Chapter 148: Stealing the Show
Xue Sui gazed at the soft smoke gauze on the red lacquer box, smiling faintly. Suddenly, she heard Guo Yunrong beside her cough softly.
“If I had to guess, this box must contain lychees presented as tribute from Lingnan. I saw the maid carrying the box earlier, and there were water stains on its edge. Lychees are often stored with ice, so this deduction seems quite fitting…”
Lu Xi glanced at her, the corners of her lips curving upwards.
“I’ll guess first.”
She was very confident. Gently stroking the soft smoke gauze with her fingertips, she picked up a wolf hair brush and began to write on the jade slip.
【Southern country’s fine fruits hang from branches, round and lustrous, reflecting the sun’s brilliance】
Before the ink had even dried, she lightly pushed the jade slip towards the Nanny of the Imperial Household Department, her tone laced with a hint of arrogance.
“Such a simple riddle, is it worth the effort?”
The daughter of Imperial Censor Wang quickly chimed in, “Since Second Young Lady Lu is so certain, the box must indeed contain lychees…”
Someone else looked puzzled, “Perhaps it’s bayberries?”
For a moment, all the noble ladies present began to discuss amongst themselves.
They spoke one after another, each with their own theory.
Lu Xi turned her head, her gaze falling on Xue Sui.
“Madam Ping’an, aren’t you going to guess?”
Xue Sui shook her head, “I can’t guess.”
She had just spoken so boldly, and now she refused to answer in the first round?
Lu Xi let out a contemptuous scoff.
Several noble ladies exchanged glances and smiled behind their handkerchiefs.
At this point, more and more people gathered to watch the guessing game.
Many eyes were on Xue Sui, observing everyone as they whispered and chatted, all of them discussing her…
Lu Xi listened and raised an eyebrow.
“If you’re not guessing, then let’s reveal the answer.”
She lifted the soft smoke gauze covering the red lacquer box.
Inside lay a small ice-blue porcelain pillow. The porcelain was fine, the glaze crystal clear, emitting a faint blue light, truly embodying the metaphor of “ice spirit holding light.”
“So it’s a pillow. ‘Ice spirit holding light lies in the brocade palace’—lies? It’s a pillow… Good heavens, it matches perfectly!”
Guo Yunrong clapped her hands and laughed loudly, “It seems none of us guessed correctly. Sister Lu, I’m truly sorry, it’s my fault for being so talkative, I’ve misled you…”
Lu Xi’s expression changed slightly, and she heavily placed the brush in her hand onto the inkstone, clearly displeased.
The Nanny of the Imperial Household Department glanced over.
Two maidservants carried in the second red lacquer box.
The Nanny of the Imperial Household Department announced, “Everyone, please guess the second riddle. The poetic clue is: Golden brilliance shines brightly in the grand hall.”
With the ice-blue porcelain pillow from the previous round as a prelude, the young ladies’ excitement grew even higher, each eager to try.
Some said it was a golden Ruyi.
Some said it was a coral bonsai.
This time, Xue Sui did not hesitate. She calmly took a jade slip, dipped her brush lightly in ink, and swiftly wrote the poetic clue:
【Jade from Kunlun shatters, phoenixes cry, holding pearls, weeping dew until dawn】
Lu Xi’s face changed, and the brush she was dipping in ink stopped.
Xue Sui looked at her, “Second Young Lady Lu, why aren’t you writing?”
Lu Xi’s expression was not good. She forced a smile.
“My answer is the same as Madam Ping’an’s.”
The crowd found it strange but didn’t ask further, shouting loudly.
“Open it, open it, open it!”
The maidservants stepped forward again and lifted the soft smoke gauze covering the second red lacquer box.
In an instant, a gemstone hairpin of a phoenix holding a pearl appeared before everyone’s eyes. The gemstones on the hairpin were dazzling, emitting a brilliant light, as if illuminating the entire courtyard.
However, the tail of the hairpin was clearly engraved with an Imperial Palace emblem—
The entire courtyard erupted in an uproar,
not because Xue Sui had guessed correctly, but because it was a royal tribute.
The daughter of Imperial Censor Wang said, “Last year, His Majesty bestowed marriage upon Princess Ruihe and gifted her an identical phoenix hairpin. Could this one be…”
She did not finish her sentence.
