Chapter 15
In the Baiyuan Garden, several princesses were surrounded by court ladies and noble ladies. A group of people walked among the red plum blossoms, quoting scriptures and praising the beauty of the plum blossoms.
When they heard that Shi Yunlin had arrived, their laughter stopped and they all turned to look over.
Shi Yunlin followed the leading maid and walked around the bluestone road outside the Baiyuan Garden Plum Grove towards the main entrance of Baiyuan Garden. The plum trees were lush and lush, and only her hazy shadow could be seen among the trees.
"I heard that the girls from Hunan have eyes like water and waist like willows, and they are all graceful and gentle beauties." Princess Mingya was about fourteen or fifteen years old, with a childish look on her face. She was the first to speak about what she had heard. "And I heard that all the princesses in the Xiang Kingdom are great beauties, especially this one here."
After Princess Mingya finished speaking, Yu Ningfu glanced at the Crown Princess's face and answered with a smile: "I've heard that too. But I think the princess who came to Xiang is too squeamish and refuses to get up early because of the cold weather. Let our princess, The Crown Princess is waiting for her.”
Princess Mingci, who was the host today, said nothing. She has a square face, and her temperament is usually serious. When she is not smiling, she looks quite serious, and it is hard to tell whether she is unhappy or not. The most difficult to contact is a person in power who has a hard-to-discern mood and anger.
While they were talking, Shi Yunlin had already walked through the lush plum forest over there, and her appearance suddenly appeared clearly in front of everyone.
Huang Baiyou's little coat and woad blue skirt look particularly soft and elegant against the backdrop of the large red plum blossoms. There are not many jewelry on the temples, just a silver hairpin to tie her hair. A strand of hair was left hanging down on her temples. When the wind blew, the hair gently brushed Xue Ci's cheek.
It's a cold winter day, so the noble ladies attending the banquet today are wearing mink furs on the outside, but they are still wearing dresses that show off their figures underneath. The collars are even opened very low, revealing their beautiful collarbones. They were holding hand warmers and didn't feel cold at all, but seeing Shi Yunlin wrapping herself tightly, they couldn't help but pull at the skirts of their cloaks.
"Go back." Princess Mingci said.
A group of people followed her back to the previous seats. When Shi Yunlin was led in by the palace maid, Princess Mingci and others were taking their seats one after another.
Shi Yunlin waited for a while, and when they were all seated, she bowed her knees and saluted the honored Princess Mingci, and apologized: "My wife is late, please forgive me."
"It's true that it's been a while." Yu Ningfu said with a smile, "You didn't come to the princess's birthday party last time. Today, the princess is hosting, and you are willing to come, but you have been so late. . It’s really easy for people to think wildly, and they can’t help but doubt Princess Xiang’s reluctance.”
A noble lady in purple covered her mouth and chuckled.
What are you laughing at? Naturally, it was to cooperate with the princess of Xiang Kingdom mentioned by Yu Ningfu. Where is the Xiang Kingdom? She was clearly laughing at the pain of Xiang's country's subjugation.
Another noble lady, Mrs. Xue, spoke as if to "smooth things over": "Ningfu is joking. She likes to tell jokes the most. We are all used to it, so don't worry about it. It's normal for you to fall ill when you first come to Qi and you can't adapt to the climate here. .”
Being caught by the cold was Shi Yunlin's excuse for not going to the Crown Princess's birthday party.
Mrs. Xue paused for a moment and continued: "Next time, you can't be so unlucky to fall ill. If you do it again, others will think that the general refuses to let you go."
Princess Mingci, who was at the head of the table, frowned almost invisible.
Shi Yunlin raised her eyes and glanced at Mrs. Xue. Mrs. Xue straightened her back and was waiting for Shi Yunlin's quibbles.
Shi Yunlin smiled softly: "You still don't know what to call me?"
"My husband's surname is Xue." When she mentioned her husband's family, Mrs. Xue straightened her back even more.
"Mrs. Xue." Shi Yunlin nodded lightly and looked away. Shi Yunlin didn't know who her husband's family was, and even if she knew, she wouldn't flatter and speak in official terms as she wished.
Mrs. Xue was stunned and saw Shi Yunlin looking at the Crown Princess.
