Zhou Niannan's eyes slowly swept across the crowd, paused slightly, and then quietly moved away.
Princess Qingyang noticed his distraction and grabbed his sleeve angrily, "Zhou Niannan, did you hear what I just said?"
Zhou Niannan took back his sleeve and said impatiently: "Princess, in public, please pay attention to your propriety."
"So what if it's in public? Who doesn't know that you and I do good deeds--"
"Princess." Zhou Niannan reminded with cold eyes and a smile: "Misfortune comes from the mouth, and disease enter through the mouth. Be careful what you say."
He haven't seen her for several years, and she is still so ignorant of current affairs.
Princess Qingyang's smile suddenly froze. Then she let go and said with a proud smile: "It's an ironclad matter, so what if you don't want to?"
Zhou Niannan was too lazy to pay attention to her and went to the men's table. Princess Qingyang's eyes flashed with anger, but she could calmly say: "The day after tomorrow is my birthday, and Imperial Auntie asked you to accompany me to the temple fair. Remember to pick me up then."
She deliberately said this sentence clearly and loudly, so that everyone could hear it clearly.
She turned around, not shying away from everyone's gaze. Her red lips slanted slightly, she adjusted her hairpin, and sat down in the center of the ladies' seat as a matter of course.
No matter where she is, Princess Qingyang will be the one with the highest profile and the most attention.
This is also true.
Not long after, a group of chattering young ladies gathered around her, talking affectionately and flattering her. Even Gu Youlan temporarily abandoned Cui Xijun and turned around to talk to her affectionately.
Cui Xijun's surroundings suddenly became deserted. She stared at Princess Qingyang, who was surrounded by the stars, and recalled the rumours of her engagement with Zhou Niannan. Her fingernails almost broke the palms of her hands.
This princess is famous for being arrogant and savage. Anyone with eyes can see that Third Young Master Zhou has no affection for her, but she relies on her noble status to force Third Young Master Zhou to marry her——
Su Panyan was more or less aware of her secret thoughts. Seeing her face full of jealousy, she was shocked and asked in a low voice, "Xijun, are you okay?"
She used this to remind Cui Xijun not to lose her composure. Cui Xijun narrowed her eyes, and immediately after, looked at Zhou Niannan with implicit expectation.
He happened to look over and their eyes met. Cui Xijun couldn't help but feel her heart pounding and turned her eyes anxiously.
Is he looking at herself? Could it be that he also...
Of course Zhou Niannan wasn't looking at her, he was looking at a girl who had been pretending to be blind. He managed to persuade his mother to add Xie Miao to the invitation list for the Flower Festival Banquet. When he arrived at the scene, Xie Miao was not only not happy and excited, but instead she was like a shadow, silently hiding behind Cui Xijun.
Usually she is so capable, but when it comes to big scenes, she seems too reserved.
Zhou Niannan thought incoherently: Tsk, let her practice more, lest she cannot bear the title of daughter-in-law of the Marquis family in the future.
*
After Madam Right Prime Minister, Madam Marquis Dingyuan, and the other noble ladies appeared, the Madam Right Prime Minister gave a brief speech. Afterwards, the ceremony official announced that the banquet had officially begun.
The Flower Festival Banquet was full of fun and entertainment all day long, with many exciting programs.
First, there are hundreds of acrobatics, swallowing knives and spitting fire, and there are dangers everywhere. The fish and dragons are numerous, imaginary and changeable, and fascinating. There are also singing and dancing actors and actresses performing consecutive tricks, making people laugh and feel overwhlelmed with joy.
The banquet was prepared with eight precious delicacies and fine wines. While enjoying the entertainment, there is no shortage of food and drink.
Xie Miao tasted all the vegetarian food on the table and watched the excitement with interest.
Now it's time for the ladies of the family to show off their talents. They have learned music, chess, calligraphy, and painting since they were young, and are good at singing and dancing, and proficient in music and rhythm. Some are playing the harp and pipa, some are dancing and playing flower drums, some are singing, and the lingering sound lingers on the beams.
The noble sons are not willing to lag behind. They are quick in writing, good at poetry, can create peaks with ink, and divert water to create streams...
Among them, Gu Youlan's qin, Princess Qingyang's dance, and Wen Rubin's paintings are the most outstanding.
What about Zhou Niannan?
...Sorry, Third Young Master Zhou is too lazy to join in the fun. He just wants to hold a bottle of wine and drink, and occasionally peek at someone.
Madam Marquis Dingyuan was secretly angry. After thinking about it, she inevitably thought sadly: Nan'er is naughty by nature. I wonder what kind of temper his second brother, who died young, was like...
