“Lanning, help Eldest Young Lady Ya up.” Ning Xueyan’s eyes were unfathomable. A beautiful gleam was dancing in her pupils. Like the surface of a lake in autumn, those eyes were beautiful but cold.
Lanning answered her master’s command and helped Ya Moqin to her feet.
It went without saying that Ya Moqin wouldn’t struggle at this time. She covered her face with her handkerchief, putting on a show of remorse as if she was truly sorry for her slip of tongue earlier. She acted as if she had misspoken out of agitation.
Behind her handkerchief, a resentful smile appeared on her face. Ning Xueyan had no choice but to let her off now, but she would never let Ning Xueyan off.
However, what Ning Xueyan said next turned her legs soft. She nearly fell.
“Eldest Young Lady Ya, please leave and get some rest. I’ll forgive your slip of the tongue. The imperial family requires their daughter-in-law to be magnanimous, dignified, and respectful. But regular families… Well, beauty would suffice.”
Ning Xueyan looked Ya Moqin up and down, looking even more like a senior observing a junior. Her words, however, caused both Wu Yao and Ya Moqin’s expression to change.
Ya Moqin was betrothed to Ao Mingwan. That would of course make her a daughter-in-law of the imperial family. What did Ning Xueyan mean?
“Your Highness, you…” Ya Moqin said angrily, unable to help herself.
A man should choose his wife based on virtue and his concubine based on beauty. The imperial family had different requirements for their daughters-in-law than ordinary families. Those included in the imperial registry were considered genuine daughters-in-law. But daughters-in-law who were only chosen for their beauty were, of course, the most ordinary concubines without much status.
Ning Xueyan seemed to be in a good mood when she looked at Ya Moqin’s indignant face. A smile appeared on her delicate face as she let out a long sigh. “The Emperor and Empress hadn’t decided how to handle your scandal at Prince Xiang’s Manor, but…”
She didn’t finish her words. Instead, she looked Ya Moqin up and down with a smirk. “You should stay home and rest for now. I believe the palace will send news soon. The Emperor and Empress will decide which family you’ll end up with, Eldest Young Lady Ya.”
Her words were straightforward but full of meaning at the same time. They left quite a lot to the imagination.
Suddenly, everyone turned to look at Ya Moqin in disdain. It had been decided that Ya Moqin would marry Ao Mingwan, and yet it was now undecided who she would end up with. Since she was betrothed to Ao Mingwan, she was Ao Mingyu’s sister-in-law even if only in name.
Yet, she didn’t know who she would marry now. Everyone couldn’t help but recall how she had betrayed her husband-to-be. When they saw how she had the nerve to appear in public, they felt that she was shameless. They didn’t expect a household like Grand Tutor Ya’s Manor to allow something like this to happen.
This felt like a taint on their reputation.
Ning Xueyan was the Crown Princess, so no one thought she would be making up stories. Remembering what was going on in the palace at the moment, a few quick-witted guests felt that Ya Moqin had likely lost the imperial family’s favor. In other words, it didn’t matter which prince Ya Moqin would marry. She wouldn’t be given a place in the imperial family registry.
That meant Ya Moqin would become an insignificant concubine without any status. To Ya Moqin, such a position was the worst kind of humiliation.
Ya Moqin glared at Ning Xueyan, her anger on the verge of explosion. Wu Yao was quick enough to grab Ya Moqin’s hand and give her a look.
“Servants, take Moqin to rest.” Under such circumstances, Wu Yao knew she couldn’t allow the argument between Ya Moqin and Ning Xueyan to continue. The conflict earlier could be chalked up to carelessness. Ya Moqin could be let off with a remorseful apology. But if she were to do it again, Ning Xueyan looked determined to teach her a lesson.
It was said that the soft-tempered Crown Princess, a consort-turned-princess, gave no reason for concern. Wu Yao thought that even if Ning Xueyan wasn’t truly soft-tempered, she would still have to act dignified and even-tempered in front of people.
Little did she imagine that the Ning Xueyan was much fiercer than she anticipated. Ning Xueyan was able to defeat Ya Moqin with a few words and nearly provoked Ya Moqin into an outburst.
Sure enough, she couldn’t take the former Fifth Young Lady of Lord Protector’s Manor lightly. She had underestimated Ning Xueyan. A trace of coldness appeared in her eyes, but she was smiling again as she immediately ordered her servants to take Ya Moqin away, not giving anyone the chance to protest. Ya Moqin’s emotion was entirely under Ning Xueyan’s control. Ning Xueyan could make her angry and happy on a whim.
The situation was unfavorable to Wu Yao. No matter what, she had to pull Ya Moqin out of the situation.
Ya Moqin was still putting up a fight but stopped as soon as she saw Wu Yao looking at her and mouthing the words “Prince Xiang” at her.
She allowed a few maids to drag her out of the banquet.
No matter how one looked at it, Ya Moqin was at fault as a betrothed lady. She couldn’t very well stay here and continue arguing with Ning Xueyan.
