Chapter 043
Chapter 43: Jade Pond Spring Garden Hides Filth
The Third Princess’s flower-viewing banquet was set at Jade Pond Spring Garden in the suburbs of the Capital City, a place all those pretend-elegant nobles loved to visit. The garden was full of flowers, with small bridges and running water. Pavilions and towers stood at good angles to each other.
Noble ladies gathered in groups of two or three to admire blossoms, taste tea, and whisper. Their clothes were rich and their makeup fine. Every move carried the trained grace of great-house ladies, yet the thoughts under those pretty eyes were not the same.
The Lin Clan sisters chose a quiet corner and sat down. They remembered Second Madam’s warnings and kept their hands off all the snacks and tea on the table.
Yu Ning mumbled under her breath, bored as she said: “This is so dull.” She hated places like this most. Everyone wore a mask. Their smiles looked worse than crying.
Yu Jiao kept her face cool and skimmed the area with the edge of her gaze as she said: “Endure it.” She had already seen several noble ladies who never got along with her shooting unfriendly looks their way.
Yu Wan had the deepest patience. She simply watched the garden with calm eyes, especially the person in the main seat. That was where the real storm sat.
The Third Princess, Xuan Ji, wore a bright pomegranate-red palace dress. She reclined on a soft couch in the Lake Heart Pavilion. Not far in front of her, a small stage had been set up. A handsome male actor was singing The Interrupted Dream in a soft, lingering voice. His watery, affectionate eyes stared straight at Xuan Ji. The flattery in them almost dripped out. This was not an opera show. It was a private scene written just for her.
Xuan Ji lifted her hand lazily, her lacquered fingertips red as blood as she said: “You sing well. A reward.” The maidservant beside her understood at once, stepped forward with a tray, and handed over a heavy gold ingot.
The actor was overjoyed. He bowed deeply and thanked her, his voice cloying as he said: “Thank you for the reward, Princess!” When he looked up again, his gaze turned even more obvious, like vines climbing the pavilion to curl around the Princess’s ankles.
Xuan Ji kept a playful curl at her lips, but her eyes were a cold, dead pool. [So boring.] She sneered inside. These men all forced their way toward her. Some were so fawning it made her sick. Others spoke sweet words that held not one bit of truth. A few even pretended to be aloof at first to play hard to get. It was laughable. Not one of them was a truly interesting man.
Her eyes drifted across the garden without care until they stopped behind a rockery. A good show was brewing there. A young man was pestering a girl dressed in pale blue.
Yu Ning recognized her and whispered as she said: “Isn’t that Miss Liu from the family of the Vice Minister of Personnel?”
Yu Jiao curled her lip and said: “The one with her eyes on top of her head, who calls herself the cold flower on the high ridge, Liu Jing Shu? Look at her now. What a mess.”
Yu Wan did not speak. Her brow knit a little. The pest was an illegitimate son from a great family, not a notable one. He looked pretty enough, with peach-blossom eyes that always seemed to carry a hint of feeling. He had snapped off a branch of crabapple and was putting on a fake deep look as he offered it to Liu Jing Shu while saying in a greasy tone: “Miss Liu, why keep everyone a thousand miles away? My heart is clean. I only admire your talent and grace.”
Liu Jing Shu, the Capital City’s famous ice beauty who rarely spared men a glance, wore a face full of frost and disgust as she said, cold enough to drop ice: “Please have some respect.”
The illegitimate son would not let up. He even grew worse. He reached to grab her sleeve as he said: “Miss Liu, you and I are a perfect match made in heaven.”
A sharp crack split the garden’s fake harmony. Liu Jing Shu raised her hand and slapped him hard across the face. He staggered, half his cheek swelling at once, his eyes full of shock and shame as he shouted: “You… you dare hit me?!”
In the Lake Heart Pavilion, Xuan Ji’s eyes lit up. At last, ripples moved in the dead water of her gaze. [Now this is interesting.] She rested her chin on her hand and rubbed her smooth cheek with a fingertip, her smile deepening. Her favorite thing was this exact drama. She liked to see noble ladies who claimed to be pure and proper forced to the edge, their masks ripped away, their pedestals kicked out from under them. Watching them panic and lose control was far more fun than any opera.
She tilted her head toward the old nanny behind her and ordered in a low voice as she said: “Go tell that fool this: I will grant him a future as long as he lets me see what I want to see.”
The nanny was an old hand from the Imperial Palace and understood her master best. She bowed and slipped away without a sound.
Yu Jiao saw it clearly and gave a cold laugh as she said: “Here comes the show. Her Highness loves this kind of nasty stirring.”
Yu Ning’s heart pinched and she asked, uneasy as she said: “Sister, aren’t we going to stop it?”
Yu Jiao shot her a look and said: “Stop it how? This is the Third Princess’s setup. If you rush in, you slap her in the face in public. How much trouble do you want to bring down on the General’s Manor?”
Yu Wan caught Little Sister’s hand and gave it a small shake as she said: “Watch.”
It did not take long. With the promise of “a future,” the illegitimate son went after Liu Jing Shu again. This time, the fake love in his eyes was gone. Greed and a harsh, crazy light took its place. Daring now, he lunged forward in front of all the guests and clamped his arm around Liu Jing Shu’s waist.
Liu Jing Shu cried out, furious and afraid as the color drained from her face while she struggled hard, punching his shoulder as she gasped: “Let go! You shameless brute!”
Noble ladies around them turned to look. Some shouted in shock and quickly turned their faces away. Some hid their smiles behind their hands, eyes bright with gloating. Others did not bother to hide their disdain. They whispered and pointed, but no one stepped in to help. In a blink, Jade Pond Spring Garden became a giant arena, and Liu Jing Shu was the trapped prey in the middle for all to watch and enjoy.
Xuan Ji narrowed her eyes in satisfaction and lifted a cup as she took a tiny sip. The red wine mirrored the excitement in her gaze. [Look at that. What chastity and virtue? What cold flower on a high ridge? Faced with brute force and desire, they all end up the same, embarrassed and helpless.] It pleased her.
Yet her interest rose fast and fell fast. Liu Jing Shu’s fight went from fierce to weak. The illegitimate son’s face went from smug to twisted. It was all too easy to guess, too lacking in challenge. These so-called noble ladies were, in the end, boring toys.
The only “prey” that could truly thrill her still had not appeared. For example, the man praised as the Capital City’s first Young Master, the Lin Clan’s Buddha’s Chosen.
Thinking of Lin Qing Xuan’s pure, distant face, like a god untouched by dust, Xuan Ji’s fingers around the cup suddenly stilled, and her eyes turned cold. She turned to the new maidservant beside her and asked, voice light but sharp as she said: “I heard the Lin Clan’s Buddha’s Chosen has been paying special attention to a maid lately?”
The maidservant trembled under that gaze and nodded as she said: “Y-yes, Princess. They say the girl’s name is Xiao Man.”
A cruel, bright curve lifted Xuan Ji’s lips. [So the Buddha’s Chosen has fallen for someone. Now that is interesting. It is far better than watching a crazed fool bully a powerless woman.]