Chapter 77 Banquet
Shortly after Mingyi Hall was inspected, the Jiang family also received an invitation to a night banquet in the palace.

Emperor Hong Xiao has been fond of simplicity and dislike of luxury since childhood, but the current Empress Dowager loves excitement. Although Emperor Hong Xiao and the Empress Dowager are not biological mother and son, they get along well with each other. Emperor Hong Xiao's biological mother, Concubine Xia, died early, and the Empress Dowager had no children, so the late emperor raised Emperor Hong Xiao under the Empress Dowager's lap. They have maintained their friendship for so many years, and it can be said that the mother is loving and the son is filial.

In addition to entertaining the ministers, everyone knew that Emperor Hong Xiao would also award the top scorer of the etiquette examination at the palace banquet, which was a great honor for both the student and the family. Therefore, even though Old Lady Jiang did not like Jiang Li very much, she ordered the people around her to do their best to prepare clothes and jewelry for Jiang Li to use at the palace banquet, and not to make any mistakes.

Jiang Li's life was a little better than before. At least after the inspection, the servants in the Jiang Mansion would not talk about her in a loud and careless manner as before, but would talk about her behind her back. Although it was a little sad, it was an indisputable fact that Jiang Li's status was a little higher than before.

Many officials in the Yan Dynasty's Yanjing city would attend the palace banquet, but this time, the Imperial Envoy Meng Youde could not go.

Compared to the lively scene in the past, the Meng family's house has been extremely desolate in recent days. The flowers and plants in the garden seem to be unattended and many of them have withered. The withered yellow leaves fell outside the flowerbed, and even the hot summer felt a bit cold.

At night, the lights in the house were dim, and in a room near the back, someone could be heard talking. It seemed like an argument, and after a while, there was a "pop" sound, something was broken, and someone slammed the door and walked out.

It was Meng Youde.

In just a few days, Meng Youde also became haggard and vicissitudes of life, no longer as proud as before. Someone chased out from behind, it was Meng Youde's wife, Mrs. Meng.

"Master, Master--" Mrs. Meng begged while trotting.

"No need to say more, send her back to the farm to recuperate tomorrow. If she continues like this, something bad will happen sooner or later!" Meng Youde said without turning his head.

"That's your daughter, how can you be so cruel!" Mrs. Meng screamed.

"I'm cruel?" Meng Youde stopped, turned around abruptly, and pointed at the tightly closed door in the distance. "Look at her now. Will it be okay if she stays in the mansion? Now I have offended Princess Yongning, and the Right Prime Minister no longer cares about me. My career ends here! All this is caused by your good daughter! If she hadn't been so ignorant and made a bet with Jiang Li, if she hadn't shot Princess Yongning with that arrow on the horse field, how could I, Meng Youde, be in this situation?"

"But..." Mrs. Meng wanted to say something.

"She's crazy now! She's my own daughter, shouldn't I feel bad for her? But she's crazy! It may not be a good thing for her to stay in the Meng family. If others knew that she was crazy, who would dare to marry her in the future? If she stays in the manor for a while, comes back after she gets better, no one will know that she was crazy, isn't that good?"

Mrs. Meng gradually calmed down after hearing this. She looked at Meng Youde and asked sadly, "What happened to Hong Jin at Princess Yongning's place? Is there really no way for us to avenge her?"

"Revenge?" Meng Youde sneered. It was unclear whether the anger was directed at Princess Yongning or at himself. He said, "Behind Princess Yongning is King Cheng. King Cheng's power is so great that even Your Majesty is afraid of him. In the future..." He sighed, "The people should not fight with the officials, and the officials should not fight with the emperor!"

The helplessness and indignation in her tone made Mrs. Meng silent instantly.

Inside the room, in a corner of the bed, Meng Hongjin huddled in the corner, clutching the quilt tightly, looking at the person coming with vigilant eyes, and said, "Go away... Go away!"

There was a broken medicine bowl on the ground, with the medicine juice spilled all over the floor. A maid was bending over to clean up the mess on the ground, while another maid was whispering to Meng Hongjin to comfort her: "Miss, it's okay, I won't hurt you."