She closed her eyes, suppressed the pain in her chest, and looked at Xie Miao with her peripheral vision. If she looked at Xie Miao casually when they first met, this time she looked at her seriously.
In the bustling crowd, she sat quietly. Her background is too low and she shouldn't be here. However, her expression was calm and her almond-shaped eyes were clear. She seemed not to be affected by the noise of the world, and she was a world of her own.
Just like last time, surprisingly calm.
She looked at Princess Qingyang again, dressed in red, as flamboyant as a rose, as passionate as a flame, and the burning brilliance in her eyes had the innate confidence of a royal child.
*
Halfway through the banquet, beautiful maids came in holding beautiful flowers and plants in purple
clay pots.
Twenty of the best flowers selected by the Luoyang flower god were quickly sent to the Flower Festival Banquet, waiting for the nobles to spend a lot of money. The first nineteen flowers were bid for one after another, with the bids ranging from three hundred to one thousand taels of silver. When the last peony was presented, the bidding fell into an unprecedentedly fierce moment.
The king of flowers is already rich and graceful, not to mention the auspicious appearance!
Everyone scrambled for it, and the price went up higher and higher, reaching three thousand taels of silver in the blink of an eye. Wen Rubin, who has always disliked disputes, suddenly raised a jade sign and shouted out the high price of five thousand taels of silver. The audience was silent for a moment.
Wen Rubin stared at Su Panyan softly, his affection was self-evident.
Su Panyan felt complicated and sweet at the high-profile show of affection. But not long after, someone ruined the atmosphere.
"Ten thousand taels of silver." Zhou Niannan held up the sign lightly.
Although it is for good deeds, ten thousand taels of silver... a full ten thousand taels of silver...
The young masters and young ladies came to the banquet just to join in the fun and spend their money to gain a good reputation, but if they were told to buy potted flowers with ten thousand taels of silver, they would be beaten all over their heads by their parents!
Madam Marquis Dingyuan took a breath of air. If there were no other people present, she might have rushed forward and pulled off Zhou Niannan's ears regardless of appearance!
Treason, this is definitely treason!
Based on his future Yulin Guard salary of twenty taels per month, he would have to live without food or water for forty-two years!
But in front of others, Madam Marquis Dingyuan had to hold back and squeeze out a profound smile.
The final word was given, and Zhou Niannan won the bingdi peony.
Princess Qingyang stared at him intently, and suddenly she heard someone say in her ear: "The day after tomorrow is the Princess's birthday. Third Young Master Zhou spending so much money must be to please the Princess."
The flattery was in place, and Princess Qingyang looked cheerful and was in a good mood.
Twisting the jade cup with her slender fingers dyed bright red, she drank lightly and smiled proudly.
She only said, who can stop what she wants?
*
After watching the excitement for a long time, Xie Miao felt full and told Cui Xijun that she would leave the table temporarily.
Today, Cui Xijun's attention was all on Princess Qingyang, therefore she ignored her and waved her hand casually, "Come back quickly, don't cause any trouble."
Xie Miao followed the maid and left. They walked a long way and passed through the verandah before arriving in front of a small, exquisite hall.
Oh, it is worthy of being the Qingyue Palace, even the washroom has carved beams and painting on the building.
Xie Miao came out after entering the hall for a while, but could not find the maid who had just led the way. She looked around suspiciously. It was remote, quiet, and deserted.
This is strange.
Xie Miao held up the hem of her skirt and wanted to leave. As soon as she stepped into the verandah, she was pulled by someone from the dark, and she stumbled and hid behind a tree with him.
The ancient banyan tree was towering into the sky and its branches and leaves were luxuriant, covering the two figures closely.
"Xie Miao." The instigator called out enthusiastically, completely without any consciousness of doing anything bad.
Xie Miao's expression was numb and she wished she could pretend to be deaf and dumb and leave directly.
Zhou Niannan was dissatisfied with her ignorance and tried to straighten her face with his hands, "Look at me."
Xie Miao skillfully slapped his hand away and took a few steps back warily, "Third Young Master Zhou, what do you want from me?"
Zhou Niannan took the initiative to confess, "I asked my mother to invite you to the banquet."
A short sentence conveys a lot of meaning.
Xie Miao was speechless and took a long time to formulate her words, "What crazy words did you say to Madam Marquis Dingyuan?"
Zhou Niannan had a smile on his lips and said, "I told you earlier, I am serious."
Xie Miao felt that he was simply unreasonable, "Zhou Niannan, I also made it very clear that I want to leave the family and become a nun."
Zhou Niannan just thought she was trying to prevaricate him and said persistently: "Xie Miao, don't be so petty. Think carefully. Marrying me is definitely your best way out."
