My father Zhu Gaoxu

Chapter 137 Shangyuan Festival

The Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month is definitely the grandest festival of the year. Even the usual curfew has been lifted, and there will be carnivals for two days and two nights on the 56th day of the first lunar month.

The streets and alleys of Jinling City have long been covered with various colored lights.

Especially in front of some dignitaries' homes, they began to make lanterns a few years ago, including gods, animals, scenery, etc., and there are all kinds of lanterns in various shapes.

A tiger descending mountain lantern was also specially made in front of the Hanwang Mansion, which was as high as a three-story building and attracted many people to watch.

And in the inner house of the palace, there are also all kinds of lanterns hung up.

Taking advantage of today's festival, Princess Han held a Lantern Appreciation Party in the mansion to entertain ladies from various families who participated in the voyage to the West. Of course, the Lantern Appreciation was the second priority. solve it.

Mrs. Chang also received the invitation, so as soon as it got dark, she took Chang Sining and drove to the palace in a carriage.

Mrs. Chang flipped through the invitation in her hand, and suddenly she said to Chang Sining happily: "Sining, the princess's invitation specifically mentions that she will bring you to the banquet together, do you think this is..."

"How is it possible? There were so many women that day, and many of them were better than me in appearance and family background, so don't think too much about it!"

Before Mrs. Chang could finish speaking, she was interrupted by Chang Sining.

Last time Princess Han asked each family to bring unmarried women to the banquet. Mrs. Chang didn't have a daughter, so she forced Chang Sining to go, but she didn't have any hope for it. After all, her height alone can scare people. Back a lot of people.

"That's not necessarily true. The princess herself is tall. Maybe when she chooses a wife for her son, she likes to choose a taller one!"

Mrs. Chang said so, but she felt a little guilty.

In fact, she also knows that there is little hope for this matter. If the Chang family has not collapsed, Chang Sining may still be selected as the princess, but now that the Chang family has not fallen to this level, how is it possible for the nobles of the Han Palace Choose a woman from the Chang family?

Thinking of the above, Mrs. Chang couldn't help sighing.

Chang Sining knew what Auntie was thinking, so he stretched out his hand to hold Mrs. Chang's hand and comforted him: "Auntie, don't think about it anymore, people say that 'once you enter the Marquis', it's as deep as the sea', let alone the palace, for us girls , Marrying into that deep house may not be a good thing!"

When Chang Sining spoke to the end, she thought of her aunt's grievances over the years, which made her eyes turn red, and tears almost fell out.

Chang Sining remembered things very early, in her impression, her aunt was also a heroic woman in the past, but the misfortune of marriage these years made Mrs. Chang more and more depressed, and she was a little older than her peers.

With the example of her aunt first, Chang Sining is also quite repulsed by marriage, and even prepared to never marry for the rest of her life.

Mrs. Chang also knew that her experience had caused some bad influence on Chang Sining, and she wanted to persuade her, but she didn't know what to say, so she could only sigh again, and the carriage became a little silent.

Soon the carriage arrived at the Wangfu, Mrs. Chang took Chang Sining out of the carriage, and saw colorful lights everywhere in the Wangfu, guests coming and going like a cloud, it was a prosperous scene.

It's just that Mrs. Chang sighed secretly when she saw this. Back then, when the Chang family was not down, the Chang mansion was also so lively during the New Year's Eve.

"Hey, what a coincidence, sister Chang, you are here too!"

Unexpectedly, at this moment, a lady got off the carriage next to her, and when she saw Mrs. Chang, she immediately stepped forward to greet her enthusiastically, but her smile was a bit fake no matter how you looked at it.

"It turned out to be the younger sister of the Guo family."

When Mrs. Chang saw this noble lady, her expression was a little unnatural.

This noble lady surnamed Guo was the daughter of Guoying, Marquis of Wuding, and she married Fan Ju, a fellow commander of the Jinwu Guard.

Moreover, the Guo family has been married to the royal family for generations. Mrs. Guo’s eldest brother is a concubine, and several sisters have also married various vassal princes, especially Mrs. Guo’s nieces. In every respect, Mrs. Guo is much better than Mrs. Chang.

"I heard that my sister was allocated a quota for a boat. Given the situation of the Marquis of Navigation, I was able to get a boat. This is really an unexpected joy. My sister congratulates my sister first!"

Mrs. Guo smiled again and said, but what she said made people feel uncomfortable.

Mrs. Chang and Mrs. Guo have known each other since they were young. At that time, Mrs. Chang was born tall and knew martial arts.

But later, with the change of identity, Mrs. Guo's attitude towards Mrs. Chang also changed. Every time they meet, they have to say a few words with guns and sticks.

"Thank you, Sister Guo. Sister, I thought I would share the same boat as Sister Guo, but I didn't expect the princess to appreciate it and let me take advantage of it!"

Mrs. Chang was not easy to mess with, she immediately retaliated.

Although Mrs. Guo's brothers and sisters are prominent, she is only a concubine, and although her husband holds an important position, he has no title after all.

