Through the thin muslin veils, they could see a tall man through the holes in the walls of the courtyard.
Although he gave off a gloomy aura, that exquisite face looked like it had been sculpted by the heavens, as if he had come straight out of a painting.
He had upturned eyes and the space between his brows was slightly wrinkled. His elegant hands moved as if they were plucking at their heartstrings.
The young man was dressed in blue from head to toe, with an azure brocade robe and a darker navy cloak. There was a jade amulet hung at his waist and a crown tied in his hair. He looked like a brilliant and noble man.
The way he carried himself dazzled the eyes of most of the ladies there.
Pan Nianzhen was staring with her eyes wide herself and it took her a long time to regain her senses.
It was the first time she had ever seen such a good-looking man.
Excited snippets of chatter filtered into her ears.
“Sir Xiao!”
“He’s the top scholar this year!”
“Old Duke Ying must be proud.”
……
Pan Nianzhen soon found out what that man was called— Xiao Bojian! He had been a talented student in the Imperial College and was now a rising official in the court!
A promising youth! With looks beyond measure!
In this short moment, Pan Nianzhen had already fallen for Xiao Bojian.
Although Xiao Bojian was on the other side of the courtyard wall, he could hear the excited discussion from the young ladies on this side. He cast a casual glance their way. His gloomy expression and perfect features made him seem like an abnormal person, but the noble misses loved that type of air somehow.
Perhaps due to complete coincidence, Xiao Bojian’s gaze paused in Pan Nianzhen’s direction for a second.
Pan Nianzhen felt her heart leap out of her chest at that look.
She quickly pressed a hand on her chest. Even after Xiao Bojian had taken a seat with his back to them, she was still staring at him dazedly for a long time.
This caught Royal Princess Duanjia’s attention and she frowned, “Who is she?”
Her handmaid, Jinxiu, looked to where the princess had focused before bending down and whispering into her ear, “Replying to Royal Princess, she’s from House Jing’an.”
Royal Princess Duanjia found that strange. She looked at Jinxiu with confusion in her eyes.
“Princess, she’s the daughter of the Eldest Madam of House Jing’an, surnamed Pan. This servant heard that she came to the capital from Siyang just two days ago.”
Royal Princess Duanjia glanced at Pan Nianzhen once again, her brows still furrowed.
She made a mental note of this event and looked towards the courtyard wall as well.
Her next reaction was a light snort. She disliked Xiao Bojian at first sight. He might be slightly better-looking than most men, but he was purposely acting in such a way to tempt young ladies. How shameless!
Although this was a disguised matchmaking party, there were no further incidents.
The noble misses stayed in Plum Pavilion until it was close to midday and they were taken to the banquet by Royal Princess Duanjia.
They had only been sitting in the lunch banquet for a while when good news came from the palace.
Princess Wei was seated at the head of the female guests. Although none of the ladies in the inner court of the palace had come today, the Empress Dowager and Empress had each sent their trusted servants over with gifts. They likely hadn’t come so that they wouldn’t overshadow Princess Wei in her birthday party.
At this moment, Senior Servant Lan was whispering something into Princess Wei’s ear with a smile.
When she was done speaking, Princess Wei’s eyes lit up and she beamed happily and nodded, “When did this news arrive?”
Senior Servant Lan was very happy as well, “The eunuch who delivered the presents from the palace said it himself.”
That meant that the news was practically confirmed and wasn’t just rumour. However, there wasn’t much possibility that it was a rumour anyway. No one would dare to joke with such important matters.
The guests seated below had noticed the joy in Princess Wei’s expression by now.
All of them found it strange. Princess Wei was normally more subdued in everything, even her expressions. It was rare to see her showing her emotions so openly.
Now they all wanted to know what it was that her senior servant had whispered to her that made the princess so happy.
It was Princess Wei’s sisters who understood her the most, in the end.
A middle-aged noble madam dressed in a gorgeous dress, sitting not too far down from the princess, was the first to ask, “I wonder what news has made Your Highness so lively?”
Princess Wei shot a displeased look at the madam who had spoken, “Second Sister-in-Law, are you so afraid that I’ll hide the good news from you?” After saying so, she turned to the hall full of noble ladies, prepared to reveal the news.
“Even if I don’t tell you now, I’m sure you’ll find out when you get home today.”
Everyone exchanged looks, curious about the good news that the princess had mentioned.
Princess Wei gave a restrained smile, “There was news from the palace that the north has come out victorious in the war with the Tuhuns!”
A cloak of silence hung heavy in the air after the announcement, before it burst and gave way to deafening cheers.
Some madams even tried using this opportunity to fawn on the princess, “Your Highness must be a lucky person. Such wonderful news came from the palace today! It’s double the blessings for your birthday!”
Princess Wei usually didn’t like this kind of flattery, but she didn’t speak up this time, only sending a reprimanding look at the madam.
The happiest person amongst the group of noble madams was Matriarch He.
Hot tears spilled over in her eyes. She had been the most worried about Sanlang, out of all her grandsons. This news sent her mood soaring through the roof.
They could finally have a nice and peaceful new year ahead.
On the day of Princess Wei’s birthday, news of the great victory of the northern troops exploded in the capital like fireworks.
The Chengping Emperor was the first to receive the report, of course. He immediately summoned the messenger who had reported the news for a personal audience.
