Chapter 250 Bright Moon
On the night of August 15th, the weather was clear and windless. On the light blue sky, a bright moon flashed golden waves and rose slowly from the east. As it rose, it gradually became transparent like a mirror, casting down thousands of acres of silver light, covering the entire world and presenting a magnificent and exquisite universe before the world.
Except for Xu Junying and his wife who brought their children to the palace to spend the festival with the emperor and empress according to the emperor's order, the rest of the people from the two Xu families gathered in Qingyin Pavilion where they used to watch operas in Hou Mansion. In order to have a clearer view of the bright moon in the sky, the female family members also sat together on the terrace extending to the lake. Because the mother and daughter of the Luo family were invited, as well as Xu Xiaojuan's family, the seats for men and women were still separated, with only two large gauze embroidered screens in between.
The old lady sat in the middle seat, the second wife sat on the lower left, followed by Bai Jingyu and other granddaughters-in-law. On the right were naturally the guests of the mansion Luo Zhuang, the eldest aunt Xu Xiaojuan, three unmarried girls and Luo Zhaoying. The concubines of the Xu family were seated separately, and as a concubine of the Li family, Luo Xiangying was naturally relegated to the inconspicuous side seat over there, and sat at the very bottom.
Looking at her sister sitting at the main seat, gentle and graceful, still habitually covering half of her face with her sleeves while chatting and laughing with the girls, revealing a slightly shy look, Luo Xiangying snorted coldly and gently bit her red lips.
Suddenly, the man at the table was reciting a poem praising the moon. The old lady was literate and had read a few books when she was young, so she had some knowledge of literature and reason. After listening to the poem, she nodded and smiled:
"Very good! You are indeed a well-educated person. The artistic conception of this poem is absolutely wonderful. The bright moon is also worthy of such praise. However, if you want to see the moon fairy dancing in person, you may have to cultivate a thousand years of good fortune!"
Although the second wife and the others wanted to flatter and show filial piety, they could not say anything except echoing a few words of yes and yes. The old lady suddenly wanted to watch singing and dancing? She had not made any preparations for this before, so where could she find someone who could sing and dance in such a hurry?
I heard someone laughing and saying, "The dance of the Moon Fairy is more beautiful than the high and graceful dance in the clouds. It is rare for mortals to see it in person, but if you just watch the ordinary dance, it is not difficult!"
Bai Jingyu looked over and saw Luo Xiangying leaning over to talk to the old lady with a smile on her face, and asked:
"Can Aunt Li dance?"
Luo Xiangying smiled and said, "We sisters have been learning music, chess, calligraphy and painting since we were young. Since we understand music, we have also learned singing and dancing. My sister's singing voice is the most beautiful, and her dancing is comparable to a fairy in the moon!"
There was a moment of silence in the room. Luo Zhaoying lowered his head, wishing that Luo Xiangying would suddenly become mute. What did her sister mean? The person who was going to be married the next day or the day after tomorrow was going to come out to dance and sing in public? The Sixth Master was right there, and he would not want his fiancée to be in the spotlight at this time!
Luo Zhuang was quite clever and helped her eldest daughter out: "What nonsense are you talking about? When you were little, you were the only one who wanted to learn singing and dancing. Your sister is quiet and elegant, so she doesn't like this!"
The old lady naturally would not let Luo Zhaoying show off, but looked at Luo Xiangying and said: "Since you can dance, then dance. I haven't watched singing and dancing for a long time. Tonight, the moon is bright and there must be a lively singing and dancing in the palace. The emperor and his subjects will enjoy it together, so we can also watch it while we are in high spirits!"
The second wife said: "It's good, but it's a pity that there is no string music.
'?"
Luo Xiangying said: "Just bring the Yaoqin, my sister is an excellent qin player!"
The old lady nodded and said, "Well, that's fine. Sister will play the piano and sister will dance for you to see."
Who could say no when the old lady had spoken? Luo Zhaoying couldn't go against the old lady's wishes even if she was unwilling. A maid had already spread another carpet in front of the table and placed a low table. A maid from Yuehua Courtyard brought out the zither from the pavilion and gently placed it on the table. Luo Zhaoying had no choice but to stand up, walk to the zither and sit down. She stretched out her delicate hands and gently stroked the zither. The few melodies she tried made everyone at the table relax and look forward to the wonderful sounds of nature.