So in the end, for the sake of Concubine Guo, she shared the quota of a boat with another family. This is also the reason why she is jealous of Madam Chang. After all, with her, her current strength is much stronger than that of the declining Nautical Marquis. .

Mrs. Guo was stunned speechless. After all, the quota was allocated by Princess Han. No matter how dissatisfied she was, she would not dare to argue with Princess Han.

But Mrs. Guo soon saw Chang Si Ning next to her, and immediately sneered and said: "Sister, it's true, the princess invited us here today to discuss the matter of sailing to the west, why did you bring the younger generation to join in the fun? "

"Didn't my sister bring her daughter?"

Mrs. Chang was taken aback for a moment, and then realized that not only Mrs. Guo didn't bring her daughter, but most of the other ladies came alone.

"My daughter said that one visit is enough, after all, she doesn't have to worry about getting married!"

As Mrs. Guo said, she sneered at Chang Sining, if she had a son, she would definitely not let him marry such a tall woman!
"I disappointed Aunt Guo. The princess's invitation card specifically named me and asked me to come with my aunt!"

Chang Sining said calmly.

"what?"

Mrs. Guo's face changed when she heard the words. The last time the princess was on a blind date for the eldest son, she brought her daughter here like everyone else, but this time the princess even asked the woman from the Chang family to come. What does this mean? ?
"Sister Guo, it's really a pity that my niece didn't come to the palace again!"

Mrs. Chang also took the opportunity to make up for it.

This knife hit the vital point, Mrs. Guo's defense was broken, and she didn't care about acting anymore, she flicked her sleeves angrily, turned around and left.

Looking at Mrs. Guo's angry background, Mrs. Chang also smiled happily. She has been angry with Mrs. Guo a lot these years, and today she finally let out a bad breath.

"Sining, the princess summoned you here alone, so it's possible that she really fell in love with you?"

Then Mrs. Chang said to Chang Sining with a face of joy.

Although marriages pay attention to families, the royal family of the Ming Dynasty does not pay much attention to families. For example, the princess's natal family is just a commander, and there are even rumors that the royal family may choose from small families to avoid foreign relatives. His power was too great, causing his relatives to intervene in politics.

"Aunt, you think too much, I'm not the only one here today!"

At this time, Chang Si Ning pointed to a carriage not far away, and saw a tall and slender girl getting out of the carriage as well.

"I understand. This is the Princess of Han who selected a group of people, and today she invited you to the lantern festival. This means that the Crown Princess still has to choose from among you!"

Mrs. Chang suddenly came to her senses, and once again pointing to the girl who got out of the car happily, she said.

"You see, this woman is also tall, which means that Princess Han really wants to find a taller daughter-in-law for herself. After all, King Han is tall and tall, and Princess Han is not short. The future son must be taller. Si Ning, you are the perfect match!"

Chang Sining was not overjoyed when she heard the words, she had met Zhu Zhanhe once, and had a good impression of him, but that was just because the other party had helped her elder brother, it didn't mean that she wanted to marry Zhu Zhanhe .

And Chang Sining is very clear-headed, knowing that apart from her own height shortcomings, the most important thing is her poor family background. If it wasn't for the sake of her grandfather King Kaiping, the Chang family would have been included in the Jianwen Old Party , such a family background, how could it be possible to marry into the Palace of the King of Han?
Mrs. Chang and Chang Sining came to the inner house, the whole way was brightly lit, and all kinds of lanterns could be seen everywhere.

And in the garden of the inner house, a garden party was held, where people could watch lanterns and guess lantern riddles, and if they guessed correctly, they would be rewarded with exquisite gifts.

Moreover, the palace also invited many female entertainers to perform all kinds of miscellaneous operas, and even the maids of the palace lined up to sing and sing.

At the second watch, Mrs. Chang and other noble ladies were invited by Princess Han to the living room to discuss business matters. Only a dozen or so young girls like Chang Sining were left with their maids to move around freely. They could watch the lanterns in the garden. You can also go to the nearby warm pavilion to rest.

The Shangyuan Festival is originally a day to call friends and go to the streets to enjoy lanterns together.

Of course, the viewing of lanterns is second, the main thing is to see beautiful women, the ladies of various families who usually don’t leave the door, but today they have no taboos, and they take to the streets in small groups to play.

If a pair of young men and women see each other right, the woman will even leave her address and wait for the man to come to propose marriage.

It's a pity that Zhu Zhanhe couldn't go out on such a good festival. Originally, Zhang Zhong and Zhu Yong had made appointments with him to go to the street together, but Han Wangfei invited the wives of various families to discuss the establishment of the Zhuchai Association.

In addition, Princess Han also invited a few women she liked to come to let Zhu Zhanhe meet. After all, this is Zhu Di's order. If you usually want to see these women, it is really inconvenient, but today is the Lantern Festival , naturally there is no problem.

So Zhu Zhanhe had no choice but to decline the invitation of the two friends, and stayed at home obediently. It was not until the second watch that he came to the garden of the inner house accompanied by Sun Ruowei.

(End of this chapter)