Can Xia Mang not hear such an obvious step?
Seeing that Qiao Yuandong's attitude softened, she immediately climbed up the pole, clenched her hands into small fists and gently beat Qiao Yuandong's legs. Her movements were as flattering as possible.
"I have embarrassed my wife in front of so many people. I will never joke with my wife again."
Qiao Yuandong pursed his lips and said instead: "What you said seems to me, Madam, what a petty person I am, why am I angry over such a trivial matter?"
How could Xia Mang let her words fall to the floor? She immediately changed her words.
"Our wife is the most lenient person. That is to say, if I had followed my wife, if I had changed my master, I would have been beaten three times a day!"
Qiao Yuandong gave Xia Mang a slight glare. When she met Xia Mang's bright eyes, she took the book to cover her face.
Xia Mang moved forward and pulled down Qiao Yuandong's book, just in time to see the corners of her lips raised.
"Madam, do you forgive me?"
Qiao Yuandong nodded her forehead angrily and funnyly, "I've really allowed you to be unruly. Go and stop bothering me."
Xia Mangjian made Qiao Yuandong happy, and she was also happy herself. After showing her white teeth and saluting Qiao Yuandong, she left happily.
Looking at Xia Mang's happy departure, Qiao Yuandong smiled helplessly, took out the picture of the full moon that was used as a bookmark, rubbed it for a while and then put it back.
What a heartless girl.
The weather was fine that day, and the Duke's Mansion received an invitation from the eldest princess. The eldest princess Xiao Yun invited Qiao Yuandong to sit at the princess's mansion.
Qiao Yuandong has a good relationship with the eldest princess, so he will naturally not refuse the invitation.
I collected the post in the morning and took Xia Mang to the door of the princess mansion at noon.
The eldest princess held a small banquet in the Nuan Pavilion to entertain Qiao Yuandong. The maid led Qiao Yuandong into the Nuan Pavilion, while Xia Mang, who was accompanying him, was invited to sit in the side room to have tea.
Xia Mang happily waved goodbye to Qiao Yuandong. This was the most relaxed and comfortable time since she accompanied her leader on a business trip.
When Qiao Yuandong entered the Nuan Pavilion, the eldest princess was already sitting at the table waiting. Warm woven felt blankets fell around the Nuan Pavilion, and earth dragons provided heat.
The whole room was as warm as spring. The eldest princess did not wear a fur coat to keep out the cold. Her multi-colored flower skirt made of gold and jade was particularly conspicuous.
Different from the majesty she usually wears when she wears princess phoenix clothes, the eldest princess at this time has a more enchanting look.
"You're here, I've been waiting for a long time." Seeing Qiao Yuandong, the eldest princess complained slightly.
Qiao Yuandong just smiled and didn't say much. A maid came up and took off her cloak, revealing the smoke-colored dress underneath. The eldest princess suddenly saw the light golden willow leaves on her shoulders.
She took a closer look at the delicate Yunjian and said: "You are doing this very uniquely. Come over here and I will take a closer look."
Qiao Yuandong followed the instructions and sat next to the eldest princess, leaned closer to her, and suddenly smelled the faint smell of alcohol on the eldest princess's body.
Qiao Yuandong: "Your Highness is drunk?"
The eldest maid serving the eldest princess couldn't help but said: "Madam, I don't know, but our Highness has never sobered up these days. You can help to persuade him."
Qiao Yuandong looked at the eldest princess in surprise, and then saw that the ends of her narrow eyes were already as red as the clouds. He didn't know how much she had drunk before he came.
Regarding the eldest maid's talkativeness, the eldest princess was quite dissatisfied and said: "Stop spreading rumors about your master and punish you carefully!"
The eldest maid opened her mouth but didn't say anything. Qiao Yuandong saw everything and made a guess in her heart.
A while ago, the face-souling person next to the eldest princess disappeared. Because of this, the eldest princess almost turned the capital upside down, but she could never find the face-souling one.
Looking at the depressed look of the eldest princess now, I am afraid she is still sad.
Thinking of this, Qiao Yuandong suddenly understood the purpose of the eldest princess coming to him.
This is to ask her to complain and relieve her sorrow.
It seems that I have to drink this drink today.
The eldest princess saw Qiao Yuandong's cloud shoulder and praised again: "It's so beautiful. I will make one for you later."
Qiao Yuandong's eyebrows twitched, knowing that he couldn't continue these words, lest he touch the eldest princess's sadness.
She pursed her lips and smiled and said: "Your Highness's dress today is really exquisite. I think the workmanship is a craft passed down from the south of the Yangtze River, right?"