Amid the beautiful sound of the piano, Luo Xiangying came out of the pavilion, having changed into a light gauze dress. She danced lightly under the moonlight, her skirt fluttering and colorful silks flying. Her figure was as beautiful as that of a fairy in everyone's imagination. After the dance, the terrace was silent and there was a pause. Then the old lady remembered what she had said and praised them nonstop. She was sure to reward the two sisters handsomely, but she couldn't find anything good around her at the moment, so she asked Mother Ji to make a note of it and make up for it tomorrow.
Because Li Zhao was present at the men's table, as well as the elder Second Master, the Xu brothers, for the sake of saving face, watched and listened and moved on. They simply raised their glasses to each other, drank and sipped tea, and continued to chat, no longer listening carefully to what was going on at the women's table.
Luo Zhaoying stood up with her zither pushed aside in boredom, wanting to return to her seat, but was stopped by Luo Xiangying. The two sisters stood in front of the table, facing the old lady and others. Luo Xiangying smiled and reached out to hold up the colorful silk cord on Luo Zhaoying's skirt, pretending to be surprised and asked:
"Where is the white jade ring that my sister always wears?"
Luo Zhaoying's heart skipped a beat, and she pulled back her colorful silk string, whispering, "I left it in the room!"
"No, I just asked my mother, and she said that you lost the white jade ring a few days ago, before I got married!"
Luo Zhaoying suddenly raised his head and looked at Luo Xiangying, with a stern warning and a hint of pleading in his eyes.
Luo Xiangying looked at Luo Zhuangshi: "Mother, my sister said that Bai Yuhuan is not lost!"
How could Luo Zhuang know the bend in the path? He answered immediately, "It disappeared more than ten days ago. It's just a piece of jade. It's lost!"
Luo Xiangying looked at Luo Zhaoying's increasingly pale face and said with a smile, "Mother may not know, but that white jade ring cannot be lost! There is a secret on the jade, sister thought I didn't know it, but I already knew it!"
After Luo Xiangying finished speaking, she let go of Luo Zhaoying and walked straight to the translation. Luo Zhaoying stood there like a wooden man. Luo Zhuangshi seemed to come to her senses and was also stunned. The old lady and everyone else were bewildered and were forced to watch this extra drama. Bai Jingyu swept his shrewd eyes over Luo Zhaoying, then turned back to look at Luo Xiangying who walked into the pavilion to change clothes, and a smile appeared on his face: Not bad, this little girl is really smart, she didn't disappoint us!
When the show ended in the middle of the night, Luo's mother and daughter intended to wait for Li Zhao's family from Yuehua Court to return first, and then follow them. Luo Xiangying took advantage of Xu Xiaojuan's absence to look after the two children, pulled Li Zhao over, and said to Luo Zhuang with a smile: "Mother and sister, come back with us. They are not strangers. Li Lang is my daughter's husband now!"
Li Zhao bowed to Luo's mother and daughter. Under the bright moonlight, the white jade ring hanging on his waist emitted a warm halo, which was very eye-catching. Luo Zhaoying felt her soul flying away when she saw it, and her face turned pale like a ghost? Luo Zhuang also saw the white jade ring worn by Li Zhao, which was her eldest daughter's personal item. Her face changed and she hurried to ask Luo Zhaoying:
"What's going on here?"
Luo Xiangying laughed crisply: "Mother, you may not know this yet, but your eldest daughter is much more capable than your youngest daughter!"
She leaned close to Luo Zhaoying's ear and gritted her teeth, "Especially the one about climbing over the wall and giving things away secretly, no one can do it! I know everything about what happened between you and your husband that day! What do you think? We sisters have loved each other since we were young. I am not as petty as you, so I don't mind sharing a husband with you!"
Luo Zhaoying seemed to be standing on a pile of cotton and could not stand steadily. Luo Xiangying supported her affectionately. At this time, two maids beside Xu Xiaojuan came over and said to Li Zhaofu: "Master? Grandma, please go and hug Brother Xu quickly. He is making a fuss!"
