Princess Anle was the Emperor's most favored eldest daughter. Seven years ago, she had married the di son of a noble family with the surname Wang. The husband and wife had been inseparable for a period of time. Later, Prince Consort Wang secretly had a mistress outside. Princess Anle was so angry that she whipped him and chased him out of the princess fu.
At the time, the entire city knew about this matter. In the end, Prince Consort Wang fell off his horse and died. There were people who said that the cause of Prince Consort Wang's death was suspicious, but no one could find evidence. Later on, the Wang family declined, so no one dared to mention this matter again. At most, they would secretly sigh behind their backs and say that a woman's heart was the most poisonous. However, Prince Consort Wang was not tactful. After marrying the princess, he dared to fool around outside. This was an old man hanging himself and seeking his own death.
After Prince Consort Wang died, Princess Anle was not willing to marry again. She raised a group of entertainers and singers to drink and make merry at the manor. Otherwise, she would invite the noble ladies of Jing to ride horses and play. She could be considered one of the representatives of the group of hedonistic ladies in Jing.
This time, Princess Anle held a chrysanthemum banquet. Almost all of the invited noble ladies showed up. Very quickly, the manor became lively.
"Have you seen Lord Ban?"
"No, she probably won't come today."
"Why?"
"I heard that Tanhua Shen went to Jingting Marquessate a few days ago to break off the engagement. That day, Tanhua Shen was beaten out by Marquis Jingting. Many people saw it."
The noble ladies usually had nothing to do. When they gathered together, it was inevitable that they would gossip about each family. Ban Han's "broken off engagement" could be considered a hot topic at the moment.
"If I were her, I wouldn't have the face to come out." Xie Qilin's younger sister, Xie Wanyu, used a handkerchief to gently wipe the corner of her mouth. In a small voice, she said to her companion: "That family is absurd. Whoever dares to marry into that family will have bad luck."
Her companion, Shi Feixian, was the granddaughter of the current Right Prime Minister. Not only was she beautiful, she was also a famous talented woman in Jing. Even the Empress Dowager had personally praised her.
Shi Feixian had a cold personality, so not many people were on good terms with her. Xie Wanyu was one of them. She didn't like Ban Han's flamboyant personality, so when she heard Xie Wanyu mention her, she frowned slightly and said, "Forget it. She's a girl, and her engagement was broken off three times. It's not a good thing. Let's not talk about it."
"Even if we don't mention it, others will still gossip." Xie Wanyu thought of her brother and wrung her handkerchief. "If she didn't hinder my brother, he wouldn't have hurt his eyes."
There were very few precedents for the imperial court to use a disabled eye as an official. Now that his brother had lost an eye, not only would he no longer be able to enter the imperial court as an official in the future, even his marriage would be downgraded. Nowadays, her mother washed her face with tears every day at home. She really couldn't stand the depressing atmosphere at home, so she escaped to get some fresh air.
The world loved to vent their anger. Xie Wanyu didn't care whether those rumors were true or false. In any case, she didn't like Ban Han's wild appearance. After complaining about Ban Han for a while, her mood became much better.
Shi Feixian quietly listened and didn't say anything. Naturally, she didn't mention that on the day of Xie Qilin's accident, he wanted to give her a book of poems.
When Ban Han got off the carriage, the servant girls and women guarding the gate of the manor all went up to greet her. No matter what the noble ladies thought of this village lord, they, as servants, had to serve this lord well. After all, this person had a beautiful face and a pleasant mouth. She coaxed the Empress Dowager and the Emperor into liking her.
"Greetings, village lord. You're finally here. The princess is waiting in the inner courtyard. This servant will lead the way for you."
Ban Han liked others to treat her like the moon surrounded by stars. She gave a bright smile and took out several silver peanuts from her pouch. She threw them to the servant girl who said she would lead the way: "Let's go. Anle jiejie's chrysanthemums have always been prettier than other people's. How can I not come?"
"Thank you, village lord, for the reward." The servant girl's smile became even brighter after receiving the reward, "Walk this way. Be careful of the steps under your feet."
"So boring." Princess Anle flicked the jade beads on the plate. Her gaze swept over the elegant noble ladies in the courtyard. She turned her head to ask the mama beside her, "Huahua hasn't arrived yet?"
"Princess, village lord Ban hasn't arrived yet." The mama thought of the rumors in Jing these days but didn't dare to reveal it in front of the princess, "He should be on the way."
Just as the master and servant were talking, the sound of women talking and laughing came from outside. A woman wearing a gorgeous palace dress walked over with a beauty in her left hand and a beauty in her right hand.
"I was wondering who made such a big commotion. Other than her, there can't be anyone else." The smile on Princess Anle's face became brighter. She stood and walked towards the person, "It was fine, but you came to tease my family's yatou again. When the time comes, you'll make them call you village lord again and again. They've forgotten about me."
"Jiejie," Ban Han let go of the beauties in her hands and wanted to bow to Princess Anle. However, Princess Anle stopped her, "Don't. There are many people bowing to me. I don't need you."
