บท 5: Chapter 5-Banquet Part 2
A ray of light hit the entrance. The shadow of a petite figure appeared. She took one step in, blocking the light.
In a light doubled layer yellow tunic, she slowly walked in. Her hair was in two braided loops, adorned with yellow butterflies on each side. Gold jewelry was placed all around her neck and wrist.
Everyone in the room had to hold in their laughter. They couldn't believe what they were seeing.
Who in the world was bold enough to wear yellow upon yellow? The way she stuck out was too vigorous, even tacky. "How can a princess dress like that? Does she not know what shame is? How tasteless?" Many things were going through everyone's mind. But with every step she took, the closer she got, the more breathless they became. Some of the younger men had to rub their eyes and blink a few times before staring dumbfounded once more.
"A beauty." One gentleman whispered what all the other young men were thinking.
Even under such a hideous outfit, Da Ying's exquisite face could not be hidden. Her round almond eyes, pointed nose and rosy red lips...no matter how low she dressed, it could never take away from her beauty. *
The young men stared but the beauty was not fazed. She continued to walk down the middle of the hall; stopping a short distance from her father. Da Ying gently bowed. "May your majesty live a long and healthy life." She first greeted and then proceeded to go on. "My apologies for being late. I had a hard time deciding what to wear. I must thank Mufei for sending me such a beautiful outfit." Her eyes smiled brightly at Empress Mei Wu sitting next to the emperor. "Hope that your majesty will not find mistake in me."
Empress Mei Wu clenched her hands. If anyone speculated she wanted to turn her stepdaughter into a laughing stock, her reputation would be ruined.
"Ying'er, it's good that you are here now." Empress Mei Wu quickly changed the subject. "No one will blame you. After all, you spent such a long time for such a unique outfit." The empress could hardly hold in her laughter as she looked at her. "I must thank mother for giving me such a beautiful outfit once again." She was about to retort Da Ying's words when the emperor stopped her. "Ying'er, since you are here now, have a seat and enjoy the night."
"Yes," Da Ying bowed before taking a seat in the far corner, away from the rest of the girls who were giving her looks of ridicule as she passed.
Ban Shiang wanted to slap each and every one of them but remembering her gongzhu's warning to stay still, she could only hold in her anger. "Look at her. How embarrassing." One girl next to Yueli said. The rest laughed and added remarks, insulting Da Ying. It was loud enough for the group including Da Ying to hear.
Some of the girls were watching her face, eagerly waiting for her to feel embarrassed. When she didn't react, they got annoyed.
Instead of defending herself, she busily ate the delicacies and meat dishes on her table.
Don't think that you can ignore us, I'll humiliate you tonight, Wen Wan thought as she picked up her wine cup. She directly looked at her mother. Her head nodded slightly and then the empress nodded back.
"Your majesty." Empress Mei Wu gently spoke. "Today is a such a joyous event and we have so many talented ladies in the room. Why don't we let them perform for us?" he rose his brows at the idea. "Good. I would like that."
The young ladies whose eyes were looking at the emperor eagerly waiting for his answer felt their heart race when he agreed. Many of them were thankful they got to attend. The one person they all wanted to attract happened to be there too. It wasn't every day that they would get this opportunity. With this chance, many were hoping to catch the attention of the Duke of Lan, Qin Xie De.
Qin Xie De was Empress Mei Wu's brother's son. He earned his title Duke of Lan after successfully helping aid the Han army in victory over the Xi State many years ago. Known for his cold and silent personality, it was hard for anyone to approach. But even when he was such a cold hearted person, he managed to steal many female hearts in the city with his heavenly good looks. His long black hair was tied in a top knot, held together by a silver crested coronet. His features were sharp, crescent eyes, thick brows, a long nose bridge and lips not too thin.
The Duke of Lan rarely ever attended any events. To see him today... which woman would let the opportunity slip by. Many of the high official daughters danced, played an instrument or sang.
