Fragrance Returned

On August 26, the date for Sun Yumu and Xunxiang's marriage was officially set.

On the first day, Sun Yumu went to Puguang Temple to ask Master Huiren to calculate the auspicious day of the zodiac. Master Huiren said, "Master Mingyuan has calculated the auspicious day for Donor Sun and Donor Xun. The eighteenth day of February in the Jiachen year will be an auspicious day."

The year of Jiachen is the thirty-fourth year of Qingguan, and there are still nearly two and a half years to go.

The Emperor and the Prince of Li Dynasty only asked Master Mingyuan to calculate the auspicious date for their wedding. This time, he took the initiative to do it for them, making both parties overjoyed.

Ding Zhao even specially invited Ding Zhuang and Xun Xiang home to celebrate.

The Dongyang Princess Mansion also began to prepare a dowry for Xun Xiang and invited the top carpenters to move into the mansion to make furniture.

The two male masters in the house are busy, Dongyang is under lockdown, and Xunxiang is difficult to manage, so the Yan family is in charge.

On August 30, the Zhennan Hou Mansion held a chrysanthemum banquet.

The Marquis of Zhennan, Mr. Xu Houye, was appointed as the Governor of the Southern Army Governor's Mansion. His wife, Gao, was born in the Prince's Mansion. She was especially fond of chrysanthemums. There were many top-notch products and treasures in the mansion.

The chrysanthemum banquet held by Zhennan Marquis Mansion, together with the peony banquet at Dongyang Princess Mansion, the plum blossom banquet at Xiyang Princess Mansion, and the lotus banquet at Fengguo Gong Mansion, are considered the top four flower banquets in the capital.

Xunxiang was not interested in the flower banquet, but she received Sun Yumu's request to grandly launch Tao Jing at the chrysanthemum banquet. Tao Jing plays the piano and asks Xun Xiang to draw pictures during the song.

The person who was ignored in this match was definitely Tao Jing. But no matter how ignored they are, because of Xun Xiang, this combination will attract more attention, and Tao Jing will become the second most dazzling person at the flower banquet.

Tao Jing is fourteen years old and is talking about her husband's family. There were many families seeking marriage, but the Tao family didn't like them for one reason or another. The Tao family wanted to use this flower banquet to attract more people's attention, including the two younger generations that Mrs. Tao was optimistic about.

Xunxiang also hopes that Tao Jing can find someone who is good in all aspects, and he will definitely help her with this.

There is another reason why Dongyang is particularly obsessed with his daughter being elected as one of the "Four Beauties". Although the quota is full, Xunxiang can show her talents and get a good ranking, which can also make Dongyang happy and less troublesome.

Xun Xiang does not draw figures, but rather simple pictures of chrysanthemums. The ideas and names have been thought out...

Tao Jing has come to Ziyuan to practice several times, and Xunxiang has already mastered the timing of music and painting.

Xun Xiang will also take Yang Shu and Xue Yi to attend the flower banquet.

Even if Yang Shu's father was the deputy commander, he would not receive such a post about the flower banquet, and Xue Tian would not receive it either.

Zhang is still not used to dealing with ladies, and she doesn't like flower banquets. But today Xunxiang wants to paint and Ding Liren wants to write poetry. She and Ding Zhao are both going, and they will take Ding Zhen with them.

Ding Liren was traveling with several young masters of the Xun family. The Xun Yibo brothers have already demonstrated their talents at other flower banquets, but they will not do so today to cheer up Xun Xiang and Ding Liren.

Mrs. Xu was in her forties, dignified and fair-skinned. She held Xunxiang's hand and kept praising her. She was very proud that the first time Princess Xiangxiang performed her talent was at her family's flower banquet.

Xunxiang also met Mrs. Sun’s wife Zeng here for the first time.

Under the introduction of Mrs. Sun San, Xunxiang went to the old lady and bowed her knees to meet the younger generation.

Mrs. Sun is in her late fifties, delicate and slightly rich, and looks like she is in her early forties. Even though she smiled kindly, Xunxiang could see the alienation in her eyes.

She took Xunxiang's hand and praised her, then wiped off a pair of jade bracelets on her wrists to admire Xunxiang.

