Chapter 112 The question is, why would Su Jinyue…?
Why is Su Jinyue here?
She actually came for Princess Cheng. That's right, she already knows she misunderstood that day.
It wasn't at all like she imagined—that the beautiful Miss Xiao and the Second Prince had some kind of affair. Instead, the young man Miss Xiao married, the Prince of Qin, was actually Prince Cheng. Oh, by now, the Prince of Cheng had been promoted to a Prince of the First Rank, and Miss Xiao was now a esteemed Princess Consort.
When Su Jinyue first heard the news, she could hardly believe her ears.
At that moment, Su Jinyue felt that all the resentment and injustice she had accumulated over the years paled in comparison to the blow that moment had dealt her.
It turned out that those seemingly insurmountable barriers were simply because the Second Prince was unwilling to overcome them for her sake. But none of that mattered to her anymore.
Now, Su Jinyue only wants to find an opportunity to meet Princess Cheng. Relying on her meager past connection in Jiangzuo and her own skills, she thinks she still has a chance to succeed if she asks the princess for a job in the palace's needlework room.
Thinking of Manager Li, who hadn't been heard from since being bought by Prince Cheng's Mansion, Su Jinyue was truly at her wit's end. Now, she could only hope to find him after infiltrating Prince Cheng's Mansion.
"Have you heard? The Prince Huai's concubine and Miss Xie ran into each other!"
Hearing the conversation around her, Su Jinyue, who was originally preoccupied with her plan to get closer to the dancers and mechanically adjusting her costume, suddenly snapped to attention as if a key word had been triggered, and all her attention immediately turned to the two dancers talking beside her.
"How could I not have heard about it? Not only have I heard about it, but I also saw many distinguished people heading towards the entrance. If it weren't for my turn to dance the next song, I would have wanted to sneak a peek."
The dancer in red swayed her long, flowing sleeves, turned alluringly towards the entrance, and gave a flirtatious wink. She said sweetly, "Everyone says that Miss Xie is incredibly beautiful and talented, and that His Highness Prince Huai has been pursuing her for years without success, leaving the position of his principal wife vacant. I'm really curious about what kind of woman she is."
"Come on, we clearly saw Miss Xie last year when we were dancing at Lord Wang's mansion." The blue-clad dancer teased the red-clad dancer with an expression that said, "Do you think I don't understand you?"
Everyone knew perfectly well what they were curious about.
"Oh, Lady Moon, the next song is 'The Flower Goddess Descends,' are your costumes ready? Where are you going?" The red-clad dancer called out to Lady Moon, who had been tidying up her costumes and props, as she suddenly hurried away.
"My clothes are all ready and laid out. I'm leaving for a while because of a stomachache." In the short time it took to say those two sentences, Yue Niangzi's voice could already be heard from afar.
"Why the rush? Did Lady Yue get an upset stomach?" The dancer in red muttered, seeing that the food was indeed properly placed, and then stopped paying attention to Lady Yue who was hurrying away.
Instead, while quickly changing clothes, they continued to secretly chat with their companions about the gossip of the noble ladies.
A gust of mountain wind blew outside, and Su Jinyue, who was standing behind a rock about half her height, suddenly felt her mind clear. She raised her hand and pinched her waist hard. In her heart, Su Jinyue scolded herself: "What are you doing? What do you have to do with a concubine and a young lady from the Xie family? Didn't you decide to stay away from people related to the Second Prince? Why are you getting involved?"
"No, I'm not here to join in the fun, I'm just here to see the Guo family make a fool of themselves." Su Jinyue shook her head vigorously, resentment surfacing in her eyes.
Although there is no clear evidence, it is highly likely that Guo was the father of the child she lost, so she is here to see Guo make a fool of herself.
That's right, she was there to watch the spectacle, to see what would happen to Lady Guo after she ran into Miss Xie, the woman the Second Prince had been longing for. She wanted to see how Lady Guo, after all her scheming to suppress the concubines in the inner court, would end up losing miserably to another woman.
Moreover, I think I just saw Princess Cheng coming this way, so if I catch up, I might bump into her.
After convincing herself, Su Jinyue gritted her teeth and continued walking forward, half-concealing herself.
As for Xiao Yan Hui, she was indeed nearby and had already calmly blended into a group of ladies who were watching the drama unfold. At this moment, Consort Guo's sedan chair and the Xie family's carriage were both parked there one after the other, and for a moment neither of them moved.
"Look at this pomp and circumstance! Consort Guo's attire and carriage—anyone who didn't know better would think she'd already removed the 'consort' from her head!" A lady in a lake-blue jacket whispered to her companion, her voice tinged with sarcasm.
