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


    calcted every step with almost no mistake. She even used me to aplish her n. I really wish I


    have the opportunity to meet her again. Wang Shui, do you have any idea where shees from?"


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


    The man in grey smiled. "Although the carriage looksmon, 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 Pce."


    "The imperial Pce?" Wang Shui was shocked. He looked at his Master in doubt. In his opinion,


    women in the Pce were like canaries. They had nothing to all day exceptpete 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 calcting 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 Pce 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 Pce, 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 Pce? 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-inw is now."


    Qin Meng lowered her head, answered, "Everything is okay. Princess Hua Jing returned to the Pce


    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 himter. 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 Pce. She smiled as she


    saw Qin Meng hurriedly leave Qingxin Pce. "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 y with Hua Jing. Another reason why Yun


    Shang remembered this day in particr, 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 tes 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


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    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 returnter to help you dress."


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


    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,e


    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 woulde. 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-inw? "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!" Emperorughed 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, "s, 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 ns, and felt a small pang of guilt.


    After the first performance ended, the Emperor pped 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 ournd, which


    is a great achievement. Let''s drink a toast to Prince Jing. Ganbei*…"


    (TN- Ancient Chinese word for Cheers.)


    Everyone raised their sses and finished their drink. As soon as the sses 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 nced 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."