♂?，，

  Chapter 8

  It was just past the hour of Si, and Madame Lu, the wife of Duke Luguo, arrived at Antai Temple with her daughter-in-law and granddaughter. The wife of the eldest son of Marquis Fuchun followed closely behind. As Madam Xues hometown is far away in the southwest, she invited her cousin, who serves as a minor official in the Dali Temple, to come and celebrate her birthday. This officials wife is a clever person, and she also arrived early with her children to help Madam Xue save face.

  More than half a time had passed, and the guests arrived one after another.

  The male guests were led by Prince Yuanhao into the Minghe Tower in the outer courtyard. The female guests all followed Madame, the princes wife, into the main house of the Antai Garden, while the young ladies were accompanied by sisters Minghe and Mingshu to settle down in the warm pavilion of the west wing.

  The Yongning Marquis Manor has been a prominent family for centuries, with a seat in the imperial court since the founding emperor. Although they have experienced ups and downs over time, they now not only remain standing but also have the empresss favor, as she is pregnant with an heir. If she gives birth to the crown prince, the wealth and glory of the Gu family will be boundless. The ladies had been instructed beforehand, so upon arrival, each one tried their best to win over Old Lady Zhu, filling the main hall with laughter.

  Inside the western wings warm pavilion, it was another scene altogether.

  Originally, Ming Xuan and Lin Yue were entertaining the sisters of the Zhu, Luo, Jian, and Xue families together. Although they werent very familiar with each other, Lin Yue and Huan sister were both lively and enthusiastic, Lin Yues family lived in Longxi, and Huan sister had been to Ningzhou Prefecture twice, so they told some interesting stories about their hometowns, which really attracted everyones attention.

  After all, they are relatives, and everyones temperament is still quite compatible, so as they chatted, they all became familiar with each other.

  Later, Minghe brought Mingyu over, and seeing that everyone was flattering Mingxuan and treating her as the hostess, they all felt a bit uneasy. Minghe was still okay, she would become the princess of the county king in the future, being dignified and magnanimous was a necessary quality, if she couldnt even tolerate such small things, she might be said to have lost her identity.

  But Ming Yan was used to being flattered, and this made her feel neglected. She immediately turned red with anger, "Jian, come here, I have something to say to you!"

  The voice was somewhat sharp, with a strong and irresistible tone, which suddenly interrupted the laughter in the warm pavilion. Everyone looked at Ming Xian with some surprise.

  Ming Xuan also felt it was somewhat inconceivable.

  Jian Sese is the eldest daughter of Fuchun Hous son, 14 years old this year, one year older than Ming Xiang. Ming Xiang had just called her elder sister by name in front of everyone, and her tone was also very impolite, which was openly disrespectful to her elder sister. If someone told this to the official, they could impeach Ming Xiangs father Gu Changming for being a family that is not strict.

  A family in disorder cannot be governed by a single individual; great words are of no avail, and small matters become important.

  Ming Xuan furrowed her brow, then immediately gave a signal to Lin Yue with her eyes. The two of them continued the story they had been telling earlier, and soon the other sisters also joined in, none of whom paid particular attention to Ming Xuans actions, which slightly calmed her nerves. She thought to herself, Fortunately, everyone in the room is just my own sisters; otherwise, this really would have become a joke.

  Minghe saw Mingxu being a bit excessive, so she cleared her throat and beckoned to Jian Sese, "Sese, come here. Just now I met my aunt with Xiangxiang outside, and she had some words for me to pass on!"

  Jians eyes flashed a hint of displeasure, but she still smiled and got down from the warm bed, walking over to Minghes side.

  "Yuans sister let out a cold snort, Meis sister is also too unruly! Today is Grand Aunts birthday, with so many eyes watching, how dare she behave like this?! Although Se-Se isnt her own cousin, in terms of status its an ironclad fact that shes the legitimate eldest daughter of the Marquis of Fuchun, how dare she order around the legitimate eldest daughter of the Marquis of Fuchun like this!"

  The only daughter of Fuchun Hou, Mrs. Jian, had a daughter named Jian Se-se. Afraid that after a hundred years there would be no one to inherit the title, she chose a talented nephew from her old family to adopt and establish as the heir, who was Jian Se-ses father, Jian Cheng-yu. However, Mrs. Jian, relying on being the birth mother of Fuchun Hou, looked down on her brother and sister-in-law from her old family for not having seen the world, and often showed disdain in her words and actions. Ming Yu learned from her example and had always been unfriendly to Jian Se-se.

  Before Jian Chengyun got his title, he wouldnt easily offend the Jian family, so Jian Sese could only endure and yield to Ming Hua.

  These rumors had long been a topic of conversation in Shengjing City. However, hearing about it was one thing, and seeing it with her own eyes was another. Zhu Yuyuan couldnt help but feel the urge to stand up for Jian Sese after witnessing Ming Xiangs arrogance.

  Ming Xuan gently patted her shoulder and smiled, "Happy days, whats the point of talking about these idle things? We sisters rarely gather together, isnt it better to talk about something interesting?"

  Before long, the young ladies from various official residences arrived one after another. Seeing that Ming Xuans side was bustling with people, even more people went over to join in.

  Ming Xuan felt a bit resentful, but she couldnt understand why those sisters who had interacted with her before would abandon the future Duchess of Qingping and instead fawn over Seventh Sister, who had been publicly rejected. Just last month, at the poetry club hosted by the Third Miss of the Gongshun Marquiss household, people were still making fun of this incident. How could they all have forgotten in just a few days?