"Go away!" Meng Hongjin screamed, "It wasn't me, it wasn't me!"

Meng Hongjin has been like this since she woke up after being sent back by Princess Yongning's people three days ago.

Meng Youde and Madam Meng were afraid that Princess Yongning would torture Meng Hongjin, so the first thing they did when they came back was to have someone check Meng Hongjin's body for any injuries. After checking again and again, no injuries were found. But Meng Hongjin became like this after waking up. He hid when he saw people, as if he had been greatly frightened. He didn't recognize the people around him, and it seemed that he had even forgotten himself.

No one knew what happened to Meng Hongjin at Princess Yongning's place. Only the crazy Meng Hongjin and Princess Yongning knew all this. No one dared to bring charges against Princess Yongning, even Meng Youde. As long as he wanted a future, Meng Hongjin was destined to make a meaningless sacrifice.

……

The princess's mansion was brightly lit, completely different from the Meng's mansion.

The young dancers in the hall were wearing thin gauze clothes and dancing lightly. The white gauze covered half of their faces, revealing a pair of clear and beautiful eyes. They were full of tenderness and all looked towards the person in the center of the hall.

The man in the center has a high nose, deep eyes, thin lips, and thick eyebrows. His facial features are handsome, but his narrow and long face makes him look a bit cold and unapproachable.

This is King Cheng.

"Brother, take whichever one you think is good from me." Princess Yongning said dejectedly.

King Cheng glanced at her and asked, "Why are you so listless?"

"There's nothing interesting, so of course I'm listless." Princess Yongning propped up her head with gentle eyes. It was unknown what she was thinking about, and she became a little irritated.

King Cheng said, "Didn't you bring back the young lady from the Chengxuanshi residence a few days ago? Why is it still boring?"

Hearing this, Princess Yongning was a little surprised and said, "I'm surprised you would pay attention to such a thing." She picked her nails and said, "Don't mention it. Meng Hongjin looks powerful, but she is actually a weak person. I just took her to the prison in the princess's mansion. I didn't even touch her, but she was so scared that she peed her pants." Princess Yongning showed a disgusted expression, "Looking at her like that, I didn't even have the pleasure of torturing her, so I sent her back."

"The horrific scenes in your prison are so terrible that even a man might not be able to endure them," King Cheng laughed. "No wonder she went crazy after seeing these things."

The prison in the Princess Mansion was filled with people who had displeased Princess Yongning, and Princess Yongning hated them but didn't want them to die immediately. So she kept them here and came up with some torture methods, such as peeling off half of their skin, or digging out their knees, imitating the cooking punishment. In short, it was not an exaggeration to say that it was hell on earth. Although Meng Hongjin was arrogant and domineering on weekdays, she had only seen a few maids being beaten to death in the Meng Mansion. Such a living and tragic scene was enough to scare her and became an eternal nightmare in her heart.

“It’s boring.” Princess Yongning sneered. “Of course, to torture someone, you have to keep her under your nose and torture her slowly. It’s more fun. It’s better if she struggles to death. When she tries hard to survive and there is a glimmer of hope,” she blew out the flame of a small lamp in front of her. She seemed to find it very funny and laughed. Then she said, “Just like this, blow out her last glimmer of hope and make her despair. That’s interesting. The prey that knows how to resist and struggle is the best prey…”

King Cheng smiled faintly: "You are talking about Xue Fangfei, right?"

Princess Yongning curled her lips and was about to answer when someone outside came to report, "Mr. Shen, the Secretary of the Central Secretariat, is here."

Princess Yongning's eyes lit up when she heard this. The weariness in her eyes was instantly swept away. She said happily, "Let him in!"

King Cheng calmly picked up the teacup in front of him and took a sip without saying anything.

After a while, Shen Yurong was led in. He first saluted King Cheng, then looked at Princess Yongning and said, "Your Highness."

Princess Yongning was overjoyed when she saw him, and her expression was even more approachable than before. She said to King Cheng, "I invited Lord Shen here. Brother, didn't you say a few days ago that Wenchang Pavilion was short of people..."

