Although the Tai'an Prince's Mansion is not the leading noble residence in Beijing, it is reasonable to hear that the prince, nobles, and ministers are all coming to pay their respects to his birthday this time.
Now among the five ministers in the cabinet, three are from Empress Dowager Pang, and two are from the Emperor himself.
Mrs. Han is also the sister of Empress Dowager Pang, so it is natural to have such a momentum. When Ruiniang went to pay her respects, she also knew that the house had invited the Peng family troupe, the most famous theater troupe in Beijing, to come over. She often heard shouts of "咿咿 Yeah" Yeah" sound.
Ruiniang was painting. Although Mrs. Han had already prepared Mrs. Han's birthday gift, she also planned to send some needles and threads as well as a painting of "Shou Deer" painted by herself to express her feelings.
"Girl, I remember that you can draw "Magu's birthday" picture, don't you? The fairy daughter you drew is so good, why not draw that one?" Huaping always feels that the paintings with fairy daughters are more beautiful.
Ruiniang smiled and shook her head: "Although everything is fine in my grandfather's house, it's not good to bother others."
Not to mention that "Ma Gu's Birthday" requires a lot of gouache paint, and she doesn't want to exhaust her heart too much. If Mrs. Han knew that she was not useful and was unwilling to be her pawn, she wouldn't know what to do with her? Therefore, why should she bother too much.
Liuying came in with the food and couldn't help but said: "Girls are always like this, never fight for anything."
Ruiniang thought that if she didn't fight for anything, she shouldn't take it if it wasn't hers, but why did everyone think of her in a particularly kind-hearted way? Is it because of her face? Her face is beautiful and refined, and she is very kind-hearted. Therefore, from childhood to adulthood, everyone thinks that she has a gentle and gentle temperament and is an out-and-out good person.
This is really a huge misunderstanding.
Just as we were finishing lunch, we saw someone outside bringing clothes, saying they were new clothes made by Princess Yongning. Ruiniang asked her to come in for tea and handed her a handful of money. The man went back happily.
"Cousin, the prince and the eldest lady are here to see you."
Hearing the message from someone outside, Ruiniang was stunned for a moment and then said: "Invite them to the main hall to watch Qiulan Qiushuang tea."
Grandma Yuan understood what Ruiniang meant. On weekdays, when Han Yan came alone, she would directly invite her into the room. Now that the prince is a foreigner after all, she must behave herself and not let anyone gossip, regardless of whether she has that intention or not.
Of course, Han Xian came to see Ruiniang under the guise of visiting with his sister. He blushed when he saw Ruiniang coming out wearing a beige double-breasted jacket with an embroidered collar of indigo plum blossoms and bamboo leaves on a white background.
Ruiniang was calm and composed: "Cousin, cousin, you are here."
"We originally went to grandma's place to look for you. When we heard that you were back, we came to see you." Han Yan said with a smile.
Just as the maids were serving tea, Han Xian took a sip and felt that it didn't look like the tea he usually drank. He said "Huh" and said, "Cousin, what kind of tea is this?"
"Oh, this is dendrobium vitality tea. It moistens the lungs and clears the heart, dispels fatigue, nourishes yin and clears away heat." Ruiniang introduced.
Han Yan was different over there. Ruiniang heard from Mrs. Han that Han Xian often stayed up late recently, but Han Yan endorsed being a female prostitute, which requires the use of eyesight, so Han Yan's tea was to protect the liver and improve eyesight.
Han Xian was full of tea and looked at Ruiniang secretly.
"Do you want to go to the temple tomorrow? That would be great." Ruiniang has been in the capital for so long and has not been out yet.
Seeing how happy she was, Han Xian couldn't help but laugh: "On this day every year, the old lady goes to Longquan Temple to pray. After the prayers are over, the old lady will be a vegetarian for seven days, and then she will start a vegetarian diet to celebrate her birthday."
Ruiniang said: "This probably means that if you give up, you will gain. If you don't give up, you will gain nothing. If you gain something, you must give it up first."
Mrs. Han clearly knows how distinguished she is in her longevity, but in order to receive such a blessing, she must first donate some incense money. In layman's terms, it means giving and receiving, and you cannot have all the benefits in the world. .
In fact, when Ruiniang said these words, Han Xian was confused, and of course Ruiniang also observed it.
