Mingyu turned around in a rage. Why did the Prince of Qin always seem to be against her? Last time, he called her "hypocrisy" in public. This time, she thought he was helping her out of kindness, but who knew he was still full of bad intentions. After hearing his words, the steward would have to kowtow to death at the gate of Gao's mansion.
The steward was shocked and looked at Mingyu in horror, his eyes full of pleading. If this girl was determined to leave, and the noble had already said so, he would really kowtow to her until his death!
"Miss, Bodhisattva!" The steward almost cried out, and said in a trembling voice, "Please forgive my mistakes and come in! I have parents and children to take care of..."
Looking at the steward who kowtowed and apologized, Mingyu felt indescribably irritated. She respectfully saluted Prince Qin and entered the gate of Gao's mansion with Lixiang. When passing by the steward, Mingyu whispered, "Shut up! Get up!" There were already enough people watching the fun behind, and she didn't want to cause trouble again.
After Mingyu entered the room, Prince Qin glanced at Mingyu's receding back indifferently. The courtyard of Gao's mansion was full of wisteria in full bloom, with clusters of flowers hanging down. Mingyu's slender back gradually disappeared into the wisteria flowers. The hem of her white skirt swayed as she walked, looking light, agile, graceful and serene.
The steward still didn't dare to stand up. Prince Qin turned his head, glanced at him, and said lightly: "Get up." Then he walked into Gao's house with an indifferent expression, and the two followers immediately followed.
With the noble's permission, the steward dared to stand up with the help of two servants behind him, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and forced a stiff smile to greet the next guest.
Mingyu had been delayed for so long before, so the carriage next to Mingyu naturally saw the excitement, but didn't quite understand it, and the people behind didn't know what was going on. In addition, Mingyu had not appeared since she came to the capital, so these people didn't recognize Mingyu, but everyone knew the stern face of the Prince of Qin. It was rare to encounter gossip about the Prince of Qin, so the guests behind came to the steward and took the opportunity to ask what was going on.
The steward was not a fool, so he knew what to say and what not to say. He just smiled and said carefully, "That young lady is a distinguished guest of your house. I was blind and didn't recognize her. I almost neglected you. Fortunately, His Royal Highness the Prince recognized this young lady and gave me a few words of advice. Otherwise, I would be blamed even if I died a thousand times!"
Every time a group of people came to talk about it, the manager was so thirsty that his mouth was dry and his intestines were green with regret.
Mingyu brought Lixiang into Gao's house, and a pleasant-looking maid came up, bowed, and said with a smile: "My lady, I will take you to the flower hall."
The two followed the maid and walked slowly in the courtyard of Gao's mansion. In the midsummer, Gao's mansion was covered with shade, and tall trees lined the bluestone road. Wisteria and roses dotted the courtyard, and the lush green was surrounded by colorful flowers, and there were small bridges and flowing water, and colorful koi fish were playing in it.
Mingyu had visited many famous gardens in modern times, but in comparison, the exquisiteness of Gao's mansion was not inferior to those gardens. Lixiang was amazed and impressed. Although the Anxi Marquis's mansion in Tianshui was luxurious, it was in the northwest after all, lacking some flowers and greenery. The Gao's mansion in front of her was more beautiful.
After walking for less than a quarter of an hour, they arrived at the flower hall in the backyard of Gao's mansion. The maid bowed to Mingyu and took Lixiang to the place where the maids gathered nearby. Mingyu entered the flower hall alone.
In the middle of the flower hall sat two girls, like the moon surrounded by stars. One was about fifteen or sixteen years old, with a dignified appearance and a reserved smile; the other seemed to be one or two years younger than Mingyu, with a round face, dark eyes, and a heavy golden tassel of longevity hanging around her neck, looking rich and noble.
Mingyu immediately spotted Xu Mingrui standing outside the group of girls. She wanted to approach her and talk to her, but was a little nervous and hesitated.
While looking around, Xu Mingrui also saw Mingyu. She was obviously stunned for a moment, then she immediately laughed and walked out from among the girls. When she reached the entrance of the flower hall, she took Mingyu's hand affectionately and led her into the flower hall. She smiled and said, "Hey, it's all my fault. I should have gone to pick you up, but Miss Gao Er insisted that I help her greet the guests, and I really couldn't leave..."
Mingyu thought about her cousin who had just tried to curry favor with her but was squeezed so that she couldn't get close to him, and who was timid and hesitant. The corners of her mouth curved up.
"Hey, when you came in just now, the doorman didn't give you any trouble, did he?" Xu Mingrui said with a smile, carefully looking at Mingyu's expression, which was full of hypocrisy, and her voice couldn't hide her pride and gloating. "I just found out that the Gao family had to have an invitation to let people in today. If he gave you any trouble, he's just a bitch who serves people. You'd better not take it personally."
Mingyu smiled and shook her head. "How could that be?" She said softly, looking at Xu Mingrui, and said word by word: "I never argue with bitches."
