Since she ascended the throne today, in the past 18 years, in addition to traveling with the holy car, the eldest princess of Anping has basically been closed in the princess's mansion and rarely goes out to the banquet.

In addition to the accident, I couldn't help but think deeply about the purpose of Anping's appearance here.

The atmosphere in the room was very lively at first glance, and there was a subtle feeling in the excitement, and the women who knew each other exchanged glances from time to time.

When the Duanmu Fei sisters appeared, the eyes of those ladies inevitably fell on Duanmu Fei, and their eyes became even more weird.

For Mrs. Chu's birthday banquet, Duanmu Fei was specially dressed up today, wearing a pink gown embroidered with red pomegranate flowers, a pair of lovely delphiniums embroidered on the pleated skirt, a thick green silk combed a lily bun, and a pair of red and gorgeous pomegranate beads on the bun, which lined her little face like jade, and the big eyes with slight picks at the corners of the eyes were as bright and lovely as a Persian cat.

In the eyes of everyone, Duanmu walked forward side by side with Duanmu Jun generously, looking at it without squinting, in fact, his eyes were looking around quietly, and he immediately found two other familiar figures.

Second Mrs. Zhang, Chu and Zhang Lan, had also arrived, and they were sitting on Mrs. Chu's right hand.

The little cousin is really there! The corners of Duanmu's crooked lips curled even higher.

The two sisters walked up to Mrs. Chu one by one, curtshowed together, and gave their respective birthday gifts.

Duanmujun prepared a pair of Hetian white jade Ruyi, and Duanmufei prepared a hundred longevity pictures embroidered by her own hands, which she has been embroidering since last year, so the cloak of Feng Yan has been in the embroidery basket for several days without moving.

"Ah Jun, Scarlet, you have a heart." Mrs. Chu smiled lovingly, let the eldest maid accept the birthday gift, and beckoned Duanmujun and Duanmufei to sit down.

Duanmu thanked Mrs. Chu, then looked in the direction of Chu and Zhang Lan, and bowed slightly at the two with a smile.

Zhang Lan also smiled back, adding a little more liveliness to her originally dignified appearance.

Chu Shi noticed his daughter's small expression and thought it was very interesting. Every time her daughter meets this Duanmu girl, she becomes much smarter.

Then, the sisters walked to Anping, and after saluting, they sat down beside Anping, and they were affectionate and affectionate between words.

The ladies present looked at this scene, and they all felt a little indescribable sigh in their hearts.

The emperor's "correct name" for Mu Yan on the sickbed has been spread throughout all the provinces in Beijing, but a few days ago, the attention of all the provinces was on the affairs of the Cheng'en Mansion, which did not cause an uproar, and now, everyone has calmed down, and they naturally accept this fact.

For the prefectures, Mu Yan's life experience is no longer the focus, but who will take the throne next.

The noble courtiers in Beijing did not dare to discuss this issue in the open, but in private, they all felt that Mu Yan was the most likely to ascend the throne.

It is really that what has been done in the past few years is really not on the table, and the princes of today have also made a lot of ugly things, which are despised, and now whether it is the people or Shilin, they all feel that the son of Emperor Chongming is more suitable for this throne than the princes of today.

Thinking of this, the ladies present looked at An Ping's expressions more complicated, envious, emotional, and amazed...... There is also respect.

"Her Royal Highness the eldest princess and the two Duanmu girls are sitting together, like a painting, if you don't know, you still think that you and the two Duanmu girls are sisters!" An old lady with gray hair and a round body complimented her with a smile.

A middle-aged woman next to her secretly said in her heart that the other party was flattering, but she said with a smile: "Mrs. Zhao is right, Her Royal Highness the eldest princess looks like she is in her early twenties. ”

They were flattering, but not exaggerated.

An Ping is already in her early thirties, but she is well-maintained, her elegance has not diminished, she seems to be several years younger than her actual age, her skin is like congealed fat, her lips are red and her teeth are white, and her beautiful phoenix eyes are extraordinarily bright, with a bit of grace and brightness.

She just sat there so elegantly at such a moment, and it made people can't take their eyes off it, and everyone present couldn't help but think of An Ping eighteen years ago.

Eighteen years ago, Emperor Chongming died, and now he has taken his place, ascending to the supreme position, and he tried to suppress the eldest princess of Anping, and even the Feng family was left out in the cold, who would have thought that the eldest princess of Anping would have a day to turn over!

Although Anping is only Mu Yan's aunt, not her biological mother, she raised Mu Yan since she was a child, and this kind of affection is better than that of mother and son.

