Sweet Beauty Chapter 48: Fuel-efficient lights

Zhong Shi shook his head, restrained his drifting thoughts, smiled and greeted Jing Shu a few times, and asked her if she was used to it when she arrived in Beijing, what she did on weekdays, etc., and then called The younger sister Chengyi County Lord and cousin Liang Xianxian, sitting below, let several people meet each other.

Jing Shu and Chengyi County Lord have known each other for a long time. Goodbye at this time. Chengyi County Lord got up and greeted Jing Shu with a smile and a nod.

She has always been quiet and not very enthusiastic, so this attitude is not surprising at all. Jing Shu gave her a salute and called "County Lord".

Chengyi County Lord returned a small bow, and when he was seated, his eyes fell, and when he saw the ring on Jingshu's hand, his eyes moved, and he felt inexplicably familiar. Secretly thought about it.

And Liang Xianxian is the little girl with almond eyes and peach cheeks and a crimson skirt.

She was very happy to see Jingshu. First, she lived in Shuzhong for a few years when she was a child, and she felt cordial when she saw Jingshu who grew up in Shuzhong. Secondly, there are many noble women who are invited by the cousin of the prince today. She is taller than her, and when she meets her at other banquets on weekdays, she is dismissive and even slightly hostile, which makes her a little uneasy.

She is the county magistrate of Chengyi. Although Liang Xianxian flatters her on weekdays, the attitude of the county magistrate of Chengyi is lukewarm, which makes her uncomfortable at times.

At this time, seeing that my cousin invited a Jingshu who was not familiar with Beijing at all and was only the daughter of a fifth-rank official, she felt a lot more at ease, so talking to Jingshu was quite enthusiastic, even half-hearted. A host like attitude.

A few people talked for a while, and then a steward had to come to report that she was coming, so Mrs. Zhong ordered Chengyi County Head and Liang Xianxian to go to the front yard to welcome the guests on her behalf, and asked them to take them directly. When the guests went to the banquet place in the back garden, he personally led Jing Shu to the back garden.

While going to the back garden, Mrs. Zhong talked to Jing Shu. It was no longer a greeting, but directly told Jing Shu about the family background of each lady who was invited to the banquet today, and even the background of each person. The power to arrive, the family intention.

Finally, he added: "These ladies who came today, because the family relationship is not harmonious with each other, their family thinks more about promising them to a certain prince who is beside His Majesty, but it is not the case. It must be which one, but it is with the mentality of a rare commodity or a block, as for the minds of these women, it is also different."

"Look at it slowly. You will see more in the future. When you and the third brother are clear, you will encounter a lot of attacks and right and wrong. You have to be mentally prepared."

While saying these words to Jing Shu, Zhong Shi has been scrutinizing Jing Shu's reaction all the time. Seeing that there is no surprised or worried expression on her face, she just listens quietly, sometimes slightly Thinking of the appearance, I guessed that the third brother had hooked up with her before, and he must also be a clear-headed person.

The former prince asked her to discuss and asked her to hold a small tea banquet. He led Jingshu into this circle, and taught her slowly, and without being implicit, he should directly teach the purpose behind the situation of each government, etc. As for her, she was quite surprised. After all, Jingshu has only just entered the capital, and her family background is not obvious. I am afraid that she has little experience in interacting with these noble ladies, so she is directly introduced into the circle of right and wrong, and I don't know if she can stand it. live.

None of those noble ladies in Beijing are fuel-efficient lamps. If you say they are arrogant and rude, they are actually full of hearts...

But now that Guan Jingshu is reacting like this, she is prepared to come, but she really underestimated her because of her family background before she saw her.

Ms. Zhong intends to talk to Jing Shu more, and takes her around the back garden for a long time. While talking about business, she occasionally introduces the origin and layout of the palace of the King of Shu in the capital. It is very slow. By the time they arrived at the venue for the banquet, it was already the time for the banquet. In the garden, except for the two young ladies from the Hua family of Duke Cheng'en's residence, everyone had already arrived.

When everyone saw Mrs. Zhong coming, they stepped forward to greet Mrs. Zhong. Naturally, they didn't ignore Jing Shu who was following behind the princess.

It was actually brought by the imperial concubine herself. Who is this girl?