The smile on Xu Mingrui's face seemed to be choked, and it was very ugly. After a while, she said angrily: "I'm glad you're okay. Come here and let me tell you, in case you don't recognize me and something goes wrong." She was not so kind to educate Mingyu, but since Mingyu came in, if she got embarrassed, they were all daughters of the Xu family, and she could not escape the embarrassment together.
Xu Mingrui pointed at the fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl in the crowd and said in a low voice, "That is Princess Changrong, the daughter of Concubine Xie in the palace. If you get the chance later, follow me and pay your respects to her."
Mingyu looked in surprise at the princess with a dignified and elegant smile in the crowd. She didn't expect that such an important figure would come today. No wonder the inspection at the gate of Gao's mansion was so strict. The princess' smile reminded her of someone. They were both nobles, but even when they smiled, their smiles were very cold.
"That younger lady is the granddaughter of Duke Deng, and her maiden name is Pearl." Xu Mingrui said in a low voice, and then added with a sullen tone, "I heard that she has a bad temper, so don't mess with her."
Mingyu nodded. She was not a fool and would not take the initiative to make things difficult for the daughter of the Duke.
"The person standing next to the princess is Miss Gao Er." Xu Mingrui said, "Miss Gao Da has married and moved to Jiangling."
Miss Gao Er was wearing a water red dress. Although she was not bright and beautiful, she was also very attractive. However, she smiled at the princess in a very flattering way. When Xu Mingrui mentioned her friendship with Miss Gao Er yesterday, her face was full of pride and pride. Mingyu couldn't help but smile. In Xu Mingrui's heart, the Miss Minister, who was high and mighty, still had to flatter and please the princess and the Duke's daughter. It was true that there was always someone better.
The flower hall was soon full of people. After Xu Mingrui gave Mingyu some instructions, she asked Mingyu to find a seat and sit down first. She continued to get closer to Miss Gao Er, trying to find an opportunity to show her face in front of the princess so that she would remember her.
Mingyu looked around the flower hall and saw unfamiliar faces everywhere. Just as she was about to find a seat to sit down and wait for the banquet to begin, she saw Sima Lian in white in the corner of the flower hall.
The midsummer sun shone through the shade of the trees and into the window lattice. Sima Lian sat in front of the window with a pale face, pursed her lips, and quietly watched the girls in the room who were busy and lively.
"You're here?" Mingyu walked over and smiled at Sima Lian.
Sima Lian was startled, and when she came to her senses, she saw Mingyu, and was surprised. She stood up excitedly, pulled Mingyu to sit next to her, and said with a smile: "Second sister-in-law, why are you here too? I look here, there is no one I know, it's so boring!"
Mingyu smiled awkwardly, looked around, and whispered, "Just call me by my name from now on."
Sima Lian smiled awkwardly and changed her words: "Mingyu, I was anxious and called you the wrong name. Don't take it to heart."
Mingyu saw that she was dressed in white and had no bright jewelry on her head. She was still in mourning. Her grandmother and father had passed away, and this was a heavy mourning period. According to the rules of Da Chu, as a junior, she had to observe mourning for three years. Seeing that she looked a little haggard and had a lot on her mind, Mingyu asked, "How have you been recently?"
Sima Lian held Mingyu's hand and smiled, "Good, we have been doing well. After my second brother passed away, my wife and I were the only ones left to depend on each other. My wife is like a different person now. Although she doesn't talk much, she treats me very well..."
Mingyu patted her hands and comforted her, "It's good this way. Madam has suffered such a great blow. You should spend more time with her."
Sima Lian looked at Mingyu, whose profile was gentle and beautiful in the sunlight. She couldn't help but say, "Second sister-in-law... Mingyu, why... do you want to be with second brother... I have always liked you. If you leave, second brother will never find a second sister-in-law as good as you!"
Mingyu gathered her hair, not knowing how to start the conversation. She couldn't just say, "I don't want to share your second brother with another woman." After thinking about it, Mingyu said seriously, "What you think is good may not be good for others." For example, Miao is not satisfied with her, Sima Hong likes her now, but after five or ten years, they become a pair of resentful couples, and he will not be satisfied with her at that time.
Sima Lian looked at Mingyu in silence, and slowly said: "You are right. Even if a woman gets married, there is no guarantee that her husband and mother-in-law will be satisfied..." Suddenly Sima Lian grabbed Mingyu's hand, her face full of panic and fear. She leaned over Mingyu's ear and cried: "Second sister-in-law, what do you think I should do? I don't want to get married. I want to stay with my wife for the rest of my life!"
"What's wrong with you?" Mingyu looked at her in surprise. Sima Lian was in mourning now and couldn't get married.
Sima Lian leaned on Mingyu's shoulder and said, "Madam arranged a marriage for me, saying that the young man has good character and family background, but I heard... his mother is not satisfied with me. She thinks that our Sima family has declined... it is just an empty house, and she also thinks that I can't marry into the family for a year. Sister-in-law, when I think about you at that time, I feel that you really had a hard time! If I were like you, how would I get through this life?"