0p0 Chapter 185: Poisoning Princess Yu'an 2
Chapter 185: Poisoning Princess Yu'an 2
When the protagonist of the flower-viewing banquet appeared, everyone stopped talking, women in colorful clothes bowed, and men clasped their fists and bowed.
"See the Queen."
"No need for formalities. Today I sincerely invite you all to come to the flower-viewing banquet, and also to see the rare flowers outside the palace. It is inconvenient for you to accompany a boring person like me to appreciate the flowers and plants." The queen's voice was very calm.
Qiao Shinian secretly observed the queen. Today the queen was wearing a bright red dress with peonies embroidered with gold thread. She wore a phoenix hairpin inlaid with red and blue sapphires on her head and two jade bracelets on her wrists. She did not wear many solemn accessories like the ones she had seen at the banquet before.
"I have had the flowers brought by the gentlemen and ladies arranged. Let us go and see them together." The queen smiled at everyone, her eyes as calm as ever.
The Queen always holds a flower-viewing banquet at this time every year, so everyone prepares precious flowers and plants early every year.
Qiao Shinian followed the crowd to the flower stand and found that there were several concubines standing there, who must be people who were on good terms with the queen.
Watching everyone appreciating flowers with the Queen and commenting on what was good about the flowers and where they came from, Qiao Shinian listened carefully at first. However, she couldn't help yawning silently when only a quarter of the way through the segment, with tears gathering in her eyes.
In ancient times, the activities and entertainment that women could participate in were really pitifully few. Men could still ride horses, play polo, go to gambling houses, and go to brothels.
However, women should be virtuous, ladylike and dignified. They must not be disrespectful, damage the image of the family or bring shame to the family.
"If you find it boring, let's go first." Mu Qingchen lowered his head slightly and said in Qiao Shinian's ear.
Qiao Shinian shook her head and whispered in his ear, "It seems impolite for us to leave first. The Queen invited us and we are all here. If I leave now, I am afraid people will gossip about me. My reputation is not good to begin with, and I still want to save some of my precarious reputation."
Seeing Qiao Shinian's insistence, Mu Qingchen just held her hand silently.
The reckless look of the two caused many people to look at them.
The queen suddenly stopped and waved to the crowd: "Nineteen, come forward."
Mu Qingchen let go of Qiao Shinian, and he walked to the Queen and bowed, "Sister-in-law."
"You come too, girl."
The crowd dispersed. Qiao Shinian took a deep breath and walked to the queen, bowing and saying, "Your Majesty."
"Yes, you are a pretty lady. How old are you?"
"In reply to the Queen, I am twenty-one this year." Qiao Shinian said naturally.
The Queen frowned and said in a dissatisfied tone: "I remember that you were also twenty-one when you entered the palace. A few years have passed. Could it be that you haven't grown a year older?"
Qiao Shinian was stunned and looked up at Mu Qingchen. Before she could say anything, the queen said, "I'm asking you a question. What are you looking at Nineteen doing?"
“Please forgive me, Queen!” Qiao Shinian knelt on the ground, “I…I forgot, before…”
"It was me who asked her to lie about her age. I was afraid that someone would covet a beautiful maid like me in the Zhou Palace." Wen Jiu strode to the Queen and bowed, saying, "After all, everyone likes younger women and is not interested in older women."
Mu Qingchen looked at Wen Jiu, then at Qiao Shinian who was kneeling on the ground, and suddenly realized that he had been distracted: "Sister-in-law, she is the woman I admire. It is my fault that I lost my composure in front of you today. Please don't blame me."
The queen glanced at Wen Jiu calmly and said with a smile: "Today is a flower viewing banquet. It is said that women are like flowers. Appreciating flowers and plants is also appreciating beauties. Get up."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Qiao Shinian stood up. She had forgotten a fatal problem. She had not moved in the modern world, but she had indeed spent five years in ancient times.
She was completely unaware of her age and was still stuck on her twenty-first birthday.
"I just want to meet Nineteen's sweetheart. His Majesty and Concubine Liu have been worried about Nineteen's marriage. He is willing to bring you here today. I guess your wedding is coming soon."
Qiao Shinian's eyes fell on Mu Qingchen again. Mu Qingchen stood up and said, "When the time comes, please ask the Emperor's sister-in-law and the Emperor's brother to preside over the wedding for me."
