Chapter 24 A Broken Mirror Cannot Be Mended 1 (V-Entry Announcement) She thought: ...
As the blazing sun gradually set, hanging obliquely in the sky, its rays slanted into the Imperial Garden, casting a dazzling light on the Taihu stones.
However, when it falls on the trumpet creeper that grows by clinging to Taihu stones, it adds a unique flavor.
Along the winding path, there are pots of rare and precious flowers carefully cultivated by the palace gardeners.
A hundred flowers bloomed in competition, and the entire Imperial Garden was instantly bathed in the afterglow of the setting sun.
With a gentle breeze at this time, it's the perfect time to enjoy the scenery.
The Imperial Garden was soon filled with groups of two or three women from various families, who strolled together and admired the beautiful scenery that seemed to be made in heaven.
With a smile in her eyes, Cui Fuyu gazed at the delicate flowers with graceful movements, her eyes sweeping around, searching for Su Zhiyao's whereabouts.
She was followed by Juning and Zhujin.
Juning calmly looked around Cui Fuyu to prevent any accidents from happening.
On the contrary, Zhu Jin was immersed in the sea of flowers, overjoyed, and jumping around energetically.
Juning had to tug at her sleeve every now and then to remind her.
Before long, Cui Fuyu spotted Su Zhiyao.
She lifted her foot and walked towards Su Zhiyao, passing through the crowd, and came up behind her, gently patting her shoulder, "Zhiyao."
Su Zhiyao turned around and saw her. He took her hand and deliberately lowered his voice: "You didn't know that the Sixth Princess was looking for you in a fierce manner just now."
Princess Zhao Minzhi was the third daughter of the Emperor and the Empress. She was the sixth in line of the imperial heirs. The Empress had three sons born of the Empress. Before her was Crown Prince Zhao Chengrui. The second princess had been married off to a foreign country and had not returned for many years.
Zhao Min was twelve years old. The Emperor and Empress loved her for being so young that they had not yet bestowed upon her a princess's residence or a title, so she was raised in the Empress's palace.
He was arrogant and domineering, looking down on everyone, and the only person he couldn't stand was Cui Fuyu.
Cui Fuyu looked gloomy whenever she mentioned her; everyone knew they were mortal enemies.
She walked side by side with Su Zhiyao, admiring the flowers and chatting along the winding path: "What does she want from me? Is she looking for trouble again?"
Su Zhiyao didn't know either; she only saw Zhao Minzhi searching everywhere for Cui Fuyu and asking others if they had seen her.
I knew that whenever the two of them were together, there would inevitably be arguments.
I doubt Zhao Minzhi is looking for anything good with Cui Fuyu.
Cui Fuyu casually plucked a flower, played with it in her hand, her slender fingers brushing against the petals, and smiled gently: "It doesn't matter, if she dares to come, I dare to deal with her."
She and Zhao Minzhi had fought countless times since childhood, engaging in open and covert struggles, even reaching the emperor and empress's court, so this time was no different.
Su Zhiyao nodded thoughtfully, then suddenly turned around and noticed a plump koi with unusual patterns on the lake shore ahead, and felt a strong urge to go and take a look.
The fat koi is entirely sky blue, with blue patterns all over its body. The blue patterns on its back look like a landscape painting.
Very attractive.
"Fuyu, look! There's a celadon koi over there!" Su Zhiyao happily pulled Cui Fuyu's hand and pointed to the plump celadon koi by the lake, saying, "Let's go take a look!"
Following the direction Su Zhiyao pointed, the group instantly saw the celadon koi fish she had mentioned.
Reflected on the water's surface, the celadon koi carp swim, their tails shimmering, as if a landscape painting is moving in the water, vividly lifelike.
Cui Fuyu went to see it with Su Zhiyao and exclaimed, "These koi are truly a wonder!"
Perhaps it was their voices that attracted more and more people to the lakeside.
The celadon koi fish is still the most charming.
By this time, a crowd had already gathered around the lake to watch, but people kept pushing forward.
Cui Fuyu became alert: "There are too many people, and it's not safe by the lake. Let's go outside."
Seeing the young women constantly pushing forward, their curious gazes made Cui Fuyu instinctively feel danger.
They were still some distance from the lake, so retreating was the best option at that moment.
Su Zhiyao nodded, and they slowly retreated along the edge of the crowd.
But as soon as Cui Fuyu finished speaking, she noticed someone's hand deliberately pushing her, as if the other person wanted to push her towards the lake.
The pink shirt she wore today was thin and light. If it got wet, she would definitely lose face in front of everyone, not only losing her innocence but also becoming the laughing stock of the capital.
