The ladies looked at each other in confusion. They couldn't figure out who could have such great honor to let the emperor wait outside.
Among the crowd was a beautiful little lady, with a body as light and upright as a crane, and a look of arrogance on her face, which made people forget about vulgarity.
She bit her lip gently, her eyes looking eager to move.
"Could it be Sister Waiting for Manyu?"
Zhang Jing, the daughter of the Minister of Rites, spoke softly. The sister Manyu she spoke of was this beautiful little lady, Yin Manyu, the legitimate daughter of the Minister of Rites.
Zhang Jing's father is a subordinate of Yin Shangshu, and she usually follows Yin Manyu's lead, so she naturally knows that she cares about the emperor.
After listening to Zhang Jing's words, there were many echoes from the crowd.
"I also think so. Madam Yin is both talented and beautiful, gentle and virtuous, and has a good reputation. The emperor must have noticed her long ago."
"Yes, I heard that the emperor is going to draft a talent show, and naturally Lady Yin is the queen's first choice."
To say that the most famous young lady in the capital is definitely Jiang Miao.
She is Zhao Jing's direct cousin, and she has the support of the eldest princess. If she were not already married and had children, she would be the best candidate for the queen.
Fortunately, she got married, so all the ladies in the capital breathed a sigh of relief. Without Jiang Miao, they could still compete for the position of queen.
Compared to Jiang Miao, she was able to achieve glory and wealth on her own, and the man she married was also clean, doting on his wife and taking care of the family. Apart from that level of status, he was no worse than the emperor.
There is no young lady in the capital who does not envy her. Her appearance, family background and marriage are all bad, making people jealous even to the point of jealousy.
But they don't have Jiang Miao's ability, nor her family background. If they want to enter the palace, they have to work for themselves. If they can't be queens, they won't have the title of concubine. As long as they get the emperor's favor, they will have countless glory and wealth.
That's why these little ladies were so excited when they saw the emperor's imperial edict.
Yin Manyu listened to everyone's compliments, and the pride in her eyes became more and more intense. She couldn't help but stand up straight, folded her hands on her lower abdomen, and her every move was full of pride.
"Look, the emperor is coming down!"
There was a sudden low shout from the crowd, and a white jade-like hand stretched out from the imperial banquet and gently opened the curtain, revealing Zhao Jing's face.
He looked up and saw Yin Manyu clenching her fingers suddenly, a blush appearing on her face.
"The Emperor is here, he is really here..."
"I just said that he was waiting for Sister Manyu." Zhang Jing was also very excited. Seeing that Yin Manyu was still stunned and didn't move, she couldn't help but reach out and push her.
"Sister Manyu, what are you still waiting for? Come over quickly, don't keep the emperor waiting."
It's good for a woman to be reserved, but is the emperor an ordinary person? It's just too much to make him wait.
"Um."
Yin Manyu nodded proudly, then lightly raised her skirt to greet him.
However, before she could step forward and speak, Zhao Jing ignored her and walked towards Xu Zilan.
Jiang Miao, who had been watching the excitement, looked at her cheap cousin with a smile, and then patted Xu Zilan on the shoulder.
"Okay, the person to pick you up has arrived. An Yi is tired after playing with Ying Ying for a day, so I will go back first."
She ignored her best friend's blushing face and asked her cousin with a smile.
"Cousin, Sister Lan will be left to you. You must send her home."
"Don't worry."
Zhao Jing nodded and turned to look at Xu Zilan.
"Mrs. Xu, let's go, I will take you back."
He just stood there, with only Xu Zilan in his eyes. The faces of the young ladies next to him were green and red, especially Yin Manyu, who was full of confidence and arrogance just now. Now her face was red, and she was not shy.
But was ashamed.
She never expected that Zhao Jing would leave her alone and run to find a businessman's daughter. This was a slap in her face. Yin Manyu's nails dug into her flesh, and a look of ferocity flashed across her downturned face.
Xu Zilan...a merchant girl, do you want to compete with her?
She is looking for death!
Xu Zilan looked at the noble man in front of her, her heart pounding.
The Xu family's carriage was right next to her. She should have refused, but Xu Zilan didn't want to. She blushed and nodded.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
"Ha! Who is this person that can make the emperor wait for her?"
Everyone is paying attention here. Yin Manyu's embarrassment just made the crowd silent for a moment, but now they are excited again because of Xu Zilan's agreement.
"Xu Zilan, her family is an ordinary merchant. If she hadn't gotten lucky and became best friends with Princess Rongning, how would she be qualified to appear here?"
The most important thing for noble ladies from aristocratic families is respectability, and merchants like the Xu family will never catch their eye.
But this Lady Xu, whom they couldn't see, was being waited for by the emperor himself, and now he wanted to send her home in person.
That was the royal banquet. No one except the emperor had sat on it, so they just watched Xu Zilan go up.
Zhao Jing stretched out her arms to protect her behind her. Such caution made everyone jealous.
The Nine-Five Master will also take care of a woman like an ordinary husband. He must like this woman very much.
Yin Manyu's face was pale, without a trace of blood. She had been humiliated and lost all face in front of the noble daughter of a noble family today. She could already imagine what kind of rumors there would be in the capital tomorrow.
"Sister Manyu, she is the charming lady who seduces the master. Look at the clothes she wears. They are so charming and charming. They are not something that a serious young lady would wear..."
"The emperor just likes her coquettishness, so the choice for this queen must be you..."
"Crack!"
Zhang Jing fawned over her to comfort her, but Yin Manyu didn't appreciate it at all and slapped her in the face.
"roll!"
If she hadn't spoken out just now, how could she have taken the initiative to step forward, and she wouldn't have embarrassed such an adult.
A red fingerprint was left on Zhang Jing's delicate and fair face. Her eyes suddenly turned red, and she was filled with tears. She covered her face with her palms, trying her best to suppress the tears from falling.
"Sister Manyu, don't be angry..."
Her father was a subordinate of Yin Shangshu. Zhang Jing did not dare to offend Yin Manyu and did not complain at all when she was beaten. He lowered his head and followed her behind to apologize constantly.
The young ladies who fit her just now, when they saw Zhang Jing's appearance, their eyes flashed with dissatisfaction and a hint of schadenfreude.
"The good reputation Mrs. Yin usually maintains seems to be undeserved. It's not that she has a good temper. Zhang Jing didn't say anything and was slapped in public by her. It seems that she is also jealous."
"No, who doesn't know that she, Yin Manyu, has long been interested in the position of queen, but suddenly her wish failed, and she made such a big embarrassment in front of us. With her arrogance, there is no way she can bear it."
"Zhang Jing, it will be difficult in the future."
Yin Manyu got on her carriage angrily. Thinking about how much Zhao Jing valued Xu Zilan just now, her eyes felt like she had spat poison.
But a merchant's little lady can be crushed into pieces by just twirling her fingers.
