In the afternoon, she temporarily separated from Xue Rui. Yu Shu fished out the whole set of crystals from the Feng Pond one by one. She wiped them clean with a cotton cloth, put them in a mahogany box, and took them home.
Pei Jing had already prepared clothes, shoes, and socks in a hurry, as well as carefully selected rouge girls, waiting for her at Zhao Hui's house. Seeing that she came back at this time, he couldn't help urging her,
"Why are you still running around today? What time is it? Go back to your room to take a bath and freshen up. If you stay any longer, I'll go out to find you. Did you bring the things back?"
Pei Jing counted on Yu Shu to be a living signboard so that the crystals she had raised could be sold at a sky-high price. Therefore, compared to Yu Shu, he paid more attention to tonight's Hibiscus Gentlemen's Banquet.
"I brought them back." Yu Shu handed the heavy mahogany box to him. Crystals were psychic gems. The longer they were soaked in the Feng Pond, the brighter they became. Generally, it would take seven days for them to be finished. The set in her hands had been raised in the Feng Pond for half a month.
Pei Jing carefully took the box and put it on the table by the window. He rubbed his fingers and slowly opened the box. In an instant, he was dazzled. Crystals of various colors were piled up together. They were pink, yellow, purple, and white, full of watery light.
Even though Pei Jing had seen it once two days ago, he couldn't help but click his tongue at this time. His mind was shaken. He held his breath and closed the box again. He still felt a little dizzy.
Originally, he was 80% confident, but now it became 10%.
"Okay, go in and get ready. This is Song Niangzi, who is in charge of dressing and combing hair. This is Hua Niangzi, who is in charge of making perfume and rouge. They are all people I borrowed from the Heng Wu Restaurant in the north of the city."
Pei Jing introduced them to Yu Shu, and then reminded the two ladies in the suitcases, "Take care of them.
"I'll have to trouble you two ladies to tidy up my niece. Make sure her clothes and jewelry are ready. As for her makeup and face, it must match this set of jewelry."
The two ladies had already sized up Yu Shu. They smiled at Pei Jing and said, "Boss Pei, don't worry. This lady looks clean and elegant. It's best to take care of her. She also has such good clothes and jewelry. We'll take care of her properly. Just wait. When we come out later, we'll give you a beauty."
Hearing that, Yu Shu curled her lips and thought to herself, What beauty? It's just a moving counter that's used to hang crystals.
The curtain of night had just fallen, and the main street in front of the Dingbo Hall in the northern part of the city was already bustling with people and carriages.
It was the annual Hibiscus Gentlemen's Banquet. Other than unmarried noble ladies and unmarried young talents, there were also many officials and nobles in the capital who came to join in the fun and watch the fun.
The Empress was ill and this year's banquet was hosted by Noble Consort Xue. They borrowed the Xiang Wang Fu's side restaurant. Xiang Wang Fei would definitely be there. There should be someone else from the palace, but it was unknown which concubine would be accompanying.
On the street, a green sedan came with a person and a horse. The person on the horse was turning his head to talk to the person in the sedan.
"I was not supposed to be here tonight, but my mother got a favor card from Xiang Wang Fei and sent me here. If it wasn't for the fact that I'm still drinking with the men in the camp."
Feng Zhaomiao rode on the horse and complained to Xue Rui in the sedan. He looked very dissatisfied with Lady Feng forcing him to drink water.
He was younger than Xue Rui by three to five years and had not passed the age where he liked to play around. It was not that there was no one in the room to accompany him in bed, but women were not as attractive to him as good wine and brothers.
Xue Rui did not agree with his words and reprimanded him instead:
"You are not young anymore and should be sensible. Don't always let General Furen worry for you. I heard that you fought with someone in the army two days ago and General Feng came to apologize for you. I see that you are alive and kicking today. Could it be that you managed to get Old Furen to come over and not get beaten by your father?"
Feng Zhaomiao smiled embarrassedly and said guiltily: "It's all because of that boy. He's just a Shu son of the second branch of the Yin family and he dared to strut around in the camp and bully people as he pleased. He even pretended to be a big-tailed eagle in front of me. It was already a light punishment that I did not beat him until his teeth fell all over the floor. I only had a few drops of blood from his nose and he was crying for his parents."
He was afraid that Xue Rui would blame him again if he continued to ask, so he quickly changed the topic:
"Brother Rui, didn't the lotus branch also receive the banquet invitation? Why didn't I see her? Didn't she come with you?"
Feng Zhaomiao ran into Yu Shu and Xue Rui hugging each other in the restaurant that day and guessed that the relationship between them was unusual. So he was a little puzzled when he did not see Yu Shu.
Xue Rui was sensitive and found out the meaning of Feng Zhaomiao's words. Thinking of Yu Shu's current situation, he said without thinking,
"Tonight is the Hibiscus Gentlemen's Banquet. It will be criticized if she comes with me."
Feng Zhaomiao was stunned and wanted to say something, but he heard a whistling sound behind him. In the blink of an eye, two horses leaped past him and startled the horse under him.
But he heard a hearty laughter —
"Hahaha, Eleventh Prince, you have to admit defeat. The Snow Treading Horse under you is now mine!"
Then there was an exasperated voice —
"Zhu Er! How dare you play tricks with me! "
Xue Rui's gaze flickered when he heard this voice, and he lifted the curtain of the palanquin with one hand, causing him to see that there were two horses that stood in opposition under the lanterns a few meters ahead of him. The Eleventh Prince, Liu Yi, was flying into a rage out of humiliation as he raised his horsewhip and pointed it at the young man on the crimson red horse before him.
In an instant, everyone on the street turned around to look at him.
The man on the red horse was in his twenties. He wore a green robe, had long arms and legs, and his black hair was tied up. His forehead was full, and he had thick eyebrows and long eyes. He sat high on the back of the horse and looked down with one arm holding the reins. His movements were free and easy, and he looked heroic.
Xue Rui recognized him at a glance. He was one of the three people he suspected had something to do with the Tenth Princess's suicide. He was the number one aristocratic family in the capital, Second Young Master Zhu, Zhu Qingjue.
Zhu Qingjue seemed to feel the gaze from afar. He turned his head and met Xue Rui's probing eyes.
Four eyes met and two pairs of sword-like eyebrows raised. Under the night lights, it was like two swords clashing, and sparks flew.
Xue Rui gently nodded and let down the curtain. Zhu Qingjue's mouth twitched. He dismounted and threw the reins to an attendant. He then said to Liu Yi, who was shouting at him, "Eleventh Prince, lower your voice.
I can see that your blood and qi are deficient, and your kidney and spleen are weak. It should be caused by indulging in sensual pleasures. If you don't want to leave a hidden illness, I will give you a prescription. Find me after today's banquet. "
He did not care about Liu Yi's expression and walked into the Dingbo Hall with his hands behind his back.
Feng Zhaomiao saw this scene and clicked her tongue. She bent down and said to Xue Rui,
"Brother Rui, did you see that? In the entire capital, Second Young Master Zhu is the most arrogant person. Even the Eleventh Prince is slightly inferior."
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