The system asked me to chase his wife

After learning that Qiao Yuandong had arrived, Fu, who was chatting happily with the other ladies, began to smile unnaturally.

Wu Hongyi investigated the matter of Prince Qi for the emperor, but he didn't even tell his family.

Therefore, everyone in the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery's Mansion thought that the old man had angered the emperor and was driven out of the capital.

In order to appease the emperor's anger and allow the marquis to return to Beijing as soon as possible, the Wu family decided to save the country in a roundabout way.

First, you have to put aside your pride and seek forgiveness from the Duke's Mansion. Only in this way can you give the Emperor the impression that you have a good attitude.

Therefore, at today's flower-viewing banquet, Fu must make the wife of the Duke of Zhenguo happy!
Thinking of her mother-in-law's instructions, Mrs. Fu could only be extremely careful and greet today's protagonist.

Qiao Yuandong walked to the pavilion by the lake and stopped. There was a patch of beautiful lotus flowers blooming, swaying gracefully in the breeze.

Fu came over quickly with a smile on her face: "Madam, you must be tired after walking all the way. Would you like to sit over there and have some tea?"

Qiao Yuandong came back to his senses and smiled at Madam Fu: "Madam, you are so polite. It is rare to find such beautiful lotus flowers at this time of year. The florist in your mansion is really an expert."

Fu smiled flattered, "Madam, you are of noble birth, and you have seen all the rare treasures in the world. It is a blessing for these lotus flowers to have caught your eye."

Qiao Yuandong smiled calmly and didn't say anything more.

Naturally, Fu couldn't let the atmosphere cool down, so she started chatting about various topics.

However, Qiao Yuandong was of a dull nature and was indifferent to Fu's enthusiastic attitude.

After a chat, Fu was so tired that she sighed.

She was used to being submissive and humble when she married into the mansion to serve her parents-in-law. However, now she felt indescribably awkward being submissive and humble in front of someone younger than herself.

All the programs arranged for today's flower-viewing banquet are to celebrate the guest in front of us.

But if the Duke's wife is really as cold-hearted as the rumors say, trying to make her smile would be harder than climbing to heaven!
Fu accompanied Qiao Yuandong to appreciate the scenery with a heavy heart, and watched Qiao Yuandong's actions with her eyes.

As long as she looked at any flower or plant for a second longer, it would be sent to the Duke's Mansion that same day.

The ladies who were resting in the pavilion also saw Qiao Yuandong. Seeing Fu chatting and laughing with her, they couldn't help but start talking about it.

"Is that the lady from the Duke's Mansion?"

"It's a pity that he's so young."

"You are so young and childless, and your family background is like that, why don't you return home and marry again?"

"Don't mention it! She lost her husband right after she got married, and then her mother-in-law. Who wouldn't say she's a widow? Would your family dare to marry such a daughter-in-law?"

"Stop talking, people are coming!"

All of a sudden, the ladies who had been whispering to each other sat up straight.

Qiao Yuandong was led into the pavilion by Fu. Except for one or two ladies of the same rank, everyone else stood up and saluted.

After the greetings, Fu invited Qiao Yuandong to take the seat. Xia Mang followed and took the round fan from the maid to fan her.

Fu also came from a family of officials and was a man who was good at socializing.

When the women of all families and social classes gathered together, the Fu family was able to handle it with ease.

There was a lot of laughter and a harmonious atmosphere on the scene. Even a taciturn person like Qiao Yuandong was prompted by Fu to say something.

After some small talk, Fu started to appear on the show.

"Today is a banquet, and to show their love for the flowers in this garden, the ladies have specially composed poems for them. Let's take a look, pick out the best ones, and give them some prizes."

Fu's proposal naturally received the approval of everyone in the room.

The women of each family held banquets and social events all for the sake of their family's reputation.

They brought their daughters to show off at the banquet, which not only demonstrated their family upbringing, but also paved the way for their children's marriage. It can be said to be a win-win approach.

Marriages among wealthy families have always been held in a circle, and one can learn a little about the daughters and sons of each family from these banquets.

There is nothing more elegant than letting the young ladies compete in poetry at a flower-viewing banquet.

When choosing a wife, nobles in the capital city first look at her family background, and secondly at her character, talent and appearance. Talent and reputation are very important.

The reason why Qiao Yuandong was willing to come to this flower-viewing banquet was to find someone for Xiang Xiu'an.

There are only a few good girls, and you have to meet and book them in advance.

Fu arranged for someone to fetch the young ladies' poems.

At today's flower-viewing banquet, the ladies gathered in one place, and the daughters they brought with them gathered in another place.

In just half a cup of tea, the servants brought the young ladies' poems and placed them on the ladies' desks for them to read.

The ladies present here all come from prominent families, and some of them are talented.

Appreciating poetry is not a difficult task for them.

There were a total of about ten poems, which were quickly circulated among everyone.

The female members of the family were all shrewd people. The ladies of low-ranking imperial titles only picked out the worst poems, and did not say a word about how to rank the first and second place winners.

How could they have the chance to do something like this?

Aren’t there three first-rank ladies sitting in the hall?

In addition to Qiao Yuandong, there are also the wives of Duke Anguo and Duke Xuguo.

Now it's their turn to choose one, two, and three.

Fu was a smart lady among smart people. The other two first-rank ladies she invited were both knowledgeable in literature and had never been interested in these literary things.

Fu held the five selected poems and handed them directly to Qiao Yuandong.

