The noble ladies took their seats one by one.
The banquet was held in the central hall of Biyuan Garden, and only women were present. Princess Kanghe specially invited the best musicians in the capital to accompany the music. Even before the banquet began, melodious music could be heard coming from behind the screen.
Princess Kanghe arrived last.
Everyone stood up and bowed. She walked gracefully over, stopped in front of Liu Shushu, and said with a smile, "You must be the Second Miss Liu, the daughter of General Liu who was lost and found again?"
"It is indeed my daughter, Liu Shushu."
"Raise your head and let me see you."
"yes."
Liu Shushu raised her head and looked directly at the elegant and graceful woman in front of her.
Princess Kanghe glanced at her, then at Qingying beside her, smiled, and said, "The girls of the Liu family are all exceptionally beautiful."
Liu Shushu replied without changing her expression, "Your Highness flatters me."
Princess Kanghe didn't look at her again, turned around and walked to the seat at the head of the table.
Soon the banquet began, and the servants brought out pots of beautiful chrysanthemums. The carefully nurtured flowers bloomed in various colors, and when placed together, they were a riot of colors, each one delicate and beautiful, a feast for the eyes.
"Enjoying chrysanthemums in autumn is a wonderful thing."
Princess Kanghe asked everyone to compose poems on the theme of "chrysanthemum".
Qingying found it extremely boring. At every banquet for noble ladies and gentlemen, they would either compose poems or compete to see which plants would grow bigger. She had long been tired of it.
Soon, the noble ladies began composing poems one after another, while Qingying, feeling she lacked the talent, silently ate her pastries.
Suddenly, Liu Shushu asked, "I've heard that Third Sister is exceptionally talented. Why don't you compose a couple of poems to broaden my horizons?"
She spoke quite loudly, and since they were seated very close to Princess Kanghe's main seat, her words naturally reached the princess's ears.
Qingying was stunned for a moment, then looked at her in confusion.
Princess Kanghe then looked over and said, "I've never heard the Third Miss compose a poem before, why don't you give it a try?"
She immediately replied respectfully, "I should not refuse Your Highness's invitation, but I am not good at composing poems and I am afraid that I will disappoint Your Highness's good intentions."
"Oh, that's a pity." Fortunately, the princess did not continue to make things difficult for her and was soon drawn to a poem written by another person.
Qingying then looked at Liu Shushu, who was smiling at her, and frowned. "What do you mean by this?"
Liu Shushu blinked innocently, "Sister, don't misunderstand. It was Granny Zhang who told me that you are both beautiful and talented and a great painter, so I thought you could do everything."
Qingying narrowed her eyes slightly, assessing the credibility of her words.
Before long, the round of composing poems was drawing to a close.
Suddenly, a jarring sound of the piano abruptly stopped, and the music behind the screen gradually ceased.
Princess Kanghe frowned and asked, "What's going on?"
The maid went to the back to check, then returned and said, "The musician who was playing the zither suddenly fainted. We've already ordered someone to carry him away and fetch a doctor."
"Then hurry up and get someone to take over," Princess Kanghe said, sounding somewhat impatient.
The maidservant said with difficulty, "Princess, there are no extra musicians in Biyuan Garden. We can only send someone to invite some from the music hall, but it will take a long time."
It takes at least two hours to travel from Biyuan to Lefang and back, so it is indeed a long wait.
Princess Kanghe frowned in displeasure.
At this moment, Wu Miaoqing stepped forward and suggested, "Princess, why don't you choose one of the noble ladies to play the zither, so as not to spoil everyone's mood with such a trivial matter?"
"Is this... appropriate?" Princess Kanghe hesitated.
After all, the ladies present were all noble daughters of various clans, and it would be a disgrace to their families for them to play music with the musicians from the music hall.
Qingying had a bad feeling when she heard the voice. She looked over and met his slightly provocative gaze.
Sure enough, the next second Wu Miaoqing continued, "I've heard that Miss Liu is proficient in all the arts, including music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Why don't you play a few pieces for us?"
Just as Qingying was about to retort, Liu Shushu chimed in, "Although I only recently learned that Third Sister is not good at writing poetry, Granny Zhang has long told me that in addition to painting, you are also a skilled zither player. I wonder if we would have the honor of hearing you play a piece today?"
Before long, the once noisy hall gradually quieted down, and everyone looked over, each one seemingly eager to watch the drama unfold.
Princess Kanghe looked at Qingying and said with a gentle smile, "Speaking of which, I have never heard the Third Miss play the zither before."
So many eyes were fixed on Qingying, waiting to see her give in. They seemed to be saying, "Look, you're just a lowly concubine's daughter, you should be associating with those lowly courtesans."
Even the princess has spoken, so how can she refuse?
Qingying sat upright in her seat, her gaze sweeping over the faces of those in the hall who were watching the spectacle with amusement. Before, their eyes were full of kindness and flattery, but now only mockery remained.
They wanted to see her fall from the branch, crushed into the soil, and wither and rot.
But she refused to do as they wished!
With a blank expression, she removed the pearl hairpin from her hair, raised her left hand, stabbed it into her palm, and then slowly moved it little by little.
Her skin was torn open, and fresh blood flowed slowly, running down her palm and wrist, dripping onto her clothes, spreading out like bright red flowers.
"I'm so sorry, sister, my hand is injured, so I'm afraid I can't play for you today." She smiled and then casually put the bloodstained hairpin back into her hair.
Everyone was stunned.
Princess Kanghe was the first to react, and said awkwardly, "Since it is inconvenient for the Third Miss to play, let's skip this matter."
As soon as she finished speaking, Xie Jiaoying stood up abruptly, walked to Qingying's side, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her up.
"Princess, I'll take Qingying downstairs to treat her wounds. Farewell."
Then, without waiting for the princess to say anything, he pulled her away.
Once outside the palace, Xie Jiaoying scolded, "Are you stupid? If you don't want to play, you can just politely decline. Why hurt yourself like this?"
“If I refuse once, there will be a second time. This banquet is a battlefield, how can I escape?” Qingying stood still and sneered sarcastically.
Xie Jiaoying looked at her and sighed helplessly, "But what you're doing is just hurting the enemy a thousand while losing eight hundred of your own."
Qingying shrugged indifferently and said, "So, I still made two hundred."
"...I'm really impressed by you."
Xie Jiaoying insisted on taking her to treat the injury on her hand, and they did not return to the banquet.
"I've inquired about it. It turns out that Liu Shushu once treated Princess Kanghe. I knew it! Why would the princess, who always lived a Buddhist-like life, suddenly target someone?"
Moreover, this was all under the condition that this person posed no threat to her or had any vested interest in her.
Qingying suddenly laughed in exasperation, "How can she be so lucky? She can just pick up anyone and they become the crown prince, or just treat a patient and they become a princess."
She could easily obtain everything she had worked so hard for all these years.
Xie Jiaoying didn't know how to answer for a moment, so she could only give her a comforting hug.
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