The autumn sunlight filtered through the dappled leaves, casting its glow on the magnificent main hall of the Prince Jing's Mansion.
Princess Su Yingxue, dressed in a magnificent brocade robe and wearing a dazzling pearl crown, was preparing to attend the annual autumn banquet.
This was the first large-scale banquet held in the Prince Jing's mansion since Wang Xiuxiu arrived there.
Banquets in the capital were not only social events, but also opportunities to showcase a family's status and wealth.
The scale of the banquet, the quality of the dishes, and the extravagance of the decorations all reflected the host's wealth.
For the women, banquets are a chance to make new friends, expand their social circles, and seek benefits for themselves and their families.
This relatively closed social environment provided the women with a rare opportunity for relaxation and entertainment.
As the Princess Consort of Prince Jing, Su Yingxue held a lofty position and was undoubtedly at the very top of the social hierarchy among all the women at the banquet.
Every family considers it an honor to have her as a guest at their banquets.
However, Su Yingxue herself dislikes attending banquets and is even less willing to take the initiative to host them.
However, due to her royal status, there are always occasions where she is required to make an appearance.
Even if she was unwilling, she would still choose to attend some important banquets in order to maintain the dignity of the royal family and the face of others.
Since you've attended someone else's banquet, you should naturally reciprocate by inviting them back.
Therefore, the Prince Jing's Mansion holds an autumn banquet every year.
For various reasons, the Autumn Banquet at Prince Jing's Mansion is not only precious but also of high value.
---
As the date of the Autumn Banquet at Prince Jing's Mansion draws ever closer, the women of every household eagerly await an invitation to the banquet.
Since the Mid-Autumn Festival, Su Yingxue has been working tirelessly to prepare for this banquet.
He personally oversaw every detail, from site selection and layout to menu and entertainment arrangements.
Wang Xiuxiu witnessed her plans and was amazed by Su Yingxue's efficiency.
According to the rules, Wang Xiuxiu, being a concubine, was not actually qualified to appear at the banquet.
However, as one of only two female members of the Prince Jing's household, Wang Xiuxiu was still dragged by the Princess Consort to meet guests, even though she wanted to shirk her duties.
Knowing that Wang Xiuxiu had never attended a banquet, even the clothes and jewelry that she was to wear were chosen and delivered by Su Yingxue and Granny Li well in advance.
Those few days of trying on clothes were quite a ordeal for Wang Xiuxiu.
And her princess consort could even watch her change clothes while listening to Li Mama report on the progress of the banquet preparations.
"This one is a bit too dark. Let's go and try the one with the brocade and auspicious pattern."
"This one looks too old-fashioned, let's go exchange it for that gold-embroidered butterfly cloud satin one..."
After trying on more than a dozen outfits, Su Yingxue finally found one that satisfied her.
Granny Li chimed in, "Madam Xiu is young; bright colors suit her better."
"Yes, Granny Li, go to my makeup box and get that set of butterfly and flower embroidered headdress for her to try on."
As soon as the headpiece was on her head, Wang Xiuxiu felt instantly unable to move.
"Hmm, not bad!" Su Yingxue nodded in approval.
"Your Highness, this set of jewelry looks nice, but it's Madam Xiu's first time attending the Autumn Banquet. I'm afraid that if she shows off too much, she'll attract criticism from the outside world."
Granny Li looked at Wang Xiuxiu with a hint of apology, but to her surprise, Wang Xiuxiu looked at her as if she were her savior.
Granny Li was puzzled by the look on her face and her heart pounded. This child usually seemed so clever and mischievous, why did he look so silly now?
After thinking for a long time, Su Yingxue said, "For the headdress, use your own set of gold-threaded eight-treasure pearls. For the earrings, wear the pair of silver filigree jade earrings that I had sent you a few days ago. As for the shoes, use the new pair in my closet, which are brocade with a dark floral pattern and won't be too eye-catching..."
As the princess recited a string of names, Wang Xiuxiu initially tried to remember them, but later she became completely confused and couldn't match them up at all.
Looking at Sakura beside me, she was listening attentively, so she must have remembered it.
---
Wang Xiuxiu appeared behind Su Yingxue, instantly attracting the attention of many women present.
They began whispering among themselves, speculating about her identity and background.
Some shrewd ladies had already started making their own plans.
However, when they noticed that Wang Xiuxiu was wearing a woman's hairstyle, they had to temporarily abandon that idea.
However, this did not stop them from secretly pondering how to interact with her later.
Of those present, it wouldn't be entirely true that Su Yingxue had the highest status.
Wang Xiuxiu saw that while everyone was getting up to greet their princess, a woman sat steadily on the stool, without moving.
Despite her rude behavior, Su Yingxue didn't seem to care.
Wang Xiuxiu couldn't help but wonder, just who was this woman?
