Chapter 1412: A small inn on the border
Everyone present stood up to welcome Princess Min'an.
Shi Li also stood up with everyone else. Although she also had the title of princess, the princess canonized by Emperor Shan was definitely different from a real princess.
Shi Li still has this bit of self-awareness.
After not seeing her for many days, Princess Min'an is still as charming as ever, but she is dressed more luxuriously and exquisitely in the imperial city than outside.
Seeing all the noble ladies, Princess Min'an asked everyone to stand up with a gentle smile. Her eyes fell on Shi Li, and her smile became more genuine.
Then Princess Min'an came over and said to Shi Li, "I have prepared a generous gift and will personally deliver it to you and Mr. Xuanyuan in the near future."
Her kindness towards Shi Li made some noble ladies who had originally kept their distance from her look at Shi Li with more eagerness.
Afterwards, Princess Min'an sat at the same table with Shi Li to appreciate the scenery in the garden.
The ladies did not dare to approach and curry favor with the masters. Instead, they gathered with their familiar friends, eating fruit and chatting, looking very comfortable.
The flower-viewing banquet would naturally not be so boring. The atmosphere gradually became lively, and the actors who were arranged in advance by the butler came in with musical instruments to perform.
Beautiful scenery and music go hand in hand.
Shi Li sat next to Princess Min'an, trying not to think about gossip related to the princess. However, when she saw the actors performing on the stage, she couldn't resist her curiosity and secretly glanced at Princess Min'an.
The noble princess was looking at the actors performing in the arena, holding a teacup in one hand, her eyes as calm as a lake. It was unknown whether what she was thinking in her heart was the same as what she saw in front of her.
Thirty minutes into the banquet, a young woman with gorgeous and exquisite makeup stood up and walked over.
This person's identity was not ordinary, so Princess Min'an also stood up and talked to her, calling her "Second Emperor's Sister-in-law."
Shi Li then knew that this young woman was actually Zhou Heng's legal wife.
Thinking of Zhou Heng's previous behavior of pretending to be crazy and stupid in the inn, Shi Li suddenly felt that it was not easy to face this prince's wife.
The Second Prince's wife did not come for her, and did not even look at her for a second. She just looked at Princess Min'an with a smile and a concerned tone.
"I noticed that Min'an has been a little unhappy lately, so I specially prepared a gift for him today. Min'an will definitely like it!"
Princess Min'an subconsciously declined, "You don't have to be polite, sister-in-law..."
"Wait until you see the gift I gave you." The Second Prince's wife suddenly held her arm and gave a meaningful smile.
After saying this, the Second Prince's wife turned around and ordered someone to present the carefully prepared "gift".
The moment the "gift" appeared, the whole place was as silent as night.
Shi Li couldn't help but took a long breath and used all her strength to avoid twisting her neck to see Princess Min'an's expression.
The so-called "gift" prepared by the Second Prince's wife turned out to be a living person.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, a young man in white clothes, holding a guqin in his arms, walked up quietly with his servants. Between the light and shadow, he had an indescribable resemblance to Futi.
"I pay my respects to Her Royal Highness the Princess. I am honored to be able to perform for Her Royal Highness today."
The young man walked to the center of the field and bowed respectfully to Princess Min'an, his voice being quite pleasant.
Shi Li didn't know what other people thought of him. As far as she was concerned, she just felt that this young man was very pretentious. He was clearly imitating Futi in every way, yet he tried hard to pretend that he was not imitating her.
She felt that she had tried to draw a tiger but ended up drawing a dog instead.
However, Princess Min'an did not refuse. Although she had no expression on her face, she nodded slightly and said calmly, "You play it."
The musician couldn't help but look up, the joy on his face was beyond words.
Shi Li could not help but frown. She did not dare to observe Princess Min'an blatantly, but she could see the reactions of the other noble ladies present.
Being in the same circle in the imperial city, everyone's information channels are almost all shared, so after seeing this young man, almost everyone knew the Second Prince's wife's intentions.
Princess Min'an's reaction obviously surprised Sun Jingyu and the other noble ladies. They had no problem with the princess, but they looked at the musician with undisguised disdain.
Not to mention them, even Shi Li couldn't help but feel disgusted when the piano sounded.
After hearing Futi's heavenly piano playing, the current piano playing sounds like an imitation of something ugly and is hard to listen to.
Of course, this may also include her prejudice against the luthier.
The only one who was truly happy was probably the Second Prince's wife. Seeing that Princess Min'an was willing to listen to the zither, she smiled as brightly as a flower, and actually chattered around Princess Min'an about the introduction -
"This zither player is called Su Chan. He has just arrived in the Imperial City. He is very good at playing the zither and has been noticed by the most famous teahouse in the Imperial City. But I know Min An likes to listen to the zither, so I specially invited him here."
Princess Min'an was originally holding the teacup in her hand calmly, but suddenly she tilted her head and said casually, "In that case, I'll continue to play the piano in the teahouse from now on."
Others might not be able to hear this conversation clearly, but Shi Li was sitting closest and could hear it clearly.
In a flash, many of my own fantasies popped up in my mind.