This was the first time Shi Yunlin saw Yi Shuzhen, but she knew she was the princess at a glance. As a person who grew up in a small palace, Shi Yunlin's familiarity with rules and regulations is engraved in her bones. With just one glance, she could identify the identities of these people based on their seats, clothes, and the looks they looked at each other. She could even tell who was friends with whom. Not to mention the two princesses and the crown princess, one can even guess the rank of these noble ladies.
"Princess, last time it was your birthday, I happened to be ill and couldn't celebrate your birthday. It's really a pity." Shi Yunlin couldn't accompany you first. "It's just that no one wants to be sick. No one can predict it. When the Crown Princess holds a banquet next time, I will If you happen to be sick or unable to go due to other urgent matters, I think the Crown Princess will understand, and it won't be like that... sister Ningfu, right?"
Shi Yunlin looked over. Yu Ningfu forced a smile and nodded.
After receiving the reply that the name was correct, Shi Yunlin turned back to look at the Crown Princess again and said, "You won't be thinking as much as Sister Ningfu said, right?"
The Crown Princess touched the bracelet on her hand. She stared at Shi Yunlin and said in a deep voice, "Of course."
Shi Yunlin smiled lightly and said in a brisk tone: "By the way, what Mrs. Xue said just now made me a little confused. Mrs. Xue said that the general did not allow me to celebrate the princess's birthday. This will never happen. . But I don’t understand why Mrs. Xue said that?”
Shi Yunlin turned her eyes and looked at Mrs. Xue innocently with a smile.
Mrs. Xue was stunned and was about to open her mouth. The person sitting next to her immediately pulled her and reminded her to shut up.
Shi Yunlin looked at the Crown Princess again and said slowly: "I have only been married to Qi for a short time, unlike the Crown Princess who has been married for more than two years. I don't know many things about the Qi Kingdom, and I would like to ask the Crown Princess for advice. What did Mrs. Xue mean by what she just said? Could it be that Qishan Lang is at odds with His Highness the Crown Prince?"
Baiyuan suddenly fell into silence. No one spoke again, and the teacup someone was holding was frozen there and forgotten.
A gust of wind blew down a red plum blossom from the branch and landed on Shi Yunlin's shoulder.
Everyone knows the tense relationship between Qishanlang and the prince, but who can say it clearly? Especially the Crown Princess is even less likely to admit it in public.
Several figures appeared outside Baiyuan Garden. The Crown Princess glanced out of the corner of her eyes and was surprised to see His Majesty passing by with the Crown Prince and Prince Jingchen.
The Crown Princess gritted her teeth and scolded both Shi Yunlin and Mrs. Xue in her heart. The Crown Princess forced a smile and said, "Yun Lin is joking. The general is a once-in-a-lifetime talent. He has made great achievements in the Qi Army and is the pillar of the country. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has always cherished talents and cherished them. The two may have had differences in political opinions." . It is nonsense to make enemies."
"Yeah." Shi Yunlin snorted lightly, bent her eyes and smiled: "I think so too. I think Mrs. Xue and Ning Fu just like to tell jokes."
Outside the Baiyuan Garden, Emperor Qi looked back at Qi Jiazhi, then withdrew his gaze and left. Cold sweat broke out on Qi Jiazhi's forehead. He glanced at Yi Shuzhen fiercely and quickly followed his father's footsteps.
King Jingchen's probing eyes fell on Shi Yunlin, and then he withdrew his gaze to follow.
In the Baiyuan Garden, Shi Yunlin, like most of the people in the garden, had no idea what His Majesty and his party had just passed by.
Shi Yunlin turned her attention to the noble lady in purple who had covered her mouth and laughed at the destruction of the Xiang Kingdom. She asked, "I wonder what I call this sister?"
The noble lady in purple had long since stopped laughing and spoke cautiously: "I can't bear to be called sister by Madam. My surname is Su Dan and my given name is Wanwan. Sister, just call me Wanwan."
"Su Wan." Shi Yunlin called her by name and asked with a harmless smile: "Why were you laughing just now?"
"D-did I laugh?" Su Wan glanced at the plum blossom cake on the table and said with a guilty conscience, "The princess held a banquet, and the plum blossom cake today was very sweet. I enjoyed it..."
