♂?，，

  When Ke'er had finished her bath and lay down, she saw Caiyun frowning and holding her arm as she walked out. She turned over and smiled slightly.

  The next day, she woke up from her sleep and looked around. It was still dark outside, the sky was still early. She lay there for a while, thinking about whether she should go to greet the Duchess today? She had been living here for half a month now, but hadn't gone once...

  Better think twice and forget it, lest the duchess gets a good impression of herself and starts thinking about marrying her to Third Uncle again.

  She stretched out her hand to lift the curtain, and saw a dim lamp on the edge of the floor flower screen, casting a weak yellow light on the ground at the door, and also casting the shadow of a person holding a basin.

  Chu Xue raised her head and asked, "What time is it?"

  As expected, the one carrying the water basin was Caiyun. She immediately bowed her head and replied from outside: "Third Young Miss, it's only three quarters past midnight, it's still early, why don't you sleep a bit more?"

  Chu Ke slowly sat up, picked up the inner garment beside the bed and put it on: "Come in, I'm getting up too."

  Caiyun then carried the basin and bent her waist to come in, as soon as she came in, Huamei and Huadie also came in, one holding a dress that had been heated and scented for her, the other carrying a copper kettle with steam rising from it.

  Three people quietly waited on her as she washed and dressed, Huamei and Huadie carrying out the water basin and other items. Caiyun hesitated for a moment before walking over: "Third Young Lady..."

  "What's up?" Chu Ke'er was hugging a hand warmer and climbing onto the kang, sitting at the foot of the bed, with a backrest propped behind her, pulling open a brocade quilt to cover her legs, letting out a comfortable sigh.

  "Since we're up early today, why not go and pay our respects to the Duchess? Those two sisters are on the Duchess's side, if they find out that Third Sister is feeling better but didn't go..." Caiyun said softly.

  Chu Ke smiled and curled up her legs, leaning out of the bed to pick up a silver incense holder next to the foot of the bed, using the incense tongs to pick up the already burning incense inside and put it in the incense burner on the side of the bed. She used the incense tongs to stir it slightly, burying the incense shallowly, then put the incense tongs back and covered the incense burner with a soft voice: "This incense is also called Longnao Xiang, or Gebuluo Xiang, or Meibing... actually, aren't they all just talking about the same thing? Why not just call it Bingpian directly? As soon as you say Bingpian, doesn't everyone know what it is? Why bother being mysterious and saying so much?"

  Caiyun looked at her hesitantly.

  Chu Ke smiled and said, "It's been so many days since I came, but I haven't gone to pay my respects. Yesterday, I finally settled the matter, and today I'm going to hurry over to pay my respects. Who knows, they might think I'm clapping and cheering, and come forward to thank me. Why bother? Caiyun, isn't it better to do things quietly?"

  Caiyun's face turned red and she lowered her head: "It was this slave's fault."

  Chu Ke smiled and sat up straight, leaning against the backrest with her eyes closed. It seemed that her actions yesterday had angered Caiyun...

  That day, Chu Ke'er didn't go out all day, and the snow fell on and off for a whole day. The tenth day before the coronation ceremony was specially chosen as an auspicious day, but if it continued to snow like this, it would definitely not be possible to hold the ceremony, and another date would have to be chosen. Therefore, everyone was worried that day, hoping that the weather would improve tomorrow.

  Chu Ke also remembered that on February 1st of the second month, she got up early and immediately asked: "Is it sunny today?"

  Caiyun smiled and said: "It's cleared up, today should be a sunny day, not a cloud in the sky."

  Chu Kei got up, washed and dressed in a camel-coloured satin jacket, with a camel-coloured woolen cloak over it, and a light-coloured cape draped over her shoulders, and walked towards the front.

  In the front hall of the Duke's mansion, an altar was set up with incense and candles. The fourth and fifth masters who were to perform the capping ceremony today had already offered incense, tea, and paper money here, and had now gone to the ancestral temple.

  Chu Kei walked along the corridor, through the hall and into the inner courtyard. As she entered the gate, she saw that it was already bustling with activity on this side. Before entering the door, she heard bursts of laughter, and a warm atmosphere enveloped her. In the main room, she took off her cloak and handed it to the maid, then walked into the inner chamber, where she saw many people seated inside. All the unmarried young ladies from the mansion were there, including Chu Yun Ting's sisters and Li Lan Jun. Seated in the center was, of course, the Princess of the Duke.

  Chu Xueqin paid her respects to the Duchess and the Crown Prince's Consort, then got up and took a glance before sitting down on a chair at the side. The Duchess was sitting upright on the edge of the kang, with a large kang table set out in front of her, bearing eighteen dishes, all in white or pale pink Jingdezhen porcelain, with an assortment of fruits, delicacies, and dried fruits, every variety complete.

  The princess of the county king's side asked a few more questions when she saw Li Lankun. Although Li Lankun was quiet and reserved, she answered the princess's questions with poise and courtesy. The princess found her eyebrows and eyes to be extremely beautiful, her voice soft and clear, and couldn't help but like her in her heart, so she reached out and pulled her to sit beside her.

  The crown prince's consort smiled absent-mindedly, occasionally glancing at Chu Ke'er. Chu Ke'er lowered her head, with a look of being in deep contemplation. The crown prince's consort glanced towards the door and saw that all the maids were outside, only the county king's consort's few maids were standing inside.

