"Imperial Consort Shu and Imperial Consort Shu have arrived!"
Hearing the voice, the entire garden was silent. Like everyone else, Yu Shu stopped what she was doing and turned her head to look. She saw that at the end of the bridge in the distance, clusters of colorful lights suddenly lit up. It was a group of palace maids carrying colorful lights to clear the way.
At this time, on Dingbo Lake, there was only the sound of music coming from the pavilion in the middle of the lake.
Everyone bowed and quietly waited for the two nobles from the palace to enter the banquet. Some people muttered in their hearts —
Previously, they were guessing who would accompany Imperial Consort Xue, but they didn't expect that it would be this master.
A while ago, there were some waves in the court because of the fight for the position of Crown Prince. Originally, the most popular Seventh Prince was the son of Imperial Consort Shu, but he was trampled on by the Ninth Prince, who had returned to the capital for less than a year, at the Double Suns Meeting. He used this to gain some momentum and faintly showed signs of competing with the Seventh Prince.
Although there were no rumors in the palace that the birth mothers of these two princes, Gui Fei Niangniang and Shu Fei Niangniang, were not on good terms with each other, those who were smart all understood the principle of "one mountain cannot accommodate two tigers". These two concubines would sooner or later be irreconcilable enemies.
Yu Shu had been taken care of by Imperial Consort Xue in Huazhen Garden, so she was very curious about Xue Rui, her aunt who was the second-in-command of the harem. Thus, when others bowed their heads and waited respectfully, she quietly raised her eyes and looked in the direction of the people coming from the bridge.
Not long after, the colorful lights in the hands of the palace maids came into view, accompanied by bursts of unknown flower fragrance. Where the light and shadow came from, there was an entourage of people crowding in front and behind, and the flowers were bright and beautiful. In the first place were two graceful and luxuriously dressed beauties.
Seeing the two, Yu Shu's eyes widened and she was secretly tongue-tied.
It wasn't that she hadn't seen beautiful girls before. There were those who were as delicate as Xia Jiangmin, as elegant as Ji Xingxuan, and as sweet as Princess Xi Wen. Which one of them wasn't at the very top? However, these girls who were more delicate than flowers were still immature in the end. Their so-called beauty couldn't even compare to the two she was seeing right now.
Today, she finally understood what it meant to be an outstanding beauty.
On the left was a concubine wearing a red peony dress embroidered with twelve green pythons. She looked to be no more than thirty years old. She was a natural beauty with delicate eyebrows, delicate skin, and a voluptuous figure. The most beautiful thing was her pair of lazily squinting eyes. Her rouge was rosy, and when she blinked, it was enough to cause one's heart to flutter.
The one on the right was dressed in the red robes of Xiang Fei. She had a head full of golden hairpins, and a huge mermaid pearl was placed on her forehead, reflecting the peach blossoms on her face. Her skin was as clear as snow, and her lips were slightly pursed. Her expression was dignified, noble and inviolable.
From their clothes, Yu Shu could tell that the languid consort on the left was Noble Consort Xue, and the slightly serious one on the right was Consort Shu.
"Receive the Emperor!"
"Welcome, Imperial Consort Shu and Imperial Consort Shu."
All the men and women in the garden bowed and kowtowed. No one dared to be disrespectful. Yu Shu also withdrew her gaze and bowed obediently.
"Dispense with the formalities. Raise your heads and let ben gong recognize who you are."
Noble Consort Xue spoke in a clear voice. Seeing the crowd around her stand up, she stood high up and swept her gaze across the crowd. Her gaze paused a few times, and her eyes flickered. She turned her head and said to Consort Shu,
"Every time I see these young people, the delicate ones and the young ones, they all feel that we are old. Meimei, don't you think so?"
Consort Shu did not smile and said methodically, "Jiejie has a technique to preserve your looks. I can't see how you look old."
"Ha." Noble Consort Xue laughed, and the corners of her eyes curled up. In an instant, her face lit up the surroundings, and she was incomparably beautiful.