Dignitaries and dignitaries like to speak in secret, and make meaningful sarcastic jokes with every look and movement. Shi Yunlin grew up listening to Mandarin, and her words and deeds were reflected in the quiet waves on the undercurrent.
Today, she just exceeded everyone's expectations and tore apart the layer of tranquility.
Shi Yunlin looked at today's owner, Princess Mingci, and the smile on her face became more dignified. She said: "The Qi State has the demeanor of a great and generous country, and has always been kind to small countries in need. Not only Hunan today, but also Min yesterday."
The Crown Princess's face changed slightly. Min is her hometown. How is she different from Shi Yunlin?
"The State of Xiang has always kept the kindness of the State of Qi in mind, and Yun Lin is grateful to be able to marry Qi. The customs of her life have been different since she was a child. If Yun Lin does something wrong and commits any taboo, I hope the princess will forgive her. Yun Lin Lin will also be cautious and learn more, and strive to follow the customs of the princess and leave Min for Qi as soon as possible. Although I came to Qi not long ago, I heard a lot of praise from the people. Yun Lin will try hard to imitate the princess. She is the best prince. Concubine, I will also work hard to become a qualified general’s wife.”
The female relatives present quietly communicated with each other, and their eyes were a little more serious.
The princess's chest rose and fell slightly, suppressing her anger. Shi Yunlin emphasized over and over again that she, like her, came from marriage. In the future, if anyone insinuates Shi Yunlin's old identity in person again, it will be the Crown Princess who also scolds her.
Shi Yunlin was trapped in a separatist mood. These people disliked her old identity as a subjugated princess, and they had to be wary of the person she married now.
Shi Yunlin slowed down slightly, looked at Princess Mingci, and said in a more sincere tone: "I really shouldn't have come late today. It's just that I'm new to Qi, and I'm not familiar with the terrain and routes. I misestimated the distance, so the general rushed to lead the way. I'm here, but it's still too late. Maybe Yun Lin will give herself a drink to apologize?"
"Oh? The general brought you here?" Princess Mingci finally said, "As expected, Feizhou won again, and the army will return in three days. Did the general return to Beijing yesterday?"
Shi Yunlin was stunned. She didn't know that Qishan Lang came back early.
Shi Yunlin was stunned and didn't know how to answer. A girl in a green dress smiled and joked: "I guess the young couple are newly married and the general came back early."
Shi Yunlin looked over, and the girl in the green skirt smiled and said, "My surname is Fan and my first name is Ziying."
Fan Ziying stood up and made a ladylike salute.
"Ziying." Shi Yunlin returned the salute, which was a sign of acquaintance.
Fan Ziying said with a smile: "I heard that my wife got seriously ill before getting married. Now that she is running around in the cold, she hasn't sat down to rest yet. I see, there is no need to punish yourself with a drink. Let's drink some sweet wine to warm up first."
Princess Mingci also nodded and said: "Sit down and talk first. There are a few people I don't know, and you should also get to know them."
"Thank you, princess." Shi Yunlin nodded and followed the little palace maid to the seat arranged for her.
Princess Mingci and Princess Mingya shared the same table, and the Crown Princess sat on the left hand side of the two princesses. Shi Yunlin was led to the right side of the two princesses, and her seat faced the crown princess opposite.
Shi Yunlin just sat down and smiled lightly at Fan Ziying. This smile is a sign of etiquette, not gratitude. Fan Ziying was the first person to speak for Shi Yunlin today, but Shi Yunlin would not express her gratitude immediately. She wanted to find out the reason why Fan Ziying helped her first.
Shi Yunlin met the other girls in Baiyuan Garden one by one and exchanged polite words. The palace maids came over with musical instruments.
Before Shi Yunlin came, they wanted to have fun, and the maids brought instruments just now.
Princess Mingya smiled and said, "Look, let's make the general's wife the first to play the strings and start the music!"
"I will take this punishment." Shi Yunlin stood up generously.
"What instrument do you want to use?" Mingya asked.
Each of these different musical instruments signed up for the one they were best at and asked the palace maid to bring it over.
Shi Yunlin guessed something and said with a smile: "If anyone is willing to lend me her instrument first, I will use which one."
"Any one is fine?" The Crown Princess raised her eyebrows.
Shi Yunlin smiled softly and nodded: "Anyone will do."
