Ban Han liked it when others looked at her in amazement. That was the best compliment.
She gave her well-maintained hands to the mama and stepped on the red wooden stool to get off the carriage. She nodded at the palace servant who bowed to her and said to the mama who led the way, "Is His Majesty's birthday this year still being held in Zhao Yang Hall?"
"Junzhu, it is," The mama released her hands and bowed to the side, "Nubi has come to pick up Junzhu on the orders of the Empress."
"The Empress is always so good to me," Ban Han showed some intimacy on her face, "Then let's go quickly. I also want to see Niangniang."
No matter how heavy the snow was, the places that the nobles of the palace passed by were all wiped clean. Ban Han's long skirt was scattered on the ground. The servant girls following behind her all bowed their heads and kept quiet. Her presence was imposing. Zumu once said that something like prestige couldn't be seen or touched. But servants, fine clothes, and good food would make people automatically bow down.
No one would care if you were easy to get along with. As long as they understood that you couldn't be offended, prestige would naturally come.
The taijian on the palace road saw Ban Han appear and all moved aside. No one dared to look directly at her face.
"Hm?" Ban Han suddenly stopped and looked at a little taijian standing in the corridor. He was wearing a grey palace servant robe. His entire body was thin and small. His hands that were respectfully hanging in front of his abdomen were red and swollen. It didn't match his thin and thin wrists at all.
"Junzhu, this is a low-level taijian from the palace," the mama added, "They all committed crimes in their families and were sent to the palace as criminals."
Ban Han thought of the Ban Family in five years. She lowered her eyes and said, "He looks like a child."
The mama smiled and said, "Junzhu is right."
Just as the mama thought that this junzhu would be kind and use the authority of a master to have this little taijian go back to rest, she didn't think that the junzhu didn't mention this matter. Instead, she beckoned to the little taijian.
"Child, come over here."
Perhaps the little eunuch was very cold, for his legs were trembling as he stood there, and when he heard one of his masters calling him, he almost fell into the snow. Using all his strength to suppress the fear in his heart, he staggered to the front of this noble, his mind blank.
Was he an eyesore, or had he done something wrong?
"Raise your head and let me see."
He felt that he was trembling so much that even his teeth were chattering, but he didn't dare to disobey and revealed a face that couldn't be considered clean.
"You're so cute," Ban Han laughed and said to the nanny who led the way, "Look at his face. What would he look like if he was chubbier?"
The old maid looked at it carefully and shook her head, "I don't know."
"He looks like the Yingge called Yuan Yuan in His Majesty's birdhouse. If his face was chubbier, he would look even more like it." Ban Han seemed to think of something and her face darkened. She looked a little unhappy.
The nanny who led the way suddenly remembered that there was a Yingge called Yuan Yuan in His Majesty's birdhouse three years ago. It was very popular with Princess Fule. At that time, even the Empress talked about it and said that she was going to send this Yingge to Jingting Marquessate. Who knew that the bird would fall ill and die. Since then, the junzhu didn't go to the birdhouse as often.
The nanny who led the way didn't remember what that bird looked like. Furthermore, not just anyone could enter His Majesty's birdhouse. It didn't matter if this little taijian looked like that Yingge or not. What was important was that if the junzhu said he looked like it, then he must look like it.
The nanny who led the way suddenly said, "If Junzhu didn't mention it, I wouldn't have remembered. Looking carefully, he does look a little like it, but his face is a little thin."
"Right, I think he looks like it." Ban Han became happy again. She took out a hand warmer and handed it to the little taijian, "Go back and get better. I'll come back to take a look after a while."
There weren't many patterns on the hand warmer. It seemed to be something that the junzhu's servants used. The nanny who led the way saw the junzhu smile because of the little taijian's appearance and said, "I think this little taijian has an affinity with that Yingge. Why don't we send him to the birdhouse to do some rough work? Maybe the birds in the birdhouse will grow better."
The little taijian held the hand warmer and felt that his limbs and bones seemed to come alive.
This noblewoman was really beautiful. She was even more beautiful than the concubines in the palace. He didn't know which noble lady she was. Even the servants of the Empress were so polite to her. For the lowest ranked taijian, the first thing they had to do to survive was to have sharp eyes. The two nannies beside this noblewoman were wearing the clothes that could only be worn in the Empress' palace.
He stood with his head bowed. He could only see the snowy white cloak and the bright red peony flower under the cloak.
"Farewell, Noblewoman."
When this noblewoman left, he took a step back and bowed to the group of people.
When the group of people could no longer see, he held the hand warmer and turned to look at the snow behind him. He wanted to put the hand warmer on the ground to sweep, but he didn't want to. After thinking hard, he was about to put the hand warmer into his clothes when the steward came over.
He thought he was going to be punished again. The steward just smiled and told him to go back to his room to rest.
"You're lucky."
He heard the steward say this.
"Junzhu, please come this way." The nanny who led the way stood at the bottom of the stairs, "This servant's status is low and cannot go up. Please."
"Thank you." Ban Han smiled at the two and walked up the stairs.
"Farewell, Junzhu." The two nannies looked at the finely-dressed woman on the jade stairs. In a trance, they had the illusion that … she was infinitely noble.