The young woman next to her, dressed in an apricot-yellow dress, covered her mouth and laughed, "Isn't that right? This red and gold brocade dress is truly magnificent. I think even a proper princess would be overshadowed by her."
Xiao Yan glanced at Consort Guo, who was still standing in the sedan chair not far away, and nodded. Her gold-embroidered red dress was indeed very eye-catching, and the hairpins and ornaments she wore were also very ornate, making her look much more luxurious than when she was seen at the family banquet.
"I think the less talented someone is, the more they want to show off. Today, with two proper princesses present, it's hard to believe that this concubine is trying to embarrass anyone by being so flamboyant." A slightly older lady seemed quite dissatisfied with Concubine Guo.
Comparing the information with the data in her mind, Xiao Yan Hui remembered that this woman's husband was a disciple of the Xie family. It seemed that although she was using her and Princess Ning as shields, she was actually speaking up for Miss Xie.
Just then, Xiao Yan saw a hand reach out from the carriage. As the curtain was lifted, a young girl dressed in a moon-colored long dress with silver threads and floral patterns got off the carriage, supported by her maid.
She was slender and graceful, with only a single translucent orchid hairpin adorning her cloud-like black hair. Her entire attire was extremely simple, yet her eyebrows were naturally dark and her lips naturally red, and her clear, watery eyes further accentuated her ethereal气质. She was as cool and aloof as the orchid hairpin in her hair.
Upon meeting her in person, Xiao Yan felt that this eldest daughter of the Xie family was quite different from the beautiful, talented, and gentle image described in the rumors; she had a more aloof and solitary air about her.
Xie Miaoyi's appearance instantly made her the focus of the entire event, and the onlookers' discussions immediately turned to her.
"It really is Miss Xie! She really has returned!"
"My God, her aura is even more magnificent than before she left the capital. If she was just an ordinary beauty before, she seems to have gained a touch of ethereal beauty today."
"She does look more beautiful than before. It's not a good thing for a young girl to be so aloof."
"Tsk tsk, Consort Guo's face looks terrible..."
Amidst a low murmur of discussion, another person alighted from the carriage after Xie Miaoyi. It turned out that Xie Miaoyi wasn't the only one who had come today; her younger sister, Xie Miaoguo, had also arrived.
Xie Miaoguo's appearance was in stark contrast to Xie Miaoyi's; she remained haughty and passionate as ever.
Unfortunately, she was also wearing a red dress today, embroidered with golden lotus patterns. At first glance, it looked at least 80% similar to the red brocade fabric worn by Consort Guo.
This made Consort Guo's already pale face even darker.
"Hmph!" Although Consort Guo's face was unpleasant, she didn't say anything. Instead, Xie Miaoguo looked at her and snorted coldly.
Just when everyone thought that Consort Guo would not let such provocation go unpunished, she forced a smile and bowed slightly to Xie Miaoyi, saying, "Sister Xie, it's been a long time. How have you been?"
The air around them seemed to freeze for a moment when Consort Guo suddenly bowed and greeted her.
Given her age and status as a concubine's daughter in the Guo family, there was nothing wrong with her bowing to Xie Miaoyi. The mistake lay in the fact that she was already a concubine of Prince Huai, yet she was bowing to the daughter of an unmarried official?
This wasn't a proper greeting; it was the posture of a concubine meeting the principal wife. It was blatant coercion, the Second Prince using Concubine Guo to declare that he was determined to have the eldest daughter of the Xie family.
Looking at Consort Guo, dressed in red but bowing with eyes filled with humiliation and resentment, and at Consort Xie, whose face was pale and who hurriedly retreated, exuding an even more desolate aura, Xiao Yan Hui, who had originally come to watch the play with great interest, now found it unbearable to watch.
At this moment, all she saw in these two women was helplessness and the projection of the Second Prince's twisted will.
"Consort Guo, there's no need for such formalities. I'm doing well. I didn't expect you to come today. It has indeed been quite a while since we last met at the family banquet."
A feeling of resentment lingered in her chest. By the time Xiao Yan reacted, she had already stepped out from the crowd behind her, then took Guo's hand and helped her up, accepting Guo's bow in return.
Although everyone present was not deaf and had heard Consort Guo say "Sister Xie" just now, they all pretended to be deaf and blind, and assumed that Consort Guo's bow was directed at Princess Cheng.
In fact, not many people had seen Princess Cheng in person, but anyone with a brain could guess Xiao Yan Hui's identity if they could calmly accept the courtesy from Consort Guo and mention the family banquet they had parted ways with.
