Light Red Northern Song

After the carriages and horses left for a while, they came to the Grand Princess' Mansion. An Ning opened the curtain of the carriage and looked out, then turned her head and asked softly, "There are so many people, could it be a Hongmen banquet?"

"Your Highness, what is the Hongmen Banquet?" Ruyi asked curiously.

"Huh?" An Ning looked back at Ruyi with a smile, but the other party hurriedly lowered her head as if she had done something wrong.

After all, she is still a child at heart, and I shouldn't push her too hard, An Ning shook her head thinking about this, laughing secretly that she is sometimes overly sensitive.

"Your Highness, the Eldest Princess Mansion has arrived." The chariot and horse team stopped, and Mu Ji's voice came from outside the car.Then Ruyi got out of the carriage first, put the horse stool away, and Linglong helped An Ning to get down.

Gan Chuankai and Qi Mingshuo stood in front of the door, and Gan Moxuan stood behind them.Inside and outside the gate of the mansion, the servants of the Dingmen stood several rows in front of the mansion guards, and they really answered An Ning's previous words: "What a big battle!"

"The imperial sister is here! The imperial sister has been waiting here for a long time." Qi Mingshuo smiled and went down the steps to welcome her.

"The imperial sister has met the eldest imperial sister, and the eldest son-in-law." An Ning said two steps forward.

"Your Majesty, please see Your Highness the Princess." Gan Mo smiled warmly, and also walked down the steps to greet her and saluted.

"Master Gan." An Ning glanced at the other party and said.

Qi Mingshuo held An Ning's hand, and everyone entered the mansion one by one.Mu Ji stepped forward from behind and followed An Ning closely.Everyone walked around the brick wall, suddenly enlightened.

At this time, just after the first moment of the Si hour, the masters walked in, while the servants of the Princess Mansion dispersed in an orderly manner and returned to their posts.The people brought by An Ning also stopped at several locations passing by in batches under Mu Ji's instructions.When passing through the second veranda, only a dozen or so attendants and guards were left to follow.

"Look, imperial sister, that's where we will appreciate the lotus today." Qi Mingshuo pointed to a pavilion to the west and said.

The pavilion is surrounded by water on all sides, and the scenery is pleasant. There is a wooden curved bridge connected with the green brick road.There are indeed Liantang lotus leaves in front of me, many branches and leaves are covered with flower buds, but there is no summer lotus blooming.An Ning smiled when she saw it, and followed Qi Mingshuo down the corridor to the wooden bridge.

Various fruit bowls and pastries were placed on the square table inside the pavilion, and An Ning caught a glimpse of some wine vessels on the table at a glance.A group of people came to the pavilion, beside An Ning were Ruyi Linglong, Mu Ji and two other young guards.Qi Mingshuo greeted An Ning to take his seat, and said that today was a private banquet at the house, so he also invited Gan Moxuan to sit with him.

"Leave four people to serve, and the rest will go down." After Qi Mingshuo and his wife took their seats, she first ordered.

An Ning turned her head and glanced behind, Mu Ji understood, bent down, she whispered to the other party: "Master Mu, you and these two adults can go to the Quqiao."

Mu Ji was stunned for a moment, then raised his eyes to look at An Ning, then quickly looked in the direction of Qi Mingshuo and the others, and then nodded.Then he led the other two guards and walked a few steps outside the pavilion, guarding the curved bridge.

"Heh, does the imperial sister need to be so cautious when she comes to the imperial sister's house?" Qi Mingshuo asked with a smile.

"Elder Sister was joking, it's not that the Imperial Sister is being cautious, it's just that the guards are doing their duty." An Ning also replied with a smile.

"Come on, we are all from our own family today, there is no need to be formal, let me pour wine with Your Highness in person." Gan Chuankai interrupted the conversation between An Ning and Qi Mingshuo, and said, raising the flagon at hand.

"My son-in-law, I have always suffered from alcoholism. After eating alcohol, I will develop red rashes all over my body. I feel very uncomfortable. Since I said that today is a private banquet and I am not in the palace, let's avoid the alcohol." An Ning stretched out her left hand, Pressing the flagon lightly with two fingers, he said.Although she knew that her life would not be in danger in the princess mansion, after all they didn't have the guts to do anything to her in their own place, so the "Hongmen Banquet" was naturally not counted.But there will be no fatalities, but it is hard to say whether other unexpected things will happen.

