An ugly girl starts off, then becomes a beauty

However, she naturally failed to sleep in. Once the habit of going to bed early and getting up early was formed, even if she wanted to lie in the tent for a while longer, she would get up in less than an incense stick of time.

Nie Ce was still sleeping in the side room. He got up earlier than her, washed up and went out. He left someone to tell her that he had gone to the palace and asked her to make her own arrangements.

In fact, it would not matter if he did not leave a message. For a busy man like him, Sang Ling would not ask any questions even if he did not come back all night. But he left such a message, and it always felt that the two of them were tied together. Looking back at the two months when Nie Ce went to Jiaozhou, didn't she also make her own arrangements?

He came back only after Sang Ling fell asleep that night. He got up early the next day and prepared to go to Sang's house.

When Maochen saw someone in the house, she asked, "When did you come back yesterday? I didn't hear anything."

"Hai Shi."

Nie Jialang seemed to be in good spirits and did not show any signs of fatigue.

Being kept in the palace for such a long time, almost a whole day, it must be tiring enough just thinking about it. But he can still be so energetic, after all, he must be a person who exercises regularly.

But judging from this incident alone, the emperor's desire to reduce the power of the princes was probably very strong. I just don't know what this action of coming back after staying for two months means - she was actually very curious, but because she was not that close to Nie Ce and this was his official business, she did not ask.

After a pause, she wanted to ask something else, such as the arrangements on the day of the return visit. Just as she was about to open her mouth, she saw the other party holding up a roll of bamboo silk and examining it very seriously. She could only scratch the back of her head and walked stiffly towards the bathroom.

Servants were cleaning the corridor at this time, and someone half-opened the east window. In an instant, the early morning sun poured into the house, stirring up pieces of dust in the air.

Only after the man in front of him turned around did the man sitting on the felt mat raise his head.

He seemed relieved too.

*

The return gift was prepared by Madam Zhaoyu herself. This mother-in-law of Sangling had been in charge of household affairs for many years and was very good at handling things. She had learned a lot from her. But when she saw the piles of boxes, she couldn't help but be shocked.

It seems that she still has a long way to go before she can become the future mistress of the Marquis' Mansion.

Since Nie Ce was coming, the Sang family had naturally prepared a family banquet early. From the moment the newlyweds entered the door in the morning, the banquet was set up in Langxiang Pavilion.

The same is true for the gatherings of the imperial nobility. If there is nothing to do, they can have a feast from early morning to dusk, just like a buffet. The process is not monotonous. In addition to the clinking of glasses, there are also music performances, actors' performances, or dances between the host and the guests. Those who are more introverted can also sit and drink and chat happily. After a whole day, they don't move their butts. If they really want to move, they just go to the bathroom.

Sang Ling had experienced this several times with Sang Feng'e or Madam Zhao Yu, and the same was true at banquets and gatherings of noble women.

Today's banquet at Langxiang Pavilion was pretty much the same. Both sides had a brief exchange of words before entering the house. Empress Sang Wu took the bride and her husband around the mansion and gave a brief introduction to the family.

As soon as Sang Ling got off the carriage, she glanced at Ma and Sang Mei, mother and daughter, who were waiting on the side. Her stepmother had a round belly and looked like she had difficulty standing for a long time. Yet, she still brought her daughter to the return banquet today, which was really hard for her.

When their eyes met, Ma's face turned cold, and she quickly raised her head to look at her, still with contempt on her face. She then looked at Sang Mei beside her. The expressions of the mother and daughter were really becoming more and more alike. The older one looked at people with her nose, and the younger one also learned to look at people with her nose.

It was funny for a moment, and she glanced at Ma's belly unconsciously. According to the calculation, the baby should be born in the first half of next year. The only thing she didn't know was whether it was a boy or a girl. If it was a boy, Ma would be able to show off in the Sang family. While thinking about it, the girl's eyes lost focus for a moment, and a sneer slowly appeared in her eyes.

In fact, this look did not have any meaning, but Ma's expression changed several times and she immediately looked away from her.

