bookrandom Chapter 141: Traveling through the Prince's Mansion 20
Chapter 141: Traveling through the Prince's Mansion 20
Before Gu Li's flower-viewing banquet, Liu Baijiao's marriage was scheduled first, and the date was even before the flower-viewing banquet.
The emperor arranged a marriage for Liu Baijiao, saying that the prince needed a princess to control him so that he would not act so recklessly. The one he chose was Zhang Jinwei, the eldest daughter of Zhang Zhanhe, the Minister of the Honglu Temple.
Zhang Jinwei's mother was Zhang Zhanhe's first wife, who died of illness when Zhang Jinwei was five years old. The current head of the family, Mrs. Zhang, is Zhang Zhanhe's second wife.
Like most stories about stepmothers and stepdaughters, Zhang Jinwei suffered a lot since she was a child living under the care of a stepmother who appeared warm but was actually cold-hearted.
She had been engaged twice and both were called off. Now she is an unmarried girl at the age of 20.
She became the topic of negative conversation among many noble ladies in Beijing. The rumors forced her to hide in her house and not go out.
However, in the past two years, Zhang Jinwei's situation has gradually improved, and she is willing to go out to parties with her stepmother and sisters.
When everyone wanted to comment on Zhang Jinwei again, several interesting things happened related to her.
Her stepsister accidentally fell into the river and was rescued by a playboy. The stepsister had to cancel her original marriage and marry the playboy.
Her stepbrother was caught having sex with someone's servant, and because he had offended many noble ladies, he was thrown out of the banquet by the host and thrown out of the gate. Mr. Zhang was also impeached by the Censorate for this and was fined half a year's salary.
There was also a past story about Mrs. Zhang that was leaked by someone, and Lord Zhang had to work very hard to suppress it.
Since then, the Zhang family has fallen silent.
Without the marriage of the younger generation and the burden of the harem, Zhang Zhanhe felt that his official position was about to be lost. Unexpectedly, the emperor wanted to grant marriage to Prince Yongping, and the Imperial Astronomical Observatory calculated the horoscope that was compatible with Prince Yongping.
Then such a good thing happened to Zhang Zhanhe.
From the emperor's arrangement of the marriage to the wedding date, there was less than a month between them, which made the prince's marriage seem very sloppy.
The wedding date is on April 3rd of next month.
It is now the end of March, and there are less than twenty days left until the wedding.
The old princess of the Prince's Mansion was still accompanying the Queen Mother in the palace to worship Buddha and had not returned yet. As a junior and not a member of the Prince's Mansion, Gu Li could not intervene to help.
It is even more impossible for the prince who is under house arrest to complete the process of three letters and six appointments within twenty days.
Fortunately, the emperor handed over the authority of the prince's wedding to the Ministry of Rites, and Liu Baijiao only needed to attend the wedding on the day.
Zhang Jinwei, there was no such person in the Prince’s Mansion in the previous life.
For Yu Guli, it is a variable.
Gu Li didn't know what kind of person Zhang Jinwei would be, the one who would replace her as the Princess of the Prince's Mansion. She had to observe her first.
The Ministry of Works was in charge of the West Garden of the Prince's Mansion, and the renovation of the new house for the wedding had complicated the personnel in the mansion. Gu Li didn't want to stay in the mansion, so she took Bai Shuang out to see the County Lord's Mansion, which was almost completed.
The County Princess Mansion bestowed by the Emperor was the mansion of a favored county princess in the previous dynasty. It had been ownerless for too long, and there were many places that needed repairs. No changes could be seen after only a few days of repairs.
Gu Li just took a quick look around and then took Bai Shuang to stroll on the street.
"Miss, can we move to the County Princess's Mansion before the prince's wedding?" Bai Shuang was worried. It would be fine if this young lady of hers was just an ordinary cousin, but everyone in the County Prince's Mansion knew that the cousin was the candidate for the County Prince's Consort chosen by the old princess.
What will the new princess think when she sees their young lady?
Gu Li lifted the curtain and looked at the bustling Kyoto outside the car, the bustling streets, and said indifferently: "If there is no time, then don't move. I have lived in the Prince's Mansion for so many years, so what's the harm in staying a few more days?"
She hadn't even met Zhang Jinwei yet, so how could she just leave like that?
She and Zhang Jinwei both didn't like going out for social events, so Gu Li had no impression of Zhang Jinwei at all.
It's all thanks to the little information I heard from others in teahouses these two days.
"Let's go, we're not going to the teahouse today, let's go to the newly opened Hongyunlou to eat crab soup dumplings!"
The newly opened Hongyunlou is not located in the busiest street market, but at the corner of the more remote Guyuanfang Street.
As soon as the carriage stopped at the entrance of Hongyun Building, the waiter who was waiting at the door ran up with a smile and led the fourth child to drive the carriage around the corner and enter the back door.
There is a large open space at the back door of Hongyun Building, which is used to park the carriages of diners and provide horse feed. On one side of the open space, there is a row of houses similar to sheds, which are used for the drivers to rest and chat, and also provide some food.
When Gu Li's carriage arrived, there were already quite a few carriages parked at the back door.
They all come here to try this unique crab roe soup dumplings.
Logically, crabs are best eaten in the golden autumn season, but this restaurant has used some unknown method to allow people to taste the freshness of crabs and the flavor of autumn half a year in advance.
You don't have to do all the hard work just to eat a few bites of crab. You can eat the crab meat in big mouthfuls and drink the delicious soup in big gulps.
This is a new way of eating that Hongyunlou came up with. Once it was launched, it immediately became popular among noble ladies.
However, this bun, which contains crab meat and soup wrapped in dough to prevent it from leaking out, cannot be taken away and can only be steamed and eaten immediately, so this place is always packed every day.
The owner of the restaurant seemed to have anticipated such a situation. During the busiest times, even the large open space in the backyard was not enough for parking.
Gu Li was led by the waiter to Changyin Pavilion on the second floor. Just after she ordered a few signature dishes, the waiter came in with a tray containing two small bowls of four-color dumplings, two small bowls of osmanthus rice wine, and four small plates of preserved fruits.
"Sir, please enjoy your meal. You can have more if you like." The two waiters left the room one after the other and considerately closed the door.
Bai Shuang, who often went out with the young lady, was already used to it. Gu Li gave her a look and she immediately sat down and said, "Miss, are these provided for us to taste for free?"
"Yeah. It won't be so boring if we eat here while waiting for the food to be served."
"The owner of Hongyun Restaurant is really considerate. He's not afraid that we'll be full after eating this and won't order their dishes."
Gu Li brought over the osmanthus wine, scooped a spoonful and put it into her mouth. A small bowl was only about seven or eight spoonfuls. If one wanted to be full, he would have to have four or five servings.
"People who come here to eat are here to taste the restaurant's specialties. Who would ask the waiter to refill these snacks over and over again just to save money?"
"Miss, this colorful meatball is so delicious and sticky." Bai Shuang finished it in a few bites and smacked her lips with some regret.
"If you like it, just take one back later."
Bai Shuang smiled and said, "Yes, I'll order a large portion. I'll let Bai Lu have a taste when I get back."
After Bai Lu woke up, she was interrogated normally and then sent back to the Prince's Mansion. Now she can only lie in bed to recuperate.
"This is hard to digest. She can't eat it for now. If you want to bring it, bring the sweet-scented osmanthus wine I just drank. That tastes good too."
Bai Shuang's eyes sparkled.
Gu Li laughed and said, "Bring two, one for each of you."
The master and servant were talking and laughing when someone knocked on the door.