The Chrysanthemum banquet was set in Yan Bei Tang, which was not far from Prince Gong's residence. This was a hall that was personally set up by the founding Emperor and Empress of Ming Qi. This residence was originally an exquisitely trimmed garden of the previous dynasty, covering an area of a few thousand mu. The building was grand and exquisite. If it was not that it was too far from the city, the Emperor and Empress wanted to transform it into a corner of the Palace.
Even though it was far, it was a good place to enjoy the scenery. Especially in the October of every year, various Chrysanthemum flowers would bloom. Because there were professionals who were in charge of planting the precious Chrysanthemum seeds, once it bloomed, it would be like being in a fairyland. And to do the examination here, it was considered very elegant.
It would take about two hours to drive the horse carriage from Yan Bei Tang in the Shen residence, thus there would be some snacks and food on the carriage, so that one would not be hungry.
Gu Yu opened the basket that Gui Momo gave her and asked Shen Miao, "Why not Young Lady eat something? The journey is long and one would only have strength after eating."
Shen Miao looked at the things in the basket.
Ice goat cheese, green onion rolls, spicy and oily leg … At first glance, it made one's mouth twitch. The colours were bright and the smell was fragrant.
Unfortunately the taste of these things were too strong, like the ice goat cheese and the spicy and oily leg, it was easy to stain one's clothes. Gui Momo had really 'meticulously' prepared these foods.
The fights between the females in the inner courtyard were mostly done in the open and in the dark, but when Shen Miao was in the Inner Palace of Ming Qi, what she faced was the fight for favour between the concubines, thus the level would be higher. These little tricks could not be put on the table. She shook her head and let Gu Yu cover the box before asking Jing Zhe, "No need. Jing Zhe has it here."
Jing Zhe carefully took out a small cloth bag from behind. That cloth bag was filled with small and exquisite pastries. Shen Miao did not trust the kitchen of the Shen residence, so she let Jing Zhe bribe the steward in charge of purchasing and entrusted her to bring some pastries from outside. That steward only thought that Jing Zhe was gluttonous and did not do anything, but was somewhat surprised that a maid like Jing Zhe would actually be willing to buy Guang Fu Zhai's pastries.
Guang Fu Zhai was one of the best pastries shop in the Ding capital and even the concubines in the Palace loved to eat it. In Shen Miao's previous life, she was not interested in Guang Fu Zhai's dim sum but Wan Yu liked it so much that she would feel unhappy if she did not eat it for a day.
At this moment the pastry was only the size of Shen Miao's finger and was made into the shape of a flower. It was pitiful and cute so Shen Miao gave some to Gu Yu and Jing Zhe to eat. The two maids first did not dare but after seeing Shen Miao's insistence, they could not decline and carefully took it over. After eating a mouthful, they were pleasantly surprised, "Young Lady, this pastry is really delicious."
Shen Miao smiled faintly. In fact, no matter how delicious the snacks were, how delicious could they be? It was just that they were made adorably and exquisitely, and females would always like good-looking things. When Wan Yu first got married, she even spent a lot of money to buy a pastry chef from Guang Fu Zhai, only hoping that in the bitter cold land of the Xiong Nu, Wan Yu could still eat the pastries that she liked.
Who knew … who knew that halfway through, Wan Yu would perish and she did not even see her corpse.
Shen Miao closed her eyes.
Wan Yu's marriage was instigated by Mei Furen and Chen Rou Qiu's family colluded but the one who gave the order was Fu Xiu Yi. In this lifetime, not a single one of these people should think of escaping. She wanted these people who caused Wan Yu's death, to be returned a thousand times and a hundred times!
Gu Yu was eating the snacks with relish when she raised her head to see Shen Miao's cold gaze, as if she was a noble Furen in a high position. In a moment, Gu Yu seemed to see Shen Xin's shadow. Shen Xin was a person who had killed and seen blood on the battlefield and when he was angry, there was fierceness in his bones. At this moment, Shen Miao's eyes were exactly the same as Shen Xin's.
She almost choked on the snack and swallowed it down before carefully asking, "Is Young Lady uncomfortable anywhere?"
"Nothing." Shen Miao's eyes hung down, "Just thinking about some things."
In today's Chrysanthemum banquet and academy examinations, Fu Xiu Yi would also be present. Not only Fu Xiu Yi, there were also a few of Fu Xiu Yi's brothers. Now that there were nine princes, each with their own merits, naturally they would be divided into camps. And Fu Xiu Yi's performance was the most harmless as he was on good terms with the Crown Prince's faction.
Who knew that in the end, the Crown Prince would be abolished and Fu Xiu Yi would be the Crown Prince? She did not intend to help the Crown Prince. These people in the Imperial family of Ming Qi were the most ruthless. They saw these aristocratic families who helped their ancestors to fight for the country as if they were looking at an old dog. It was obviously these hounds who helped them to hunt the rabbits and now that the rabbits were in their pockets, they were worried that the dogs would bite them to death. Thus they squeezed out the last drop of blood from the dogs and then killed them to cook them.
The world was not benevolent and the Crown Prince was not righteous, so why should everyone be loyal?
Why not watch the dogs bite each other? Shen Miao's lips slightly hooked up.
…
At this moment in Yan Bei Tang, there were already many noble families.
Even though today's academy examinations did not differentiate between males and females, the banquet was still divided into male and female seats. At the male seats, the youths and their fathers were busy getting to know each other as it was natural for the noble families to build relationships and support each other. Moreover these youths would one day take over their fathers to carry the entire family, so it was good to make more friends.
The females were not as frequent as the males and the matrons would often gather together to chat, thus the Young Ladies had fixed good friends. Three to five of them who were familiar with each other gathered together to chat. They were both nervous and looking forward to today's Chrysanthemum banquet. Occasionally they would look up at the youths that they admired.
Yi Pei Lan fiddled with the fresh flowers on the small table and said, "Do you all have confidence in today's academy examinations?"
"I do not." The female beside her smiled, "There are so many people and if one's aptitude is average, one would be afraid. One only hope that I would not be picked and that no one would pick me to go up on stage. I do not seek to stand out and just do not make a fool of myself. "
Yi Pei Lan pursed her lips, "At least one must try. One must know that His Highness Prince Ding will also be here today and moreover the Young Master of the Li family that you admire is also here. The Young Master of the Li family has such outstanding words and would definitely go up on stage. Do not you want to seize this opportunity to perform well? "
That young female pushed Yi Pei Lan and her face revealed some shyness, "Nonsense."
Jiang Xiao Xuan laughed when she heard that, "That is right. Bai Wei, you must not be afraid. If one wants to talk about making a fool of oneself, there is still Number Five of the Shen family. No matter what, you are better than her. "
"Correct." Yi Pei Lan also laughed like a flower, "Every year in the academy examinations, Fifth Shen would be in charge of amusing others. It is hard for her to have the face to come every year. Thinking that this year she would be here to perform her work, I want to laugh. One do not know what kind of clothes she would wear. Would it be like last year's horrifying bright red with a purplish red hairpin? "
A few young females started giggling.
"Enough." It was Feng An Ning who suddenly opened her mouth, "Is it very funny?"
Yi Pei Lan was surprised for a moment before saying, "Feng An Ning, you seem to be very strange recently. Why? Have you befriended that fool?"
Feng An Ning's face turned angry and just as she was about to speak, she heard someone speaking from the other side, "Ai, the Shen family's Furen is here."
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