Consort Guo bit her lip tightly, withdrew her gaze from Xie Miaoyi and looked at Xiao Yan Hui. At that moment, the emotions in her eyes were extremely complicated and hard to describe. In the end, she still showed a smile and said again, "Greetings, Princess Consort Cheng."
Behind her, Xie Miaoyi, who had been gripping her maid's hand tightly with bulging veins and trembling slightly, finally calmed down a bit. Her grateful gaze involuntarily fell on the Princess Consort Cheng in front of her.
Before she came to this spring banquet today, she knew there would be a tough battle ahead. But no matter how much she prepared herself, she never expected the Second Prince to be even more shameless than she had anticipated. She really didn't expect Li Fang to use his concubine to pull this stunt.
Is Li Fang shamelessly planning to force himself on me?
If it were only Li Fang pressuring her, she could handle it, but more importantly, her father's attitude seemed to have changed. Xie Miaoyi knew she didn't have much time left. If she had hesitated before, what had just happened made her make up her mind completely.
"Sixth sister-in-law, I've been waiting for you! I thought you should have arrived long ago, but I haven't seen you. It turns out you were delayed by admiring the beauties here." With a gentle teasing tone, Princess Ning greeted her with a smile but hurried steps.
While taking Xiao Yan Hui's hand, he kept his eyes on the Xie sisters, making it clear who he was referring to as the "beauty".
"I've met Fifth Sister-in-law. I was not only distracted by the beauty of the woman, but also by the scenery. Fifth Sister-in-law's spring banquet is truly an eye-opener. Today's Yunxi can be described as a magnificent scene from the Jade Pool."
The Fifth Prince's Consort had put a lot of effort into organizing today's flower banquet, and Xiao Yan's praise really touched her heart. The trouble caused by Consort Guo had eased her pain somewhat.
"Sixth sister-in-law, I should thank you properly later." Princess Consort Xue Jing whispered this in Xiao Yan Hui's ear. The two exchanged a glance and then pretended that nothing had happened.
After their brief conversation ended, the Xie sisters stepped forward to greet them, saying, "Greetings, Princess Ning, and Princess Cheng."
Following the two Xie sisters, many more people came up to pay their respects. After exchanging greetings, they would compliment each other and chat awkwardly, making the scene quite chaotic.
......
"Finally, I've finished entertaining those people." Xiao Yan let out a long sigh of relief. By this time, she had already left the decorated tent of the Spring Banquet some distance away.
"Flowers for sale! The most beautiful peach blossoms! Wearing them in your hair makes you more beautiful than the flowers! Flowers for sale! The finest orchids dug from the deep valley! Noblemen, take a few pots home to decorate your house, they'll be so beautiful!"
"Terracotta figurines, come and see the terracotta figurines that can be dressed up."
"Nine-linked rings, exquisite ball, big windmill, young men and women all like them!"
"Sweet cheese, a delicious and beautiful flower-flavored sweet cheese!"
......
They were at another bend in the stream. There were no fancy tents, but a small market had been set up there. Even before she went in, she could see that it was bustling with activity.
"There's a market here?" Xiao Yan was drawn in by the lively hawking sounds and quickly gestured for the people around her to follow her inside.
"I never expected to see a market like this here!" Granny Wang's tone seemed to carry a hint of nostalgia and emotion.
"Is there some other story behind this market?" Xiao Yan asked, seeing Wang Mama's expression.
“Master, take a closer look at them.”
After hearing what Granny Wang said, Xiao Yan took a closer look at the vendors who were hawking their wares so energetically, and immediately noticed something strange. They were all dressed too neatly, and even those who had deliberately patched their clothes couldn't hide their cleanliness. Moreover, most of the vendors had fair and clear skin.
This is not the skin color that ordinary villagers or street vendors would have.
"So this market was specially prepared by the Prince Ning's Mansion."
“In the past, the palace would occasionally set up such markets. I suppose this was the Fifth Prince’s idea,” Wang Mama guessed.
"Although the vendors are fake, the atmosphere is real. Let's take a look at this specially prepared market." Xiao Yan touched the purse at her waist and waved her hand generously: "Come on, I'll pay today. You guys can tell me what you want."
It was supposed to be a relaxing spring banquet, but all that had been going on was socializing and entertaining, making even the beautiful scenery seem uninteresting. Although this place was a fake market, it was still a special setting where one could relax, so Xiao Yan Hui was quite in high spirits.
But she was just having a particularly unlucky day; she had barely stepped into the market when she heard cries for help.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com