mtlumby2d Chapter 116 Autumn Banquet: Xiao Tong Has Gone Mad
Chapter 116 Autumn Banquet: Xiao Tong Has Gone Mad
Inside the Golden Palace, the positions had already been arranged according to official rank.
Those who received the news quickly noticed Shu Yan beside Shen Sangwan and, with great tact, bowed and greeted her.
"This must be Cen Yan, who followed my elder sister to Wuzhou to treat the plague. Oh, no, she should be called Princess Yuan'an now."
Shen Yuwei led his concubine Xie Qianyun forward to greet them.
Shen Sangwan glanced at the woman behind her and noticed that her face was covered with a thick layer of powder, her eyes were lowered, and she looked timid and submissive, unlike a daughter from a noble family.
She remembered seeing this person at the palace gate last time; he didn't seem this timid then. Why had he become even more frightened after not seeing him for so many days?
"Greetings, His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi."
Shu Yan politely bowed to Shen Yuwei. Logically, since her status was now comparable to that of the Prince of Qi, she was not required to bow.
However, Shuyan still felt somewhat uncomfortable, and besides, her title of princess was bestowed by Shen Yuchen, not that of a true member of the royal family.
As they were talking, Shen Yujing and Lin Wanyi entered hand in hand.
"Yujing greets Your Majesty."
"Oh my god, is Princess Ming about to die? Her face is as pale as a woman who has been dead for seven days."
"That's strange, why do they all seem to be in poor health or something?"
Shen Sangwan gave a professional fake smile and echoed Shen Yujing, then raised her hand and waved gently, "Standing here is probably not very appropriate, please take your seats."
The group bowed to each other and found their seats.
Shu Yan was exceptionally placed below Shen Sangwan, which was clearly arranged by the Empress.
After she sat down, all eyes turned to Shuyan, making her feel somewhat uneasy.
Previously, in Prince Sheng's mansion, she was surrounded by women from official families. Now, with the Empress Dowager, the Emperor, and the concubines of the various palaces all staring at her, she couldn't help but feel a chill.
She kept her eyes down, not daring to look around, but the burning gazes of others made her feel terrified.
"So you are the Princess Yuan'an, personally bestowed by His Majesty? Awan kept praising you to me before, and now that we meet, you truly are an extraordinary woman."
The Empress Dowager turned slightly to look in Shuyan's direction.
Shuyan cupped her hands and bowed slightly to the Empress Dowager, saying, "Your Majesty is too kind. Yuan'an merely assisted His Highness and did his best."
The Empress Dowager smiled and raised her hand to press down. "Please sit down. Today is the Empress's birthday banquet. I heard from Awan that today is also your birthday. When you leave the palace, I will give you a birthday gift."
Shu Yan, who had already sat down, was stunned for a moment. She looked at Shen Sangwan and, seeing that the other party nodded slightly, she got up from her chair and knelt down to accept the greeting.
"Yuan'an thanks the Empress Dowager for the reward."
Although today is Wen Yuening's birthday, the banquet cannot be held because Shen Yuchen is not here.
Around 4:40 PM, Shen Yuchen arrived late. After he was seated, the Ministry of Rites announced the start of the banquet.
Fu'an took the lead, stood at the front, picked up the booklet, and read aloud, "On the occasion of the Empress's birthday, the following gifts are bestowed: one hundred taels of gold, one thousand taels of silver, ten bolts of satin, five bolts of python satin, ten bolts of palace silk, five bolts of spring silk, one coral hairpin with a begonia stem, one sable hat, seven gold-embroidered birch bark phoenixes, one gold-inlaid green peach blossom draped robe, one pair of jade ruyi scepters, one pair of peacock feather palace fans with sandalwood bases..."
(Stretching his neck, he mutters under his breath: Cough cough cough, I... I didn't use any filler words)
Shen Sangwan's mind was buzzing as she listened to the long list of names. She didn't know when she would get to perform in the song and dance. Since Xiao Yanyan was here today, she had to make sure she got to see something.
After Fu'an finished reading, Shen Sangwan felt drowsy, like she was in the middle of the night.
After Wen Yuening knelt down and kowtowed to express her gratitude, the other gifts were handed over to the Ministry of Rites for registration.
Then, the younger family members, ranked from highest to lowest official rank, stepped forward to offer congratulatory remarks.
Feeling utterly bored, Shen Sangwan would occasionally seek out Shuyan for a drink.
The polite remarks lasted for about 35 minutes before they ended.
After the song and dance began, Shen Sangwan frequently winked at Shuyan, urging her to look at the beautiful women. However, the other woman didn't even dare to lift her head and just kept eating the food in front of her.
Finally had to give up.
"Hmph, if Xiao Yan Yan won't watch, I'll watch it myself."
She hadn't had a chance to see it before, but today, after finally being brought into the palace, she managed to resist looking.
Shen Sangwan's eyes never left the dancers after they came out.
So much so that they didn't even notice the anger that had already crept onto Wen Yuening's face.
【My lord, do you think Princess Ming is beautiful?】
Xiao Tong clearly sensed the change in Wen Yuening's anger level and deliberately provoked her master to add fuel to the fire.
Shen Sangwan didn't take Xiaotong's sudden resurrection seriously. Following her words, she looked down at Lin Wanyi and said without hesitation.
[Great, fair skin, beautiful face, and long legs—]
[Stop, stop, stop! Isn't that the kind of phrase you used to praise the Empress?]
[Ahem, then let's say I'm delicate and soft-spoken—]
[That seems to be the same phrase you used to praise the Empress.]
"That looks good, it looks good. Why did you suddenly ask that?"
【My lord, let's just say that Princess Ming always appears injured whenever she sees you, she must be suffering terribly. Why don't we, for the sake of her beauty, take her from Prince Ming and rescue her from this predicament?】
Shen Sangwan wondered if she had misheard. What nonsense was being talked about?
【Also, my lord, look at that concubine of Prince Qi. Prince Qi is notoriously tyrannical. She must be suffering every day in his residence. Why not take her into the princess's residence, considering her good figure? Saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda.】
〖......〗
Hearing this, Shen Sangwan was completely speechless. Had Xiaotong gone mad today?
[By the way, didn't the system issue a mission a couple of days ago to recruit He Wenjin? That guy clearly has designs on the Empress.]
The Empress is such a wonderful woman. Why don't you talk to your younger brother and make the first move to marry her into the Princess's household?
Wen Yuening, whose anger was rising rapidly, had her temper instantly extinguished when she heard Xiao Tong ask Shen Sangwan to marry her.
Xiao Tong secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Luckily, he was quick-witted and almost got himself killed.
Do you want to hear what nonsense you're spouting?
Did you take the wrong medicine today, or is there a system malfunction? Have you lost your mind?
Given the current state of things, with so many unresolved problems, how could she possibly marry Wen Yuening?
Perhaps they're digging their own grave because they think they're living too comfortably!
Wen Yuening, sitting in a high position, stared intently at Shen Sangwan, as if she wanted to bore a hole through him.
His face was like a chameleon, changing from cloudy to sunny in an instant.
Shen Sangwan belatedly sensed a cold light approaching her and glanced at Wen Yuening.
Seeing the other person raise their glass to her, she responded somewhat guiltily, smiling as she drank it down.
"Xiaotong, why does the Empress's smile look so sinister? I'm scared."
[My lord, the Empress does not eat people.]
Xiao Tong sat in the corner with a serious expression and spoke loudly, it was unclear whether she was trying to embolden herself or Shen Sangwan.