Shocking Mountain Moon

Chapter 22 Dragon Boat Festival
The case in which Qiu Heng sued Han Ziheng for riding a horse and killing her adoptive father had not yet been concluded, but the Dragon Boat Festival was approaching.

During the Dragon Boat Festival, there are grand activities such as dragon boat racing. Every year, the riverside is crowded with people, and officials also have a day off to enjoy the festive atmosphere.

In previous years, the entire Yongqing Marquis's family would attend the feast, but this year is different.

"I'm getting old and my energy is running low. I can't stand staying outside for most of the day. This year, Xuan'er, you guys should stay and accompany grandma."

The eldest wife, Mrs. Zhao, slightly suppressed the corners of her mouth.

The old lady was more energetic than her. She felt it was shameful for her granddaughter to file a complaint with the authorities and was embarrassed to meet those ladies and wives.

The old lady did feel that Qiu Heng's behavior made her lose face, and she was also worried about provoking secret revenge from the Han family.

The boys are easy to deal with, but the little girls can easily suffer any harm, so it is better to keep the granddaughters at home to avoid the limelight.

"Yes."

Qiu Xuan spoke first, and the three sisters Qiu Yun, Qiu Fu and Qiu Ying followed suit no matter what they thought.

The old lady looked at Qiu Heng who remained silent.

Qiu Heng pulled out a beautifully carved invitation from her sleeve: "I was just about to tell my grandmother that Princess Jiayi of the Kang County Prince's Mansion has invited her granddaughter to watch the dragon boat race together on Dragon Boat Festival."

"Princess Jiayi?"

Not only the old lady was surprised, but the first wife Zhao and the second wife Lan were also surprised.

"You are the only one invited?"

“That’s what the post says.”

The old lady thought about it for a while and then said, "Bring more maids and servants with you when the time comes, and go out with your grandfather and the others."

The green branch handed over by the Prince's Mansion could not be refused. And at this time, with the invitation from Princess Jiayi, some people in the mansion could see that the Yongqing Marquis' Mansion was not greatly affected by the Han family's affairs.

But the person who wanted to be kept at home the most could not be kept at home - the old lady felt even worse when she thought about it.

After leaving Qiansong Hall, Qiu Fu got angry: "We have been looking forward to the Dragon Boat Festival for a long time, but in the end we can't go!"

The eldest wife patted her daughter's arm and said, "We are still outside, don't be so irritable. Your sixth sister is too rash, and the old lady is worried that she will hear some gossip when she goes out."

"Why do you feel ashamed, Grandmother? Sixth sister did nothing wrong in seeking justice for our foster father."

If Qiu Heng did something wrong, she would not waste a bag of sugar cake.

Qiu Fu felt that she couldn't communicate with her mother, so she left angrily.

The eldest wife looked at her daughter's back and frowned: It turns out that Fu'er was not blaming the sixth girl, but the old lady.

This was really beyond her expectations.

On the day of the Dragon Boat Festival, Qiu Heng went out with Yong Qingbo and others, and the Qiu Xuan sisters who stayed at home received the rice dumplings made by Fang Zhou.

The rice dumplings were already cooked and were delivered by the maid from Lengxiangju.

"Sister Fangzhou made ten kinds of fillings in total, and didn't mark them specifically, just letting things happen as they please."

Qiu Fu's face turned dark when she heard this.

There are ten kinds of fillings, and you will get fat even if you eat the ones you don’t like, but you can’t choose. This must be the bad idea of that black-hearted girl Qiu Heng.

Qiu Ying was eager to try: "This is so interesting, let's see who is lucky enough to get the food they like."

The rice dumplings were small and exquisite. The four sisters gathered together and ate them as if drawing lots. The more they ate, the less they cared to talk.

All the dim sum made by Fangzhou are delicious, no matter what the filling is!

The place where all officials and nobles watched the dragon boat race was beside the Yongle River in the inner city. Different positions on both sides of the river were marked out according to status and identity, and the best viewing spot was reserved for the royal family.

The Yongqing Marquis's Mansion did not occupy a good location, and not long after they entered the tent that had been set up in advance, the Jiayi County Lady sent someone to invite them.