King Cheng frowned slightly, seeming somewhat dissatisfied with Princess Yongning's impatience. Fortunately, Princess Yongning was the only one who got carried away. Shen Yurong still stood in the hall, dignified and upright, without looking sideways. King Cheng was somewhat satisfied with him.

Princess Yongning and King Cheng had a very good relationship, so she could see that King Cheng was satisfied with Shen Yurong, and she was very happy and a little proud, as if she was proud of Shen Yurong. Ever since she was shot by Meng Hongjin's arrow that day at the horse farm, many people came to the princess's mansion to care about her health, but Shen Yurong was not one of them.

Shen Yurong is now a secretary of the Central Secretariat, and is also a person that Emperor Hong Xiao values. His wife died not long ago, and it is not a good thing to be seen by others getting too close to a princess like her. Princess Yongning is not ignorant of this truth, but she just can't help but miss him. Shen Yurong is not actually flattering to her, nor is he as flattering as other men, but the more he is cold and indifferent to Princess Yongning, the more Princess Yongning loves him like this.

Princess Yongning thought that Shen Yurong was born to defeat her. She abandoned her self-esteem and face for Shen Yurong, even killed his wife, and smiled in front of him that she never showed to others, all just to make Shen Yurong return her love.

She loves Shen Yurong very much.

King Cheng began to ask Shen Yurong some questions. Shen Yurong stood straight, neither humble nor overbearing, and had the demeanor of a capable person. King Cheng's satisfaction with Shen Yurong became stronger and stronger. Although Shen Yurong and Princess Yongning had an affair, King Cheng thought it was not a big mistake.

People who achieve great things don't care about trivial matters, so what about a useless woman?
People in the world are either stepping stones or stumbling blocks. Stepping stones should be stepped on and stumbling stones should be thrown away.

Shen Yurong only got rid of a stumbling block, but his future path will become wider and smoother.

……

"Shen Yurong has arrived at Princess Yongning's residence, and Prince Cheng is also here." The black-clad guard came to report.

In the study of the Duke's Mansion, Ji Heng put the books he had taken out back from the wooden shelf.

The guard disappeared silently again.

"It seems that Shen Yurong and King Cheng are in touch." Lu Ji took a sip of tea and looked at Ji Heng with a smile.

"It's only a matter of time." Ji Heng put the books back and did not leave. Instead, he stood in front of the yellow pear wood shelf, seemingly looking for other books.

"Congratulations, your business has gone one step further." Lu Ji said, "Shen Yurong has hooked up with King Cheng. King Cheng has added a great general to the new nobles, and his power will increase a lot."

Ji Heng replied nonchalantly: "Shen Yurong is ambitious, and so is King Cheng. Ambitious people have the same smell. Just like wolves won't hang out with dogs, Shen Yurong would not choose an emperor in the court, but only King Cheng. Only King Cheng can satisfy his ambition."

"Your Excellency is still good at judging people." Lu Ji sighed, and suddenly remembered something, and said: "It's a pity for Cheng Xuanshi Meng Youde. Meng Youde used to be the right prime minister's man. Now he has offended Princess Yongning, which means he has offended King Cheng. The right prime minister is King Cheng's man, so naturally he will not use Meng Youde again. Meng Youde is actually very capable-"

The Meng family originally worked for the Right Prime Minister and were also subordinates of King Cheng. Now, because of the accident at the horse farm involving Meng Hongjin and Princess Yongning, the Meng family was destined to be abandoned by King Cheng. In fact, it was not King Cheng who was angry, but Meng Youde's daughter was harmed in such a way. Even if Meng Youde said that he didn't care and still worked for King Cheng, he couldn't help but feel resentful in his heart.

If there are complaints, maybe one day they will bite back. King Cheng is cautious and suspicious, and will never use Meng Youde again. In fact, based on Meng Youde's ability, he may not be a bad helper in the future. Even if you stand on the standpoint of an outsider, you have to feel sorry for King Cheng.

Unfortunately, things have come to this point and cannot be undone.

