Chapter 951 Musicians and Dancers 2

Tushe'er was so engrossed in watching that it took her a while to say, "Your Highness, why are they dancing with swords? I don't think I've ever seen that before—"

As he spoke, he turned around and saw that Shang Ruyi looked somewhat dazed.

She hurriedly asked, "Your Highness, what's wrong?"

Shang Ruyi remained silent, then lowered her head wistfully and said, "It's nothing, the sun is a bit strong..."

"ah?"

Tushe'er looked up. Actually, the sun wasn't that strong today, and they were all standing in the shade, so they shouldn't have been getting too much sun. But seeing that Shang Ruyi looked listless, she immediately said, "Then let's hurry back."

Shang Ruyi nodded.

So the group immediately went up the corridor and went back the way they came.

Even after walking quite a distance, the musicians and dancers in the Wangyun Pavilion were still diligently practicing, dancing gracefully to the music.

At this moment, on the other side of the corridor, Shanggong Han Yuhui slowly walked over, her gaze shifting from Shang Ruyi, who had already walked away, to the Wangyun Pavilion, seemingly scrutinizing the people rehearsing inside, a cold smile appearing on her lips.

The music rose and fell in the palace, and the dance attracted many young palace maids to secretly watch. A rare feeling of joy finally replaced the long-suppressed dullness in the palace, and everyone began to look forward to the birthday banquets of Consorts Zhang Yuping and Tao Wanyin.

Before we knew it, it was the evening of the second day.

After noon, everyone began to prepare. After taking a nap, Shang Ruyi carefully washed and dressed herself in a gorgeous but not too formal outfit. Then she sat by the window, reading a book while waiting for the appointed time.

But Tushe'er, who was serving her, noticed that she often drifted off into thought and didn't turn a page for a long time.

It seemed that Shang Ruyi had been somewhat absent-minded ever since returning from her visit to the inner palace yesterday. Tu She'er thought she was really sick and was about to go to the Imperial Medical Bureau to ask someone to come and see her, but Shang Ruyi said she was fine, so they had to give up.

At this moment, Tushe'er refilled her teacup with some water and said softly, "This servant sees that the Princess Consort doesn't seem to be in good spirits. She should come back earlier tonight."

Shang Ruyi looked up at her and smiled faintly.

Dusk fell in the blink of an eye.

Shang Ruyi instructed Granny Feng to take Xiao Yuangan to rest early after dinner, and also gave Changwan and Woxue a few more instructions. Then she took Tushe'er and left Qianqiu Palace, heading towards Baifu Palace.

It wasn't dark yet, but all the lights in Baifu Palace were already lit, shining brightly under the fiery sunset. Before even getting close, one could hear soft, cheerful laughter coming from the other side. Looking up, one could see that several of Yuwen Yuan's concubines had arrived. A flurry of flower shadows swayed, each with their own unique beauty, a sight to behold.

The most dazzling among them was still the most favored concubine, Zhang Yuping.

She wore a light blue gauze dress with butterflies and scattered flowers, her hair styled in a high bun with a bright red peony in the center, adorned with pearls and jade on both sides, making her look exceptionally radiant and beautiful. At this moment, she was surrounded by several other concubines in the center, giving her the air of a queen of flowers, surpassing all others in beauty. Standing next to her, Tao Wanyin, one of the main characters of the evening, wore a lake-green gauze dress with silver patterns. Although her makeup was also exquisite, her gentle temperament made her appear inexplicably plain when standing next to Zhang Yuping.

The two of them were chatting and laughing with the people around them, and for a time, their voices were soft and melodious.

As they were talking and laughing, they heard an announcement: "The Princess Consort of Qin has arrived."

As everyone looked up, they saw Shang Ruyi gracefully enter the main hall. Tao Wanyin's face immediately lit up with a joyful smile. Zhang Yuping was only slightly taken aback when she saw her, before she greeted her with a beaming smile. After exchanging greetings, Shang Ruyi said, "Congratulations to both of you."

Zhang Yuping smiled and said, "Princess Qin, please forgive my ignorance. I've only grown older and haven't made any progress since I entered the palace."

Shang Ruyi said, "Consort Zhang is being modest. It was Consort Zhang who served Father Emperor at Tangquan Palace, which made him feel at ease. Without Consort Zhang, we children would not have been able to comfort Father Emperor."

Zhang Yuping said, "Princess Qin, please don't say that. Now we have Sister Tao, who is much better at relieving the Emperor's worries than I am."

As she spoke, her eyes sparkled: "Tonight I'm benefiting from Sister Tao's fame."

Tao Wanyin quickly replied, "Sister is joking."

As they spoke, Shang Ruyi could already smell the strong scent of perfume on them. In fact, she would also apply perfume when Yuwen Ye was around, but she became lazy after he left and rarely did her makeup, so she was somewhat unfamiliar with this scent. Today, the concubines were all heavily made up and standing together, so the perfume scent was particularly strong, even so strong that it carried a hint of murderous intent.

Looking at the different gazes of the other concubines standing beside her, Shang Ruyi's smile deepened.

She laughed and said, "Anyway, let's have fun together tonight."

Everyone laughed along. Zhang Yuping smiled as well, then looked behind Shang Ruyi and asked, "Didn't Princess Qin bring the young prince tonight?"

Shang Ruyi shook her head and said, "He's young and doesn't know any better. If he starts making a fuss, wouldn't that spoil everyone's fun?"

Zhang Yuping laughed and said, "How could that be? The young prince is the emperor's darling now. Even if he cries, it will sound better than the music played by the musicians over there."

As she spoke, she gently flicked her slender, jade-like fingers.

Shang Ruyi followed the tip of her nail polish and saw that several screens had been set up on one side of the main hall. She could vaguely see several musicians sitting behind them, some holding pipa, some playing konghou, and some playing flute. The banquet had not yet started, so they were not playing, but they were sitting quietly, waiting for the imperial decree.

Behind them was the side entrance to the main hall.

Shang Ruyi knew that all the musicians and dancers entered and exited through that side door. She glanced at it again subconsciously, then realized that she had been looking for something for too long, so she immediately looked away and smiled, "I'll enjoy his 'music' by myself."

Everyone laughed.

Just then, a voice announced from the entrance of the main hall: "His Majesty has arrived! The Crown Prince and the Crown Princess have arrived!"

The group immediately turned around and, sure enough, saw Yuwen Yuan, dressed in a dragon robe that seemed to be plated with a layer of gold, slowly walk in under the fiery red sunset outside the main hall. Behind him were Crown Prince Yuwen Qian and Crown Princess Yu Mingyue. The two of them had obviously come to the palace by imperial decree to attend tonight's banquet, and had first paid their respects to the emperor at the Liangyi Hall before coming with him.

The people in the hall immediately kowtowed and shouted "Long live the Emperor!"

Yuwen Yuan walked in, smiling and gesturing for people to rise, then said, "What were you all talking about just now, laughing so happily?"