Xu Zilan was sitting in the corner of the flower hall. She was of low status and there was no young lady she knew around her. She could only eat snacks and drink a pot of tea in boredom. Her stomach was full at this moment.
"Caiyun, wait for me to change my clothes."
The banquet had come to an end, and the ladies next to them started talking about clothes and jewelry. Xu Zilan couldn't get in the conversation and was impatient to deal with them, so she used the excuse of changing clothes to take Caiyun to the garden to get some fresh air.
"Yes, madam."
Yujingyuan was a dowry given by the late emperor to the eldest princess. The garden was filled with rare flowers and plants from all over the world. If it hadn't been for the flower-viewing banquet today, they would have never had the chance to come in and enjoy it.
But before she could finish admiring it, a white-faced and beardless father-in-law came out from behind. Xu Zilan felt nervous, and just as she was about to avoid it, the father-in-law hurriedly stopped her.
"Ms. Xu Zi, the master of the Za family wants to see you, and I would like to ask you to come with the Za family."
This young father-in-law is Jixiang's apprentice, his name is Pinggui. Although he is only thirteen or fourteen years old, he learns the rules well and is reliable in his work, so he is highly regarded by Jixiang.
When he received the errand, he was originally worried that calling Xu Zilan in public would attract attention. Unexpectedly, she came out first, which saved him a lot of trouble. Thinking of this, Eunuch Pinggui had a better impression of Xu Zilan.
"Who is your master?"
Xu Zilan squeezed the handkerchief tightly and spoke tentatively. In fact, she already had an idea in her mind. The person served by her father-in-law was either the eldest princess or the emperor, but Xu Zilan didn't understand why these two nobles came to her.
"You'll know when you go there."
There were many people in the garden, and Ping Gui was afraid that he would be discovered if he delayed for too long. When Xu Zilan nodded, he led the people into the courtyard inside Yujing Garden.
Zhao Jing had been waiting in the room for a long time. He stood in the room and looked at the portrait on the wall in trance. The painting was immature and only painted a scene of a young lady fluttering butterflies.
It's just that the little lady in the painting is small, but she has a bright smile. The steps on her head tremble with her movements. With just a few strokes, the vivid scene is brought to life on the paper.
Zhao Jing looked at the person in the painting with some nostalgia in his eyes. This was Rong Ning he painted when he first learned to paint.
They were only five or six years old at the time. Over the years, Rong Ning had been lost. The eldest princess was afraid of seeing things and missing others, so she hid all Rong Ning's things in the Imperial Garden.
If it hadn't been for this flower viewing party, Zhao Jing would never have had the chance to see this painting again, and she couldn't have imagined that Rong Ning, who was five or six years old, looked like this.
"Master, the wife of the Xu family has arrived."
"Well, let her in."
Hearing the man's voice, Xu Zilan froze. She was urged to enter by Ping Gui's eyes. The man in the room slowly turned around. He stood in the shadow, his voice was calm and calm, making it difficult to distinguish Xu Zilan's emotions.
I breathed a sigh of relief in my heart, not daring to look any further and lowered my head before entering.
"Public woman Xu Zilan pays homage to the emperor."
She bowed and the man took a step forward and stood in front of her. Xu Zilan could hear his breathing. She tensed up and did not dare to move, feeling the man's eyes falling on her.
"Get up."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Zhao Jing asked Ji Xiang to guard the door outside and not let others disturb him. Now he just wanted to find out the reason for Xu Zilan's surprise before. Zhao Jing stared at her for a few seconds. This lady of the Xu family had a cold and indifferent expression. She was a bold person, which was convenient.
asked him.
"Why was Madam Xu surprised when she saw the eldest princess before the banquet started?"
"Your Majesty, daughter of the people..."
Xu Zilan didn't expect that Zhao Jing would ask her this. She stood back, and even the young lady next to her didn't notice anything unusual about her. Xu Zilan didn't expect that Zhao Jing was so thoughtful and could see every flaw clearly. However, it was a matter of
Jiang Miao, she didn’t know how to speak.
"Why, you can't say it?"
Zhao Jing had a sullen face and showed no anger. Even though Xu Zilan looked calm, she couldn't help but tremble in her legs.
"The daughter of the people was just surprised by the beauty of the eldest princess. The daughter of the people has never seen such a fairy figure before, so she was dumbfounded for a moment."
"Ha! Xu Zilan, do you know that deceiving the emperor is a capital crime? It's okay to deceive an ignorant child with those words, but you still want to use them to deceive me?"
"Your Majesty, civilian girls dare not deceive the Emperor!"
When Xu Zilan heard what he said, she was so scared that she knelt on the ground. The emperor was moody and it was just a matter of words to kill her. Xu Zilan was really scared, but this matter had something to do with Jiang Miao. She didn't know what the emperor was thinking. What if?
Something bad happened to Jiang Miao, and she would rather die like this.
"I will only give you one chance. If you continue to hide it, your family will be put in jail together with you!"
The majesty of the emperor cannot be doubted. If he cannot even pry open the mouth of a weak woman, he will no longer need to sit on the throne.
"Your Majesty, the daughter of the people said..."
When it comes to the safety of her family, Xu Zilan has to compromise.
"The reason why the folk girl was surprised to see the eldest princess is because she looks like the folk girl's old friend."
"Who is it?"
Zhao Jing suddenly raised his head, his eyes were astonishingly bright. Xu Zilan was oppressed by the aura around him and unconsciously spoke out what was in her heart.
"Shen Yanqing Master Shen's wife Jiang Miao."
"Jiang Miao?"
It's her!
Zhao Jing frowned slightly as he read this name.
He thinks highly of Shen Yanqing and has a good impression of Shen Yanqing's wife, especially Jiang, who is very capable.
Not only did she help Shen Yanqing make Zhenjiang Mansion prosperous, but she also made delicious snacks. Even the eldest princess liked her craftsmanship. After eating her snacks, her appetite improved.
However, Zhao Jing never imagined that Jiang Miao would look similar to the eldest princess. He stared at Xu Zilan and did not move his eyes until he was sure that she was not lying.
"Tell me all the news about her."
Xu Zilan picked up everything she could and told her, mainly about the things Jiang Miao helped Shen Yanqing do, such as opening an incense shop, opening a hotpot restaurant, building a food street, and helping Shen Yanqing open an academy.
It's her achievement.
Zhao Jing listened with great interest, perhaps because he had already suspected in his heart that Jiang Miao was Rong Ning. He was very proud of Jiang Miao's abilities, and even looked down upon Shen Yanqing's waste.
She used to think that he was very talented and talented, but now she saw that he was just a pretty boy who relied on women to get his position. When he heard that Jiang Miao was Shen Yanqing's child bride, Zhao Jing was furious.
"How dare Shen Yanqing!"
"emperor.……"
Xu Zilan was startled by his sudden anger and thought she had said the wrong thing.
Zhao Jing restrained himself for a moment and allowed her to continue speaking. By the time Xu Zilan finished speaking, his face was as dark as ink.
If Jiang Miao is really Rong Ning, Zhao Jing would be dissatisfied with the Shen family just by asking her to be a child bride for Shen Yanqing. However, whether Jiang Miao is the real one or not still needs evidence to confirm.
"Does Mrs. Shen look like the young lady in this portrait?"
Xu Zilan heard the sound and went away, and when she saw the person in the painting, she frowned.
