Chapter 33: Our Outfits Are...Matching!
Wen Wan's birthday quickly arrived. This year, it was held in the Emperor's imperial garden. This wasn't just any birthday; this year was a celebration for Wen Wan becoming a woman; which meant that she was of age to marry. When a girl turned the age of 16, that's when they are considered to be of marriageable age. Wen Wan was in her courtyard full of smile, she could barely contain her anxious heart. She would finally get to be with Lui Xi Feng. As long as he asked for her hand in marriage, she would accept him.
By night time, the garden set up was finally finished. Hundreds of rosewood square coffee tables were lined up on opposite sides, paired with silky red cushions. Pink and blue lanterns lit every corner of the place, illuminating the flowers all around. Everything was well thought of, the bright colors matched with the various types of flowers and ponds around them, making it look like an enchanted flower forest.
Everyone in the palace was in a good mood except for Da Ying. She stayed in her room, looking at herself through the oval bronze mirror. She spent most of her day tending to her flower. It was only about an hour ago that she started to get ready. Her makeup was light; she wore pink eye shadow and a pale pink lipstick. She did not need make up to emphasize her sharp features, she was naturally beautiful already. Her long black hair was down hanging freely. Only the front of her hair was pulled back and tied behind with a white silk sash. Placed on both sides of her hair were two thin lined pearl tassel hair combs. Her simple hair-do matched with the simple white robe she wore.
Ban Shiang picked up the hair comb on the table and brushed Da Ying's hair one last time. "Xiaojie is so beautiful today. Imagine how many young men will fall for you," Ban Shiang smiled shyly. Bai Zhi couldn't help but agree. Even if it was true, Da Ying knew no man would be willing to ask for her hand. The person many of these young men were eyeing was none other than her step sister, Wen Wan. "Let's go," Da Ying didn't pay any attention to the two. She elegantly stood up and walked outside to her carriage.
Back at the banquet, many officials started arriving. The young men were sitting at the far end and the court officials sat closer towards the emperor's seating. On the other side, it was the same, the wives and consorts sat closer and the young ladies gathered in the back. Yue Li and Ying Mei were the first ones to arrive. Yue Li wore a dark blue tunic adorned with gold adornments; Ying Mei wore a pink tunic with floral adornments.
When Da Ying arrived, only about a third of the guests had arrived. Ying Mei and Yue Li felt a little jealous when Da Ying appeared. She was like the living embodiment of an angel. Ying Mei and Yue Li were far superior in looks when compared to many women in the city but when they stood next to Da Ying, they were just so-so. Many eyes were on Da Ying but she didn't seem to care. She placed herself at the very end of the table like usaul. Gatherings between women had always been boring to her, even before she was exiled. Nothing more than women who compared each other and spread rumors.
Everyone who arrived after Da Ying greeted her and then quickly went to find their seats. Not many people would've greeted Da Ying if it wasn't for her princess status. They still had to give her face. The young ladies were being especially obvious; they would half-heartedly bow and then rush over to Ying Mei and Yue Li.
The most annoying thing Da Ying didn't anticipate on seeing was...Qin Xie De wearing matching clothes with her. He stepped into the scene with a long white robe, tied with a three inch silk white belt. It was normal to see people where the same colors, especially white but the belt around his waist was the key difference. It was too identical with Da Ying's, as if they planned to announce to the world they were an item. His white belt was lined with a strip of silver and the center piece was a spiral curved pattern used with gold thread, the same as Da Ying's. His next move made Da Ying want to scratch his handsome face a thousand times. Xie De usually sat in the middle during all events but tonight he stopped…right at the end…across from her. His body was facing her way, with a mischievous smile on his face, he did a slight bow and greeted her. Da Ying grit her teeth, he was doing this on purpose? But why? And how did he find out what she was going to wear? Da Ying turned and glared at Ban Shiang. Ban Shiang walked forward when she felt the tense atmosphere, "Xiaojie, is something wrong?"
"Did anyone follow you while getting my outfit?" Ban Shiang thought about it, she gave the dress design to the shop owner and picked it up four days later. There wasn't anyone suspicious that she recalled. "Not that I know of,"
"Look over there," she moved her chin slightly over to Xie De. When Ban Shiang realized, she didn't know what to do. "Xiaojie, please punish me for my incompetence,"
"Forget it, next time be more careful," Ban Shiang stepped back embarrassed. Xie De didn't have to look to know that Da Ying was looking at him, mentally strangling him. With that thought in mind, he decided to pour himself a glass of wine, lift it up high enough and gave a quick toast to Da Ying. Da Ying also picked up her wine glass and returned his toast. [You want to play with me? I'll end you] were her last words in her mind when she took the wine.
