Although Song Yihuan had attended some banquets with Song Nanxin before, they were just small gatherings among the young ladies from noble families. Therefore, the Duke of Jiang didn't recognize her.
Song Nanxin smiled and said, "I forgot to introduce her to Your Grace. This is my younger half - sister, Song Yihuan, the fourth young lady of the Marquis of Ding'an's Mansion. She's currently staying at the Prince Ning's Mansion. Seeing that she was bored staying in the mansion alone, I brought her along. I hope Your Grace won't mind."
Since she had been mentioned by the Duke of Jiang, Song Yihuan stepped forward gracefully and bowed, saying, "Song Yihuan of the Marquis of Ding'an's Mansion, pays respects to Your Grace."
The Duke of Jiang stroked his beard and laughed, "Young Lady Song, there's no need for such formalities. All guests are welcome. Enjoy yourself at the Duke's Mansion today."
The Duke of Jiang led Ji Lingchuan and the others into the Duke's Mansion and walked towards the front hall. Along the way, the Duke of Jiang inquired about the current situation of the Prince and Princess Ning from Ji Lingchuan in detail. Ji Lingchuan replied calmly one by one.
Song Nanxin, with a smile on her face, followed closely beside Ji Lingchuan and chimed in appropriately from time to time. From behind, they looked like a well - matched couple.
Song Yihuan followed them at a proper distance, behaving in a proper and orderly manner from beginning to end.
In fact, she was on high alert, secretly keeping an eye on Song Nanxin's every move.
Fu Ling had told her the other day that the reason why her elder sister couldn't conceive wasn't because she caught a cold after falling into the water during her menstrual period. There was another reason.
The story of falling into the water was just for public consumption. Only Bai Zhi and Nanny Zhao knew the real reason.
Moreover, Fu Ling also revealed that in March, her elder sister had left the capital and attended a Dharma assembly held by the Changyue Nunnery on the outskirts of the capital with several noble young ladies. She had stayed there for several days before returning to the Prince Ning's Mansion.
The other day when she and her elder sister went to Duobaozhai to buy jade pendants and met Cui Yinger there, Cui Yinger had also mentioned "March".
Could it be that something happened in March that caused her elder sister's infertility?
She originally didn't want to come to this birthday banquet at the Duke of Jiang's Mansion. But after learning from Fu Ling that there was a hidden reason for her elder sister's infertility, she became interested in this banquet.
She wondered if she could find any clues at this birthday banquet today.
The scale of the Duke of Jiang's Mansion was among the top in the capital city. It had pavilions, terraces, towers, waterside pavilions, and winding corridors. Since there was a banquet in the mansion today, people were walking around everywhere. Passing by a pavilion surrounded by green trees, they heard cheers coming from there.
"Throw! Throw! Throw! You made it! As expected of the second young master of the Jiang family. You're really a master at this!"
Through the leaves, they could see a group of young gentlemen gathered in the pavilion, laughing heartily. They were presumably playing the game of arrow - throwing into a pot.
Walking further on, in the pavilion by the lotus pond, they heard the sound of poetry recitation. Led by the fifth young master of the Jiang family, a group of scholars had gathered there and were improvising poems.
Ji Lingchuan was tall and imposing, and with Song Nanxin in her luxurious clothes, being led by the Duke of Jiang through the winding corridor, they attracted a lot of attention.
Just as they were about to pass by the pavilion where the poetry - reciting was going on, suddenly, a surprised call came from the pavilion: "Young Lady Song?"
This familiar and clear voice made Song Yihuan, who had been following Ji Lingchuan and Song Nanxin at a proper distance, change her expression slightly.
She looked in the direction of the voice and saw a familiar figure quickly walking out of the pavilion where they had been reciting poems.
It was Gu Yunzheng, whom she hadn't seen for many days.
It was the eightieth birthday of the Duke of Jiang's mother, which was considered a very long life. In order to celebrate his mother's birthday, the Duke of Jiang had held a grand banquet and sent out invitations widely in the capital. Princes, generals, high - ranking officials, famous scholars, and wealthy merchants were all invited.
