In the Dingbo Hall, guests came one after another. The person in charge of the palace had not arrived yet.
In the back garden of the Dingbo Hall, there was a natural lake. It was the only place where there was running water.
This exquisite Fengshui Hall was given by the late Emperor to His Majesty when he was still a prince. Later, when His Majesty succeeded the throne, he gave it to his younger brother, Prince Xiang.
Usually, the Dingbo Hall did not allow outsiders to enter. Only on a good day like today could it be lively.
On the shore of the lake, there were a few waterside pavilions, and the shadows of people could be seen. On the surface of the lake, there was a winding bridge, and the bridge was densely covered with lanterns, like a colorful dragon lying on the surface of the water.
In the middle of the lake, there was an octagonal pavilion. In the pavilion, there was a musician playing a zither and a bell.
Xin Liu met Situ Qinglan outside a greenhouse. Miss Ning came with her. The three girls walked on the bridge together.
At this time, on the bridge, there were many dazzling people wearing fragrant clothes.
The girls invited tonight were all dressed up meticulously, wearing new clothes and accessories. Even if they weren't fighting for the one and only Golden Jade Hibiscus, they still wanted to show off their elegant demeanor at this annual banquet so that they wouldn't fall behind others.
"Look, there is a big group of koi!"
Xin Liu lies on the railing of the bridge, leaning forward to point at a large carp swimming under the bridge. Under the illumination of the bridge lights, it looks like a huge colorful cloud drifting across the ink-black bottom of the water.
Situ Qinglan saw it and couldn't help but exclaim, "Apart from the Imperial Garden of the palace, I'm afraid you can only see such a group of three-colored Danding in the Dingbo Hall. Last year, I raised a pair in the Wind Pond, but they were not as colorful as the ones in the lake."
At this time, a laugh came from the side, "This girl is really knowledgeable. Koi raised in the running water is indeed the best."
Situ Qinglan and the other two girls turned around and saw a young man standing a few steps away. He had a dignified appearance and was nodding at them politely. However, his eyes were clearly on Situ Qinglan, who was dressed in a yellow dress and had an elegant appearance.
Situ Qinglan blushed and took half a step back. When she was about to greet him, she heard Xin Liu call someone out.
"Second Brother Qi, why are you alone? Where's Young Lord? Aren't the two of you inseparable from each other? "
The visitor was Grand Scholar Qi's Second Young Master, Qi Mingxiu, and the Young Lord that Xin Liu mentioned was Count Zhongyong's Young Master, Rui Lin.
Qi Mingxiu retracted his gaze and said helplessly to the lively Xin Liu: "Today Ruilin wants to bring Younger Sister along, I did not go with him. Moreover, the two of us are just young brothers, it is true that we often see each other, we are not as clingy as you say."
Xin Liu curled his lips and said, "Young Master Xue and Feng Zhaomiao are sworn brothers, but they are not as close as you two."
"Ahem," Qi Mingxiu glanced at Situ Qinglan awkwardly. To prevent Xin Liu from blabbering, he quickly changed the topic and asked,
"May I know which mansion this young lady is from? May I know your surname?"
In such a huge city like An Ling, some people lived for more than ten years but never saw each other. Especially between men and women, they only heard of each other's names but never saw each other.
After all, Situ Qinglan was from an aristocratic family, and she was slightly older, so she did not be shy or rude. She bowed to Qi Mingxiu and said,
"My surname is Situ."
Xin Liu interrupted: "Sister Situ is a student of our Taishi Library, an eighth-grade Yi Shi. Her grandfather is Academician Fang who teaches magic."
"Miss Situ, I am Qi Mingxiu, sorry for my rudeness." Qi Mingxiu also bowed to Situ Qinglan.
A man and a woman who were strangers met for the first time at this banquet and asked each other about their families' names. This was not the only situation that happened.
Qi Mingxiu was eloquent, so he quickly used the topic of koi fish to talk with Situ Qinglan. Xin Liu could not get a word in, but Miss Ning, who was with him, noticed it and pulled Xin Liu to the side.
