In the parlor of the backyard, a group of women from the Southern Barbarian Lands were singing and dancing. The dancer in the center wore a light pink dress. The exotic dance dress made her look beautiful and enchanting. With her wink and her faint glance back, she almost had the power to make people crazy. Her twisted waist and hips were extremely charming.
Originally, the prince’s wives and madams didn’t like this kind of dance. Decent legal wives thought that the kind of temptation was superfluous as they hated the skill of seduction. As they thought that there were more or less a few vixens in their manors, no one would appreciate this kind of dance with the purpose of seducing people.
However, the dancing girl in the center gave them a different feeling. They didn’t find her annoying, and even felt that she was as beautiful as a fairy. The fluttering dress, the waving wide sleeves, and the belt around her slender waist were all showing off her soft beauty. When she was rotating, the dress was rolled up like clouds, which was eye-catching.
Everyone’s eyes were involuntarily attracted by the dress that looked both delicate and charming and made the dancer dignified like a fairy from heaven, and graceful like a colorful phoenix. This dress was so gorgeous, and it also showed the dancer’s feminine characteristics. Although the people present had seen many rare and precious treasures, they had never seen such good clothes. When it was unfolded, it was shining brightly. When people looked at it again, there seemed to be colorful lights, and they were all attracted for a while.
“Princess Caifeng, this dress is so beautiful. Is the material unique to the Southern Barbarian Lands?” Mo Yarui asked with a curious look in the bottom of her eyes.
Seeing that all the people present were attracted by the dress, Princess Caifeng nodded proudly, and then replied with a smile, “That’s Cloud Dress, a specialty of our Southern Barbarian Lands. It’s woven with the silk from Colorful Silkworms. As it’s very difficult to raise Colorful Silkworms, there aren’t many such articles of clothing in the entire Southern Barbarian Lands.”
“Colorful Silkworms?” Another madam asked curiously. “Princess Caifeng, can you introduce it to us? What’s the difference between a Colorful Silkworm and an ordinary silkworm?”
“Yes, there are also many different kinds of silkworms in our Qin Kingdom. The cloth made of their silk also has different characteristics and is also very precious.” Another madam was unconvinced and said.
As a result, more people’s attention fell on the Cloud Dress. It looked more attractive when the girl danced. All the people present were women, and most of them were young ladies. When they saw the colorful Cloud Dress, they couldn’t help but feel curious and asked Princess Caifeng to explain.
However, at this moment, Princess Caifeng put on airs. She pointed at the Cloud Dress below, covered her mouth and said with a smile, “Madams, take a closer look. I want to see if you have good eyes. When I explain it to you later, you can tell something special about the Seven-colored Cloud Dress.”
Princess Caifeng’s words immediately aroused the interest of the ladies. No one would admit that they were ignorant or short-sighted. So they carefully looked at it and tried their best to discover things that others did not notice. In this way, they would look good. Otherwise, if they did not know anything, they would be at a disadvantage in front of others.
At this moment, there were also several prince’s wives, princesses, and madams present. They had to do something to grace them.
Mo Xuetong leaned back on the big chair behind her. She glanced around with her watery eyes. You Yue’e and Mo Yarui were sitting on either side of her. Mo Yarui watched in high spirits, but You Yue’e was droopy, as if she was out of spirits.
In the past, when You Yue’e saw Mo Xuetong, she was always full of fighting spirit. But now, it made people feel as if she was ageing. Her eyes did not fall on the dancing girl. She slightly tilted her head and talked to Ling Mingyan, who was sitting behind her. They spoke in a very soft voice. Ling Mingyan seemed to have said something to You Yue’e, and the latter shook her head.
Ling Mingyan wanted to say something more, but You Yue’e shook her head to stop her!
The Sixth Princess and Princess Caifeng were seated together. Both of them were of the same status, and they were also of the princess who was going to marry into another country. Originally, the banquet should be held by the Sixth Princess. But now that Princess Caifeng had held it, the Sixth Princess would naturally attend. Regardless of whether she was satisfied in private or not, they were both princesses of a country. They still had grace.
Hu Qianyue sat beside Princess Caifeng. Her face was pale, just like You Yue’e’s. However, she was much more energetic than You Yue’e. She chatted with Princess Caifeng in a low voice from time to time. Princess Caifeng refused to reveal the secrets of the Seven-colored Cloud Dress. A few madams and young ladies sitting below her asked her a few questions, but she refused to answer with a smile.
She was now playing the role of a subordinate of Princess Caifeng very well. She was neither humble nor arrogant. She didn’t steal the show. She had a smile on her face, and no matter who looked at her, she would nod with a smile. Compared with the proud Princess Caifeng, Hu Qianyue was more approachable and more likely to win people’s favor.
The smile on Mo Xuetong’s lips grew even gentler when she saw how kind Hu Qianyue was and thought about how arrogant she was when she had seen her for the first time.
Princess Caifeng was not the only one who had changed. Hu Qianyue was no longer the same as she had been when they first met…
Finally, those madams couldn’t see any special about the dress, and they all urged Princess Caifeng to talk about the beauty of the Seven-colored Cloud Dress. After she had put on airs for enough time and saw everyone’s gaze at her, Princess Caifeng gave a slight cough with satisfaction. She picked up the cup of tea on the table and slowly took a sip.
