After watching the Wang brothers and sisters go away, Lu Bingzhen stood there for a while. It was not until Cai Bing came out to find her that she came back to her senses.
Cai Bing asked with concern, "Ninth lady, why are you standing here all the time? There are many bugs under the shade of the flowers, be careful of getting bitten. You should go back to Liuchunwu quickly, I'm really tired of you today."
In Liuchunwu, Mrs. Li looked at her daughter in front of her tenderly and lovingly, while Lu Bingzhen dressed up and changed into homely clothes.
Thinking of what happened at today's birthday banquet, Ms. Li couldn't help but sigh. It would be great if her daughter's engagement partner was not the Prince of the East Palace, but the seventh son of the Wang family.
Wang Jiaqi Lang himself is a good husband, and his sisters and mothers are also reasonable and come from aristocratic families. Ms. Li also heard her husband Lu Qi say that A Rui even had a life-saving debt to Wang Jian when she was a child. With these layers in place, it would be hard for A Rui not to feel comfortable in the rest of her life.
However, Mrs. Li was not a person who indulged in missing things. She immediately cheered up and began to plan for her daughter's future, hoping to make her daughter live a better life in the East Palace in the future.
"A Rui, since you have returned to the capital, you should go out and socialize more in the future. If nothing else, you should have a few handkerchiefs before marriage? I think the ladies in the Wang family are all good, reasonable and Coming from a noble family, you can interact with them more in the future."
Lu Bingzhen did not refute her mother's words. Today's events also made her realize that she would be alone in this capital. Although she is not used to such a situation because she has been outside Beijing for a long time (when she went abroad with her parents, she was the first to be sought after by the children of local officials), she will eventually have to live in Beijing for a long time in the future, and she still has to get used to dealing with people. These.
She nodded slightly in agreement.
Seeing her daughter being so obedient, Mrs. Li also had a faint smile on her face, "Do you still remember your aunt Wang's daughter, the fourth daughter of the Li family."
Lu Bingzhen took a little time to find the upright and dignified sister in his memory. She is the youngest daughter of her aunt Wang, and the most noble lady in the main branch of the Li family in Longxi.
"I remember my mother. When my aunt sent me a birthday gift a while ago, she mentioned Sister Li's sister. She said that she had to miss my birthday banquet because it was not convenient for her to go out to attend the wedding ceremony."
Mrs. Li stroked her daughter's hair lovingly, "That's true. Her birthday is close to yours, in mid-April. When the time comes, you can go with me for her birthday ceremony."
Mrs. Li wanted to take Lu Bingzhen to attend the hair-raising ceremony of the fourth wife of the Li family. Naturally, it was not just a simple matter of attending a banquet. Nowadays, Lu Bingzhen did not know many young ladies in Beijing. Many young ladies from aristocratic and powerful families were unwilling to make friends with Lu Bingzhen. Naturally, if they wanted to open up a social circle, they had to start with familiar families.
Fan Yang's Lu family and Longxi's Li family have always been in the same spirit, and have been married to each other for many generations. They are also the natal family of Lu Bingzhen's mother, Li family, so they are naturally the best candidates to open up the social circle in the capital.
The mother and daughter were smiling and talking about various household matters, when suddenly the servants outside the door started to make a noise.
Li frowned and asked Agate next to her, "Are there any rules? Why is it so noisy all of a sudden?" Agate heard the song and knew the elegant meaning, so she immediately opened the curtain and went out to ask what happened.
Unexpectedly, when the usually steady Agate came back, he would already have an expression of disbelief on his face.
"Madam, the old patriarch sent a message saying that he has chosen the in-laws for the Fifth Lady and asked you to prepare for the Fifth Lady's marriage as soon as possible. You must let the Fifth Lady get married before His Highness the Crown Prince's wedding."
Li's face was filled with astonishment when she heard this. She had no idea why the Fifth Lady's marriage was suddenly decided.
"Agate, you heard that right. In the past few days, I have never seen anyone for the fifth lady, and I have never heard of my two great-aunts going out to meet guests. Where did this person come from?"
Agate was also confused, but she insisted that she heard correctly. Mrs. Li thought for a while, then let her daughter rest in the room, while she went to Yuanshan Hall with Agate.
Arriving at the entrance of Yuanshan Hall, Mrs. Li noticed the unusual solemnity and silence in Yuanshan Hall today. She wanted to take a step forward, but she saw a sergeant in armor suddenly jumping out of nowhere.
The man lifted the sword out of its sheath, and the sharp snow light was enough to illuminate Li's figure. He still managed to remain polite and said, "Mrs. Lu, His Royal Highness is currently discussing matters with Mr. Lu and Mr. Lu. Please stay away for a moment. "
Li had no choice but to give up. After returning to the main courtyard, she was puzzled as to why her father-in-law suddenly decided to marry the fifth lady.
After Lu Qi came back, Mrs. Li asked the doubts in her heart. Lu Qi's expression was also at a loss, "Speaking of which, the incident happened because His Highness the Crown Prince kidnapped the Fifth Lady to Yuanshan Hall, claiming that the Fifth Lady had collided with His Highness the Crown Prince and intended to smear the future Crown Princess, our A Rui." .”
Thinking of the Fifth Lady's temper that she still couldn't control, Li didn't feel surprised for a moment. If this is really the case, then it is not impossible that the father-in-law insists on immediately overthrowing the fifth lady and marrying her far away.
