Sun looked at the princess with an embarrassed expression.
"That's when I relaxed and had time to play polo, which made me feel happy. I heard that the princess likes opera, so I could find something cheerful to watch."
"Thank you, ma'am."
After saying that, the princess looked at her own female official. The female official came closer and the princess said something in her ear, and the female official turned behind the tent.
"Just now I saw the lady riding a horse and hitting the ball on the court. She looked so heroic, and the horse she sat on was even more handsome."
"Your Highness, thank you for your praise. That horse was picked out by a servant at the horse market. When I first bought it, it was skinny and bald, but I never expected it to grow like this."
"Oh? Then this servant has quite good taste."
"It was a man that the Marquis of my family saved at the frontier. I did it casually, but I didn't expect that the man would repay the favor and join the Marquis's mansion, working in the stables."
"It's a good story."
"Princess."
The female official came back from behind the tent and handed a small wooden box to the princess.
The princess opened it and confirmed that it was what she wanted, so she returned it to the female official.
The female official placed the wooden box on Sun's desk.
"Madam, I grew up in front of the Queen and am familiar with the Prince's family. We feel like old friends today. This jade locket is for Jing'er. I hope you won't dislike it."
"My Lord, this is too precious."
"It's just my idea."
"Jing'er, thank you, Princess."
Xu Zaijing stood up and bowed
"Xu Zaijing thanks the princess for her generous gift."
"Brother Jing is polite."
Princess Pingning felt much better after these words, but she also knew that it would be awkward if she continued.
Sun also understood, so she stood up and said
"Princess, I'm going to take a look at Madam Wu."
"Madam, please go."
After Sun and others left, Princess Pingning sat behind the table and smiled slightly.
The female official beside her whispered, "Princess, how about we ask a servant to see if we can invite a few opera troupes tomorrow?"
"Let's talk about it later. Giving birth is one hurdle, and whether the child can survive is another hurdle, alas."
In the tent of the Marquis of Yongchang's mansion.
Madam Wu looked at Sun and said
"Why did the princess invite you over?"
Xiao Zhu just came to report the news.
Sun said, "It's because my mother's family has a long history with the emperor's uncle's family, and the princess grew up before the empress. It was also because of a few conversations that Sanlang got another excellent jade lock."
Sun was reluctant to reveal the specific details. If the news got out and was distorted, she would offend people.
Mrs. Wu laughed and said, "This Jing'er is really a lovable person."
As he said this, he hugged Xu Zaijing in his arms.
Seeing that her sensible son did not move in Madam Wu's arms, Sun felt relieved. Looking at Madam Wu, she also understood what she was thinking.
The Yongchang Marquis's Mansion was one of the richest families in Bianjing. Although the brothers in the family did not have a room full of maids and servants since childhood, many of them were kept at home or bought from outside after they grew up.
On the one hand, it is to let the men in the family know more about the things in the bedroom and not be obsessed with it.
On the other hand, I hope my family can have many branches and leaves sooner.
The concubine in the Yongchang Marquis's mansion had already given birth to a son, while the wife, Madam Wu, was pregnant.
Mrs. Wu had no idea whether the baby was a boy or a girl. She just hoped that getting closer to her son would be a good omen.
As the two were talking, they suddenly heard a lot of discussions outside the tent.
The old woman outside the door came in but didn't say anything.
Mrs. Wu said cheerfully, "What's the matter? Just tell me!"
"My dear Madam, it was His Royal Highness the Prince of Jing from the men's enclosure next door. He just lost the polo game to the Prince of Yan. Ignoring the Prince of Yan's attempts to reconcile, he lashed out at the captain of his own polo team. The captain was covered in blood and was dragged to the city's medical clinic by the Prince of Yan's men."
It is not good to discuss with people in the tent.
"Your Highness, as the son of the Dragon, how could your temper be like that of an ordinary person? Prince Yan is still so kind!"
Mrs. Wu said with some sigh.
Xu Zaijing listened and knew the character of Prince Yan. He had been wise and benevolent before, so no one would have thought that he would be forced by Prince Yong's tyranny to conspire with Concubine Rong to start a rebellion.
In the stables of the polo field at the Yongyi Marquis's mansion, a groom with gray hair, five or six scars on his face, a broken forearm, and a limping leg was tidying up the debris in the stables.
The groom was dressed fairly neatly, but his age was hard to tell. One of his eyes was calm, while the other was ruined.
After cleaning up the debris, he combed the fur of the horses that had left the field with loving eyes.
The horses were eating grass, breathing heavily through their nostrils, and wagging their tails, looking very happy.
A stable boy of about seven or eight years old, with his hair tied up in a mess and wearing clothes that were a little big but clean, came over. On his shoulder hung a basket filled with horse manure he had just picked up. When you got closer, you could see that the frostbite scars on his ears, hands and feet had not yet disappeared.
Ma Tong put a small cloth bag on the Xu family's utility cart, then picked up the horse manure on the ground and walked out naturally.
The groom walked a few steps, took the cloth bag and mixed it into a bag of unused hay.
Any veterinarian with experience who sees what is inside will definitely know why the horse of King Jing’s cavalry is out of sync with its rider in the field.
The grass in this bag will not cause any harm to the horse if it eats it, it will just make the horse a little abnormally excited.
In the final analysis, it is not poison, but medicine.
But if you don’t have a family inheritance that has lasted for several generations and have not encountered corresponding cases, you will not know.
The groom glanced at the tent of Ningyuan Marquis' Mansion from afar. There was a ripple of light in his single eye, but no tears flowed. Perhaps they had dried up. He turned around and continued to comb the fur calmly.
Shenshi (3:00 PM to 5:00 PM)
The polo match is over.
Although several female members of the Qin family from the Dongchang Marquisate were in the tent of the Ningyuan Marquisate at the polo field, they were separated on the return journey.
A carriage with some old traces carried people from the Dongchang Marquis Mansion back.
The second young lady of the Qin family in the carriage pulled open a corner of the window and saw her brother riding on a horse outside the carriage.
Her brother was clasping his hands in farewell to a sturdy, forty-year-old middle-aged man. (Gu Yankai married Miss Qin when he was about twenty, and had Gu Tingyu more than ten years later, so he was probably around forty at this time.)
There was an unclear look in the eyes of the second girl.
The maidservant Xiang looked at her own daughter and said, "My daughter, I just heard that the Shen family is going to be exiled to Tanzhou. The eldest lady of the Shen family is going to accompany them!"
Miss Qin Er's attention was drawn to this, and she asked curiously, "Isn't the eldest lady of the Shen family pregnant? The road to Jinghu South is not close."
"Who says it isn't?"
"My brother got a fine horse and he became even more proud."
The maid said worriedly, "Miss! Don't keep saying that. When you get married, your dowry will be decided by your elder brother."
"Him? My sister-in-law has the final say! Aren't they looking for families that don't need dowries?"
"Don't worry, young lady. The eldest daughter married into the Ningyuan Marquis's Mansion. After her passing, the dowry she left behind should be sent back to our family."
"Why would the Gu family send their son back if they already have one? Who would spit out the meat they've eaten?"
The wheels rumbled and the horses neighed, but no one could hear the conversation between the master and servant.
In the spacious carriage of the Xu Mansion.
Zai Jing was dozing off in his mother's arms, while his sister was chattering in the carriage about which women at the polo match had beautiful jewelry and which had exquisite clothes. While talking, she was also admiring the jade locket that her younger brother had obtained.