If Mu Yan really ascends the throne in the future, Anping will definitely be more honorable than the Queen Mother in the future, and seeing that Duanmufei and her also get along, after Duanmufei passes through the door, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law are as close as mother and daughter, and Anping is really blessed!

The ladies present complimented An Ping with a word, and in the main hall, everyone laughed and laughed, and they were happy.

Some flattered, some watched coldly, and some exchanged glances with strange expressions.

Some of them have also heard that on the day the emperor woke up, he had denounced Xuanguo Gong and Anping's mother and son for conspiring together, and wanted to cure Xuanguo Gong and Anping's crime of rebellion, it seems that it is true, and today Anping came to attend Mrs. Chu's birthday banquet, which proves that Xuanguo Mansion supports Mu Yan's accession to the throne!

It is no wonder that for so many years, Xuan Guogong has not accepted the solicitation of any prince.

If Mu Yan really ascends the throne, then the Xuanguo Mansion will go to the next level!

However, it's hard to say!

Some people secretly shook their heads disapprovingly, thinking that the Xuanguo Mansion was inevitably too anxious, and with "that one" standing in the court, it was hard to say who would ascend the throne in the future!

Although Duanmu Fei has Cen Yin's somewhat different eyes and favor, whether Cen Yin will support Duanmu Fei's future husband to ascend the throne is another matter.

Between the words, Mama Yu and the other housekeepers in the house were still attracting guests one after another, and those elderly ladies or housewives stayed to talk, and most of the little girls and new daughters-in-law in the boudoir were sent to play.

These ladies who came today were also acquaintances, greeting each other, and the atmosphere became more and more enthusiastic, until a little maid hurriedly came and said:

"Mrs. Tai, the third princess has just arrived!"

There was silence in the main hall, and the atmosphere became very strange.

The ladies looked different, either raising their eyebrows in surprise, or showing a little smile, or looking at each other, or showing thoughtful expressions......

There was no dense and unventilated wall in this capital, and the matter of the three princes wanting to divorce their wives was in an uproar, although it didn't work out, but the three princes' dislike for Xie Xiangling was obvious, and no one thought that the three princes would take Xie Xiangling out of the palace to the Chu family's birthday banquet.

They glanced between Mrs. Chu and An Ping with puzzled eyes, and said secretly: Didn't the Chu family throw themselves at Mu Yan, but they handed over a post to the third prince, could it be that they wanted to offend both sides?

The Chu family frowned slightly and looked at Mrs. Chu at the top. Others don't know, but she knows very well that the third princess is just an uninvited guest, and the Chu family didn't invite the three princes and the three princesses and their wives to hold a birthday banquet this time.

It's just that today is the birthday of my mother, Mrs. Chu, and it is taboo to drive guests on her birthday, and according to the folk saying, she will lose her life, so she can only welcome people in.

Mrs. Chu didn't seem to feel the subtle atmosphere around her, she still smiled on her kind face, turned her head to Duanmu Jun and Duanmu Fei and said, "Ah Jun, Scarlet, you two little girls, don't sit here, go to the garden to play." ”

As she spoke, she looked at Zhang Lan again, and instructed in a friendly tone, "Sister Lan, you take them to play." ”

An Ping also smiled and agreed, urging the sisters to go play quickly.

"......" Zhang Lan's eyes widened slightly, a little entangled.

She's fifteen years old, she's already in her prime, and she can't always think about playing when she's so old.

However, this is her maternal grandfather's house, and she is also half a master, so she should help her grandmother greet guests.

Zhang Lan was entangled in her heart for a moment, but she still stood up obediently, bent her knees and blessed, and replied seriously: "Yes, grandmother." ”

Her solemn appearance seemed to be burdened with a heavy responsibility, which made Duanmu Fei laugh for a while, thinking that her little cousin was so cute.

The Chu family also saw the entanglement in her daughter's heart, and deliberately advised: "Sister Lan, you have to recruit Duanmu and the fourth girl for your grandmother." ”

As he spoke, Chu cast a grateful look at Duanmu Fei.

Compared with the last time the Chu family visited Duanmu's house, she looks a lot plumper today, and she is more energetic.

She had already received Zhang Wenche's family letter, which was handed to her directly after the people from the imperial court went to Jinzhou came back, and it was not just one, it was one per month, the Chu family was a smart person, knowing that this was for Duanmufei's face, she was grateful in her heart, and her eyes were softer when she looked at Duanmufei.

"Yes, mother, daughter knows." Zhang Lan responded to the Chu family again, and gracefully walked up to Duanmu Fei and Duanmu Jun, smiled lightly, and motioned for them to go with her.