Their toast to each other didn't last long, Chao gongong announced Wen Wan's arrival. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared towards the walkway. An elegant Wen Wan walked in with a lavish yellow tunic. The tunic was made with special silk, even at night the dress would sparkle with any subtle movement. To top off her dress, Wen Wan wore a silver flower coronet with three pearl strands hanging from each end of the coronet. Wen Wan's goal was to outshine everyone, when she walked down to her seat, her eyes scanned all the women secretly and her confidence doubled. She was definitely the most beautifully dressed. The moment she sat down, her eyes shifted toward Lui Xi Feng. He was three seats away from Xie De. Lui Xi Feng, dressed in a simple blue robe nodded his head, greeting Wen Wan when their eyes met.
Once the banquet started, the dancers got on stage and began to entertain in the guess. There was a lively and fun melody going on to match the dancer's moves. At this time, Da Ying had stopped paying attention to Xie De. She was scanning to see if anyone was acting suspicious or looking her way. No one seemed to be acting strange after a while and so Da Ying shifted her attention to her three targets. All three of them were here but they also never looked her way once.
After an hour, a servant whispered something into Grand Duke Lui's ear. The next moment, he stood up and excused himself. The grand duke looked like he was in a rush; Da Ying felt that his actions were strange. She gestured both Ban Shiang and Bai Zhi to her side. "If anyone asks, make up a lie and get me immediately," She slowly slid away from the banquet. Xie De didn't see the Grand Duke leave because his attention was solely on Da Ying. When he saw her whispering to her maids, he felt it was odd. When she slid away, his guess was confirmed, she was up to something. Xie De also slid away and followed.
Da Ying saw the Grand Duke go towards the Summoning Hall but he suddenly vanished. One minute she was following him, the next, she had lost him. Da Ying was running in every corner, trying to find where he could have gone but there were no open paths. She had no clue where he could have gone? Da Ying didn't get a chance to search further when Xie De grabbed onto her wrist, stopping her from making a run. Da Ying turned around and saw the serious looking Xie De look at her. "Who are you looking for?"
"What are you doing here? Did you follow me?" Xie De was used to this Da Ying, who never answers but asks. "What if I did, what are you going to do about it?" Da Ying flung her arm and Xie De lost grip of her wrist. "Are you that anxious that I would do something evil that you had to follow me?" she asked offended. What other reason was there for him to follow her. "I…"
"And why are you wearing that? Just how long have you been following me?" she cut him off. It was already too late to find out where the Grand Duke was, it was better for her to take out her frustrations on Xie De. "HA! Wow, how do I know you weren't the one following me? How should I know why we are both wearing the same outfit? I should be asking you," he gave a loud sarcastic laugh before sighing and accusing her. Xie De did not have the courage to tell her the truth. After An Du told him about her secret meeting with a man, he almost put a huge hole in his study table with his fist. He tailed Ban Shiang to the shop and asked for another of the same set. He purposely wore the same outfit, just in case that "man" escorted Da Ying to the banquet. Of course, he would never admit it, he didn't even know why he was so annoyed that day. Not to mention, his efforts were wasted. That man didn't even show up.
Da Ying couldn't help but cross her arms and glare at him. Why in the world would she want to wear a couple's outfit with him? Did it make sense that she would follow him? It's not like she planned on marrying him, why would she make things more complicated for herself in the future. Wouldn't people suspect? Da Ying didn't want to keep talking about their "couple's" outfit, just thinking about it made her head hurt. There was a much more important matter…what was he doing here? "Why did you follow me?" He was thankful she stopped asking about the oufits. He was afraid if she kept asking, he would get flustered and blurt out his true intentions.
"I was afraid the Empress would do something," Qin Xie De answered her truthfully. After making a guess that his aunt was the person to send the man in black, he was afraid she would do something. That was why he followed her. Even when he was being completely honest, he didn't know that his reply raised the doubts and suspicions in Da Ying. Her thoughts were filled with; why is he suddenly accusing his aunt? What is going on?
"XIAOJIE!" a running Bai Zhi came and interrupted their conversation. "Something big has happened…"
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