Chapter 1095 - 1069: Honor Amidst Chaos 137

Chapter 1095: Chapter 1069: Honor Amidst Chaos 137

Xiao Ying stayed at the West Manor for several days before returning.

Upon his return, he told Anning about Xiao Jue’s situation.

It was indeed his goddaughter and Xiao En who caused Xiao Jue’s death together.

Now those two have been locked in the room and will be dealt with after Xiao Jue’s funeral.

Anning asked but didn’t intervene further.

Then, a few days later, during Xiao Jue’s funeral, Mrs. Zhao went mad, somehow got hold of a knife, and killed Xiao En and that goddaughter.

The West Manor was in utter chaos.

Anning initially planned to separate them and find some work for them to keep from causing trouble out of boredom.

But before he could act, news came from Da Qi that the Noble Princess Consort Li had gone missing.

Inside the Daqi Palace, no one could find the Noble Princess Consort Li. Emperor Jingqing ordered a search throughout the Capital, but she was nowhere to be found, and the Li family hadn’t seen her either.

For this reason, Emperor Jingqing was furious, demoting and punishing the officials associated with the Li family, leaving no one untouched.

Even Prime Minister Li was implicated, dismissed from his post, although thanks to some colleagues’ pleas, he’s not in mortal danger.

Anning, upon receiving the news, had someone send a message to the spies dispatched to Da Qi, ordering them to contact Prime Minister Li to arrange for him to secretly come to Dajing.

At the same time, Anning began to fortify Dajing’s border, ready to arrest any suspicious individuals on sight.

And so, amidst the turmoil, several more days passed.

Princess Fengyang was residing at the imperial manor and sent invitations to the madams and misses of Suzhou City, inviting them to the imperial manor for a flower viewing.

Su Yu also received an invitation.

She dressed up deliberately and eagerly went to the event on the day of the flower viewing gala.

The entire Suzhou’s distinguished families thought it was time for a few princes to wed, and that perhaps Princess Fengyang’s flower viewing gala was actually to select a princess for them, so those who received invitations were overjoyed, and those who didn’t, tried all means to secure one to gain some insights.

Soon the day arrived, and one could say, the female relatives of Suzhou City’s aristocratic families were all dressed up and on their way to the imperial manor.

The road to the imperial manor was packed with carriages, and many places were completely jammed.

Princess Fengyang, too, dressed carefully, inspected the imperial manor thoroughly, and arranged several greenhouses for the young ladies to admire the flowers within.

Meanwhile, she set up a stage in the imperial manor exclusively for the theater troupe to perform.

From early morning, ladies and misses started arriving one after another, and Li Niang was busy welcoming them, while several maidservants accompanying Princess Fengyang were dispatched to assign seats and food and tea arrangements for the female guests.

Once everyone arrived, Princess Fengyang invited everyone to move to the largest greenhouse.

The flowers bloomed best there, the space was spacious, and refreshments were already laid out.

The guests arrived and praised the beautiful environment and the blooming flowers.

Princess Fengyang smiled and after sitting down, said, "The other day I heard there’s a great female poet in Suzhou City, but I’ve been so busy lately, I didn’t know which talented lady she is?"

A lady close to the Mei Family laughed and said, "It’s Miss Su, Miss Su has written quite a few poems lately, and these poems have spread throughout Suzhou. Many scholars in Suzhou City praise Miss Su’s poems."

Someone else said, "I heard Miss Su wrote a particularly grand poem, the poem begins like this, ’Have you not seen the waters of the Yellow River coming from the heavens...’

Princess Fengyang listened quietly as the lady recited the entire poem.

She smiled at Su Yu and said, "This poem is indeed great, Sister Su, please come and sit."

Su Yu proudly walked in front of Princess Fengyang, who smiled gently and amiably, "I usually love writing poems too, but mine lack soul. The Queen Mother often sighs, saying I learn everything else well, but not poetry, so up to now, I can only write doggerels. People like Miss Su, I truly admire."

Su Yu felt even more proud, "Princess, you’re too modest. Given your noble birth, you are superior without doing anything, there’s no need to learn such trivialities."

Her words implied that Princess Fengyang, though seen as dim-witted, had won life’s lottery through her remarkable birth.

Yet Princess Fengyang wasn’t upset, "Upon meeting Miss Su today, I’d like to learn from you. The first few lines I know, they are just words to encourage drinking together. In my father, the Emperor’s gatherings with uncles, I’ve heard similar drinking toasts. I didn’t expect Miss Su to be so bold, feasting and drinking with many men."

Huh?

Many madams and misses present were stunned upon hearing this.

No one had talked about these things before; they only heard people praised Su Yu’s poetry and agreed without delving into it.

Now that Princess Fengyang brought it up, everyone realized that indeed, who among respectable young ladies goes drinking so wildly? Those who do try to persuade don’t typically persuade with such insistence. They’ve never encountered a girl like this before.

Many started giving Su Yu complex looks.

Su Yu was somewhat furious inside but had no immediate defense. After a while, she said, "Just drinking with family, that’s all."

Princess Fengyang continued to ask, "Who are Mr. Cen and Dan Qiusheng? I don’t recall anyone by those names in Uncle Mei’s family. They sound like men, perhaps they are men you met earlier in Yangzhou City?"

Su Yu was shocked and quickly lowered her head, "I wrote it randomly."

"Hmm," Princess Fengyang nodded, "Roaring boy, exchange fine wine, has Miss Su given birth to a son? At your age, even a godson wouldn’t be possible, would it?"

Su Yu was so frightened she was rigid all over.

She had plagiarized the poems to gain fame but didn’t know enough poetry herself to thoroughly understand the content. Only now did Princess Fengyang’s questioning make her realize that the plagiarism was full of glaring flaws.

Princess Fengyang raised an eyebrow, a hint of a mocking smile tugging at her lips, "Miss Su can’t explain a single line, could it be that they were plagiarized? Only plagiarism could explain how a young lady writes poems suited for men and why a maiden could suddenly ’have a son.’ If this is copied, then what about the other poems, are they not copies too?"

"No, I didn’t plagiarize,"

Su Yu stood up abruptly, "The Princess holds a high position, but shouldn’t unjustly slander people."

"Is that so?"

Princess Fengyang’s eyes slightly shifted, pointing to a pot of camellias not far off: "Since you didn’t copy, could you perhaps write a poem about camellias? How about it? Can you write?"

"I... I have no inspiration, I can’t write."

Su Yu hesitated, muttering softly.

Princess Fengyang smiled again, "Very well, then let’s not dwell on this matter. Everyone came to enjoy themselves. I’ve hired a theater troupe; my mother, the Queen Mother, enjoyed their performance recently and praised the troop’s Mr. Qi, even writing a script for him. Mr. Qi and his troupe have been rehearsing and are ready to perform. Let’s enjoy the spectacle."