What kind of peace these three people have, An Ning doesn't know.She needs to keep her mind clear, and she must also find evidence for this sobriety. Isn't not drinking a drop the best proof of her sobriety.If they are really going to set themselves a trap, if something embarrassing happens after drinking, they will be inferred by others as their "drinking gaffe", and then they will be unable to argue.

It was really guessed by An Ning... These three people really planned to let her drink some wine and make a noise, it doesn't need to be too big, just to make her and Gan Mo get closer.If she doesn't drink alcohol, then there is no "ingredient" in her food.Even if they add food to the food, the set of arguments they prepared about her "getting close" to Gan Moxuan after drinking is a bit unreasonable.

Qi Mingshuo and his wife seemed not expecting that An Ning would refuse to drink so directly, and they didn't know how to react, but Gan Moxuan, who had been silent all this time, suddenly laughed out loud.

"Your Majesty, I heard that His Highness is a good drinker. He also drank heavily at the Xuanyi Pavilion dinner that day. Although he is not in the palace today, it is not good to save the princess's face, right?" Gan Moxuan said with a smile.

"In the palace, it is necessary to take into account the majesty of the emperor's aunt, etiquette cannot be neglected. Now I am here to appreciate the lotus at the eldest sister's house at the appointment, not to drink. Besides, this is in private. My sister obviously can't drink, sister How can you force others for the sake of face? Sister, don't you think so?" An Ning asked Qi Mingshuo with a faint smile.

Before, she was only suspicious, but now An Ning is more careful.The more the other party makes him drink, the more it shows that there is fraud.The three of them are well aware of this truth, the little princess in front of them is not simple, and if the matter of drinking is mentioned again, it will make the other party even more suspicious.

Gan Moxuan still smiled lightly when he heard the words, and ordered the maid behind him to pour wine for him.But Qi Mingshuo gave Gan Chuankai a sneaky look. She blamed him for underestimating An Ning. He tried to persuade him to drink as soon as he was seated, which seemed so urgent and suspicious.

"Then let's skip the wine. The imperial sister should use some cakes. Some of the pastries today are unique to Qidi. The imperial sister specially recruited a cook who is good at making cakes to come into the mansion to make them for the imperial sister." Qi Mingshuo sat On the right side of An Ning, he handed a piece of Sophora japonica cake to the other party's silver plate as he spoke.

"Thank you, Elder Sister." An Ning picked up the silver bag, took a bite out of the Sophora japonica cake, and said slowly after chewing: "The lotus doesn't seem to be blooming beautifully today." After speaking, she looked at Qi Mingshuo with a smile.

"It's because the emperor is not thinking carefully. After a while, the lotus will bloom, and the emperor will invite the emperor to come to the house as a guest." Qi Mingshuo replied indifferently.

"Okay...ok..." An Ning nodded and smiled lightly, still slowly responding.

"Your Highness, I have never been to Chudi, can you tell us something about Chudi?" Gan Moxuan sat on An Ning's left, holding on to his wine glass, he tilted his head and looked into An Ning's eyes and asked.

"I live deep in the palace, so I don't have anything to say." An Ning turned her head to the lotus pond on the right, looking at a certain place and replied.

Gan Chuankai doesn't talk much on weekdays, and has been silent since the very first sentence.He thought that with Qi Mingshuo and Gan Moxuan around, he would definitely be able to keep peace.But right now, Gan Moxuan hit a soft nail, and seeing An Ning's indifferent and distant posture, he didn't know what to say next.

"Oh? Then allow the officials to talk about the customs of Qidi." Gan Moxuan didn't take it seriously when he hit a snag, and then said with a smile.

Gan Moxuan talked about some local customs and customs in Qidi, An Ning didn't express his opinion or interrupt, but just "appreciated" the lotus leaves in the pond.

After a while, a servant trotted over on the curved bridge, and when he came to the pavilion, he bowed and said: "I want to report to the eldest princess, my son-in-law, Tai Shi Cai, I am asking to see you outside the mansion."

"Lord Taishi Cai? Please wait in the flower hall." After Qi Mingshuo finished speaking, he exchanged a glance with Gan Moxuan, then smiled and said to An Ning: "Sister, please sit down for a while. The emperor and the son-in-law will come as soon as they go."

"Emperor Sister, go and do your own thing. The Imperial Sister is waiting for you while admiring the lotus." An Ning replied with a bright smile.

"Little brother, take care of him on your behalf, don't neglect His Highness." Gan Chuankai followed Qi Mingshuo up and explained to Gan Moxuan.

"Don't worry, brother." Gan Moxuan bowed slightly, and replied with a smile.