When Princess Ruihe married, she wore this very type of phoenix hairpin. Many present had witnessed it with their own eyes, and a slight reminder was enough to recall it, not to mention the emblem.
Guo Yunrong’s face turned ashen—
Wasn’t this clearly accusing the Duke of Zheng’s mansion of hoarding tribute, or even stealing the princess’s dowry?
Someone was deliberately framing her!
Guo Yunrong anxiously turned her head and questioned.
“Where did this hairpin come from? This was not the prize I prepared.”
Silence fell all around.
Except for the maid, who, terrified, knelt and begged for mercy, no one responded to her question.
Amidst the awkward silence, Xue Sui smiled faintly.
“In the West Market, there are many imitations of all sorts of hair ornaments. What’s so strange about that? Imperial Palace styles are popular, and commoners eagerly imitate them. It’s quite normal…”
She wore an expression of utter nonchalance.
Guo Yunrong immediately cast a grateful glance at her, then reprimanded her maid, “Quickly take this imitation hairpin away and set a new riddle.”
“Wait a moment—” Lu Xi raised her eyebrows, holding the hairpin and examining it closely. She said, “The filigree pattern is clearly the work of an Imperial Palace craftsman. It doesn’t look like an imitation…”
She smiled at Guo Yunrong, “Third Miss, are you trying to destroy evidence and cover your tracks by taking it away?”
The courtyard instantly fell into dead silence.
Were these two young ladies at odds?
Fighting for the position of Crown Princess?
Everyone exchanged glances, not daring to breathe.
Xue Sui glanced at Guo Yunrong’s clenched fist hidden in her sleeve, trembling slightly with anger. She suddenly chuckled,
“Third Miss Guo, I guessed correctly, and the prize belongs to me. Does that still count?”
Guo Yunrong gritted her teeth, “Of course.”
Xue Sui said, “The guessing game is just for fun. I don’t care if it’s an imitation. The item belongs to me.”
With that, she slipped the phoenix hairpin into her sleeve, her expression composed.
“Nanny, please proceed with the third riddle.”
Everyone looked at her in surprise.
Guo Yunrong let out a long sigh of relief.
Lu Xi glared at her with a complex expression.
She didn’t know why Sixth Sister could guess the contents of the box, nor why she was helping Guo Yunrong. The Duke of Zheng’s mansion had refused a marriage alliance with the Xue family, which was an insult to the Xue family. Shouldn’t she hold a grudge?
The Nanny of the Imperial Household Department said, “Everyone, please guess the third riddle. The poetic clue is—Stone marrow of a thousand years eventually turns to snow.”
Lu Xi was about to put pen to paper when she heard Xue Sui speak first.
“Salt crystals condense into a thousand grains of jade, harmonizing all flavors with this power.”
She spoke as she wrote, her brush moving lightly across the jade slip…
As the words fell, she dropped her brush, a step ahead.
Lu Xi gritted her teeth inwardly, staring at her blankly.
“Stone marrow of a thousand years eventually turns to snow” alluded to the formation process of salt mines; it was undoubtedly salt.
But she had bribed the Nanny of the Imperial Household Department, learned the prize beforehand, and secretly swapped the item in the second red lacquer box. Why could Xue Liu guess it?
No, not only did she guess correctly, but she also seemed to have seen through her secret.
Did Guo Yunrong secretly tell her the answer?
Or was there something wrong with that nanny…?
No one gave Lu Xi an answer. Urged on by Guo Yunrong, she had no mind to ponder her words and simply said, “Madam Ping’an has gotten ahead of me again.”
Under everyone’s gaze, she gritted her teeth and said, “My answer is still the same as Madam Ping’an’s…”
One was the same.
The other was still the same.
Wasn’t this a joke?
Guo Yunrong glanced at her, “Open it, open it, hurry and open it!”
The maidservant lifted the soft smoke gauze covering the red lacquer wooden box…
Inside lay a plate of coarse salt.
Before the Nanny of the Imperial Household Department could speak, Guo Yunrong announced loudly.
“Madam Ping’an guessed correctly!”
Several noble ladies chuckled softly.
“She guessed it, but unfortunately, there’s no prize…”
“There is, isn’t there a plate of coarse salt?”