"Consorts, it's time. Why don't we start the banquet early?" a beautiful woman walking behind Noble Consort Xue asked.
Only then did Yu Shu notice the person next to the two beautiful consorts. Looking at that woman, she looked somewhat similar to Noble Consort Xue. She thought that she must be Xiang Wang Fei.
"There's no hurry. ben gong has seen many unfamiliar people and is curious. Let's get to the bottom of it first," Noble Consort Xue said and waved at Xi Wen.
"Wenwen, come over and point out the people for ben gong."
"Yes, Consort."
Commandery Princess Xi Wen obediently walked forward and bowed to Consort Shu. She took over the position of the palace maid and supported Noble Consort Xue's arm.
"Which one is the daughter of the Count's Residence?" The first person Noble Consort Xue mentioned was Rui Zizhu. This caused Xi Wen's eyes to darken, but she quickly pointed her out.
"The one in pink is Little Sister Zizhu."
Rui Zizhu hurriedly lowered her head and bowed. She was a little flustered, but not rude.
Noble Consort Xue looked her up and down and didn't ask much. She lazily shifted her gaze and asked Xi Wen and the others, asking her to point them out one by one.
Yu Shu and Miss Xin Liuning stood in the corner of the flower pond. When they heard Noble Consort Xue call out their names one by one, it would be a lie to say that she wasn't nervous at all. Noble Consort Xue was Xue Rui's maternal aunt. Even if her relationship with Xue Rui was hidden in the dark, she couldn't help but feel a sense of awkwardness when meeting the family.
Based on her intuition, she thought that Noble Consort Xue would definitely not miss her.
Sure enough, just as she thought this, she heard Noble Consort Xue's voice:
"Who is that young lady in white?"
Xi Wen saw that Noble Consort Xue pointed at Yu Shu and secretly pinched her nails. She faked a smile and said, "This is the famous Diviner of Great Yan, Miss Yu."
Yu Shu stepped forward.
"This lowly one, Yu Shu, greets Imperial Consort, greets Imperial Consort Shu, greets Princess Xiang."
Noble Consort Xue looked at her more than she looked at the others. In the end, she said,
"I've heard of your abilities. I want to see them tonight. It's better if you don't hide your abilities."
Yu Shu's eyelids twitched. She didn't know what Noble Consort Xue had heard from her, but she could only respectfully agree,
"Yu Shu doesn't dare."
Xi Wen saw that Noble Consort Xue looked at Yu Shu in a different light and was unhappy. She gently shook her arm and said coquettishly,
"Your Highness, Wenwen has also carefully prepared a song. I'll present it later. You can't be biased. If no one can beat mine, then give me a golden jade hibiscus to play with."
Princess Xiang was stunned and looked at Noble Consort Xue, but saw that her older sister's expression didn't change.
She teased, "Wenwen is also a young lady. Could it be that you already have someone in your heart and that's why you want this golden jade hibiscus?"
Xi Wen pouted her red lips and pretended to be willful, "Who said that only people who have someone in their heart want this golden jade hibiscus? I just think it's rare, so I snatch it to play with. Can't I?"
"Nonsense," Princess Xiang reprimanded first, "How can the golden jade hibiscus be given to you to play with? Quickly give up your evil ideas. Don't make trouble."
Xi Wen immediately looked aggrieved. She held Noble Consort Xue's hand tightly, "Your Highness, Wenwen also came to the banquet with an invitation. Why can others fight for it but I can't? I'm not convinced. Please make a decision."
Before Noble Consort Xue spoke, Consort Shu, who had been silent for a long time, said unhurriedly,
"According to the rules, if you can fight for it, I'll give it to you. What do you think, sister?"
Noble Consort Xue patted the back of Xi Wen's hand and said with a smile, "That's right. If you can really fight for it, I'll give you one according to the rules. If you can't, you can't be shameless. Do you hear me?"
