Xie Shizi's shameless daily life

Xie Jin rubbed the rattle with his thumb, and after the non-existent dust on the rattle was wiped clean, he put it back into the box. He then took the handkerchief at hand and carefully wiped the dust off the box before putting the box back to its original place.

The bustle brought by the Spring Festival in the mansions on the streets has gradually faded.

Zhang Lanyin's belly was slightly bulging. She supported her left hand on her lower back and walked slowly in the back garden.

"Madam, this is the invitation just sent from Duke Xian's Mansion." A servant bowed and presented the invitation in his palm.

Zhang Lanyin took the post and looked at it carefully.

Zhang Lanyin had been smiling ever since she saw the content of this post, but her smile paused slightly when she saw the last page, but it did not affect her mood too much at the moment.

He put the invitation in Shuangxi's hand behind him and said, "Go tell the second young lady to go to the spring banquet hosted by her aunt in five days. Oh, and tell the eldest young lady as well."

After taking two steps, he spoke again: "Shuangxi, go and invite Wang Xiu Niang to the Second Miss's courtyard, and make sure she prepares new clothes for the Second Miss before the Spring Festival Banquet."

After Shuangxi agreed, he left the house to look for Lady Wang.

Shuangxi led Wang Xiuniang to the Second Young Lady's courtyard. Although there was nothing remarkable about Wang Xiuniang's fair and smooth face, the clothes she made were very popular among the ladies in the capital, and her needlework and embroidery skills were not much worse than those of the embroiderers in the palace.

Zhao Xueying had been confined by her mother to embroider and practice the piano in the house for a while, and she could no longer bear it. When she saw Shuangxi walking towards her yard, her eyes lit up slightly and she immediately walked over: "Shuangxi, did mother allow me to go out?"

"My dear second lady, my lady asked me to bring Lady Wang Xiu to make clothes for you."

Wang Xiu Niang greeted Zhao Xueying.

Zhao Xueying ignored Wang Xiu Niang. When she heard that she was not going to be released, she couldn't hide the disappointment on her face: "I can't go out, so what's the point of wearing clothes!"

Shuang Xifu said: "Second Miss, these are the clothes prepared for the Spring Festival Banquet in five days."

"What Spring Banquet? What's so good about a Spring Banquet?" Zhao Xueying immediately raised her head and turned around: "Spring Banquet! Who organized the Spring Banquet?"

"Replying to the second young lady, it is the wife of Duke Xian."

Zhao Xueying asked in surprise: "Aunt?"

Seeing Shuangxi nodded affirmatively, Zhao Xueying happily pulled Wang Xiu Niang over and said, "Hurry up and go make the dress."

"Second Miss, I have something else to do, so I will leave first."

Zhao Xueying waved her hands without even turning her head: "Go, go."

Zhao Shu found that Ah Ling was the only one in the yard. Shuang Xi walked up to Ah Ling and took her hand: "Ah Ling, where is your daughter?"

Ah Ling was startled by the sudden touch. She calmed down and saw that it was Shuangxi in the mistress's courtyard. She bowed hurriedly and said, "Sister Shuangxi, my daughter is in the house."

Shuangxi let go of A Ling's hand and walked towards Zhao Shu's room. Before he reached the top of the stairs, Zhao Shu's door opened from the inside with a creak.

When Zhao Shu heard Shuangxi's voice, she thought about everything she had done recently and found that she had not been in contact with her mother and second sister recently. She looked at her knees, opened the door and went out.

The moment Zhao Shu opened the door, the yellowish light was all over her.

Shuangxi stood at the bottom of the stairs and looked at Zhao Shu, who looked a bit like the second girl, standing on the stairs. He sighed in his heart. Although the eldest girl and the second girl looked a bit similar, anyone with a discerning eye knew that the eldest girl looked better. With this kind of appearance and temperament, if she were in an ordinary family, her parents would definitely cherish her like a treasure. Alas!

Putting away his thoughts, Shuangxi bowed slightly and said, "Miss, Madam sent me to tell you that the Duke of Xianguo's mansion will hold a spring banquet in five days. You and Madam will go together then."

Zhao Shu was slightly surprised, but she didn't show it on her face: "I'm going with my mother?"

Shuangxi said: "Yes."

As soon as she thought about the scene in the carriage that day, Zhao Shu felt a little uncomfortable, but she also knew that she had no right to refuse, so she said, "Okay."

Shuangxi left after getting the promise.

Ah Ling watched Shuangxi walk out of the yard and excitedly came to Zhao Shu's side: "Miss, I heard that this Spring Banquet is ostensibly a party for the wives of dignitaries to discuss poetry, appreciate flowers and drink wine, but in fact, it is a party for those wives to find men for their sons and daughters."

Zhao Shu said indifferently: "What does that have to do with me?"

Ah Ling looked at Zhao Shu with a look of disappointment: "How can it be irrelevant? The second young lady's marriage will definitely be carefully planned for her, but your marriage will definitely take some time, and you may only be able to marry an ordinary family in the end. And the families who can appear at the banquet of the Duke of Xian's mansion are either important officials in the court or wealthy and noble families. If you win the favor of any of the ladies, your marriage will not be a problem."