Xin Liu was puzzled: "We are talking, why are you pulling me? Sister Situ is still there."
Miss Ning whispered to her, "Hush, you silly girl. Didn't you see that Second Master Qi is too lazy to care about you and me? He's here for Miss Situ. If we stand on the side, won't we be in the way?"
The two stood far away. Xin Liu turned back to look at Qi Mingxiu and Situ Qinglan, and felt that Second Master Qi was very attentive tonight. She turned back to look at the bridge, and there were all kinds of young men and women. She did not know when, but there were a few more pairs of figures.
"Tsk," she spat and rolled her eyes: "How boring, if I knew this would happen, I would not have come."
Miss Ning ignored her, and only held her hand to stop her from running around. She casually looked in the direction of the bridge, as if she was looking for something.
"What are you looking for?" Xin Liu asked her.
Miss Ning was born in a scholarly family, and she was also a generous person. She was also Xin Liu's best friend, so she honestly said:
"I am not like you, who can go out every day. I am always cooped up at home, and can only go out in a sedan chair. There are many people in the capital, but I have only heard of them, but have never seen them. It is rare to have a chance tonight, so I want to feast my eyes."
"Oh?" Xin Liu was curious, "So, who do you want to see?"
Miss Ning pursed her lips and smiled. She moved closer to her ear and said: "There are a few outstanding women in the capital, I have seen most of them, such as Mingyue of the Yin family, Zizhu of the Rui family, and Princess Xi Wen of the Xiang Palace. As for this man, I have a few that I want to see with my own eyes, to see if they are worthy of their name … "
"The first one is Daoist Jing Chen, who has recently become famous. He is the youngest academician of the Imperial Historian Academy, the son of Yun Hua Yi and Princess Lu Yue. What kind of immortal is he? The second one is the young master of the Xue family, who did not make a move in the capital three years ago and hid in the city for a while. He became famous at a young age. I have heard that he is the most elegant person in Anling, but I don't know if he is really unique or not. The third one is the Young King of Medicine, Zhu Qingjue. I want to see if this madman of the capital has three heads and six arms. "
Xin Liu listened and laughed. She pinched her arm and said: "I have seen all three of them. Why do you suddenly sound strange after you mention them?"
Miss Ning glanced at her, "That's good. When you see them later, point them out to me."
"That's nothing," Xin Liu's eyes turned and swept across the bridge. She looked into the distance, and her eyes lit up. She quickly pointed to the shore —
"See, the person you want to see is here."
Miss Ning followed her finger and looked to the shore. Her vision was instantly taken away by a white robe.
She saw that the person was tall, and his sleeves were fluttering in the wind. He had a white face without a beard, and his handsome appearance could be vaguely seen. He was like a white crane standing alone, and also like a cool breeze.
"Oh, this is Academician Jing."
Miss Ning's eyes were full of admiration. She nodded and said: "This kind of grace, only 'Daozi' can match it."
Xin Liu said: "Academician Jing is good-looking, and his temperament is also kind. I don't know how many female students of the Imperial Historian's Library admire him, openly and secretly trying to get close to him. That Miss Zhan of the Zhan family that I told you about a few days ago, the one that just entered the Celestial Commissioner as a female official. She has always had ideas about Academician Jing. I don't know if she came today."
Miss Ning came back to her senses and said: "You women of aristocratic families are all bold and don't know shame."
"Pah, I don't know who specially came to see men."
Xin Liu reached out to twist her waist. Miss Ning dodged and retreated at the same time. The two of them were laughing and joking at the end of the bridge. No one paid attention and they accidentally bumped into someone.
"Aiyo!"
Miss Ning stepped on a foot and heard a cry of pain. Xin Liu pulled her back and steadied her. She quickly turned around to apologize, but before she could say "sorry", she heard a tender rebuke:
"What kind of place is this? You dare to mess around? Do you have any rules?"
Coincidentally, the person that Miss Ning stepped on was none other than Zhan Xueyuan that Xin Liu had just mentioned.
