The fifth day of May is the Dragon Boat Festival.
Leyouyuan is crowded with tourists, making it a noisy and prosperous scene. There is a lively scene of dragon boat racing in the middle of the river, with the sound of people, drums, and shouts. Vendors are going back and forth selling all kinds of gadgets, and nice words are thrown out as if they are free of money.
Naughty children were crawling around in the crowd. Occasionally, one of them would break away from his parents' hands. After being caught by his parents, he would be slapped on his body several times and burst into tears.
The scene was so lively that it seemed as if the farewell at Shiliting a few days ago had happened decades ago. The Hulu Khan Rebellion, which caused a bloody storm thousands of miles away, did not affect the enjoyment of these powerful people at all.
These dragon boats in the river are specially trained by the powerful families in Beijing, and even by the concubines and princes in the palace. Everyone on the boat was a young man in his twenties, and they were rowing vigorously, winning waves of applause from the people on the shore.
Each family's dragon boat has a red flag erected on it, and the red flag is embroidered with different patterns. Arty families usually have plum blossoms and bamboo patterns, and royal family members who pride themselves on their noble status mostly have gorgeous flowers. However, no matter how noble one is, patterns such as peonies are generally not used because they are symbols of the queen in the middle palace.
This year, among the crowd watching the dragon boats on Leyouyuan, some sharp-eyed people noticed at a glance that the red flag on the dragon boat was embroidered with peony patterns.
The golden peonies on a red background were so bright that they were eye-catching, and even attracted everyone to whisper.
Everyone in the Lu family was also among the crowd watching. Among them, Lu Liu Niang, Lu Qiniang and Lu Jiuniang didn't want to crowd around with others, so they leaned against the window lattice of the wing room on the second floor of Linjiang Building. Looking out of the window, the scene of the Dragon Boat Festival in front of us was obviously much more lively than the last Shangsi Festival, but the three sisters were far from the same mood as the last Shangsi Festival.
The three of them were dressed in gorgeous clothes, except for the threads of longevity woven with colorful threads on their wrists, and the sachets and purses embroidered with the Five Poisons patterns on their waists. The snacks in the box have also been replaced by small and exquisite rice dumplings. Today, Li even made an exception and allowed the three young ladies to drink some realgar wine. But none of this could remove the boulder weighing on their hearts.
Even if they did not participate in family discussions, Lu Liu Niang and Lu Qiniang were not fools. They have different personalities. One of them is lively and the other is reserved, but they are both extremely smart. They have long guessed something unusual from the subtle atmosphere in the house these days, and the last send-off outside Shili Pavilion directly verified their guesses.
Lu Liuniang, who was always lively, rarely went downstairs to join in the fun today. Instead, she sat quietly beside Lu Bingzhen. Lu Qiniang, who was already reserved, looked at her ninth cousin with worry. The three of them sat quietly upstairs until the noise outside attracted their attention.
"What are the people outside saying? I seem to have heard the words His Royal Highness Prince Yu?" Lu Qiniang said hesitantly. Lu Bingzhen also raised her head when she heard the words "His Royal Highness King Yu". She and Lu Liu Niang almost said in unison, "His Royal Highness King Yu?"
The three of them stood up together and walked to the window. Before they could hear the words of the onlookers clearly, they saw a red flag with peonies embroidered in gold thread passing in front of them. Thinking of the words "His Royal Highness King Yu" again, Lu Liu Niang blurted out a straightforward and heartfelt sentence.
"They couldn't be saying that this peony flag belongs to His Highness Prince Yu, right?" As soon as these words came out, even Lu Liuniang herself found it a bit incredible.
After listening carefully to the conversation of the people downstairs, the three people confirmed that the matter was what they had guessed. "Why didn't he just embroider a four-clawed dragon on the flag?" Lu Liu Niang felt that His Royal Highness Prince Yu was really a magical person, and immediately blurted out another sentence.
Lu Qiniang tugged at her sister Lu Liuniang's sleeve, "Sister, be careful what you say. Tianhuang nobles are not something we can arrange at will." Lu Liuniang also knew that she had just made a mistake, so she quickly shut up.
The three sisters looked at each other, with worry in their eyes that seemed to say, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has just led the army to conquer personally, and His Royal Highness King Yu dares to act so arrogantly in the capital. He is really worried that the world will not be in chaos."
While I was deep in thought, I heard a noise outside the door. A palace eunuch whom Lu Bingzhen was not familiar with said in a high-pitched voice, "Qingning County Lord, our empress and your highness invite you to go to the Baojing Tower to enjoy the dragon boat together. That place is the real place to enjoy the scenery."
