C25
On the fifth of April, Huo Mingzhu's fifteenth birthday arrived. The front yard was already extremely busy, other than the Huo Family's clansmen and the Yu Family's distant relatives, according to the status of Huo Zhengde and Pingyang Duke, there would definitely be a lot of nobles who would come to watch the ceremony, which also gave the General's House enough face.
Early in the morning, Huo Huaiyu went to Huo Mingzhu's Chenxiang Palace. Seeing Su Lv helping him change his clothes and comb his hair, she innocently smiled at him: "Big sister, you're so beautiful. If others didn't know, I would have thought that Big sister was just dressing up to put on her bridal gown."
Huo Huaiyu was not in the mood to say anything, but Huo Mingzhu looked at his face through the copper mirror ? This scene was extremely familiar. Three years later, she had just finished her eighteenth birthday, and the next day was the wedding day between her and Baili Zonglv. She combed her makeup in the mirror, and Huo Huaiyu was smiling at her in this manner as well.
To think that a person could return to three years ago and leave a lot of traces behind, memorizing all the evil intentions of the people around him. How lucky was that?
Second Miss, you don't know the temper of the young miss, she doesn't like these rouge and cosmetics. In Fringe City, she has never been willing to put powder on her face, this is the first time the young miss has ever been willing to sit down and have me serve her! Su Lv's mouth was wide open as he talked.
After Huo Huaiyu heard this, he was incomparably envious. "Sigh, if only I could be as good-looking as big sister. Even without rouge and cosmetics, big sister would be able to throw off those beautiful girls in Shang Jing ? ? Vermillion Bird Street! Such a natural beauty! "
Huo Mingzhu knocked on Huo Huaiyu's head without a trace of resentment, and pampered her as he had pampered her in his previous life, "Little girl Huai Yu, don't say anymore, big sister won't forgive you! "What's the use of being beautiful? You're just a piece of skin to the left and right ?"
"It's too easy for me to say it, but the heavens may not be fair!" Huo Huaiyu dodged, the voice was full of smiles, but the tone of voice was extremely dissatisfied: "Many people want to be beautiful but cannot, they do not hesitate to borrow cosmetic powder to add colour, big sister has everything, you can see that we cannot compare!"
It was not because of Huo Mingzhu's narrow bearing and his suspicions. After experiencing the painful death, she had gradually been able to understand the traces of hatred and grievances Huo Huaiyu had towards her. In the past three years, he had probably accumulated too much hatred and finally became an inner demon.
He pretended to not understand her resentment and jealousy. Holding Huo Huaiyu's hand, he smiled: "Good little sister, no matter what kind of appearance big sister produces, big sister will always be your big sister, I will definitely love you."
Just then, Su Lv had already combed her hair, there were people outside who had come to invite her: "Young miss, the time is almost right, the Madam is here to invite you to the hall."
Huo Huaiyu happily held Huo Mingzhu's hand and supported her as they walked out: "Good sister, when did I dare to be angry with you? You look good, but even if I look good, this time there will be many guests at the adult Rites, and perhaps there will be no lack of talented young people, you better open your eyes wide and look carefully, if there is a suitable candidate, then find me a brother-in-law as soon as possible! "
Huo Mingzhu was not ashamed nor was she angry. Instead, she seriously recalled the guests that came to her during her adult ceremony that year ?
Most of them were Huo Zhengde and his uncle's good friends. His Majesty was suspicious of them, but in order to prevent officials from forming a clique in private, he would normally not invite too many guests at these extravagant gatherings. That year, the most precious gift was only a piece of warm jade that Baili Zonglv had sent over.
Lin Ruyi was standing at the back door. Seeing that they had arrived, he immediately extended his hand and said: "Ming Zhu, come, the time has come. Follow me."
With her sharp eyes, Huo Mingzhu could already see the old granny and aunt Li who were sitting in the hall, as well as a few other ministers' wives. She knew in her heart that today, no matter what, Lin Ruyi would act out his mother's drama in front of everyone.
She obediently followed Lin Ruyi into the hall. She smiled at the guests watching the ceremony, and just as her gaze turned to the other corner of the hall, her smile froze.
She really wanted to rub her eyes to see if she was hallucinating. A dignified Ninth Prince suddenly appearing in a woman's adult gift! Although there were some things that could not be predicted, but why was it not accurate when it came to Baili Zonglv? It was the same with the silly crown prince.
"What is it? Miss Huo doesn't seem to welcome this king here for a ceremony? " Baili Zonglv was indeed different from his previous life, he didn't need to hide anything as he directly walked in front of her and removed the armor on his body.
Baili Zonglv asked in a relaxed manner and his expression was indifferent as well, causing all the guests present to give Huo Mingzhu peculiar gazes.
Previously, when he invited the imperial physician to treat Huo Mingzhu's wounds, there were only a few people who knew about it. Now that he was causing a ruckus with her adult, what was Baili Zonglv going to do? After today, many people started discussing amongst themselves.
"Ming Zhu, greet the Ninth Prince!"
Without waiting for Huo Mingzhu to be stunned, Huo Zhengde immediately reminded her, because she was afraid that she would be disrespectful to Baili Zonglv, causing Huo Mingzhu to be helpless, he lowered his body and blessed Baili Zonglv: "Ming Zhu, I didn't know that Ninth Prince was visiting, please excuse me."
