"The Muyun Pavilion is having an event today for the Flower Festival grand promotion. The 88th customer will get a free bill! When the auntie was pushed here just now, she happened to be the 88th customer!" Wu Yao exchanged a look with Xiao Jingnan and said happily.
"Such a coincidence?" Li Wanming couldn't quite believe it.
"That's just how coincidental it is!" Xiao Jingnan closed the folding fan in his hand and said with a smile as he helped her upstairs, "So, as the saying goes, no coincidence, no story. A lot of things in this world are just a huge coincidence..."
Ever since he knew they were going to watch the parade on the day of the Flower Festival, he and Uncle Zhong had started urgent consultations.
The Prince of Ning couldn't come, so he could pretend to be sick and go to the palace for the banquet after they went out.
It was a bit more troublesome for the Princess of Ning...
She couldn't stand on the street because she was in poor health and couldn't bear the crowded crowd.
Nor could she go to an ordinary restaurant because there were many official families on the street today. If she was recognized, it would cause trouble.
After much thought, Xiao Jingnan chose the Muyun Pavilion.
This place was located right in the middle of Changming Street and had a quiet environment. One could watch the parade without revealing their privacy. Moreover, Uncle Zhong was very familiar with the shopkeeper and could cooperate with them to cover up.
Festival, promotion, discount, free bill.
It was reasonable and seamless!
"It's normal for merchants to hold some rebate promotions to attract customers. The Muyun Pavilion is the most luxurious restaurant in the capital, so its rebate promotion will naturally be more generous!"
"So all our consumption here today is free!"
"Really?" Li Wanming's eyes lit up.
"Really."
Li Wanming showed a bright smile. "Then I'm relieved!"
She followed Xiao Jingnan upstairs and curiously looked around.
The pavilions were scattered, the flowers and trees were lush, and there were bead curtains and green screens everywhere.
There were precious orchids, peonies, and narcissuses in the hall, giving off a faint fragrance.
It really lived up to its reputation as the most expensive restaurant in the capital. It was truly elegant and extraordinary.
When they reached the third floor, they entered a private room.
This private room faced Changming Street. There was also a terrace made of rosewood railings on the outside, covered with light silk curtains and separated by pine and bamboo.
One could have a panoramic view of the grand parade without being too noisy. It was an excellent location.
Li Wanming walked in and saw the Princess of Ning sitting on the couch, sipping a cup of tea. There were also various delicate snacks on the table.
Seeing her come in, the Princess of Ning greeted her, "Wanming, come and sit."
Li Wanming looked at the tea saucers on the table and asked in disbelief, "Is that all you ordered?"
"... Isn't it good?" The Princess of Ning was confused.
"It's not that it's not good. It's just a big loss!"
Li Wanming turned around and called Chuntao. "Go and tell the waiter to serve all their signature dishes! And pack a set to take back for father-in-law!"
Since it was free, why not order generously?
Why just order some tea and snacks? To feed the fish?
They must order the hard dishes!
The Princess of Ning was pleased to see that she still remembered her sick father-in-law even when out playing. She picked up a plate of chestnut cakes and handed them to her.
"Good girl, try these. The chestnut cakes in the Muyun Pavilion are the best in the capital."
Li Wanming took a bite. They were indeed sweet, soft, and glutinous.
"They're delicious. But how does mother-in-law know that the chestnut cakes in the Muyun Pavilion are the best?"
"This..." The Princess of Ning was at a loss for words for a moment.
Xiao Jingnan quickly said, "I heard it from the waiter in the Muyun Pavilion."
Afraid that if they stayed here any longer, Li Wanming would notice something, he pulled her out. "Although this place is nice, it's too high and a bit far from the long street. It's not clear. How about we go to the second-floor hall?"
Li Wanming's next words were, "Is the second-floor hall also free?"
Xiao Jingnan smiled. "Yes. All our expenses today are free~"
What were they waiting for? Let's go!
The second floor was a whole hall, more spacious and lively.
Xiao Jingnan chose a seat by the window and pulled Li Wanming to sit down.
It was still early. The parade team had just left the palace city and it would take some time to reach them.
But after a while, the huge Muyun Pavilion was gradually filled.
Many women were holding big bunches of flower branches in their hands, tied with red silk ribbons and colorful scented bookmarks, decorating the Muyun Pavilion like an ocean of flowers.