The three girls walked out of the main hall.

The eyes of the others were all looking outside from time to time, and after a while, they saw Xie Xiangling, who was wearing a begonia red woven gold gown, followed a housekeeper and walked towards this side.

She wears a red gold Chaoyang five phoenix hanging bead hairpin on her head, and the bead string of the phoenix head hangs between her eyebrows, swaying and shining as she walks.

The whole person looks bejeweled, especially luxurious and dazzling.

Xie Xiangling walked towards this side with his head held high, his waist was particularly straight, and there was an unattainable arrogance all over his body.

Duanmufei and Duanmujun followed Zhang Lan out of the main hall, just opposite Xie Xiangling, Xie Xiangling of course also saw Duanmufei, his footsteps were slightly sluggish, and his red lips trembled violently.

Xie Xiangling's ears once again sounded the cold and ruthless voice of Mu Youjing in the imperial garden that day:

"That slut is so useless, if this palace marries Duanmu Fei, how can Mu Yan's wild seed be qualified to compete with this palace!"

"If it happens, just let that slut die violently and vacate the seat!"

Every word was engraved so clearly and profoundly in her heart, and it had been ringing in her ears again and again all this time, and she did not let her go even when she dreamed back at midnight, and she woke up from nightmares several times.

In just a few days, she has lost a lot of weight, and the green shadow of her eye sockets has used several layers of fat powder to cover up.

Xie Xiangling still can't figure out how the situation came to this point.

Obviously, two months ago, she was still the concubine of the Cheng'en Mansion and the future queen, and everyone had to be respectful and flattering in every way when they saw her, but now she is nominally the third princess, and who knows that her husband would like to kill her, so as to make room for Duanmufei to be the third princess.

As the old saying goes, ten years of repair can be crossed in the same boat, and a hundred years of repair can be slept together.

Mu Youjing was cold-blooded and ruthless, completely ignoring the love of husband and wife, and actually wanted her life.

Xie Xiangling began to believe that the rumors that Mu Youjing killed his mother, Concubine Jiang Ning, were true.

This man can even kill his own mother, so he will not show mercy to himself.

Of course she can't sit still, she is not happy, and she will not let Mu Youjing have a good time!

Xie Xiangling said to himself in his heart, a thick hatred flashed in his eyes, and he soon continued to walk forward casually, his chin raised higher.

In the midst of his thoughts, Xie Xiangling and the oncoming Duanmu Fei got closer.

Duanmu Fei and Duanmu Jun didn't intend to ignore Xie Xiangling and passed by her.

But Xie Xiangling didn't intend to let Duanmu Fei go like this, and at the moment when he passed by, he said in a weird manner: "Fourth girl Duanmu, don't you never go to Beppu for a banquet?" ”

In the past, their Xie family did not send invitations to the Duanmu family, but the shelves of the Duanmu family were very large, and they were never courteous.

"Why are you so interested in coming here today?" Xie Xiangling pursed his lips mockingly.

This time, Mrs. Chu was going to hold a birthday banquet, which also set off some waves in Beijing, after all, the Xuanguo Mansion had not been so high-profile for many years.

Xie Xiangling has been sending people to secretly stare at Mu Youjing during this time, and overheard that Mu Youjing was coming to Xuanguo Mansion to find Duanmu Fei today, so she simply concealed Mu Youjing's coming.

Mu Youjing didn't let her go out, but unfortunately the servants in the palace didn't listen to him, and since the queen couldn't get out of the palace, the palace was a little loose, and she wanted to leave the palace, no one cared about it at all.

"......" Duanmu Fei looked at Xie Xiangling inexplicably.

Xie Xiangling didn't intend to get Duanmu Fei's response at all, his eyes were sharp as knives, and he said mockingly: "I didn't expect that the fourth girl of Duanmu would also have a day of condescending and pleasing people?!" ”

Speaking of which, Duanmufei didn't want to help Mu Yan win over the Chu family, he wanted to get the support of the Chu family!

Duanmu Jun and Zhang Lan both frowned slightly, and said almost at the same time:

"The ...... of the Three Princesses"

"Please be careful!"

In the next moment, both of them were stunned.

Duanmufei held Duanmuxuan's arm with his left hand, and Zhang Lan's arm with his right hand, Duanmuxuan was okay, he was used to being pulled by his sister, but Zhang Lan was stiff and a little awkward.

Xie Xiangling stared at Zhang Lan gloomily, and the other party's "please be cautious" reminded her of the scene in Huilan Garden last year, which was too deceitful!