There were many princes and noblemen in the Imperial Garden, and Cui Fuyu had no desire to become a laughing stock.
She was hiding from the mastermind, just about to turn around to see who was pushing her.
Suddenly, a pair of hands pushed Cui Fuyu towards the lakeside.
With a splash, someone fell into the water, creating a large puddle.
"Someone has fallen into the lake."
"Help! Someone has fallen into the water! Can anyone swim and save them?"
The ladies standing in front were instantly terrified and retreated hastily.
After someone fell into the water, the surrounding crowd immediately dispersed to make way.
After the situation calmed down, everyone went to check on the person who had fallen into the water.
It turned out to be the Sixth Princess, Zhao Minzhi.
What exactly happened just now?
Just now, Cui Fuyu felt a gust of wind coming from behind her. Just as a pair of hands were about to touch her back, she reached out and grabbed them forcefully. She shifted her feet into a lunge position and turned to the side, instantly pushing the person who wanted to push her into the water into the lake instead.
Cui Fuyu stood calmly on the shore, arms crossed, eyes smiling, looking at Zhao Minzhi with sarcasm.
The others were at a loss and hurriedly called for help to rescue the sixth princess.
As soon as Zhao Minzhi fell into the water, she frantically struggled in the water in a panic, turning the originally clear lake water into murky water, and all the koi fish ran away.
After struggling for a while, Zhao Minzhi realized something was wrong.
She plopped down in the lake.
The lake seems a bit shallow.
Zhao Minzhi stopped shouting in a panic. She tried to get up from the lake and found that the water only reached her calves and knees.
This lake is an artificial lake with flowing water, and it is not deep.
Zhao Minzhi, covered in mud and smelling of earth, glared angrily at Cui Fuyu.
Cui Fuyu provoked her by silently saying, "A defeated opponent."
She didn't provoke Zhao Minzhi on her own initiative; it was Zhao Minzhi who harbored ill intentions and tried to push her into the lake.
But instead of succeeding in stealing a chicken, they lost their rice instead.
It's no wonder Cui Fuyu outmaneuvered her; she loved horseback riding, and her lower body was naturally more stable than the average person.
That's why she was able to push Zhao Min into the water.
Amidst the commotion, Cui Fuyu left with a victorious smile...
——
As night fell, the palace lanterns were lit one by one, row upon row, instantly illuminating the palace.
The sounds of silk and bamboo instruments drifted slowly from the Moon-Viewing Terrace. Inside the main hall, all the wives and children of the clan sat down one by one, with a table placed in front of each person. The table was covered with various delicacies, and each of them had a maidservant serving them.
In the center of the hall, a group of exquisitely dressed court dancers were performing, their movements perfectly synchronized, each one swinging their pink water sleeves to the beat of the music.
Empress Choi Yi-sook sat alone on her high throne, her previous anger completely gone, looking down at the crowd below with a kind expression.
At the banquet, apart from Crown Prince Zhao Chengrui, all the princesses, princes, and the emperor's concubines were present.
The sage Zhao Hanhong was busy with official duties and only appeared briefly before leaving.
The entire responsibility for the palace banquet was entrusted to Choi Yi-sook.
Choi Yi-sook smiled and raised her wine glass to everyone, slowly saying, "This is the first time I have held a banquet tonight. Since the beginning of summer, the garden has become increasingly lively, and even the orchids in front of the steps have become more vibrant. It would be a pity to enjoy such a beautiful scene alone, so I have set up this flower appreciation party to invite everyone to enjoy it together."
After drinking the wine first, Cui Yishu said, "I hope that today's flower viewing will bring you all some comfort. The royal kitchen has specially prepared delicious dishes. May you all, Yongping, safeguard this peaceful and prosperous world year after year."
As soon as Cui Yishu finished speaking, everyone in the hall stood up and congratulated her in unison: "May the people of Yongping live in peace and prosperity, and may this great era be prosperous and peaceful."
Everyone drank the wine in their glasses in one gulp.
The banquet gradually became lively, with the matriarchs moving among the guests, wine cups in hand, exchanging toasts.
The women of the imperial clan present were all shrewd and understood that the Empress's flower-viewing banquet was actually a way to find suitable matches for the princes. Many of the women of noble families brought their daughters to toast the Empress.
Meanwhile, the concubines who had princes were also looking for suitable wives who could be helpful to their sons.
In many cases, two families even agreed on a date for the betrothal ceremony on the spot.
Cui Fuyu was deeply tormented by this. People would come to her mother to offer her wine from time to time, and she was forced to drink quite a lot as well. The wine brewed in the palace was not like ordinary wine; it was not only strong but also very intoxicating.
