Chapter 79 Swaggering
The ladies in the palace were all familiar with the Jiang family's women. As the most prominent official family in Yanjing City, the Jiang family would always invite the Jiang family's wives whenever they had a banquet. In addition to Yang, Ji Shuran and Lu often met with these ladies. The second house had no daughters, and in the eight years since Jiang Li left, there was only Jiang Youyao in the first house, and many people had forgotten that there was a Jiang Li. They saw Jiang Youyao more often, but rarely saw Jiang Li.

What impressed me most was Jiang Li's grace in two consecutive inspections, one for piano music and the other for the horse racing field.

Outsiders have the impression that Jiang Li is a person who makes a splash when she does not make a sound. However, those who did not go to see and verify the performance did not comment on it, thinking that it was just a rumor spread by word of mouth, and that Jiang Li was not as good as the rumor said. Therefore, the palace banquet became an opportunity to confirm the rumor.

Everyone was staring behind Ji Shuran.

Behind the old lady, Ji Shuran and Lu were in front, Yang was behind, and among the girls, Jiang Youyao was walking in front.

Jiang Youyao has a sweet and delicate smile on her face. Her clothes and manners show that she is a well-off young lady who does not suffer from worldly troubles. In addition, Ji Shuran also strives to make Jiang Youyao look decent and steady. You know, men look at women for their beauty, wisdom, and the women themselves, but when a wealthy family chooses a daughter-in-law, in addition to this, they also look at the daughter-in-law's temperament and ability, and whether she can manage the peace of a backyard.

Especially when Zhou Yanbang attempted to break off the engagement a few days ago, Ji Shuran was extremely angry. If it weren't for the Ningyuan Marquis' wife coming to apologize in person, and if Jiang Youyao really admired Zhou Yanbang, Ji Shuran would definitely not let the Zhou family have it so easy.

The more outstanding Jiang Youyao is, the more it proves that in this marriage, Jiang Youyao and Zhou Yanbang are by no means a match out of reach, but are more than enough.

Jiang Youyao walked in gracefully like a blooming flower bud. Her beauty made the Yuming Palace more attractive. Some ordinary-looking ladies looked at Jiang Youyao and couldn't help but feel ashamed.

Raised in an enviable official family, with incomparable beauty, loved by family, innocent, smooth marriage, handsome and gentle husband, and well-matched, isn't this something that everyone envies? Even though most of the young ladies present came from wealthy families, every family has its own problems. Some young ladies from wealthy families don't have a life as glorious as they seem on the surface, and suffer in their hearts.

Jiang Youyao took in everyone's envy and felt quite proud, so she walked a lot faster.

Walking behind Jiang Youyao was Jiang Li.

In fact, in terms of family ranking, Jiang Li should have walked in front of Jiang Youyao. But no one told Jiang Li, and Jiang Youyao walked in front on her own. Jiang Li didn't care about it. In her opinion, it didn't matter who came first or later.

Everyone watched helplessly as a girl as beautiful as water walked out from behind the flower-like Jiang Youyao.

Compared to Jiang Youyao's gorgeous dress, she looked too plain, too plain. But in the plainness, her distinct facial features were like the heavy ink and color in a landscape painting, giving people infinite charm.

Miss Jiang walked slowly and calmly, looking gentler and more stable than Jiang Youyao. If Jiang Youyao was a romantic official lady in Yanjing City, this girl was more like a beautiful and intelligent fairy in the mountains. The former was suitable for the beauty of flowers and clusters, while the latter was suitable for the indifference of being detached from the mundane world.

Someone noticed that Jiang Li's slender wrist did not have any jade bracelets, but a string of black Buddhist beads. The beads were warm and made her wrist look as white as jade.

Someone recalled that Jiang Li had stayed in a nunnery on the mountain for eight years. Although the nunnery was now known to be a place of filth and dirt, it did not seem to affect the spiritual clarity and Buddha nature that Jiang Li acquired there at all.

She is very smart.

The girl also had a smile on her lips. Different from Jiang Youyao's smile, Jiang Li's smile was more like a knowing smile that came from the bottom of her heart. It was very peaceful and comfortable, as if she had no worries at all. When people looked at her, their hearts would also be soothed.

