In the next few days, Ye Jun never saw the emperor again.
Until the day of the lotus viewing banquet, Chen Baolin served twice and Yi Wanrong served once.
Overall, the few who have pets are equally matched.
This led to everyone dressing up as best as they could on the day of the banquet, hoping to outshine the others.
Ye Jun couldn't be an exception, so she carefully selected a crabapple red dress, combed her hair into a double bun, and matched it with a set of ruby head ornaments.
The gold-thread agate crabapple hairpin that the Chu family brought from the Western Regions for her sparkled brightly in the sunlight as she walked, and it touched her heart.
She did her own makeup today. The ends of her eyebrows were curved upwards, which was clever and charming. She also used red rouge to draw eyeliner and chose a highly saturated vermilion lip balm, just like the charming and alluring Lycoris radiata.
It is really captivating.
Ye Jun arrived neither too early nor too late. After looking around, he sat down at the side, with Concubine Wang on one side and the pavilion's fence on the other.
I sit like this because I’m afraid some ‘good sister’ will come over again.
"Ye Wanrong looks really beautiful in this outfit." Concubine Wang accepted her gift and praised her.
"I have always liked bright things, and I am not afraid of others saying that I am vulgar. I am happy when a beautiful woman praises me."
Ye Jun was still more willing to talk to her, mainly because this Wang had calm and clear eyes and looked smart and innocent.
After hearing this, Lady Wang smiled and said, "Sister, you are beautiful, and your whole body is full of charm. You look good even in coarse linen clothes."
"Oh, if my sister praises me again, I will blush." Ye Jun looked shy.
Lady Wang knew what was good for her, so she didn't say anything more. It would have sounded fake if she had said more.
Soon, the emperor and the empress came together. The couple held hands and looked harmonious.
At least, the queen's eyes were full of love.
Everyone stood up and saluted, and Ning Chen saw Ye Jun at a glance.
There was no other reason, it was just that touch of bright red that was too eye-catching. When Ye Jun looked up, the special eye makeup reminded Ning Chen of the red fox he had raised when he was young.
Somehow, it felt like the fox had become a spirit and came back to find him.
When Ye Jun noticed that the emperor was looking at him, he looked at him and smiled.
All of this fell into Fang Cairen's eyes. His eyes darkened and a sneer appeared on his lips.
She lowered her eyes and made a gesture to the maid beside her, who understood and quietly retreated.
"Today, the Queen is hosting a banquet, and the lotus flowers are blooming even more luxuriantly, which shows that the Queen is a great figure in the world."
Ning Chen received some good news these two days and was in a good mood, so he said a few nice words.
The queen blushed slightly and said shyly, "Lotus flowers love the sun. It must be your dragon energy blessing that has caused the flowers to bloom."
"From what I see, it is the Lotus Fairy. Seeing the Emperor and Empress playing harmoniously together, she is so happy that she has caused the lotus flowers in the pond to bloom beautifully!"
Concubine Zhao spoke at the right time, and her words made the Queen extremely satisfied, and her expression became even more proud.
Ning Chen smiled after hearing this, and out of courtesy he gave a plate of cakes in front of him to Concubine Zhao.
After all the nice words, it's time for some talent shows. Isn't it boring to just look at the flowers
The dancers performed dances to newly arranged pieces, accompanied by musicians, which showed how much thought the queen had put into it.
When the second show started, Yang Cainu, wearing a peacock feather dress, came up, surrounded by musicians.
Yang was extremely beautiful, and today she was dressed up carefully, so she naturally attracted attention, especially her dance costume, which was as light as a feather, beautiful as a cloud, and full of brilliance, making the person wearing it look like a fairy concubine.
"Yang Cainu is good at singing and dancing. She specially prepared this program for the emperor. She originally wanted to perform it at the Double Ninth Festival. Now that I am holding a lotus viewing banquet, I asked her to dance first."
The Queen secretly observed Ning Chen's expression, and seeing that he was also attracted, she explained softly.
She did not lie. If it were not for the promotion of Yao, which made her unable to restrain herself, this dance would indeed be prepared for the Double Ninth Festival.
The concubines below were so angry that they gritted their teeth and regretted that they had not prepared any programs.
Only Yao was indifferent, staring at Ye Jun with a vague look, as if she had no interest in the performance on the stage.
At that time, the sound of the piano rang out, and it was the long-lost Green Waist Dance.
And Yang was worthy of being the one carefully trained by the Xie family. When she danced, her figure was so graceful as if she had no bones, and her steps were so light as willows swaying in the wind. She was truly beautiful to the extreme.
"Huiyue, I finally know why the king has not been attending court early since then."
Ye Jun whispered jokingly with a look of admiration on his face.
If she were the emperor, she would undoubtedly be a tyrant. Thinking about this, I really admire Ning Chen for his self-control.
After the song, the musicians left and Yang Cainu bowed, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you. I present this song and dance to you for your enjoyment!"
"Okay, okay, although I am not proficient in music theory, I know that this Green Waist Dance is unique in the world. No one has been able to dance it for twenty years. Today you have feasted my eyes, you deserve a reward!"
Ning Chen smiled half-truthfully, waved his hand, and was about to give the reward.
Yang Cainu and the Queen's eyes suddenly brightened, and they were just waiting for the Emperor to say the word "promotion".
"Your Majesty!" Suddenly, Sun Xiuyi spoke, half coquettishly and half shyly, "I have prepared a dance today, but Your Majesty has rewarded Sister Yang first. I dare not dance, but if I don't dance, my efforts will be wasted, and I feel it is a pity. How about Your Majesty watch my dance and ask for a reward from me?"
After hearing this, both the Queen and Yang changed their expressions.
However, Sun Xiuyi has always been favored, so Ning Chen would naturally give her face. He smiled and took a sip of tea, speaking helplessly.
"Look at how petty you are. When have I ever neglected your share? Since you have prepared it, let me take a good look at it."
Sun Xiuyi covered her face shyly and was helped by the maid to go downstairs to change her clothes.
Not long after, I heard a melodious and pleasant female voice coming from the lotus pond, which was private, ethereal and crisp.
In the lotus pond, a bamboo raft slowly moved to the center of the pond. Six women in green knelt on the raft, holding oars and paddling. The one in the middle, wearing a pink and white gauze dress and holding a golden bell barefoot, was Sun Xiuyi.
The singing gradually became louder and louder, and the woman on the bamboo raft was like a lotus bud bursting into life, revealing her figure little by little. When the raft reached the middle of the pond, the green-clad musicians stood up and started to dance with the singing. Like tender leaves, they only made the pink-clad woman in the middle look even more charming and beautiful.
The sound of the golden bells is crisp, like raindrops, bathing down and making the lotus flowers bloom more beautifully.
After the dance, although her movements were comparable to Yang's, her movements were much more novel and clever.
Obviously, neither the Queen nor Yang Cainu expected this to happen. If they had previously held out some hope, they were now completely disheartened.
Although the Green Waist Dance is beautiful, it is no match for Sun Xiuyi's Lotus Fairy.
"I am so lucky to have such a beautiful woman!" Ning Chen naturally admired her. Sun Xiuyi was smart and talented, which made her even more satisfied.
"Pass on my decree. Sun Xiuyi is beautiful and graceful, so she is granted the title of Yan, and Yang Cainu is promoted to the rank of Baolin."
The emperor waved his hand and a new Yan Xiuyi and Yang Baolin came into being.
But the Queen and Yang couldn't be happy at all. They were completely suppressed by Sun today, and it was as if they had found this position accidentally.
It's meaningless.