Half of June had passed in the blink of an eye, and the weather was becoming increasingly hot and unbearable, but no one had any objection to the Yanshenggong family's church party being held at this time. Their family seldom held a church party in several years, and when there was one, no one cared about the heat.
Old Mrs. Wei had already changed her clothes and was wearing a headband embroidered by Wei An himself. The peacock on it was so lifelike that it looked as if it were alive. When the Third Lady found out that it was Wei An's craft, she couldn't help but be stunned. A few days ago, Wei Yuyou was clamoring for a pattern drawn by Wei An, but she had sneered at him - Wei An had no one to teach him since he was a child, and he had never picked up a needle or thread all year round. It was simply a joke for him to ask her for a pattern.
But now, at first glance, even Wei Yuyou, who was taught seriously by Master Xue, had to give in to Wei An's craftsmanship. She was stunned, and when she thought of her previous speculation, her face looked a little unsightly.
I used to think that Princess Changning didn’t care about her children at all, but now it seems that Wei An has clearly learned everything he should learn.
Old Lady Wei waited for a while, and when everyone was gathered, she waved to Wei An, and the group went out of the second gate together. She led Wei An and the third lady in a carriage, and the second lady led Wei Yuyou and Wei Yulin in a colorful tasseled eight-treasure jade carriage. The group turned along Zhuque Street, passed Jiufu Lane, and arrived at the Yansheng Mansion.
The Mansion of Duke Yansheng was located near the imperial city. Successive emperors of the Great Zhou Dynasty respected his family very much, especially Emperor Longqing, who redistributed the mansion of Duke Yansheng and gave them the former mansion of Prince Xiang, which was a supreme honor.
The third master helped Old Madam Wei get off the carriage. The butler had already arranged a sedan chair waiting for them, and he respectfully escorted them to the Chuihua Gate.
The Duke of Yansheng's Mansion is large. It was the residence of the prince in the past, and there are many regulations. It took half an hour to walk from the main gate to the hanging flower gate. The third lady had just helped Old Madam Wei get off the sedan chair when she heard someone calling from behind. She turned around and subconsciously glanced at Old Madam Wei before calling out "Princess Princess" with a smile on her face.
Princess Zhennan's eyes fell on Wei An. She was no longer bossy like before, nor did she rush up to act coquettishly and foolishly, wishing that everyone knew how high her status was in the Zhennan Palace. She followed behind Old Lady Wei with her head lowered. She was really different.
She smiled and greeted Old Madam Wei, then reached out to help the old princess down, and then said, "This is really a coincidence. We just got off the carriage and saw that the carriage in front was from the Dingbei Marquis Mansion. We just happened to run into each other."
The old princess came out of the sedan chair and first glanced at Old Madam Wei. Seeing that Old Madam Wei had a gloomy face, she sighed silently. Then she looked at Wei An, who had already saluted with the Third Madam and others.
In the past, Old Lady Wei disliked Wei An the most for his lack of etiquette. Now that Wei An finally understood, the old princess felt even more sour.
Everyone knew the old grudge between the two families. When the two families met, a woman in her thirties wearing an autumn-colored jacket and a blue satin pleated skirt came up to them with a smile. She first saluted to the old princess and old lady Wei and said, "My nephew's wife greets the two aunts."
She was the daughter-in-law of Duke Yansheng. She was smart and humorous. She was the adopted sister of Emperor Longqing and the daughter of Cui, the former Minister of Rites. She was very much loved by Old Lady Kong.
She came out afterwards. There were some younger-looking masters at the Chuihua Gate. It seemed that they had heard that the two old eunuchs from the Zhennan Palace and the Dingbei Marquis Palace had met each other, so they were sent out to put out the fire. Everyone understood each other tacitly and listened to her jokes with a smile. The atmosphere didn't seem too awkward.
After a few words, Mrs. Kong led the group to the reception hall in the inner courtyard, and then she smiled and took Mrs. Wei's arm without leaving any trace: "I just returned to the capital, and I haven't had time to visit you..."
She was on duty outside with Master Kong Er, and had just returned to the capital recently. She calmly led Old Madam Wei and the old Princess Zhennan to sit separately. Seeing that her sister-in-law had already gone up to flatter the old princess, she breathed a sigh of relief and turned the topic to Wei An: "Is this Changning's eldest daughter? I just heard Madam Chen mention her..." She smiled and said: "Originally, we should have held a coming-of-age ceremony for Xiaojiu after the Shangsi Festival, but we didn't expect to be delayed on the way. There was no way, so we had to postpone the date. It has been delayed until now... Now we are finally back in the capital, and we should visit each other often in the future."
The third wife's heart skipped a beat. Did Mrs. Chen mention it? Why did Mrs. Chen mention Wei Qi for no reason? Did she mention something about Puci Temple to exonerate Chen Mianmian and put all the blame on Wei Yuyou
Just as they were talking about the sisters visiting each other more often in the future, Miss Kong Jiu's disdainful voice came through the twelve glass screens: "Who wants to visit her?!"
It's good that Miss Kong Jiu has a clear distinction between love and hate, but her style of doing things is completely different from that of other girls from the Yansheng family. It's not something to be praised for showing a clear distinction between love and hate in such an occasion. Mrs. Kong Er frowned and was about to speak when she saw Wei Yumin, the wife of the Prince of Pingyang Marquis, who came in later, laughed and then asked, "Miss Kong Jiu doesn't like the flower show held by the girls in the capital? I think the entertainment of Suzhou girls is different from that of our Shengjing girls, so Miss Kong Jiu thinks that the toys of our Shengjing girls are too petty."
Without making a sound, she changed the target of Miss Kong Jiu from Wei An to all the girls in Shengjing. Mrs. Kong Er looked a little unhappy. Before she could reply, she heard the old princess laugh: "That's right. Miss Kong Jiu looks so pretty. You can tell she was raised in a water town. Compared with her, the girls in Shengjing are far inferior."
They sang the same tune and immediately put Miss Kong Jiu on the fire.
Mrs. Kong was terrified. They all knew that Wei Qi was the lifeblood of the old princess. The couple in the Zhennan Palace were famous for doting on their children. The old princess doted on Wei An just like the old prince doted on Chang Ning. She didn't even leave any room for him...
It's like blaming the owner...
But after all, it was her own daughter who spoke rudely first, so Mrs. Kong felt a little embarrassed.
The Yansheng Duke's family had to send an invitation to Madam Wei this time and had to invite Madam Wei to come. The purpose was certainly not to cause trouble for themselves. Madam Wei was of noble status and was a super-ranking official, but she was old after all. No family wanted to invite such an old and respected lady. If something went wrong, both families would be embarrassed.
As the new favorites of the current Emperor Longqing, they of course acted according to the Emperor Longqing's mood, so they invited Old Lady Wei to come and let the people of the world see that Emperor Longqing did not really raid the Rongchang Mansion just because the Prince of Rongchang stood up for Old Lady Wei.