  Chu Yun Ting smiled as she listened to the King's wife and Li Lan Jun talking, the King's wife was particularly happy today, Li Lan Jun was good at talking, picking out what the King's wife loved to hear, the King's wife couldn't help but burst into laughter from time to time, turning around to gently pat the Crown Princess sitting behind her with a loving hand, as if the discord of the past few days had disappeared.

  After hearing Li Lanjun talk about the origin of her name, the princess found it interesting and burst out laughing again. She turned to the crown prince's wife and said: "This girl is really clever with words, I'm delighted to have met her."

  The crown prince's consort hastily smiled and echoed: "Yes, her family's elderly grandmother, I suppose she must be amused like this every day"

  Li Lanjun smiled with pursed lips, and the Crown Prince's consort handed her a cup of tea: "Quickly take a sip to quench your thirst."

  Li Lankun hastily stood up with both hands to receive it, and the princess of the county king smiled and said: "Handing it over with one hand is enough, no need to be so polite."

  Li Lanjun smiled and said: "The princess of the king loves her niece, but her niece cannot lose her manners."

  The princess liked it so much that she held one of her hands and patted it lightly, smiling and asking: "How old are you this year? What's your eight characters?"

  Li Lankun's heart skipped a beat and she felt somewhat uneasy, but the princess asked again and she didn't dare not answer, so she had to force herself to say it.

  The princess asked in detail about her family situation, whether her grandparents were still alive, and if she had any brothers or sisters.

  The princess consort heard the king's wife ask about her birth eight characters and immediately closed her mouth, refusing to speak again. Chu Yun Ting and Chu Yun Qing both changed their faces at the same time.

  Li Lanjun still stiffened her neck to answer the princess's words, and the princess carefully measured her figure up and down again. Chu Yunting saw it and gritted her teeth secretly.

  Fortunately, it suddenly became lively outside, and then the maid lifted the curtain and smiled as she came in: "Fourth Master and Fifth Master have come to pay their respects to the madam."

  The princess still held Li Lanjun's hand and smiled: "Tell them to come in."

  Outside, the sound of boots echoed, and Fourth Master and Fifth Master walked in. Both were dressed in formal attire, and as soon as they entered, they smiled and prepared to kowtow. The maids hastily spread out a large red mat on the floor, and the two men knelt down on it, paying their respects to the Duchess.

  The princess hastily beckoned them to get up, and the two of them stood up, one on the left and one on the right. The princess pulled them over, nagging and saying that from now on they were adults, and everything they did should be carefully considered before acting, and they should strive to be calm and composed, and not show their youthful impulsiveness anymore.

  The two of them answered in unison.

  The birth mother of Fifth Master Zhu Yuhuan, Qin Niangniang, was originally a maid accompanying the county king's consort. She had passed away many years ago. The county king's consort also held Zhu Yuhuan in high regard, although not as much as her own two biological sons, but still much closer than other illegitimate children. At this moment, seeing Zhu Yuhuan's majestic stature standing beside her with a hint of a smile calling out "mother", she suddenly felt a pang of sadness. She let go of Li Lanjun's hand and grasped Zhu Yuhuan's hand, using one hand to dig into her sleeve for a handkerchief to wipe away tears: "If only Qin Niangniang could have lived until today... it's just that she was born with bad luck and short life... as if all the good fortune of her lifetime had been compressed..."

  Zhu Yuhuan became sad when the Princess of Junwang mentioned this, and he half-knelt down beside her feet, lowering his head in silence. The Fourth Master also didn't dare to speak, standing with his head lowered.

  The crown princess forced a smile and said: "Mother, today is the big day for fourth brother and fifth brother's wedding, so we should be happy."

  Li Lanjun sat beside the princess of Junwang, at this time not speaking but somewhat inappropriate, could only whisper with a smile: "Yes, Princess Junwang should be happy."

  Chu Yun Ting was already feeling uneasy in her heart, now seeing her still speaking without reserve or restraint in front of Fourth Brother and Fifth Brother, she couldn't help but suspect that she was doing it on purpose to show off in front of the Duchess and two brothers.

  The princess consort, however, was persuaded to put away her sorrow and wiped away her tears, saying: "Yes, look at me, what's wrong with me, on this happy day I'm saying these things... Ah yes, are we sisters going to pay our respects to our brother-in-law?"

  Everyone hastily laughed and replied: "That's right!"

  Chu Yun Ting stood up with everyone else, feeling increasingly uneasy in her heart. She gave Li Lan Jun a cold glance.

  Just then, Li Lankun also stood up and smiled at Chu Yunting, but was stunned by her icy gaze. Suddenly, she realized that this was the second time in two days that she had seen Chu Yunting's gloomy face. Even with a good temper, she couldn't help feeling annoyed in her heart, and her eyebrows and eyes turned cold as well.

  Chu Ke looked at her calmly and quietly.

  Zhu Yuhuan stood up and said: "This house is crowded, it's hard to turn around with all the bowing back and forth, I think we can just skip it."

  "Yes, no need for more courtesy." Fourth Master also said.

  The princess consort, in order to please the king's wife, didn't wait for others to speak and smiled as she said: "It would be fine on ordinary days, but what day is today? On a day like this, how can we just stay at home and not go out? The main hall should be big enough."

  It is by.

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