Chapter 25 Long Face
Chen Tang didn't expect it to be the prince of Xuanyi Marquis, but he was relieved to see it was him.
Xuanyi Hou's son Chu Yi and Xie Guimo are good brothers and have good character. They would not do such a thing as intentional eavesdropping.
Besides, even if the news really got out, it wouldn't ruin her reputation, but would clear her name instead.
Chen Tang bowed to Chu Yi and said, "I know that the Prince of Xuanyi was not the one who eavesdropped. I also know that the Prince of Xuanyi and the Prince of Jingyang are not brothers but are more like brothers than brothers. But can you please not tell the Prince of Jingyang what you just heard?"
“It’s too late…”
Chu Yi whispered.
Shen Tang didn't hear clearly, "What did you say?"
Chu Yi coughed lightly and said, “Don’t worry, Miss Shen Er, I won’t say a word to Prince Jingyang.”
"Thank you very much."
Shen Tang bowed and thanked him.
Chu Yi waved his folding fan, unable to suppress the gossip in his eyes, and asked curiously, "Your elder sister plotted against you, and you knew that Prince Jingyang would not die, so why would you rather be buried with him than marry him?"
...Can you please not be so curious?
How should she answer this?
Chen Tang was very tired. He couldn't tell the truth, so he could only lie. "I don't want to bear the stigma of stealing my elder sister's marriage. Besides, doesn't the Xuanyi Marquis think that the Jingyang Prince's face is too ostentatious?"
Chu Yi nodded in agreement.
Chen Tang continued, "I'm afraid that if I marry him, I'll have endless troubles with women in the future. Anyway, he doesn't really need a wedding."
To avoid Chu Yi asking again, Chen Tang bowed and left immediately after he finished speaking.
Chu Yi walked behind the rockery, but saw a figure walking away. He chased after it with a smile, and his cheeks hurt from trying so hard to hold back his smile. "I really didn't expect that Miss Shen Er refused to marry you because she disliked your face being too ostentatious..."
The man was none other than Xie Guimo, the prince of Jingyang.
He glanced at Chu Yi and said, "You believe such a poor excuse?"
Chu Yi smiled and said, "Clumsy? I think it's very plain and simple."
…
Chen Tang walked towards the noisy place. The garden was even more lively than when they first arrived. Jiang Li and Jiang Ning had also arrived. Seeing Chen Tang, Jiang Ning was extremely happy. "I didn't see my cousin just now. I thought she didn't come. I was so disappointed."
Chen Tang said, "I went over there for a look."
The three of them went to the pavilion to rest.
After drinking a cup of tea, the maid from Prince Shou's mansion came over and invited everyone to take their seats.
The spring banquet was held in the garden, which was a spacious place with pleasant breeze and fragrance of flowers.
At the banquet, Chen Tang separated from Jiang Li and Jiang Ning. She sat at the same table with Shen Xian, while Shen Ran and Shen Luo sat behind them.
After everyone sat down, Princess Shou came over, and with her were several noble ladies.
Chen Tang didn't expect that not only Xie Guimo came today, but also Princess Jingyang.
That's right, Xie Guimo has reached the age to get married. The Jingyang Palace has cancelled Chen Ying's marriage proposal and has to look for another candidate for the Crown Prince's Consort. The Spring Banquet invites only unengaged ladies and young masters from aristocratic families. Such a good opportunity to meet each other must not be missed.
After the ladies from prominent families and young masters from aristocratic families took their seats, a maid came over with a tray and a lottery box and asked the girls and young masters who wanted to go on stage to write down their talents. The steward of the Shou Palace would draw lots to decide the order in which they would go on stage.
Chen Tang had no idea, but Chen Xi took a wooden stick, wrote her name and the talent she wanted to show on it, put it in the stick box, and the maid carried it to the back.
Soon, the steward of Prince Shou's Mansion drew lots and picked the first person to perform on stage today. It was a girl.
The first girl to go on stage had a red face due to nervousness, but she played the piano very well and her voice was pleasant to the ears.
After that girl came down, she drew a lot and went up to the second one...
Chen Tang sat there, watching with great interest, and almost forgot the purpose of coming to the Spring Banquet.
She carefully looked at all the young masters from aristocratic families who were about the same age as her eldest brother, but unfortunately, she didn't see anyone who looked like Shen Sui.
Chen Tang looked at it several times. Mother Zhou said that the eldest brother's eyebrows and eyes looked very much like his father when he was a child, and he should look like him when he grows up.
But none of them look like him. Could it be that my eldest brother is already engaged?
Considering my eldest brother’s age, it is very possible.