Zhao Shu was helpless: "You also said that those who can go to the banquet of Duke Xian's Mansion are all dignitaries, can they look down on me?"

Ah Ling raised her voice: "How can I look down on you! Young lady, you are the eldest daughter of the Xuanping Marquis's family!"

Zhao Shu added gently, "She is the least favored eldest daughter."

Ah Ling was not convinced: "The girl is still the most beautiful girl in the capital!"

Zhao Shu scratched her ears and said, "The second wife of Prime Minister Wang, the eldest wife of the cabinet scholar, and even the young lady of the owner of the rouge shop in the east market, are all prettier than me, and are more loved and spoiled by their families than me." After saying that, she walked into the house.

Ah Ling followed Zhao Shu's footsteps but was blocked by Zhao Shu so that she didn't know what to say: "That's different. You are the best girl in my heart! And I heard that Zhao Nanyu, the son of the Zhao family, will also go to the Spring Banquet. This Zhao Nanyu is steady, modest and polite. He is the dream of many ladies in Beijing. The most important thing is that this Zhao Nanyu looks..."

"Bang!" Zhao Shu closed the door. Ah Ling, who was locked outside, touched her nose that almost hit the door and murmured unwillingly, "It looks good."

In fact, Zhao Shu had also thought about the marriage that Ah Ling just mentioned, but she just didn't want to marry into a wealthy family. Those mansions were too complicated and she couldn't handle it. She just wanted to find a man from an ordinary family. It didn't matter if she had a few concubines, but she must give her a decent wife and live a simple life with her husband who respected her.

I only know how to chase victory and suddenly forget about the cold. I stand in the spring breeze and the sunset.

With one day left before the Spring Banquet, Wang Xiu Niang brought a new apprentice to the Marquis Xuanping's mansion to deliver clothes for the second young lady.

Zhao Xueying took the newly made dress, tried it on herself, and nodded with satisfaction. Seeing the second lady's satisfied expression, the servants of the Xuanping Marquis's mansion took out a few ingots of silver, put them on a tray, and gave them to Madam Wang as a reward.

Madam Wang took the reward with a smile on her face, thanked Zhao Xueying, and left with her new disciple.

The new disciple looked at his master who was grinning so hard that he couldn't close his mouth, and asked in confusion: "Master, isn't there an older girl in this mansion? Why don't you make her dress as well? Maybe we can get double the reward this way?"

The smile on Wang Xiu Niang's face just now faded: "Don't ask about things you shouldn't ask about!"

The young disciple was frightened by the sudden change of his master's mood and said quickly, "I know, Master."

Besides being able to embroider as well as the other ladies in the palace, the most important thing about Wang Xiu Niang is that she knows not to ask questions that she shouldn't ask, and she never tries to know things that she shouldn't know. To describe her in three words, she follows the rules! This is also why the ladies of various families like to ask her to make their clothes.

On the second day, Zhao Xueying got up early, washed and dressed, and soon everything was ready.

On the other hand, Zhao Shu kept squirming in the quilt like a big silkworm pupa, but she didn't wake up.

Ah Ling hurriedly pushed open Zhao Shu's door and forcefully pulled off the quilt that her girl was holding tightly in her hands.

Zhao Shu shivered at the sudden chill and opened her eyes in confusion: "A Ling, it's cold!" A Ling lifted the quilt, exposing Zhao Shu to the air. She then held Zhao Shu's shoulders and pushed hard, lifting her upper body off the bed.

Zhao Shu was completely awakened by this disturbance and remembered what day it was today: "No, I'll do it myself."

Then she quickly put on her shoes and got out of bed, taking a towel to wash her face. She scooped up water with her fingertips and splashed it on her face. The cool water made Zhao Shu's pores open, and she became completely awake.

When Zhao Shu was ready to go out, Ah Ling suddenly reached out and grabbed Zhao Shu, saying in disbelief, "Girl, you're going out like this?"

Zhao Shu didn't think there was anything wrong: "What else."

Ah Ling struggled and said, "The people we are visiting today are all well-known and wealthy families. Why don't you put on some powder, draw some eyebrows, put on some blush, put some lipstick on, etc.?"

Zhao Shu thought for a moment and said, "I'll just put on some lip color, nothing else."

Zhao Shu walked to her dressing table, picked up a box of cherry red rouge, dotted some with her hands, evenly smeared it on her lips, and gently sipped it. Zhao Shu had a good foundation, her face was white, her eyebrows were dark without any makeup, and now with the lip color, she looked even more charming.

Zhao Shu walked out of the yard under Ah Ling's satisfied gaze.

There was no one at the gate of the Marquis' Mansion, only two carriages.

Zhao Shu walked towards the carriage behind.

After arriving at Duke Xianguo's Mansion, several carriages had already stopped at the door one after another.

Zhang Lanyin led Zhao Xueying out of the carriage and entered the Duke Xianguo's Mansion, where they started to greet a lady who was dressed elegantly. Zhao Shu followed them silently. Except when Zhang Lanyin signaled her to speak, she just watched Zhang Lanyin and Zhao Xueying greeting each other with the ladies of other families.