Li Wanming was puzzled. "Do you need so many flowers for throwing flowers to choose a husband?"
In her concept, throwing one would be enough.
"This lady doesn't know. In previous years, although it was lively, there weren't so many people."
The waiter next to her explained, "It's different this year. I heard that the new top scholar this year is extremely handsome. Even the emperor and the queen mother praised his appearance!"
"The ladies brought so many flowers in their hands just to throw them several times in order to hit him!"
Hearing what the waiter said, Li Wanming became curious.
"Is that top scholar really that good-looking?"
"Of course he is! If he wasn't good-looking, would he have caught the emperor's and the queen mother's eyes? I heard that the emperor even specially bestowed him a gold fish pouch!"
"Well, then get me a bunch of flowers too!"
"This..."
The waiter was very smart. He first glanced at Xiao Jingnan and then said with some embarrassment.
Xiao Jingnan's face seemed a bit surprised. After a moment, he nodded slightly.
The waiter responded and went down.
After a while, a large bunch of fragrant and elegant plum blossom branches, as well as delicate bookmarks and silk ribbons, were brought to Li Wanming's table.
Li Wanming took out a bookmark and started writing excitedly.
Seeing her happy look, Xiao Jingnan said calmly, "Is the lady planning to find a new husband for herself?"
"No. Yiyi hasn't been betrothed yet. I'm choosing one for her!" Li Wanming said without looking up.
Before Xiao Jingnan could breathe a sigh of relief, he heard her say again, "Isn't it enough to support a good-for-nothing husband at home? Do I still want to support another one? Am I crazy?"
...
Xiao Jingnan's face turned even uglier.
"Li Wanming? Why are you here?"
Suddenly, a familiar and annoying scream came from behind.
It was Sun Miaoqing following a tall girl, coming up from the stairs.
The girl was wearing a goose-yellow brocade dress with cloud patterns, looking very noble.
Hearing Sun Miaoqing's shout, she frowned slightly, seemingly disgusted by such a loud outcry in public.
Chuntao retorted without hesitation, "If you can come, our lady, the daughter of a fourth-rank general, why can't she!"
Sun Miaoqing rolled her eyes. "Just a vice-fourth-rank. Who are you pretending to be..."
Before she could finish her words, seeing that the goose-yellow girl had already walked to the window and sat down, she quickly followed up, not bothering to pick on Li Wanming anymore.
Someone nearby recognized the girl's identity and said, "Isn't that Guo Xinyue, the daughter of Guo Wei, the minister of the Ministry of Personnel? I heard that she has always been very arrogant. Why is she also here to throw flowers?"
"You don't know. She has taken a fancy to this year's new top scholar, so she wants to come to the long street to throw flowers and get some good luck."
There were a group of young ladies and young wives sitting in the Muyun Pavilion now, almost covering the entire circle of noble ladies in the capital. They were very familiar with gossiping and the information was very abundant.
"Then who is the person next to her?"
"She seems to be the cousin of the family of the General of Xuanwei. I heard that she is being betrothed to his elder brother."
"Oh, the family of the General of Xuanwei. It's a good match..."
Someone else beside them sneered, "That's not a good match at all!"
"Her own father is just a seventh-rank minor official! She's just relying on a distant relative relationship with the General of Xuanwei to try to gain some glory for herself and take the opportunity to marry into a good family!"
"Really?"
"Why not? It's said to be a betrothal, but the eldest son of the Guo family hasn't even sent a matchmaker to propose yet... I think this betrothal is just her being overly enthusiastic. The Guo family may not take a fancy to her!"
"No wonder she has always been so submissive and serving Miss Guo. She's like a maid. It turns out she's trying to curry favor with her future sister-in-law!"
Those people all lowered their heads and giggled.
Li Wanming looked in their direction and sure enough saw Sun Miaoqing diligently pouring tea for Guo Xinyue, looking extremely obsequious, completely different from her arrogance when facing Li Wanming.
It was a pity that Miss Guo's gaze was always on the street and she always ignored Sun Miaoqing.
Often, Sun Miaoqing would say several sentences before she would casually reply with an "um", extremely disdainful.
Sun Miaoqing had no choice but to act even more submissively.
It was a pity that she didn't know that in the circle of noble ladies in the capital, reputation was the most important.
Such excessive obsequiousness would only make her seem cheap.
Once the reputation of being cheap spread, there would be no place for her among the noble ladies in the capital.