Duanmu Fei didn't look at Xie Xiangling, and said to Duanmu Jun and Zhang Lan with a smile: "Sister, Miss Zhang, aren't we going to play?" Let's go. ”

Duanmu hugged the two affectionately and left directly, leaving Xie Xiangling frozen in place in the breeze.

Xie Xiangling's forehead and the green tendons between his neck burst out, appearing and disappearing from time to time, as if something was rolling under his skin, and it was about to gush out at any time.

Seeing that she didn't move, the grandmother who was guiding her urged in a loud voice: "Third princess, please." ”

Xie Xiangling carelessly stroked her sleeves, a gloomy smile on the corner of her lips, and when she took another step, her face had returned to normal, and she walked towards the main hall as if nothing had happened.

Duanmu Fei, who was running against her, took Duanmu Jun and Zhang Lan and turned left into a winding verandah, walking all the way, saying all the way, and leaving Xie Xiangling behind.

"Fourth girl Duanmu, Mr. Qi asked me to ask when you are going to go to the girls' school for class?" Zhang Lan suddenly asked.

"......" Duanmu smiling slightly stiffened, and pursed her lips weakly, this is May, and the number of times she has gone to women's school this year is at most one palm.

She cleared her throat and muttered, "I've been busy lately. lest Zhang Lan not believe it, she added, "I'm busy being a female celebrity." ”

"Is it embroidered peacocks?" Zhang Lan said naturally.

Duanmu Fei almost didn't choke on saliva, how could even the little cousin know that she was embroidering peacocks.

Zhang Lan didn't notice Duanmufei's strange appearance, and continued: "I heard Dangui say that your peacock painting is very good-looking, and Dangui also said that Her Royal Highness the Fourth Princess has a hundred birds and phoenix skirt is also from your hand, and then ask the embroidery girl in the palace to embroider it, the birds are smart, and it is breathtaking." Fourth girl Duanmu, the next time you go to the girls' school, I would like to ask you to guide me in drawing birds...... "Mother always said that the birds she drew were lifelike, but they lacked a little aura.

It's just a trivial matter, Duanmu Fei was about to respond, but when the words came to her mouth, her heart moved, and she changed her mind.

"Chapter 5 girl, if you want to learn to draw birds, it's not appropriate to learn from women." Duanmu said matter-of-factly, "We should go to the Bird Market." If you think about it, of course, you have to look at the real bird and study the posture and demeanor of the real bird, otherwise it is not equivalent to 'talking on paper'? ”

Duanmu Fei was talking nonsense seriously, wanting to coax her little cousin to accompany her to the bird market to play.

Zhang Lan showed a thoughtful expression, seriously considered Duanmufei's proposal, and thought: Could it be that because of this, the birds she painted are a little less aura?

Duanmu Fei pursed his face slightly, covered his mouth and snickered, and took the opportunity to make an invitation: "Miss Zhangwu, it just so happens that I am free tomorrow, so let's go to the bird market together tomorrow, okay?" ”

Duanmujun was next to him, so he naturally heard this conversation, hooked his lips funny, and let his sister, who still claimed to be "busy", coax the five girls of the Zhang family to skip class and go out to play.

Zhang Lan thought that she wanted to ask Duanmu Fei how to draw birds, of course, she wanted her to cooperate with Duanmu Fei's time, not to let the other party cooperate with her own time, so she nodded and said, "I'm tired of Duanmu Fourth Girl." ”

Looking at the little cousin's serious appearance, Duanmu Fei almost laughed out loud, for fear that the little cousin would see the clues, so he endured it and said quietly: "It's a trivial matter." ”

As they spoke, the three of them had already walked out of the verandah, walking along a cobblestone path all the way to the northeast, and the garden of the Guogong Mansion appeared at the end of a bamboo forest in front of them.

"Chapter 5 girl, what kind of bird do you like? To draw a good bird, it's best to start with your favorite bird. Duanmu said with a smile, his eyes shining.

As soon as Duanmu Jun saw his sister's cunning little expression, he guessed that she was going to "coax" Zhang Lan again.

Zhang Lan felt that Duanmufei was reasonable, and thought about it seriously.

The song of the yellow warbler is crisp and pleasant, the dance of the swallow is light and agile, the starling is lively and clever, and the parrot ......

Zhang Lan thought about walking forward, the breeze was blowing, and there was a melodious pipa sound with the wind.

Zhang Lan came back to her senses and suddenly found that they had arrived outside the west gate of the garden.