  She was unwilling to be treated coldly, and even more unwilling to see Ming Xuan being pursued after being looked down upon before. She wanted to stir up trouble again, but was stopped by Ming He in the end.

  Minghes face fell, "If theres anything unpleasant in my heart, Ill have to wait until Grandmothers birthday banquet is over before speaking. I heard that the Princess of Dongping is currently selecting a marriage for her son, and the third master of Anguo Gongfu has also reached the age of marriage. These two families are good matches, and Mother is thinking of ways to arrange it."

  She saw the look of surprise on Ming Xuans face, and sighed, "Just now being so rude to Se Se, if the princess and Madame Anguo knew about it, Im afraid they would have a very bad impression. Not knowing how to restrain oneself, do you want to make a big joke at grandmothers birthday banquet?"

  As soon as she finished speaking, Zhu Yuwen laughed and said, "Ah, brothers all came to celebrate grandmas birthday! Xuan sister, the one wearing blue is my eldest brother, followed by my second and third brothers. The one in sky-blue brocade is Prince Dongpings son, and next to him is the seventh son of Duke Luguos family. Hmm, isnt that... Prince Qingpings son also came?"

  Ming He heard the six words "Qingping Junwang Shizi" and his body trembled slightly.

  She turned her head and saw that the sisters in the other room had lifted up the curtain of the warm pavilion, all crowded together to take a look at the young masters of the noble families who came to pay their respects to Old Lady Zhu. She also felt some excitement and wanted to take a peek at her fiancé, but after all, she couldnt bear to lose face, so she sat stiffly on the beautiful couch without moving.

  For the past three years, it was the first time she saw a man other than her brother. She had some curiosity. At a glance, these young masters looked quite good and their figures were all tall and straight, worthy of being called "noble jade quality". But in her heart, she knew that her future marriage would not fall on any of them, so she didnt take it seriously like other sisters did.

  She quietly gave up her position and happened to see Minghe staring at the tea water on the table.

  Ming Xuan thought to herself, among the sisters in her family, Ming Ju was selfish, Ming Wei was gloomy, and Ming Xiao was overbearing. Only this sixth sister, although she often put on airs and seemed a bit cold, was actually a sensible person who had never looked down on her because of her humble origins. As for the Crown Prince of Qingping, he appeared to be gentle and must also be a good-natured person. The sixth sister could be said to have gotten a good marriage.

  But oneself is...

  The great uncle is necessary to make peace with the Duke of Jianan again, and the grandmother also made it clear that she can only secretly think of a way for herself. However, Ming Lian was sent away to the Zhuangzi overnight, and its definitely not just a simple case of dysentery. The great aunt seems to be really angry with Ming Lian, but its also impossible for her to promote Ming Wei to marry over. Even if the great aunt wants to, the Duke of Jianan may not want a wife born from a courtesan, that would be ridiculed by people.

  It seems that if no one pays attention to her recently, then no matter how hard she tries to please the Empress Dowager Dongping, whats the use? In this era where a woman must rely on her family to survive, she has no way to resist the orders of her uncle, unless she dies. But she survived the disaster and finally breathed in fresh air again, even if it meant changing times and dynasties, she didnt want to die again.

  Ming Xuan suddenly felt very depressed.

  Yuans sister stretched out her hand and pulled at her clothes, lowering her voice to call out, "Xuans sister, come quick and take a look!"

  Ming Xuan poked her head out and saw a young man standing in the main house, wearing a purple brocade robe. He had a handsome face with sharp features, exuding an air of calmness and composure all over his body. Although he looked like he was only in his early twenties, even from a distance, one could still feel the intimidating aura emanating from him. This man not only had a deep and complex character but also appeared to be a decisive and ruthless individual.

  Suddenly, the man seemed to have noticed something, and his starry eyes glanced over sharply. Ming Xuan inadvertently met his gaze, feeling that the mans eyes were like emotionless ice peaks, freezing peoples hearts with fear.

  She trembled in her heart and leaned close to Yuanyuans ear, asking softly, "Who is this person?"

  Yuans sister seemed to have anticipated that she would ask this, and hastily whispered in her ear, "Indeed, it seems like youve forgotten everything. That person is Han Xiu, who publicly broke off the engagement. Three years ago, he was only twenty and already a second-grade official as the Left Censor-in-Chief. According to my father, last year he was transferred to the Ministry of War, and in just half a year, he was promoted to the first-grade official as the Vice Director of the Chancellor. Currently, in terms of power and influence in the imperial court, aside from Prime Minister Pei, its him!"

  She suddenly looked surprised, "Han Xiuying knows that he is not very welcome in our mansion. On a good day like Aunties birthday, why did he still come over and make things difficult for everyone? Is he deliberately trying to cause trouble?"

  Ming Xuan also shook her head somewhat dazedly, "This person doesnt seem to be a good guy, what hes thinking in his heart is probably something nobody can see through. Lets not bother with him anymore, Yinger come over and continue from where we left off earlier, I still want to hear more."

  She actually had no impression of this Han Xiu, and those heart-wrenching past events may still exist in the memories of this body, because she felt her heart tremble with that one glance earlier, but it was only that. She was a changed Gu Mingxuan, not interested in what happened in the past, and her most pressing goal at the moment was to avoid marrying a sadist, which was a difficult wish, but she wanted to try her best.

  Complete works txt download, full text free, e-book, remember 77 reading books