Wei Changying originally went to Furong Islet for a relaxation. However, after meeting a group of rude and cunning lotus-picking girls, she encountered Gu Naizheng, an impolite man of a great family. Therefore, her pleasure was totally spoiled. Now, she was eager to have a rest in the court after lunch.
Except Gu Naizheng, it was a hard lunchtime for people. After they finished the meal and then put their chopsticks on the table in a cold sweat, they felt a little relieved.
As they left, they said goodbye to Uncle Xie and his family who were cleaning the table. During this period, Uncle Xie specially greeted his guests. When Wei Changying watched this man over sixty years old, she thought that he was not as old as he looked, because his son and daughter-in-law were still rather young. It was likely that the person on the lake worked so hard that he looked older than he actually was.
He was a merciful old man with a slight trace of fishy smell,
In the end, Gu Naizheng and his pals' boats couldn't be found, which was natural. In the midsummer of Furong Islet, the lotus flowers and leaves surged to the sky, and the dense reeds could almost seal off the vast Furong Islet.It was easy enough to hide three small boats in a place like this. Unless someone accidentally met them, the boats wouldn't be found out until the dry season between the autumn and winter months. After hearing the news, Brother Xie and his wife, each poling a small boat, looked around for a long time and didn't find any clues. Shen Cangfeng had agreed with the three that they should return after having meals at the tavern of the Xie Family in Furong Islet. However, the three hadn't come back yet as time passed. Therefore, the Shen Family Courtyard sent another boat here to inquire about the situation.So it happened that the three including Gu Naizheng could be sent away by the boat...Of course, their menservants couldn't get aboard
That afternoon, Madam Su sent her servant into the palace, asking to see the Empress. Just at the moment before the palace door closed, the approval from Empress Gu came out.The next day, Madam Su and her daughter-in-law dressed up and went into the palace in the company of their maidservants.After arriving at the Weiyang Palace, they curtsied to the Empress. Empress Gu smiled, asked them to get up and gave them two seats. Thought Wei Changying was young and could sometimes not be very considerate, she still understood the basic manners. It was not the banquet like the last time. The Empress and her mother-in-law were here, so she should be polite and stay standing. She insisted that she would not be seated, only being willing to stand behind her mother-in-law. The Empress smiled, said she was polite and stopped asking her to sit down.As today was neither a holiday nor a banquet, the Empress was dressed very casually. Her hair was in a coile
After leaving the Weiyang Palace, Madam Su smiled. Obviously, she was satisfied with the result.Seeing that her mother-in-law was in a good mood, Wei Changying felt relieved.Madam Su touched her pearl hair clasp and was about to talk to Wei Changying when they heard a noise coming nearby—They looked towards where the noise was and found that two girls were pulling against each other and walking towards this side from the lane where willow trees were planted in a line. A crowd of the palace people was following them anxiously but had no idea what to do with the girls. Because both girls were delicate princesses, the people could only persuade them gently, but dare not stop them.Seeing these girls in colorful dresses, Madam Su frowned and held Wei Changying's hand as she said, "They've seen us.... We'll leave soon after we greeted them. Don't speak!"At the same time, Wei Changying had realized the girl who was being
In the Changle Palace, the Empress Gu who was worried about the Crown Prince ignored the dispute between Princess Anji and Princess Linchuan, so she persuaded these two princesses to leave away from her palace by an excuse that she was tired. After returning to her bedroom, the Empress Gu looked indeed exhausted.The trusted maid offered her a cup of ginseng tea. And then she knelt down beside the Empress Gu to gently pound her legs with a tiny jade hammer.“Ask Lin De to come in for a report,” ordered the Empress Gu, recovering from tiredness a little, after drinking out a cup of ginseng tea.Seeing her pale face, the maid was worried about her, so she softly suggested, “Your Imperial Highness, you had better continue lying on the bed for a rest. Madam Su has suspected the background of those lotus-picking girls. Even if the Consort Deng in the Guangming Palace planned to do something, she could not meddle in this event. So you had better have
Su Yuwu’s birthday was the day after Empress Gu was informed of the lotus-picking girls. Madam Su specially came to congratulate Su Yuwu in person, which was just an excuse because Madam Su, as an aunt, didn’t need to specially go back to her family for her niece's eighteenth birthday. The real reason was that the last time Su Pingzhan commanded his descendants to stop struggling with each other, so Madam Su kept this matter in mind after hearing Wei Changying's words. She planned to take advantage of this time to come back and explain to his father in person, lest there would be grudges in two families.If Madam Su went back to her family, her daughters-in-law would accompany her. But it was impractical for all of them to go together, so Madam Su left Mrs. Duanmu at home and brought Mrs. Liu and Wei Changying with her. Shen Cangning, who should have followed, was locked in her room because of the deception of Eleventh Prince last time. Madam Su thought that her daughte
Su Yuwu's birthday didn't become grander because of his own aunt's presence. There was only a banquet in the third branch. People from the same generation, Mrs. Liu and Wei Changying, went over and attended the banquet together. Madam Su was still in the main room. Old Madam Deng asked the servants in the kitchen of the main room to prepare a few dishes that her daughter liked. In the afternoon, when Su Pingzhan came back, Madam Su served her parents some tea and started about the business that had brought her to her parents' home.In the room of the third branch, Madam Qian spoiled Mrs. Liu's pleasure, so Mrs. Liu seemed a bit dispirited. When Mrs. Liu wasn't looking at them, Wei Changying told Wei Zhengyin everything about seeing Gu Naizheng, sounding worried about Su Yuli.Wei Zhengyin was not surprised when she heard this and smiled, "Your future cousin by marriage is a bit unusual, but I have discussed it with your cousin. Don't worry. Although he is n
Leaving the Su mansion and returning to the Grand Preceptor's mansion, Wei Changying thought Madam Su must be tired today, so she wouldn't mention that she wanted to visit her eldest aunt Wei Shengxian to her until tomorrow. Although Madam Su looked tired and her daughters-in-law accompanied her to the backroom, she didn't ask them to leave immediately to have a rest but said, " Yi'er, you make a list of things in the bride price. Compare them with the ones you got before. If you can't remember them very well, go to the bursary and find them."Three daughters-in-law heard it suddenly and all became surprised because the fourth young master, Shen Canghui, had just married Mrs. Pei, so mentioning the bride price meant that it should be talking about the fifth young master, Shen Cangji, who was Madam Su's favorite son.But they had never heard anything about Shen Cangji looking for a wife.There was one meeting last year. That was with Wei Lingyue
When Wei Changying went back to Jintong Courtyard, Shen Cangfeng had just come back from the Su Family. The third branch of the Su Family had prepared a feast for Madam Su and her companions, who came here to celebrate Su Yuwu's birthday, but the other guests were Su Yuwu's cousins, colleagues and schoolfellows. It was improper for them to enter the rear courtyard, and they couldn't enjoy it if they were at the same table with the elders of the Su family. Therefore, the Su family prepared another feast at the front yard for these young people, so that they could have a good time.Shen Cangfeng had a strong smell of wine at this time, and his face was already blushed. He stumbled into the room and loosened his clothes as he ordered a maidservant to bring him some tea.Wei Changying told the servant to make strong tea, and then she helped Shen Cangfeng took off his robe. She frowned as she blamed, "Why did you drink so much?"Hearing this, Shen C