Aware of everyone's gaze, Mrs. Zhong smiled and said, "This is Miss Bai Wu, the young lady of Mr. Bai's family in the Ministry of Industry, and an old friend of mine when I was in Shu. She is the same as me, from Shu. She was born and raised in Shu, and she came to Beijing not long ago and is not very familiar with Beijing, so please don't embarrass her."

Everyone sighed with inexplicable relief. Naturally, they were all good words. They said, "It turns out that I was born and raised in the same land as the prince and concubine, so it's no wonder that they were born with such water spirit. I heard that the feng shui in Shu is good, and it really is true" Yunyun .

Mr. Zhong just smiled and said nothing, and let everyone introduce each other. After that, he just sat aside and let everyone talk and play, don't be restrained.

Everyone heard that Jing Shu was an old friend of the concubine, the concubine, and her family background was not obvious, so they let down most of their guard against Jing Shu.

They know that although Jing Shu's father's official position is not high in Beijing, he must be good in the local area of ​​Shu, and it is reasonable to meet the prince and concubine in the boudoir.

They all came from unusual families, and since the family had great expectations for their future, they were naturally given special education. They all vaguely know that His Majesty is getting old, and because he fought all the year round when he was young, he has many old illnesses. At this time, he has the intention to choose one of the sons of the younger brothers of the vassal king to succeed him. Among them, the three kings of Shu who have been raised by him since childhood. The son, the fifth son of King Kang and the second son of King Min are the most optimistic about everyone.

His Majesty has always been tough. After the establishment of the new dynasty, several vassal kings became kings. .

If you want to come to the palace of the king of Shu, you will not be willing to marry the third son of a woman who has no obvious family background and no foundation in the court. That is almost equivalent to giving up the competition.

So they felt that the girl really wasn't much of a threat.

Some people may even think that this may be just the concubine's own careful thinking, and do not want the status of future younger siblings to be higher than themselves. Of course, if the third son of the King of Shu had no intention of taking that position, as this girl, it would be enough.

********

Today's tea party is said to be hosted by Chengyi County, and the protagonist is naturally the Lord of Chengyi County, so Jingshu, who was invited only because she was an old acquaintance of the concubine, was not the focus.

Although Jingshu was born beautifully, today's dress is quite simple and simple. It can only be said that it is not rude. It is relatively bleak under the gorgeous brocade clothes and precious gems and pearl jewelry specially worn by the ladies, so it will not attract people. pay attention.

Everyone has the intention or the family intends to marry the Prince of Shu, and the Prince of Shu has always kept a low profile. The county lord of Chengyi has rarely appeared in front of everyone since he entered the capital. So after saying hello to Jing Shu, he went to talk to the county head of Chengyi again.

Ms. Zhong sat for a while, and saw that although everyone was sitting and talking, they were quite subtle and elegant, so he knew that he was sitting next to him, and the little girls were a little restrained, so he just sat for a while and stopped waiting. The two sisters of the Hua family told everyone to let everyone play and talk to themselves, and then left first.

When Mr. Zhong left, everyone felt much more at ease, spoke louder and more playful, and gradually separated into small circles.

Empress Hua and Concubine Xiang are fighting openly and secretly in the palace. Outside the palace, the Hua family and the Xiang family are naturally at odds with each other. The two families have been honored and rich for a long time, and they are not low-key. Many juniors have raised it He is arrogant and arrogant, not very restrained, and there are always conflicts and frictions at banquets in the school.

Ling Guogong's mansion has always been close to the Hua family because his wife Zhou Shi is Queen Hua's cousin.

At this time, Xiang Yilan was talking to Yiwei around Chengyi County Lord. The Hua family sisters had not yet arrived, and Ling Xueni was weak and could not speak. To avoid embarrassment, she looked around and picked Jing Jing. Shu speaks.

What's more, Jing Shu was born a little like Rong Weijia. Rong Weijia coaxed Ling Xueni very well since she was a child, making her closer to Rong Weijia and more dependent than her own sister. When she saw Jing Shu at this time, she also had a kind of spontaneous of intimacy.

However, Ling Xueni feels close to Jing Shu, but Jing Shu doesn't feel close to her at all.