The wife of Ningyuan Marquis, who was talking to Ji Chen, frowned.

Ever since Zhou Yanbang mentioned that he wanted to cancel the marriage with Jiang Youyao, the wife of Ningyuan Hou had been worried. Although she and Ye Zhenzhen were very close, Ye Zhenzhen had died many years ago. As the daughter left by Ye Zhenzhen, Jiang Li was naturally not favored as Ji Shuran's biological daughter. In addition, Jiang Li caused Ji Shuran to have a miscarriage and became notorious, so Ye Zhenzhen gave up the idea of ​​marrying into the Jiang family.

Even though the Jiang family is wealthy, no family would dare to marry such a cruel and ruthless lady with a disgraced reputation.

But unexpectedly, Ji Shuran took the initiative to come to her.

Ji Shuran seemed to know exactly what she was thinking. She just said that she was also reluctant to give up this marriage, and even more reluctant to give up a relative like Ning Yuan Hou. After thinking about it, although Jiang Li was not suitable, the Jiang family had more than one daughter.

The wife of Ningyuan Hou was overjoyed. In her opinion, there was no better in-law in Yanjing City than the Jiang family, and Jiang Youyao was not bad compared to Jiang Li. First, she was also the legitimate daughter of Jiang Yuanbo, and second, Jiang Youyao was satisfactory in terms of appearance, talent, and temperament. Later, Zhou Yanbang also came to see and had no objection to the marriage. The wife of Ningyuan Hou thought that the matter was settled.

Who knew that not long after Jiang Li returned to Beijing, Zhou Yanbang suddenly came up with such a ridiculous idea.

The wife of Ningyuan Hou was shocked. Somehow, Ji Shuran knew that Zhou Yanbang wanted to break off the engagement. Fearing that Ji Shuran would blame her, the wife of Ningyuan Hou had to apologize to Ji Shuran and even asked Ji Chenshi to come and talk to her while she was tied up. After using both emotional and rational means, Zhou Yanbang finally stopped mentioning this stupid idea. However, the wife of Ningyuan Hou, who knew her son's character, knew that Zhou Yanbang had not given up on this idea.

Furious and upset, Ningyuan Hou's wife was afraid that Zhou Yanbang would cause trouble again, so she planned to come to the palace banquet today to see what Jiang Li looked like. Ningyuan Hou's wife did not go to the two inspections, so she didn't know how Jiang Li got so popular. Even though she heard many people around her praising Jiang Li on the inspection field, she sneered.

Now, she finally saw what the girl who had bewitched her son looked like.

To be fair, Jiang Li's eyebrows and eyes are like Jiang Yuanbo, with clear and distinct features, but her features are like Ye Zhenzhen, with a kind of innocent and honest. However, her eyes and her smile are neither as free and easy as Jiang Yuanbo's, nor as simple and lively as Ye Zhenzhen's.

That kind of gentleness caught people off guard, but also made people feel as if she knew everything.

Mrs. Ningyuan Hou's heart sank. It was not surprising that Jiang Li, with this kind of appearance, could win Zhou Yanbang's heart.

But she couldn't let this happen. If Zhou Yanbang didn't give up, Jiang Li would sooner or later become an obstacle between Zhou Yanbang and Jiang Youyao. If the marriage failed, it would end up in enmity. If it really ended in enmity with the Jiang family, it would be better not to have this marriage.

The wife of Ningyuan Hou just felt a headache.

People didn't know what Ningyuan Hou's wife was thinking, and they only cared about the girls from the Jiang family. Jiang Youyao was charming and lovely, Jiang Li was pure and elegant, but Jiang Yu'e who came after her seemed too vulgar, and Jiang Yuyan was mediocre and did not attract people's attention.

Therefore, it became a deeply rooted fact that the two daughters of the Jiang family had their own merits, at least in terms of appearance.

As soon as the female members of the Jiang family arrived, many people came over to greet them warmly because of their status. Ji Shuran naturally sat with Ji Chenshi. Lushi also sat with the ladies she was familiar with. Yangshi had no friends and no one came to flatter her, so she had to sit next to Madam Jiang and Jiang Yu'e and Jiang Yuyan, looking a little neglected.

Jiang Li went straight to find Liu Xu.

