Chapter 125: First Palace Banquet
"Miss……"
Seeing her master sitting in front of the window, Cai Lian wished she could bang her head against the wall and die.
Who can explain...Who is this girl who looks like a black coal ball that has turned into a spirit?
Where did such a big, sweet, soft, white and tender lady go?
"What's wrong?" Su Cheng was still rubbing the black ash onto his collarbone, evenly smearing himself into a tan. "Is there any part that's not evenly applied?"
"Miss! What are you doing?" Cai Lian was completely devastated. Her master had dressed her up like this, and she had lost all interest in the dazzling clothes in the closet. "Why are you making yourself look ugly?"
"Didn't you tell me to dress more casually?" Su Cheng put down his dark little hands and looked at the two people in front of him angrily, "Am I not ordinary enough?"
"The master of the house wants the young lady to dress more normally, not... weirdly." Qing Shuang couldn't bear to watch and couldn't help but speak boldly, "The young lady is still some distance away from being a god, but she is already very far from being a human..."
Su Cheng blinked and grinned. His dark face and white teeth created a strong visual impact.
Cai Lian was so angry that she turned her back and sighed, "What a jerk the master is! I finally had a chance to make the young lady proud, but he refused to let her show her true face!"
"It's okay." Su Cheng had no choice but to whisper to comfort him, "Father is doing this for my own good. If I really caught the eye of some nobleman with this face, wouldn't it be troublesome?"
"But……"
"Okay, don't worry about me."
Cai Lian wanted to say something more, but was stopped by Su Cheng's words, so she had to shut her mouth in disappointment.
"Miss, the master of the family is already waiting in front of the mansion gate. We can't be late today."
The voice of Manager Liu came from the yard. Su Cheng responded, casually put on a pomegranate red skirt embroidered with peony, wore a small and exquisite butterfly gold hairpin on her head, and walked out the door holding up the hem of her skirt.
A black man walked out of the house, scaring Manager Liu so much that his body trembled. Even though he was as calm as he was, he was panicked for a moment, and his usually dull expression showed a hint of a crack.
Steward Liu took a long time to identify her before he dared to ask, "Miss?"
"It's me. Let's go quickly. It's almost too late." Su Cheng responded vaguely and hurried out the door.
When he passed by Xie Jinyu under the Moon Gate, the latter didn't even realize at first that it was his beloved girl.
Until the familiar fragrance of flowers rushed into his nose, Xie Jinyu paused, looked back in shock, and looked at the figure running away.
Cai Lian followed her master with tears in her eyes, and even turned back to explain to the frightened Xie Jinyu, "This... is a long story. Don't be afraid, Master Jinyu. The young lady has definitely not been possessed by someone else!"
The figures of the master and servant disappeared around the corner. Only then did Xie Jinyu come to her senses and whispered, "No, I must be blind. How could it be Ah Cheng..."
Su Cheng got on the carriage in three or two steps, and as expected, scared Zhao Hu.
"Who is it!" Zhao Hu's eyes flashed, and he subconsciously clenched the long sword at his side.
"Sir Zhao, it's me." Su Cheng grinned, revealing a row of white teeth.
"Su...Su Cheng?" Zhao Hu didn't understand but was shocked. "Why...why did you do this?"
"Didn't you tell me to dress plainly?" Su Cheng sat on the couch, looking unhappy. "I know myself well. I look pretty even without makeup. If I didn't, how could I be so disgracefully rejected?"
It’s really not Su Cheng’s fault for being arrogant, everything she said was true.
Her face is indeed attractive.
Zhao Hu was speechless for a moment, staring at her secretly, "Why do you have to make it like this? It's really..."
It's really scary!
Su Cheng shut his mouth wisely and said nothing more, so as not to annoy Zhao Hu.
Zhao Hu pinched his eyebrows and sighed softly. He had no way to deal with her.
The wheels turned slowly and drove towards the palace. The provincial examination began today. The streets were not as busy as in the past few days. The streets were wide and the horses ran fast.
The palace banquet had not yet begun, and men and women sat at separate tables and did not eat in the same palace.
"You'll have to walk the rest of the way alone." Zhao Hu showed hesitation, silently glancing at her attire, and sighed again, "If anything goes wrong, let Cai Lian stand in front of you. She knows martial arts."
Su Cheng nodded and said softly, "Don't worry, Master Zhao, I know what to do."
Looking at her little black face, Zhao Hu couldn't help feeling ashamed.
He is relieved... He has no confidence!
Su Cheng followed the palace maid into the hall. Zhao Hu looked inside several times. Although it was against the rules, he was really worried.
"Miss Zhao, your place is here."
The little palace maid only left this sentence and turned away, not wanting to have anything to do with her.
Many officials' families came, and they all sat together in groups of three or four, chatting and laughing. Only when Su Cheng came in did the hall suddenly become quiet.
Everyone's eyes were on her. After an unknown amount of time, a girl's laughter was heard in the hall, followed by laughter one after another.
"Oh my, I laughed until tears came out of my eyes. Whose family is this lady from?"
"Look at where she's sitting. Could she be the young lady the Zhao family just brought back from the countryside?"
"But she's Zhao Sheng'er's sister? Why does she look like this?"
"Don't laugh at her! Maybe Miss Zhao is so used to farm work, working in the dirt all day that even her skin color has become the same as the dirt!"
Even though these rich young ladies would cover their mouths with handkerchiefs when they laughed, Su Cheng's laughter still reached his ears clearly, and what they said became more and more unpleasant.
Su Cheng sat quietly aside, silent, and very rarely controlled his temper.
The noble person hasn't arrived yet. If she gets into an argument for the sake of momentary pleasure, wouldn't she be in the spotlight?
It would be better to let these foolish people who judge others by their behavior jump around for a while longer.
After an unknown amount of time, brass music started playing and palace servants began to serve the imperial meal one after another. There were ten cold dishes alone, which was dizzying.
"The Empress Dowager has arrived—The Empress Consort Zhe has arrived—"
A eunuch's shrill voice was heard outside, and everyone in the hall hurriedly stood up and bowed, not even daring to raise their heads.
Su Cheng caught a glimpse of the person's posture beside her and followed suit, looking down at her knees until the light above her head dimmed twice, and an exquisite brocade skirt swayed, and two people passed by her one in front and one behind.
"Everyone, get up. Today is the palace banquet to welcome the Third Prince. You don't have to be restrained. Eat and drink as you please."
A low and cold voice sounded, and everyone stood up one after another.
Su Cheng looked at the woman at the top seat inconspicuously. It seemed that time had left no trace on her. The fine lines at the corners of her eyes were almost invisible. It was obvious that she must have been a beauty when she was young.
Su Cheng's gaze fell on the empress dowager's belly. It was flat, and it seemed that the hidden danger had been solved long ago.
Immediately, Su Cheng felt a chill on her back. She subconsciously looked up, but accidentally met the empress dowager's gloomy eyes.
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