PFC Chapter 236 Change of Plan
Chapter 236 Change of Plan
Chapter 236 Change of Plan
The garden party during the Flower Festival is extremely lively.
It was still cold at this time, and only the green could be seen in the yard. There was no garden scenery to appreciate. The real beauty was the young, bright and beautiful boys and girls.
Because they are not bound by their elders at home, everyone feels free when visiting the park and fully releases the liveliness and agility in their nature.
As soon as Cheng Jintong entered the garden, she pushed the eldest daughter of the He family away, and she only wanted to see Lin Jiaoyue as soon as possible.
In previous years, the extremely high status and beautiful Lin Jiaoyue was the most eye-catching person in the garden party, and she was just a foil. But today the situation has been reversed.
For half the whole morning, all the women she met in the garden took the initiative to greet her, and the men did not hide their admiration for her. Instead, they felt that they had to be polite to the eldest daughter of the Lin family because of her family background, but they also felt that they were afraid to avoid her.
Cheng Jintong patted Lin Jiaoyue's shoulder with some pride: "With me here, no one dares to look down on you. Who told you to be my close friend?"
Lin Jiaoyue gritted her teeth and forced a smile: "Thank you very much for today."
"Has the Fourth... Young Master arrived? Where is he now? Take me to see him quickly." Cheng Jintong was a little impatient.
"There are so many people here now, and everyone is in high spirits. I'm afraid it's not the best time. You just wait a while." Lin Jiaoyue looked contemptuous in her heart, but her face showed a sincere and comforting look.
"Okay..." Cheng Jintong pouted.
As the two were talking, a veiled woman with bright eyes walked by. She held a round fan covered with gauze and glanced over: "Who is that person?"
A servant-like figure beside her quickly replied, "To answer Princess Lingxi's question, the smaller of the two women in yellow is Cheng Jintong, the granddaughter of the Minister of Rites, Lord Cheng. The one next to her is Lin Jiaoyue, the only daughter of the Minister of War."
Princess Lingxi raised her eyebrows. "Lin Jiaoyue? Is she the eldest daughter of the Lin family who was deposed as a princess?"
"That's right." The maid replied.
"Heh... such a good-looking face is wasted!" Princess Lingxi snorted coldly.
Because they were relatives of important officials of the imperial court, the maidservant did not dare to make any comments. However, the princess from the northern border was not someone to be trifled with, so the maidservant asked, "Would you like me to invite them over to pay their respects to the princess?"
"No need. I came out today to watch the fun. It wouldn't be fun if there was such a big commotion." When she was in the Northern Frontier, she had heard about the handsome men of the Great Zhou Dynasty. But she had been in the capital for over a month and was always confined to the palace. Everywhere she looked were eunuchs. It was very boring! Now, taking advantage of the fight between the Empress and Consort Shu, she found an excuse to watch the excitement of the Flower Festival before leaving the palace. Naturally, she didn't want to cause too much trouble.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have worn the veil.
However, even though she wanted to keep a low profile, her height and eyes, which were different from those of the women in the Great Zhou Dynasty, attracted many men at the garden party to approach her frequently.
That's why she felt strange when no one paid attention to Lin Jiaoyue.
Unexpectedly, the woman who was as beautiful as herself was actually a disgraced princess.
What's the point of seeing her? It's bad luck!
After strolling in the garden for half a day, young boys and girls passed by each other, enjoying the scenery and the people.
During lunch, seats were separated for male and female guests, and they ate separately.
The banquet seating arrangement wasn't based on family background or social status as usual; close friends naturally sat together. The He family's eldest daughter, invited by Cheng Jintong but snubbed, coldly watched Cheng and Lin, who were chatting and laughing nearby.
Her family background was not prominent, and she was able to gain a foothold in Beijing only because her brother won the top spot in the imperial examination.
But she was proud of her talent and fame and had no friends in Beijing. After being temporarily abandoned by Cheng Jintong today, she had to wander around alone the whole morning. Compared with the groups of people around her, she seemed very lonely and deserted.
But as luck would have it, she met Xu Yaoyao.
Normally, she looked down on Xu Yaoyao, always feeling that although she was the county lady's sister, she lacked the grace of a noble family. Unlike her, although she also came from a humble family, she had been well-read since childhood because of her brother, and disdained to associate with such people.
In the past, she had merely been perfunctory in her response to Xu Yaoyao's deliberate approach, but today was different. Xu Yaoyao's presence actually relieved her awkward situation. She simply pulled Xu Yaoyao to sit with her, so that the high-ranking eldest daughter of the Cheng family would know that she was not unpopular. The girls who came to the Flower Festival Garden Party were of course carefully dressed, and to avoid ruining their neat makeup, the food at the banquet was also exquisite and delicate.
Amid the chatter of the crowd, sets of silver porcelain plates and bowls with exquisite snacks were brought up.
The snacks are one bite at a time, no need to bite them open.
The tea is clear and won't stain your lip balm.
Cheng Jintong had been running all morning and was thirsty. After taking two sips, she found that her skirt was wet.
"Oh, how could this happen!" Thinking about meeting the Fourth Prince soon, what should she do in this state?
Lin Jiaoyue was also a little surprised and cursed in her heart: What an idiot.
But he said, "The banquet has just begun, it's still early. Go change your clothes first. If you go quickly, you won't be late."
Cheng Jintong knew this was the only way. This was her first time meeting the Fourth Prince in private, so how could she let him see her slovenly side? So she repeatedly told Lin Jiaoyue not to leave, and she would be back soon!
Then he hurried away with his maid.
On the other side, the Fourth Prince Wu Tianqi, who was dining alone in the flower hall, received news from his subordinates.
He frowned slightly: "She actually came?"
The subordinate replied, "That's right. Princess Lingxi only brought a maid with her, and she was wearing a veil, so no one recognized her at the garden party."
Wu Tianqi lowered his head and rubbed his eyebrows.
The subordinate asked, "Your Highness, are you still going to proceed according to the original plan?"
Wu Tianqi and Lin Jiaoyue agreed that Lin Jiaoyue would bring Cheng Jintong to meet him in private, and leave traces of aphrodisiac spices on Cheng Jintong's clothes. When the two met, they would attract others to catch them. What others saw was that the granddaughter of the Minister of Rites disregarded etiquette and deliberately seduced in order to pursue love. As a man, he had to be responsible for Cheng Jintong and had to take her into his house.
He was willing to marry a woman with a ruined reputation as his principal wife. Naturally, the Cheng family would be grateful to him. The Ministry of Rites would be under his control. If he wanted to seize the throne in the future, the Ministry of Rites would have plenty of reasons to silence His Majesty and the people of the world!
But now... Princess Lingxi suddenly appeared, and he had to rethink his plans.
The Ministry of Rites is good, but the Northern Frontier... is even more useful.
He calmed down and ordered, "Proceed as planned, but let someone catch us later so that Cheng Jintong can show a more shameful side, and others will sympathize with my helplessness."
He doesn't care about other people's sympathy.
It will only be valuable if Princess Lingxi feels it.
Moreover, the more unbearable Cheng Jintong is, the less he should promise her the position of principal wife. Even if she is a concubine, I am afraid that the old Minister Cheng will be grateful.