Part 1: A Dream Within A Dream / Rebirth of Ill Fated Concubine

Chapter 055 Old Friend

She was left alone, and everyone on the Qingsong Boat saw everything clearly. 

One of the blue-clothed young men said angrily: "How can you bully a delicate little girl like this? These women are really too much!" It was the young man from the general's mansion.

Another young man echoed: "That's right, it's too extreme. If there is no precedent, I really want to teach her to sit next to me."

However, it was not just one person who was kind to women. On the Linglong Boat, Jiang Ruan hadn't decided where to sit when she heard a familiar voice calling her: "Jiang Ruan, come here." Turning around, it was Lin Zixiang.

Jiang Ruan walked towards her and sat down beside her. Lin Zixiang looked at her carefully and nodded, saying, "You are much prettier than your sister. This red is more pleasing to the eye than the fake white."

Jiang Ruan was speechless. Lin Zixiang pulled her hand again and said to the people sitting at the table, "This is Miss Jiang from Minister Jiang's house. She is Jiang Ruan, Jiang Susu's sister."

The boat was mostly a small group. The little sisters of the nobles who knew each other sat at the same table. 

Although Lin Zixiang was isolated like her in Minister Shen's house, she also had her own friends in the circle of young ladies in Capital. Lin Zixiang also introduced her: "This is Miss Dong from the governor's house in the capital, Miss Xu from the family of the president of the Hanlin Academy, Miss Wen from the family of the cavalry commander, and Miss Zhao, the youngest daughter of the cloud commander."

Dong Ying'er is the daughter of the governor's family. She has a pretty and lovely round face. Seeing this, she said to her generously: "So, you are Jiang Ruan. I was stunned when I looked at you just now. I didn't know that there are such beautiful girls in the world."

Her words were innocent and frank, without deliberate flattery. Hearing her words, people would like her. Wen Feifei and Zhao Jin were both born in military officers' houses, and their behaviour was also a bit heroic. Zhao Jin smiled and said, "If I were a man, I would go to your house tomorrow to propose marriage."

"That's right," Wen Feifei said, "You are already like this now. In a few years, all the young ladies in Capital will be too embarrassed to go out."

Jiang Ruan also smiled, "Are you sisters trying to embarrass me on purpose? Today, I have also opened my eyes. There are girls in Capital with such temperament and appearance, especially temperament. If I were a man, I would be a heartless man and marry all the sisters back and hide them."

Everyone at the table laughed again, and it was a happy time. Lin Zixiang looked at Xu Ruoxi on the side: "Why are you absent-minded?"

Xu Ruoxi is the legitimate daughter of the president of the Hanlin Academy. She is also a noble and arrogant person on weekdays. When she heard this, she was about to speak, but she heard a long voice from outside: "King Jinying is here - the eighth prince is here -"

Xu Ruoxi's eyes suddenly added a spirit, and her face flushed. Jiang Ruan's body froze, and she tried her best to calm down so as not to accidentally spill the tea in her hand.

She followed the gaze of the crowd and looked towards the shore, only to see a man in white coming in. 

The man was gentle and elegant, as handsome as in the previous life, and walked towards the Qingsong Boat with a smile step by step. The river was sparkling, reflecting the clinking of glasses. On this lively night, meeting old friends again, the world has changed.

The laughter on the Linglong Boat had stopped abruptly, but Xu Ruoxi's eyes did not stop at the Eighth Prince. The man behind the Eighth Prince was wearing a dark blue brocade robe with golden bat patterns and a jade belt and green boots. The young man was handsome and heroic, with eyes as cold as snow. He walked from afar step by step, and his appearance was not inferior to that of the Eighth Prince.

Xu Ruoxi's voice trembled with excitement: "It's King Jinying..."

Jiang Ruan frowned slightly. She never expected that the young man she had met twice was actually the famous King Jinying of the Great Jin Dynasty.

The Linglong Boat was full of young noble ladies. Now seeing two young men among the best on the Qingsong Boat, they all blushed and talked about it.

"Why are the Eighth Prince and King Jinying here this year?" Zhao Jin's puzzled voice came to her ears.

During the annual Lantern Festival, although there were many princes and nobles on the Qingsong Boat, the Eighth Prince and King Jinying had never come. First, these two had never heard of planning to marry a concubine, and second, they looked down on these matters between men and women.

Jiang Ruan's brows had not been loosened since she saw the two. If she said that she was just indescribably complicated when she saw the Eighth Prince, she was shocked when she learned the identity of the handsome young man.

Luo Qi weaved in the open, and Xiao Shao spread in the dark. Jinying King Xiao Shao is a special existence in the Great Jin Dynasty.

He was born in a royal family. His father once started a rebellion, but was suppressed later. The emperor did not say anything and did not even take back his title. When Xiao Shao was ten years old, Jinying King led troops to quell the rebellion of Xirong. He himself was a spy and died on the battlefield. Xiao Shao's mother hanged herself to follow him. So far, Xiao Shao was the only one left in the huge Jinying Palace.

Xiao Shao himself was also very outstanding. At a young age, he was in charge of 100,000 Jinyiwei in the Great Jin Dynasty. The emperor and the empress dowager were very tolerant of him and even allowed him to be rude in front of the emperor. 

At the beginning, the emperor wanted to change the eighth prince to the crown prince, but Xiao Shao stopped it in front of the civil and military officials. It was taboo for ministers to discuss the affairs of the royal family. The emperor did not have any grudges and let the matter of changing the crown prince go. 

Some people in the society speculated that the reason why Xiao Shao was so unscrupulous in front of the emperor was that he must have held the emperor's handle to threaten the emperor. In addition, the old King Jinying himself had rebelled, so Xiao Shao also got the name of a traitor.

However, no matter what the people said, Xiao Shao's position in the court was still light, but he did not stand on the side or form a gang, like an alien. In the previous life, the eighth prince had shown his kindness to him several times, but was rejected by Xiao Shao. When the old emperor died of illness and the eighth prince ascended the throne, Xiao Shao was on an expedition to the Western Rong, and Jiang Ruan didn't know what happened later.

In the previous life, Jiang Ruan had only seen Xiao Shao once. She saw him in a black dress from a distance at the palace banquet, but at that time she only had the eighth prince Ye Li in her heart, and there was no room for others in her eyes. And according to his current age, Xiao Shao is only in his early twenties this year.

When everyone on the Qingsong Boat saw Xiao Shao and the eighth prince Ye Li coming, they all greeted them. 

One of the young men in green stood up, walked to Xiao Shao, and said with a smile: "Third brother, this is the first time I see you at this Lantern Festival. Are you attracted to a girl?"

This person is Mo Cong. Xiao Shao glanced at him, too lazy to talk, and just found a seat by the window and sat down.

On the other side, the fifth prince saw Ye Li and narrowed his eyes: "Old Eighth, what brings you here?"

"My father asked me to go out for a walk. I have been in the capital for so many years and have not seen the Lantern Festival, so I came." Ye Li smiled politely. This naturally meant something else to the fifth prince. 

It was well known that the emperor favoured the eighth prince. Now that the Linglong Boat was full of daughters of dignitaries, the old emperor might have thought of asking the eighth prince to choose a concubine and wanted to add a helper to him.

(End of this chapter)

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