“Why don’t Madam Ping’an take the salt back to cook with?”
Amidst the boisterous laughter, Guo Yunrong suddenly unfastened the jade Ruyi from her waist and placed it into Xue Sui’s hand.
“There is a prize! Why wouldn’t there be a prize? This jade Ruyi is my cherished possession, adding to Madam Ping’an’s cleverness!”
The crowd gasped.
Two consecutive correct guesses, both valuable items!
Some envied, some were jealous.
Xue Sui stole the spotlight, won the prize, and gained a reputation for being exceptionally intelligent, yet she showed no arrogance. She asked Xiao Zhao to accept it, then thanked them and took her leave.
Lu Xi, enraged, followed her and questioned in a hushed voice.
“Xue Liu, what are your intentions?”
From the moment this address left her lips, Xue Sui knew that in Lu Xi’s eyes, she was still the same person from ten years ago, someone she could trample on at will.
Xue Sui smiled faintly, “As I said, you can’t play me.”
Lu Xi gritted her teeth, “Why did you have to interfere?”
Xue Sui looked at her, raising her eyebrows slightly, “Didn’t Second Young Lady Lu invite me?”
Lu Xi was left speechless and said resentfully, “You are a married woman, do you also aspire to be the Crown Princess?”
Only then did Xue Sui understand Lu Xi’s little scheme.
Was it for Li Zhao? Playing dirty tricks?
Xue Sui felt inexplicably amused, her eyes curving into a smile.
“I can’t stand seeing others play these petty tricks and implicating the innocent.”
The atmosphere at the banquet gradually returned to its liveliness, but Lu Xi felt like she was sitting on pins and needles. She used the excuse of feeling unwell and left the banquet early. Xue Sui watched her retreating figure, a faint, cold smile playing on her lips.
As the guests gradually dispersed, dusk had fallen.
Xue Sui changed her clothes and returned. As she passed under the hanging flower gate, she saw Guo Yunrong chasing after her, holding up her skirt.
With a face full of gratitude, she took Xue Sui’s hand.
“Madam Ping’an, I am truly indebted to you today. Otherwise, I would have been unable to defend myself…”
Xue Sui gently comforted her, “Third Miss, there’s no need to worry. Today is your coming-of-age ceremony, it should be smooth and auspicious.”
Saying this, she asked Xiao Zhao to take out the jade Ruyi and return it to Guo Yunrong.
“This jade Ruyi is something Third Miss Guo has played with since childhood. Sixth Sister should not take what others love. Please take it back.”
Guo Yunrong saw her magnanimity and propriety, accepted it with tears, and bowed deeply in thanks.
“Thank you, Madam. If you ever need anything from Yunrong in the future, please do not hesitate to ask.”
Xue Sui smiled faintly.
“I will.”
Getting into the carriage back to their mansion, Xue Yuechen rubbed her temples and sighed softly.
“The Guo family’s affairs are more complicated than I imagined. It was the right decision for Eighth Sister not to marry into their family; with her temperament, she would be devoured without a trace…”
Xue Sui smiled without speaking.
Xue Yuechen lifted a corner of the carriage curtain and looked out.
On the bluestone road in front of the Duke of Zheng’s mansion’s red lacquer gate, carriages from various households were lined up. Behind them were the servants from the Grand Tutor’s Mansion.
“Sixth Sister, do you really think Second Young Lady Lu acted this way purely for personal feelings?”
Xue Sui fiddled with her handkerchief and smiled faintly.
“Perhaps not personal feelings, but personal ambition is certainly true.”
–
Eastern Palace.
Li Zhao sat at his desk, listening to the scout’s report, his phoenix eyes narrowed.
Ever since he learned of the events at the Duke of Zheng’s mansion’s coming-of-age banquet, he had maintained this expression, full of unfathomable meaning.
Lai Fu chuckled twice and leaned closer.
“Master, why are you so happy today?”
Li Zhao played with a smooth thumb ring in his hand, the corners of his lips curving upwards.
“Madam Ping’an is competing for my favor, shouldn’t I be happy?”
Lai Fu almost stumbled.
Madam Ping’an helped Third Miss Guo out of a difficult situation. What did that have to do with the Crown Prince?
