainly be more grand. "I brought people here today. They will sort out the areas that need improvement, and I will make some adjustments. Hanyue is gone now, and this is all I can do."
The earliest shape of this pavilion came from Ji Hanyue's idea, and he even doodled a drawing at that time. However, Ji Hanyue only talked about the concept and doodled a simple composition. The specific details could not be expressed by such an amateur drawing.
But Zhao Qingxuan's attic was built according to that drawing. Although it was a bit unreasonable, in Zhao Qingxuan's words, it was just a model for the prince. The prince could change the unreasonable parts. After all, he was just a young prince, and if the building was unreasonable, it was his family's business.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince is truly affectionate." Zhao Qingxuan sighed again.
While the two were talking, the craftsmen from the Prince's Mansion also arrived. Zhao Qingxuan asked the Prince to move to another place to rest, leaving this place empty so that the craftsmen could check it better.
Not many people knew about the Crown Prince's visit to Princess Changyu's residence, but it was not unknown...
After the Crown Prince and Zhao Qingxuan left, several young ladies arrived. The first one, who was dressed extremely beautifully, was Lady Jingyu, who was the most talked about person in the capital. When people heard that she was going to become the Crown Princess, the young ladies around her became more and more fawning on her.
Although the county lady also has a title, it is far inferior to the crown princess...
Qu Moying followed the old woman inside, walking through twists and turns, passing through a hanging flower gate, and finally arriving at a flower hall. She saw several young ladies already inside. After seeing Qu Moying, they were stunned for a moment, then their eyes fell on the wide veil she was wearing, and they immediately recognized her identity.
The fourth young lady in Minister Qu's house has an eye disease.
"Miss Qu Si is here, please take a seat!" Sitting in the middle seat was Princess Xiangrong. When she saw Qu Moying come in, she smiled slightly, her attitude was quite gentle.
"Greetings, Princess!" Qu Moying stepped forward and saluted with confidence, ignoring the prying eyes around him, and there was not the slightest deviation in his behavior.
Such a demeanor made Princess Xiangrong feel very good about him, and the smile on her face became more gentle: "Miss Qu Si, you don't have to be polite, come and sit here!"
Princess Xiangrong pointed to a seat on her left, which was very close to her. As soon as she pointed, the flower hall, which had been noisy, immediately became quiet again.
Many people looked at Princess Xiangrong in astonishment, and then looked at Qu Moying suspiciously.
In their opinion, Qu Moying was not qualified to sit in that position in any way, because that was the closest seat to Princess Xiangrong. In the past, this seat was occupied by County Lady Jingyu. The other seat next to Princess Xiangrong was occupied by a princess from another princess' family.
Now that Lady Jingyu was about to become the Crown Princess, how could she have lost her seat
Did Princess Xiangrong make a mistake
Qu Moying sat down steadily in this position with a smile on her face, facing everyone's suspicious gazes. If she wanted to integrate into this circle of young ladies from aristocratic families today, she couldn't appear to be too timid. If she lacked confidence and was too timid, not only would she not be able to fit in, but she would also become a laughing stock in the capital.
She has big ambitions, and the current situation is an opportunity for her. She will never let this matter become an obstacle for her.
Seeing that she actually sat down so confidently, several young ladies present couldn't help but scrutinize Qu Moying again. Was she really ignorant, or fearless, or did she have some other confidence
No matter how you look at it, shouldn't the fourth young lady of Minister Qu's house be so confident
But the person in front of them seemed too different from the one in the rumors. If she hadn't been wearing a veil, they would not have thought it was the same person.
Judging from the way she sat down so confidently, she is definitely not a talentless woman.
They all saw clearly how Qu Moying performed the ceremony just now, and her every word and action was in compliance with the rules. Even young ladies from aristocratic families like them, who had trained politely since childhood, had to secretly praise Qu Moying's every word and action, saying that she was raised in a farmhouse and had no upbringing, and that people like her were all uneducated, so most of the people present today were also uneducated.
These few steps and this salute convinced these young ladies from aristocratic families.
As for her appearance, although the gauze binding her eyes was too wide, revealing only a small part of her face, even so, you could still see that she had beautiful lips and a complexion like jade. Would such a woman be unsatisfactory? Many people thought not.
So, it turned out that it was the stepmother of the Qu family who deliberately ruined the reputation of the fourth young lady, saying that she had no talent and no looks, and then abandoned her aside
Doesn’t this appearance and this behavior illustrate this fact
Many young ladies felt that they had discovered the truth. The second wife of the Qu family, Mrs. Yu, was not a good person. It was said that she was still imprisoned. If she had not given birth to Minister Qu's only child, she might have been divorced long ago...