Zhang Lanyin was talking to the lady in front of her, and her expression and behavior were full of intimacy that was not there just now. Zhao Shu heard the people next to her call her "Madam Wang".

Zhang Lanyin was seen holding Madam Wang's arm affectionately and looking around: "Jin'er is not here?"

Mrs. Wang explained, "She caught a cold a few days ago and is now recuperating at home."

Zhao Shu did not continue to listen to the rest of the words. She moved her body slightly around, as if she was looking for someone.

Suddenly, her arms were hugged by a force from behind. Zhao Shu turned around and saw a beautiful smiling face. She curled her eyes happily.

The girl said angrily, "Why did you come just now? I've been looking for you for a long time." The girl's name was Hu Jing. Her father was a fourth-rank Zhongwu general and Zhao Shu's best friend since childhood.

Zhao Shu begged for mercy, "I was wrong." But a suspicious blush appeared on her face. Hu Jing looked at Zhao Shu suspiciously: "Are you late?"

Zhao Shu laughed and said, "No, that's impossible. You just spent the whole day guessing!"

Zhao Shu quickly changed the subject: "I made two boxes of rouge the other day. The colors are very good. I left one box for you."

Hu Jing didn't notice anything was wrong and was completely fooled by Zhao Shu: "Okay, okay."

The sound of girls' sweet laughter came from the front, and Hu Jing's attention was quickly attracted. She pulled Zhao Shu's sleeve and was about to move forward.

Zhao Shu quickly took Hu Jing's hand and shook her head slightly. She didn't want to join in the fun, she just wanted to find a quiet place to stay until the banquet was over.

Hu Jing saw Zhao Shu's reluctance, so she had to let go of her hand holding Zhao Shu's sleeve: "Then I'll go take a look first, and come find you later."

Zhao Shu nodded. Hu Jing was a person who loved to have fun. She would not come back unless she had enough fun.

Zhao Xueying, who was next to Zhang Lanyin, said something to her mother and was also pulled over by her friends.

Xie Jin was sitting on a stone bench in the hexagonal pavilion, surrounded by a group of people. The girls' giggles just now were also because of Xie Jin.

Xie Jin was talking to the person next to him absent-mindedly, and his eyes involuntarily looked at Zhao Shu in the distance. He saw Zhao Shu and the little girl beside her talking about something with their heads down. After a while, the little girl walked towards them, while Zhao Shu walked towards a secluded place alone.

Seeing Zhao Shu's figure disappear around the corner, Xie Jin stood up and followed her.

The ladies who were having fun just now all showed disappointed expressions when they saw Xie Jin leave.

Without Prince Xie, who are they reciting poems and composing essays for?

The interest in playing was also lost due to Xie Jin's departure. For a moment, the hexagonal pavilion, which was bustling just now, suddenly became much quieter.

Zhao Shu walked towards a less crowded place and came to a rockery. The back of the rockery was surrounded by two small hills and faced a lotus pond. The lotus had not yet bloomed, and there were only withered lotus stems on the pond.

Zhao Shu looked at this uniquely hidden place and walked over with a slight smile on her lips.

Zhao Shu looked inside the rockery, but there was no one there! She lowered her head to look for a stone that could be sat on. After much difficulty, she found a round, flat stone about seven inches long. As she was carrying it back, a corner of a crimson robe appeared from inside the rockery.

Zhao Shu stopped, feeling slightly disappointed. This was a good place to take a break. But there was nothing she could do. She was the only one who was slower than others.

Zhao Shu put down the stone and prepared to find another quiet place. But before she had taken two steps, the person in the rockery spoke lazily, "Why did cousin Shuer leave as soon as she saw me?"

Zhao Shu turned her head suddenly. The person sitting inside the rockery was Xie Jin?
Xie Jin stood up, patted the rockery beside him, and invited Zhao Shu: "Cousin Shu'er, I have moved the stones for you, why don't you come over quickly."

If the person sitting in the rockery at the beginning was not Xie Jin, Zhao Shu might have accepted the invitation. But now that the invitee has become Xie Jin, those possibilities have become impossible!
Zhao Shu said tactfully: "Thank you, Prince. Zhao Shu has something else to do, so I won't talk with you here." After saying that, she wanted to turn around and leave.

Xie Jin patted the lime on his palms and said, "Then I won't delay my cousin Shu'er. But later when I talk to those young ladies from aristocratic families, if I accidentally let it slip and tell them that I had a conversation with you in the hidden rockery at the corner, I wonder what they will think?"

Zhao Shu turned around and smiled, "The scenery here is very beautiful. Would Shu'er be so lucky as to invite the prince to enjoy it with us?"

Xie Jin said with a fake smile: "Of course."

Zhao Shu twisted the handkerchief in her hand. If it wasn't for the good quality of the handkerchief, it would have been torn long ago! She was so angry that she wanted to grit her teeth. This man was too shameless!

(End of this chapter)