Xie Miao:......
"Although you don't understand human language," she said, "I still want to emphasize to you one last time that I will not marry you, absolutely not."
Seeing that she was about to run away again, Zhou Niannan took a step forward suddenly, his dark eyes locked on her, "Within three months, I will definitely go to the Cui Mansion to propose marriage."
The light in his eyes was bright and passionate, like the scorching sun hanging high in the vast sky, possessing the magic power to captivate people's hearts.
An inexperienced girl might have been confused by him, but Xie Miao was extremely sober. Her eyes moved lightly, and she calmly pushed him away, "If you want to harm me, just do what you want."
Zhou Niannan was puzzled, "You——"
"Third Young Master Zhou, I am not the Princess of Qingyang. I don't have a noble background, and I don't have the willpower." Xie Miao said: "I ask for very little. I just want to live a stable life. I also hope that you can be merciful and would not involve me in the struggle within the Marquis Mansion."
Zhou Niannan's face changed slightly. He was careless and forgot about Qingyang, a dangerous person. When he was a child, he smiled at her little maid a few times, and she would find excuses to slander the little maid for stealing, and beat her to death in front of him. There are also wealthy ladies who show love to him, but they happen to encounter "accidents", ranging from making a fool of themselves to being physically injured at the worst.
Although she has been away for a few years, based on her past temperament, if she knew that he liked Xie Miao...
He looked solemn and said solemnly: "Xie Miao, believe me, I will definitely protect you."
Xie Miao was so angry that she was speechless.
Zhou Niannan stood up straight and grinned suddenly, "I have entered the Yulin Guards, and now I am accompanying the Emperor."
Xie Miao was slightly stunned, but said sincerely: "Congratulations."
*
After Xie Miao returned, the seats were empty, and the maids informed everyone that they were moving to Furong Garden to fly kites.
Xie Miao had no interest in getting involved and planned to find a place to relax. Unexpectedly, she happened to bump into Madam Marquis Dingyuan.
Xie Miao hurriedly saluted respectfully, "Madam Marquis Dingyuan."
Madam Marquis Dingyuan raised her hand and replied unhurriedly: "Miss Xie."
Faced with her unabashed scrutiny, Xie Miao cursed Zhou Niannan hundreds of times in her heart. Alas, in the eyes of Madam Marquis Dingyuan, she must be a down-and-out person who is greedy for vanity and bewitches her son.
She guessed neither.
Although Madam Marquis Dingyuan felt that she was not showing off, she understood Zhou Niannan's domineering temperament better. She did not blame Xie Miao for all the faults. Instead, she treated Xie Miao with a wait-and-see attitude.
She wanted to see if there was anything about Xie Miao that was worthy of her son's special attention.
She said: "I happen to be going to Furong Garden, let's go together."
"..." Xie Miao: "Okay."
Xie Miao bravely followed her. Along the way, Madam Marquis Dingyuan asked some ordinary questions, and Xie Miao answered them in a decent manner.
After finally arriving at Furong Garden, Xie Miao wanted to find an excuse to leave, but she saw Madam Marquis Dingyuan pointing her finger forward and asked: "Is that your cousin over there?"
Xie Miao looked up and was speechless.
Among the colourful hibiscus flowers, Su Panyan and Gu Youlan stood on the left and right of Cui Xijun, forming a confrontation with Princess Qingyang and her group across from them.
Even though they were not close, Xie Miao could clearly hear their conversation.
Cui Xijun's voice was clear and bold, "Princess Qingyang, you have been away for a long time. I'm afraid you don't understand the current fashion in the capital."
Princess Qingyang narrowed her eyes slightly, "Oh? Why don't you tell me?"
Everyone else could hear the unkindness in Princess Qingyang's words, but Cui Xijun was so overwhelmed by emotion that she blurted out: "You have stayed in Yandu for several years. It is desolate and empty, there is lack of supplies, and your living habits are completely different from those in the capital. The preferences are also very different."
Princess Qingyang seemed to be very nice and asked humbly for advice, "For example?"
Cui Xijun ignored Su Panyan tugging at her sleeves and kept chattering: "Just like the incense you use on your body. The fragrance is too strong and overpowering. If you smell it for a long time, you will easily become dizzy. And the jin bu ornament style you use was outdated a few years ago in the capital. It is now popular to braid tassels in plain and elegant colours..."
Princess Qingyang listened patiently, with a smile on her lips, but there was a sense of coldness.
Madam Marquis Dingyuan was used to seeing similar scenes, and she was very good at resolving conflicts. However, her thoughts changed and she looked at Xie Miao, "Miss Xie, won't you go over?"