Sang Ling raised her eyebrows in surprise. Did she really know nothing? But a smile led to such a suspicious result?

He couldn't help but feel puzzled, and glanced at Sang Wu calmly, only to see that the head of the family looked normal.

It was midwinter, and in recent days, fine snow had been falling in Chang'an City again. However, the Taiwei Mansion had been cleaned up inside and outside long ago. Except for the snow on the eaves and roof, there was not a single speck of white left in the courtyard. Sang Ling always felt that Sang Wu and Ma's aesthetic taste was not good. They always had to leave some snow shadows in the house to make it look beautiful. After all the snow was cleaned up, only a layer of frost was left, which made people feel that it was penetrating the skin and cracking the bones.

The Gao family arrived at noon, and later arrived were several distant cousins ​​from Sang Wu's mother's family. The Sang family was small in number, and Sang Wu, as the head of the family, was quite capable, so he specially called a few more families to join in the fun.

So everyone had dinner together in Langxiang Pavilion, and the performances during the banquet began. During the day, there were mostly acrobatics. It was said that these people were specially invited by Ma from Jiantai Tavern. They were all famous entertainers in Chang'an City.

Before the show started, Sang Wu had a few awkward words with Nie Ce: asking about Nie Taigong's health, asking about the military affairs, and talking about the court affairs - although the father-in-law and son-in-law were colleagues, Sang Wu and Nie Ce were not familiar with each other. Nie Ce did not participate in the court discussions nowadays. He was basically in the camp and occasionally went to the palace to be summoned by the emperor alone. Therefore, he was in a different system from them, and he was a serious person on weekdays, unlike these old officials who knew how to socialize, so the conversation between the two always seemed stiff.

But due to the other party's status, Sang Wu had no choice but to bite the bullet and say a few words in response.

The atmosphere only eased a lot once the performance started.

Sang Ling did not speak during the whole process, and she really did not bother to put on a smile. One of the reasons was that she felt that her family was really unreliable. When Nie Ce ran away from marriage, Sang Feng'e dealt with it later and sent a mature woman over. Sang Wu did not take any action from beginning to end. Now that she was married, she did not need to try to please her father as before. The other half... She could not help but stare at Gao Heng opposite her. After not seeing him for several months, he was still the same as before, and had never changed. His words and deeds were calm and restrained. Even if he accidentally met Sang Ling's eyes, he did not look strange at all.

A new group of dancers came to the banquet. Ma went to rest on the pretext of feeling unwell, and Sang Mei followed her out of the Langxiang Pavilion. The head of the family, Sang Wu, drank several glasses of pepper wine in succession and seemed a little drunk. He then left the main seat to talk to Sang Feng'e.

Not long after, several distant cousins ​​came forward with their glasses raised to congratulate and welcome him.

Only Gao Heng, Sang Ling and Nie Ce were sitting in the hall at this time. Snow was still falling in the front hall. Before they knew it, the hexagonal stone lamps and the treetops were covered with a layer of white frost, which made the room brighter from the corridor. Sang Ling raised her jade fingers slightly, wanting to pick up the preserved fruits on the plate, and saw a tall figure approaching in her peripheral vision.

It was rare for Gao Heng to take the initiative to socialize with others. His eyes were always gentle. He raised his hand calmly and raised the glass towards Nie Ce and Sang Ling. "You two are now happily married. I wish you a smooth and harmonious future."

My cousin smiled, as gentle as a spring breeze.

There were several half-human-high painted pottery flower lanterns standing in the corner. The candlelight was just a bunch of small flames. As the wind blew through the corridor, they gathered into Sang Ling's eyes. It was really dazzling. Her heart seemed to be gently scraped by something sharp. The pain was so severe that she couldn't even pretend.

She could handle all the other people who came to congratulate her gracefully, but only Gao Heng—only Gao Heng. She couldn't help but want to get up and leave, but before she could support herself on the floor, Nie Ce grabbed her and pressed her down hard.