As the Lunar New Year was approaching, the preparations for the Spring Festival in each mansion were almost done, and people finally had some leisure time. So, the three ladies of the Earl of Chengen's Lu Mansion took the lead and organized a plum blossom feast.
Although the Lu family was only an earl's family, when the late emperor was alive, the eldest daughter of the Lu family entered the palace and became a noble consort. She was as close as sisters with the then-empress, who is now the empress dowager, and they relied on each other. When the empress dowager was seriously ill, Consort Lu personally raised the emperor without relying on others. Therefore, the status of the Lu family should not be underestimated. For the plum blossom feast organized by the Lu family, the young masters and ladies from various mansions in the capital would give them some face.
The sons and daughters of the Lu family also liked to organize various flower - viewing feasts. Nominally, it was an occasion for everyone to enjoy the flowers together, but in fact, it was a gathering for talented scholars and beautiful ladies to compose poems, play the zither, and paint, a disguised competition of their talents.
Lu Wanning was fond of martial arts and didn't like such poetry - reciting banquets. But after she specifically sent someone to ask He Nanfeng and learned that Sheng Jinyu would also attend, she immediately accepted the invitation.
Jiyue hesitated and asked in a low voice, "Your Highness, are you really going?"
Lu Wanning asked curiously, "Can't I go?"
Jiyue explained, "Miss Lu Yingshuang of the Lu family has always been on bad terms with Your Highness. Relying on her little talent, she always likes to pick on Your Highness. Why do you bother to ask for trouble?"
Lu Wanning wasn't focused on this. She just propped her face and asked, "Alas, Jiyue, why do you think His Highness the Prince of Yu would attend such a banquet? Does he have any connection with the Lu family?"
Jiyue looked at Lu Wanning speechlessly, reached out and touched her forehead, and said, "Your Highness, I wonder why I feel your memory has gotten much worse. Have you forgotten so many things?"
Lu Wanning's heart skipped a beat. She scratched her head in embarrassment, but quickly raised her head boldly and said, "My poor memory is not something new. What's the point of my paying attention to that Miss Lu?"
Jiyue thought about it and found it reasonable. In the past, the princess had only had the heir of the Fu family in her heart, so naturally she didn't care about other people or things. The princess was lively and cheerful. Even though the heir of the Fu family always treated her coldly, she was never discouraged and was always happy in front of him. But only Jiyue knew how sad she would be when she went home and locked herself up.
Now that the princess didn't like the heir of the Fu family anymore, she seemed much calmer. She knew to spend more time with her family and go out to socialize with noble ladies. It was really a great improvement.
"The old Earl of Chengen of the Lu family is still alive, so the Lu family hasn't been divided. The third lady of the Lu family is the aunt of the Prince of Yu. The Prince of Yu's maternal family has long declined, and there are hardly any relatives left. So the Prince of Yu attaches great importance to this aunt and often goes to visit her."
Lu Wanning nodded blankly and asked, "So His Highness the Prince of Yu is here today to visit his aunt?"
The carriage stopped in front of the Lu Mansion. There were already many carriages parked there. Lu Wanning didn't try to push to the front. She got off the carriage with Jiyue and walked forward on foot.
Just in front of them, there were two young girls walking hand in hand, chatting in a low voice.
"I heard that today's banquet is nominally for flower - viewing, but actually the third lady is trying to choose a side consort for His Highness the Prince of Yu."
In the Great Zhou Dynasty, men got married after they reached the age of twenty, but the princes moved out of the palace and established their own mansions when they were fifteen. The main consort of Sheng Jinyu should be decided by the palace. Since the crown prince hadn't chosen his main consort yet, Sheng Jinyu certainly couldn't choose his main consort first. But the third lady of the Lu family still had some say in choosing the side consort of the Prince of Yu.
"Do you have this intention too?"
"Miss Lu, you're joking. How can I be worthy of the position of a side consort? If I could catch His Highness the Prince of Yu's eye once or twice, I would be satisfied."
Jiyue whispered in Lu Wanning's ear, "The girl in the rust - red cloak on the left is a concubine - born daughter from a collateral branch of the Lu family. She has been getting closer to the main branch of the Lu family since she came of age. The girl in the lake - blue gown on the right is the second legitimate daughter of the Cen family. The master of the Cen family is a fifth - rank clerk in the Ministry of Revenue. Through the connection of Mr. Cao from the Imperial Academy, the female family members of the Cen family can move around a bit in the capital."
After listening, Lu Wanning felt dizzy. The situation in the inner courtyard was too complicated! But she also understood that these two girls, with their relatively low social status, wanted to marry into a higher - ranking family, so they could only consider being concubines.
Thinking of His Highness the Prince of Yu, who was handsome and of excellent character, although a bit cold - hearted, it was natural for him to be so popular. But if these beautiful girls really entered the mansion of the Prince of Yu, what awaited them might not be a life of luxury. After all, two years later, His Highness the Prince of Yu would die young, and even his title would not be preserved.
Such girlish longings were not suitable for further discussion. After exchanging their thoughts, the two girls fell silent. After all, they were not far from the Lu Mansion. It was only a few dozen steps away. There were many people coming and going today. If their words were overheard, they would be laughed at.
They hadn't walked far when they saw a few young gentlemen and several young girls standing together, chatting and laughing loudly.
"Miss Lu, I heard that Princess Zhaoyang has accepted your invitation today?"
Lu Yingshuang stood in the middle of the crowd. Hearing this, there was a hint of mockery in her tone. "I was curious when I sent her the invitation. I just thought it wouldn't be good to leave her out. I didn't expect her to accept so boldly. I wonder what fun she can have at our poetry gathering when she can't compose poems. Will she show us how to wield a sword?"
Lu Wanning lowered her head and pretended not to hear. She came here to curry favor with someone, not to deal with these ignorant women. Humph!
Another young girl said, "But Miss Shi will also come today. We'll be able to hear the two talented ladies in the capital, Miss Lu and Miss Shi, competing in poetry. Just thinking about it makes me happy."
Another girl tugged at her and whispered, "About what happened to Miss Shi last time..."
Lu Yingshuang raised her head haughtily, frowned, and scanned them. She sneered, "Miss Shi is a woman with great knowledge and grace. How can others compare with her? Some people just used a few tricks to frame Miss Shi, as if others were too stupid to tell the truth. She made a scene over a man and tried to ruin someone else's reputation. It's really ridiculous."
Lu Wanning finally realized that this person was saying that she had framed Shi Aohan. Was she the "someone" they were talking about?
Before she could react, a cold female voice sounded.
"It seems I've come to the wrong place. This is not a refined banquet at all. It's a place for fabricating stories about others without knowing the truth."
Lu Wanning looked back. Before she could figure out who it was, the person had already rushed over with her cloak in hand. "Sister Jiang."
This person was Jiang Shishi, the eldest legitimate daughter of the Jiang family, whose head was a Hanlin Academy teacher. The Jiang family didn't have a title, but it was a century - old aristocratic family in the capital. The Jiang family had always been upright and honest. The men in the family had never participated in power struggles. They were not afraid of rumors and dared to speak out straightly, so they had a great reputation in the capital.
Lu Wanning took Jiang Shishi's hand. She remembered everything. In the original book, she was a big villain, but she also had some close friends, one of whom was Jiang Shishi.
Jiang Shishi raised her eyebrows and looked at Lu Wanning. "Your personality is not as straightforward as before. You just let others talk about you like this and don't even refute?"