"This time it's also because of Miss Jiang Er." Lu Ji smiled and said, "Before, Ye Shijie changed his plan because of Miss Jiang Er's rescue. Now Meng Hongjin also changed his plan because of Miss Jiang Er's help. Both times, it was because of Miss Jiang Er that your plans were hindered. Miss Jiang Er and you really have a bad fate."

"You mean Miss Jiang didn't mean it?" Ji Heng asked. "Didn't your Excellency think so?" Lu Ji replied with a smile, "Otherwise, you wouldn't have asked Wen Ji to investigate who was behind Ye Shijie's suggestion."

Ji Heng finally found the book she was looking for on the wooden shelf, pulled out the scroll, turned around, and a golden butterfly embroidered on the corner of her bright red robe flew gracefully past behind her.

He said, "It's Miss Jiang Er."

Lu Ji stopped smiling and looked at Ji Heng: "Jiang Family..."

"It's not the Jiang family." Ji Heng slowly raised the corners of his lips and revealed an ambiguous smile: "It's the Second Miss Jiang."

"Isn't it interesting?" Ji Heng leaned back and said lazily, "I suspect that this Second Miss Jiang is here to defeat me."

……

The summer is long and autumn is about to come, but it seems that there is still no cool autumn feeling coming. The sun continues to shine brightly and the flowers in the garden are wilted in the sun.

So the late rain is always especially welcome.

It rained at night and it didn't stop in the morning, but it turned from a heavy downpour to a drizzle. The rain dripped down the eaves into a fine bead curtain, dripping on the bluestone bricks in the yard, washing the bluestone bricks exceptionally clean, like ancient jade, and it seemed that you could still smell the fragrance of the soil.

Tong'er came in with breakfast and was surprised to see Jiang Li still not awake. Jiang Li used to wake up early and didn't have the habit of being lazy. Every time Tong'er brought breakfast, Jiang Li had already finished washing up.

"Girl." Tong'er called softly.

On the bed, Jiang Li suddenly opened her eyes from her sleep, and seeing that it was Tong'er, she hesitated for a moment before realizing what time it was. She sat up and pressed her forehead. Tong'er saw that Jiang Li's forehead was covered with cold sweat, and was stunned for a moment. She quickly found a towel to wipe Jiang Li's forehead carefully, and said, "Miss, are you having a nightmare? You are sweating a lot."

Bai Xue was also walking in from outside. Upon hearing this, she walked to the window and pushed open a few windows. The cool breeze from outside blew in all at once, and the room was not as stuffy as before. Jiang Li seemed to be much more sober as well.

She said, “I had a dream.”

"It was a nightmare," Bai Xue said, "It's okay. There is a saying in our countryside that if you have a nightmare and feel uncomfortable, you can go out in the sun and it will be fine. If you feel scared, let's go out in the sun..."

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Tong'er interrupted Bai Xue before she could finish her words. "It's raining outside right now, where is the sun?"

Bai Xue finally came to her senses and said, "Oh, then wait a few more days to dry it."

Tong'er asked Jiang Li: "What did you dream about that made you so scared?"

Although Jiang Li tried her best to hide it, the fear and panic in her eyes still revealed a little. She usually did things with a smile, as if nothing could bother her, so once she lost her composure, it was particularly obvious.

"Nothing," Jiang Li suppressed the emotions in her eyes and said, "I just dreamed of an old friend."

Last night, she dreamed of Xue Zhao again.

Unlike the dream of Xue Zhao she saw during the last horse race, this time, Jiang Li saw Xue Zhao being locked up in a prison-like place, guarded by many people, all of whom looked ferocious. Xue Zhao was covered in blood and hung upside down in a cell. Jiang Li wanted to get close to him, but was separated by iron bars. She called Xue Zhao's name, but Xue Zhao didn't move at all, and it was unknown whether he was dead or alive.

Then, people who came from nowhere began to torture Xue Zhao. They burned Xue Zhao with red-hot irons and poured salt water mixed with chili peppers on him. Xue Zhao began to scream, and Jiang Li was in great pain, but she couldn't touch Xue Zhao.

It was not until Tong'er woke her up that Jiang Li realized she had been dreaming.

