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  Chapter 9

  Just then, the second gates servant woman hastily came over to report that the Grand Princess Consort of the Duke of East Ping had arrived with the princess and county mistress, having just changed into a soft sedan chair. The marchioness was accompanying them, and they were probably already at the Shi Jin Xuan in the southeast.

  Shi Jin Xuan and An Tai Yuan were separated by a small lotus pond. The cold weather made the road slippery, and the sedan chair bearers pace was slow. Old Lady Zhu silently calculated the time in her mind while sending someone to call out the young ladies from the western wings warm pavilion to wait. The several madams sitting in the main house heard the news and hurriedly tidied up their appearance. The wives who were originally gathered in the eastern wing chatting also came out respectfully to greet them.

  The Zhou imperial family had always been infertile, but the previous emperor was fortunate to have nine sons. However, due to the struggle for the throne, five dragons fought and injured each other, leaving only four families of Taizus descendants besides the current emperor. The King of Lin Nan guarded the southern border, the King of Cheng Hui occupied the western frontier, the King of Qing Ping was stationed in the northeast, and only the Duke of Dongping was allowed to stay in Shengjing due to his close blood ties.

  The late Old Master Wang of Dongping was a paternal uncle of the previous emperor and a maternal cousin.

  The empress of the previous emperor passed away early, and the current emperors birth mother did not live a long life either. As a result, when the current emperor ascended to the throne at the age of 9 or 5, there was no empress dowager in the palace to take charge. With the new emperor on the throne, the power dynamics in the imperial court were reshuffled, and the same was true for the inner palace. The old and new palaces changed hands, with each person serving their own master, and it was inevitable that there would still be some residual waves from the struggle for the throne. Empress Pei was still young, so the current emperor invited Empress Dowager Dongping to enter the palace to assist her for two months. Under her swift and decisive management, the entire inner palace finally came under Empress Peis control.

  Empress Pei trusted and relied on Grand Consort of Eastern Ping very much, and the current emperor also respected her greatly.

  The sacred will is prosperous, and no one in the Zhou Dynasty does not know. The noble ladies gathered in the An Tai Temple, how dare they be rude to this old imperial concubine?

  Madam Zhus sharp eyes caught the hint from the little maid at the door, and she knew that people from the East Ping Wang Fu had arrived. She adjusted her clothes and called out to Ming Xuan, "Xuan sister, come over, accompany your grandmother to the door to welcome Old Lady Tai Fei."

  Ming Xuan didnt dare hesitate and quickly grasped Old Lady Zhus arm, taking slow and gentle steps to the door.

  At this time, the sound of talking came from outside the house. Sheng Auntie respectfully lifted the warm curtain, and Madame Hou carefully supported the old princess into the house, "Princess, please come in slowly."

  Ming Xuan secretly raised her head to look, Dongping Imperial Concubine wore a luxurious first-rank phoenix-patterned robe with a jade pendant sash around her waist symbolizing her noble status, but instead of wearing the heavy imperial concubines gold crown on her head, she had pinned a seven-winged golden phoenix hairpin at her temple.

  Where the pendants swayed, the "Ten Thousand Bats Singing in Spring" embroidery she had painstakingly created was particularly eye-catching, and the bats eyes seemed to gaze back at her with benevolence.

  Ming Xuan felt a lump in her throat, and countless complicated emotions surged through her heart.

  I didnt expect Empress Dowager Dongping to actually wear the hairpin she made!

  Madam Zhu didnt dare to be slow, and she personally went out to welcome them. After exchanging greetings with the old princess and the princesses, she smiled and took over from Madam Hou to help the old princess walk over. "On such a cold day, you should have been drinking tea and watching plays in the warm pavilion. Today, for my sake, youve had to travel back and forth in the cold, suffering so much. My heart really cant bear it."

  She settled the old queen dowager on a warm kang and also asked the kings wife to take her seat.

  The Princess of Dongping hurriedly smiled and declined, "Auntie, you are a senior, originally shouldnt have given me this seat, let alone today is your birthday, all the guests in this mansion are here to celebrate your birthday, Im afraid Ive taken over the hosts position, what should I do? Please sit down, dont be polite with me."

  The old lady smiled and pulled down the old lady Zhu, "Alright, whats the point of being polite to your own family? Sit down quickly, let your niece-in-law sit next to me."

  Madam Zhu no longer declined and sat down as requested.

  Everyone came to pay their respects to the old princess, and then a sharp-eyed and quick-witted lady-in-waiting let out an exclamation of surprise. "The forehead ornament the old princess is wearing today is truly unique! The embroidery technique is one Ive never seen before. Look at those bat-shaped eyes - they seem to be following me as I move! How extraordinary!"

  Madam An Guo also said, "The longevity star on the forehead of that embroidery must have been done by the same person. I just thought about how the peonys eyeballs seemed to be moving, no matter where I stood, it looked like they were staring at me. Looking at this embroidery technique, it has a bit of the style of Madam Jin Zhen in her heyday, but this embroidery method is something that has never been seen before."

  Her eyes showed a hint of envy, and she smiled as she asked, "May I ask the old princess, which masters handiwork are these two embroidered forehead decorations? If that master is still in Shengjing, I would like to pay my respects and ask her to embroider one for me."

  Women love beauty by nature, no matter what dynasty or era it is, the noble ladies of Shengjing are no exception. Although there are many types of fabrics, the expensive ones are only a few kinds, and the colors and patterns of silk, gauze, brocade, and satin are also rich, but the elegant, dignified, and luxurious styles are only those designs. Therefore, the ladies and young misses of the imperial court and noble families all love to work on embroidery.

