Chapter 7
Chapter 7
Before long, Lady Shen returned to the banquet.
She was dragging a man dressed in black military garb by the arm.
His hair was bound beneath a white jade crown, and a warm smile like the rising sun lit his face.
Breaking free of Lady Shen’s grasp, he snatched up a wine flask and tipped his head back to drink as he darted behind the screen.
Laughter and cheers immediately erupted among the young gentlemen.
Pei Xuanfei rose, once again intending to ingratiate herself with Lady Shen.
To her surprise, Lady Shen went to welcome someone else instead.
“This humble subject pays her respects to Your Highness.”
“How could our modest family banquet dare trouble Your Highness to grace us with your presence?
“My unworthy son and I failed to welcome you at the gate. Please forgive us, Your Highness.”
Lady Shen’s voice was loud, and the moment she spoke, silence fell across the entire gathering.
On the other side of the screen, the young gentlemen saluted with clasped hands and called out clearly, “Greetings, Your Highness.”
The noble young ladies dared not be remiss. They hurried forward with delicate steps, curtsied, and chorused, “Greetings, Your Highness.”
Princess Jin’an wore a lotus-patterned gown woven with gold, a golden phoenix crown inlaid with colored gems, and embroidered shoes adorned with eastern pearls.
A round fan half concealed her face. A faint smile touched her phoenix eyes, yet as her gaze swept the gathering, it held the pride of one who looked down upon all beneath heaven.
Only when she looked at Gao Huaixiang, the senior Lady Pei beside her, did the cold arrogance in her eyes recede.
“Rise,” Princess Jin’an said, sparing no extra words.
Lady Pei, Gao Huaixiang, stood shoulder to shoulder with her and explained gently, “Her Highness took pity on me for being bored at home. She went to all this trouble to accompany me here for a little excitement. We have imposed upon you, Lady Shen.”
“Not at all, not at all.” Even Lady Shen, who ordinarily paid little heed to formalities, became exceptionally cautious now.
The Emperor had been blessed with a daughter late in life, and Princess Jin’an was the biological daughter of his second empress. Her status was incomparably noble.
Countless princes, marquises, dukes, and ministers sought to curry favor at Princess Jin’an’s residence, yet she would not spare them a glance.
Now, however, she had accompanied Pei Xianjing’s legal mother, Lady Pei, to a Shen family banquet, though the Shens did not even hold a ducal title.
Everyone understood perfectly well that she had come for Pei Xianjing.
Given how close she was to Lady Pei, she had likely already set her heart on Pei Xianjing.
One was a peerless talent destined to rise to the pinnacle of officialdom; the other, a legitimate princess of the most exalted birth.
They truly made a perfect match.
At the rear of the crowd, Xing Shuwei shifted lightly with the moving figures around her.
Naturally, Lady Shen also understood what was happening.
Since Pei Xianjing had yet to appear, the banquet could only be postponed for the moment.
Young Master Shen stood to one side for a while before saying, “Mother, we won’t remain here and offend Her Highness’s eyes.
“Your Highness, once the banquet begins, this subject will return to offer you a toast.”
Before Lady Shen could say a word, Young Master Shen had already led several close friends toward the rear garden.
…
There were no flowers in the Shen residence’s rear garden. It had been converted into an archery and riding range.
A ring of ginkgo trees, each twice the height of a man, surrounded it.
The men either held bows or flourished sabers and swords.
“The Duke of Qi is truly fortunate. His son has begun helping him climb so soon! Once Lord Pei marries the Princess, he’ll enter the Grand Secretariat next, won’t he?”
“The Duke of Qi has thrown open his doors to recruit worthy men.
“He has quite the air of one who would ‘shelter every poor scholar beneath heaven and bring a smile to every face.’
“Those scholars from humble families now revere him as a pillar of the realm.
“This has built yet another rung on the ladder carrying father and son straight into the clouds.”
Young Master Shen, Shen Yanqi, nocked an arrow and drew his bow. With a sharp whistle, the blunted arrow tore through the air, and the target it struck shattered instantly into pieces.
The discussion stopped dead.
He tossed aside the bow. “I’m tired. I’ll have some tea. You may continue.”
Everyone smiled placatingly, but no one dared discuss the Pei family again.
Shen Yanqi smiled without concern, took a cup, and sat in a nearby pavilion to drink his tea.
Just then, Xing Shuwei’s graceful figure suddenly emerged from behind a tree.
Her head lowered, she bent at the waist and appeared to be searching for something among the trees.
Hearing the leaves rustle, Shen Yanqi raised his eyes toward the sound.
The lovely peach-pink figure drifted through the trees like a celestial maiden who had just descended from the Ninth Heaven into the mortal world.
Every movement carried precisely the right degree of panic.
Shen Yanqi rose and was about to approach the graceful figure.
Then another person appeared behind the woman in pink.
He stood a little too far away, and the newcomer kept their voice so low that he could not make out a single word.
He saw only the pink-clad figure glance hurriedly back at him before following the newcomer away.
She left in such haste that her sleeve brushed a branch, leaving a scrap of pink behind.
Shen Yanqi walked over and removed the pink scrap of cloth from the branch.
As he rubbed it between his fingertips, he felt a faint roughness-
The fabric was not silk.
Then she was not a young lady from a noble clan?
Shen Yanqi wanted to follow the direction in which she disappeared and find out more, but someone called him from behind.
He hid the scrap of cloth in his sleeve and turned to leave the grove.
“Why are you shouting? Without this young master, have you all forgotten how to walk?”
…
The person who came for Xing Shuwei claimed to be one of the Princess’s maids and said that Her Highness wished to see her.
If the Princess summoned her, Xing Shuwei naturally had to go.
But why would the Princess suddenly wish to see her?
She was a nobody living under another family’s roof.
Over the past four years, if not for Pei Xianjing, there was no telling how badly the siblings might have been bullied.
Yet the moment Princess Jin’an arrived, she asked to see Xing Shuwei. It was far too unexpected.
Pei Xuanfei had probably said something unnecessary in front of Princess Jin’an. Otherwise, why would an exalted princess suddenly summon her?
And if Pei Xuanfei had indeed spoken out of turn, no good could come of it.
After speculating wildly for a while, Xing Shuwei could not help asking, “May I ask why Her Highness wishes to see me?”
The maid raised her chin, her face haughty and unruly. “Her Highness has questions for you. How would servants like us know what those questions are?”
As she spoke, the maid stopped. “We’re here. Her Highness is waiting inside. Hurry in.”
Xing Shuwei raised her gaze. Before her stood a secluded courtyard, its round wooden gate half closed.
Why would Lady Shen arrange for the Princess to rest in such an isolated place?
Deeply suspicious, Xing Shuwei drew back the foot she had just begun to raise.
The maid had led her along a winding route for quite some time, and by now, Xing Shuwei could no longer distinguish east from west.
Yet even without knowing their exact location, she was certain Lady Shen would never arrange such a crude place for Princess Jin’an to rest.
Moreover, not a single guard stood inside or outside the place where an exalted princess was supposedly resting.
It was far too strange.
Something was wrong-this had to be a trap.
“Why aren’t you going in? Can you bear the consequences of making Her Highness wait?”
The maid barked at her.
Before Xing Shuwei could react, a heavy shove struck her back-
The maid pushed her straight into the courtyard. Her toes caught on the threshold, and she fell sprawling to the ground.
Bang. The door slammed shut.
The unmistakable click of a lock reached Xing Shuwei’s ears.