Tianliangyuan

Chapter 106 You'd better stay put!

Li Biyao's behavior is really hard to like.

This is someone who starts being sarcastic and sarcastic right in front of Xu Zhaozhao herself. Don't forget that you were only able to enter the palace because of the Marquis's mansion.

Princess Leyang, known for her straightforward nature, immediately frowned and asked, "Who are you? Why don't you bow to me?"

Li Biyao was startled. Hadn't she just performed the ceremony?

She had only curtsied when she was with Xu Tingting and Xu Wanwan, without performing a full curtsy. Now that she was being scolded by Princess Leyang, she couldn't help but feel a little nervous and a bit aggrieved.

"Princess, don't you remember? I just bowed."

"Be bold!"

The people around Princess Leyang immediately stepped forward and slapped her!

He slapped Li Biyao across the face.

"How dare you question the princess? Whose daughter are you? What rank does your father hold, and where does he serve?"

These words left Li Biyao speechless.

Her biological father wasn't an official at all.

Xu Zhaozhao's lips curled up slightly: "Never mind, Princess, she doesn't know the rules. I'll have someone teach her properly later. It seems like there are people playing pitch-pot up ahead. Why don't we go and take a look?"

"Okay, let's go."

Princess Anhe accompanied Princess Leyang directly, while Xu Zhaozhao lagged behind and winked at her two cousins.

The two men understood immediately, nodded slightly, and then surrounded Li Biyao.

Li Biyao was still not giving up and actually wanted to follow them. I don't know where she got the courage.

This was the first time Xu Zhaozhao had seen the Empress since arriving in this world, while the original owner of the body had seen the Empress twice. So when the Empress called her up to speak, Xu Zhaozhao acted with grace and poise, even showing a hint of affection and admiration.

"In the blink of an eye, Zhao Zhao has grown into a beautiful young woman. She is not only beautiful and well-mannered, but also exceptionally intelligent. It's a pity that your father arranged a marriage for you early on. Otherwise, I would also like a daughter-in-law as intelligent as you."

Everyone knew about Xu Zhaozhao's marriage to Xie Zheng, so they knew that the Empress's words were just to praise Xu Zhaozhao, and naturally they didn't take them seriously.

Xu Zhaozhao replied obediently, "Thank you for your praise, Your Majesty, but there are far too many noble ladies in the city who are better than me. There are many women more outstanding than me at this palace banquet today."

The Empress was pleased with her thoughtfulness and tact, and chatted with her for a while, naturally mentioning the Peach Blossom Wine. Finally, she ordered someone to present her with a reward.

The Empress's original intention today was to select consorts for several princes, so naturally she couldn't really focus all her attention on Xu Zhaozhao. Afterwards, several famous young ladies in the capital were selected by the Empress or Consort Jiang to compose poems, followed by music and so on.

In short, Xu Zhaozhao kept a low profile after that, and her two cousins ​​who came with her also focused on themselves and didn't dare to show their faces at all.

But Li Biyao couldn't sit still after she saw someone start playing the zither.

Xu Zhaozhao sat in the first row, her two cousins ​​sat in the third row behind her, and Li Biyao naturally sat with them.

Xu Zhaozhao noticed Li Biyao's restless nature and her eagerness to try something the moment she turned her head. She immediately ordered Dingxiang to go to Li Biyao's side to warn her, and at the same time, to remind her two cousins.

Sure enough, after the song ended, the Empress asked the noble ladies to come forward and try. Li Biyao wanted to stand up, but her shoulders slumped.

She was pushed back by Dingxiang and another maid.

Caught off guard, Li Biyao's image was instantly damaged. She turned around and angrily shouted, "What are you doing?"

Dingxiang wasn't afraid of her. She bent down and warned, "Miss Li, you'd better behave yourself. You've come to the palace under the banner of the Marquis's mansion. Our Marquis's mansion doesn't intend to show off at this banquet. I advise Miss Li to give up on that idea and not make things difficult for us."

These words made Li Biyao blush.

Xu Zhaozhao sat in the first row, right next to Princess Anhe, who would later become her second sister-in-law. The two already knew each other, and now that they were sitting together to watch the performance of these young ladies, they found it quite interesting.

"Who is this person who wants to climb over you to get ahead?"

Princess Anhe didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point.

Xu Zhaozhao chuckled: "She's nothing special, just a relative of my second aunt's. She said she wanted to broaden her horizons, so she asked my second aunt to bring her into the palace. She has no background, she's just a simpleton who's made a fool of herself!"

Princess Anhe laughed out loud: "I knew it! What kind of person would dare to step on you to your face? It turns out they're just relying on their elders' influence."

Xu Zhaozhao shook her head: "You guessed wrong this time. My second aunt didn't mean that. You can tell just by looking at their outfits today. My second aunt has no intention of getting involved in royal affairs."

Princess Anhe's father was a prince, and she had seen all sorts of sycophants since she was a child. Today, Li Biyao's behavior made her see through her intentions at a glance.

"That's true. I noticed that my two cousins ​​have been very low-key; they just came to make up the numbers. Jiang Yuan just recited a poem, which was quite good. What do you think?"

"That's hard to say. Jiang Yuan's father has been dealt with, but she still has a grandfather who is a Grand Tutor and an uncle who is a powerful minister. Which of the concubines here who have princes wouldn't want to win them over?"

Princess Anhe covered her mouth and chuckled, "And there's also a favored imperial concubine aunt."

The two looked at each other and smiled, saying nothing.

The banquet was actually rather dull, after all, these were candidates whom several noble ladies in the palace wanted to find a royal daughter-in-law, and this alone determined the tone of the banquet.

Taking the opportunity of clinking glasses with Xu Zhaozhao, Princess Anhe said, "I heard that the Empress may be going to stay at the palace outside the city for a while, and she will invite many ladies and young misses to go with her. I guess that will be the second matchmaking event."

Xu Zhaozhao nodded. There were indeed quite a few girls who came today. At least half of them needed to be eliminated before the second round of selection could begin.

Consort Jiang came here today simply to join in the fun, and also to consider who would be the most suitable person for her to marry after seeing these ladies.

Consort Jiang was unwilling to let Jiang Yuan marry into the royal family, as it would be too conspicuous.

Moreover, the competition for the crown prince position is too fierce now. If you choose the wrong side, your entire family could be ruined.

When Xu Zhaozhao left the palace after the banquet, she noticed that Deng Shi only brought Jiang Yuan with her, and the other young lady from the collateral branch was nowhere to be seen.

Xu Zhaozhao narrowed her eyes; this was getting interesting.

What exactly is the Jiang family planning?

After returning to the mansion, Li Biyao went to Li Shi to complain, saying that her older sister Xu Zhaozhao had bullied her.

“Aunt, I did nothing and sat peacefully in my seat the whole time, but Miss Zhao Zhao had someone watching me. Aunt, I am your own niece, why is she targeting me like this?”