The banquet was held at the Rain Pavilion in the imperial garden. The Rain Pavilion was decorated differently from other places. There was an average-sized lake in the middle and there were two islands next to each other in the lake. At the closest point between the two islands, one could cross between the two with just a step. The slightly larger island was on the left and that was where the male guests were seated. The slightly smaller island was on the right where the female guests were seated.
For everyone's enjoyment, the Emperor and his officials were seated by the lake. Those on the islands were all young people. They would not feel restrained by their fathers and would be able to have fun.
There were a few decorated pleasure boats that traveled between the islands and the lakeside, sending those on the shore to the islands. Because there were not many boats, there were men and women on the boats. The women would be sent to the island on the right
You Yuecheng grew white with rage when he heard what Mo Xuetong said. He shook out his sleeves angrily in disdain and then raged, "You are indeed from the countryside of Cloud City. You don't know any etiquette and are ill-bred." Mo Xuetong hated it when people spoke badly of her mother. You Yuecheng was implying that she did not have a mother to teach her. She looked at him from the corners of her eyes and turned around elegantly. She took two steps away to the side and stood at the railings. A gentle smile appeared on her face as she turned around to say mockingly, "Marquess You, you think that Eldest Sister is the most well-bred, and you admire a woman like her, then why don't you marry her? You'd save her from her current situation. As long as you save her, her well-bred Auntie will definitely thank you. Then, you would get the opportunity to find out where Eldest Sister's breeding came from. Oh, I've made a mistake. If you really marry Eldest Sister,
The Empress Dowager would naturally not turn up. Those at the women's table were mainly the Empress, Imperial noble consorts Su and Wen. Imperial noble consort Su was especially highly regarded because she was King Chu's mother. Meanwhile, Imperial noble consort Wen gave birth to the Sixth Princess. Even though she was of the same rank as consort Su, she was not as highly regarded. Furthermore, she did not seem to be in good health. The sixth princess, who sat beside her would show her concern from time to time. The Empress sat in the middle. Imperial noble consort Su was seated on her right, and to consort Su's right, was the Fifth Princess, who had an arrogant expression on her face. On the Empress' left was Imperial noble consort Wen, and on her left was the Sixth Princess. The Empress seemed like an overly stern woman. She sat in the middle and did not smile. Her eyes swept down the table and landed on the faces of noble ladies present w
"My younger sister is no good and is not worthy of such praise from King Xuan. Furthermore, my younger sister is already promised to someone else. She came to accompany my mother today." Even though You Yuecheng was unhappy, he still smiled as he answered. "Oh, she's already engaged! That's a pity. I wonder if you renege on that?" Feng Yuran did not look away because she was engaged. Instead, he smiled and turned to look at You Yuecheng carelessly. You Yuecheng's expression changed drastically as he stuttered, lost for words. "This..." "Eighth Brother, the reputation of noble ladies are very important. The lady of the Mingguo Manor is a famous talented lady in the capital and has a stellar reputation. Don't joke around and ruin her reputation." Feng Yuxuan smiled as he helped You Yuecheng. He made Feng Yuran's discussion of You Yue'e sound like a joke in just a few words, calming the stirring storm that had been caused by Feng Yuran.
"Third Sister, what poem have you written? Do you want to recite it for us to appreciate?" Mo Xuemin was very pleased when she saw the ladies around them were still washing their hands, and she could not help but ask with a smile. "Eldest Sister, you are joking. How would I know how to write a poem. I only know a few words, I don't even know how to put them together to make a poem. Judging by Eldest Sister's speed, I know that your poem is definitely good. You must teach me if you have time in the future, or I would embarrass you when there are such banquets again." Mo Xuetong smiled like a beautiful flower, intentionally raising her voice as she spoke respectfully. She had really not put much thought in her poem. Mo Xuemin had to be the star of the show tonight. Mo Xuemin rather liked what Mo Xuetong said and she pretended to show concern to Mo Xuetong, saying, "Third Sister, it is your fault that you don't know how to write. You have been
"What's that? Let me have a look." The attention of Feng Yulei who was sitting by the other side of Feng Yuxuan and always liked this kind of poems was caught by their beautiful sentences and got quite curious. Thus, he asked for it from Sir Qin who was sitting by the other side. Sir Qin was actually in the middle of trouble and didn't know what to do with it. He was wondering what to say next. When he heard that King Yan wanted to have a look at it, he stood up right away and handed it over to Feng Yulei obediently. Feng Yulei didn't have many concerns, taking it over and started to read, "Two butterflies on a splendid dress, red rouge was uneven. Standing alone in a colorful dress, waiting for the swallow to come back in the light rain." He put down the poem letter with a slight smile when he finished reading the poem, "It's a nice love poem which describes the loneliness of an unmarried girl. The misses waited for the swallows to come back and waited a
"Did you write the poem?" Queen picked up the poem and frowned. She didn't like such love poems, which shouldn't be from the hand of an unmarried girl from a rich and famous family. "To answer Queen's questions, it was written by me." Mo Xuemin concealed her smile and replied obediently with her head lowered. She loved the letter at first sight. She thought it was so beautiful and delightful. But she didn't expect it would win Queen's appreciation and felt quite proud. "This poem is too gloomy and sentimental for your young age. You're not supposed to be so maudlin as a young miss from a famous family." Queen said and put it on the table. Imperial Concubine Su took it over and then said to Mo Xuemin, who was speechless and aggrieved at Queen's words, "This poem is so nice that so many sirs like it. Grant her a reward!" A maid behind Imperial Concubine Su came out holding a jewelry box. It was pretty clear that there was somethi
Comparing his younger sister's future with his own, Sima Lingyun quickly decided to put his own future first. Once he was successful, he could choose a good marriage for her and have a large dowry prepared, which would be fair compensation for what he was about to do. He took the poem and looked at it for a while, then calmly placed it on the tray in the maid's hand. He didn't even glance at Sima Heyan, and replied to the empress obediently. "Although this poem is quite similar to mine, it wasn't written by me. Please do me justice." “If you didn't write it, why would your younger sister say it was yours and that First Miss Mo went to your study and stole it?" the queen said coldly as she fixed her eyes on Mo Xuemin. Mo Xuemin knelt on the ground, not daring to show any emotion."Your Majesty, may I ask my younger sister about it?" He turned to Sima Heyan. "How do you know the poem written by First Miss Mo was exactly t
There was a grand feast in the palace and all the maids had their own business. She couldn't be away for too long, or she might get herself in trouble. Mo Xuetong’s smile was pure and glamorous. It looked like she was chatting with a warm-hearted elder sister. She glanced at the maid. "Why do you think I’m Third Miss Mo? I'm Fourth Miss Mo." "You're not Third Miss Mo? It's impossible. You and First Miss Mo were the only ones who came to Mo Manor. You sat behind First Miss Mo, so you must be Third Miss Mo. Fourth Miss Mo is not here in the palace." The maid said, realizing too late that she shouldn’t have. "So the one who was sitting behind my first sister must be me!" Mo Xuetong smiled and it was all clear to her. No wonder Mo Xuemin insisted that she should sit closely in front of her today. Previously, some lady wanted to sit close to Mo Xuemin but was refused because she wanted to sit with her sister, and acted as though they had an int