Because of the ending in her previous life, Jing Shu was already wary of everyone in Ling Guogong's mansion and no longer trusted her. Later, when she looked at the information Jiang Yu gave her, she learned that Ling Xueni and Rong Weijia had a close relationship since childhood and relied on trust very much. Rong Weijia, who has many contacts in Beijing now, is even more suspicious of the truth of her miscarriage back then.

So looking at Ling Xueni's well-behaved and friendly smile at this time, and asking questions one after another, Jing Shu actually didn't want to answer at all.

In this life, she doesn't want to have anything to do with anyone in Ling Guogong's mansion, and she doesn't want to maintain her face.

However, Jing Shu's indifference Ling Xueni only thought it was because Jing Shu participated in this kind of banquet for the first time, so her words and deeds were reserved and not good at words. Sincerity still contains encouragement, it seems to say "you don't have to be nervous, you can speak slowly, and I won't blame you,"...

In the end, Jing Shu didn't even bother to maintain her polite smile, her attitude was too cold.

Ling Xueni didn't think it at all, and probably thought it was the easiest for such a jerky girl to talk.

She asked in a curious tone again: "Sister Bai, you are from the middle of Shu, and you are an old acquaintance of the empress, the prince. Do you often go to the palace of the king of Shu to greet the concubine? The concubine, she is kind and kind. What do you like on weekdays?"

Jing Shu glanced at Ling Xueni. She had been with her for so long in her previous life, but she didn't know that she was actually interested in Jiang Yu.

It's easy to perfunctory, but Jingshu was already so annoyed by her noise that she didn't want to give her any more face. Hearing her question, she even looked at Ling Xueni for a while, but didn't answer. .

In fact, although everyone is talking to each other, their ears and eyes can roughly perceive what is happening around them.

With Jing Shu's silence, everyone quickly cast their gazes in surprise, curiosity, or jokes.

Ling Xueni noticed that everyone's eyes were a little uneasy, especially the eyes of sisters from the Xiang family, which also contained undisguised sarcasm. The two sisters couldn't help but feel a little wronged, their mouths shriveled, and then forced a smile to find their way down the stairs.

She said sincerely to Jingshu: "Sister Bai, it's me who is abrupt, the princess is noble, and you can see it when you see it. You've never met the princess, so you don't have to feel embarrassed. ."

After speaking, ignoring everyone's gaze, she turned her head and smiled at Liang Xianxian who was beside her, "Sister Liang, you have also stayed in Shu, have you seen the princess?"

On weekdays, Ling Xueni is with the Hua family sisters and doesn't like Liang Xianxian very much. At this time, Ling Xueni suddenly asked her questions and called her "sister". Liang Xianxian was a little flattered for a while, and laughed when she was busy. Said: "I have seen it naturally. When I was a child, I used to go with my mother to say goodbye to the concubine. The concubine was the most kind, and she was very kind to others."

Speaking of which, she did not forget to explain kindly for Jingshu, saying, "Miss Ling, you have never been to Shuzhong, so you don't know the situation in Shuzhong. The palace of the king of Shu is in Yizhou City, the city of Wangcheng, but Sister Bai's home is in Shu. Di Shi lives in Changzhou City, which is located in a remote area, so it is normal to go to Wang City less and never see Wang Fei Niangniang."

Ling Xueni seemed to have a sudden realization. She felt that she had been relieved. She had probably poked Jing Shu's sore spot just now. Chatting with Liang Xianxian, I asked all about the Shu Palace, such as the garden layout of the Shu Palace, the layout of the palace, and the hobbies of the princess and the concubine.

Liang Xianxian was very happy to see Ling Xueni suddenly warm to her, so whatever Ling Xueni asked, she would answer with all her might, or even add fuel to it.

Although to be honest, when she was young, she just followed her mother's routine to greet the Princess of Shu during the big season. It is estimated that the Princess of Shu did not say a few words to her alone, but she was turning the page. Let's talk about the difference between the Shu palace in Shu and Beijing.

Especially, their conversations also attracted the attention of the daughters of the civil servants, and they all came to interject and ask something, Liang Xianxian was even more proud.

Liang Xianxian was surrounded by Ling Xueni and several other daughters of the civil servants, and they talked lively, but Jingshu was ignored by them, but she was not uncomfortable, just sat on the side and listened to everyone talking.

