The Rebirth of an Orphan

Zhao Xihua felt restless for several days in a row, and she couldn't sleep well at night. In her dreams, she either saw Gu Lun's face or her master's burnt corpse. She felt listless.

However, the battle of Laocheng between Gu Lun and the Ninth Prince lifted the spirits of the entire Kyoto, and the previous depressed atmosphere was swept away. Many aristocratic families began to hold various flower-viewing banquets, poetry and song banquets, and even President Mo Yuan held a flower-viewing party in the palace garden to stabilize the people's hearts. Zhao Xihua also received an invitation to the flower-viewing party.

Pingshui handed the invitation to Zhao Xihua and whispered, "Sister, there's news from Zhang Lin that General Ling of the Ling family has also been invited to attend the flower viewing party."

Zhao Xihua thought that this was probably the most valuable information that the Ling family could give her, and that they would probably find a way to get Ling Qian to meet her when the time comes.

Zhao Xihua raised her hand and touched the invitation in front of her and said, "Pingshui, please help me prepare the clothes and jewelry for the banquet. They should not be too ostentatious or humiliate the status of our Gu Lun. After all, I am the young mistress of the Gu family."

Pingshui was busy preparing, but she was a little worried. Recently, her daughter's demeanor was not right, as if she was worried, and she had nightmares every night. However, the daughter has always been lucky, so she just hoped that the son-in-law could return safely and the daughter would no longer suffer from the pain of missing him.

The flower-viewing banquet held in the palace garden was soon held. It had been a month since Gu Lun left for the expedition, and the weather had warmed up. Many flowers and plants had sprouted, and early April was the time when the peach blossoms were in full bloom. Gu Lun once said that when the peach blossoms were in full bloom, it would be time for him to return home.

Zhao Xihua got up early and dressed up. She wore a light red skirt embroidered with silver plum patterns. There were not too many gorgeous decorations. She just simply tied her hair into a bun and wore a red crystal hairpin. However, she also pinned her master's plum blossom hairpin under the bun. Against the backdrop of the red crystal, it had a unique charm.

The palace garden is located in the northwest of Kyoto, close to Mt. Tamae, the largest mountain in Kyoto. The water from the moat meanders along the mountain road under the hillside, forming the Qionglin Garden, a palace garden with extremely exquisite scenery.

By the time Zhao Xihua arrived at Qionglin Garden, other noble ladies from aristocratic families had already arrived in advance, including Mrs. Hua from the Gu family, who had brought Gu Xianyu and were waiting in a flower hall in the garden, chatting and laughing with several noble ladies.

There are no special rules to follow for the flower-viewing party in Qionglin Garden, and the biggest feature of this garden is the flower hall located among the flowers, as well as various pavilions and small courtyards for the ladies to rest. There are pavilions, towers, rockery and small ponds, and the scenery is everywhere.

Although it was Mo Yuan who proposed the flower viewing party, he himself was not present. Those who came were the ladies and other ladies in the Presidential Palace.

The people who attended the flower viewing party were not restrained at all. In addition to the noble ladies, there were also young men from various aristocratic families. It was more like a blind date for people to meet each other.

Madam Hua is very proud now, her eldest daughter is marrying a high-ranking official, her third daughter has become a pregnant and favored young lady in the Presidential Palace, and she was officially named Madam Winter the day before, which is a sign of Mo Yuan's appreciation for Gu Lun who is fighting on the front line.

Mrs. Hua's biggest headache now is her second daughter. She is not as good-looking as the third daughter, nor as talented as the eldest daughter, but she is too picky. She has looked at all the talented young men from aristocratic families, but she just can't find anyone she likes.

She brought Gu Xianyu here today just for her sake, but she didn't expect to see Zhao Xihua walking towards her when she looked up. A trace of fear soon appeared in her eyes. This bitch held the evidence of her third daughter's destruction in her hands, so she really didn't dare to provoke her.

Gu Xianyu was a little surprised that her mother was a little scared when she saw Zhao Xihua. And now her mother went to the presidential palace too often. However, the president really doted on his sister. Not only did she get pregnant soon, but his mother also visited him often. It can be seen that he really valued Gu Lun and even valued his sisters.

A hint of jealousy rose in Gu Xianyu's eyes. Not to mention the sisters of the Gu family, even Zhao Xihua across the street was living a better life than herself. Why was she the only one who had achieved nothing? She was really unwilling to accept this. However, she was also looking forward to it today. She wondered if the young general of the Ling family would come today?

Zhao Xihua had already seen Madam Hua and Gu Xianyu sitting in the pavilion, so she went up to greet them, "Mother is here early, and my second sister is here too."

Mrs. Hua's face was a little stiff and her expression was unnatural. The ladies next to her could see the conflict between the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law in the Gu family. They didn't know what to say but praised Zhao Xihua for her beautiful hairstyle and bright clothes.

Zhao Xihua really didn't have the mood or time to accompany Madam Hua, and she didn't want to pretend, so she looked at Madam Hua and Gu Xianyu and said, "Mother, second sister, I have an appointment with friends to appreciate flowers somewhere else, so I won't accompany you."

The idle people around also understood the situation of the Gu family, and did not dare to say anything about Zhao Xihua's behavior. Anyway, Zhao Xihua, the future wife of the Gu family's head, had the capital to show off and look down on others.

Zhao Xihua didn't want to play dirty with these noble ladies. She just wanted to stay alone in a secluded place and quietly wait for news from the Ling family.

She chose a pavilion on the hillside of a rockery near the lake. People could see her from afar, but it was secluded and no one would disturb her.

Zhao Xihua had just sat down in the pavilion when she heard hurried footsteps. A little girl in a light green palace costume walked into the pavilion breathlessly. Seeing Zhao Xihua, she hurriedly said, "Young Madam finally found you."

Then he took out an envelope from his pocket. It was a little wrinkled, but the picture of the plum blossom hairpin on it was definitely drawn by Zhao Xi.

Zhao Xihua looked at the little girl, a smile appeared on the corner of her lips, what was coming finally came. The little girl hurriedly said: "Madam, please follow me to the yard beside the pond."

Zhao Xihua knew what the plum blossom hairpin meant to Ling Qian. The plum blossom hairpin that made Mrs. Ling panic and faint after seeing it must have had important meaning to these people twenty years ago.

Zhao Xihua looked at the little girl and said: "Yes, okay, please lead the way."

The little girl didn't expect Zhao Xihua to be so polite. She said shyly, "Young Madam, please come this way."

Pingshui and Chunfeng also hurriedly followed. This was not an ordinary banquet, and the young lady's current status was special, so it was better to be careful.

Zhao Xihua followed the little girl down the mountain along the path, and then went straight to the exquisite courtyards by the lake. Those courtyards were lined up in rows, and different varieties of flowers and trees were planted in each individual courtyard. Each courtyard had a different scene, and was extremely pleasing to the eye.