Kapitel 3: Palace Banquet
Redakteur: Atlas Studios
At the palace banquet, she was pushed into the lake. When she was in a daze, someone pulled her back.
When she was carried ashore by the Prince, the shore was already surrounded by people. In an instant, all kinds of gazes shot at her head, as if wishing they could cut her into pieces.
Her wet clothes clung to her. The lake water in April was still cold, and she couldn't help but shiver.
Suddenly, her body felt warm and a manly cloak fell on her.
Just as she was about to thank him, she heard everyone exclaim. Looking in the direction of the voice, everyone saw the gentle Crown Prince not far away, carrying Prime Minister Su's eldest daughter, Su Qing, and slowly walking ashore.
They were both saved from falling into the water, but everyone looked at Su Qing kindly and teasingly.
It was because she was the amazing and talented Su Qing, the Crown Prince's childhood sweetheart.
Shen Mingjiao saw that Su Qing was also wearing a purple dress.
Then she looked at the Prince's cold expression. She instantly realized that the Prince had saved the wrong person.
The matter had already happened. In the end, the Emperor stepped forward to bestow the two of them with marriage. The difference was that Su Qing was the Crown Prince's first consort, while Shen Mingjiao, an orphan daughter without parents, could only be the side consort of the Prince. Also, this was on account of her parents sacrificing their lives for the people.
After marrying into the Prince's Mansion, she thought that others would make things difficult for her. After all, without her, the Prince might have been able to marry the true love that he had been longing for.
Unexpectedly, as soon as she entered the residence, the Prince hurriedly summoned her to the border. Everyone in the residence was very respectful to her and they did not treat her less seriously just because she was obviously not favored. The head butler of the residence even quickly handed over his authority. His attitude was like he was throwing away a hot potato.
Shen Mingjiao took the thick stack of account books in a daze. Before a noble lady got married, she would be taught all the cooking requirements by her elders. However, she was just a nobody in the Duke Mansion, so naturally, no one thought of teaching her these things.
Hence, she began to frantically take over the internal and external affairs of the mansion. As she busied herself, the pent-up emotions that she had accumulated over the years gradually became clearer. The days of walking on thin ice in the Duke Mansion seemed to have passed.
After a year, Shen Mingjiao gradually adapted to life in the Imperial Residence. Every day, she shopped and listened to music. Her days were very happy!
The Prince, Feng Lisheng, never returned because of the tense border relations with the neighboring countries. The people in the Prince's Mansion were afraid that she would be sad, so they always reported the Prince's whereabouts to her immediately.
However, Shen Mingjiao wished he would return later. It would be best if he could take in eight to ten concubines outside, as long as he did not cut off her expenses.
After a few months, the Prince finally returned. Shen Mingjiao was a little nervous.
The Prince brushed past her expressionlessly, as if she was not in the Prince's Mansion at all.
Shen Mingjiao was overjoyed deep down, but she did not show it on her face. It's great to be ignored! As long as it didn't affect her luxury and enjoyment, he could ignore her however he wanted.
Hence, she continued to eat and drink heartlessly. In her spare time, she held a tea party or invited a few friends to the villa to avoid the heat and soak in the hot spring. Her days were simply wonderful.
After ten years, the Prince still did not marry the main consort. Outsiders said that although she looked glamorous as a secondary consort, she had been suffering in secret.
Shen Mingjiao smiled. If the Prince wanted to protect his chastity, she would let him do so. This way, they would be able to get married without sacrificing their bodies. The Prince was definitely a great husband!
In the 25th year of Jinghe, Prince Yu forced the prince to leave the palace. She and a group of women were trapped in the palace. In the chaos, she was shot in the chest by the rebel army.
Retracting her thoughts, Shen Mingjiao picked up a piece of lotus wine pastry and put it into her mouth. Her beautiful eyebrows furrowed. Haitang asked curiously, "Miss, is it not delicious? I heard from the waiter of Yongfang Restaurant that this is their signature snack."
"It's alright! The skin isn't firm enough."
With that, she stuffed the box of lotus wine pastry into Haitang's hand.
Haitang quickly ran away with the box happily.
In fact, Yongfang Restaurant's pastries were considered top-notch in the capital, but they were still inferior to the pastry chefs of the Prince's Mansion.
