Eight-year-old Princess: Phoenix Reborn Chapter 31

   Chapter 31 Victory Feast

The man in grey raised his eyebrows and replied coldly, "Interesting! I haven't seen such an interesting person in a long time. Had it not been for you insisting that I was in danger and that we travel separately from the main troops, I wouldn't have seen such an interesting person. Look at how she calculated every step with almost no mistake. She even used me to accomplish her plan. I really wish I have the opportunity to meet her again. Wang Shunlai, do you have any idea where she comes from?"

Wang Shunlai shook his head and replied, "How would I know that?"

The man in grey smiled. "Although the carriage looks common, the nails on the horseshoes are made of gold. Horseshoe's nails of ordinary wealthy families are usually made of iron. As far as I know, such luxuries are granted to people living in the Imperial Palace."

"The imperial Palace?" Wang Shunlai was shocked. He looked at his Master in doubt. In his opinion, women in the Palace were like canaries. They had nothing to all day except compete over whose clothes and looks were better and who was more favored by the Emperor. He never expected that there would be such a cunning and calculating women amongst them.

Prince Jing narrowed his eyes as he continued to stare after the carriage. It had long since disappeared from his sight. Nevertheless, he looked in the direction. Perhaps he had been away from the Palace for too long. He had no idea who this girl was.

"Let's go. We should hurry on with our journey." Prince Jing brought his hand to his lips and whistled. At the loud sound, two horses ran out of the woods. The two men mounted the horses and rode on the path towards the Imperial City.

On returning to the Palace, Yun Shang saw Qin Meng look at her as if she were a ghost. Qin Meng seemed to be in shock for a long while. Eventually, she shook off her surprise and said, "Your Highness, you are back!"

Yun Shang reckoned that Hua Jing would never have expected her to return alive. She replied with a smile, "Yes. Is everything okay in the Palace? Hua Jing rushed backed to the Imperial City just as we had reached Ning'guo Temple. Have you seen her since? I wonder how her mother-in-law is now."

Qin Meng lowered her head, answered, "Everything is okay. Princess Hua Jing returned to the Palace yesterday. By the way, your Highness, Prince Jing managed a great victory, and returned to the Imperial City today. The Emperor will hold a victory feast for him later. The Empress sent someone in the morning to convey the message that you should attend the feast if you were feeling well enough."

Yun Shang stopped for a little and nodded. "Okay."

Hearing Yun Shang's reply, Qin Meng added, "The Shangyi Bureau has sent new clothes made for you. I will get them so that you can have a look. It is your first victory feast in seven years. You will certainly look very pretty."

Yun Shang responded simply with a "yes" and walked towards the inner Palace. She smiled as she saw Qin Meng hurriedly leave Qingxin Palace. "She is going to inform the Empress and my Princess Sister. It seems that Hua Jing still doesn't know that I have returned."

"Your Highness, are you going to the victory feast tonight?" Qin Yi asked with a frown.

"Of course." Yun Shang sat down on her chair. She couldn't recall much about Prince Jing from her previous life. She knew that Prince Jing's name was Luo Qingyan. He was the only Special Prince in the State of Ning, and that he was adopted by the deceased Emperor. He had illustrious war exploits and spent very little time in the Imperial City. There had been almost no chance to interact with him.

In her previous life, she once took part in his victory feast. However, she didn't have any interest in military officers then, and so she had just shown up to play with Hua Jing. Another reason why Yun Shang remembered this day in particular, was because it was at Prince Jing's victory feast that Hua Jing first mentioned Mo Jingran, the man who Yun Shang married after her Coming-of-age Ceremony. She recalled how highly Hua Jing had praised Mo Jingran. She had even gone as far as to imply that no ordinary women deserved such a man. It's possible that the high praise and implied challenge was what first drew Yun Shang to Mo Jingran.

Yun Shang smiled as she wondered if the same events would repeat at the victory feast in her present life.