It’s just that the Fifth Lady knows very little about A Rui, so what exactly is she trying to smear?
Mrs. Li did not wallow in such regret for too long. The marriage of young ladies in the family has always been a complicated matter. And the Fan Yang Lu family was going to marry two young ladies within a year, which made Mrs. Li even more busy.
Under such busy schedule, Mrs. Li did not notice that her husband's face became increasingly gloomy in the past few days.
Until the fourth lady of the Li family was giving her haircut ceremony, a lady with ill intentions seemed to be regretful but actually said to her with schadenfreude, "It's really a pity for the ninth lady. I thought I climbed up the big tree in the East Palace, but I didn't." I think that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will soon be the charioteer for his father. Tsk, tsk, the battlefield is so dangerous, I still don’t know when the time comes..."
Everyone present understood the lady's unfulfilled intentions. Even if His Highness the Crown Prince is surrounded by numerous guards, it may not be able to guarantee His Highness the Crown Prince's safety. If His Highness the Crown Prince dies unfortunately, then the future Crown Princess will become the moon in the mirror. At that time, Lu Bingzhen might even have to guard the family for His Royal Highness.
The husband of the man in front of me is the Zhongshu Ling who is close to His Majesty. Only in this way can the lady dare to say it in public with such certainty before the news has spread.
Look at this lady who was bragging about her son in front of her and wanted to hire A Rui as her daughter-in-law, but now she is so maliciously speculating on A Rui's future.
Mrs. Li felt that her teeth were tightening with anger, but Ms. Li was not polite, "Madam, you don't need to worry too much about the future of my nine mothers. If you have such leisure, you might as well find a good solution for your son." The wedding will save you from having to get engaged when your husband is over nineteen years old. Wouldn't it be that you and your husband are having a grandson?"
At this time, Mrs. Wang came out and invited everyone to watch the ceremony in the family temple.
Today, the fourth lady of the Li family does not appear to be gorgeously dressed, but simply wears dark clothes. She comes to salute and thank all the guests.
Today's guest of honor is the eldest princess of Huyang. Although she was not born into a noble family, she has a good reputation among the noble families because of her gentle temperament and philanthropy.
Yousi is the half-sister of the fourth wife of the Li family, and is two years younger than Lu Bingzhen. It seems that her aunt Wang wanted this little daughter to start showing up in social circles.
However, what surprised Lu Bingzhen the most was that the person who praised her was actually the fourth lady of the Wang family who was somewhat familiar with her. Fang Hai even winked at Lu Bingzhen mischievously.
The sound of ritual music gradually began, and Lu Bingzhen watched his uncle and aunt lead all the guests to the family temple, and arranged for everyone to sit down one by one. As the aunts and future crown princesses of the fourth wife of the Li family, Mrs. Li and Lu Bingzhen naturally sat forward.
The wife of the Li family changed into simple clothes in the east wing, and then went out to the family temple to gather her skirts and bow. The fourth lady of the Wang family came forward to comb her hair into a bun, and the eldest princess of Huyang inserted a hairpin.
After that, the guest spoke loudly, and the uncle and aunt also said a few words. At this point, the hair-raising ceremony is over.
Seeing that the hairpin ceremony was over, Mrs. Li wanted to say goodbye to her brother and sister-in-law in a hurry and leave. But she was persuaded by her brother, "An Niang, you are the mother of the future Crown Princess. The more unclear the circumstances of His Highness the Crown Prince, the more you must stay calm, otherwise people will think that His Highness the Crown Prince's in-law family and the Crown Prince are in chaos. position."
Li had a deep friendship with this brother when she was still in her boudoir. She always believed in his words and felt that what he said was reasonable. "That's right, I shouldn't have messed up. I have been taught by my father and brother for many years, but I forgot about it at this time."
"A Rui, come to uncle." Lu Bingzhen raised his head and looked at his uncle, his eyes still blank. After all, the news just now was too shocking.
Ever since the lady heard the news that His Royal Highness the Prince was going to fight for his father, Lu Bingzhen's heart suddenly fell to the ground. The unfortunate premonition came true, and Lu Bingzhen was in shock for a long time.
Lu Bingzhen finally came to his senses when he heard his uncle's call, "Uncle, what's wrong?"
Uncle Li didn't know about this beforehand, but now he knew very well that he had to stabilize his sister and niece. "It's rare to come to my uncle's house once. Your fourth cousin may not have seen you for a long time. Why don't you two cousins go to the garden to talk for a while?" talk."
He could understand Li's mood very well. His daughter, Si Niangzi, has already been engaged. If his future son-in-law is suddenly in danger of his life, he may be able to barely restrain his panic.
In the garden, the fourth lady of the Li family and the fourth lady of the Wang family were both cheerful young ladies. There was also the fourth lady of the Li family who was a bit ignorant and her sister, the sixth lady. They were chatting and laughing, which gradually made Lu Bingzhen relax. Come down.
After today's banquet, the Li family's uncle and aunt did not stay with Li's mother and daughter, and immediately arranged a carriage to escort Li's mother and daughter home.
Naturally, Lu Qi also heard about what happened today and at the Hairpin Ceremony Banquet. Seeing that his uncle sent someone to send his wife and daughter back, he quickly stepped forward to express his thanks and welcomed Li and Lu Bingzhen into the courtyard.