Ban Han had already calculated that the jade stairs outside Zhaoyang Hall were white. When she walked up the jade stairs in red and white, she would definitely look very beautiful.
The snowflakes drifted down. Among the white, there were a few clusters of red. It was the most gorgeous.
Shi Jin stood at the top of the jade stairs and watched the woman walk up step by step. He tightened his grip on his saber. A few snowflakes fell into his eyes. He blinked. His vision was still blurry, but the woman on the jade stairs was exceptionally clear.
Was the flower on her palace dress a peony?
The peony was a vulgar and elegant flower. However, very few noble ladies used peonies as patterns on their dresses. Even if someone did, it was vulgar. It couldn't suppress the peony's gorgeous beauty.
Shi Jin didn't expect that there would be a woman in the world who was so suitable for peonies. Noble, bright, beautiful.
He took a step forward. The woman on the jade stairs just happened to raise her head.
Shi Jin silently took a step back. He lowered his head and bowed to her.
The sound of footsteps came closer. He saw the shoes on her feet. They were inlaid with rubies. They were beautiful and small. They suited her very well.
The footsteps stopped in front of him. He clearly saw the peony pattern on her dress. The peony was beautifully embroidered. It was as if a real peony had bloomed on her dress. It was so red that it pierced his heart. He heard the wind blowing. He heard the sound of snowflakes falling. He also heard his own heartbeat.
"Lord Shi."
He raised his head. His gaze avoided her lips and fell on the flower ornament on her forehead. The red lotus was like fire. He didn't know if it was because her skin was white, or because the red lotus made her skin look so white.
"This one greets Princess Fule." His voice was very calm. It was like the snow on the ground. There was not the slightest ripple in his voice.
"You've been promoted?" Ban Han remembered that Shi Jin had started out as the Chief of the Guard Office. Now that he was wearing Silver Armor, it seemed that he had been promoted.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness. This one is now the Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guards."
Ban Han blinked. In her mind, she calculated the rank of the Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guards. She glanced at Shi Jin. His posture was tall and straight. His face was like a good girl's. Coupled with the Silver Armor, he was extremely good-looking. She couldn't help but look at him a few more times.
"Princess." Shi Jin saw that she was standing outside the hall. He thought that she was nervous. He whispered, "The Princess Royal, Marquis, the Marchioness, and the Heir Apparent have all arrived." He thought for a moment, then added, "It's almost time."
Most of the nobles in the court had already arrived. She had arrived a bit late.
"Thank you." Ban Han knew that Shi Jin was reminding her. She bowed to him. "It's very cold outside the hall. Lord Shi, please be careful."
Shi Jin silently saluted Ban Han with cupped fists. He didn't raise his head until Ban Han had left. All he saw was the hem of her dress swaying past the hall door.
The peony was in full bloom. It was just like … the way she smiled just now.
"Why hasn't your older sister arrived yet?" Ban Huai whispered to Ban Heng. "Didn't you enter the palace together?"
"The one who came to pick up my older sister was a mama from the Empress' palace. She should be fine." Ban Heng looked at the entrance of the hall and said helplessly, "She's wearing such a complicated palace dress today. It would be strange if she could walk quickly."
"She's here." Ban Huai looked at his daughter who had appeared at the entrance of the hall. He smiled and thought to himself, "She's really my daughter. She's so beautiful."
As a father, Ban Huai felt that his daughter was the most beautiful girl in the world. No other girl could match up to his daughter. Even the princess of the imperial family was not enough to look at in front of his daughter.
From a young age, he loved to tell Ban Han that his daughter was so beautiful and cute. No one in the entire capital could compare to her. Even after Ban Han grew up, he was still so … self-confident.
Ban Heng always felt that his sister's narcissism was caused by his father.
"Hibiscus can't compare to the beauty's makeup. The wind in the water hall brings the fragrance of pearls and jade …"
Rong Xia heard a gongzi beside him suddenly recite a poem. It was such … an undisguised poem. He looked at the gongzi with a smile on his face. However, he saw him staring at the door in a daze. It seemed that he was bewitched.
He looked curiously at the door and saw the woman in luxurious clothing standing at the entrance of the hall.
Red jade pearls, luxurious clothing, and delicate steps.
The smile on Rong Xia's face became a bit dazed. He looked at the woman slowly walking into the hall. His mind was stunned by the beauty of the red and white.
He had imagined countless times what this set of blood jade jewelry would look like when someone wore it. However, no matter how he thought about it, he couldn't think of any face in the world that could match this set of blood jade jewelry.
So it was her. Only she was worthy of such a beautiful set of jewelry.
Rong Xia felt as if something had been filled in his heart. It was like when he was young, he finally got something that he wanted but couldn't get. He found that it was even better than he had imagined.
The voices in the hall grew louder. Even the young master, who had lost his composure and recited a seemingly frivolous poem, acted as if he did not see the woman who walked in through the door. He used his drinking posture to cover up his loss of composure just now.
They didn't look at her, but they had seen her countless times in their hearts.
Rong Xia raised his wine cup and toasted to Ban Han. He raised his head and drank.
Ban Han stopped and smiled at him.
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