Later, when she became really curious, Wang Xiuxiu asked Granny Li when no one was looking.
"She is the first wife of the Marquis of Guangping's family."
"The Marquis's mansion? Then how dare she, a lady of a Marquis's mansion, not stand up when she sees our Princess Consort?"
"Yes, it's only because the princess didn't hold it against her, otherwise she wouldn't even be able to get into our house!"
Next, Granny Li, being quite gossipy, told Wang Xiuxiu a story from the past.
This Guangping Marquis's residence wasn't always called Guangping Marquis's residence; it was originally called Guangping Prince's residence.
However, because the Marquis of Guangping was addicted to gambling, he actually pawned the precious jade ruyi bestowed upon him by the late emperor. Eventually, the truth came out, and his title was demoted.
The lady of the Marquis of Guangping's mansion used to be determined to marry Lu Jingze.
But later, Lu Jingze married Su Yingxue, and she resentfully married the then Prince of Guangping.
Although her husband inherited the title first because of her father-in-law's incompetence, her status plummeted.
Lady Guangping was so angry she was practically fuming.
She and Su Yingxue didn't get along even when they were young. She originally thought that they could continue to be equals after getting married, but things didn't go as planned.
However, Lady Guangping was very concerned about her reputation. Even though she had been demoted, she still maintained her former airs and refused to bow and pay her respects to Su Yingxue.
Ultimately, it was because Su Yingxue always had a good temper and never held a grudge against her.
For some reason, Wang Xiuxiu caught the eye of Lady Guangping.
With a smile on her face, she walked through the crowd and headed straight for Wang Xiuxiu.
As soon as she was in front of him, she looked Wang Xiuxiu up and down.
"So you're Prince Jing's concubine?" Lady Guangping asked disdainfully, her sharp gaze fixed on Wang Xiuxiu.
Wang Xiuxiu inwardly sighed at her bad luck, but not wanting to cause trouble for the Princess Consort, she could only respectfully curtsy and say, "Replying to the Lady Marquis, it is indeed this concubine."
"oh……"
Lady Guangping drew out her words, circled around Wang Xiuxiu, and continued to look her up and down with a critical look in her eyes, as if searching for flaws in Wang Xiuxiu. "Looking at her like this, apart from being young, there's nothing particularly special about her."
Upon hearing this, Wang Xiuxiu almost rolled her eyes.
He thought to himself, "You're special, you're the only one who's special! Your whole family is special! You idiot!"
However, he maintained his politeness on the surface, only slightly frowning.
Lady Guangping seemed oblivious to Wang Xiuxiu's displeasure and continued, "I wonder what it was that bewitched His Highness Prince Jing. But for a concubine to dare to attend the Autumn Banquet so openly, you must have lost your mind!"
Even if Wang Xiuxiu didn't understand the power struggles among these noblewomen, she could still discern the hidden meaning in their words.
This woman was clearly using a double entendre; she was not only scolding herself for being unruly, but also mocking her own princess for not managing the household properly!
Wang Xiuxiu couldn't stand it anymore and retorted, "Madam Hou doesn't know that my Princess is the most understanding and reasonable person."
"So you're saying that I'm being unreasonable and causing you trouble!"
"Madam Hou, you are overthinking it. I did not mean that."
He kept calling her "Madam Hou" over and over, which angered Madam Guangping so much that she lost her temper and even tried to hit him.
"Let's see who dares!"
When Wang Xiuxiu turned around, she saw that it was her princess who had returned to support her. She quickly hid behind Su Yingxue, looking pitiful, and began to complain.
"Your Highness, I don't know how I offended the Lady Marquis, she actually tried to hit me!"
"Is that so? I didn't expect the Lady of the Marquis to have such a temper, daring to come to my Prince Jing's residence to discipline the women of my family. She's really overstepping her bounds!"
Lady Guangping's face instantly turned ugly, but she still suppressed her anger and said, "Your Highness has misunderstood. I just wanted to teach this ill-mannered girl a lesson, and I had no other intentions."
Su Yingxue sneered, "Oh? You want to teach the people of my Prince Jing's Mansion a lesson? Madam Marquis, you really have a lot of nerve!"
The atmosphere became tense, but those who were on good terms with Lady Guangping quickly stepped in to smooth things over.
Su Yingxue looked at everyone and said coldly, "Let's call it a day. If there's a next time, don't blame me for being impolite!"
I thought the matter was over, but I didn't expect her to resort to such underhanded tactics at the banquet.
The ladies admired each other's clothes and jewelry, but Lady Guangping, who was vengeful, was determined to get revenge after suffering a loss.
"Oh dear, I've long heard that the concubines in Prince Jing's mansion are favored. I wonder who arranged this outfit for Madam Xiu. How dare a concubine wear such fine silk!" As soon as she said this, the atmosphere instantly fell silent.