"Madam was already a famous talent in the capital when she was still in the boudoir. I think it would be the most convincing for the wife of the Duke of Zhenguo to choose the winner."

Qiao Yuandong also wanted to see the talents of the young ladies, so he readily agreed to Fu's suggestion.

She took the five manuscripts of poems, spread them out on the desk and examined them carefully.

Xia Mang took the opportunity to stand behind Qiao Yuandong and peek while he was fanning himself. It wasn't that she was interested in poetry, but as a layman, she was just watching the fun.

Xia Mang had no patience to read the poems that were full of quibbles. She just liked the words that were well written.

Sure enough, Qiao Yuandong picked up the article that Xia Mang thought had the most beautiful handwriting.

"I personally think this piece of 'Ode to Orchid' is the best."

Fu then took it with a smile and read it aloud softly.

"My friend lives in the shade of Jiuwan, the flowers are soft and the leaves are strong, but I dare not look deep. Xie Jiayu enjoys the beauty of the steps and courtyard, and Qu Yuan returns to the marshland and chants."

The whole poem has eight sentences. It is easy to read and has elegant meaning. It is indeed a good poem!
After selecting the winner, Qiao Yuandong picked out "Ode to Chrysanthemum" and "Ode to Lotus" and gave them to the second and third place respectively.

The two dukes' wives had no objection to Qiao Yuandong's ranking, and the ladies sitting below naturally had no objection either.

They all speculated whether the selected poems were written by their daughters.

With the ranking, there must be a prize.

Mrs. Fu was creative and said with a smile: "The young ladies' poems are good, so the prize should be more elegant. In this case, why don't we rank the flowers in the garden and use the top three as the prizes?"

This proposal was very novel and unique, and the ladies agreed with a smile.

Fu asked the servants to bring a large wooden box and gave each of the ladies a piece of paper.

They can each write down the top three flowers in their minds and then put the list into a box, and the maids will calculate the ranking.

This method was very novel, and the ladies present took up their pens and wrote down the three best pots of flowers in the garden that they thought were best.

Xia Mang stood behind Qiao Yuandong and watched her write.

As if to avoid suspicion, she did not write about the pot of yellow orchid she brought, but instead wrote about the cluster of lotus flowers she saw by the lake.

Xia Mang nodded.

This is very ladylike!

Mrs. Fu was happy to see the ladies writing happily.

So far, the party has been going quite smoothly.

She glanced at the wooden box calmly, with only one thought in her mind.

Secret operation!

No matter what, the pot of yellow orchid brought by Qiao Yuandong must win the first prize today!
The purpose of the flower-viewing banquet was to please people, and the Fu family put a lot of effort into it.

Sure enough, after the servants counted the votes in the box, the pot of yellow orchid brought by Qiao Yuandong was ranked first in the yard.

"The heart is not big, but it can hold a lot of fragrance. Congratulations to the wife of the Duke of Zhenguo for winning the first prize!"

Fu smiled and showed the list in her hand to everyone.

There were many smart ladies present, and many of them saw the real purpose of this banquet, but they did not expose it.

The Qiao family is a noble family, and Qiao Yuandong is the legitimate daughter of Lord Qiao, the Minister of the Central Secretariat. Now she is married into the Duke's Mansion and is honored as a first-rank lady.

No matter what people say about her behind her back, she should appear to be on good terms with her.

Everyone complimented Qiao Yuandong with a smile, and Qiao Yuandong responded with a reserved salute.

After the prizes were chosen, it was time for the awards ceremony.

The young ladies who were playing next door had already been invited over here by the servants. Because there were so many people, Mrs. Fu simply asked everyone to move to the wider pavilion.

After a while, a group of young girls dressed in gauze and brocade came like butterflies.

Under the gaze of the elder ladies, the girls showed off their best upbringing.

They lowered their heads one by one, revealing their soft white necks, and bowed politely to everyone present.

Xia Mang looked at the uniform and graceful movements and felt it was a pleasure to watch from the bottom of her heart.

After the ceremony, the girls each went back to their mothers and timidly snuggled up to them.

Only some of the young and naughty ones would secretly wink at each other.

With the addition of the little girls, this large open pavilion seemed a bit more lively.

Mrs. Fu pointed out the three young ladies who won prizes and praised them one by one.

Being praised in front of their elders, the three girls, who were only twelve or thirteen years old, raised their heads modestly.

Fu then had the three pots of flowers that had been selected brought over.

Qiao Yuandong's pot of yellow orchid was naturally placed in the middle.

The second place went to a pot of famous peony brought by the wife of Duke Anguo.

The third place went to the rare flower that bloomed at this time of year, which was cultivated by the gardener of the Loyal and Brave Marquis’ Mansion.

According to the procedure, Mrs. Fu gave the three pots of flowers as prizes to the three young ladies.

The one who got Huang Lan was Yun Yihan, the youngest daughter of Master Yun.

When Mrs. Fu announced that Miss Yun had inherited Qiao Yuandong's yellow orchid, Xia Mang noticed with his sharp eyes that Miss Yun glanced quickly at Qiao Yuandong.

Although the girl is very talented in writing, she is still too young to hide her emotions.

In that fleeting glance, Xia Mang clearly saw some disgust.

Xia Mang frowned and couldn't help but look at Qiao Yuandong, but saw that she was unaware of anything.

Miss Yun obviously also noticed that Qiao Yuandong ignored her, and the resentment in her eyes could no longer be concealed.

Her mother, who was sitting next to her, tugged at her sleeve secretly, and she lowered her head.

(End of this chapter)