"Your Highness is enlightened!" Xi Wen's face lit up with joy. She turned her head and stuck out her tongue at Princess Xiang, but she didn't care about the stiffness on her mother's face.
This little episode did not arouse the suspicions of the people present. Yu Shu knew what Xi Wen was planning. Seeing her scheme, she snorted.
In order to escape the fate of marrying to the Eastern Commandery, Xi Wen did not hesitate to drag Xue Rui into the water. She used the death of the Tenth Princess as a threat to force Xue Rui to give in.
This selfishness became the disaster of love for Xue Rui today. If they hadn't seen through her scheme early on, Xue Rui would have been caught unprepared by Xi Wen tonight.
Now, she had already calculated that the Tenth Princess died of self-harm. Xue Rui had untied the knot in his heart. Xi Wen was destined to draw water with a bamboo basket and waste her efforts.
.....
The moon rose above the willow trees. Noble Consort Xue, Consort Shu, and the other nobles sat in the waterside pavilion by the lake. The young men and women who came to attend the banquet finally took their seats. They either took their seats in the greenhouse on the two sides or stood in groups of twos and threes nearby, watching the lanterns on Dingbo Lake and waiting for Noble Consort Xue to host tonight's banquet.
"Last year at the Gentlemen's Hibiscus Banquet, there were western fireworks for the entire night. Ben gong wasn't able to be there, but I heard that you children all like it very much. Originally, I wanted to prepare one this year, but the Shu Wu Workshop didn't have enough fire powder, so I could only give up."
In the waterside pavilion, Noble Consort Xue sat in the main seat. The sound of her voice traveled far.
"Noble Consort Xue has worked hard. If this old woman wants to say, there's nothing to see with those gaudy western fireworks. It's just for liveliness. It's too noisy." Duchess Jing's wife was older and half her hair was white. She occupied a seat by herself. The servant girls behind her massaged her shoulders.
After she finished speaking, many people agreed.
Consort Shu sat in the second seat. She turned her body and asked, "Then what did elder sister prepare for the banquet tonight? It can't be that we're just going to sit around and do nothing, right? "
Noble Consort Xue leaned against the couch. Seeing that everyone was looking at her and waiting for her to speak, she no longer kept them in suspense. She turned her head and lightly nodded to the main palace maid standing behind her.
.....
Yu Shu and Xin Liu and Miss Ning were in the second greenhouse on the right side of the waterside pavilion. They listened to the people around them discuss the competition for the gold and jade hibiscus.
There were two gold and jade hibiscus. At the end of the banquet, one would go to the most outstanding woman of the night, while the other would go to the most valiant man of the night. This man and woman, with the gold and jade hibiscus in their hands, could choose a good marriage of their own.
As for how the man and woman would compete, it would depend on the intentions of the host of the banquet.
In previous years, the men and women who wanted to compete for the gold and jade hibiscus would show off their skills at the banquet. They would use all sorts of tricks to win the favor of the nobles at the main guest seats.
It was unknown if there were any new ideas this year.
Yu Shu carried a plate of green grapes and sat on the railing with Xin Liu. She peeled the skin and put it into her mouth. At the same time, she pricked up her ears to listen to the specialties of the people around her.
After listening for a while, she didn't find it strange. Most of the descendants of civil officials had to recite poems, paint, and play music. Those who came from families of generals had to wield their swords and sabers.
"What did you prepare in the lotus room?" Xin Liu asked.
"…" Yu Shu had no intention of competing. She really hadn't prepared anything in advance. She could only perfunctorily say, "I won't tell you for now."
Xin Liu became even more curious after hearing this. She was about to ask more when suddenly, she saw something out of the corner of her eye. She opened her mouth wide and hurriedly swallowed half a grape. She pointed to the far shore of Steady Wave Lake and pushed Yu Shu's arm to turn her head.
"Quick, look! Isn't that end on fire?!"
Yu Shu turned around and saw that on the other side of the dark and tranquil lake, a long streak of sparks shot up from the east, like a meteor falling to the ground!
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