Lu Bingzhen was originally surprised that the Empress was still in the mood to go out of the palace to enjoy the dragon boat at this time. Only when she heard the word "Your Highness" did she realize that it was not the Empress but the Imperial Concubine.
"Thank you for your love, but I have been feeling cold recently, so it is inconvenient for me to meet you."
The eunuch was unyielding and even had a hint of threat in his tone, "What do you mean by Qingning County Lord? Could it be that Qingning County Lord thought that being married as a crown princess would give him a higher status than the empress and your highness?" ? Not to mention that since you haven’t completed the ceremony now, you are still not considered a crown princess. Even if you become a crown princess in the future, you will still have to bow and greet our queen when you see her. "
Lu Bingzhen stopped talking and just sat quietly, unmoved by the eunuch's words. She didn't want to continue to refuse. It was expected that the eunuch was also concerned about her dual status as the daughter of the Lu family and the future crown princess and would not dare to openly tease her.
But the eunuch opposite seemed to see through her thoughts, and then glanced around with his eyes and settled on Lu Liuniang and Lu Qiniang who were traveling with Lu Bingzhen.
"These two young ladies are quite unfamiliar. We have never seen each other in Beijing. Otherwise, we would go with our family to meet the empress. It is a great honor for you two young ladies to get a glimpse of the empress." Seeing this, Lu Bingzhen knew that the eunuch wanted to threaten Liu Niang and Qiniang, so he could only agree to go with him.
Upstairs in the treasure mirror, the three sisters of the Lu family saluted one after another.
"Pingshen, A-Zhen, come here to this palace."
Perhaps because she was used to being aloof, Concubine Gu just waved her hand and gave them a pair of gold bracelets before sending Lu Liu Niang and Lu Qiniang away. She asked the palace officials to lead the two young ladies to drink tea in the next room, but she stayed behind quite cordially. Got Lu Bingzhen.
Concubine Gu probably didn't know her nickname A Rui, so she called her A Zhen. She wanted to appear more friendly but was particularly embarrassed because Lu Bingzhen was unfamiliar with this name.
"Thank you for your great love, I don't dare to accept it."
Concubine Gu greeted her son, His Highness Prince Yu, with a smile. Lu Bingzhen had no choice but to stand up and salute His Highness Prince Yu to greet him. After all this going on, the kindness on Concubine Gu's face seemed even more fake.
In this way, Lu Bingzhen and His Royal Highness Prince Yu sat next to Concubine Gu. They heard Concubine Gu sighing, "Azhen has grown so big in a blink of an eye. I still remember that you were still a child when you went to the palace with your mother to thank her. There are some big little pods. King Yu was like this back then, and the children all grew up in the blink of an eye."
This familiar tone, this gesture of holding Lu Bingzhen's right hand, it seems that Lu Bingzhen is not the fiancée of His Highness the Crown Prince, but the fiancée of His Highness Prince Yu next to him?
"Your Majesty is overrated. His Royal Highness the Prince of Yu is a noble man from heaven. He is naturally graceful and graceful. How can he be compared to an ordinary woman who grew up outside the capital?"
Concubine Gu's face froze slightly, she was obviously used to being flattered and was not used to someone contradicting her. Even though the rebuttal was so roundabout, she immediately felt displeased.
Lu Bingzhen immediately felt that her right hand was being released again, and Concubine Gu fanned her hand in a covert manner. At such an embarrassing moment, a palace maid suddenly came and said, "Your Majesty, Lord Rongde County is here. Can you please invite her in?"
Holding the fan tightly in her hand, Concubine Gu said in a stiff tone, "The county prince has already arrived at the door. There is no reason for me to drive people away. She is your majesty's niece. Please, please, please, Mr. Rongde County, come in."
Chi Weiyan, Lord of Rongde County, came in and made a big salute, "My lord, I pay my respects to the Imperial Concubine and His Highness Prince Yu. I wish your Majesty and His Highness good fortune and good health."
However, Concubine Gu just said lazily, "I will give you a seat for Mr. Rongde County in my lifetime." During the whole process, Concubine Gu did not even move, let alone hold Mr. Rongde County's hand so affectionately.
She seemed to feel that it was inconvenient to talk with Mr. Rongde County here, but after sitting for a while, Concubine Gu excused herself and said she was tired. Lu Bingzhen and Rongde County Lords all resigned wisely, but His Royal Highness Prince Yu stayed behind saying that he wanted to attend to his illness.