Han Yanze said: "I see the plum blossoms in the garden are blooming well. It's rare that I have time to breathe, so why don't we go and enjoy the plum blossoms together. Staying in the house is not beautiful. Sister Meng, you should go out for a walk more often." yes."
"Okay." Ruiniang agreed.
The maid beside them quickly brought a cloak and a heater. There were three people in the group, with Ruiniang and Han Yan walking in front, and Han Xian walking behind. Han Yan has always liked the bright and powerful red plums, and she is very satisfied when she sees the plum blossoms. Ruiniang listened to Han Xian next to her and said: "My sister grew up under the knees of the old lady. She loves growing flowers and grass the most, but I don't care about these. Research. By the way, sister, do you know that several princes praise your handwriting?"
"Ah?" Ruiniang was surprised, then smiled and shook her head: "Cousin, you are trying to coax me. I am just the daughter of a boudoir. How can I be praised by the princes?"
Han Xian repeated: "It's true, especially the second prince. Like you, he writes Zhao Mengfu."
Ruiniang felt a little proud, but she was also grateful to her mother. She had been studying hard since she was three years old. She practiced calligraphy every day to achieve such skill. Whenever she was lazy, her mother would push her and she would achieve her current achievements.
I originally thought that Ruiniang would be modest, but seeing her smiling, Han Xian felt relieved. He was still a little embarrassed: "It's just that I don't like writing. I like horse racing more. Every time I go horse racing and hunt, I feel much more relaxed." . I always have a hard time eating at home. After the horse race last year, I ate a large pot of roe deer without even breathing."
Ruiniang couldn't help but laugh: "Originally, when I was at home, my mother said that I ate cat food and only ate a small amount every day. But one time, when I came back from horse racing with my neighbor's sister, my father always loved to eat cat food. The rice I ate with my hands was too oily for me, so I ate half the plate in one sitting that day, and even my father couldn’t eat it. I didn’t have to think about anything while running on the horse, feeling carefree and free."
When Han Xian heard what Ruiniang said, he smiled knowingly, but couldn't help but ask, "Food with your hands? What is that?"
Han Yan, who was looking at the plum blossoms, also turned around with curiosity on her face: "Good sister, don't you have to catch it with your hands?"
"We Han people naturally use chopsticks and spoons when eating. Only my father likes to eat hand-made rice. It seems to be made with fresh mutton, carrots, onions, clear oil, mutton fat and rice. It is full of oily aroma. Good sister, you have always had a weak spleen and stomach, so you can't eat this." Ruiniang was afraid that if she tried it, she would have a stomachache, and her aunt would definitely blame her.
Han Yan smiled and said: "Don't worry, I have a sense of propriety. Even if I want to eat it myself, the mothers won't allow it." After she finished speaking, she saw her brother covering his mouth and snickering, and then said: "Brother, don't laugh at me either. I heard that the emperor is best at being elegant, and now that the red plum blossoms are blooming, be careful that we ask you to recite poems and compose poems this year, so don’t let that boy from Jian’an Marquis’ Mansion outshine you again.”
"Bibi bi, everyone has to compete, everyone has to compete. So what if you win, so what if you lose." Han Xian didn't understand and was a little annoyed.
Ruiniang said: "Where can there be a pure land in the world? Wherever there are people, there will be disputes. This has been the case for thousands of years. Cousin, you just need to do the things you are good at, and don't force things you are not good at. Isn't this right? Well, since you have tried your best, you are not afraid of what others will say."
Han Xian felt relieved after hearing this.
When he returned to the study, he was startled when he saw two big dogs: "Who sent these?"
The boy hurriedly said: "It was sent by Miss Miaoyi from Duke Wei's Mansion, and she also brought a letter."
Han Xian quickly opened it, and what was written on it was, [Cousin, seeing the word is like meeting, I have long heard that you fear dogs as much as tigers, so you just got two giant dogs. How can a dignified man be afraid of dogs? I hope my cousin will overcome this soon and don't be a coward. 】
When he saw this letter, he remembered that Guo Miaoyi would also sneer at him on weekdays, calling him timid and so on. But Cousin Meng would not do this. She would say to do what she is good at and not do what she is not good at.
…
When she went to Longquan Temple the next day, Ruiniang found that Han Xian had been begging for a long time in front of the Buddha. She couldn't help but ask: "Cousin, what are you begging for? You have been begging for so long?"
Han Xian scratched his head and stopped talking.
He will definitely get what he wants when he proposes.
