A few days later, Shen Qingwan was ordered to attend the royal moon-viewing banquet. She had just met her father that day. General Shen said that he had never applied for a job for Shen Huaiyu and had never said those words in the court.
Shen Qingwan suddenly understood that Fu Yuheng had been testing her all along.
In the final analysis, it was because she didn't trust herself or the Shen family. Thinking of this, Shen Qingwan felt a chill coming over her, and she felt an unprecedented fear. She looked up at the huge bedroom, and a sense of desolation came from the bottom of her heart.
The banquet was held on the Bronze Sparrow Tower, which was built by the water and surrounded by a vast expanse of land, a rare sight. Under the bright moonlight, she saw a man in a blue robe sitting next to the Queen Mother, talking and laughing with her. Shen Qingwan thought, this must be the Ninth Prince, the Queen Mother's favorite.
Fu Yuheng only spoke a few words to the Queen and didn't say much to other concubines.
When the queen saw Shen Qingwan, she waved to her and said with a smile: "Sister Xianfei, why are you so late? Come here quickly. The emperor and I just mentioned you."
This sentence made everyone present look at Shen Qingwan.
She groaned inwardly, and said somewhat embarrassedly: "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I got lost and came late. It's just that my position is over here..."
Fu Yuheng said coldly: "If I tell you to come over, then come over."
Shen Qingwan had no choice but to sit below the Queen and look at Fu Yuheng. He was just watching everything below quietly, unwilling to even give Shen Qingwan any attention.
Li Jieyu offered to dance. The Ninth Prince was a leisurely person who loved poetry, wine, singing and dancing, so he offered to accompany her. The two of them were like a match made in heaven. The sound of the flute sounded, and Li Jieyu's long dress fluttered, like a match made in heaven.
When the dance was over, she bowed to the Queen Mother and the Emperor and said softly, "I am humbled."
Fu Yuheng nodded and said, "Great dance! Reward!"
All of a sudden, all the concubines looked at her with envy, hating themselves for not having grabbed the first prize.
Concubine Qi stood out from the crowd.
She was wearing a long autumn-scented dress embroidered with endless little love flowers, and although her hair was combed into a simple ruyi bun, it was not simple to put it in. On top was a long hairpin made of pearls, jade and coral, with a long string of tassels hanging down from it.
"It's a rare occasion for us all to gather together today, how about I ask you to guess a riddle?"
The Queen Mother became interested when she heard this and said, "Everyone present can guess, and whoever guesses correctly will be rewarded."
Concubine Qi smiled faintly and said, "The white snake crossed the river with a red sun above its head, and the black dragon climbed up the wall with thousands of golden lights on its body."
When everyone heard this, they were stumped.
Shen Qingwan naturally knew the answer, but she couldn't steal the limelight, so she just watched them rack their brains.
The Ninth Prince said: "This is easy. Isn't this 'Fei Liu'?"
Concubine Qi shook her head, and the Ninth Prince felt a little discouraged.
"The scale bar."
Suddenly, a guard came out from behind. He looked at Concubine Qi shyly and asked, "I wonder if what I said is right?"
Concubine Qi nodded and said, "Then can Guard Ye tell us in detail how you guessed it?"
"This riddle is correct. The pole is Wulong, and the star is Venus. One is 'over', one is 'on top', one is 'on', and one is 'covered'. It has both form and spirit, and it is the pole."
Shen Qingwan looked at Concubine Qi and saw that her face was blushing. She followed her eyes and was surprised.
Ye Feng was also looking at Concubine Qi, but her eyes were full of affection. Her brain exploded. The palace servants said that she had taken Concubine Qi's position as a first-rank concubine, but although she was cold to her, she had never been hostile. But Concubine Qi was not a good person. Could it be that... she didn't care about her position, but was only doing it for Ye Feng
Shen Qingwan was thinking, but was brought back to her senses by a female voice next to her.
"Sister, I'll toast you a glass." Liu Churong picked up the wine glass beside her and was about to drink it, but unexpectedly, the maid Lianyun beside her stumbled and the wine glass slipped. All the concubines looked over.
Fu Yuheng also turned around and asked unhappily, "What's wrong?"
Lianyun's face turned pale, and she knelt on the ground with a plop. "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I accidentally knocked over the Imperial Concubine's wine glass."
Concubine Liu said coldly, "Why? The Queen Mother and the Emperor are watching here too. How can I poison your master?" She was very aggrieved, with a tearful look on her face. She looked at Fu Yuheng and said, "Your Majesty, I just wanted to toast to Concubine Xian, but I didn't expect that this clumsy maid would knock over the wine glass..."
The words before and after were very obvious. Shen Qingwan secretly cried out in dismay and hurriedly knelt down.
Lianyun kept kowtowing and said, "Your Majesty, I didn't mean to do it. Someone just pushed me."
"Pushed you? There was only your master behind you. Could it be that Sister Xianfei suspected that I would harm her, so she deliberately pushed you and knocked over the glass of wine?" As she spoke, Concubine Liu looked straight at Concubine Xian, as if she wanted to stare a hole through her.
"Drag him out and beat him to death."
Fu Yuheng said coldly word by word.
Shen Qingwan hurriedly said: "Wait!"
"Your Majesty, I just pushed Lianyun accidentally. If Your Majesty wants to blame someone, please blame me."
Upon hearing this, Fu Yuheng paused the ring in his hand, raised his eyes to glance at Shen Qingwan, and saw anxiety and fear in her eyes.
It turns out there are things that can make her panic.
Seeing that Fu Yuheng didn't say anything, Shen Qingwan said loudly, "Your Majesty, Lianyun was brought by me from the Shen Mansion. We are like sisters. Please spare her life."
At that time, no one dared to say a word, and no one wanted to deal with Shen Qingwan, this hot potato.
"Your Majesty, everyone is very happy to attend the moon-viewing banquet today. It would be terrible if someone died. But this maid ruined our mood. How about punishing her to kneel at the door for two hours? Besides, sorrow (cup) goes away and joy comes, which is also a good omen."
As soon as she finished speaking, Concubine Qi bowed deeply.
Shen Qingwan looked at Concubine Qi gratefully, but found that she was not even looking at her.
Why did she help herself again and again
This is already the biggest doubt in Shen Qingwan's mind.
Fu Yuheng pondered for a while, nodded, and personally helped Concubine Qi up. He looked at her gently and said, "Since Concubine Qi is begging for mercy, then do as Concubine Qi said and kneel at the door."
Liu Churong was so angry that he just stared blankly.
When the banquet was over, Liu Churong walked to the end. She looked fierce and said bitterly, "Xian Fei, you are lucky!"
"My Lady, since I entered the palace, you have tried to frame me again and again. What is your intention?" Shen Qingwan's eyes moved slightly, and there was a little more unfathomable depth in her eyes. She gritted her teeth and stepped forward, whispering: "Tonight, sister deliberately designed to get rid of my maid, just because it is difficult to do it to me, please do as you please. I am different from you. Lianyun is like a sister to me. If you want to deal with her, you must get my consent first!"
For a moment, their eyes overlapped, revealing a very strange atmosphere, as if they were going to condense all of it.
"Sister Concubine Xian, I accidentally fell a few days ago and have a scar on my leg. I heard that you have gel. Can I go to your palace to get some now?" Concubine Qi walked over gracefully and pulled Shen Qingwan over, very kindly.