Chapter 148:
The current dynasty has an open atmosphere, and at palace banquets, His Majesty and the Empress share the festivities with the capital’s high-ranking officials and imperial clan princes, so high-ranking imperial consorts from the harem can naturally attend as well.
The banquet seating has no separation of men and women, and Xie Wanning and Pei Yuqing were led to their seats by an eunuch.
As the nephew whom His Majesty values greatly, he naturally could not be seated too far away, just a few steps up the dais.
Xie Wanning slightly turned her head and saw her aunt, Imperial Consort Shu, smiling and nodding toward her side with closeness and loving kindness in her eyes—who could believe there was truly a conflict of interests, that she could poison her to death without mercy.
Even telling herself not to dwell on the cause of death from her past life, this was after all the first time facing the ‘family’ who was her killer after knowing the truth, so Xie Wanning still felt somewhat unwell in her heart; after barely nodding in salute, she withdrew her gaze.
Who knew that as soon as she turned her face, her gaze unintentionally swept over and happened to meet the person opposite squarely, her pupils involuntarily contracting sharply; this time, Xie Wanning’s complexion was even stiffer than when seeing her killer.
Her heart suddenly skipped a beat, and she hurriedly lowered her eyes, avoiding the gaze sent from opposite.
As early as when leaving home, she had thought that at this palace banquet, she wouldn’t have to see this person again, but unexpectedly, as soon as she sat down, there he was right across when she looked up.
Pei Yuqing noticed her abnormality and raised his gaze, also seeing Lu Ziyan sitting alone opposite; just like that, the two men stared at each other across the great hall as if whoever withdrew their gaze first would be admitting defeat.
The officials around who noticed the movement here were all intimidated by Lu Ziyan’s usual cold and stern demeanor and did not dare to make a sound to disturb.
It was not until a troupe of dancers took the stage and danced gracefully in the center of the great hall, blocking the two men’s line of sight, that it finally ended.
The dances arranged in the palace were naturally exceptionally novel; more than a dozen dancers in exotic attire were soft and alluring, each revealing a section of waist, swaying gracefully; among them, the one in the very center was the most captivating, with a straight nose bridge, deep eyebrows and eyes, and the most beautiful dance posture.
Even Xie Wanning, who had been somewhat distracted, gradually became engrossed in watching.
After one dance ended, everyone praised loudly.
The Emperor laughed, “This is the song and dance presented by Minister Yu; they are Qiang tribe women. If any of you ministers take a liking to them, I can grant them all.”
The surname Yu is not common, and the only Yu-surnamed minister whom the Emperor would address by name was Yu Cheng, the great general stationed at Yan Yun Pass and military governor of Xiangzhou.
Yan Yun Pass is at the Great Khan’s southwest border, beyond the pass are the Qiang tribe who eat raw meat and drink blood; this barbarian tribe that the Great Khan had never taken seriously suddenly invaded a few years ago, their iron cavalry nearly breaching the pass, but Great General Yu Cheng led the army to barely hold it, though the defenses were ultimately greatly weakened.
Though that one invasion did not succeed, the Great Khan did not crush them overwhelmingly, making the Qiang tribe side seem to finally realize that this colossal entity of the Great Khan was not entirely unshakable.
These years, the southwest border has been in constant war, and the Jin Dynasty beyond Yangping Pass in the northern frontier has repeatedly invaded, leaving the Great Khan stretched thin, unable to attend to both head and tail.
Last year, the Lu Ping whom Lu Ziyan went to Yunzhou to capture was colluding with the Qiang tribe, attempting to coordinate an inside-out attack to bring cholera to the Great Khan’s lands.
And now, the ministers in the great hall were all somewhat astonished—these graceful and enchanting dancers were actually people from the Qiang tribe, whom they had always considered uncivilized.
It seemed the Emperor intended to grant them to the officials and had no thought of keeping these exotic dancers in the palace indefinitely.
The various ministers exchanged glances; they would be quite willing to have one or two dancers granted by His Majesty added to their own back courtyards, but they did not wish to leave an impression of being lecherous in front of His Majesty and their colleagues, so even if they fancied one, no one spoke up to be the first to ask.
Xie Wanning’s eyes lit up, pondering whether to take the lead dancer beauty home to dance for her every day, when she heard Pei Yuqing beside her cup his hands upward and say, “Foreign tribes bring cholera to the borders, all thanks to the military generals’ successful campaigns; Your Majesty, why not grant these exotic beauties to the generals who are not yet married.”
As soon as these words were spoken, the hall instantly fell silent.
Everyone knew that in recent years, the Great Khan faced intensified internal troubles and external threats; the military generals were more precious and busier than one another, with the vast majority guarding the borders, a small portion campaigning east and west domestically to stabilize the internal chaos on orders, and the various military governors not permitted to return to the capital without summons.
The great generals with leisure to stay in the capital for the New Year were either plagued by injuries or illnesses, or advanced in age and frail; those currently present at the palace banquet among the officials were at least third rank or above, and moreover not yet married…
Listing these conditions one by one, in the entire hall, aside from Lu Ziyan, there was surprisingly no one else who fit.