"Go ahead, don't be rude in front of the county lady." Yongqing Bo casually said, feeling relieved. The little girl who wanted to climb up the social ladder would definitely be sensible in front of the nobles.

"Miss Qiu Liu!" Seeing Qiu Heng walking towards them, Princess Jiayi hurried out to greet her.

The scene was very noisy, with the sound of gongs and drums, laughter, and dance music. However, Miss Qiu Liu's presence has been very high recently, and Jiayi County Lady's action immediately attracted many people's attention.

Together with Princess Jiayi were the Feng Caiyue sisters from the Changchun Marquis' Mansion.

Seeing the three people surrounding Qiu Heng, many people in the tents began to talk quietly.

"Is that Miss Qiuliu? Didn't she offend the son of Han Dianshuai? Why did Princess Jiayi——"

"Don't you know that at the birthday banquet of Princess Jiayi, Miss Qiu Liu gave Princess Jiayi a pair of lotus incense pendants as a gift, which touched Princess Jiayi's heart."

"Is it the kind of scented ornaments that Chen San has been working on day and night recently?"

"Yes, that's called Champey, don't you know?"

Princess Jiayi pulled Qiuheng to sit down, and couldn't wait to show her the newly made incense pendant: "I can't make a lotus, and I can't make a butterfly either. I thought this square pendant was simple, but it turned out to be warped at the edge. I don't know what went wrong..."

"There are certain things to pay attention to when it comes to demoulding and water control..." Qiu Heng did not hide anything and patiently explained the key points.

Feng Caiyue nodded secretly.

It's rare to see someone as open-minded and generous as Miss Qiu Liu. It's normal to be thrifty with what you have these days.

"Cousin, you have to let Miss Qiuliu have some tea."

Princess Jiayi reacted and poured a cup of tea for Qiu Heng herself: "My mother is not here today, and my father is with my uncle. We can have a good chat and have fun."

"Isn't my cousin coming over?"

Speaking of Ling Shizi, Jiayi County Lady wrinkled her nose in confusion: "Recently, my eldest brother has been going to the Taoist temple to burn incense every day. It seems that he wants to visit all the big and small Taoist temples in the capital. Mother is worried that he will become a Taoist priest."

"That's a pity—" Feng Caixing blurted out, and was embarrassed by three pairs of eyes. "The dragon boat race won't start for a while, let's go shoot the Five Poisons."

Shooting the Five Poisonous Creatures involves sticking patterns of five poisonous creatures on a target. If one can hit them one by one, he or she will be very famous.

There were already quite a few people playing over there on the Five Poison Target side, on the other side young men and women were playing Cuju, and further away in places groups of three or five were playing Guanpu.

"County Lady, Miss Feng, Miss Feng II——"

Regardless of whether they knew each other well or not, the ladies all came over to greet her. However, their attitudes towards Qiu Heng were very different. Those who had never come to interact with her nodded at most, those who had seen her at the birthday party that day pretended not to know her, and some greeted her enthusiastically.

"Good!" A round of cheers rang out. It was Fang Rui, the noble lady of the Prime Minister's Mansion, who shot the Five Poisons.

There was more than one target for the Five Poisons. Feng Caixing took a bow and aimed at a target, shooting three of them.

Feng Caiyue smiled and applauded her sister.

"Miss Qiuliu, would you like to try it?" Feng Caixing asked, holding up a small bow.

"I don't know how to shoot arrows." Qiu Heng waved her hand and pointed at her delicate figure. "The sisters are playing, so I can learn from them."

The atmosphere was just right, and Princess Jiayi also started shooting the Five Poisons with great interest.

The girl standing aside was quiet and well-behaved, like a harmless little deer.

On the Cuju field, a playboy raised his eyebrows to his companion who was approaching him: "See, the one standing at the side is Miss Qiu Liu."

"Really?" Another young dandy boy controlled the ball, "I've finally waited for this. Let me collect some interest for Brother Ziheng first!"

After he finished speaking, he stopped on one foot and bounced twice, then jumped up and hooked the ball. The ball was like a meteor, heading straight for the girl standing quietly.

　Thanks to Mo Yu Mo Yi for the reward of 10,000 coins, and thanks to the book friends who rewarded and recommended.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)