It's just that it's so lively here, but it arouses the eyes of the Xiangjia sisters who are talking with the county head of Chengyi.

Xiang Yilan's temperament is more stable, he still smiles and doesn't see any strangeness, but he is still talking to the county head of Chengyi, while secretly looking at the look of the county head of Chengyi.

Xiang Yiwei was younger, but didn't have such good stamina. She glanced at the few people who were talking around Liang Xianxian, then turned around and smiled at Chengyi County Lord: "County Lord, look There are people who are more familiar with your palace than you are. If someone who doesn’t know this comes and sees it, they will think that the concubine, the concubine, is hosting a banquet for her today, and she is the county head of the palace of the king of Shu… Hmph, I’m still arguing. Wangfei, I don't know who gave her the courage..."

The sound is not too small, but it is enough for a few people over there to hear it clearly.

When Liang Xianxian heard this, she was shocked to realize that she was talking too much excitedly for a while, her face turned pale, and she glanced at Yiwei and Chengyi County Lord with a little panic.

The county chief of Chengyi did not answer Yiwei's words, nor did he look at Liang Xianxian and the others.

She only paused for a while, and while the crowd was silent, she smiled slightly, reached out and took a stack of snacks on the table, handed it to Jing Shu and said with a smile, "Ashu, come and taste this red cake. The pearl snow rolls are made by the cook brought by my sister-in-law from Shu. You can try it if you like the taste. Before I came to Beijing, I heard from the mother-in-law that you like these desserts the most. I will discuss with you in my spare time, so that we can satisfy our cravings together."

With a calm expression, it directly broke through the words that Liang Xianxian and Ling Xueni sang and said that Jing Shu had never seen Princess Shu.

As soon as these words came out, Ling Xueni and Liang Xianxian were stunned, and then their faces turned red.

I often attend this kind of banquet and I'm used to playing the front of the machine. There is no one who is so cute and innocent that I can't hear it. At this time, Ling Xueni's face turned red, how could she not know that the "white girl" didn't want to ignore it before Don't want to answer your own words?

The county magistrate of Chengyi has always been quiet and low-key, even though her biological mother is quite respectable in the palace, as far as Jing Shu knows, she is also well-behaved and quiet in the palace of Shu, and has little sense of existence. I don't want to be such a wonderful person.

Jing Shu just didn't know what was in it, she just smiled at the county magistrate of Chengyi, and then she reached out and took a stick to try a sliced ​​red beaded snow roll, tasted it, and then smiled: "Crispy and soft. Moderate, the peach filling is sweet, it should be made of fresh peaches, and there are also fresh roses, even in the middle of Shu, I rarely taste more authentic than this.”

The county magistrate of Chengyi smiled and said, "Then you can come to the palace more when you have time. I also like to make snacks. I try different recipes, but unfortunately my girls can't taste the difference. Sister-in-law will try. After a few times, I refuse to try the whole thing, so I don't know whether the taste is authentic or not, and I am very frustrated."

Chengyi County Lord and Jing Shu are both talking and laughing to themselves. Ling Xueni still can't see it. At this time, Jing Shu, who was talking to Chengyi County Lord, is completely different from when he was talking to him just now?

Ling Xueni and Liang Xianxian were both extremely embarrassed. Fortunately, Ling Xueni didn't embarrass her for too long, because her saviors, Hua Yurong and Huayu He, the two sisters of the Hua family, finally arrived.

It is the end of June and the weather is getting warmer.

However, this banquet venue has been specially arranged by Concubine Zhong Shizi, with a shade screen, surrounded by green trees and surrounded by flowing water, and ice buckets are placed in hidden places in every corner, so everyone just feels cool and comfortable, not uncomfortable .

But when Hua Yurong, the first daughter of the Hua family, appeared in a costume, Jingshu seemed to see a fire swept in, and she felt a hot sweat inexplicably.

Huayu Rong has a proud and fiery temperament. She likes bright red and splendid clothes the most. She also likes colorful and luxurious jewelry. Fortunately, she has thick eyebrows and big eyes, and her skin is fair. Can hold back, but also do not have a warm momentum.

As far as looks are concerned, Xiang Yilan Xiang Yiwei, who has a face with melon seeds and curly brows and peach blossom eyes, is a few streets better than Huayu Rong, but if they stand together, the eye-catching ones must be holding their heads high and proud. Chinese Rong like a peacock.

