Ling'er helped the old lady to the nearest guest room to rest, led by a maid. She asked for some warm water and washed the old lady's face.
"Grandmother, you should rest well. Ling'er will stay here with you."
The old lady responded weakly.
On the other side, Li Xi and Meng Zhelan sat at the male and female guest areas respectively.
"Miss Meng, thank you for coming today. Young Master Li should be here too, right?" Shen Ruonan raised her cup to thank her.
"I must thank Miss Chen for the invitation. Xiao Xi is here too. She should be drinking with Young Master Shen and the others right now." Meng Zhelan felt very comfortable with her. Although she was a young lady from a prominent family, she displayed the demeanor of a noblewoman in her manners.
"Ruonan, who is this? I wonder if she brought you a gift today. Maybe she can't afford one," Miss Yu said in front of the many female guests.
Shen Ruonan's expression changed abruptly, but quickly returned to normal. "Miss Yu, this is the daughter of Judge Meng, the owner of Ren'an Hall, and a guest invited by our Marquis's residence." She emphasized this point deliberately.
"So you're a businessman. It's an honor for you to be here." Miss Yu's mouth was relentless.
The mistress of the Marquis's mansion also noticed the commotion and, fearing something was amiss, soon came over to them.
"Girls, please be patient. The stage will be ready after the banquet." Lady Hou gestured to Lady Yu, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, to keep an eye on her daughters.
Mrs. Yu knew that her daughter had talked too much again, so she quickly came over and pulled Miss Yu away.
"Alright, ladies, enjoy yourselves. This is a chef we invited from West Lake. These are all his specialties. Come, have a taste." Lady Hou handled the situation with ease.
The Yu family has indeed risen in status recently, backed by the Crown Prince, and they even intend to take Miss Yu as a concubine. Although their Marquis is the Vice Minister of Rites, the Yu family is not to be offended, nor can they be allowed to step on their heads.
The opera troupe's performance was also wonderful, and the audience below the stage were completely absorbed in it.
"Azure sky, yellow flowers on the ground, a strong west wind. Wild geese fly south. Who has painted the frost-covered forest with such vibrant colors at dawn?" The high-pitched and powerful melody reached the guest room, and Ling'er joined in the singing, which reached the ears of the sleeping old lady.
The old lady slightly opened her eyes, as if attracted by the beautiful opera music. She felt as if she had returned to her youth, when she was also an opera fan, dancing and singing along with the tunes.
"That sound..." the old lady murmured softly. She struggled to get up, holding onto the edge of the bed, and walked step by step toward the window.
Opening the window, the sound became even clearer, and the old lady's eyes welled up with tears as she listened to the familiar melody.
This was her favorite opera when she was young. Back then, she would always go to the opera with her friends, laughing and being moved by the music. "This is 'Azure Sky'..." the old lady said softly, her voice trembling slightly, tears welling up in her eyes.
The opera music continued to drift in. The old woman leaned against the window, closed her eyes, and seemed to be reminiscing about those beautiful times. Her emotions rose and fell with the music; she remembered.
The old lady didn't look old at all; she looked about the same age as a woman in her forties.
"Ling'er, let's go out and take a look." The old lady called to Ling'er to go out.
"Grandmother, are you feeling better now?" Ling'er asked with concern.
As one opera performance after another ended, everyone was extremely satisfied and kept throwing tips onto the stage.
She remembered that this song was written by the Marquis back then, and the recipe for osmanthus wine was also left by him. It's just a pity that he died young.
"Shen Zhichong, your children and grandchildren are doing quite well now, so they haven't disgraced your reputation," the old lady murmured to herself.
Marquis Wu'an had some matters to attend to in his study. As he passed through the corridor, he encountered the old lady, who seemed somewhat familiar, but he couldn't immediately place her. It wasn't until he returned to his study that he realized it was the Empress Dowager, which startled him so much that he broke out in a cold sweat.