There were discussions among the crowd.
"Okay, as long as you get married, the Empress will come." The Queen nodded with a smile, then looked at Qiao Shinian: "You are also a lucky person, to be able to win the favor of the Nineteenth Brother. Let me see the flowers you prepared today. I heard that the Nineteenth Brother's palace has added a lot of exotic flowers and plants. I have always heard rumors about it, and today I finally have the chance to see them."
Everyone followed the queen's gaze and saw two blooming flowers in a light green square ceramic pot. The petals were stacked and crowded together. The most peculiar thing was that the petals stacked together in the middle were light orange, while the petals in the outer circle were pure white.
The queen was also very curious about this and couldn't help but reach out to touch it. The delicate flower was pinched in the queen's hand. After a while, she let go and looked at Qiao Shinian: "What is the name of this flower?"
"Your Highness, this is a variety of rose called Beatrice."
"Beatrice?" The queen whispered softly, then smiled and took Qiao Shinian's hand: "Things are precious because they are rare. This is the first time I have seen this flower. It would be a waste of natural resources if such a beautiful and rare flower did not win the championship. This year, you will win the championship."
After finishing speaking, the Queen looked at the others and asked, "Do you have any different opinions?"
"Your Majesty, you have a keen eye for talent, and we have no objection." It was Mo Lin who spoke. He stepped forward and said, "Since the winner of the flower viewing banquet has been decided, I, your wife and I, will take our leave first."
Mo Lin's words seemed to be a sabotage, and he was about to leave before the Queen said goodbye.
The smile on the queen's face did not fade away. Instead, she nodded and looked at Mo Lin's wife: "It's hard for you to come to the flower viewing banquet when you are pregnant. Being a mother is the most difficult thing. Go back and have a good rest."
"Thank you, Queen." Mo Lin was the first to help his pregnant wife leave.
Once the winner is announced, this flower viewing banquet will lose a lot of its meaning. Everyone who came with flowers wanted to compete for the first place, but now Qiao Shinian has won it first.
Many people had some resentment in their hearts, but with Mu Qingchen around, no one dared to express it.
Qiao Shinian tilted her head slightly and found that Princess Yu'an had left at some point. When she looked at Wen Jiu, Wen Jiu just smiled at her.
The harem was in chaos before afternoon tea was even finished.
A young eunuch hurried in and kneeled before the queen without regard for etiquette: "Queen! Princess Yu'an...she has ascended to heaven."
"What!" Everyone looked horrified.
The young eunuch knelt on the ground and dared not raise his head: "Now, Your Majesty, please come over."
After he finished speaking, he looked up at Wen Jiu and said, "And you, the Thirteenth Prince, His Majesty is calling you!"
Wen Jiu's face was gloomy and his expression was solemn. He strode towards Concubine Liu's Hundred Flowers Hall.
After a brief moment of shock, the queen stood up and looked at everyone: "That's all for today, everyone please go back first."
Qiao Shinian looked at the calm and collected queen, and when he turned around, Mu Qingchen had disappeared.
As the crowd dispersed, Qiao Shinian could only follow the crowd out of the palace.
She was worried at first, wondering if Wen Jiu had done a clean job, and whether he had left any evidence behind.
After walking for a while, she saw another person beside her. It was Princess Ping'an, Mu Qinglan, who had not given up yet.
She said in a cold voice: "You won't be so proud for long! His Highness will not marry a woman of unknown origin. He is a member of the royal family. If you know what's good for you, you can stay and be his maid in the future. If you don't know what's good for you, there are plenty of ways to make you disappear."
"You're boring." Qiao Shinian turned to look at Princess Ping'an with an expressionless face. "Why are you talking to me about maids when you can't even enter Prince Xian's mansion?"
How did Wen Jiu kill Princess Yu'an?
Will the Emperor of Zhou find out? If so, what will happen to her and Wen Jiu?
Qiao Shinian's mind was in a mess and she was a little scared, but Mu Qingchen was not there at this moment.
She knew where Mu Qingchen had gone, and she just felt helpless about it. What would Mu Qingchen think if he knew that she had poisoned his half-sister without telling him and Wen Jiu?