She was the only familiar friend. Liu Xu had been bored by herself for a long time. She was overjoyed to see her. After Jiang Li and Madam Liu exchanged greetings, she pulled Jiang Li aside and said, "I heard that Zhou Yanbang and Jiang Youyao's marriage has been finalized?"

Jiang Li was surprised for a moment. She didn't expect the news to spread so quickly. She smiled and nodded.

"It's okay." Liu Xu held back for a long time, but couldn't come up with any words of comfort. Finally, she patted her hands and said, "There are countless men in the capital who are better than Zhou Yanbang. The man you find in the future must be ten thousand times better than Zhou Yanbang. You really lost out by following Zhou Yanbang."

Jiang Li almost burst out laughing. She sensitively noticed that someone was looking at her. She looked up and couldn't help but be stunned. The person staring at her was her former sister-in-law, Shen Ruyun.

Shen Ruyun's eyes were as harsh as ever, with a bit of pickyness, making Jiang Li a little dazed. It was as if she followed Shen Yurong to the Shen family in Yanjing for the first time. At that time, Shen Ruyun was sitting in the house and looked at her with the same eyes as if she were looking at things. Jiang Li didn't understand it at that time, but now Jiang Li understands that the eyes were trying to figure out what kind of situation she could use and how much benefit she could bring to the Shen family.

In fact, Shen Ruyun and Xue Fangfei were not enemies from the beginning. Jiang Li remembered that when Shen Yurong had not yet passed the imperial examination and became an official, Shen Ruyun always pretended to be nice and called her "sister-in-law" affectionately, no matter how many faults she had.

But ever since Shen Yurong became the top scholar, Shen Ruyun no longer took herself seriously.

Seeing Jiang Li staring at Shen Ruyun, Liu Xu was puzzled: "Do you have any grudge against her? Before you were not around, it was Shen Ruyun who said that Jiang Youyao had snatched your marriage and was with Zhou Yanbang. Isn't this deliberately making trouble and using you as a scapegoat? Have you offended her in any way?"

"I didn't offend her." Jiang Li shook her head. She knew in her heart that the reason Shen Ruyun was making trouble with this matter was naturally because of Zhou Yanbang. Others didn't know, but she, the sister-in-law, knew that Shen Ruyun had admired Zhou Yanbang for many years, and now she finally had the confidence to talk about marriage with Zhou Yanbang, but Jiang Youyao got there first. How could she not be angry?

Maybe she even hated herself. If Second Miss Jiang and Zhou Yanbang had not been engaged first, how could Third Miss Jiang have taken over the marriage and engaged Zhou Yanbang so early?

Jiang Li wondered what Shen Ruyun's expression would be like after she knew that her sister-in-law had blocked her marriage. Thinking of this, she couldn't help but feel funny.

Jiang Li's smile was even more dazzling to Shen Ruyun. And Shen Ruyun always felt that Jiang Li's demeanor and behavior were always very familiar. However, Shen Ruyun was sure that this was the first time she saw Jiang Li, and this familiar feeling made Shen Ruyun unhappy. She snorted, turned her head, and stopped looking at Jiang Li.

After chatting and laughing for a while, a palace maid came in to report that the queen mother had arrived.

All the ladies stood up to welcome the Queen Mother.

The current Empress Dowager was not the biological mother of Emperor Hong Xiao, but she was kind and merciful. She often worshipped Buddha and did good deeds, and she did not care about worldly affairs. Because of this, there was a dispute between Concubine Xia and Concubine Liu in the harem. At that time, it was rumored that the Empress had no children and her position as Empress would not be secure. However, Concubine Xia later died of poor health. Emperor Hong Xiao was raised by the Empress Dowager, and the late Emperor intended to support Emperor Hong Xiao as the Crown Prince, so Concubine Liu restrained herself a little.

Later, the late emperor passed away, the queen became the empress dowager, and Concubine Liu Shu became Concubine Liu. Concubine Liu's son and daughter are now Prince Cheng and Princess Yongning. Prince Cheng is older than Emperor Hong Xiao, and the forces that supported Prince Cheng were ready to make a move, so Emperor Hong Xiao's throne was not secure.

This is also the reason why people in the court now show respect to King Cheng.