Gu Yunzheng was the new second - place scholar in the imperial examination. All the influential forces were eager to win him over, so it was not surprising that he was here.
However, she didn't expect Gu Yunzheng to call out her name in public.
She had clearly made things clear to him in Lanfang Garden. What was he up to?
Song Yihuan didn't notice that Ji Lingchuan in front had also stopped. He looked at Gu Yunzheng, who was walking quickly towards them, with a solemn expression on his face, and quietly clenched his left hand behind his back.
Gu Yunzheng had stopped her in public? What did he intend to do? Make their relationship public?
When Ji Lingchuan stopped, the others also stopped.
Song Nanxin couldn't help but feel strange. She followed Ji Lingchuan's gaze and saw a handsome and elegant man walking quickly towards them, directly towards Song Yihuan behind them.
Song Nanxin was shocked and immediately became vigilant.
Who was this man? When had Song Yihuan met such a noble and handsome man?
Ji Lingchuan and the others were already eye - catching, and with Gu Yunzheng deliberately calling out Song Yihuan's name, people from all directions were looking at them.
Seeing that many people around were looking at them, Song Yihuan felt a chill in her heart. When Gu Yunzheng came in front of her, she deliberately took two steps back to keep a distance from him, with a look of alienation and resistance on her face.
Gu Yunzheng felt a slight pain in his heart when he met her cold and indifferent gaze, as if she was looking at a stranger.
He knew that calling out her identity in such a situation would bring her trouble and make her unhappy, but this was the only way he could fight for himself.
He just wanted the world to know that Song Yihuan, the fourth young lady of the Marquis of Ding'an's Mansion, was the girl he truly wanted to marry, so as to cut off the possibility of Song Yihuan becoming Ji Lingchuan's concubine.
Gu Yunzheng didn't rush to talk to Song Yihuan. Instead, he turned around, bowed his hands, and saluted the Duke of Jiang and Ji Lingchuan respectively. Then he said with a smile, "I was so overjoyed to see an old friend that I blurted out her name. I didn't mean to disturb Your Grace and the heir. I'd like to apologize to you two first."
The Duke of Jiang said with a smile, "Scholar Gu, there's no need for such formalities. I didn't expect that you and the fourth young lady of the Marquis of Ding'an's Mansion were old acquaintances. It's quite a coincidence that you meet here today."
Song Nanxin had been sizing up Gu Yunzheng secretly. Hearing the Duke of Jiang's words, her face immediately changed.
Scholar Gu? Was this handsome man in front of her the Scholar Gu who had once come to the Prince Ning's Mansion to visit Song Yihuan?
Didn't Song Yihuan say that she had drawn a clear line from this Scholar Gu? What was going on now?
"Your Grace is mistaken. I don't know him," came Song Yihuan's cold voice from behind.
Hearing this, Ji Lingchuan frowned even more tightly.
He knew how persistent Gu Yunzheng was towards Song Yihuan. Even after being so humiliated, he still refused to let go.
Now that Song Yihuan had denied knowing him in front of the Duke of Jiang, would Gu Yunzheng say something reckless again?
While Ji Lingchuan was thinking about how he should mediate as an elder brother - in - law if Gu Yunzheng acted recklessly, he heard Gu Yunzheng say gently with a smile, "Young Lady Song once gave me some ink in a bookstore. It's been a long time, so it's understandable that the young lady has forgotten."
"Taking this opportunity, I'd like to formally introduce myself to Young Lady Song. My surname is Gu, and my name is Yunzheng. My ancestral home is Yunzhou. I'm a disciple of Grand Scholar Qi and the second - place scholar in this imperial examination. I'm currently—"
Gu Yunzheng looked into Song Yihuan's eyes and said very seriously, "I'm currently the Assistant Magistrate of the Capital Prefecture, a sixth - rank official."