Chapter 288, Dragon Boat Race
During festive seasons, the streets and alleys of the capital city will be very lively. If there are any outing activities in the palace, the excitement will be doubled directly.
On the day of the Dragon Boat Festival, because the emperor also came to watch the dragon boat race, the Yongding River Wharf was surrounded by crowds from the inner three floors and the outer three floors early.
When the family arrived, there were dense crowds of people everywhere on the river bank.
"Fortunately, we have a separate stand, so we don't have to be crowded with these people."
On the river bank, the positions with the best view were separated by guards with knives. With the royal stand as the center, honorable officials sat on both sides in order of rank.
Shi's family surrounded Mrs. Shi and Mrs. Shi and walked towards the location of Shi's house. When they were about to arrive, Gan Tang who was beside Shi Fuyin came over.
"Old man, old lady, there are few people at the Duke's Mansion, Madam, please come over." After all, the location of the Shi family is not as good as that of the Duke of Anguo's Mansion.
At that time, the old man felt that this was a bit eye-catching and would cause people to gossip, so he didn't say anything.
It was Mrs. Shi who smiled and agreed: "Since it's Sister Yin's kindness, let's go there."
The old man did not expect that the old wife would agree, and wanted to refuse, but it was not easy to refute the old wife in public, so he had no choice but to remain silent.
Afterwards, Gan Tang led the way and led the Shi family to the stands of Duke Anguo's mansion.
The position of the grandstand of Anguogong Mansion is closer to the imperial platform, and that of the Shi family is a little bit behind. We have to pass through the stands of many noble and powerful officials in the middle.
As a result, the Shi family received a lot of cryptic looks and pointers.
"Climbing up to the Duke of Anguo's mansion, even if the title of the Shi family is taken back, it will still be able to preserve the wealth of another generation."
"The girl in the family still needs to be cultivated well. If she marries into a noble family, it will be the glory of the whole family."
"That's not true. At this time, the family just wanted to marry their daughter."
Hearing everyone's whispering, Mrs. Shi was very uncomfortable, and said to Mrs. Shi in a low voice: "You shouldn't be here at Duke An's Mansion."
When the old lady said: "Even if we don't go, the good people will talk about it in private. It's better to do what the aboveboard should do."
"In this capital city, there are many people who rely on marrying their daughters to honor their ancestors. There is nothing shameful."
At this moment, the grandstand of Duke An's Mansion arrived. Seeing Shi Fuyin and Xiao Ziqing coming to greet her, Mrs. Shi ignored Mrs. Shi and walked towards Shi Fuyin quickly: "You are pregnant, go back and sit down."
The elders sat down, but the younger generation climbed on the railing and looked at the dragon boat on the river.
"Sixth Sister, look quickly, Ninth Brother and Master Fan Xiaohou are on the No. 6 dragon boat." Shi Dingxu pointed to the dragon boat, and pulled Shi Fuxin excitedly.
Shi Fuxin tugged back her sleeve: "Shilang, calm down, look at the young masters on the left and right stands, which one is like you?"
"You are grown up now, and you have to start paying attention to your image outside. Girls like respectful sons. You have to continue to be rash, and be careful not to find a wife."
Shi Dingxu didn't take it seriously: "Brother Jiu said, he will take care of my daughter-in-law."
When Shi Fuxin heard this, she immediately burst out laughing: "Listen to him, his own daughter-in-law hasn't been seen yet, so I can't control you."
“It is better to rely on others than to rely on oneself. Rather than waiting for others to help, it is better to find a way by oneself.”
Having said this, Shi Fuxin suddenly paused.
On the river, a colorful dragon boat rowed towards the pier from far to near.
Dragon Boat No. 5, drummer Chu Yao!
When the dragon boat approached the pier, Shi Fuxin clearly felt that the left and right stands were much noisy, and there were several times more girls beside the fence than before.
Hey, there are many people who are as crazy as her these days!
Chu Yao appears in front of people on weekdays, he is ruffian and flirtatious, it is rare to see him serious.
People who work hard, no matter men or women, are very eye-catching, such is the case for Chu Yao who is beating the dragon boat drum intently at the moment.