Emperor Hong Xiao had no relatives to support him, he only had himself, but not many people supported him. One day, the throne might be handed over to someone else, and it seemed that King Cheng had much more than Emperor Hong Xiao.

The Queen Mother wore a purple and gold palace gown and a cloud crown. Speaking of which, the Queen Mother had reached her prime, but perhaps because she had taken good care of herself, she didn't look much older than the Queen when she stood beside her. It could be seen that she was very graceful when she was young. She had a smile on her lips and looked very kind.

Behind the Queen Mother was the mother of the King Cheng, Concubine Liu. Standing next to the Queen Mother, Concubine Liu looked much older than the Queen Mother. However, this did not affect Concubine Liu's character at all. She was dressed in bright clothes, and the pride in her eyes was exactly the same as her daughter, Princess Yongning.

The moment Jiang Li saw Princess Yongning, her blood ran cold.

Princess Yongning was wearing a glittering gold-embroidered gauze dress. That thin piece of gauze was the result of the hard work of countless weavers. She was also as beautiful as a flower, and compared to Jiang Youyao's girlish beauty, she was even more charming. Standing in the hall, she had the attitude that a proud girl should have, and she didn't need to look down on anyone.

Hearing that Concubine Liu was arrogant, the Queen Mother did not bother with her. In the entire harem, Concubine Liu had the final say. Emperor Hong Xiao was weak, let alone the Queen. Therefore, almost no one dared to refute what Princess Yongning said.

When the Queen Mother saw everyone standing up, she smiled and said that there was no need to be polite, and asked everyone to sit down. The palace banquet would begin soon. Seeing Princess Yongning looking around as if she was looking for someone, Jiang Li sneered in her heart. Princess Yongning was undoubtedly looking for Shen Yurong.

But he truly admired Shen Yurong.

The female members of the family arrived early and the palace banquet was held in the Yuming Palace. Outside the Yuming Palace was a long flower pond and pavilion. After the night banquet, they could admire the moon and the flowers, which was very elegant.

After a while, the male relatives also arrived one after another.

Men and women sat at different tables, but they were in the same hall. Northern Yan was different from the previous dynasty. If a woman saw a strange man in public, she didn't have to avoid him. But it was still a bit shy, so some shy girls turned their backs to avoid being shy.

Jiang Yuanbai followed the two brothers Jiang Yuanping and walked over. Jiang Yuanxing seemed a little embarrassed because he was not very close to the two brothers.

Jiang Li saw Ye Shijie, who had made a name for himself and was destined to enter the government soon. Some young nobles became friends with him, and there were many people walking around him, and Ye Shijie seemed to get along well with them.

Jiang Li breathed a sigh of relief.

If Miss Jiang Er had a strong maternal family, it would be good for her future.

Ye Shijie was in high spirits, and following behind him was the second place winner of the Imperial College examination, Li Jing, the eldest son of the Right Prime Minister's Mansion, who was supposed to be first but was taken by Ye Shijie.

Li Jingsheng's appearance is ordinary, and compared with his brother Li Lian, he is not popular with girls. But God is also fair. Li Jing is not handsome, but he is very talented. Li Jing is handsome and charming, but he is an uneducated and unskilled dandy.

The brothers Li Jing and Li Lian came in with the right prime minister Li Zhongnan. Many brave girls followed and looked at the brothers.

After all, the Right Prime Minister is now more and more powerful, and can almost compete with the Jiang family. If the Jiang family used to be the leader of civil officials, now the position of the Jiang family's leader of civil officials is also in jeopardy because of the growth of the Right Prime Minister. The two brothers Li Jing and Li Lian have naturally become popular.

Jiang Li's eyes only stayed on the two brothers of the Li family for a moment before sliding away. For her, she did not intend to have any dealings with the Li family. Ye Shijie had already been reminded of what should be reminded, and it seemed that Ye Shijie did a good job. He did not communicate with Li Jing and Li Lian, and obviously listened to her reminder.

No matter what the Li family plans, it will be safer as long as Ye Shijie ignores them.

According to the Imperial College's red list, Ye Shijie was at the top, Li Jing was second, and the third was naturally Zhou Yanbang, the son of Ningyuan Marquis.

Jiang Li soon saw Zhou Yanbang.