The eldest princess' attention was diverted, so she pulled Qiao Yuandong to introduce the pattern to her: "You see, these are flowers and plants intertwining branches, and these are fluttering butterflies, symbolizing that Qingqing and I will last forever."
Qiao Yuandong: "Haha, is that so? Why did Your Highness think of inviting me today?"
The eldest princess put aside the matter of the skirt again, and recalled with a face: "Today is Qingqing's birthday. I am very lonely. After thinking about it, you and I are the best, so I invited you to come." .”
"."
I don't know if it was because of the heat, but the sweat on Qiao Yuandong's forehead dropped.
There was nothing to talk about today, no matter what the eldest princess said, it would always be about that girl Qingqing.
Hey, what can I do? Let’s drink!
Qiao Yuandong was very clear about his position at this moment, which was to accompany the eldest princess to relieve her boredom.
Since Tian'er couldn't continue chatting, he could only drink some.
From drinking the fragrant dew to offering offerings to the jade spring, and then from drinking the drunken green water to drinking sweet dreams, you have a cup and I have a cup.
The eldest princess seemed to have a deep grudge against the wine cup. She didn't realize that the cup was full of wine. As soon as the maid filled the cup, the eldest princess picked it up and drank it all in one gulp.
Since Qiao Yuandong was accompanying him, he had no choice but to drink up.
The eldest princess was very satisfied with Qiao Yuandong's enjoyment. She said boldly: "Pour again!"
By the end of the drink, Qiao Yuandong felt like she was being soaked by the various drinks. She estimated that she had indeed had enough.
For noble girls from aristocratic families, drinking has been a compulsory course since childhood, and it is an essential skill for social interaction in the future.
Therefore, Qiao Yuandong thought to herself that her drinking capacity was acceptable. At least she had never been drunk after attending so many banquets.
Except today!
Seeing that the eldest princess wanted to order the maid to go to the wine cellar to get her own private collection, Qiao Yuandong couldn't sit still. She didn't care about any rules or irregularities, and directly grabbed the eldest princess's raised hand.
"What's wrong?" The eldest princess was almost drunk, and she looked at Qiao Yuandong with misty eyes.
Qiao Yuandong didn't even want to say anything. He just pressed the eldest princess's hand and shook his head. The meaning couldn't be more obvious.
Seeing Qiao Yuandong surrender, the eldest princess breathed a sigh of relief: "Fortunately, you stopped drinking. If you drink again, I will get under the table."
Qiao Yuandong: ".Are you comparing your drinking capacity with me?"
If I had told you earlier, would she have suffered such a big crime?
The eldest princess was stunned for a moment, then she laughed, her eyebrows were raised, but a narrow light flashed in her eyes: "How can that be possible? Since I have invited you to be a guest, why should I let you enjoy yourself to the fullest!"
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Qiao Yuandong glanced sideways at the eldest princess, half-smiling but not smiling: "My wife, thank you for your highness's warm hospitality."
The eldest princess supported her head and looked at Qiao Yuandong lazily: "You only look like you used to when you were drunk. You always end up being hypocritical."
Qiao Yuandong was drunk and looked at the eldest princess without speaking with his beautiful eyes half lowered.
Seeing that Qiao Yuandong was not annoyed, the eldest princess started to laugh more and more. She tapped her knuckles on the table and beat the rhythm, accompanying the chanting in her mouth.
"Beautiful beauty hides the present and the past, the lotus is shy of the jade face, the white teeth are hard to open, and I am meditating among the blue clouds"
It is an ordinary folk tune, but the eldest princess sings it with a unique flavor, and the deliberate artificiality makes her long and narrow eyes appear to be a bit playful.
Qiao Yuandong angrily opened the eldest princess's head with an ivory chopstick, and now he was too lazy to take care of her mood, "See clearly, I am not your lover."
When the eldest princess heard the word "Qing Qing", she was obviously touched. Her eyes that were still smiling before suddenly fell silent, and she leaned on the table in a depressed manner.
She poured the wine herself, raised her head and drank it, and then said suddenly: "Really, where do you think she went?"
Seeing that the topic could not be avoided anyway, Qiao Yuandong said directly: "She is hiding from His Highness intentionally because she doesn't want to embarrass His Majesty. In that case, why doesn't Your Highness accept her affection?"
The eldest princess said dissatisfied: "I, Xiao Yun, are still afraid of getting into trouble with Your Majesty?"
For Qingqing's sake, she almost embarrassed His Majesty to death!
Qiao Yuandong: "A person with her background would never think of this. She only wants to show consideration for His Highness."
"That's what makes me angry!"
As she spoke, the eldest princess slapped her hand on the table, causing the wine bottle on the table to fall down. The wine spilled on the ground, where it was steamed by the earth dragon, and the aroma filled the air.