"Tch, Mr. Yao is too high-profile. Others quietly park their dragon boats at the pier. With him appearing so ostentatiously, I'm afraid that others won't know that he also participated in the dragon boat race." Shi Dingxu said with a curled lip.
Shi Fuxin took a look at him: "It's a skill to have the courage and the capital to make a show. If it's someone else, you might not dare to go up to it, for example, you!"
Shi Dingxu choked, and looked at Shi Fuxin angrily: "Sixth sister, why are you still facing outsiders?"
Shi Fuxin patted Shi Dingxu on the shoulder: "Shiro, it's not a question of who I'm aiming for, but rather, being a person should be broad-minded."
“If someone else does something you want to do but dare not do, even if you can’t appreciate it, don’t be uncomfortable with it.”
"Knowing what you just said, how did I feel when I heard it?"
Shi Dingxu: "How does it feel?"
Shi Fuxin sighed: "The complaint of a cowardly person."
Shi Dingxu blushed suddenly, turned to talk to Shi Fulin and the others.
Shi Fuxin shrugged with a smile. At this time, the emperor arrived with all the princes, and everyone stood up to salute.
After the emperor sat down on the royal platform, the crowd resumed the excitement.
In this dragon boat race, many participants are well-known.
Dragon Boat No. 1 is a team headed by the Wei family;
Dragon Boat No. 2 is the team headed by the Liu family;
Dragon boat No. 3 and No. 4 are a team composed of other princes;
Dragon Boat No. 5 is the clan team headed by Chu Yao;
The dragon boats after that are all teams of the children of officials from acquainted aristocratic families.
"I heard that the top three have imperial rewards, Sixth Sister, do you think Ninth Brother and the others can win the prize?"
Looking at Shi Dingxu who came closer again, Shi Fuxin was a little amused, looked at the No. 6 dragon boat, the drummer was Master Fan Xiaohou, Master Fan Xiaohou didn't need to worry about the princes, maybe, should be able to get a ranking.
The sound of the dragon horn sounded, and the game began.
Dozens of dragon boats shot out like off-string arrows, but within a quarter of an hour, the gap widened.
"I saw."
Shi Fuxin dealt with Shi Dingxu perfunctorily. At this moment, her eyes were not on the No. 6 dragon boat where her younger brother was, but on the No. 5 dragon boat, which was rowing the fastest.
It's not that she doesn't pay attention to her younger brother, it's because someone is cheating and committing crimes based on her beauty.
She has always known that Chu Yao's appearance is quite lethal, but today when he is serious, people can't take their eyes off.
"Why is this guy working so hard this time?"
Soon, Shi Fuxin knew the reason why Chu Yao worked hard.
An Guogong’s mansion is next to the Mingguo’s mansion. At this moment, several girls from the Dongfang family are discussing Chu Yao’s matter in a low voice.
"The third son Yao got the crown last year, and he hasn't gotten married yet. The old concubine and the princess of the county are in a hurry. After the Chinese New Year, the palace held several banquets, just to show the third son Yao."
"Master Yao went to Dingguo Mansion to propose marriage last month, but unfortunately he was rejected!"
"Just like coming to our house to propose marriage, Duke Dingguo also thinks that Mr. Yao's reputation is too bad."
"The third son Yao is not on good terms with the palace. He probably doesn't want his marriage to be arranged by others, and wants to choose his own wife. Unfortunately, his reputation is too bad, and the people he likes are not willing."
"In this dragon boat race, I think Mr. Yao is working so hard. I guess he wants everyone to know that he is capable."
After Shi Fuxin heard this, her expression froze, Dingguo Gongfu?
Chu Yao proposed marriage to Xiahou Huanyan?
Chu Yao is the head of the special supervision department. She doesn't believe that he doesn't know about Xiahou Huanyan and Cao Yunting. How long has Cao Yunting been away from Beijing?
The fiancée has someone else in her heart, does Chu Yao not care at all?
"This guy chooses his daughter-in-law, really only by looking at the lintel!"
Shi Fuxin pursed her lips, feeling an unexplainable feeling in her heart, hummed, and shifted her gaze to Dragon Boat No. 6.
Master Fan Xiaohou is actually pretty good in every way.
Time slipped away little by little. From the very beginning, the No. 5 dragon boat rowed first, followed by the No. 1 dragon boat, and then the No. 6 dragon boat.