"We haven't seen each other for half a month. We have to pretend." Ban Han and Princess Anle walked into the garden hand in hand. As soon as she stepped in, she felt countless gazes land on her. She adjusted the hair ornament in her hair and revealed a charming smile to the noble ladies.
Since they wanted to look, she would let them look as much as they wanted.
Her dress today was made from satin and her jade pendant was made from chicken blood jade that couldn't be bought with money. From head to toe, it was exquisite and exquisite. She had spent so much time dressing up. If no one looked, how disappointing would that be?
Xie Wanyu looked at her arrogant appearance and her face almost twisted. One of her brother's eyes was damaged, but Ban Li appeared here glowing with health and beauty. She couldn't swallow the anger in her heart.
She finally understood why her mother liked to call certain women sluts when no one was around. It was because this word could vent the anger in her heart.
What Princess Anle didn't lack the least was beauties, wine, and delicacies. The courtyard was filled with noble ladies. While listening to the music played by the musicians, they recited poems and painted. It was a very pleasant atmosphere. Ban Han was ignorant and incompetent since she was young. She wasn't good at reciting poems or painting. Only her mouth was exceptionally crafty. She only needed to taste one mouthful to be able to distinguish which ingredients were old and which were new.
"This wine was sent by the people in the manor below. How does it taste?" Princess Anle let Ban Han taste the new fruit wine.
"It's alright," Ban Han leaned her head close to Princess Anle's ear and whispered, "Did you see that Xie Wanyu? When she stared at me, her eyes were about to fall out."
"What, you two can't play together?" Princess Anle was seven years older than Ban Han. For her, she practically watched Ban Han grow up, so naturally she was more inclined towards Ban Han.
"How can I play with them?" Ban Han took a sip of the fruit wine and lazily said, "They like to recite poems and paint. They're gentle and lovely. It's not like you don't know when I've liked studying. "
"Don't complain. If Xie Qilin didn't elope with someone else, she would have become your sister-in-law."
"Who wants to marry a man with an eye disease," Ban Han snorted. He didn't marry her, a proper lord of a marquis fu, but he chose to elope with a woman from a brothel. It really made her lose face, "Fortunately, he eloped back then. Otherwise, I would have to stay with a half-blind playboy for the rest of my life."
She had a good impression of Xie Qilin. After all, he was handsome and knew how to make people happy. At that time, she was young and naive, so she had her parents agree to his family's marriage proposal.
Later, she understood that it was better to believe in ghosts than to believe in a man's mouth. When he first proposed, he was considerate and gentle. Later, when he eloped with someone else, he acted like he was naive back then and only found his true love now.
There was also that Xie Wanyu. Her brother broke the engagement back then and made her lose face. Now, she still had the nerve to treat her with disdain. Wasn't there something wrong with her head?
"Lord Ban, everyone is making poems for fun. Why aren't you here?" Xie Wanyu smiled and waved her handkerchief, "Come here quickly."
"Tsk," Ban Han was too lazy to pay attention to Xie Wanyu's fake friendliness. She turned her head and continued to chat with Princess An Le.
She didn't give Xie Wanyu any face, so Xie Wanyu felt a bit awkward. She raised her head to meet the gazes of the noble ladies and forced a smile, saying: "Perhaps Lord Ban still has some misunderstandings about our family."
Misunderstandings? What misunderstandings?
Naturally, it was the matter of the Xie Family breaking off the engagement.
Although women were more free now than in the previous dynasty, it was still an era where men were superior to women. If a man broke off an engagement, even if it was the man's fault, it would still have a great impact on a woman's reputation.
If you were good, then why would other people break off the engagement? Since the man insisted on breaking off the engagement, then there must be something wrong with the woman.
Originally, it was the Xie Family that had done something unkind. However, in view of the Ban Family's hedonistic style and Ban Han's unobtrusive conduct, many noble ladies tacitly agreed with Xie Wanyu's words.
What was the use of being beautiful? The Xie Family's second son still didn't want her.
This kind of thinking made many noble ladies feel happy. They felt a sense of superiority over Ban Han. However, the reality was that they didn't dare to be like Ban Han, who would throw people's faces when she was unhappy. When she was happy, she would reward people with gold and silver. They also wouldn't be like Ban Han, who would dress extravagantly.
This was wrong. As a woman, it was more important to have a woman's posture and inner qualities. A woman like Ban Han was too shallow and too vulgar. She was simply a disgrace to the family.
"What's up with that Shen Yu?" Princess An Le frowned, "Wasn't he the one who cried and begged to marry you?"
"Who cares what's up with him." Ban Han used a silver fork to pick up a piece of fruit and put it in her mouth. Her bright red and moist lips were like ripe peaches. Princess An Le couldn't help but reach out to poke them.
"If you want to break off the engagement, then break it off. Other than his face, there's nothing else about him that I like." Ban Han put down her silver fork and blinked her beautiful eyes. She remembered that in her dream, Shen Yu's ending wasn't very good either. His face was tattooed with words and he was sent to the border.
"If you like good-looking men so much, why don't you marry Rong Xia?" Princess An Le couldn't help but laugh, "In the entire capital, there's no man better looking than him."
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