Ling Xueni was very happy to see Hua Yurong. She stood up and called out, "Cousin Hua, you are finally here. My sister has been waiting for you."

Hua Yurong stepped forward, raised her eyebrows to look at her, and looked at the others. She had just arrived, so she didn't know what had just happened, but she looked at Ling Xueni's red lips and red eyes. I'm afraid I've already suffered some grievances.

She glanced at the Xiangjia sisters. Like their aunts, the Xiangjia sisters hid their knives in their smiles the most. They looked gentle like water, but they were full of bad water. Thinking that Xueni would be inseparable from them when she was wronged.

Huayu Rong was not afraid of Princess Changrong, who was sent out by Concubine Xiang Gui, and naturally, she did not look at the concubine of a small king of Chengyi County.

And she didn't rush to beg to marry Jiang Yu. It was their Shu Wangfu who wanted to get the support of her aunt, Fahrenheit, and they had to ask her to marry, so she couldn't beg for Chengyi County Lord, Jiang Yu of a concubine.

Even with Jiang Yu, she is also honest.

Jiang Yu had a bad temper and savage like a demon king since he was a child.

She is not a rush character. Relatively speaking, she prefers to speak sweet words and coax her to give her various small gifts. Jiang Lian, the second son of the King of Fujian, is also better than Jiang Yu, who has a dark face all day.

He's just a reckless, rude, and short-tempered warrior. He hangs out with those warriors all day. Heard that he kills people without blinking. Humph.

She really didn't know why her aunt and grandfather insisted on getting close to Jiang Yu.

Hua Yu Rong did not salute the Lord of Chengyi County, but directly took Ling Xueni's words and said, "Xue Ni, have you been here for a while? What are you doing?"

Ling Xueni stepped forward and climbed her arm, smiled coquettishly and said: "Cousin, we are talking about the affairs of Shu, cousin, this white girl is the young lady of Bai Langzhong's family, and she is from Shu. It turns out that she also manages dim sum in Shu, but unfortunately she would not say anything when we asked her, she would only answer if the county owner talked to her!” ….

Ling Xueni has been angry since she was a child, and it's nothing more than the county head of Chengyi. That white one is just the daughter of a fifth-rank official. She even dares to trick herself.

She herself doesn't like confrontation with others, but she has a way to get others to teach her a lesson!

Hua Yurong glanced at Ling Xueni with a half-smile, she couldn't hide her little thoughts from her, but she didn't care. Since she enjoyed Ling Xueni's usual petty clinging, she had to give it to her at this time. Head out, aren't you?

She turned her eyes and landed on Jingshu and swept it. She was surprised to find that she was beautiful and refined, with a calm and indifferent temperament, just the kind of temperament she hated the most...

Hua Yurong snorted coldly, twitched the corner of her mouth, and said, "Do you know how to make Shu Dim Sum? Since that's the case, it will be my birthday party in a few days, so you need to take some care and take care of the food in Shu. Come here and let me entertain the guests? Then I can also introduce your talents to everyone."

Jing Shu raised her eyebrows, a little funny in her heart, who do you think you are?

She didn't answer her, didn't even look at her, she just smiled and asked the county magistrate of Chengyi: "The county magistrate, who is this girl? Just ask someone else to give her some snacks, is it Her Royal Highness? Shall we get up and salute her, if I didn't salute the princess because of my ignorance and spread it out, wouldn't it make people laugh at me for being ignorant of etiquette and respect?"

Hua Yu Rong's face darkened upon hearing this.

The county magistrate of Chengyi was still smiling, but Xiang Yiwei, who was beside him, laughed out loud and said, "Don't worry, my cousin stayed in the palace today, and didn't come out. Although my cousin is honorable, she did not ask a stranger to give her a snack immediately, she is a princess, not a beggar."

"Also, apart from the county lord, we need to salute her, and there is no other person who has a higher status than her. Miss Bai doesn't need to worry."

Hua Yurong was already furious at this time, and then the county magistrate Chengyi looked at her and the Hua Yuhe beside her with a half-smile, and asked in a flat tone: "Who are these two girls, and they are also sister-in-law. Are you invited to dinner today?"