Until the end of the game, this order has not changed.
Chu Yao's team won the first place, and the emperor rewarded Chu Yao with a bracelet made of thumb-sized East beads.
The reward for the second place is a red coral bracelet, and the reward for the third place is a string of pink tourmaline bracelets.
The emperor looked at the three people who had received the reward with a smile: "I have been choosing this reward for a long time. Brother Yao and Mingyu are not married yet. If you have a sweetheart, you can give it as a gift."
Then, he looked at Wei Yichen who was in second place, "Give yours to your wife."
The three of Chu Yao bowed down to thank each other.
Afterwards, the emperor received the top three other personnel in turn, and everyone received their own rewards.
On the viewing platform, everyone saw Chu Yao and the three of them winning the prize, and they also knew that the emperor didn’t reward them with knives or swords this time, but the bracelets that the girls liked.
Thus, Chu Yao and Fan Xiaohou, who had attracted the eyes of the female family members, received even more eager attention.
After receiving the reward, Master Fan Xiaohou returned to the stands of the Yongchuan Hou Mansion.
Princess Chengyang was full of pride when she saw her son come back.
As soon as Princess Chengyang returned to Beijing, she was in a hurry to show Master Fan Xiaohou's face and did not hide it from everyone. Therefore, those who wanted to marry the Yongchuan Houfu brought their girls to accompany Princess Chengyang before the dragon boat race started. Just kidding.
Under the eager eyes of all the female relatives, Princess Chengyang asked her son to admire the tourmaline bracelet bestowed by the emperor, and passed it around to the female relatives present, before returning it to her son with a smile.
Princess Chengyang looked at the girls around her, looked at her son with a smile, and pointed out: "Mingyu, this bracelet is from the girl's family."
Master Fan Xiaohou smiled and put away the bracelet: "My son knows."
Seeing his son put away the bracelet, the eyes of the girls around him dimmed, and the smile on Princess Chengyang's face deepened.
"Mother, I'm going to find Kuro."
Princess Chengyang's expression became lighter: "Come back soon."
"good."
After finishing speaking, Master Fan Xiaohou quickly left the stands.
Princess Chengyang watched her son go straight to the stands of An Guogong's mansion, greeted An Guogong and his wife, and then walked to the sixth girl of the Shi family, the smile on her face froze.
When she saw her son take out a tourmaline bracelet and hand it to the sixth girl of the Shi family, Princess Chengyang stood up with a 'bass'.
"Princess, what's wrong?"
Princess Chengyang realized that she had lost her composure, and quickly sat back down: "It's okay." She didn't want to attract attention, so she resisted not to look at the stands of Duke Anguo's mansion.
"This is a royal gift, do you really want to give it to me?"
Shi Fuxin didn't immediately take the tourmaline bracelet handed over by Master Fan Xiaohou.
Master Fan Xiaohou said with a smile: "This is something a girl brings, and I don't need it." After speaking, he directly stuffed the bracelet into Shi Fuxin's hand.
Shi Fuxin felt the surprised gazes from her family members, looked at Fan Mingyu's upright and open smile, holding the bracelet, and was very happy in her heart, turned around and lay down on the railing, looked at the river and laughed.
When Master Fan Xiaohou saw him, the smile on his face became brighter.
As the river wind blows, Shi Fuxin turned her head and glanced at Master Fan, who happened to be looking at her too, their eyes met, and they both turned their heads with a smile.
Behind the imperial platform, Chu Yao was annoyed because the princess of the county sent someone to call him over. He knew that his mother called him over to introduce him to the eldest girl of the dealer. Shi Fuxin and Master Fan Xiaohou.
The river breeze is gentle, the girl's dress is fluttering, and the smile on her face is so bright that people can't take their eyes off.
So happy!
Is it because she received the Royal Bracelet, or because Fan Mingyu gave her the bracelet?
Chu Yao frowned, and looked down at the Dongzhu bracelet in his hand.
A string of tourmaline beads is nothing more than a string of tourmaline beads, not as valuable as coral beads, let alone the Dongzhu in his hand. If he gives the Dongzhu bracelet to a girl who wants to marry, will the girl happily accept it and agree to it? Married yourself?
(end of this chapter)