She couldn't help but feel a little anxious. Why did she dream about Xue Zhao? It was said that dead relatives would appear in their dreams at night, but why did Xue Zhao let her see those things in her dreams? What kind of place was that? Was it hell? But a young man like Xue Zhao, who had never done anything bad, was sincere and passionate, upright and brave, should not go to hell anyway.

And the feeling of being powerless looking at Xue Zhao was more painful than killing her.

Although it was just a dream, Jiang Li found it hard to let it go. In addition, the weather was cloudy and rainy today. Not sure if it was affected by this, Jiang Li didn't want to say anything and was very silent.

Jiang Li's silence was noticed by the maids in Fangfei Garden. Tong'er and Bai Xue didn't know why, but seeing that Jiang Li didn't want to be disturbed, everyone just did their work silently.

In the afternoon, Feicui, who was by Madam Jiang's side, came to Fangfei Garden and asked Jiang Li to go to Wanfeng Hall, as Madam Jiang had something important to tell her.

After Jiang Li responded, she returned to the house to change her clothes. During this time, Bai Xue asked, "I wonder what the old lady wants you to do over there."

"Is there any need to ask?" Tong'er said as she put on Jiang Li's outer garment, "Of course it's about the palace banquet. Tomorrow is the palace banquet, and our girl not only has to go, but also has to accept the gift from His Majesty. With such a great honor, the old lady will definitely give the girl detailed instructions to avoid any mistakes. However," Tong'er hummed softly, "Since I returned to Beijing with the girl, I have never seen the girl make any mistakes. It's better to worry about the third lady and the others themselves..."

Tong'er's temper was also a bit rude, perhaps because he had been raised in the mountains for too long. When Jiang Li heard these words, she couldn't help laughing, and the gloom that had been there since early in the morning was somewhat dissipated.

Seeing that Jiang Li finally smiled, Tong'er and Bai Xue also breathed a sigh of relief, and heard Jiang Li say, "Yes, the old lady must have asked me to go over because of the palace banquet. Let's go now."

At this moment, in Wanfeng Hall, except Jiang Li, all the women from the first, second and third rooms were present.

Jiang Yuanbai was the prime minister of the dynasty, Jiang Yuanping was a third-rank official, and although Jiang Yuanxing was only a schoolmaster, he could also attend the palace banquet because of his two elder brothers. The palace banquet was a big event, representing the Jiang family's reputation, so Mrs. Jiang naturally had to give instructions on some matters.

These matters have been discussed almost completely, and it is the same every year. Since Jiang Li will be going with us this year, I will give her some extra instructions again.

While waiting for Jiang Li to arrive, Mrs. Lu might have felt bored, so she asked Ji Shuran, "Sister-in-law, I heard that the date for Youyao and Prince Zhou's marriage has been decided?"

After these words were spoken, the expressions of the people in the room varied.

Madam Jiang showed no sign of emotion, but the people in the third room were all filled with surprise, apparently it was the first time they had heard of it.

Ji Shuran smiled gently, "My sister-in-law's information is quite accurate. I discussed it with Ningyuan Hou's wife a few days ago. She thought that Youyao has reached the age of marriage and could get married earlier. Next winter would be the best time."

Next winter, Jiang Youyao will be almost sixteen years old.

Jiang Youyao's face immediately flushed when she heard this. However, since everyone knew about her marriage with Zhou Yanbang, there was no need to be shy about it. She just lowered her head shyly and said nothing.

Jiang Yu'e was shocked. She had known for a long time that Jiang Youyao and Zhou Yanbang's marriage would be completed sooner or later, but she didn't expect it to be so soon. Zhou Yanbang was the son of Ningyuan Marquis. Ningyuan Marquis had only this son, and the entire Ningyuan Marquis Mansion would belong to him in the future. Jiang Youyao could manage the household and become the marquis' wife after she married him. Besides, Ningyuan Marquis' son Zhou Yanbang was a famous handsome man in Yanjing City. He was knowledgeable and talented, and had a gentle temperament. Jiang Youyao would definitely have a good life after getting married.