"Your Highness, here are the clothes made by the Shangyi Bureau. Please have a look. The lunar white one is mild and elegant. The primrose one gives a fresh and natural look. And the bright red one is vibrant and lovely. All of them are fashionable. Which one do you prefer?" Qin Meng and some maids had entered. They were carrying neatly folded clothes on the plates in their hands.

Yun Shang went to have a look. She pointed at one and said, "The lunar white one is okay. It's better to be simple and elegant."

Qin Meng took the lunar white dress and put it aside as Yun Shang ordered. She then turned to the Princess and said, "Your Highness, you must be tired after a long journey. You should get some rest. I will return later to help you dress."

Yun Shang replied with a smile, "You are so considerate. I will indeed rest first. Check on me later."

The victory feast was held at Yaoyue Tower. Most of the invited minsters, their family members, and some consorts had already been seated when Yun Shang arrived. "Princess Yun Shang is here."

Hearing the name, everyone got up and looked to the gate. They all wished to see the Princess who had disappeared for seven years. When Yun Shang walked in, she heard Hua Jing, "Sister, come here."

Yun Shang looked up and saw Hua Jing waving to her from the seat below the throne. Yun Shang smiled, walked towards Hua Jing, and sat down.

"I knew that you would come. Your body is weak, so I prepared some fruit tea in advance. Have a try." Hua Jing said softly with a smile.

"Thank you, sister. How is your mother-in-law? "I was worried the other day when you left in a hurry. I wanted to go with you but my health doesn't allow me to travel long distances." Yun Shang frowned and looked concerned.

'Ning Hua Jing, I was cheated by your gentle and considerate appearance. Do you think I will still be so silly this time?' Yun Shang thought to herself.

"She is better. The Physician said that her bones and muscles were not injured and that she would recover after resting for a few days."

Yun Shang sighed with relief. "That's good."

"The Emperor, Empress, and Prince Jing are here!" A series of cries rang, and everyone knelt in respect. "Long live the Emperor, Empress, and Prince Jing!"

"Rise!. Today is Prince Jing's victory feast. You don't have to be so formal." Said Emperor Ning. All the guests rose, and took their seats. The Empress spoke, "To help celebrate the victory, I have requested for a special dance performance. Do you want to see, Your Majesty?"

"Absolutely!" Emperor laughed as he sat on his throne. The Empress and Prince Jing were seated to his left and right sides, respectively.

The music started and a few female performers appeared on stage. As they danced beautifully, Hua Jing leaned over and spoke with Yun Shang, "Alas, the victory feast is so boring."

Yun Shang smiled and replied, "Yes." She lifted her eyes slightly and looked at Prince Jing. She noticed that Prince Jing was a tall and well-built military officer. She hadn't expected him to be handsome. He did seem to be a little too cold, however. She thought about how she had used Prince Jing to thwart Hua Jing's plans, and felt a small pang of guilt.

After the first performance ended, the Emperor clapped his hands in appreciation. Then he proposed a toast, "Even though the State of Ning is a big state, our people on the frontier had no means to survive as they had been invaded by the State of Yan. Prince Jing drove the Yan soldiers out of our land, which is a great achievement. Let's drink a toast to Prince Jing. Ganbei*…" (TN- Ancient Chinese word for Cheers.)

Everyone raised their glasses and finished their drink. As soon as the glasses were put down, Emperor Ning turned to where Hua Jing sat with Yun Shang. He pointed at his daughters and said to Prince Jing, "You haven't been in the Imperial City for a long time. Look, my two daughters have grown up."

Prince Jing glanced at Hua Jing and Yun Shang, and said with a smile, "Although I was on the frontier, I have heard of the Princesses. I heard that Princess Hua Jing's husband is also a general who protects our homes and defends our country, a real man."

Hua Jing heard and replied, "Thank you for your praise. Among all the princes in the Imperial City, you are regarded as the best in terms of martial virtues. However, as for literary grace, there is one man who is probably better. That man is Mo Jingran, son of the secretary of the Grand Secretariat. It is said that he is a man with great talents. Yun Shang will have her Coming-of-age Ceremony in a few days. I said I would introduce them."

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