Knowing that Xu Xiaojuan did it on purpose, Li Zhao had no choice but to turn around and pull Luo Xiangying with him. Before Luo Xiangying left, she looked at Luo Zhaoying and smiled:
"My eldest cousin went out just now and saw my husband's jade ring. She wanted to take it away. If I teach her to hold the jade against the moon, what do you think will happen? Haha! It was given by my senior brother. It is a reflection of my love... My love!"
Luo Zhuang rushed over and raised her palm to hit him: "You suicidal girl, what crazy words are you saying? You want to harm your sister? I will beat you to death!"
How could Luo Xiangying let her catch up, leaving behind a string of silver bell-like laughter? She ran to catch up with Li Zhaoying? Luo Zhaoying finally couldn't hold on, her legs went weak and she fell to the ground? Luo Zhuangshi hurriedly turned back to help her daughter up, Luo Zhaoying threw herself into her arms, crying out in a low and painful voice:
"Mom, my daughter is dying!"
In the corridor not far away, Bai Jingyu and Xu Junlang walked slowly together, but they looked back frequently to take in the whole scene under the moonlight.
On the Jade Terrace in the inner garden of the Imperial Palace, which was specially used for moon-viewing, there was another joyful scene. Most of those who watched the moon together were members of the royal family. Except for the two young marquises Xu Junying and Marquis Changle, several cabinet elders, and civil officials who were usually trusted by the Emperor, there was no sight of the two dukes Dingguo and Jingguo, who were usually favored by the Emperor.
Meimei sat in the seat for the ladies outside the court and pondered for a while, but couldn't figure it out, so she didn't bother to think about it anymore.
There was no distinction between male and female seats in the royal family because the emperor was going to sit with the empress. Meimei saw the Prince of Qi and his wife sitting at the upper seats. Lin Runan glanced at her from time to time. The Prince of Qi was as cold and indifferent as ever, doing his own thing. Lin Runan glanced at Meimei from the side, and he looked at her too, and even longer than Lin Runan. Lin Runan took advantage of the moment and glared at him. He frowned and moved his lips, perhaps saying threatening words again, forcing Lin Runan to lower his head.
Meimei stole a glance at the strange looks of the two men and couldn't help laughing to herself. The King of Qi was not a thousand-year-old ice. He was just a piece of granite with too many edges and corners. After being polished for a long time, how long could he remain sharp and hard?
The moon was at its zenith, string music started again, a group of palace maids in snow-white clothes and white belts began to dance gracefully, and a clear and pleasant singing voice was heard. It was actually the "When Will the Bright Moon Rise" that she had to present last time, only the music score was changed. Meimei couldn't help but feel ashamed. Facing the cold gaze from her superior, she lowered her head guiltily, thinking that it was absurd. There were three thousand beauties in the deep palace, all waiting to serve the emperor, pretending to be palace maids to sing and dance, which was suspected of seducing the king!
After waiting for a long time, the banquet was over and everyone thanked the emperor and left the palace. Meimei was called by a palace maid to have a few private words with the empress and the Princess of Qi. She was then led out by the eunuch. She saw Xu Junying waiting at the palace gate. He said a polite word to the eunuch, who took Meimei's hand and walked to the carriage. Heng'er had already fallen asleep. Cui Xi and Xia Lian were sitting in a carriage holding each other. Meimei lifted the curtain to take a look at them, then got on the front carriage with Xu Junying.
On the way, she was scolded by Xu Junying. She didn't know which busybody did it. Meimei thought it was 100% that it was the King of Qi who was eager to see the world in chaos and told Xu Junying about Meimei dancing in the palace. Meimei had no choice but to listen to the scolding. Although it was not her fault, she felt that she had no way to defend herself and couldn't explain herself clearly when she talked about it after so long.
In the end, she had to explain, and seeing that Xu Junying was still frowning and looked very unhappy, she simply threw herself on him, hugged his neck, and kissed him on the face. Only then did Xu Junying soften, and from then on he refused to let her go, and the two of them hugged each other tightly in the carriage until the carriage entered the second gate of the Hou Mansion.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
