Chapter 1275 - 951: Musicians and Dancers 2

Tushere was captivated, and after a moment finally said, "Princess, why are they dancing with swords? I seem to have not—"

As she spoke, she turned her head back, only to see Shang Ruyi’s expression was somewhat dazed.

She hurriedly said, "Princess, what’s wrong?"

Shang Ruyi remained silent, lowering her head sadly and said, "It’s nothing, the sun is somewhat intense..."

"Uh?"

Tushere looked up at the sky. In fact, today’s sunlight wasn’t particularly harsh, and they were all standing in the shade of the trees, so logically, they shouldn’t be too exposed to the sun. But seeing Shang Ruyi’s sluggish demeanor, she immediately said, "Then let’s go back quickly."

Shang Ruyi nodded.

Thus, the group immediately went onto the long corridor and followed the same path back.

As they walked away, the musicians and dancers in the Wangyun Pavilion continued practicing diligently, gracefully dancing to the music.

At this moment, on the other side of the corridor, Chief Palace Han Yuhui slowly walked over, her gaze moving from the departing Shang Ruyi to the Wangyun Pavilion, as if scrutinizing the practicing performers, with a cold smile on her lips.

The music in the palace rose and fell, and the dance attracted many little palace maids to secretly gather around. A rare sense of joy finally replaced the long-standing depression in the Imperial Palace. Everyone started looking forward to the birthday banquet of the two concubines, Zhang Yuping and Tao Wanxin.

In the blink of an eye, it was the evening of the next day.

After noon, everyone began to prepare. After taking a nap, Shang Ruyi carefully freshened up and changed into a luxurious yet modest outfit. She then sat by the window, reading a book while waiting for the hour to arrive.

But Tushere, who was serving nearby, noticed that she was often lost in thought and didn’t turn a page for a long time.

It seemed that ever since they returned from the Inner Court yesterday, Shang Ruyi had been in a daze. Tushere thought she was really sick and planned to call someone from the Imperial Medical Bureau, but Shang Ruyi insisted she was fine, so she had to give up.

At this moment, Tushere added some water to her teacup and said softly, "I see that the princess is not in high spirits. It would be better to return early tonight."

Shang Ruyi looked up at her and smiled faintly.

In the blink of an eye, evening arrived.

Shang Ruyi instructed Nanny Feng to ensure Little Yuan Qian had dinner and went to bed early. After issuing some instructions to Chang Wan and Wo Xue, she took Tushere with her and left Qianqiu Palace, heading towards Bai Fu Hall.

At this time, it was not yet dark, but Bai Fu Hall already had all its lights lit, glowing brightly under the fiery sunset, extraordinarily intense. Before even getting close, the sounds of soft laughter and voices could be heard. Looking up, the several concubines of Yu Wenquan’s harem had already arrived, their shadows flickering like flowers, an array of beauty, captivating the eye.

Among them, the most striking was still the favored concubine, Zhang Yuping.

She wore a kite-colored smoky gauze dress scattered with butterfly patterns and flower prints and had her hair styled in a high updo with a bright red peony pinned at its center, complemented by pearls and jade, looking exceptionally vibrant and charming. At this moment, she was surrounded by several concubines, exuding a sense of being the queen of flowers, dazzling among them; standing beside her, another main character of tonight, Tao Wanxin, wore a lake-green silver-patterned cicada gauze long dress, although her makeup was also exquisite, her gentle temperament made her look inexplicably pure standing next to Zhang Yuping.

Both of them were chatting and laughing with the people around them, their sweet voices filling the air.

Amidst the laughter, they heard the announcement: "Princess Qin arrives."

Everyone looked up to see Shang Ruyi gracefully entering the hall. Tao Wanxin’s face immediately lit up with a joyful smile, while Zhang Yuping glanced at her in slight surprise before welcoming her with a smile. After exchanging greetings, Shang Ruyi said, "Congratulations to both of you."

Zhang Yuping smiled and said, "Princess Qin, you’re joking. My years have been spent in vain, entering the palace for so long without any advancement."

Shang Ruyi said, "Zhang Jieyu, you are too modest. During the time at the Hot Spring Palace, you served by Father Emperor’s side, ensuring his cheerful mood; without you, we as his children could not have brought him comfort."

Zhang Yuping replied, "Princess Qin, please don’t say that. Now we have Little Sister Tao, who is much better at easing the Emperor’s troubles than I am."

Saying so, her eyes glimmered, "Tonight, I am enjoying the benefit of Little Sister Tao’s presence."

Tao Wanxin quickly said, "Sister is joking."

As they spoke, Shang Ruyi caught the strong scent of their perfumes. Actually, when Yu Wenye was present, she would also wear some perfume, but since he left, she grew lazy and didn’t dress up much, so she was somewhat unaccustomed to such fragrances. Today, with several concubines heavily made-up and standing together, the scent was particularly strong, even menacing.

Glancing at the varied expressions of the other concubines standing nearby, Shang Ruyi’s smile deepened.

She said with a smile, "In any case, let’s enjoy the excitement together tonight."

Everyone echoed with laughter, and Zhang Yuping also smiled and then looked past Shang Ruyi, asking, "Didn’t Princess Qin bring the young prince tonight?"

Shang Ruyi shook her head and said, "He’s young and clueless. If he starts making noise, wouldn’t it spoil everyone’s fun?"

Zhang Yuping laughed, "How could that be? The young prince is the Emperor’s treasure now, even if he cries, it sounds better than the music played by the musicians over there."

Saying so, she gently waved her jade-like finger.

Following her lacquered nail-tipped finger, Shang Ruyi saw indeed several screens set up on one side of the hall, faintly revealing musicians behind them, some holding pipa, some caressing konghou, others fingered flutes. At this moment, with the night banquet not yet started, they naturally weren’t playing but sat quietly, awaiting commands.

Behind them was the side door of the hall.

Shang Ruyi knew that all the musicians and dancers entered and exited through that side door. She unconsciously glanced at it again but quickly withdrew her gaze, worried that lingering too long appeared as if she were searching for something, then laughed, "His ’music’ is for me alone to ’enjoy’."

Everyone laughed.

At this moment, a voice came from the door of the hall: "The Emperor is arriving! The Crown Prince, Crown Princess Consort are arriving!"

The group immediately turned around, and sure enough, under the fiery sunset outside the hall, Yu Wenquan, clad in a Dragon Robe, seemed to be gilded in golden light, slowly walked in, followed by the Crown Prince Yu Wenqian and Crown Prince Consort Yu Mingyue. Clearly, they too entered the palace to attend the night’s banquet by imperial decree, having first gone to Liangyi Hall to pay respects to the Emperor, then came along with him.

Everyone inside the hall immediately bowed and greeted, chanting long live.

Yu Wenquan entered with a smile, raising his hand to signal everyone to rise, then asked, "What were you just talking about, laughing so happily?"