Mrs. Sun San is about thirty, with fair skin, a long face, a hearty laugh, and is very good at talking. She went to Dongyang Princess Mansion to discuss marriage and met Xunxiang.

After chatting and joking in the hall, Xunxiang took Yang Shu, Xue Tian and Ding Zhen to the Juyuan to enjoy the chrysanthemums. Not long after, I met Tao Jing and Mi Honglan, and they were playing together.

Gao Shanzhu and Shen Ying also came, and they were playing with several other little girls.

Xunxiang and them were obviously divided into two groups, and the original friendship was no longer the same.

After lunch, interested people went to Ming Luxuan to watch the talent show.

Old Mrs. Qiu, who didn't like to join in the fun, also went. Everyone joked that she was looking after her grandson's wife.

Master Mingyuan said that the rumor that Qiu Wangzhi's "evil spirit" had been broken has spread. Seeing the recovery of the old lady Qiu and Duke Qiu who had been ill for a long time, Qiu Wangzhi's business finally improved.

Although Qiu Wangzhi was a widower, he was highly regarded by the emperor and was the actual head of the Weiguo Palace. He lived a self-disciplined life, had no sons, and had a dignified appearance. He was favored by many young ladies.

Mrs. Qiu laughed and didn't explain. She just came to see Tao Jing.

If there are many people who care about the little girl, she will have to go to the palace to beg the queen before her grandson comes home.

The grandson has a bright vision, but because of his reputation as the "lone star of evil spirits", marriage has always been difficult, and the first wife he found was not very satisfactory. Now that I'm fine, I need to find a top-notch young lady.

We can't let that one run away, and we can't catch this one anymore.

Beautiful men and beauties appeared one by one. Ding Liren was the eighth to appear. He wrote a poem.

Ding Liren, who is dressed in white, is graceful, full of orchids and jade trees, and he is also good at poetry.

Xunxiang looked at her little brother with big adoring eyes and whispered praises to the handkerchief.

"My second brother has been famous since he was a child. He can recite poems at the age of two, write poems at the age of six, and is a scholar at the age of fourteen. Not only did his husband say that he is a great talent, Tao Weng also praised him... My second brother is our The most handsome and talented youngster of the Ding family..."

Ding Zhen smiled and said, "Yes, Brother Ding has been cared about since he was eleven or twelve years old."

Xun Jing smiled and said, "My grandfather said that Young Master Ding is very talented. It was my grandfather who initiated him into the Imperial College."

Xue Tian's face turned red and she pursed her lips in amusement.

A middle-aged woman asked another person in a low voice, "Is the second young master of Uncle Chengyi's house engaged?"

Someone replied, "It seems we are engaged."

Two sighs of regret.

Xun Xiang was secretly happy, this was not a talent show, it was clearly a blind date.

Xun Xiang and Tao Jing's musical instrument and painting combination were the last to appear.

Tao Jing, wearing a green shirt, was sitting on the right side playing the piano. The song she played was "Three Plum Blossoms".

Xun Xiang was dressed in red and sitting on the left drawing. The paper for drawing is not large and suitable for folding fans.

The girl in red is bright and beautiful, and the girl in green is elegant and refined. They are like spring flowers and autumn moon, each with its own charm, so beautiful that people can't take their eyes away.

The vast majority of people spend more time looking at the girl in red, while a very small number of people spend more time looking at the girl in green.

Zhang and Ding Zhao kept staring at Xunxiang. They felt sour and sweet in their hearts. The little man in the wooden box dazzled and looked so big here.

Old Mrs. Qiu kept staring at the girl in green, her eyes squinting with laughter.

After playing the song twice, the music stopped and the picture was finished.

Xunxiang wrote three characters in the upper left corner of the picture, Chrysanthemum Terrace. I wrote two more lines of small words, "Chrysanthemum is not preferred among flowers, but there will be no flowers after all the flowers have bloomed."

Then stamp the seal of "Dongshe Jushi" on the lower left side.

Everyone applauded, and a girl picked up Xun Xiang's painting and presented it to the judges.

There are a few rocks at the bottom, and a chrysanthemum grows on the side. Among the green branches and leaves, two yellow and white chrysanthemums are blooming.

The picture is simple and the composition is unique, which vividly displays the calm and refined charm of the chrysanthemums, fluttering in the wind. (End of chapter)