  Madam Zhu smiled and replied ahead of time, "The wife of the Duke of An is mistaken in her praise. Although my sister Xiang has received instruction from Mrs. Clever Needle, her embroidery skills are not even three-tenths as good as those of Mrs. Clever Needle. How can she be praised so extravagantly?"

  As soon as the words fell, there were some whispers in the main house.

  The wife of Duke An was also somewhat surprised. Ming Xuan, although she had not seen guests for three years, used to be a frequent guest at flower banquets and parties. She was lively and enthusiastic, and people liked her, but in the end, she was spoiled by Old Master Gus love, lacking the quiet elegance of a young girl, and jumping around like a little boy.

  Who would have thought that this exquisite embroidery was actually done by Gu Ming Xuans hands!

  The wife of Duke An Guo smiled and said, "Its actually Xiaojies craftsmanship, really embroidered with great skill!"

  The old princess listened and smiled, beckoning Ming Xuan with a wave of her hand, "Sister Xuan come over."

  She pulled Xingyuns hand and asked with a kind face, "Auntie was just wondering, the eyes of that pair of longevity bats, were they painted using Tang Bohans technique of adding the final stroke?"

  Ming Xuan nodded obediently, "As for what Old Lady Huang said, it was indeed the key point."

  The old ladys face showed some emotion, "I heard that this point of skill is very difficult. After Tang Boan passed away, many masters in the painting forest imitated it, but no one could grasp its essence. I see that you have incorporated this technique into embroidery and it still conveys the spirit so well. If you were to paint, wouldnt it be even more effortless?"

  She looked at Ming Huan with approval and then asked again, "But what did Father teach?"

  When Ming Xuan heard about Gu Changping, she was somewhat surprised. Wasnt it said that Gu Changping was imprisoned by Han Xiuying because of his involvement with the Second Prince? Although she had always felt suspicious, Gu Changping not supporting her son, the Ninth Prince, in his bid for the throne, but instead being involved with the Second Prince didnt make sense. But three years ago, the imperial edict that Han Xiuying brought back did indeed say "suspected of treason".

  Treason is a crime against heaven, and even though three years have passed, its still a topic that needs to be avoided. But something that ordinary people wouldnt dare to mention, the old princess asked about it so openly and naturally?

  The downcast eyes of Ming Xuan slightly moved, carefully considering the answer, "In response to Old Ladys words, yes."

  The old ladys smile became even more benevolent, and she gently stroked Ming Xuans hair. "When I was young, I once had a painting of the wonderful lotus Guanyin by Tang Bohan, but it got lost due to some reason. Now that I see this, I recall that painting again. Xuan sister, if you have time, would you paint one for your aunt?"

  How can Ming Xuan dare say no?

  She nodded obediently, "Auntie likes it, Ming Xuan will start drawing tomorrow."

  The old lady saw Ming Xuan and felt that she had indeed changed into a different person, just as Madam Zhu had said. She also felt a little heartache, but after sympathizing with her, she was delighted for her instead. A noble girl from a prestigious family being carefree before marriage wasnt a bad thing, but having a married life in the future would still be more stable if she remained calm and dignified like this now.

  She thought so and had a mind to help Ming Xuan again.

  The old lady couldnt help but smile and nodded at Ming Xuans brow, "Youre really a honest child. When I said I wanted this painting, it wasnt like it had to be done immediately. You spent the whole New Years festival focusing on making this painting for me, arent you afraid that your grandmother will get angry?"

  Ming Xuan was taken aback for a moment, unsure of how to respond, and couldnt help but glance at her grandmother.

  Madam Zhu took the opportunity to say, "This is also Xiǎo Jiěs down-to-earthness. You see, she can clearly paint the dotting technique of saints, if she were to help me create a Guanyin Bodhisattva painting, I would definitely be delighted, even if it takes some effort, it would only take a few days. But this child insisted on spending several months copying 99 volumes of the Diamond Sutra and presenting them to the Buddha, saying it was to pray for my longevity."

  Everyone present was a frequent visitor to the Qingliang Temple, and they had all heard about the donation of scriptures and porridge by the elderly lady of Yongning Hou Mansion. They only knew that it was done by one of the younger members of the Hou Mansion, but they didnt expect it to be the Seventh Miss who had just received praise from the Old Empress Dowager. As a result, the gaze towards Ming Xuan changed again, and those with more thoughts immediately thought that Gu Ming Xuan had already exited her mourning period, and she did not have any marriage arrangements. Although she was slightly older and no longer suitable as a legitimate wife, if there were still unmarried younger sons in the family, this marriage could also be arranged.

  Madam Zhus eyes swept around the room and saw that someone was indeed staring at Ming Xuans every move, a huge stone in her heart finally fell quietly.

  She thought to herself, at the gathering of heroes, that Yan Gongzi was still worth exploring, but if any of these ladies today could be matched with Xiang sister, it would be even better. If Xiang sister could secure a marriage proposal from a family of equal status, and Elder Brother could gain an ally in court because of this, he probably wouldnt have to worry about Jianan Bos intentions towards Xiang sister anymore.

  Thats all I can do for now.

  At the first watch, the male guests began to take their seats in the outer courtyard, while the female guests remained gathered in the An Tai Yuan. Madame Hou had arranged for the banquet to be set up in the warm house of the Peony Garden, which was connected to the An Tai Yuan. It was the first time that everyone had a feast in the flower house, and they all felt it was novel and interesting. The atmosphere became even more lively than on previous days.

  Ming Xuan gazed resentfully at Ming Huan, who was being attended to by Old Lady Zhu, feeling both jealous and indignant. Today, her grandmother seemed to be biased towards Gu Ming Huan, not saying a single good word for herself. This was already unbearable, but even the Empress Dowager of Dongping and the wife of Duke Anguo were treating Gu Ming Huan with special favor.

  She thought of what her sister had just said about those two being close relatives, and her face sank even further.

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