273rd Birthday Banquet
At noon, the banquet in the courtyard had already begun, and the eldest princess, dressed in a flowing and luxurious dress, sat in the main seat of the main hall.
On both sides, people from various prefectures in the capital and members of the imperial family who came to offer their birthday greetings were seated according to their seniority. The current emperor also sent a gift, a white jade Guanyin statue.
Lin Changning was naturally not allowed to enter. He and another group of people were arranged in the courtyard on the other side. After eating a few bites, Lin Changning lost his appetite.
There was no other reason than that men and women were seated separately, high-ranking officials sat at separate tables, and the families of each household were seated in the courtyard and the main courtyard and side courtyard according to their status.
From the moment Lady Jing'an left the house, she instructed the servants beside Li Mingshu to keep a close eye on her, fearing that she might cause trouble at the Princess's birthday banquet.
However, they were separated as soon as they arrived at the princess's residence.
When Chaoyun's personal maid saw the Lady of the Marquis's Mansion enter the residence with Li Mingshu, she greeted her with a beaming smile: "Your Highness, you've kept me waiting! The Eldest Princess is eagerly awaiting your arrival."
As she spoke, the personal maid took Yue'er's hand, bowed to Li Mingshu, and then gestured for her to be led to the banquet.
"Hearing that you are coming today, the princess has specially reserved a performance for you to watch."
Li Mingshu nodded slightly to the maid: "Mingshu also misses her aunt very much."
"Princess, come this way!"
As she spoke, she was about to lead the person to the mat in the main courtyard. Lady Jing'an Hou saw Li Mingshu going over to pull her daughter along, so she prepared to follow.
However, she was stopped by several maids who said, "Madam, those are the seats for the royal relatives and nobles. Your seats and Miss's seats are over here."
Li Mingshu, who was walking in front, naturally heard the maid behind her stop her. Holding Yue'er's hand, she turned around and bowed to Lady Jing'an: "Mother-in-law, my aunt called me, so I will go ahead first."
A hint of displeasure flashed in Lady Hou's eyes. She waved her hand and frowned, "Fine, go."
There were only two carriages when we went out today. We'll send one back first and leave only one behind. We can't very well walk back with the child in public.
Normally, Li Mingshu wouldn't be invited to any banquet for a year or two. So, for a princess's banquet, they first borrowed Yun Jin, then called people over, and even separated the two of them. Lady Jing'an felt that something was amiss.
However, I doubt anyone would dare to do anything in public.
After Li Mingshu and Yue'er were led to the banquet, Li Mingshu bowed to the Princess. The Princess smiled gently and pointed to the seat next to her daughter: "Shu'er is here. I haven't seen you for a long time. I didn't even have a chance to say a few words to you at the palace banquet before the New Year. When I looked for you again, you had already returned. I caught you this time. Quickly, quickly, punish yourself with three cups."
Li Mingshu looked at her aunt, who was dressed in gorgeous clothes and had an unparalleled beauty, and said to Yue'er, "This is my great-aunt. Yue'er, come and greet her."
The little girl's silver hair drew strange looks from many people at the table. After looking around, Li Mingshu used her body to block the malicious gazes coming from all directions.
Although Yue'er was young, she was a clever little girl. Hearing her mother say this, she clenched her little fists, bowed, and gave the princess a not-so-standard greeting: "Yue'er greets her great-aunt."
After completing the ceremony, Yue'er raised her eyes, her glass-like pupils looking earnestly at the Princess, and asked, "Is my great-aunt a fairy?"
The princess was delighted by the little girl's innocent question. After a moment's hesitation, she put her arm around Yue'er, pinched Yue'er's cheek, and asked, "Why do you say that your great-aunt is a fairy?"
Yue'er subconsciously hugged the princess's neck tightly: "Because my great-aunt is beautiful, as beautiful as a fairy, and her clothes are as beautiful as a fairy's."
The little girl's innocent words amused most of the people at the table, and many followed along with Yue'er's words.
"Her Highness the Princess is indeed more radiant than usual today."
"Who says otherwise? Everyone says she's a fairy from the Jade Terrace Moon Palace, and I think she's dressed up just like Your Highness."
"Auntie's makeup is beautiful today, and even her dress must be very expensive."
The princess's smile faded as she listened to the flattery. After glancing at the sycophantic crowd, she chuckled softly, "They're not exactly priceless, but they are quite ingenious. These two dresses were specially ordered by my daughter Chaoyun and were just delivered yesterday. I really like them."
Hearing her mother say this, Chaoyun also stood up. Her gorgeous and flowing dress swayed with her movements, making her appear lively and graceful: "Not only does Mother like it, but I like it too. My mother and I are wearing matching dresses. We are made from the same fabric, only the style has been slightly modified."
The two women stood together, wearing similar styles of clothing but with different temperaments, yet they brought out different effects in their dresses.
In an instant, many of the noble ladies in the room had their eyes opened to this idea.
"Your Highness, which shop made these two dresses?"
Many people at the table chimed in with their questions. The princess kept them in suspense for a moment, exchanged a glance with her daughter, and then coughed lightly.
Chao Yun smiled and said, "It's the Lin Family Trading Company's clothing shop. It's an old shop, and many old women's clothes in the capital are sourced from them. Recently, a young master came and he has some ingenuity. I heard that he personally designed these dresses. He's currently at the Princess's residence."
When Chao Yun mentioned this, many noble ladies at the table became curious. Li Mingshu's heart skipped a beat, and she subconsciously looked at her aunt sitting above. She saw the princess quietly watching her with a faint smile on her lips.
Li Mingshu understood. After taking Yue'er from her aunt's arms, she fed Yue'er a few bites of food, but kept thinking about what her father had come up with to take her away.
It seems that Auntie knows something but doesn't want to say it outright.
While feeding them, a maidservant was preparing to replace Li Mingshu's wine with a new pot when she stumbled and spilled the wine onto several noblewomen.
After several cries of "Ouch!", the princess glared at the clumsy maid and demanded, "How can you do things like this? How can you be so impolite?"
The young maidservant was so frightened that she knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly, crying, "Your Highness, please forgive me! Your Highness, please forgive me!!!"
Chao Yun glared coldly at the kneeling maid, then waved her hand impatiently: "Take all the ladies and young misses downstairs to change their clothes. They can come and receive their punishment tonight!"
Li Mingshu was also covered in wine, but Yue'er was fine because she was holding her in her arms. Realizing that her aunt was intentionally helping her, Li Mingshu picked up Yue'er and said, "Aunt, Yue'er is covered in wine. I'll take her back to the manor after she changes her clothes."
The eldest princess waved her hand: "Go on, go on. Children are weak and we should be careful."
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