Chapter 54: Still want to perform talents?
Here, Jiang Lan walked away and stood under a crabapple tree to admire the flowers. After a while, Ling Feng came over to report to Qi Wuhan, who then went over to tell her that the Queen had arrived, and in addition to Prince Fu and Prince An, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Prince Rui had also come.
A group of palace maids surrounded the queen's phoenix sedan chair, and the crown prince, Prince Rui, Prince Fu and Prince An followed behind.
Princess Pingyang and the wife of Marquis Changxing came with a group of ladies and young ladies to welcome the emperor. Jiang Lan was squeezed to the back and couldn't even show her face. However, she originally planned not to stand out, so being at the end was just right.
Jiang Lan followed everyone else in paying her respects, lowering her head like everyone else. She couldn't see what the Queen looked like, but she must be graceful, dignified and majestic, intimidating enough that no one would dare to act rashly.
When she heard the Queen's voice, she was quite surprised. She didn't expect the Queen's voice to sound so friendly. It was not as majestic and oppressive as she had imagined.
"Everyone, get up." The queen raised her hand, her tone gentle and calm. People did not feel any sense of oppression, but rather a graceful and tolerant demeanor that made people admire her.
Just by hearing the voice, Jiang Lan felt a liking for the Queen. She wanted to look up to see what she looked like, but she was afraid that the Queen would see her and think she was being rude, so she kept her head down. After she stood up with everyone else to express her gratitude, she stepped back to make way.
Qi Wuhan stepped forward to lead the way for the queen, showing a bit of courtesy, but his respectful attitude was not fake, but came from his heartfelt admiration.
The queen nodded to him gently, with a hint of kindness in her eyes. The prince also gave him a kind smile, as if he treated him as a trusted brother.
When Qi Wuhan was young, he entered the palace to serve as a companion to the prince and received a lot of care from the queen. To him, the queen was like a kind mother.
However, in the eyes of outsiders, it may be suspected of flattery.
A trace of disdain flashed across Prince Rui's face, and he sneered in his heart: What a dog that knows how to please its master.
Prince Fu looked at all the girls passing by with admiration, while Prince An looked straight ahead and did not do anything inappropriate.
Cui Jingshu looked up at one of them. When Gu Xuaner saw her look up, she also looked up and glanced at him, then lowered her head, afraid of being discovered.
Zheng Qian'er and the other two girls also looked up secretly, but were frightened by the cold and sinister eyes of King Rui. They immediately lowered their heads and dared not raise them again.
After the Queen, the Crown Prince, Prince Rui, Prince Fu and Prince An took their seats, everyone took their seats in turn.
A green shadow passed by, and King Rui was slightly startled, as if he suddenly saw a familiar figure. He immediately looked in that direction, staring at the light green back. When he saw a strange face, he immediately withdrew his gaze, and his eyes became extremely sinister in an instant.
Prince An also saw the green dress and knew the reason. He persuaded Prince Rui, "That girl probably didn't mean it."
Prince Rui said coldly: "She is not worthy of wearing that green."
Qi Wuhan saw every move of the two. He calmly picked up the wine glass, turned it twice, took a sip, and felt that the wine was a bit hard to drink. He looked at Jiang Lan again, took another sip, and it tasted a little better.
Jiang Lan sat at the end of the banquet, not because of her status but because she stood at the very back and sat at the very end when everyone took their seats.
The families sitting in the front row were naturally those of Princess Pingyang and the wife of Marquis Changxing.
There were more than ten people between them, and she couldn't hear what the person in front of her was saying, so she quietly looked at the Queen, who was graceful, elegant, and amiable.
After taking another look at His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, he looked to be two years older than Qi Wuhan. He was slightly plump and had inherited the Queen's amiable face, looking very approachable.
When she looked at Prince Rui, she felt a little more nervous. She didn't know what the other party's purpose was in sending people from the palace to approach Jiang Rui. Now that she saw the real person, she felt even more worried.
The other person's face showed that he was a cunning person, and his eyes were not kind, with a sinister aura.
Prince An, who was sitting next to him, had a calm expression and a tranquil and aloof temperament, which was completely different from Prince Fu opposite him. The latter had a frank and uninhibited smile on his face, and a free and easy air.
When Prince Fu looked at the seats one by one with admiration and saw Jiang Lan sitting at the end, her unique light green dress gave him a refreshing feeling. His admiration became even stronger, and the next moment he suddenly felt a familiar sense of oppression.
He turned his head to look in Qi Wuhan's direction. Qi Wuhan showed him an amiable smile. He felt a chill on his back, as if the psychological shadow of being dominated in his childhood had returned. . . . .
Qi Wuhan raised his glass to toast him again with a amiable smile on his face.
Prince Fu immediately felt a strong sense of threat. At this critical moment, his mind became particularly sharp and he immediately understood what was going on. To verify his guess, he glanced in Jiang Lan's direction. Qi Wuhan's smile became even more amiable, so he used his eyes to convey, "Don't worry, I won't compete with you."
Qi Wuhan gave him a look that said, "If you dare to have any bad thoughts, you're dead."
"....." Prince Fu silently sympathized with Jiang Lan for a second. She had actually been favored by this devil. She would have to marry him even if she didn't want to. There was no room for negotiation.
Jiang Lan didn't know what was said before, and then she saw Cui Jingshu stand up and walk out, presenting a painting to the queen.
Then the message "This painting was painted by Cui Jingshu herself" came from the front. When it reached Jiang Lan's ears, the painting had already been opened.
The painting depicts the beautiful peony flowers, which are lifelike and have the style of a master. However, it is not surprising to be a gift to the queen.
Then something magical happened. A butterfly flew over and landed on the peony flower in the painting. Then another one flew over, and then more and more butterflies flew over.
Everyone was amazed, as it was the first time they had seen such a magical painting.
The queen gladly accepted the gift and gave Cui Jingshu a golden hairpin as a reward.
Seeing this, everyone wondered in their hearts that the Queen had decided on a candidate for the princess. They wondered if it would be Prince Fu or Prince An?
Then Gu Xuaner came out to show her talent, and she was preparing to play the piano.
Cui Jingshu's face was a little embarrassed, and she glared at Gu Xuan'er fiercely. She happened to be seen by the wife of the Marquis of Changxing. When she turned her head to meet the wife's eyes, she suddenly felt a burning sensation on her face and lowered her head in embarrassment.
After playing a song, Gu Xuaner received praise and rewards from the queen.
The young ladies from each family who came on stage one after another had their talents to present. Most of them prepared piano, which is one of the essential skills for a lady from a noble family. Some also prepared dances in a unique way. In the end, they all received praise and rewards from the queen.
This made the ladies present a little confused. Did the Queen like both or neither of them?
Jiang Lan didn't expect that everyone had to go up and perform their talents. She had never attended such a royal banquet before, and thought it was just like an ordinary banquet, where they would eat, drink, chat and then disperse.
Zhang hadn't revealed anything to her before, just waiting to see her make a fool of herself.
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