It wasn't that she wanted to pay attention to Zhou Yanbang, but the way Zhou Yanbang looked at her was too undisguised and too passionate. If there weren't so many people around, I'm afraid someone would have noticed. Jiang Li was a little annoyed. Zhou Yanbang's behavior was really disgusting and uncomfortable.

Others didn't pay attention to Zhou Yanbang, because although he was a young talent, he was already engaged. But Ningyuan Hou's son and Ji Shuran's mother and daughter had been paying attention to Zhou Yanbang's every move since he entered the house.

Seeing Zhou Yanbang immediately start looking for Jiang Li after entering the room, several people became anxious.

The wife of Ningyuan Hou's head buzzed, and she immediately felt something was wrong. Zhou Yanbang was not afraid of being caught, and his performance was too obvious, which inevitably upset Jiang Youyao and made Ji Shuran unhappy.

Ji Shuran and her daughter hated Zhou Yanbang to the extreme. On the one hand, they hated that Zhou Yanbang was weak-willed and easily led by others. On the other hand, they hated Jiang Li, the instigator. If Jiang Li had not seduced Zhou Yanbang, how could he be so obsessed!
Jiang Li stood up decisively and changed her position to block Zhou Yanbang's gaze. She really didn't want to have any unclear intersection with Zhou Yanbang. After the Mingyi Hall inspection, her reputation had just improved, and she didn't want it to disappear because of Zhou Yanbang.

Zhou Yanbang was a little disappointed when he couldn't see Jiang Li, but he recovered in a flash and continued to look like a handsome young man, chatting and laughing with others.

Jiang Li walked through the crowd and finally saw Shen Yurong.

Shen Yurong was wearing her official uniform today. Jiang Li had never seen Shen Yurong like this before. When she and Shen Yurong were husband and wife, Shen Yurong was warm, gentle, and tolerant. After Shen's mother's birthday banquet, she saw Shen Yurong only a few times. At that time, she felt guilty, and Shen Yurong just kept silent.

But Shen Yurong now is very different from what she was back then.

He was wearing the official uniform of a third-rank court official. He had risen from a common scholar to fame, and the official robe seemed to have added infinite glory to him. He still looked gentle and elegant, but his eyes were already sophisticated and mature.

Jiang Li watched him talking with his colleagues. His colleagues were trying to please him, but he was being superior. For a moment, Jiang Li felt that Shen Yurong looked very much like Princess Yongning.

They both think they are the best and look down on others.

Jiang Li shifted her gaze and looked at Princess Yongning on the other side.

Princess Yongning did not hide her admiration for Shen Yurong, and almost followed Shen Yurong. However, it seemed that the affection between the flowers and the flowing water was not as strong as imagined, and Shen Yurong did not even glance at Princess Yongning.

Jiang Li couldn't help but sneer in her heart. Of course, she had to cover it up in public. Princess Yongning had the status of a princess, but Shen Yurong was a cautious person and would not let anyone catch him. He was always very careful, just like he had deceived her in the past.

However, Xue Fangfei is already dead, and Princess Yongning has done everything she can to make room for her, the original wife. How come she still can't become a wife of the Shen family? Jiang Li's heart suddenly flashed with a trace of pleasure, but the pleasure disappeared in an instant. To be honest, Jiang Li now really wants to see what will happen to Princess Yongning after she marries into the Shen family. She doesn't know if it will be as happy as they thought, or if there will be resentment between the two.

Then, Jiang Li saw the people of the Ji family, including Ji Shuran's father Ji Yanlin and Liu Xu's father Liu Yuanfeng. King Cheng came later, and after arriving, he greeted the Queen Mother.

The last to come was Emperor Hong Xiao.

This was the second time Jiang Li had seen Emperor Hong Xiao in two lifetimes. Emperor Hong Xiao was now twenty-seven years old, which was a very young age for an emperor. In the seven years since he ascended the throne, there had been no major turmoil in the Yan Dynasty. Even so, his throne was still precarious and not as stable as it seemed.

Everyone in the court knew that King Cheng was the biggest threat to Emperor Hong Xiao. Seven years ago, Emperor Hong Xiao ascended the throne hastily, and King Cheng was defeated. In seven years, could Emperor Hong Xiao catch up with King Cheng?

