After a flurry of activity, Wei Shuwan saw several people carrying Princess Jing past the screen. Princess Jing still had her head drooping and showed no signs of waking up. Princess Yun'an was helping to support her, looking anxious and on the verge of tears.
"Princess, now that the Princess Consort has moved, is this incense no longer needed?" Wei Shuwan asked cautiously.
Yun An had no time to care about her; he merely glanced at her with disgust before continuing to help his mother out. Meanwhile, Li Qingchen, the Prince of Qiaochuan, sitting beside the Crown Prince behind the screen, suddenly looked up and stared at the graceful figure projected onto the screen.
The sound just now was...
After Princess Jing was helped away, Wei Shuwan put the incense burner on the ground, stretched her sleeves, and then braced herself to step out from behind the screen. She prepared to greet and congratulate Duke Sheng before quickly taking her leave.
Almost simultaneously with her, Li Qingchen also got up, walked calmly to the window with his hands behind his back, and looked out at the chrysanthemum garden.
He exclaimed in praise, "The chrysanthemums in the Sheng Mansion are truly a sight not to be missed in Shengjing!"
The banquet was set up here to take advantage of the scenery of the chrysanthemum garden, so when he put down his chopsticks to admire the chrysanthemums, no one at the table found it strange. Prince Jing even echoed his words, praising the chrysanthemums of the Sheng family. It was perfect to be able to forget the embarrassing scene of Princess Jing earlier by indulging in some refined pursuits.
At this moment, Wei Shuwan walked over and bowed to the people at the table. She knew that His Highness the Crown Prince was among them, so she did not dare to look up and take a closer look. She only caught a glimpse of a group of people sitting in front of her and a tall, slender figure standing by the window.
Because he often interacted with Sheng Yun, Sheng Gong was not unfamiliar with her. Stroking his white beard, he asked with some surprise, "So the person who was standing behind the screen just now was you, girl?"
Wei Shuwan nodded and then pursed her lips tightly.
She hadn't said anything, nor had she shown any sign of distress, yet Duke Sheng suddenly understood the crux of the matter. Not only Duke Sheng understood, but Prince Jing understood as well.
Even the person with his back to the banquet suddenly remembered that the girl had said that she had offended the Prince Jing's mansion and was worried that he would be targeted by the Prince Jing's assassins.
No wonder she was made things difficult by Princess Jing today.
Finally, Master Sheng sighed, and with the kindness and tenderness of an elder, said, "Go and rest now."
"Hmm," Wei Shuwan responded softly, then raised her face with a smile, but dared not look around, only focusing her gaze on Sheng Gong.
Her voice was clear and melodious, like a sweet spring: "I haven't yet wished you a happy birthday, Master Sheng. May you live a long and healthy life, with endless happiness and joy, and may you have many more birthdays like this one!"
"Good child, go on your way~"
Duke Sheng smiled indulgently, which Wei Shuwan found far more sincere than her own cheap grandmother.
Li Qingchen stood by the window, watching the young woman's figure leave Huai Ren Pavilion and then appear outside the window, right in his field of vision.
She looked around first, and seeing that no one was watching her, she slowly strolled to the wall and dug a small hole in the ground with her toes. Then, with a flick of her sleeve, some light, airy substance spilled into the hole, and she filled it back up with her foot.
Is it incense ash?
Li Qingchen glanced at her and naturally guessed that the Princess Jing's public embarrassment was her "masterpiece".
It was clearly an extremely wicked trick, yet for some reason, Li Qingchen's lips slowly parted, revealing a satisfied smile.
"Young Prince, what brings you such joy? Why not share it with everyone?" Before anyone knew it, Prince Jing had also walked to the window with a wine cup, standing shoulder to shoulder with Li Qingchen, looking outside as if trying to figure out what interesting thing the naturally aloof and arrogant Prince Qiaochuan had seen.
Disturbed by him, Li Qingchen also came to his senses. He turned to face the puzzled Prince Jing and casually said, "I just saw that the phoenix with its wings spread wide was being raised by Duke Sheng and looked so rich and festive."
I can't exactly tell him the truth: the most interesting thing today was his princess.
*
As soon as Wei Shuwan stepped out of Huai Ren Pavilion, Zi Qiao and Miao Xiang immediately came up to her, grabbing her arms and examining her closely with worried expressions.
Wei Shuwan simply spread her arms and turned around to show them, then laughed and said, "How about it? Isn't it all intact?"
Amused by her words, the two maids finally smiled. Miaoxiang quickly said, "I'll go and inform Madam right away, so she won't worry about you, Miss."
"Go quickly, young lady, I'll take care of things here."
Zi Qiao smiled and watched Miao Xiang walk away. Then she took Wei Shuwan's hand, applied the perfume she carried with her, and gently rubbed it in. She said with concern, "You usually never touch anything heavy, but today you were made to carry an incense burner for half an hour. Your hands must be exhausted."
Wei Shuwan opened her palm and let her massage her, playfully comforting her, "It's alright, didn't Princess Jing also get her retribution?"
When the Princess Consort of Jing was mentioned, Zi Qiao chuckled. "Miss, you didn't see it. Just now, when the Princess Consort of Jing was being carried out, it happened to be the time when Old Madam Sheng was being led out of the Buddhist hall. The noble ladies from various families were surrounding Old Madam Sheng as she passed by. Who knew that she would run into the Princess Consort of Jing..." As she spoke, Zi Qiao couldn't help but chuckle again.
"Those noble ladies appeared to be worried and concerned about Princess Jing, but I could see clearly that they were all trying their best to suppress their laughter!"
"Isn't it a coincidence? The more she tried to show off, the more she made a fool of herself in front of everyone!"
Zi Qiao chatted and laughed excitedly, and Wei Shuwan also chuckled, but her laughter was different from Zi Qiao's carefree one; it was tinged with wisdom.
"It's not just a coincidence; it's someone who's deliberately timing things."
"What do you mean by that, young lady?" Zi Qiao tilted her head and looked at Wei Shuwan, puzzled.
"Previously at Huai Ren Pavilion, after Princess Jing fell asleep, I saw the maidservant next to Madam Sheng hurriedly leave, as if she was going to do something extremely urgent."
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