"Why would I go talk to her?" Lu Hao said, lifting the hem of his robe and casually sitting on the stone bench. The girl probably didn't have any thoughts about him, and didn't have a heart for him. Lu Hao only felt a strong sense of frustration, bitter and unwilling.
Xiao Qi looked around and saw no one around, so he asked in a low voice, "Master, do you think Xu Mingyu is not good?" Could it be that Master has changed his mind and has fallen in love with another girl? That's unlikely. He almost follows Lu Hao everywhere, so how come he didn't notice that Master has changed his taste
Lu Hao flicked the wrinkles on his robe and leaned back on the stone table. Thinking of Xu Mingyu, his heart was like a mess. In fact, up to now, he was a little uncertain. Even if the girl had him in her heart and was happily waiting for him to propose, he didn't know how to arrange her.
"You said..." Lu Hao looked at the clouds in the sky and spoke slowly, as if talking to himself, "Can she be Mrs. Lu?"
Xiao Qi's heart trembled, and he clenched his fists. That was true. What was my status, and what was Xu Mingyu's status? Moreover, this girl was divorced, and she married into the famous Anxi Marquis Mansion. How could I marry a divorced woman as my legal wife? If it got out, how could I save face as a man? When I meet Anxi Marquis in the future, I would be inferior to him for nothing!
However, he couldn't help but secretly feel sorry for Xu Mingyu. The little girl was very likable just by looking at her, and she had a good temper, unlike those spoiled, pretentious, and arrogant young ladies. Being a concubine... It was a pity, but in Xiao Qi's opinion, Lu Hao was such a perfect man, even if she was his concubine, it was a blessing accumulated by eight generations of ancestors.
When the banquet was about to begin, Mingyu and Fu Lemei, under the guidance of a maid, entered the flower hall of Prince Li's mansion. The flower hall was separated by a pearl curtain. The light inside was dim and the pearl curtains were densely packed. One could not see clearly inside the pearl curtains when standing outside.
Seeing Mingyu glance at the beaded curtain, Fu Lemei explained, "It should be Prince Li's mother, Concubine Yin. After Emperor Taizu passed away, Prince Li took his mother out of the palace and lived in Prince Li's mansion." She smiled and added, "The Concubine is old and likes to join in the fun. The old lady is very kind and amiable."
Mingyu nodded and never looked at the beaded curtain again. In her opinion, whether it was Prince Li or the Queen Mother, they were all distant and unreachable to her. They had nothing to do with her.
As time went by, more and more women came into the flower hall, gathered in groups of a dozen or so. Many ladies held silk fans and covered half of their smiling faces with their small silk fans when they were happy. For a while, the flower hall was filled with the fragrance of women and the sound of their laughter rang like clear silver bells.
As soon as Luo Lingxian came in, she saw Mingyu and Fu Lemei talking and smiling. The smile on her face immediately disappeared, replaced by a look of resentment. Looking at the group of good girls who came in with her, a plan immediately came to her mind.
Mingyu was listening to Fu Lemei telling her brothers' embarrassing stories. When she was listening happily, she heard someone calling her name affectionately, "Mingyu. You're here too!"
Mingyu looked back and saw Luo Lingxian smiling at her warmly. Seeing Luo Lingxian's fake smile, Mingyu felt a chill in her heart.
The girls who came in with Luo Lingxian all looked at Mingyu with polite smiles. In public, Luo Lingxian was very polite, so Mingyu could only reciprocate, bowed, and said with a smile: "Miss Luo. Long time no see."
"Not long." Luo Lingxian laughed with gritted teeth. Thanks to this unlucky star, her elder sister was still suffering in the nunnery. She was also confined for a long time. How could she feel good when the culprit was still happily attending the chrysanthemum viewing banquet, a disguised blind date banquet
In fact, Luo Lingxian really blamed Mingyu wrongly. Before Mingyu came, she had no idea that the chrysanthemum appreciation banquet at Prince Li's mansion was a disguised blind date banquet, and all the guests were unmarried young men and women. When she found out, she thought that she had just arrived in the capital and Prince Li didn't know about her past.
Mingyu nodded and smiled politely, then turned her head away, not intending to say more to Luo Lingxian. If she remembered correctly, the last time they met, Luo Lingxian, who was as overbearing and unreasonable as Luo Lingxiu, bumped into her, and cried and threw all her jewelry at her angrily. Mingyu considered herself a petty and vengeful person, and she didn't have such a broad mind to forgive Luo Lingxian.
"You came at the right time today." Luo Lingxian called out from behind Mingyu.
When Mingyu turned around, Luo Lingxian smiled and said, "I heard that you have beautiful handwriting. Miss Shang happened to be here too. Her handwriting is recognized as the best among ladies in the capital. Why don't you write a few words and ask her to take a look?"
Mingyu smiled and shook her head. She didn't know how Luo Lingxian knew about her calligraphy practice, nor did she know what she was up to. Anyway, it was impossible for her to take the initiative to show her kindness. "My handwriting is not good." Mingyu smiled quietly, "It's not good enough to be put on the stage. I'd better not bother Miss Shang."