"Jie You, why don't you show us your new sword dance," Consort Yao, her mother suggested. "I'm still learning but am willing to demonstrate." she smiled before standing up confidently. Learning? She had already perfected the dance months ago, it would only make sense since she's been learning for the last two years. Jie You had her maid go to her room and get her two curved daggers. The daggers were stunning at first glance. a ruby jeweled handle and white ribbons tied at the bottom.
Before she started, she made sure to look Xie De's way, hoping he was looking. Only disappointment greeted her. The man did not look up once. As she twirled and danced on stage, with every turn, her eyes stared directly at him. As long as he looked once, she had a chance. With that shred of hope, she continued. Her hopes were finally crushed when the song came to an end.
Wen Wan who was watching Jie You could see how obvious she was. She even laughed in her heart. Her second cousin would never look at a woman, especially someone like Jie You. He was a well known power figure with strength enough to perish a country, so why would he choose someone who only had looks and talents like Jie You?
While all eyes were on Qin Xie De, Wen Wan's sole attention was on the Grand Duke's son, Lui Xi Feng. He happened to be the older brother of Lui Yi, one of the girls who had earlier praised and sided with her. Of all the women Wen Wan hung out with, she truly tried to stay close to Lui Yi.
Since young, she had admired him and dreamed of becoming his future wife. It was only natural that they would become husband and wife in the future. His status was appropriate and matched hers, but she was way too proud to tell her mother to ask for the marriage. "I hear that Princess Wen Wan has a rare talent in the zither. Does Princess Wen Wan mind shedding some peace to our hearts." One official suddenly stood up and asked. Wen Wan blushed lightly before standing up. "I am still learning. If my performance is not good, please forgive me." She smiled and walked to the center stage.
Her natural elegance captured the attention in the room. The whole room went silent, staring at her... all but Da Ying, who was busy stuffing her face.
The first string was plucked, leaving a beautiful imprint on their hearts, [Sky of Butterflies] was the song she played. It was a soft and elegant melody, just like how people perceived her. Her eyes were locked onto Lui Xi Feng's for a moment before turning away from embarrassment. "Good, Princess Wen Wan has shown us the true skills of the zither." She earned many praises from the crowd.
"Ying'er, you've also learned the zither, how about you play us a song," Empress Mei Wu suddenly suggested after Wen Wan's performance. Da Ying who had been busy looking at the table full of food looked up with a faint surprise. Her eyes opened wide and she wiped off the grease from the corner of her moth. Aish, you witch. Embarrassing me once wasn't enough. Fine, I'll play along, Da Ying thought.
"I will have to decline mufei's request. I am still far behind Sister Wen Wan's skills. I will only make a fool of myself. I dare not," Da Ying looked up at the Empress, giving her a pleading look. "Ying'er, you're skills have always been good since young. Come, don't be modest." She added. "Yes, I would like to hear. I've heard great things about you from your sisters." A noble lady in the crowd said. This caused everyone to add in their thoughts. Even though many of the words sounded like encouragement for her to go on stage, it was all false pretense. In their hearts, they wanted to see her fail.
"Fine. But I may be a disappointment." Da Ying was about to get up when Ban Shiang tugged her sleeve. "Gongzhu, this…they are trying to humiliate you."
"I'll be okay." She walked up to the stage and sat down in the center. The air in the room was much different from when Wen Wan appeared. This time, there seemed to be less elegance and more clumsiness.
Da Ying held the zither timidly; even the way she sat and looked showed that she didn't have any confidence in herself. Everyone held in their breath as they prepared themselves for her performance.
She plucked the first string, then another one after another. She continued to play for a few moments more before she was stopped by the empress. "Ying'er. It's okay. You can stop. In the future, learn from your sister Wen Wan." Wen Wan along with her three other sisters looked around the room and felt their confidence go up. Everyone in the room had been trying hard not to comment on the horrid music coming from Da Ying's zither. Wen Wan's lips curved into a smile.
"Sister Wen Wan, looks like that Da Ying must be so embarrassed. I'm so satisfied," Jie You whispered.
"If I was her I would hide my face forever." Yueli added.
"I apologize for my crude playing." Da Ying apologized before she slowly stood up and walked back to her seat with her face looking down at the ground. Not daring to make eye contact with anyone.
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