Nobody knows.

Next to Emperor Hong Xiao stood a young woman. She was very beautiful, delicate, and charming, but her clothes were not gorgeous, and could even be described as simple. With a smile on her face, Liu Xu whispered to Jiang Li, "That's Concubine Li, Jiang Youyao's aunt."

Jiang Li suddenly realized that this was Ji Yanlin's eldest daughter, Ji Shuran's elder sister, Concubine Li.

When she followed Shen Yurong into the palace last time, she did not see Lipin, but she had known about this person for a long time. Some people said that Lipin was like Concubine Xia to the late emperor, and was the late emperor's favorite woman. However, the difference between Lipin and Concubine Xia is that Lipin has the Ji family behind her, while Concubine Xia has nothing behind her.

Jiang Li looked at Lipin, who looked even younger than Ji Shuran. She looked like a young girl, and she didn't know how she maintained herself. She was very gentle and kind, and didn't give any instructions. Compared with the high-ranking Princess Yongning, she was even more approachable. However, Jiang Li also knew that if Lipin was really as weak and non-confrontational as she seemed, she would not have fought her way out of the harem and become the favorite concubine of Emperor Hong Xiao.

Those who don't have any ability have already become victims of the law of the jungle. How can they stand safely beside Emperor Hong Xiao and pretend to be humble like a winner? It's all an act.

Lipin said something to Emperor Hong Xiao, and Emperor Hong Xiao waved his hand, and Lipin came forward to greet Ji Chen and Ji Shuran.

Jiang Youyao went to see this aunt as she should. The noble ladies around her all looked at Jiang Youyao with envy. Having an aunt like Lipin was even more glorious than having an aunt like the queen. Although the queen gave birth to the prince, the prince was only five years old. If Lipin also gave birth to a little prince, given the emperor's favor for Lipin, it was still unclear who would be the prince in the future.

After all, changing the crown prince was not unheard of in previous dynasties.

I don’t know what Ji Shuran said to Lipin. Lipin also looked at Jiang Li with a smile. There was no special emotion in that look, but Jiang Li felt inexplicably uncomfortable.

Liu Xu asked, "Aren't you going to meet them?"

"They didn't ask me to go." Jiang Li said indifferently: "I won't go."

Liu Xu was stunned. After a while, she seemed to finally understand and said happily, "That's really your temper."

Jiang Li laughed. She was not like Jiang Yu'e, who needed to curry favor with Ji Shuran, nor was she like Jiang Youyao, who had a blood relationship with Lipin. She and Lipin were only aunts in name. Maybe this was the first time that the former Second Miss Jiang met Lipin.

After all, Lipin is Ji Shuran's sister, so she naturally has to stand on Ji Shuran's side. They are destined to be enemies, and this hostile stance will not change just because Jiang Li comes forward to greet them.

Don't do meaningless things, especially if it's something you don't want to do. Xue Huaiyuan said this, and Jiang Li also kept it in mind.

Just as Emperor Hong Xiao was talking to the Empress Dowager, the eunuch came to report that more people had arrived.

Being able to arrive later than the current emperor, this person is really brave. You have to know that people like King Cheng still follow the etiquette. Jiang Li looked up and saw a person walking slowly outside the corridor outside the palace gate.

The young man was wearing a bright red robe with gold weaving on it. The hems of the robe were flowing, and the brilliance they cast under the bright lights was more dazzling than the gems inlaid on the pillars of the hall.

Such complicated and gorgeous clothes will overshadow any person whose appearance is not beautiful enough, and make it seem as if "the clothes are wearing the person", unless the person is an unparalleled beauty with delicate features without a single flaw, and is also extremely graceful, in which case one can barely match the appearance.

But when this dress is worn by the young man, it is not just a barely fitting outfit, but it can be said to perfectly complement the outfit. Seeing him wearing this dress, one can't help but sigh in one's heart. One has to admit that he is the only one in the world who can wear such clothes and it does not waste the gorgeous clothes.

The gorgeous clothes are more dazzling than jewels, and his beauty is more ostentatious than the gorgeous clothes.

It was the Duke of Su, Ji Heng.

　The Duke is using his beauty to commit crimes again~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)