Chen Tang didn't expect to find his elder brother right away, but he was still a little disappointed when he thought that he had come here in vain today.
She was drinking tea when the voice of the steward of Prince Shou's Mansion came, "Ms. Shen from the Marquis of Pingyuan's Mansion, sword dancing."
Shen Xi was about to stand up, but when she heard this, she froze there.
She clearly wrote about playing the piano, so how did it become sword dancing?
It must be Princess Chun'an!
Chen Xian looked in the direction of Princess Chun'an and saw Princess Chun'an with an expression that said "I'm waiting to see you make a fool of yourself", which made Chen Xian clench her teeth in anger.
Chen Tang was sitting next to Shen Xian. When he heard that Shen Xian was going to dance with a sword, he felt something was wrong. Shen Xian was best at playing the piano and she wasn't particularly good at dancing, let alone sword dancing.
Shen Xian slowly stood up, but just as she was about to leave, her foot suddenly twisted and she gasped in pain.
Princess Shou saw him and asked, "Why are you so careless? Is your foot injury serious?"
Chen Tang knew that Chen Ying's ankle sprain was fake, so he stood up and helped her. Chen Ying said to Princess Shou, "I'm sorry to spoil everyone's fun. I just sprained my ankle and can't dance with the sword. But my second sister's sword dance is not inferior to mine. Why don't you let her dance with the sword for me?"
I don’t know how many times I feel disgusted in a day.
I have never seen such a bully.
Others plotted against Chen Xian, and she was afraid of being embarrassed and didn't dare to go on stage, so they pushed her out. It was not in accordance with Chen Xian's wishes to apologize to Xie Guimo, so they wanted her to make a fool of herself in public, right? !
Just as Chen Tang was about to refuse, Princess Shou spoke first, "Okay, then let the Second Miss Shen perform the sword dance instead of the First Miss Shen."
Chen Tang was forced into this position.
Chen Xi whispered, "Second sister, please don't embarrass the Pingyuan Marquis's Mansion."
"Don't worry, I'll make you proud."
There was a cold light in Chen Tang's eyes.
She will let her Shen Xian know what it means to stand high and fall hard.
Chen Tang walked up to the stage, bowed to Princess Shou and the other noble ladies, and then took the sword handed to him by the maid.
Everyone's eyes were on Shen Tang. There were few ladies from wealthy families who could dance with swords, and even fewer who could dance well. It was quite interesting to see.
Chen Xian sat down, waiting to see Chen Tang's excitement, but Chen Tang's one move made her eyes freeze and her face turned very ugly.
Chen Xian was not good at sword dancing, but she could watch. Chen Tang's dancing was smooth and the sword in her hand was like a swimming dragon. Even if she watched with a critical eye, she could not deny that Chen Tang danced very well.
They had studied and learned to read and write together, practiced piano and dance together since they were young. When did Chen Tang learn to practice sword dance so well behind her back? !
The entire Qingyi Garden was under her nose. She was very sure that Chen Tang had never practiced sword dancing before. She didn't even know that her sister was so talented!
Shen Xi's face looked extremely bad, she wanted to embarrass Shen Tang in public, to let Shen Tang know what the consequences of going against her were, not to make Shen Tang famous!
Chen Tang raised his palm above his head and spun the sword in his palm twice. This action alone was enough to intimidate the entire audience.
When she finished dancing, Princess Shou praised her profusely, "This is the first time I've seen a girl dance with a sword so gently and heroically. It's really good."
Chen Tang said modestly, "Princess Shou, you are too kind. Compared with my elder sister, I am still far behind."
Princess Shou glanced in the direction of Shen Xi and said, "She dances better than Second Miss Shen. I can't even imagine how much better she dances. It's a pity that I don't have the chance to see her today."
Princess Zhao on the side smiled and said, "There will always be a chance to meet in the future."
Chen Xie felt like sitting on pins and needles.
This was the first time she experienced the feeling of being flattered.
Although she is competitive, she is not completely without self-awareness. Even if she spends ten years practicing, she is afraid that she will not be able to reach the level of Shen Tang.
Now everyone knows that she is better at sword dancing than Chen Tang, and she will definitely be asked to demonstrate next time!
What will she show then? !
She can't pretend to have sprained her ankle every time.
Chen Xian wanted to strangle Chen Tang to death in her heart, but she didn't dare to show any clues on her face because everyone was looking at her.
Princess Jingyang also looked towards Chen Xian. She had never known why the old prince chose the girl from Pingyuan Marquis's mansion to be Mo'er's prince consort. Today, she finally figured it out. Unfortunately, Mo'er woke up from his coma and insisted on canceling the engagement...
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