Then she explained with a smile, “This Seven-colored Cloud Dress can not only change color, but also change seven colors. Since we are in the room, it couldn’t produce a lot of colors. When we are in the sun outside, we can see different colors from different angles, as if a person is wearing seven Cloud Dresses. The Colorful Silkworm is unique to the Southern Barbarian Lands. It only eats the Colorful Mulberry Leaves in the Misty Valley. This kind of Colorful Mulberry Leaves can only be found in the Misty Valley in the entire Southern Barbarian Lands.”
“And there aren’t many Colorful Mulberry Leaves. They only grow on a small patch of land. That is to say, all the Colorful Silkworms in the Southern Barbarian Lands spin silk for one year, and the cloth could only make half of a Cloud Dress. The dress made of this kind of cloth not only makes the woman charming and gorgeous, but also is warm in winter and cool in summer. The female body is cold. With such a piece of dress warming the body, some minor diseases will naturally be eliminated.”
Hearing the crowd’s exclamations and looking at their surprised eyes, Princess Caifeng became prouder and prouder. She glanced sideways at the Sixth Princess, who was sitting beside her with a gentle smile. She noticed that the Sixth Princess looked calm, but there was still a little eagerness in her eyes. She looked at Hu Qianyue with satisfaction. She knew that no woman could resist such beautiful clothes.
Moreover, the Seven-colored Cloud Dress had the effect of being warm in winter and cool in summer. The Empress would not have been willing to give her the cloth to make clothes if it had not been for this marriage.
Hu Qianyue didn’t respond to her as she was talking to a madam with a low smile, as if she didn’t see Princess Caifeng’s aggressive look at all.
“Princess Caifeng, why did you give such a precious dress to a dancing girl?” After hearing Princess Caifeng’s words, a madam looked at the dancing girl below and could not help but ask in confusion.
In her eyes, only Princess Caifeng was worthy of such a precious dress. It was a waste for a small dancer to wear such a dress. Besides, what made her feel very uncomfortable was that she, a fourth-grade official’s wife, could not wear this kind of dress, but a lowly dancer could have such an enviable dress.
Did it mean that she was worse than a dancing girl?
This idea directly made the madams, who were thinking about the same thing as her, look a little unhappy.
“How can a dancing girl deserve such a dress? It’s the dress of our princess. At the banquet of our Southern Barbarian Lands, if the hostess dances, it will be the greatest respect to the guests. Today, our princess was supposed to dance in person to thank all the madams and ladies. Miss, unfortunately, our princess is a little uncomfortable and can’t dance. But she doesn’t want to neglect the distinguished guests, so she asked the dancing girl below to wear her Cloud Dress and dance on behalf of her. But it’s our princess’s goodwill.”
Hu Qianyue smiled and answered everyone’s questions. Then she reached out and clapped. The music stopped, and she said to the dancing girl in the center, “Go down to take off Her Highness’s Cloud Dress, and send it over.”
“Yes!” The dancer took her leave and was about to change the clothes before sending the dress over.
“There’s no need. Qianyue, she has worn it, and how can you show it to the consorts and princess before it’s washed? Somebody, open my Seven Treasures Box and take out the new piece of Seven-colored Cloud Fabric that Mother gave me.” Princess Caifeng reached out to stop the dancer and asked someone to come over to get what she wanted.
Although the crowd didn’t know what the Seven Treasures Box was, they could tell from its name that it wasn’t a common item, and should be the box that contained Princess Caifeng’s treasured objects. All of them couldn’t help but crane their necks. Compared to the Cloud Dress that had been worn by a dancing girl, the madams and young ladies, who were of high status, were more willing to see that piece of Seven-colored Cloud Fabric that hadn’t been “stained”.
The palace maid who was standing behind Princess Caifeng left immediately.
“Your Highness, the Empress also gave you a piece of Seven-colored Cloud Fabric?” Hu Qianyue asked in surprise. It seemed that she did not expect that Princess Caifeng still had a piece of Seven-colored Cloud Fabric in her hand.
“After the matter of coming to the Qin Kingdom was settled, Mother called me to her palace, and said that Father specially rewarded me with a piece of Seven-colored Cloud Fabric to make a dress. Girls value appearance most. The Cloud Dress made of colorful cloth can not only make me look better than before, but can also strengthen my body. Even in cold days, I don’t need to wear too much clothes. Because the Seven-colored Cloud Fabric is too precious, the other princesses don’t have it, and thus this matter has not been made public.”
Princess Caifeng became even prouder. She narrowed her eyes with a smile on her face.
This was true. The Cloud Fabric was indeed given to her by the Empress of the Southern Barbarian Lands, but it was not specially given to Princess Caifeng. No matter which princess would marry into the Qin Kingdom, the Empress would give it to her to make a dress to express her kindness for the princess. At this time, Princess Caifeng said those words in order to take the credit.
As for how the Sixth Princess would tell the Empress when she arrived in the Southern Barbarian Lands, she didn’t take this on board. Anyway, she was already a consort in the Qin Kingdom at that time. No matter what, it would not involve her. Besides, it was not a big deal. At most, the Empress of the Southern Barbarian Lands would be a little unhappy, but she would not go against her mother’s family because of that.
That was why Princess Caifeng lied so naturally!
Since she was going to give the cloth to others, she couldn’t let others take the credit. Fortunately, Hu Qianyue was sensible today and always tried to flatter her at the right moment, which made Princess Caifeng very satisfied. So she was much kinder when she looked at Hu Qianyue. Hu Qianyue used to be arrogant, but now she lost her power, and she could only be a second consort in the future, so she had to curry favor with her…