Miss Shang, who was called "the number one lady in the boudoir of the capital" by Luo Lingxian, was about fifteen or sixteen years old. She was tall and thin, and her face was not pretty. She was dressed in white, and had a strong bookish air. There was a haughty look on her face, and she never looked at Mingyu from beginning to end.
"Why are you being so modest?" Luo Lingxian said with a smile. She glanced at the people around her and said, "I've seen your handwriting. It's pretty good! Your brother has passed the imperial examination, so how can you, as his sister, be any worse? Don't you think so?"
A group of girls half-covered their faces with silk fans and giggled. They all came into the flower hall with Luo Lingxian, so they naturally echoed Luo Lingxian's words and urged Mingyu to write two words for them to see, and not to hide them and be ungenerous.
At this moment, Luo Lingxian had already called the maid from Prince Li's mansion to bring writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstone, and placed them on the table in front of Mingyu, which seemed like she was forcing something.
Mingyu's face darkened. She didn't care what others said about her, but she couldn't accept others talking about Xu Mingye's sister and Xu Changqian's daughter. It had come to this point, so what if she just wrote two words? It wasn't really not presentable.
Seeing Mingyu walk forward and pick up the brush, Luo Lingxian clapped her hands and laughed proudly, "Mingyu, Miss Shang is Madam Qian's apprentice and is Madam Qian's last disciple. She is recognized as the number one female calligrapher in Beijing. You are very lucky to have her guidance!"
The girls nearby also echoed the sentiment, and without exception, they all praised Miss Shang's calligraphy for being so good and for having received so much praise from so and so.
Fu Lemei knew Miss Shang's background and knew that what these people said was true. Miss Shang was indeed quite accomplished in calligraphy. She held Mingyu's hand with some worry. She was worried that Mingyu had been in the capital for a short time and didn't know these things. If her writing was mediocre and she made a fool of herself in front of everyone, wouldn't it be embarrassing for her
Mingyu shook Fu Lemei's hand and gave her a reassuring and confident smile. Then he picked up the pen, dipped it in ink, concentrated for a while, and carefully wrote the two words "Qiu Xiao" on the paper.
After finishing it in one go, Mingyu put down her pen and looked at it carefully again. Although her level was not as good as what she had achieved after practicing for half an hour, overall, she was still satisfied with the two words she had written on the spot.
Fu Lemei smiled and exclaimed, "The handwriting is so beautiful!" Many girls who were watching the fun also agreed.
When Miss Shang came over, the scene suddenly became quiet. The girls surrounding Miss Shang held their breath, waiting for her comments.
"What kind of font is this?" Miss Shang frowned. She thought she had seen many fonts, but she had never seen a font like the one written by Mingyu.
Mingyu smiled but did not respond to Miss Shang's words. This font was created by her by adding her own personal style to the Zhao style. It was neat and delicate yet elegant.
Miss Shang took Mingyu's handwriting, glanced at it, and threw the paper back on the table. In front of everyone, she said casually: "It looks good at first glance... But calligraphy requires style..." Miss Shang laughed, and seemed to encourage Mingyu, saying: "It's too scattered, without style. But for your age, it's not bad. Practice for two more years and you will improve."
The girls around her immediately understood what was going on. They thought that the girl's handwriting was good, but after being evaluated by a true expert, they realized that her handwriting lacked style.
Mingyu was neither disappointed nor angry. What she practiced in calligraphy was the spirit. Saying that her calligraphy lacked style was equivalent to saying that the person had no spirit, which was equivalent to mocking her character.
She didn't know how skilled Miss Shang was, but she looked like she was only fifteen or sixteen years old, only two years older than her. Mingyu's calligraphy skills were the accumulation of her past and present lives, so she didn't believe she was much worse than Miss Shang.
There was disappointment and anger in Fu Lemei's eyes, but she still pulled Mingyu's hand and whispered to comfort her: "Your handwriting is already very beautiful!" She was an outsider and did not understand the ins and outs of calligraphy. She just looked at it from her own perspective and thought it was very beautiful. But the "experts" said it was not good, and Mingyu's face was damaged. She could only feel regretful and comfort Mingyu.
Mingyu smiled and called out to Miss Shang who was about to turn around and leave, "Miss Shang, please stay."
Miss Shang turned around and looked at Mingyu. Luo Lingxian was secretly happy that Mingyu had lost face in public, and she quickly called out, "Mingyu, Miss Shang has already commented on it, don't bother to argue with her!"
Mingyu smiled and bowed, "Of course I dare not entangle. I heard that Miss Shang is a master of calligraphy. Mingyu has something unclear, I hope Miss Shang can explain it."
"Go ahead." Miss Shang said impatiently.
Mingyu humbly asked for advice, "Miss Shang said that my handwriting lacks style and character, and the characters are scattered. I want to ask specifically, where is it scattered and where is it lacking style and character?"
Ah, bah, bah, even Lord Qi praised her good handwriting, she just didn't believe that Miss Shang, a yellow-haired girl, could be a "master" or "expert" than Lord Qi!