Granting women to one’s already adult son—a father would certainly not object.
Thus, the Emperor’s gaze naturally turned to Lu Ziyan, and he smiled, “These dancers—does my royal son fancy any?”
Everyone’s gazes followed the Emperor’s to Lu Ziyan.
The hall suddenly fell quiet, with only the faint music playing in the corner.
Xie Wanning picked up the fruit wine on the table and took a sip, striving to restrain herself from looking over as well.
But Lu Ziyan, the person concerned, was utterly unaffected; seeing everyone looking over, he set down the wine cup in his hand, raised his eyes to look opposite, tugged the corner of his lips into an arc, and said in a lazy tone, “There is one I fancy, but it’s not a dancer.”
The others followed his line of sight and discovered he seemed to be looking at the young lord of Duke Pei’s Mansion, or perhaps at the young lord’s consort beside him.
Thinking again of the relationship between these three, the atmosphere became even more peculiar for a moment.
Lu Ziyan was entirely oblivious and continued laughing, “Since Duke Pei is so concerned about the military generals, why not…”
With a ‘clang’, the light sound of a wine cup smashing onto the table interrupted his words; Xie Wanning’s hand suddenly trembled, and the wine cup in her hand fell, the remaining wine in the cup wetting her sleeve cuff.
Pei Yuqing beside her frowned slightly, took a cotton handkerchief from Er Qing’s hand, held her hand, and gently wiped it.
Lu Ziyan watched this scene, the lazy smile at the corner of his lips fading, his expression darkening frighteningly.
Xie Wanning really couldn’t stand this atmosphere and said softly, “I’ll go change my clothes.”
Imperial Consort Shu at the head heard and turned her head to instruct the granny behind her to lead the way for her.
It was only after leaving the great hall that Xie Wanning finally caught her breath.
Only her outer garment was stained with wine liquid; naturally, she had brought spare clothes for the banquet, and after changing, she was not in a hurry to return and continue facing it.
She thanked the granny who had been waiting outside and said, “You can go back to attend to my aunt; I’ll walk around by myself to dispel the smell of alcohol.”
She had indeed drunk a few cups of fruit wine just now, her cheeks flushed pink and rosy.
The old wet nurse glanced at her, smiled and curtsied, saying, “Then this old servant will take her leave; the weather is chilly, Young Lord’s Consort, just stroll around nearby, and do not linger outside for long.”
After the person left, Xie Wanning stood in place for a moment before walking toward the nearby connecting corridor.
The connecting corridor was brightly lit with palace lamps, each lantern pattern unique; Er Qing followed behind her, yearningly saying, “The lanterns in the imperial palace are all much more exquisite than those in the common folk.”
Xie Wanning turned back to look at her, “Do you like the imperial palace?”
Er Qing quickly shook her head, “I don’t like it, and I don’t like Lu… I don’t like King Zhenbei either.”
This form of address actually stunned Xie Wanning for a moment before she realized that King Zhenbei referred to Lu Ziyan.
She laughed; from past life to this life, only Er Qing had not changed.
What she did not want, Er Qing would follow suit and not want either.
The mistress and servant walked along the connecting corridor for a bit; though it was not snowing heavily like at the end of last year, it was still bitterly cold, and a gust of cold wind blew past; Xie Wanning involuntarily shrank her neck, and Er Qing hurriedly said, “This servant will fetch a cloak for you.”
With that, Er Qing turned and trotted away without waiting for her to speak.
Xie Wanning had actually already gotten enough fresh air and was preparing to return to the hall, but seeing this, she gently shook her head and simply continued strolling.
Though the palace lamps were bright, it was after all nighttime; on the rockery beyond the connecting corridor, under the moonlight, she could vaguely make out a cluster of withered red plums; she suddenly recalled the flower branch she had personally broken off at Qu Cheng Marquis’s Estate last year.
After thinking for a moment, she walked over, planning to pick and choose a few more branches to take back—after all, with the twelfth lunar month passed, red plums were rare again.
Before her hand reached the icy branches, a slender-fingered hand suddenly appeared from the side, directly snapping off the flower branch she had her eye on.
Xie Wanning was stunned for a moment, turned her head to look at the person, and her pupils widened slightly, “Cousin, when did you arrive.”
“Earlier than you,” Ji Chengfeng said, “Which other branches do you want?”
“…” Xie Wanning did not speak.
Ji Chengfeng lowered his eyes to look at her, shook the flower branch in his hand, and said, “It’s quite cold; I’ll pick them for you, to repay the kindness of you reading my palm.”
Hearing this, Xie Wanning nearly choked on her own saliva.
She coughed lowly, and barely said, “You pick for me.”
Ji Chengfeng nodded and earnestly picked several nicely shaped branches from the cluster of withered red plums.
Such a pair of hands meant for holding a brush looked even fairer under the hazy moonlight, and the slender fingers breaking flowers actually looked remarkably good.