When Xin Liu looked up and saw who it was, he frowned. He held his handkerchief and retorted:
"Whether we have rules or not, it's not up to you to teach us. The bridge is so wide, who told you to get close to us?"
Zhan Xueyuan also recognized Xin Liu and knew that she was on good terms with Yu Shu. He hated her and sneered:
"It seems that some people not only don't know the rules, but are also unreasonable. Birds of a feather really do flock together. What kind of people make friends with what kind of people."
Xin Liu wasn't someone to be trifled with. Hearing her insinuations, he raised his eyebrows: "What do you mean?"
Seeing that the two of them were about to quarrel, Miss Ning got a headache and tried to persuade them. On the other side, the girls that came with Zhan Xueyuan also approached.
The one who was surrounded in front and behind was actually Princess Xi Wen.
"What are you shouting for? Don't say a word. Are you afraid that you won't make a fool of yourself?"
Tonight, Xi Wen had really put on makeup. She was wearing a wide-sleeved purple dress, and her figure was delicate and competitive. Her hair was combed into a flying immortal bun, and there were peach blossoms on her forehead. Her face was delicate and beautiful, and a priceless purple jade tassel ring hung around her snow-white neck. She was dazzling.
As soon as she appeared, she stole the limelight on this half of the bridge, making all the other girls pale in comparison.
Even though Xin Liu was dissatisfied, she knew that she couldn't confront her directly, so she stepped forward with Miss Ning to greet her.
Seeing that they had admitted defeat, Zhan Xueyuan was proud. She walked back to Xi Wen and her expression became a little flattering:
"Princess, there are so many people on this bridge. Why don't we go to the greenhouse over there and sit down?"
Xi Wen glanced at her but didn't agree. Instead, she asked Xin Liu:
"Where is Yu Suanzi?"
Xin Liu had more or less heard about the conflict between Yu Shu and Princess Xi Wen, so he said vaguely, "I came early and didn't see her."
Xi Wen smiled and gently waved the beauty fan in her hand. She turned her head and spoke to a beautiful girl behind her, who was not inferior to her.
"Sister Zizhu, you probably haven't seen our female Yu Suanzi. You are always in your boudoir, so you probably haven't heard of her. This year, Yu Suanzi is in charge of cousin Rui's Wangji Tower. She is close to cousin Rui. It seems that she lives in the restaurant and often goes in and out with cousin Rui."
Hearing this, Rui Zizhu immediately frowned. As early as a month ago, she heard from the elders in her family that they intended to betroth her to the eldest son of the Xue family. She also had some young girl feelings for Xue Rui, so when she heard that another girl was too close to her future husband, how could she like her?
Xin Liu also frowned. He heard the ambiguity in Xi Wen's words, which implied that Yu Shu had bad conduct, so he said in a low voice,
"Princess, don't listen to nonsense. Her family lives in the south of the city. Why does she live in the restaurant? Besides, we all know that she is brother and sister with the eldest brother of the Xue family."
"Brother and sister?" Xi Wen covered her mouth with the fan and laughed so hard that her shoulders shook. A cold light flashed in her eyes. "No wonder I heard her call him brother so affectionately."
This time, Rui Zizhu's expression became even worse. Miss Ning looked at her, quietly pulled Xin Liu's back, and dragged the ignorant Rui Zizhu away with Xi Wen and Xiao Ci.
After they left, Xi Wen held Rui Zizhu's arm and whispered to her,
"Listen to what I said. Don't ignore it. Watch carefully. This female Yu Suanzi is going to fight for the Golden Jade Hibiscus tonight. If Cousin Rui is bewitched by her, what should you do?"
Rui Zizhu bit her lip and couldn't help but worry. Everyone knew that the two Golden Jade Hibiscus at the Gentlemen's Hibiscus Banquet was a heaven-sent marriage. As long as the man and the woman were willing, it would be a good thing.
How about this, I'll fight for the Golden Jade Hibiscus, and you help me secretly. Later, listen to my instructions, and make sure she doesn't get any benefits. "
Rui Zizhu was already upset and didn't know what to do. Hearing Xi Wen's suggestion, she hesitated for a moment, then nodded and agreed.
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