As soon as he left the house, Mr. Rongde County said in a strange manner, "Mr. Qingning County really has both sides. Now he has been given a marriage to His Highness the Crown Prince as the future Crown Princess, and he is also on such good terms with Concubine Gu and His Highness Prince Yu. He really didn't miss a beat. .”
Lu Bingzhen said calmly, "If you want to talk about having both sides, you have to look at Rongde County Lord. He showed up at the Queen's Plum Appreciation Banquet before, but now he takes the initiative to come to Baojing Tower to say hello. My two cousins and I , I was just called by the imperial concubine to say hello, but I couldn’t match the filial piety of Mr. Rongde County, so I came here on my own initiative. "
This means that she doesn't have the restraint of her daughter's family. Knowing that Lu Bingzhen always had a sharp tongue, Rongde County Lord immediately walked away. In fact, Lu Bingzhen was somewhat grateful to Mr. Rongde County. If she had come on her own initiative, Concubine Gu didn't know how long she would have to keep her.
At present, everyone knows that Concubine Gu’s mother and son and the Queen’s mother and son are regarded as the same as fire and water. As the future daughter-in-law of the Empress, Lu Bingzhen would inevitably arouse a lot of discussion if she stayed in the Mirror Tower of Concubine Gu for too long.
Concubine Gu and His Highness Prince Yu, who were still staying in the Baojing Tower, also talked about what happened just now. Concubine Gu was absolutely furious.
"Your Majesty is too biased. Look, the princess he married to the prince is from the Fanyang Lu family, the head of a famous family. The ninth lady of the Lu family is the king of Qingning County. Her father is the official minister, and her grandfather is a high-ranking official. Sangong, my mother is from the Li family in Longxi. I heard that as soon as her brother became an official, he followed the seventh son of the Wang family and went to the outside of the Great Wall with the envoy. Take a look at the princess you picked. "
Speaking of Mr. Rongde County, Concubine Gu curled her lips in disdain.
His Royal Highness Prince Yu knew that his mother looked down upon the fact that Rongde County Lord had lost his father and was left with nothing but an empty frame as the daughter of an eldest princess. However, this was the father's intention, and it was not appropriate to belittle the Lord of Rongde County too much. His Royal Highness Prince Yu could only persuade his mother that he would not marry the Lord of Rongde County, so that Concubine Gu could calm down.
I remember that the eldest princess of Ruyang was very domineering because she had a brother who was the emperor, so she had an estranged relationship with her husband's Houfu. This one is nothing. Which of the eldest princesses who have ever surrendered has not relied on their brothers instead of their husbands?
But when the husband of the eldest princess Ruyang died young, they only had one daughter, the king of Rongde County. After her husband's early death, the already sluggish Hou Mansion declined even more because of the lack of a consort.
And seeing His Majesty's face declining, the situation of Princess Ruyang began to become more embarrassing day by day. If His Majesty passes away, Princess Ruyang will really be helpless.
For this reason, Princess Ruyang wanted to marry His Highness the Crown Prince and marry her daughter Rongde County Lord to His Highness the Crown Prince. Firstly, to maintain the relationship with the future emperor, and secondly, to make her daughter the most noble woman in the world.
It turns out that the eldest princess of Ruyang was sure of victory. She grew up in the palace and saw the suspicion of His Majesty and the Crown Prince. He has always believed that His Highness the Crown Prince would be willing to marry his daughter even to ease the relationship with His Majesty.
But I didn't expect that His Highness the Crown Prince would rather not have this eldest princess and mother-in-law who can speak in front of His Majesty than look down on her daughter Rongde County Lord. The eldest princess Ruyang was angry and annoyed, but she had no choice but to look at His Highness the King of Yu now like a burning fire cooking oil, so she turned to His Highness the King of Yu and wanted to marry her daughter Rongde County Lord to His Highness the King of Yu.
That's it, today the Lord of Rongde County on the Baojing Tower came to pay his respects.
It's a pity that the eldest princess of Ruyang wanted to imitate the princess of Guantao. It's a pity that she is not Guantao, nor does she have a noble and powerful biological mother, and His Royal Highness Prince Yu is not Liu Che.
Her actions made Concubine Gu and her son even more disgusted with them.
It has been smooth sailing for Concubine Gu since she entered the palace. She did not experience the gloomy days after His Majesty's imperial conquest failed, but gave birth to her child smoothly. After winning a man at one stroke, Concubine Gu suddenly became a concubine whose status was second only to the Queen.
To this day, Concubine Gu is still living a smooth and happy life. How could she possibly endure the eldest princess of Ruyang who openly despised her son as inferior to the prince?
