The banquet began soon. Mrs. Zheng sat in the main seat and prepared fashionable fruits and desserts for them. There was also a singing and dancing performance. The boat slowly started to sail around Mingjing Lake amid the sounds of singing, dancing and stringed instruments.
The sound of stringed instruments began to drift from the boat, floating on the Mingjing Lake. Many girls in the boudoir became interested. They had prepared in advance and sent people to bring their own instruments to perform on stage.
For a moment, the atmosphere on the boat became cheerful. For this lake cruise, Madam Zheng had not only invited renowned musicians from the capital but also arranged a place for them to play, to prevent them from getting bored. Qiao Si sat quietly listening to them play, her eyes devoid of interest. She simply rested her elbows idly, watching their laughter and playfulness with boredom.
Zhang You could tell she was feeling down. Qiao Si had long eyelashes, and when she lowered her brows, they could hide the emotion in her eyes. After spending so much time together, she could tell she was feeling sad. Qiao Si was probably... missing Qiao Nai.
Their piano skills were still far inferior to Qiao Nai's, but the music Xu Rong was playing at that moment was one that Qiao Nai had composed.
Back when Qiao Nai was still Gu's wife, she participated in a prestigious qin competition in Beijing. All women in the capital, married or not, participated. However, on the day of the competition, Xu Rong instigated others to burn Qiao Nai's hand and then conspired with Gu Hesheng's sister to steal her qin sheet music. This led to Qiao Nai being ridiculed and mocked by them. For a long time, Qiao Nai refused to play the qin because of her injured hand.
Zhang You followed Qiao Si's gaze and looked at the gorgeously dressed and proudly dressed woman playing the piano in the center of the stage with a complicated look in his eyes.
The bullying of Yao Yushu by Liu Wen today must have been instigated by her behind the scenes. She always schemes and instigates others to do evil things in order to clear herself of all blame.
I still remember that when Qiao Nai returned home, the young Qiao Si said that he would come back to seek justice for her. Now, it’s time to seek justice.
Xu Rong really enjoyed the envious looks and compliments from the people around her. She had been learning piano since she was young. Apart from Qiao Nai back then, she was second to none in the piano arts in Beijing.
After Xu Rong finished her performance, a group of noble ladies surrounded her and praised her superb piano skills. She smiled and modestly declined. In a corner where no one could see, she winked at her maid, and the maid quickly left the banquet hall.
Qiao Siben was looking for an opportunity to teach her a lesson. Seeing that she wanted to cause trouble, he raised his hand and called Dongmei over, asking her to follow closely. Dongmei quickly left quietly.
The boat has circled the lake twice. Although it is summer, the lake is cooler than the courtyard on ordinary days, but it will still be hot if you stay outside for a long time.
When Dongmei came back, her forehead was covered with sweat. Qiao Si handed her the Sushan in front of him. She took two bites and the heat was relieved a lot. Then she whispered to them.
"I saw her bribe a maid and asked her to wait until our ship and the opposite ship approached, then deliberately dirty Miss Yao's dress and take her to the room at the stern, and..." As she spoke, she looked up at Qiao Si, not knowing whether to continue.
Qiao Si guessed Xu Rong was planning to attack their mansion, and motioned Dongmei to continue. Dongmei swallowed and said, "We need someone to lead Mr. Qiao San over there. I heard that Madam Zheng has decided to find a husband for Miss Zheng today. In order to avoid the man's displeasure, she specially prepared a room at the stern of the ship and planned..."
Dongmei didn't finish her words, but they all knew what she meant. They didn't expect Xu Rong to be so petty. Just because Qiao Si had just said something to him, he actually wanted to drag Qiao Wangfu and Yao Yushu into the water.
If this succeeds, it will not only destroy Yao Yusu's reputation, but also deepen Li Guanghan's resentment towards Qiao Si. It is really a good strategy that kills two birds with one stone.
A hint of murderous intent flashed in Qiao Si's eyes. She thought silently for a moment, raised her hand and said something to Dongmei again. Dongmei quickly left the banquet hall again.
The banquet was drawing to a close, and the next step was for the two boats to connect and allow them to travel back and forth. The two boats met in the center of the lake, stopped, and the boatmen built a wooden bridge three people wide for the two sides to travel back and forth.
Qiao Si and the others had already walked outside, preparing to cross the bridge to take a look at the other side. There was a shed outside the boat to provide shade, so it wasn't very hot.
As they watched the boatmen build the bridge, a maidservant delivering tea accidentally bumped into Yao Yushu and spilled the tea all over her dress. The maidservant apologized profusely and offered to take her downstairs to change clothes. Yao Yushu wanted to let it go, but her clothes were thin in the summer, and a cup of tea spilled and stuck to her was unsightly. So she followed the maidservant and left.
When they reached the middle of the boat, the maid deliberately sent Yao Yushu's maid away. Yao Yushu frowned slightly, sensing something was amiss. She lied, saying her hairpin had fallen and she had to go back to pick it up. The maid who led the way didn't want to mess things up, so she said she would help her find it and told Yao Yushu to go to the room at the stern. Yao Yushu nodded in agreement, and once she left, she took a detour back to the more crowded area.
After Qiao Si saw Yao Yushu leave, he followed her. She noticed Yao Yushu was alert enough to send the man away, but her clothes were soaked and unfit for meeting guests. So she approached her and offered to help her change. Her words were merely a mock expression of disdain, but Yao Yushu, as if aware of her true nature, didn't take it personally and even thanked Qiao Si.
Zhang You, watching from behind Qiao Si, was surprised and whispered to Chunhua, "Could it be that she knows the princess is just acting? Why doesn't she get angry even when the princess is being sarcastic?"
Chunhua looked at Yao Yusu's expression and suspected that she had discovered something. She said uncertainly, "That shouldn't be the case?" Zhang You shook his head, confused.
When Qiao Si was taking Yao Yusu to the room she had asked Dongmei to find, an uninvited guest suddenly appeared - Liu Wen.
She was still resentful of Yao Yushu because of what had just happened. Seeing Qiao Si, who hated Yao Yushu just as much as she did, she rushed over to her and started to mess with her. "Hey! Miss Yao, why are you so disheveled? Your dress is soaking wet, and you're still walking around. Who are you trying to seduce? You're such a vixen."
"Miss Liu, please be careful with your words. The princess is still here. Don't pollute her ears." Jingzhu stopped her from cursing and stopped her one step away.
Zheng Jiaren had watched Liu Wen storm off. She didn't see Yao Yushu there, and seeing the aggressive Liu Wen, she was afraid Yao Yushu would suffer, so she hurried after her. Unexpectedly, she discovered Qiao Si's maidservant actually helped Yao Yushu stop Liu Wen. She had thought Qiao Si was just hoping Yao Yushu would get bullied.
But she still stepped forward to stop Liu Wen. After all, she was scolding Yao Yushuo, which was not giving her face. She had already acknowledged that Yao Yushuo was her best friend, so how could she allow her to say that about Yao Yushuo.
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