Baili Zonglv seemed to enjoy her obedience a lot. He was taller than Huo Mingzhu by a full head, and when he looked at her, he already looked down upon her. Miss Huo's gaze just now did not seem like he did not know that this king was coming here.
After he finished speaking, he did not want Huo Mingzhu to be embarrassed, so he laughed heartily and added: "Haha, just joking, today is Miss Huo's joyous day, this king has stopped by to take a look, this is a adult congratulatory gift for Miss Huo."
With a wave of his hand, the guard He Fang behind him brought out an exquisite box.
Huo Mingzhu knew what was inside the box, but how could she accept it? She looked at the box and did not accept it for a long time. On the contrary, she frowned and tactfully rejected it, "It's fine if the Prince comes to view the gift. Ming Zhu does not dare to accept this congratulatory gift."
Guard He Fang was in a difficult position as he turned to look at Baili Zonglv: "This ?"
Baili Zonglv was someone who had experienced hundreds of battles, how could he feel awkward in such a small situation? He took another half step forward, and was a little closer to Huo Mingzhu's face. He smiled at her: "It can't be that Miss Huo mistook this box for a betrothal gift, right?"
The surrounding guests were all startled, even Huo Mingzhu was shocked. After Baili Zonglv finished talking about this joke, he hurriedly said self-deprecatingly, "This king thinks that being friends with young miss can be considered as having met with hardships, so it is natural to express your feelings on the day of your birthday. If young miss feels that it's inappropriate, it's also good for me to return the gesture on my birthday. Could it be that Miss intends to never have anything to do with This King? "
If Huo Mingzhu could do as he pleased, she would definitely tell him that she was indeed willing to never have anything to do with him. But in front of everyone, because of his noble status as the Prince, she could only clench her teeth and accept the box. She had to express her gratitude to Baili Zonglv: "Ninth Prince has misunderstood, Ming Zhu should be moved by Ninth Prince's rescue.
Only now did Baili Zonglv feel satisfied, his usual cold phoenix eyes revealed a smile, and his thin lips rose slightly. He looked exceptionally bright, and laughed softly: "It's also not something precious, don't worry about it, Miss."
After he finished speaking, Huo Zhengde called for him to take a seat. Baili Zonglv still wanted to decline, but went forward to greet the guests, the Pingyang Duke, the Old Madam, and many others who either knew or did not know who they were.
Huo Mingzhu carried the embroidered box, she could neither leave nor stay, Baili Zonglv's brain had been pinched on the door, her previous life had been very serious, she had even sent people to secretly send over gifts, she did not have to be embarrassed, when accepting she had a lot of feelings for her daughter.
However, in this lifetime, how could Baili Zonglv become such a virtuous person? The Great Sky War God had turned into a sociable lady who talked nonsense, deliberately making her feel embarrassed in front of the guests.
Seeing that Huo Mingzhu was silent, Huo Huaiyu who had been waiting impatiently for a long time ran forward and took her arm, his black eyes looking at the embroidered box, and asked curiously: "Elder sister, what did Ninth Prince send you? I had always wanted to come up and greet Ninth Prince, but I felt too embarrassed, I was too rude! Your highness is so kind, big sister, why haven't you opened it yet? "
"Eldest Miss, the auspicious hour has arrived. All the guests are already in their seats and are waiting for you." A servant came to inform him.
Huo Mingzhu then handed the embroidered box over to Huo Huaiyu: "Yu'er, help big sister keep it."
she said, and followed the servant to the head of the table.
Huo Huaiyu held onto the embroidered box, but in the end, he couldn't hold back his curiosity. Hiding behind someone, he opened it up to take a look, and there was a piece of warm white jade! Huo Huaiyu had grown up in the General's Residence and was Pingyang Duke's niece, so she had naturally seen many good things. However, this was the first time she had seen such a delicate and lustrous piece of jade, and she could not help but take a closer look. It was actually an extremely rare piece of warm jade ?
Huo Huaiyu could not help but raise his head and look towards Huo Mingzhu who was performing his adult ceremony. Her back was facing away from him, and he could not see her expression, but Huo Huaiyu unconsciously shifted his gaze to Baili Zonglv who was seated quietly amongst the crowd. His appearance was of the first class, and he had a noble aura and heroic figure.
Huo Huaiyu's heart was filled with jealousy, hatred and grievance. Her parents, who were under Huo Mingzhu's worship, and her aunt, the Li family's noble and virtuous mother, who was invited to be the host, had personally combed Huo Mingzhu's hair into a bun, tied it into an exquisite hairpin and put on a gorgeous green dress. Her grandmother, grandmother, uncle, and other relatives and even her cousin, Yu Tong, who had not known her for more than three days, looked at Huo Mingzhu with a special gaze. No one noticed her.
Amidst the music, the whispers of the people around him floated into Huo Huaiyu's ears, not a single one of them wasn't praising Huo Mingzhu's beauty and virtue, but there were also hints of admiration towards the Ninth Prince, and his intentions of coming here. In short, the one singing on the stage was only Huo Mingzhu, she, the Second Miss of the General's House, who was kept in her room, but no one knew her, and was only worthy to give her elder sister Huo Mingzhu a safekeeping for her wedding gift!
Huo Huaiyu hardened his heart, and almost wanted to smash the ancient jade in his hand out!