"She used to be so cautious in the house of Marquis Cheng Yi, and she almost lost her life by enduring this and that. Later, she joined me. I gave her honors and favors and granted her status, just to tell her that she didn't have to endure it and didn't have to be afraid. But she still hid, hiding for something bigger than that!”
The eldest princess got so emotional that in the end she even started using vulgar words regardless of her status.
She looked at Qiao Yuandong with red eyes and said, "She just doesn't believe that I can't protect her! In other words, she just can't trust me!"
Seeing that the eldest princess was getting more and more extreme, Qiao Yuandong immediately started to get upset and quickly persuaded: "Your Highness is obsessed with it. Miss Yu Qing just believed in His Highness's heart for her. Hiding from His Highness.”
The eldest princess just didn't believe it: "You're talking nonsense!"
Qiao Yuandong dismissed the maid who was guarding the Nuan Pavilion, helped the eldest princess to sit down on the couch, and wiped her hands with a piece of silk.
"Your Highness, if you think about it carefully, Miss Yu Qing believes in Your Highness's feelings for her, so she is afraid that His Highness will fall out with Him because of her, so she avoids His Highness, right?"
The eldest princess was silent for a long time after hearing the words. After being prompted by Qiao Yuandong, the depression in her heart for many days was finally lifted. She couldn't help but think of the person she missed day and night.
She, who had always been strong, burst into tears.
"But where can I go to find her? It's such a big place. I don't know if she is eating well or wearing warm clothes. What if she is bullied again!"
The eldest princess fell on Qiao Yuandong's shoulder and cried wildly without any image.
"I, Xiao Yun, have grown up so big that I have had everything to do with wind and rain. I can't get what I like. But why is it so difficult to like a woman?"
Qiao Yuandong tried his best to support the eldest princess, and couldn't help but sigh after hearing her cry: "The love between men and women is the right way in this world, and most women are not tolerated by others."
The eldest princess burst into tears. Now she was not the eldest princess with an honorable status, but a poor child who had lost her beloved treasure.
"Whatever is right or wrong, whatever I like is the right way!"
Qiao Yuandong was amused by this overbearing speech, and she asked: "Is Miss Yu Qing really that good? Is it worth it for His Highness to disregard the world and disregard etiquette for her?"
"Of course!" The eldest princess said this more confidently. She wiped away her tears and said: "My Qingqing is the best Qingqing in the world. I even scolded Your Majesty for her. What is this? This is love! ”
Seeing Qiao Yuandong's silence, she asked: "When you married your husband, wasn't it because he was the best husband in the world? Wasn't it because of love?"
Qiao Yuandong looked at the eldest princess blankly, and said uncertainly for a while: "I have the same family background as him, he is a young and talented young man, and I am also considered outstanding. I have no dislike for marrying him. This is probably the case." Is it love? ”
The eldest princess suddenly raised her head and looked at Qiao Yuandong with a strange look.
If I had to say there was something in those eyes, it would probably be called pity.
"Hey, I knew it." The eldest princess looked at Qiao Yuandong, shook her head and sighed, and said in a tone of experience: "When I was your age, I had the same thoughts about the prince-in-law."
"My father's consort is a well-known and elegant gentleman in the capital. He treats me with great respect, and I treat him with the same kindness and courtesy. At that time, I thought it was love. As long as a few years later, there will be A son and a daughter make this love even deeper.”
Speaking of this, the eldest princess looked at Qiao Yuandong with even more pity in her eyes: "But Madam Dong, later I met Qingqing, and I realized that the love I thought before was not love, it was all "Female Women". According to the principles taught in "Gui" and "Female Virtue", my consort never loved me until his death, and I never loved my consort. ”
When Qiao Yuandong faced the eldest princess's eyes, he felt a little panic in his heart. It was a helplessness caused by the routine he had believed in since childhood being disrupted.
She stubbornly shook her head in denial: "No, you are wrong. I have guarded the Duke's Mansion for him for so many years, supported his grandmother, and taught his young brothers. How could I have done this if there was no love?"
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The eldest princess smiled: "Do you know clearly whether it is love or responsibility? Dong Niang, if you were not his wife, would you do this for him?"
Qiao Yuandong remained silent, feeling depressed and unable to express himself. An answer was ready to come out.
Won't!
(End of chapter)
The author said: In ancient times, marriages were decided by the parents. Qiao Yuandong did not have a deep emotional foundation when he married Xiang. What's more, the two of them died in the battle without even entering the bridal chamber, so it can be said that Qiao Yuandong Yuandong never knew what true love was until the heroine appeared