Duanmu Fei looked at her and asked again with a smile: "Miss Zhangwu, what bird do you like?" ”

"Thrushes, warblers, parrots, starlings...... It's all good. Zhang Lan replied, and looked at Duanmufei with some surprise, and found that Duanmufei was very familiar with the Chu family, and she didn't need to lead the way by herself, so she walked to the garden by herself.

Surprise flashed in her heart, and Zhang Lan immediately thought that her grandmother, Mrs. Chu, had always liked Duanmufei, and she heard that Duanmufei often came to visit her grandmother, and she often came to the garden of the Guogong Mansion.

"The song of the thrush is melodious and tactful, and it is suitable for cage keeping." Duanmu smiled and stroked his palm, "Parrots are good, they look cute, and they can learn tongues, they must be much smarter than my little eight." ”

Her stupid starling has obviously studied with her sister for so many years before she learned so many words, and her heart is very ambitious, and she has been staying at Cen Yin's place for a few months.

"Hachi is very smart!" Zhang Lan said.

The three of them walked into the garden one by one, and a burst of fragrant floral fragrance came to their nostrils, refreshing people's hearts.

The sun hung high in the blue sky, the brilliant light sprinkled softly, and in the garden, the laughter of the maidens and the sound of the pipa were mixed together, and spread with the wind, a lively and lively atmosphere.

The girls who came to pay their respects gathered in twos and threes, some were listening to the pipa storytelling, some were chatting and admiring the flowers, and some were sitting in the pavilion by the small lake to feed the fish......

The arrival of Duanmu Fei and Zhang Lan inevitably attracted the attention of many people, and there was a commotion in the garden, and more and more people looked in their direction.

Duanmu Fei didn't care about the eyes of others, her attention was focused on her little cousin, and she continued to fool her: "Miss Zhangwu, tomorrow we will go to the bird market to pick a well-behaved and intelligent bird for you." ”

"Pick me a bird?" Zhang Lan stopped, blinked suspiciously, and was puzzled: Aren't they going to the bird market to see the birds?! How did you become a bird for her?!

Duanmu Fei said solemnly: "Yes." If you raise a bird, you can observe its every move every day, and you will naturally be able to catch its charm. ”

Duanmu Jun tried hard to hold back his laughter, and watched his sister first coax Zhang Lan to skip class to play in the bird market, and then began to coax her to raise birds.

Zhang Lan didn't pay attention to Duanmujun's abnormal appearance, and struggled a little in her heart.

Duanmu smiled and walked forward unhurriedly with Zhang Lan, and continued to coax the little cousin: "Let me tell you a secret, the best ones I draw are my Xiaoba, Tuanzi and Feipian, because I know every charm of them by heart, and I can draw them with my eyes closed." If you don't believe me, I'll draw it for you next time. ”

Zhang Lan looked at Duanmu Fei in amazement, as if to say, it turned out to be like this.

"Sister Jun, Scarlet, Ah Lan!" Dangui, who was originally feeding the fish in the pavilion, saw Duanmujun, Duanmufei and Zhang Lan, and raised his hand and waved at them.

Lan Tingyun and Chu Qingshi and several other Chu family girls were also in the pavilion, and they also smiled at Duanmu Fei and the others.

Duanmufei and the three of them entered the pavilion and sat down, but before they could talk to Dangui and Lan Tingyun, other girls came over one after another to greet Duanmufei, some just came to say hello, and some came to greet each other.

For a while, the pavilion was full of girls, coming and going.

At the same time, there were other guests who followed the maids of the Guogong Mansion one after another, each with acquaintances and friends, and the girl began to play with the pot and wooden shooting, shooting and guessing riddles, and the garden became more and more lively.

Finally finished dealing with those who came to see the ceremony, Duanmu Fei was a little dry, she picked up the teacup, drank a few sips of tea, moistened her throat, and was about to continue to coax Zhang Lan to raise birds, but saw that there was a commotion around, and many girls raised their eyes to look at the west gate of the garden.

A sixteen or seventeen-year-old young woman in a purple dress walked into the garden under the guidance of the maid, the young woman was delicate, pulled a delicate peony bun, and wore a pair of butterfly hairpins with red gold inlaid rubies on her head, the ruby embedded in the hairpin sparkled in the sun, between the steps, a faction of noble arrogance, faintly exuding a breath of no one to enter.

The girls present all knew this young woman, and their expressions became very subtle, whispering to each other, and occasionally there were conversations such as "Jiuhua County Lord", "Why is she here" and so on.

Since the lord of Jiuhua County got married, she has been living in a simple house for many years, rarely going out, no one expected that she would come to Mrs. Chu's birthday banquet today, and in addition to doubts, many speculations could not help but arise in her heart.

------Off topic------

Early!