Jiang Youyao married a good man. Jiang Yu'e couldn't help but think of herself. Her father was just a schoolmaster, not to mention how humble his official rank was. He was also a concubine's son in the Jiang family, and he was not very close to his uncles. Although she tried hard to please Ji Shuran, Ji Shuran would definitely not be too devoted to her marriage. There were very few people who could help her. No matter what, she could not marry such a perfect husband like Jiang Youyao.

Seeing him thinking about herself, Jiang Youyao thought about her own future fate, and couldn't help but sigh in her heart, feeling both resentful and unwilling.

Mrs. Lu smiled and said, "Youyao is so lucky. The Zhou prince is the one that everyone in Yanjing wants to marry. But sister-in-law," she asked with concern, "don't forget that Li'er is also from our Jiang family. Li'er is still my elder sister. Li'er's marriage has not been decided yet, but Youyao's marriage has been decided first. It will inevitably cause some gossip, right?"

This is a bit subtle. Everyone knows that Jiang Youyao's marriage originally belonged to Jiang Li. Jiang Youyao is not only occupying the magpie's nest, but also trying to seize the initiative.

Old Madam Jiang closed her eyes slightly, turning a deaf ear to the open and secret struggles between her two daughters-in-law. The scene before her was already very familiar. Ji Shuran looked gentle but had a strong hand, while Lu was vain and competitive. When the two of them got together, it was inevitable that they would have some bumps and bruises. In the end, it was just a harmless quarrel, and it would be fine as long as it did not affect the overall situation.

"Thank you for your concern, sister-in-law." Ji Shuran seemed not to hear the sarcasm in Lu's words, and replied in a friendly manner: "The master also asked me to pay attention to Li'er's marriage, and I am also concerned about it. At Li'er's age, it is time for her to get married, but no one has proposed marriage yet, and I haven't seen a better one. I don't want to marry Li'er off in a hurry. If sister-in-law finds a good candidate, please let me know. I will let the master take a look and make his opinion. After all, I dare not make a decision on Li'er's lifelong event easily. Mother and master have to see it first."

Ji Shuran easily avoided Jiang Youyao's words about snatching someone's marriage away, and then subtly belittled Jiang Li. It is said that a family with a daughter will be sought after by hundreds of families, but Jiang Li has been back in Yanjing for so long, but no one has come to propose marriage to her. People look down on Jiang Li, and the Jiang family will not take the initiative to send their daughter to them. Later, she pushed all the marriage matters of Jiang Li onto Madam Jiang and Jiang Yuanbo, and took all the blame herself.

Unfortunately, Jiang Li just walked to the door of Wanfeng Hall when she heard Ji Shuran's words and couldn't help laughing.

Tong'er was so angry that smoke was coming out of her head. Seeing Jiang Li was still smiling, she was a little confused. Ji Shuran had said that to her, but Jiang Li was not angry and was smiling. What was so funny?

Jiang Li stepped into Wanfeng Hall and said, "Old Madam."

Madam Jiang's eyes darkened. Jiang Li still called her "old lady" instead of "grandmother". She seemed to be deliberately trying to distance herself from her, or the Jiang family. Madam Jiang could see that Jiang Li could not be considered the same person as the second Miss Jiang. Jiang Li had changed a lot, but Madam Jiang didn't know whether this was a good thing or a bad thing.

Mrs. Lu turned her eyes away with a gloating look, thinking that after Jiang Li heard what Ji Shuran had just said, she would definitely say something back to make Ji Shuran unhappy, and she was always happy to see that happen.

But Jiang Li seemed not to have heard Ji Shuran's slander just now. After calling the old lady, she bowed to them one by one without mentioning a single bad thing about Ji Shuran.

Jiang Yu'e looked at Jiang Li's new pleated skirt with scattered flowers - the reward given to Jiang Li by Old Madam Jiang after inspection, and her eyes were red with jealousy.

Jiang Youyao stared at Jiang Li. Thinking of what she had heard from the maid before, that Zhou Yanbang wanted to cancel his engagement with her and find Jiang Li, she couldn't help but look at the resentment in her eyes.

Jiang Li stood there calmly, ignoring their gazes.

She didn't care at all.

(End of this chapter)