Under the bright sunshine, golden bells jingled softly under the vermilion eaves. Rong Ning came in with her back to the light, making her difficult to see clearly at first, yet captivating all who looked at her.
As she drew closer, everyone was even more reluctant to look away. She wore a long, flowing dress with wide sleeves and gold phoenix patterns, its crimson color trailing on the ground. Twelve jade pendants adorned her waist, and her graceful steps were as swift as ice shattering in a spring.
Her dark blue hair was styled in a cloud-like bun, and a gold phoenix hairpin inlaid with jewels hung down between her eyebrows, making her eyes sparkle like autumn water.
A touch of sandalwood rouge on her lips resembled the lingering snow of spring, while the silver-blue lotus flower embroidered between her brows exuded a chilling, crescent moon-like quality reminiscent of the Kunlun Mountains.
The entire room fell silent; they couldn't believe that the person before them was Rong Ning.
Rong Ning glanced around, a faint smile playing on her lips. She clasped her hands together, slowly knelt down, and performed a deep bow, saying, "Your subject greets Your Majesty and Your Highness the Imperial Concubine!"
"Get up..."
As the emperor finished speaking, the people in the hall reacted and greeted in unison, "Greetings, Your Highness!"
Rong Ning told them to rise, and the emperor said a few words before instructing the master of ceremonies to announce the start of the coming-of-age ceremony.
Rong Ning had familiarized herself with the process several times, so it went very smoothly without a single mistake.
Everyone held their breath as she knelt to receive the greetings. When the gold-embroidered shawl slipped down, it revealed a nine-turn exquisite bracelet on her fair wrist. The jade color and candlelight flowed between her skin, making her look like a goddess holding down a pool of stars from the Milky Way. The silence was broken when she raised her eyes to thank the greetings, and the slight curve of her lips broke the silence.
"How come I never noticed how beautiful Princess Ningding was before?"
Luo Chuan muttered to himself.
In Luo Chuan's memory, from the first time he met Rong Ning, she was always dressed in a simple and neat outfit. Naturally, he could not imagine that this elaborate and exquisite palace dress would look stunning on her.
After the ceremony, Rong Ning knelt and bowed to the emperor again to express her gratitude. The emperor's eyes welled up with tears. His daughter, who had always caused him so much trouble since childhood, had truly grown up. He glanced at the young men below and sighed inwardly, wondering which boy would benefit from her.
The emperor composed himself, offered a few sincere words of instruction, and then asked her to rise and take her seat.
Rong Ning's seat was next to the Crown Prince's.
The emperor personally decided on Rong Ning's position, intending to show everyone her importance in his heart.
The envoys from various countries who came to witness the ceremony all presented gifts, and the envoy from the Great Jing Dynasty also brought a gift from Princess Zhaoqing.
When Rong Ning heard that her elder sister had prepared a gift, she wanted to take it on the spot, but the Crown Prince stopped her, saying, "Wait until it's over, it won't run away!"
"oh..."
Rong Ning was unwilling.
"Don't be upset!" the Crown Prince said with amusement. "Father said that all the gifts they brought today will eventually be sent to your princess residence, and you can open them slowly then."
"oh..."
Rong Ning was not in a good mood.
The Crown Prince poured her a cup of wine and asked in a low voice, "I heard that you got Xie Chong drunk last night and tricked him into signing a contract of servitude?"
Upon hearing this, Rong Ning's eyes widened. "You didn't tell Xie Chong about this, did you?"
“No…” the Crown Prince said helplessly, “but I don’t know if Xie Chong remembers or not.”
"Don't worry, he definitely doesn't know."
Rong Ning was resolute.
Xie Chong would forget what happened when he was drunk the next day if he drank too much, and Rong Ning knew this, which is why she did this.
"Hey... be more refined!" Seeing Rong Ning about to grab a bone that she couldn't pick up, she quickly nudged her with her elbow. "You're so dazzling today, those young men's eyes are still glued to you, stealing glances from time to time. Don't ruin their fantasies so soon."
"Tsk!!"
"Annoying!"
Rong Ning grew impatient and suddenly looked up, just in time to meet the eyes of a young man. She returned a forced smile, but to her surprise, the young man lowered his head shyly!
Heavens above!
Rong Ning found it unbelievable, looked at the Crown Prince, and said speechlessly, "Big brother, if I remember correctly, when I used to laugh like that, they would have been scared and kept their tails between their legs!"
The crown prince glanced over there and said indifferently, "What's wrong with that? Beauty can always make people temporarily forget some bad memories."
"Good heavens!" Rong Ning had truly seen something new today.
"By the way..." the Crown Prince put down his wine cup, "what was your purpose in having Xie Chong sign a contract of indenture?"
"Are you curious?"
"Um..."
"Hey... there's nothing I can do about your curiosity. I won't tell you now! You'll find out everything later!"
Rong Ning replied in a bad way, and the prince couldn't help but let out a "tsk", "You've already sold someone to yourself, how about I pack them up and send them to Zhaoqing Palace tonight?"
"Don't cause trouble! Let him stay in your Eastern Palace!"
Rong Ning rolled her eyes. If it weren't for so many people watching, she would have slapped the Crown Prince to stop him from talking nonsense.
Unable to bear seeing him so relaxed, she raised her chin and said gloatingly, "Chu Pingyao is looking at you! How about I call her over to sit with me? You two will be sitting together anyway, so it's good to get used to it beforehand!"
The main theme is mutual harm.
"Don't meddle in other people's business!" the Crown Prince said, his anger rising. He glared at her. "Choose your consort from among these fine young men!"
Everyone knows the purpose of Rong Ning's coming-of-age ceremony, so the Imperial Concubine added a step, asking all the good young men in the family to prepare their talents, whether it's poetry, songs, martial arts, or anything else. As long as you have it, you can bring it out.
The hall is now quite lively.
Rong Ning felt that this scene was very familiar, somewhat like the scene when the late emperor selected his concubines. Thinking about it, she found it funny. Her father and the crown prince never had such a grand ceremony, but she had to put on such a show for her coming-of-age ceremony.
It's ridiculous to think about.
Rong Ning thought of those young ladies from noble families in the past, who prepared for a long time for a talent show, only to be picked apart and criticized in the end, which was very painful. She thought that these young men must feel the same way now.
Thinking about it this way, Rong Ning couldn't bear to hurt their self-esteem. So when each young man from a noble family finished his performance and looked at Rong Ning with a slight bow, Rong Ning treated them all the same. No matter how well or badly they performed, as long as they were good-looking, she would give them a bright smile in return.
However, all the girls chosen by each family to participate in the coming-of-age ceremony were outstanding in appearance, and in the end, Rong Ning's face was stiff from smiling.
Seeing that she used the same routine with every man, the crown prince couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "You smile at every young man like that, do you like them all?"
Rong Ning didn't even look at him, and said indifferently, "Yes, aren't they all quite good? Didn't you and Father Emperor say that it didn't matter who you chose as your consort? Now that I've taken a liking to them all, why don't you send them all to my princess's residence!"
The crown prince had a headache, so he rubbed his forehead and turned to one side, muttering, "I shouldn't have said anything."
"Good to know!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
