Chapter 417: Chapter 417
On the day of the palace banquet, the three sisters were all dressed in full finery. The illegitimate sons were one thing, but when it came to the illegitimate daughters, Lady Jiang had always been especially generous.
Not to mention their daily rations, whenever they went out every single piece of jewelry and clothing had never been skimped on. The precious Yunling Brocade, known in the south for being worth its weight in gold, had been delivered to the residence months ago. The household’s finest embroiderers had been stitching each outfit needle by needle, tailored carefully to the three sisters’ measurements and their respective styles.
Even the hidden patterns at the cuffs were unique for each person. The eldest young lady chose a clivia pattern, implying generosity and chastity, a noble and pure temperament.
Third Young Lady Zhou chose black chrysanthemums, carrying an air of refined elegance.
An Ning’s set was all covered in sweeping Chinese flowering crabapple motifs, lively and charming. Each came with a full matching set of jewelry specially made for the three sisters.
In short, the outfits accentuated each of the three women’s strengths to the fullest, while not overshadowing those nearby; instead, they complemented one another, creating a splendid harmony.
Especially when the three sisters entered the front hall together, without an ounce of modesty, one could say the entire hall seemed to light up for a moment.
But none of that compared to the arrival of another person who was about to appear…
“Hey? Fifth Sister, don’t you think Father today is just… just… ah! How to put it!”
“There’s this kind of indescribable appeal!”
Thinking back to that scene, Third Young Lady couldn’t help the faint blush that crept up her cheeks.
But constrained by a young lady’s decorum, she really couldn’t bring herself to say “seductive.”
An Ning, seated beside her, appeared thoughtful after hearing this. Then she suddenly reached out, mysteriously pulled her sisters close, and whispered:
“Third Sister, they say a woman dresses to please those she wants to please. Father has been lately and even dressed up specially today, could it be…”
When the words fell, the cramped carriage was met with Third Young Lady’s eyes going wide.
“Fi… Fifth Sister, are you saying Father has a… a…” The final flattering word Third Young Lady wanted to say couldn’t come out.
At last she added, puzzled: “But wait, if that were true, why today of all days?”
Surely he hadn’t set his sights on some noble lady, or some palace person, right?
My goodness, this might bring disaster upon the whole family!
Startled by her own imagination, Third Young Lady’s rosy face instantly drained of color.
At that moment, her teasing sister continued to press the point. The instigator, pulling a little serious face, earnestly analyzed:
“But Third Sister, have you ever heard that people who just recovered from a serious illness suddenly become so much more beautiful? Usually after a major illness, everyone looks haggard, but Father obviously doesn’t.
He’s just the right amount slimmer, and his complexion is unusually fair and handsome. Third Sister, wouldn’t it be possible that the illness was just a ruse, and he’s actually been working on losing weight and getting prettier…”
“And besides…” Seeing she was hard to convince, An Ning unleashed her final rhetorical hammer:
“Third Sister, haven’t you noticed that after recovering from the serious illness, Father not only doesn’t reject this new look, but seems quite pleased with it?”
Third Young Lady: “…”
What to do? Even though it sounded absurd, it made so much sense!
Appearing to be resting with closed eyes but actually pricking up her ears, Zhou Yun, the eldest, couldn’t help but cough loudly, and only then did she speak: “Alright, Third Sister, Fifth Sister, whatever it is, it’s Father’s business. We, as his daughters, shouldn’t over-guess.”
Though she said this, a faint worry still showed around the eldest’s brow — Father surely wouldn’t be that ridiculous… would he?
Perhaps that earlier gossip was too startling; all the way to the palace gates, the three sisters, including An Ning, remained a little dazed.
At the same time, thanks to An Ning’s excellent hearing, she listened to some familiar voices coming from the palace gate and was satisfied enough to withdraw her supernatural ability. In the dark, the small vine that had stealthily grown from a crack in the stone and “accidentally” tripped the carriage ahead vanished without a trace.
When the carriage suddenly halted, as the eldest sister, Zhou Yun instinctively called for a maid:
“Report to the young mistress: the Grand Princess’s carriage nearby got startled and the master and mistress went by to offer comfort, but miss, rest assured, all is well now.”
“Oh,” hearing this, the sisters indeed stopped worrying. Even An Ning wore only a curious expression.
After that, until the palace banquet began that evening, An Ning had no further antics. Instead she chatted happily with her fellow young ladies who’d once been the original body’s friends, occasionally whispering with her sister.
The system, however, looked bewildered:
“That host, is that… it?”
It had expected at least one staged ‘hero rescues beauty’ incident!
Just a brief appearance? Is that going to work?
The system grew suspicious — after all, the scumbag dad was indeed handsome and looked young, though he was old now and had many wives, his conduct wasn’t clean. Moreover, the Grand Princess’s status meant she’d seen many handsome men; not to mention the young, beautiful youths kept by the household, cough cough… There were no shortage of handsome young men.
“Is it really worth risking so much to make a move on a subject?”
The system’s face was full of doubt, but An Ning didn’t speak further. Her gaze lingered briefly on that bright yellow figure above, then she smiled and said:
“So, you said it yourself, it’s a huge breach of propriety!”
“Precisely because it’s such a breach of propriety, it must be done that way.”
The system looked puzzled, but An Ning didn’t answer. There was a more important event: the much-anticipated poetry gathering was about to begin.
Not much for studying, An Ning had relied on the household’s thorough preparations and the modest help of her two sisters to narrowly secure a mid-tier placement; Zhou Yun had even scored one of the top three spots.
This showed she had prepared extremely well; today she was determined to show up!
Not far away, Third Young Lady, who had narrowly missed the top three by a single rank, sat silent and sulky.
While comforting her, An Ning’s eyes casually glanced toward the figure of Father Zhou as he stood, hands lightly covering her abdomen. As he hurried away, she unsurprisingly noticed a nondescript palace attendant trailing behind him.
Before the singing and dancing had even started, the Grand Princess’s cheeks flushed red and her gaze grew hazy, a little tipsy. Seeing this, the Emperor immediately spoke with concern:
“If Eldest Sister is tired, why not return first and rest? The Rinse-Jade Pavilion you left earlier is still empty.”
“Thank you, younger brother!”
She didn’t refuse her younger brother’s kindness; with a faint blush she nodded almost imperceptibly and was soon being assisted out of the hall by palace attendants.
Seeing this, An Ning felt the final weight lift from her chest.
Sure enough, not long after, a slightly older palace attendant rushed in, whispered something, and the next moment the Emperor’s expression changed drastically.