The stand-in didn't take it seriously for three years, and the minister was furious when they b

"here?"

The old lady looked embarrassed, obviously not wanting to refuse but also not wanting to take her with her.

Jiang's face also fell instantly:

"How can this be done? How can we fool around with a banquet in the imperial palace? The name card clearly states that relatives above the fifth rank are required. My sister-in-law is already barely taking a risk. After all, she is from the Marquis' Mansion, so it's understandable. If you make any mistakes again, what will we do and how will we explain to your family?"

Who doesn't know what she is thinking?

Hua Shuolei is already seventeen years old this year. Logically, she should have been married a long time ago, but she has not made any move yet. Isn't it because she caught the eye of the old lady in the Marquis's Mansion?

Given her close ties with the Marquis's Mansion, it is indeed possible for her to find a better marriage and marry into an official family.

Unfortunately, the Marquis' Mansion was in mourning for the past three years. Not to mention any help in matchmaking for her, even their own affairs had to be kept secret and kept as low-key as possible.

Although it was still unknown who this banquet was for choosing a husband, those who could attend were certainly not ordinary people. Even if her daughter didn't have much of a chance, she was unwilling to bring in another competitor to share a piece of the pie.

Hua Shuole is still quite pretty after all.

If she really cut off Fei'er's beard, wouldn't she be vomiting to death?

Originally, Jiang couldn't say whether he liked or disliked Hua Shuolei, but when he looked at her again at this moment, he felt a sense of crisis in his heart.

"Cousin aunt, just take me with you. I won't cause any trouble for the mansion. I can follow you and wear Nanny Li's clothes."

She firmly believed that as long as she was given the opportunity to show her face and interact with others, she would definitely be able to capture a big fish. If she couldn't become the prince's principal wife, couldn't she become a concubine of a prefect or a minister?

She was unwilling to marry a minor official of the eighth or ninth rank, such as a librarian or bookkeeper.

Hua Shuolei's pleading gaze turned around and finally landed on Mu Lianzhi:

"Cousin?"

Say a few good words for her!

Didn’t she just say she didn’t want to go?

Believing that the chances of her going would increase as long as Mu Lianzhi didn't go, Hua Shuolei began to wink at her constantly, just like before.

It just kills two birds with one stone!

Mu Lianzhi naturally understood, and then her eyebrows were frowned again and again:

"Cousin, this... I also think what my sister-in-law said is right."

"There's a saying that goes, where there are crowds, there are rivers and lakes. This palace banquet is not like a civilian market. If there are any minor mistakes, we must investigate them thoroughly. We should investigate from the bottom up."

"Brother is not here, and the mansion is full of old people, women and children. You haven't learned formal etiquette, so whether you lose your composure or not is a small matter. If people find out that we brought someone from outside the mansion, wouldn't it give us a handle? If there is any disturbance, we won't be able to explain ourselves."

"It's a small matter if it's a little troublesome. It would be bad if it hurts you or makes my brother in prison more guilty."

"Cousin, you'd better not go. It's too dangerous."

"If you really want to join in the fun, you can go to the market as well."

"Hey, I'd rather go into battle myself than see you take risks..."

Mu Lianzhi said hesitantly, with an expression that said, "I am really helping you and doing this for your own good." When she said this, the old lady and Jiang were startled again, and their faces became even more stern:

"This matter has been decided."

The old lady instantly looked like she had no room for negotiation and stared at Mu Lianzhi with her mouth open. Hua Shuolei was so angry that her internal organs almost shifted, but in the end, she had no choice but to sit back down.

idiot!

Did you take the wrong medicine?

It’s true that there is more success than failure!

Hua Shuolei was furious with Mu Lianzhi but didn't dare to show it too obviously. She picked up the teacup and took two big gulps. Her eyes turned inadvertently and she saw another red shadow flash by. Suddenly, she realized that Mu Lianzhi seemed a little different today.

Could it be that she knew something?

It shouldn’t be!

Not like!

But she did talk a lot today, and she was quite sharp and even confronted her.

Could it be that the news of Ling Wenzhan’s death had spread some rumors that she was not aware of, causing her to be suspicious or unhappy?

Unable to make up her mind for a moment, Hua Shuolei wanted to test it out. Putting down the teacup, she looked at Mu Lianzhi with a smile, as if nothing had happened just now:

"Second cousin, I just realized that your hair accessories look really nice today. They match your pearl hairpin very well. Where did you buy that hairpin?"

Today, Mu Lianzhi had her hair in a simple left-slanting Japanese bun. Apart from a few worthless mini silk flowers and a wooden hairpin with a dull pearl on the top, the only thing that was eye-catching and special was the gold hairpin on one side.

Her outfit was actually quite simple and plain; even her only hairpin was inserted sideways and slightly to the back, at a side angle; yet it somehow made people unable to take their eyes off her.

Whenever she said this in the past, Mu Lianzhi would give her something no matter how much she liked it. Unfortunately, this was the only thing on her body that looked worth something.

Hua Shuolei was thinking, Mu Lianzhi had already fumbled to take it down:

"Cousin, do you like it? What good things can I have? They are all given to me by my mother who loves me. Although I like it too, my aunt likes you the most, so she definitely won't mind me borrowing flowers to offer to her, so..."

As she was playing with it, she was about to "generously pass it on". Seeing that the old lady in the main seat didn't seem to have any objections, Hua Shuolei was about to take it out of politeness, but halfway through, Mu Lianzhi suddenly took her hand back:

"Hey, why are there a few tassels missing?"

"Oh, look at me. I was in such a hurry to come here that I didn't even notice that I was wearing a broken hairpin. I can't give this to anyone. It's too unlucky."

"Luckily, I am at home and there are no outsiders around. If someone had discovered that I was wearing a broken gold hairpin at a palace banquet in public, I don't know what they would think of our mansion. Thank goodness, thank goodness."

"You can't keep it and make such a low-level mistake again."

She waved her hand and said to Chunmiao behind her:

"This is a reward for you. Take it and pawn it to earn money to share among the maids in the courtyard."

"Thank you, Madam Second, for the reward."

Originally, he was wondering why she wanted to wear this golden hairpin, but after taking it, Chunmiao put it in her pocket and was very happy.

On the other side, Hua Shuolei became anxious:

"Cousin, you are too generous. After all, it was a golden hairpin given by the old lady!"

Why did she just give it to the maid? Even if it was broken, it would at least be worth dozens of taels of silver. She felt so painful that she almost died of anger again.

Coincidentally, the old lady and Jiang were the same. As for the other servants, they were filled with nothing but envy and jealousy.

"Ah? Mother, you won't blame me, will you? Actually, the reason I went out a few times before was because this hairpin was damaged and I wanted to find someone to repair it. Unfortunately, this thing is in short supply and once it is damaged, it cannot be restored. Now I can't use it anymore and I don't know if anyone will keep it. I just thought that I must not make mistakes again by accident and didn't think too much about it."

"Mother, look here..."

Looking towards the main seat, Mu Lianzhi looked timid and at a loss:

She didn't believe they would have the nerve to go back without caring about the reputation of the Marquisate.