After Qi Mingshuo and Gan Chuankai left, there were also many servants missing in the pavilion and on the Quqiao.It was a coincidence that Master Taishi came here. An Ning glanced sideways at Gan Moxuan beside him, then stood up and took two steps in the other direction.She silently looked at the few people who left, and she became even more suspicious of their intentions.

An Ning did not refuse yesterday when she learned that Qi Mingshuo was going to invite her to visit the house to appreciate the lotus. One is that she is not afraid of coming here, and the other is that she also wants to see what these people are up to.But from the moment she received the invitation, to the time when she entered the mansion... persuading her to drink, Gan Moxuan's enthusiasm, the sudden visit of Mr. Taishi...she seemed to understand a little bit.

Even though Gan Moxuan looked so gentle and harmless, she felt that this person was very dangerous. Combined with today's situation, she didn't want to stay with him even more.

"Your Highness," Gan Moxuan got up and walked to the left of An Ning, looked side by side with her toward a certain place in the lotus pond, and asked in a low voice, "Do you like lotus?"

"It's okay." An Ning replied simply.

"Then, what flower does Your Highness like the most?" Gan Moxuan turned his head to the other side and asked with a smile.

An Ning didn't speak, she lowered her head and walked around Gan Moxuan, stood at the entrance of the pavilion, and said to Mu Ji: "Lord Mu, the pavilion is much more spacious now, and the sun is shining outside, so you and two adults can come in."

Maybe everyone except An Ning herself was a little confused.Gan Moxuan frowned slightly, seeing that Her Royal Highness paced back to her seat after speaking, and sat down quietly, without even giving herself an extra look.

Linglong has been secretly observing the master's face since entering the mansion.She saw that the other party treated Gan Moxuan indifferently, as if she didn't want to get entangled with him.At that moment just now, the master's calm face still showed a little impatience.She understood a little bit, and asked deliberately: "Your Highness, your hot tea is still warm, do you want to drink now?"

"Well," An Ning nodded slightly. She seemed to have received some kind of hint from Linglong, so she asked, "When did the imperial aunt tell you to return to the palace yesterday?"

Chu Shanyi did not pay too much attention to An Ning's visit to the Princess' Mansion today, nor did he make specific regulations on the time of returning to the palace.Linglong's thoughts were quick, and at this time, listening to the master's question, she poured some hot tea from the warm pot into the earthenware pot and replied: "The empress said that your highness is not familiar with the outside of the palace, so she should return to the palace as soon as possible."

"That's right, the eldest sister and the eldest son-in-law seem to be very busy, and my palace has a lot of troubles here, so I might as well wait until the lotus is in full bloom." An Ning smiled and said with satisfaction after hearing the other party's reply.

Gan Moxuan has long been displeased with An Ning's arrogance, and when she saw the pair of master and servant singing together, she sneered in her heart, and sat back on her stool, unwilling to say: "I think Mr. Tai Shi has nothing to do to visit, and His Royal Highness should meet with my brother." Turn around soon. Your Highness should return to the palace later, otherwise when they come back and see the distinguished guests, they will blame the officials for their lack of hospitality."

"Lord Gan, don't be joking. This is the princess mansion of my royal sister, not the mansion of my brother's son-in-law. Who is a 'guest'? When does my palace need my lord to 'entertain'?" An Ning suddenly wanted to take advantage of it. Going out of the palace today and looking around in Tongcheng, she sensed that Gan Moxuan was unhappy, and she became a little impatient, and she didn't want to stay here any longer, wasting good time in vain.

Gan Moxuan thought that the other party's remarks were clearly showing her status and identity, which further showed that their previous guess about her was correct.Her face is still gentle and kind, and she feels that although she can't get close to the other party according to plan today, it is still possible to continue the conversation.She only thought that it was so inconvenient for people now that An Ning deliberately said the words that she planned to leave.

"Your Highness is right. Although this is not the son-in-law's mansion, the officials are familiar with this place. Why don't you let the officials accompany Your Highness around?" Gan Moxuan asked.

An Ning stood up, glanced at Linglong, Mu Ji and the others behind her, and walked straight out of the pavilion. The people brought by the palace followed An Ning's steps.

"I still know the way, so I don't bother Mr. Gan to lead the way out of the house." After An Ning finished speaking, she ignored Gan Moxuan who was stunned beside her, and walked on the same route.

When Qi Mingshuo and others rushed back after getting the news, they came to the gate of the mansion, and An Ning's chariot team had already turned a corner.