Transmigration: A Farm Girl’s Brocade
Chapter 559 - 287 Counterattack_3

Chapter 559: Chapter 287 Counterattack_3

Wong Wen and her two elders all blushed, but dared not speak.

Qian Yixiu bowed slightly to the Eldest Princess with tears glimmering in her eyes and said, "Eldest Princess, I’m sorry. As a junior born in the countryside with inadequate education, I have been subjected to such humiliation and have tarnished your plum banquet. I have also disgraced the face of my royal great-grandmother, and alongside her, I have suffered insults. I will definitely go to the palace and apologize to her in person. I have even brought shame upon the spirit of my maternal grandmother in heaven, and I will kneel before her memorial tablet to apologize."

Among Qian Yixiu’s elders were the Empress Dowager and Princess Zi Yang.

Lady Fu hugged Qian Yixiu and said bitterly, "Good child, your aunt knows you’ve been wronged. Tomorrow your aunt will accompany you to apologize to the Empress Dowager. We, as your elders, have not fulfilled our duties."

Fengyang became somewhat panicked and, pointing at Qian Yixiu, accused, "You’re really good with words. I clearly said your rural elders didn’t teach you well, how did you involve the Empress Dowager and Princess Zi Yang?"

Qian Yixiu grew even more upset and, with a trembling voice, asked, "Does the Princess mean to say that I am not a descendent of the Empress Dowager and my maternal grandmother, that they are not my elders? Heavens, how can you say such a thing! I must go back and ask my grandfather if my mother is truly the biological daughter of Princess Zi Yang."

From somewhere, a few soft chuckles were heard.

Fengyang was so angry that she pointed at her and was at a loss for words.

Not to mention that the Eldest Princess was amused, even the Former Imperial Consort and Old Lady Yue were amused as well.

Old Lady Yue laughed and said, "We all know you’re a good girl, don’t be sad anymore."

The Former Imperial Consort laughed and remarked, "She is indeed a clever girl."

The Eldest Princess then addressed Fengyang, "Enough, enough, it was just the children playing around. When you got involved, the tone changed. If this trifle were really brought to the Empress Dowager, it would be shame on all of us. Yixiu is a guest I invited; to slap her face is to slap the face of my palace. Let’s put an end to this matter; nobody is allowed to mention it again. And all this talk about her being a country person must also stop. Although she was born in the countryside, the most noble blood flows through her veins. By using such words against her, you are actually implicating... " She didn’t utter who was being implicated, but everyone understood her meaning.

Having said this, even Fengyang dared not speak further and turned away with a "hmpf" sound.

Qian Yixiu, seeing that things had taken a favorable turn, followed Lady Fu back to her seat.

After the meal, except for the Former Imperial Consort and Old Lady Yue, who retired due to fatigue, as well as a few middle-aged women who disliked crowding, everyone else went to the Plum Grove. The Eldest Princess was in good health and the organizer of the event. Furthermore, she enjoyed watching the young men and women showcase their talents, so she too cheerfully took a palanquin to the grove.

Seeing her excitement, Qian Yixiu thought that if the Eldest Princess were in modern times, she would definitely be the chief commander of an evening arts troupe.

Large snowflakes began to fall again, but everyone was thrilled, reciting poetry or sword dancing in the snow—wasn’t that even more poetic and passionate?

To the west of the Plum Grove was a three-sided courtyard with an open front, indistinguishable from an ordinary courtyard from the outside. Yet once one stepped inside, it was quite different. Inside, there were few brick walls, with doors and windows almost entirely unblocked. Not only were the doors wide open, but the windows as well. The rooms had hardly any partitions, only wood lattices serving as symbolic dividers.

In the rooms of the east and west wings, there were many tables and chairs, and a number of braziers were lit for warmth, as well as heated floors.

The main room had braziers and heated floors, and even heated brick beds.

When they arrived, the male guests had already been there, with the young men in the east wing. Seeing the women arrive, they excitedly came to the windows to look out and whispered among themselves. Liang Jinyu ran out from the east wing, coming over to support the Eldest Princess.

The Eldest Princess and some elder women went to the main room, where Prince Consort Pan and some older men were already seated. On seeing the Eldest Princess, they all stood up to greet her.

The younger women guests went straight to the west wing.

In the center of the main room, there were two heated brick beds. On one bed sat the Eldest Princess and two madams; one older was Madam Lu, the wife of Lu Hanlin, a renowned talented woman. The younger was Grandma Cui, also a great talented woman. On the other brick bed sat Prince Consort Pan and two other middle-aged men, one of them being Sir Lin, the current Libationer of the Imperial College, and the other Lu Hanlin.

Prince Consort Pan generally did not like to mingle in such excitement. But the Eldest Princess of Tai Feng held face, and nobody could coax him except for her, who managed to invite the Great Scholar Pan year after year.

Qian Yixiu followed the crowd into the west wing, sharing a table with Pan Yuantong, Pan Yuanting, Fu Minglan, and Fu Mingzhu. The room was crowded with people, and both braziers and heated floors kept it from being very cold, but after a while, the fingers would not be very flexible. No wonder these people were not willing to paint or write on the day of the plum banquet—it would affect their performance.

The young girls and their elders all covertly glanced into the east wing, just as the people in the east wing looked towards the west wing.

This setup resembled a collective blind-date event from the past life—a surprisingly open practice for the Great Qian Kingdom.

Qian Yixiu also took a peek into the east wing and didn’t see Father Jiang and Uncle Pan, concluding they must have gone elsewhere to avoid the crowd.

Sir Lin stepped into the center of the courtyard, speaking on behalf of the Eldest Princess, hoping that the younger generation would perform well and create many good works. At the same time, he announced that the day’s creations must include the character "snow."

Plum and snow are inseparable; today’s poetry should not be difficult.

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