Cui Fuyu ate several bites of cold dishes to calm the effects of the alcohol.
In contrast, her mother looked perfectly normal and could drink a lot.
After a long while, the moon was high in the sky, and the palace banquet was drawing to a close.
Almost everyone was drunk, feeling dizzy and disoriented.
Three quarters past 9 PM, the carriages of each household slowly drove out of the palace gate.
Tonight, Cui Fuyu will not return to the Cui residence. Just now, taking advantage of Su Zhiyao's presence, he said he wanted to go back with her to stay for the night.
Seeing the expectation in Cui Fuyu's eyes, Zhao Ying readily agreed.
Unexpectedly, after leaving the palace, Cui Fuyu did not go to the Su family, but instead sent the coachman to the villa in Willow Leaf Lane.
The carriage slowly made its way towards Willow Leaf Lane. Inside, Cui Fuyu was rubbing her temples, feeling quite uncomfortable from the aftereffects of the alcohol.
She hadn't been massaging for long when Juning sat down next to her and took over the massage.
Juning's technique was superb, her movements gentle. "Miss, are you alright? When we return to the villa later, I'll make you some hangover soup."
Cui Fuyu found Juning's massage very comfortable and breathed a long sigh of relief, "Good Juning, you are so sensible."
Cui Fuyu came to Willow Leaf Lane without telling anyone. When she arrived, Chi Yanzhou was still secretly carving his magnolia hairpin in his study.
In Chi Yanzhou's study, the carving tools had been completely replaced, and the jade stone in his hand had taken the shape of a magnolia hairpin, exactly the same as the hairpin he had drawn on the draft.
Now, jade hairpins have reached the stage of slow, meticulous craftsmanship.
Chi Yanzhou was extremely careful, afraid of ruining the material.
When Xiaoling came to inform him that Cui Fuyu had arrived, there was another flurry of tidying up.
Cui Fuyu walked towards her room and asked the housekeeper about Chi Yanzhou's recent situation, as she hadn't been here for a while.
"What has Chi Yanzhou been busy with lately?" Cui Fuyu asked casually. "I haven't seen him around."
The steward then told Chi Yanzhou that he spent every day in the study, and recently even slept there, praising him for his diligence.
The butler hesitated and said, "But it seems that Young Master Chi has been raising money recently. I heard him say that he wants to rebuild the burned-down Chi family."
Cui Fuyu seemed to understand something upon hearing this: "Alright, let him be. If he needs money, just give him some from the accounts."
She thought: I can't just sleep with someone for free!
The butler nodded repeatedly. Soon after, Chi Yanzhou arrived. The butler, with great tact, led Zhu Jin, who was following behind Cui Fuyu, away, leaving the room to the two of them.
As soon as Ju Ning got off the carriage, she rushed off to make a hangover soup for Cui Fuyu.
Inside the room, Chi Yanzhou had just washed his hands and face and changed his clothes in the study before coming over. He was sitting quietly next to Cui Fuyu, surrounded by the scent of wine emanating from her.
He frowned with concern: "Why did you drink so much?"
Cui Fuyu gazed at his gentle and refined appearance, and on a whim, cupped his face in her hands: "It's alright, Juning is already making a hangover soup."
After saying that, Cui Fuyu kissed him passionately, their lips meeting.
After a long while, a tearful, emotional dew fell.
Chi Yanzhou blushed as he dressed; he had never seen such an enthusiastic young lady before.
He said, "Ayu, get some rest. I'll go check on some hangover remedies."
Cui Fuyu lay on the bed, her clothes loose and the brocade quilt blocking out the rosy light, playing with her hair.
The room still smelled of the afterglow of their lovemaking.
Chi Yanzhou happily carried the hangover soup that Ju Ning had prepared as he walked back to his room.
When he arrived at the window of Cui Fuyu's room, the sounds coming from inside brought his joyful smile to an abrupt halt.
Cui Fuyu's answer was a wake-up call for him.
Zhu Jin asked innocently, "Miss, have you really taken a liking to Young Master Chi?"
"Of course not, Miss, I was just sleeping with him." Cui Fuyu said nonchalantly. "What kind of person is he, someone you can just sleep with for free? Can he even enter the Cui family?!"
Unbeknownst to Cui Fuyu, Chi Yanzhou heard everything clearly, and his face turned deathly pale, tears welling up in his eyes…
A note from the author:
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Hey everyone! [rainbow emoji] I'll be going to be a paid seller on the 10th (Friday), with a 10,000-word update (three chapters combined). Thank you all for your support, love you all, and I hope you'll continue to support me! [heart emoji]
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