Xie Wanning’s gaze unwittingly fell on his face.
This cousin of hers was very handsome, with a tall and straight figure, a gentle and refined temperament, yet faintly showing the unyielding backbone of a scholar…
“What are you looking at?”
The sudden voice startled Xie Wanning slightly; she raised her eyes to meet his gaze, which had lowered at some point, feeling the embarrassment of being caught, and took half a step back before saying, “I just think you have such a scholarly air; you must have read a lot of books.”
Ji Chengfeng was silent for a moment and said, “Passably.”
“…” Xie Wanning was also choked.
If not well-read, how could he be the top scholar of the new imperial exams?
Moreover, his death had made His Majesty weep bitterly; if not a true prodigy of stunning talent, how could one evoke such grief from those in high positions.
“Does Cousin like plum blossoms?” Ji Chengfeng said, “Twice I’ve seen you, both times breaking plum branches.”
“Not particularly; just a momentary whim.” As Xie Wanning spoke, her feet unconsciously stepped back half a pace again, but soon her arm tightened as the person before her pulled it back.
“Be careful,” Ji Chengfeng released her hand and pointed behind her, saying, “There’s a step under your feet.”
Xie Wanning turned to look and indeed saw a very deep step; if she had missed her footing and fallen…
She thanked him somewhat relievedly and reached out to him again, “Give me the flowers.”
Ji Chengfeng avoided her hand and said, “Too cold, and still wet; no need to pass through two hands.”
“You…” Xie Wanning blinked and couldn’t help saying, “Is Cousin this considerate to everyone?”
“…Not really,” Ji Chengfeng pointed to the connecting corridor, “Go up first; the path here is uneven.”
Once both were back on the long connecting corridor, under the bright palace lamp light, Xie Wanning finally saw the dirt and water stains on the hand holding the flower branches.
Perhaps sensing her gaze, he curled his fingers and said, “Do you have a handkerchief?”
Xie Wanning paused, then pulled a cotton handkerchief from her sleeve cuff and gave it to him.
Ji Chengfeng took it and slowly wiped the stains from his palm.
Xie Wanning did not know what to say, and the atmosphere fell silent for a moment.
Suddenly, he said, “Cousin truly reads palms extremely accurately.”
“What?” Xie Wanning had not heard clearly.
Ji Chengfeng glanced at her and said lowly, “His Majesty summoned me the day before yesterday and wishes to send me to inspect the Southern Sichuan area; calculating the days, I should set off in a little while.”
Xie Wanning: “…”
Had she accidentally played the divine stick?
“Do you believe me now?” She cleared her throat and said seriously, “I’ve studied many rare copies and am quite proficient in this art.”
“I believe; Cousin is truly a divine person,” Ji Chengfeng chuckled lightly and extended the hand whose palm was now wiped clean toward her, “May I trouble Cousin to look again: who is that retainer who will betray his lord?”
“…I can’t tell; anyway, I’ve told you everything I should last time,” Xie Wanning said dryly, “If you believe me, nothing will go wrong.”
Stay away from water marshes, beware of retainers betraying their lord…
After thinking, she still reminded once more, “Also, remember to be careful of epidemics.”
She truly did not want to see this person die unjustly in the struggles of officialdom.
At the words ‘epidemic’, Ji Chengfeng’s brow twitched sharply; he lowered his eyes and looked straight at her but said nothing.
Xie Wanning stood very openly, letting him scrutinize; no matter how brilliant he was, he surely wouldn’t see that she had been reborn.
Ji Chengfeng truly could not guess, but he knew this young lady was genuinely concerned for him.
Thinking so, he smiled again and said, “I’ll be careful and dare not disappoint Cousin’s guidance.”
Xie Wanning also smiled.
In the cold wind, on the palace lamp-lit long corridor, one man and one woman stood facing each other; the man handsome, the woman beautiful; from afar with the rockery as backdrop, the scene was simply beautiful like a painting.
When Lu Ziyan came out, what he saw was this scene.
His teeth clenched tightly, his gaze toward those two was darkly inscrutable; he turned to instruct something to the retainer beside him.
Soon, an eunuch approached the two and said something unknown; Ji Chengfeng handed over the plum branches in his hand and said, “I’ll wash the handkerchief clean and return it to you.”
Xie Wanning was stunned and said softly, “How about I wash it myself.”
Even as cousins, a personal item like a handkerchief was not quite appropriate…
But Ji Chengfeng seemed not to hear and had already walked far away.
Watching him leave hurriedly, Xie Wanning was somewhat speechless.
In Lu Ziyan’s eyes, it became her holding the flowers, dazedly gazing at the departing figure, truly making his heart, liver, spleen, lungs all bubble with sourness.
“So reluctant?”
The familiar cold voice quickly brought Xie Wanning back to her senses; seeing the man who had suddenly appeared before her, she shivered.
Seeing this, Lu Ziyan was even angrier, “Am I a man-eating demon? Why every time you see me, it’s like seeing a ghost.”
End of the month, humbly begging for a monthly ticket~~~~