The Emperor privately approached some powerful and influential families, all of whom were members of the royalist party, and asked them to arrange for someone to visit the Empress Dowager.
Marquis Wu'an hurriedly sent someone to the palace to inform the emperor, as he couldn't attend to anything else at the moment.
He rushed to the theater, and luckily the Empress Dowager was still there. "Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty the Empress Dowager. May Your Majesty enjoy boundless blessings and peace." Marquis Wu'an knelt before the Empress Dowager.
Startled, Ling'er exclaimed, "The Empress Dowager? Where is the Empress Dowager?"
Bell looked around, and only her grandmother was beside her. What! This, this.
"Ling'er, don't panic, calm down." The Empress Dowager gently patted her arm.
"Grandmother, ah, no, Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, this humble woman pays her respects to Your Majesty the Empress Dowager."
Ling'er was about to kneel down when the Empress Dowager stopped her, saying, "Just treat me as your grandmother." She was used to speaking in plain language.
"Well, I am just an ordinary person, how dare I call the Empress Dowager my grandmother?" Ling'er stood trembling to the side.
The Empress Dowager smiled and said, "Child, be good, call me grandmother, or I'll get angry. Come on, let's go to the garden to listen to music."
Looking at Marquis Wu'an, she calmly said, "Don't be so formal. Your father used to take you to the palace often, and I would also visit your residence when I came out. Your osmanthus wine is still as potent as ever. It's just a pity that your father..."
Marquis Wu'an had not seen the Empress Dowager for over ten years. "Empress Dowager, if Father knew that you still remembered him, he would be overjoyed."
"Let's go listen to the music, but don't make a sound yet. Let me listen to the play properly." The Empress Dowager's eyes welled up with tears, perhaps thinking of an old friend.
When Li Xi saw her grandmother coming over, she quickly went forward to help her. "Grandmother, it seems you slept very well. Look at your energy. Come on, let's sit down and listen to the music." She helped her sit down next to Meng Zhelan.
Marquis Wu'an returned to his seat, but he was absent-minded, occasionally sending someone to wait for him at the door.
Ling'er still looked bewildered. "Ling'er, Ling'er?" Meng Zhelan called her, but she didn't answer, perhaps because she was engrossed in the music.
When the song ended, applause from the audience continued.
After the music ended, everyone stayed in the courtyard admiring the flowers, feeding the fish, and drinking digestive tea.
"Oh, you haven't gone back yet? Are you waiting until you've had dinner before going back?" Miss Yu couldn't help but make a sarcastic remark when she saw Li Xi and the others still drinking tea and chatting.
She thought to herself that she was of noble status, yet she was dining with these commoners.
"Oh? It's none of your business where we go, isn't it? A young lady should watch her tongue. What? Didn't your parents teach you that?" The Empress Dowager sneered. She had never seen anything like it before, to encounter such an arrogant woman.
"You lowly commoner, how dare you insult my parents! Xiao Cui, go and slap her!" Miss Yu was furious.
Her maidservants dared not step forward; to make a move in such a situation would be tantamount to courting death.
"Shen Ruonan, how dare your guest humiliate my parents like this? What do you suggest we do?" Miss Yu asked indignantly.
Marquis Wu'an was already waiting for the emperor's arrival at the gate, while his wife had gone to her room to discuss marriage arrangements for their children with the other ladies. Therefore, none of them knew that Miss Yu was causing trouble again.
“Yu Xinyi, everyone saw it. The old lady and the others never offended you. You're the one who's been stirring up trouble.”
Shen Ruonan was furious. Was this Yu guy deliberately trying to intimidate her? Young Master Li was her savior, and besides, they were guests personally invited by her father.
“Indeed, Young Master Li and his family have always treated people with courtesy.” The speaker was Miss Lin from the Prime Minister’s family.
"Not necessarily. I saw they just came from somewhere else. Who knows where they went?" Miss Yin, the daughter of the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, has always been on good terms with Miss Yu.
"His Majesty has arrived!" a sharp voice rang out.
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