Shen Mingjiao leaned lazily against the newly bought chair. She couldn't help but feel a little worried.
If possible, she still wanted to follow the trajectory of her previous life and attend the palace banquet. Then, she would fall into the water and be accidentally saved by the Prince and continue her widowed but luxurious life.
However… when she thought about how she got along well with the Prince later on in her previous life, it seemed a little inappropriate to watch him miss his true love!
But she was really unwilling to let go of such a good man like the Prince. It was really difficult to find such a capable and wealthy husband who required so little effort from her!
…
Soon, it was time for the palace banquet. When Shen Mingjiao arrived, Madam Li, Shen Mingyan, and the fifth daughter of the third branch, Shen Mingyao, had already arrived.
However, when they saw her, they were all stunned.
The girl who walked over against the light was wearing a light purple dress with golden branches. Her black hair was tied up and there was only a simple plum blossom silver hairpin inserted into her hair.
Compared to the few people sitting around her, her attire could be considered shabby. Even so, the moment she appeared, everything around her seemed to have dimmed.
The woman was only 28 years old, but she had a beautiful oval face that overwhelmed the crowd. Her eyebrows were jade-green, and her lips were red without any makeup. It really depicted what snow-white skin and flowery appearance were.
Her face was not covered in makeup, but it was more gorgeous than her with makeup on.
She had a pair of seductive peach blossom eyes and a red mole at the corner of her right eye, which added a hint of charm to her originally beautiful facial features.
Shen Mingyan lowered her eyes and subconsciously clenched her fists.
Madam Li stared at the girl's towering chest and slender waist. When she thought of that face in her memory, her eyes could not help but reveal disgust.
As expected, the mother and daughter were the same. They were born to attract others seductively. She had misjudged them all these years!
She glanced at a few people and said calmly, "Since everyone is here, let's go!"
The few of them got into the carriage. Shen Mingjiao rested her chin on her hand and looked at the bead curtain that swayed from time to time. The carriage passed through the lively market, and she silently counted down to three, two, and one. As expected, a strong smell of stinky tofu assaulted her face. She subconsciously swallowed her saliva.
The familiar smell of Ma family's stinky tofu!
Shen Mingyao stared at Shen Mingjiao's slightly moving red lips. The handkerchief in her hand had long been twisted into a fried dough twist.
Originally, she had the best looks among the younger generation of the Shen family. However, now that she was standing in front of Shen Mingjiao, her originally delicate and charming face was instantly compared to a little cabbage.
Although she was upset, she put on a concerned expression and asked gently, "Is Fourth Sister feeling unwell?"
The carriage was getting further and further away from the food stores. Shen Mingjiao wrinkled her nose regretfully. When she heard Shen Mingyao's words, she pointed at her beautiful face and raised her eyebrows in confusion. "I look so good. How did Fifth Sister see that I'm not feeling well?"
Shen Mingyao's face stiffened. Then, she bit her lip and lowered her head with an aggrieved expression. "I'm sorry! It's… I said something wrong…"
Her voice was sorrowful and her actions were smooth.
Shen Mingjiao rolled her eyes in boredom. She didn't feel any sense of accomplishment from dealing with such a beginner little white flower.
Unfortunately, someone else did.
Shen Mingyan looked at Shen Mingyao's aggrieved face and said disapprovingly, "Fourth Sister, Fifth Sister is just concerned about you. She doesn't mean anything else."
Shen Mingyao tugged at Shen Mingyan's sleeve. "Third Sister, stop it. I don't know how to speak…"
"It's fine. We're all sisters…"
"Third Sister, your clothes are so beautiful today…"
"Third Sister…"
As if to ostracize Shen Mingjiao, Shen Mingyao pestered Shen Mingyan with questions.
Shen Mingyan didn't know if it was because she was ignorant or something else, but she answered the other party's questions very patiently, like a caring sister.
While the two of them were chatting and laughing, Shen Mingjiao was still sitting opposite them.
She pretended not to know about the fake sisters' performance. It was fine as long as they were happy.
Shen Mingyan talked to Shen Mingyao, but from time to time, she would glance at the pretty figure sitting opposite her. She stared at the light purple dress on the other party's body, and her eyes were dark.
Actually, she was not the original Shen Mingyan. She had come from the modern era.
-- Geschenk
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