Chapter 111

Chapter 111: Peach Blossom Wine

The Princess Royal of Anyang sat up slowly. Lifting her eyes to Chun Zhi, she curved her red lips and said: “So you are Seventh’s sweetheart? Your looks are indeed uncommon, but you don’t seem very clever. You look like a stubborn one.”

Chun Zhi was speechless: […This Princess Royal speaks very directly. Who says that at a first meeting? Still, there is no scorn in her eyes. She is not saying it to belittle me.] She answered calmly: “I am slow?witted. Please don’t laugh at me.”

“You and Seventh will marry before long. No need to call me ‘Eldest Princess’ like an outsider. Just call me aunt,” Huo Qiong Hua said.

Chun Zhi followed her lead and said: “Aunt.”

Huo Qiong Hua was nearly forty, but well kept. She looked like a woman in her early thirties, and her clothing and ornaments were exquisite, bright as a jewel. She did not look like a widow who had lost two husbands, but rather a beauty in her prime.

She scattered the last of the fish food, handed the empty dish to a maid, then stood before Chun Zhi and said: “My imperial elder brother has many children, but I like Seventh the most. For years, many ministers have wanted to marry their daughters to him. Most of the ladies at today’s banquet came to see what kind of Princess Consort of Chang’an he will take.”

From the moment she stepped down from the carriage, Chun Zhi had felt eyes raking over her again and again. She had thought she would panic, but when she actually walked under those gazes, she was calmer than she expected. [This is the Princess Royal’s manor. They are only guests. They cannot eat me.]

As Huo Qiong Hua spoke, she watched Chun Zhi on purpose. Seeing no hint of panic, she was pleased.

“Don’t worry,” Huo Qiong Hua added. “With me, your aunt, here, no one will dare trouble you.”

Chun Zhi smiled and said: “Thank you, Aunt.”

Seeing how close the Princess Royal of Anyang was to Chun Zhi, Song Wan’er also felt happy. Rumors could not be trusted after all. People outside said the Princess Royal of Anyang broke rules, was cold and unfeeling, and loved keeping male favorites, that her reputation in the Capital was terrible. But today she seemed easy to get along with.

As Huo Qiong Hua led Chun Zhi and Song Wan’er toward the banquet seats, she asked on the way: “You are new to the Capital, and this is your first banquet. Seventh didn’t come with you?”

Chun Zhi said: “He has official business to do. And since we are coming to Aunt’s estate, it is nothing to worry about.”

Huo Qiong Hua sounded doubtful, her tone rising a little as she asked: “Did Seventh really say that?”

Chun Zhi paused, then said: “He said he would come pick me up when he finishes.”

Huo Qiong Hua laughed: “That sounds like him.”

The gardens inside the Princess Royal Manor were in full bloom, beautiful everywhere. Walking beside Chun Zhi, Song Wan’er felt dazzled. Everything looked wonderful to her.

At the banquet, Huo Qiong Hua took the main seat and had Chun Zhi and Song Wan’er sit with her at the same table.

To sit with the host was the highest courtesy for honored guests.

After everyone saluted the Princess Royal of Anyang, they could not help looking over the two Misses of the Song family.

Feeling uneasy under so many looks, Song Wan’er leaned closer to Chun Zhi.

Chun Zhi lifted the corners of her lips and accepted every gaze with a smile. [If I want to be with Huo Zheng, I must stand before people and accept every look. I cannot panic. I cannot be afraid. It is only being seen a few more times. I won’t lose a piece of meat. There is nothing to fear.]

Huo Qiong Hua swept a glance over the crowd and told the maids to bring out last year’s Peach Blossom Wine to share with everyone.

With wine and flowers, the ladies naturally began to write poems and paint, and to sing and dance. In a short time, the hall grew lively.

The Princess Royal of Anyang loved lively scenes.

Chun Zhi could not write poems or paint. When people urged the Song sisters to show a skill, Song Wan’er stepped forward and painted a branch of peach blossoms, then recited a verse: “Peach blossoms and flowing water at the spring feast; the face I miss comes with another year.”

Song Wan’er was usually playful and sweet, but all those picture books she had studied were not for nothing. Her brushwork was fine. For a moment she stunned the room.

Chun Zhi sat straight and calm. Even if she did not write or paint and was not skilled at song or dance, no one dared to look down on the Song sisters.

Wang Yi Yue, Sixth Miss of the Wang Clan, was famous in the Capital for her painting. She never thought she would be overshadowed by the younger Song Wan’er. Truly, she was boiling with anger.

Wanting to protect Chun Zhi, the Princess Royal of Anyang kept the more perceptive ladies from pressing the future Princess Consort of Chang’an to perform. Instead, several noble ladies came forward to chat and make friends with Chun Zhi.

Chun Zhi spoke with grace and ease. She could carry on with anyone.

Earlier, many had secretly said that if Prince Chang’an had fallen for a merchant’s daughter, he must have lost his head. After this one flower?viewing banquet, their views changed.

The Peach Blossom Wine of the Princess Royal of Anyang was fragrant and sweet. Song Wan’er had never drunk wine before. Tasting such a fine brew for the first time, she could not help drinking two cups in a row.

“Wan’er,” Chun Zhi said when she noticed, quickly stopping her, “be careful not to get drunk.”

Huo Qiong Hua laughed and said: “It’s only Peach Blossom Wine. It will not make you drunk.”

With the Princess Royal’s capacity, Peach Blossom Wine indeed would not get her drunk. But Song Wan’er was a first?time drinker and kept sipping. Soon she felt dizzy.

Huo Qiong Hua had not expected her to get tipsy like that, so she told Court Lady Cao to take Song Wan’er to a side room to rest.

Chun Zhi worried about her and meant to go along. But when Song Wan’er stood up, she accidentally bumped the wine pot, and half a pot of Peach Blossom Wine spilled all over Chun Zhi’s dress.

Seeing this, Huo Qiong Hua smiled and ordered a maid to take Chun Zhi to change clothes.

Chun Zhi rose and followed the maid out.

Lu Jing Yun, who had been drinking at the banquet, also stood up. He circled away along another route to look for Chun Zhi.

The Wang mother and daughter noticed and exchanged a look. Wang Yi Yue also stood, taking her maid to follow.

The hall stayed lively with drinking and flowers.

When more than half the banquet had passed, Ji Ru Zhen noticed Lu Jing Yun still had not returned. She sent maids to look for him several times, but no one found him.

The more she thought about it, the more wrong it felt.

At a nearby table, Madam Wang said in a casual tone: “I heard Top Scholar Lu and that Miss of the Song family had an old connection. Now both have gone off and not returned. Could it be…”

Hearing this, Ji Ru Zhen’s face turned green. She could not care about anything else. She stepped up to tell the Princess Royal of Anyang that her husband was drunk and missing. Afraid he might come to harm, she asked the Eldest Princess to send people to search.

Huo Qiong Hua agreed at once and sent maids and attendants to look. Ji Ru Zhen, uneasy, insisted on looking herself.

When Ji Ru Zhen left the table, many of the ladies, eager for gossip, followed to watch. Huo Qiong Hua knew someone must be trying to make trouble today, so she went along as well. [Someone is stirring things up.]

Ji Ru Zhen led attendants through the estate to search for Lu Jing Yun. After a long while, a maid came back and said she had seen Top Scholar Lu heading toward the East Courtyard.

There were many rooms in the East Courtyard. Ji Ru Zhen looked through them one by one. When she reached the fifth room, she pushed the door open and saw Lu Jing Yun and a woman lying on the bed with their clothes in disarray.