Naturally, no one will object to this proposal, so Mrs. Gao pointed to the woman who had just helped her into the door and introduced: "The one next to the old man, I think many ladies have seen it when they entered the house, it is the niece of the old body, the pearl of the palm of the Pinglu Ziqing Festival, and the name of the boudoir is called 'forgetting the truth'." In the past few days, thanks to her help in preparation, this hairpin banquet was successfully held. ”

Xi Lingyue's gaze had already fallen on the beautiful woman, and she was so shocked that she almost stood up, her hands clutching the corners of her sleeves. Forget the truth! It turns out that she is Li Wangzhen! I saw that this woman was seventeen or eighteen years old, with sideburns like clouds, eyebrows like distant dais, clear eyes, cherry lips, skin as smooth as white, and a slender waist wrapped in a water-colored Luo skirt, standing so straight, like a hibiscus out of the water, elegant and refined. At this moment, the candles in the room seemed to be burning for her, reflecting her unparalleled temperament, which was heartbreaking.

This is the daughter of the Pinglu Ziqing Festival envoy, and she is also the first local beauty, with a talent that matches her family background and appearance, and she is also favored by her parents, and she can choose her own husband! Xilingyue lowered her head, thinking that she was still quite delicate, in comparison, she was like a female doll who had not grown up, and Li Wangzhen had already become a beautiful marriageable woman.

Suddenly, she really felt the meaning of the words "dwarfed", and she also felt Li Heng's inferiority. It turns out that there is really a temperament in this world that she can't learn, it is a kind of charm that really belongs to everyone's ladies, and only one standing posture is vividly expressed, making her humble to the dust.

When she came to Zhenhai, she still had a glimmer of hope, thinking that Li Wangzhen was not worthy of his name, so her father would force that person to be his son-in-law, and he didn't even consider his family background. However, when she finally saw Li Wangzhen in person today, she had to admit that Li Wangzhen was a good match for that person.

For a while, Xilingyue was quite devastated, and her heart seemed to be beaten hard, and it was extremely difficult. Later, she couldn't hear what everyone in the hall said, so she just stared at the table silently and looked sad.

I don't know how long it took, Ah Luo quietly tugged at her sleeve: "Sanniang, it's time for you to introduce." ”

Introduce? What to introduce? Xilingyue was stunned for a moment, and then remembered that Mrs. Gao asked everyone to introduce herself, so she had to gather her mind and stand up, and Ying Ying saluted: "Runzhou Jiang Yunyi, my father Jiang Feng is a former doctor in the court, and now he has been a doctor for many years. ”

All the ladies already knew who she was, and they all smiled at her at this moment and said a few polite words, but Li Wangzhen, who was under Mrs. Gao, looked at her in a daze, with some surprise on his face. Xi Lingyue didn't know what she was looking at, but after thinking about it, she probably heard that she had found out about the assassin, so she looked curiously, so she didn't take Li Wangzhen's eyes to heart, and sat down.

After a short time, the ladies were all introduced, and Mrs. Gao announced the opening of the banquet. The maidservants entered with jade plates of delicacies, and the music sounded at this time, and the dancers entered with them, dancing with their bodies. For a while, the music and dance in the hall were harmonious, and the clothes and temples were overwhelming.

Just as everyone was watching with relish, a singer slowly jumped out of the dancing girl, flung her sleeves and sang:

Persuade the king not to spare the golden clothes,

Persuade the monarch to cherish his youth.

Flowers can be folded straight and must be folded,

Don't wait for no flowers and empty branches.

This song and this dance is said to be a scene in the Zhenhai Festival, and the poem has long been famous in the south of the Yangtze River. The person who wrote the poem was the courtesan in front of him, named "Du Qiu", who was Li Qi's maidservant, and the merry children of Jiangnan Mu Qi's name were called "Qiu Niang".

Her poem also has a unique meaning, and there are different opinions. Some people say that it means to be happy in time, some people say that it is an expression of love between men and women, and some people say that it is to persuade you to cherish your years and work hard...... It was precisely because of the different opinions that the literati and scholars had to take it out for arguments whenever they gathered, which made the poem famous and even spread to Chang'an.

Xiling Yue is also very familiar with this poem. At the age of sixteen, the first time she confessed her heart to the man was to copy this poem and give it to him, and he gave her a peach blossom in return. I thought that the two were childhood sweethearts, and they promised each other, and nothing could separate them...... However, in a blink of an eye, he was about to marry another beautiful woman......

The more Xiling Yue thought about it, the more sullen she became, and she didn't watch the next few songs and dances. Unexpectedly, after singing and dancing, Mrs. Gao suddenly said: "Fangcai's song and dance, all the ladies have seen it, the first hairpin of this hairpin banquet is to ask you to choose any song from these songs and dances and make a fu." ”

A warbler laughed and came, and I don't know which family's daughter opened her mouth to greet her: "Madame's vision is high, this hairpin banquet in your house actually has the style of the Tengwang Pavilion assembly back then!" ”

"Yes, yes," the lady next to her also smiled and echoed, "Back then, Wang Zi'an's "Preface to King Teng's Pavilion" shocked the audience, and I don't know which of the sisters and sisters present has such talent and can make another "Hairpin Banquet Preface"? ”

"I'm afraid that this preface is so well written, we don't dare to write it!"

"Huh? Speaking of which, we also gathered in the pavilion, what a coincidence! ”

For a while, the famous ladies on the table laughed a lot, and they were able to give a few sentences in the "Preface to King Teng's Pavilion". Someone in this side of the box mentioned "Wuhua Tianbao, outstanding people", and someone in the side of the box recited "Xiongzhou fog column, handsome Xingchi". Everyone, you and I are saying a word, almost memorizing the entire "Preface to King Teng's Pavilion", and the atmosphere has really become lively.

Xi Lingyue listened boringly, raised her eyes and swept to Mrs. Gao, but saw that she was expressionless, and she didn't seem to be interested.

Strange, why didn't Mrs. Gao react to such a timely article? And she clearly remembered that Li Qi's study hung a whole "Preface to King Teng's Pavilion". Xiling Yue was thinking about it, only to hear a lady half-jokingly answer: "Speaking of which, what's so difficult about being an endowment, but if you come out on top, does Madame have any reward?" ”

This question finally made Mrs. Gao's face smile: "Naturally, there is a reward." Poetry and songs, piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, and hairpin banquets should be tested one by one. This first hairpin is a gift, whether it is an ancient fu or a pun, it is not limited to anything. If you get the first name, the old body will pick a unique flower from the autumn chrysanthemums in the garden and give it away; There are seven more competitions, and each winner will be rewarded. After eight competitions, you will judge the leader of this hairpin banquet with the old body, and the old body will have his own generous gifts. At this point, she shouted out in a loud voice, "Someone." ”

Sixteen servants entered, divided into groups of eight, and carried two objects about five feet high and one and a half feet wide, each with a red silk cloth on them, and it was impossible to see what they were. Seeing that everyone was curious, Mrs. Gao pointed to it and smiled: "This pair of screens was newly made last month, and no one has seen it yet. ”

(End of chapter)