Chapter 38: Red Dress Appears at the Summer Solstice Banquet
The carriages went all the way to the main gate outside the palace. After being inspected by the guards, they followed the carriages in front and went in one by one.
Not many guests were invited to this summer solstice banquet.
This was the first time the young emperor had hosted a banquet in several years, and the invited guests basically did not dare to be late for even a minute, so they all naturally rushed to arrive at this time, for fear of displeasing His Majesty and causing him to chop off a few heads at the banquet to liven up the atmosphere.
In the carriage of the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery, Leng Qianqian looked at the carriages outside that were carried by the rich and powerful, and then opened her eyes wide to look at the magnificent palace.
In modern times, she has also visited ancient palaces.
But at that time, to her, those were just some slightly special ancient buildings.
It’s different now. Every few steps you can see royal guards patrolling with knives, and graceful palace maids walking by carrying things.
It gives a completely different feeling from the tourist attractions crowded with tourists.
Just by looking at it this way, one can feel the pressure of the royal family.
Leng Qianqian was a little excited.
Emperor! Palace!
These are things that she, as the future marquis' wife, will have frequent contact with in the future.
As for Ye Qiongying, even if she was born into a famous family, what did it matter? All the men in her family had died, and now she was divorced and sent back to her parents' home. She was just an abandoned woman.
From now on, I will probably be locked up in the backyard, eating vegetarian food and chanting Buddhist scriptures, and will have nothing to do with all these wealth and fame anymore.
As for money...
Humph.
Leng Qianqian was very confident that once she became the marquis' wife, she would have plenty of ways to get rich.
Can modern business marketing methods be inferior to those of the simple-minded ancients?
The carriage didn't stop until it reached the outside of Taihe Palace.
The people on the carriages got off one after another, and the carriages were taken to another place for collective placement by the palace's special eunuchs.
The people present were the adults who were called that day, and they were accompanied by their wives or sons. However, no one brought many family members with them. Even those who brought sons were mostly the second sons of the legitimate wife.
They were obviously not as confident as Yin Xu. Although they wanted to accept the olive branch thrown by the emperor, they were worried that there was poison mixed in with this huge wealth.
Therefore, they left their eldest son, whom they had worked so hard to raise, at home and did not dare to bring him along.
In case of any unexpected events, there will be an heir to support the family.
But after all, it was a banquet hosted by His Majesty, and no one dared to be negligent. They all wore their best clothes, dressed up properly and beautifully, and gathered outside the Taihe Palace, waiting to be summoned by His Majesty to take their seats.
When they saw Yin Xu and the other two, the expressions on the faces of the others changed.
What men pay attention to is not the clothes, but...
They remembered that the mistress of the Loyal and Brave Marquis’ Mansion was not this person, right?
Who in Beijing doesn't know the reputation of the eldest daughter of the Ye family?
If the incident in the border town had not happened, given the Ye family's situation, it would not be excessive for the eldest daughter to become an imperial concubine. How could she have possibly ended up in the hands of the ruined Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery Mansion?
What is the situation today?
Could it be that... Yin Xu valued his wife so much that he was unwilling to let her take any risks and directly brought a concubine over? This was not right either.
Not long ago, wasn’t there news about this man who favored his concubine and killed his wife?
No way... This loyal and brave marquis, is he out of his mind, daring to bring his favorite concubine to His Majesty? !
After all, they were all attending the banquet together. If Yin Xu accidentally displeased the ancestor inside, it was possible that they would be implicated and suffer as well.
Soon someone reminded Yin Xu cryptically:
"Lord Zhongyong, this person beside you... isn't right? After all, it's His Majesty who's hosting the banquet, why didn't you bring your wife along?"
I had heard news from the Minister of Rites before that the favored concubine in the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery's mansion was very unreliable and actually forced the wife of the main wife to bring her to the banquet.
It’s okay to have a banquet outside, but this is the imperial palace!
The emperor who hosted the banquet is not a good-tempered person. If he knew that someone dared to bring a concubine to embarrass him, wouldn't he start a massacre?
Yin Xu said:
"I divorced Ye a few days ago, and my fiancée is the one next to me. We will hold a wedding ceremony soon, and everyone is welcome to come to my house to have a glass of wedding wine."
Several officials opened their eyes wide in surprise.
This……
Well, a fiancée is better than a concubine, and it won’t be considered a disgrace to your majesty’s banquet.
But, I heard that this woman is just an orphan with unknown origins? Should we say that this loyal and brave marquis is a true character, or is he really a fool? He actually tore his face with the Ye family for such an orphan and drove the eldest daughter away?
Although it was surprising, the Ye family no longer had any direct descendants in the court, but the Mansion of the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery had gradually risen in the past two years.
After all, they are colleagues, so no one will say anything even if they feel disgusted.
Seeing that Yin Xu had his own plans, the others quieted down.
The men were talking about these things, but the ladies they brought with them were looking at the red dress on Leng Qianqian.
The skirt is brightly colored and has a gorgeous hem. It looks beautiful at first glance.
It made Leng Qianqian's originally delicate and plain face look more beautiful.
However, after the initial surprise, they seemed to have thought of something.
Several familiar ladies lowered their voices and said:
"Do you think the dress worn by the loyal and brave Marquis's fiancée looks familiar?"
"You think so too? Me too! I think I've seen it somewhere."
"Oh right! Jinxiu Pavilion! The summer theme of the new model released by Jinxiu Pavilion this season is a red skirt, isn't it? I liked it at first, but the price was too expensive, so I just couldn't bear to buy it. Later I heard that it had been bought by someone else."
"She bought it? That's not right. Isn't the Loyal and Brave Marquis's Mansion a poor family? They've also severed their marriage ties with the Ye family. How could they have the money to buy a skirt from Jinxiu Pavilion? Could it be that he bought it for this woman with his wife's money before the divorce?"
They carefully looked at Leng Qianqian's red dress and discussed in low voices.
Leng Qianqian followed Yin Xu and noticed the gazes of these ladies. The corners of her mouth couldn't help but rise a little.
That's right.
The skirt she was wearing was made according to the style of Jinxiu Pavilion.
Of course, it is impossible to be completely consistent.
After all, she didn't have any specific drawings, and couldn't get the same fabric, so she just made a rough outline based on her impression.
But at a banquet like today's, the owner of the skirt, Ye Qiongying, is not qualified to attend at all, so she is naturally the most dazzling one!
Jinxiu Pavilion, humph!
Sooner or later you will regret not giving her the skirt!
Just when Leng Qianqian was feeling proud, she heard a eunuch leading a new guest over:
"Miss Ye, this way please."
Ok?
Everyone present was somewhat confused.
They were the only ones invited that day, how come there was one more family?
Everyone turned their heads and looked back.
As soon as I saw the figure appearing, I couldn't help but open my eyes wide.