The lady who had also attended the banquet dressed in cloud-patterned satin instantly turned pale.
No matter how nicely Wang Xiuxiu's status is described, she was still just a concubine.
Those present were all ladies from wealthy and noble families. For these women, wearing the same dress as a concubine was an utterly humiliating thing.
Lady Guangping was clearly doing this on purpose, not only trying to sow discord between her and the Princess Consort, but also attempting to make her a thorn in the side of all the ladies.
Wang Xiuxiu was furious and wanted nothing more than to punch that woman twice.
But as she thought about it, she also knew that this was not the time for her to speak.
She had to swallow her anger and not cause trouble for the princess.
Su Yingxue slowly sipped her tea, and as she put the teacup down, it made a crisp clinking sound against the table.
"I picked it out, so what?"
Su Yingxue gently raised her head, looking down at Lady Guangping with an extremely arrogant attitude, as if she were looking at an insignificant clown.
Before this, it was always Lady Guangping who unilaterally caused trouble, and Su Yingxue never liked to stoop to her level.
At this moment, Su Yingxue truly unleashed her power. Lady Guangping was overwhelmed by her imposing presence and dared not utter a single word.
Su Yingxue paused slightly before continuing, "I forgot to tell you all, Wang Xiuxiu is not some concubine of the Prince's mansion." Her tone was calm, yet contained an invisible pressure. "She is a proper secondary consort of the Prince Jing's mansion, and in a few days, on an auspicious day, she will be officially listed in the Imperial Archives. If you do not believe me, you can go to the palace and ask Her Majesty the Empress."
Upon hearing this, everyone at the table looked at Su Yingxue in disbelief.
Even Wang Xiuxiu herself was stunned, completely unexpected that Su Yingxue would say such a thing.
My goodness, Princess Consort's own sister! How dare she say such nonsense! Has she really lost her mind from anger?!
Wang Xiuxiu blamed everything on that gossipy Lady Guangping!
With the kind and eloquent lady's few words, the atmosphere was brought back to normal.
Wang Xiuxiu was no pushover either. Having been bullied to her doorstep, she was seething with anger and secretly plotted how to teach this self-righteous and wicked woman a lesson.
She lowered her voice and said to Xiaoying, "Go and scrape off some of the fuzz off the peaches that the prince sent over a few days ago."
"Madam, what do you need peach fuzz for?"
Wang Xiuxiu smiled mysteriously: "You'll find out in a moment. Now do as I say, and remember to scrape carefully."
Although Sakura didn't understand, she quickly did as she was told and soon returned with a small clump of peach fuzz.
Wang Xiuxiu carefully inspected it, then rolled the peach fuzz into a small ball and carefully hid it under her fingernails.
As he passed by Lady Guangping, he cleverly flicked the ball through the seam of her clothes around her neck.
Not long after, Lady Guangping felt an unbearable itch all over her body.
The elegant clothes were impossible to grasp, so I could only keep changing positions, trying to relieve the itch by rubbing them against the fabric.
Her strange behavior even caught the attention of the lady next to her, who quietly asked her if she needed to use the restroom.
Lady Guangping made a huge mess of her face and left before the banquet was even over.
After the banquet, Wang Xiuxiu happily took Xiaoying home.
As a result, they were intercepted by Granny Li halfway there.
"Madam, the Princess requests your presence."
Wang Xiuxiu's first thought was that she had been discovered.
Sure enough, as soon as she arrived at Qixia Courtyard, Su Yingxue asked her directly if she knew she was wrong.
Wang Xiuxiu was still fantasizing about finding a loophole, praying that the princess wasn't talking about her pranks, and kept her head down, refusing to speak.
Su Yingxue lightly tapped the table, startling Wang Xiuxiu.
"Do you really want me to reveal what you did to the Lady of Guangping Marquis?"
Okay, so you really know now.
Wang Xiuxiu lowered her head, fidgeting with her fingers, and explained in detail how she had tricked people.
"I've already cleaned up the mess for you today. Your punishment is to copy the Book of Songs five times. You can have your cakes and drinks back when you finish copying them. Go back and repent."
"yes……"
Wang Xiuxiu looked dejectedly, glancing back every few steps.
---
When Lu Jingze arrived at Lanyuexuan, Wang Xiuxiu was engrossed in copying books.
I was just wondering where the sun came from that made her start reading.
Upon closer inspection, he didn't seem very happy.
Sensing something was wrong, Lu Jingze looked at Xiaoying beside him and asked, "What's wrong?"
"I was punished by the princess to copy books."
"Is that so? Then I'll sleep in the study tonight. Don't tell her that I've been here."
Lu Jingze was utterly disloyal; as soon as he heard that she was in a bad mood because she had been punished by the princess, he ran away.
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