In Wu Yao’s opinion, some things couldn’t be rushed. Ya Moqin’s desperateness had caused her to fall into Ning Xueyan’s trap and express that she saw Ning Xueyan writing the poem. Even if Ya Moqin really did see Ning Xueyan writing the poem, she should have pretended that she wasn’t sure. It wasn’t too late for her to speak up after a conclusion was made.
“Your Highness, this is all my fault. You must be frightened. Please take a seat, Your Highness.” Wu Yao’s bright smile was back on her face when she apologized to Ning Xueyan.
Even though Ya Moqin was her niece, she wasn’t present when the conflict happened. It would be inappropriate for Ning Xueyan to blame her.
“You’re too polite, Madam Wu. This has nothing to do with you. I’m sure if you know that Eldest Young Lady Ya was caught in such a scandal, you would have persuaded her to stay away from the public.” Ning Xueyan waved her hand with a magnanimous smile, expressing that she would drop the matter.
Wu Yao, however, looked like she had just swallowed a fly.
Ya Moqin had played host today, welcoming the guests on her behalf. Ya Moqin wouldn’t have done this without her approval. In other words, she had allowed Ya Moqin to appear in public and openly welcome guests even though she knew that Ya Moqin had ruined her reputation and the imperial family had not made any commands.
This could be interpreted as Wu Yao’s disrespect toward the imperial family or even Wu Yao’s poor education. The fact that she treated a woman with a tarnished reputation so well made people doubt her behavior and nature.
“Yes, yes, I’m not too familiar with the details,” Wu Yao said, having no other choice. “Your Highness, let us enjoy the performances next.”
She clapped her hands and a servant immediately invited the first guest performer to the stage. This way, she was able to subtly end the conflict.
The first performer played a zither piece that fitted perfectly with societal norms. It wasn’t a remarkable performance but she was skilled enough that she was considered an expert among average zither players. Her performance was met with applause. Then, with the help of a maid, she got off the stage with a bright smile and returned to her seat gracefully.
The second performer took the stage and then the third…
The young ladies and madams put on all sorts of great performances, including dances, calligraphy, guzheng pieces, and zither pieces. It was apparent that they were the inheritors of hundreds of years of impressive legacy.
The famous scholars nodded repeatedly at these performances to express their approval of Madam Wu Yao’s extraordinary banquet. Even the more mediocre of performances would be considered awe-inspiring outside this banquet.
“Your Highness, listen to this zither piece. It’s being performed so beautifully. It sounds like heavenly music. It’s truly impressive that such a young lady would be so skilled,” Commandery Princess Muling whispered to Ning Xueyan.
The young lady on stage was the eighth performer of the day. She seemed bashful as she played the zither with red cheeks. Even so, her zither piece sounded as natural as flowing water. One could taste the beauty of zither from her sound.
Most performers played the zither. Though there were other performances too, there were only a handful of them. Suddenly, the banquet turned into a competition of zither playing.
That was why Commandery Princess Muling said so.
“Yes, it’s really well-done.” Ning Xueyan nodded. She glanced at her zither case, which contained the Mark of the Moon.
Drawn to the zither case by Ning Xueyan, Commandery Princess Muling smiled and asked, “Are you playing the zither too?”
Ning Xueyan nodded. She glanced at her zither case again, with a little unease in her eyes this time. She looked as if she lacked confidence in herself. If one were to recall the Crown Princess’ life, one would immediately understand why she would be so uneasy. It was a mystery if her zither performance would gain everyone’s approval with so many zither performances before her.
“Don’t worry, Your Highness. With the Mark of the Moon on your side, I’m sure your zither playing will surprise everyone,” Commandery Princess Muling said kindly, seemingly trying to bolster Ning Xueyan’s confidence.
Ning Xueyan hesitated for a moment before saying, “I’m still afraid… I wouldn’t be able to perform well.”
“It’s all right. All you have to do is perform a zither piece that people aren’t unfamiliar with. That will attract all of their attention. I’m sure you can come out on the top if you play carefully.”
Commandery Princess Muling smiled.
The eighth performer stepped down midway into their conversation, leaving the ninth performer to take the stage. It would be Ning Xueyan’s turn next. Several maids hurried toward Ning Xueyan. They were there to invite her to the stage under Wu Yao’s order.
Ning Xueyan nodded. She brought Lanning and Qingyu with her, leaving Xinmei standing near her seat.
After seeing Ning Xueyan leave, a nearby maid quietly made her way to the men’s seat with a new bowl of fruits. Xinmei had long taken notice of this maid under Ning Xueyan’s hint.
The maid had been carrying the new bowl of fruits for a long time but she didn’t enter the women’s area and serve it to the female guests. Instead, she went to the men’s area.
On the surface, there wasn’t anything strange about her. However, there was a straight path to the men’s area, allowing servants to serve the fruits directly to the male guests. The bowl of fruits shouldn’t be coming from this direction.
Xinmei looked around before stepping out quietly, withdrawing from Commandery Princess Muling’s sight. Then, she walked toward the men’s area as well.
Many maids were walking around. Ning Xueyan had also brought two of her maids to the stage area, drawing much of the attention with her. No one noticed that she left Xinmei behind…
