C40

One second, remember [Pen: Interesting → Pavilion WWW.Bbique.Com], read for free!

Chu Junyi didn't mind Shen Ninghua's cold attitude at all. She waved her fan and returned to her seat.

Shen Ninghua looked towards the upper seats and saw the Second Prince, Baili Jinchuan, beaming with pride, exuding a valiant aura. On the surface, Baili Jinze didn't look like he was going to say anything, but from time to time, you could see the haze in his eyes.

As princes, it was already a great honor for them to come to the Xiao family's birthday banquet. Even if they picked up a feather, Shen Dong would still give it to them. But this time, they actually prepared a gift, and it looked very meticulous.

The banquet began. Shen Dong raised his glass and thanked Baili JinChuan, "Thank you Second Prince for coming to attend my mother's birthday banquet."

Prime Minister Shen is too courteous, you have been diligently serving the court for many years, and even royal father has praised you many times. This time, it is my old mistress' birthday, and we brothers have only stopped by for a goblet of wedding wine.

Shen Dong laughed and personally filled their wine cups: "Your highness and highness, you have lost your position."

Shen Dong's legal wife, Lady Zhao, was the empress's younger sister. At this time, the crown prince's position was stable, and the Shen family was extremely intelligent, so they didn't join the team. Thus, on the surface, these princes had pretty good relations with Shen Dong. However, only they themselves knew whether this relationship was real or fake.

The banquet was bustling with noise and excitement. Mrs Zhao sat in the group of wives, smiling as she listened to the flattery from the crowd towards Shen Linghan and Shen Xuanye. Her face was full of pride and pride.

"I heard that a few days ago Ling Han was called into the palace and even received a reward from the empress. What a great fortune."

Mrs Zhao's face froze, as her sharp eyes looked at the Concubine Yi who had just opened her mouth.

Madame Zhao initially wanted to use this opportunity to compliment Mrs Zhao, but unexpectedly, her foot stepped on Mrs Zhao's sore spot. Mrs Zhao said in a neutral tone, "It's just that Ling Han's luck is good."

Noticing Mrs Zhao's displeasure, many of those who wanted to talk about this matter immediately shut their mouths. But Mistress Shao didn't care at all. "Second Miss wants to call esteemed empress' aunt '. It looks like this fortune will be great in the future." "Oh right, Madam Zhao. In a few days, I will be hosting a banquet at my house and inviting the few misses over to my garden. Can I go to Ning Hua?"

Mrs Zhao's face darkened, but she quickly changed to a smile. "Of course you can go." If you can still find her, hmph.

"Then I won't worry about the post."

A few of the ladies who already wanted to communicate with Shen Ninghua immediately warmly asked Lady Shao for an invitation, indicating that they would go along as well. Mrs. Shao naturally agreed one by one.

Seeing that her limelight had been stolen, Mrs Zhao's smile became more stiff. Seeing that it was almost time, she turned to look at Shen Linghan.

Shen Ling Han smiled, stood up and walked in front of Madam Xiao. "Grandmother, it's your birthday celebration today. Granddaughter wants to present a song as a birthday celebration."

Xiao Shi nodded. "Alright, alright."

Shen Ling Han clapped her hands, and someone immediately brought the table up. Shen Ling Han gently placed a zither on the table. With a slight movement of her fair hands, a burst of zither music burst out, silencing the entire hall.

Shen Ninghua looked at her and had no choice but to admit that she had the ability to stir up a ruckus between the two princes. Today, she was wearing a light green muslin dress with her hair fluttering in the wind. She was extremely captivating.

She played the Qiang Hu, which was much more lively and exciting than usual. The novelty of the Qu Feng tightly attracted everyone's attention.

Shen Ling Han smirked, lifted her finger and strummed the zither. The tune suddenly rose up.

Everyone felt their hearts skip a beat as a white figure flashed past their eyes. When they came back to their senses, they found that there was a figure dancing in the middle of the hall. He was dressed in white and had a long sword that was like a snake.

Shen Ninghua narrowed her eyes. It was actually Shen Xuanye Ye!

As the tune got louder and louder, the sword became more agile. It was unknown who threw the flowers into the hall. The sound of sharp swords piercing through the air rang out as flower petals flew in all directions. Everyone's eyes were almost blinded by the scene before them.

Suddenly, the zither music abruptly stopped! Shen Xuanyi pulled back her sword, swiftly putting it back into its scabbard. Only after a while did everyone come back to their senses.

"Ah, look." A cry of surprise sounded, and everyone turned to look in the direction he pointed. "Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!"

On the ground, the petals continued to fall down, gradually assembling into the character "Lifespan".

Baili JinChuan's eyes were filled with admiration, "Young Master's skills are truly extraordinary."

Shen Ling Han stood up and walked half a step behind Shen Xuan Ye. The two of them had similar appearances that made everyone exclaim in their hearts.

"Truly worthy of being a twin of the dragon and the phoenix. Truly extraordinary."

"Yeah, I've never heard of that music before." Yeah, I've never heard of that music.

"The eldest young master's sword dance is even more amazing. Not only did his movements turn smooth and smooth, but the petals also formed a word 'life' in the end. It can be seen how much skill he has."

"Yeah, yeah..."

All sorts of praises were taken out by the crowd. It seemed that no matter how much praise was given to the two of them, it would not be enough.

Chu Junyi retracted her folding fan and looked at Shen Ninghua. However, she discovered that this little girl's control over her emotions was flawless. No matter how one looked at it, she still had that faint smile on her face.

Seeing her like this made him involuntarily think of the smile she had sincerely revealed earlier. It was as brilliant as a summer flower and as beautiful as a fairy … He didn't know if those people were blind or not, but they actually made Shen Ling Han the prettiest girl in the capital …

Shen Xuan Ye and Shen Ling Han took their seats respectively, and the praises from the crowd slowly faded away. Shen Ling Han looked at Shen Ninghua, who was standing behind Madam Xiao, and asked straightforwardly, "Sister has prepared a program for Grandmother's birthday, right?" After the previous time's lesson, she wouldn't say anything more talented about Shen Ninghua. Who knew if she would still be able to stop her like last time?

Shen Ninghua raised her head and saw the provocation shining in her eyes, but her gaze remained unwavering. She walked up to Mrs. Xiao and bowed, "Grandmother, I've prepared a present as well. I'm just afraid that it might not enter Grandmother's eyes."

Mrs. Xiao thoroughly displayed her loving grandmother's image. Shen Ninghua was also willing to cooperate. She lowered her head and revealed a somewhat bashful smile. "Grandmother actually teased me. I don't have any talent. I can't compare to my younger sister, Qin, or calligraphy. I can only use the stupidest method."

Lady Xiao chuckled. "Little girl, stop trying to keep us in suspense. Hurry up and bring out your birthday present."

"Yes, little bluebird. Find someone to bring out the items that I've prepared."

The cyan sparrow lifted the curtain and two attendants slowly brought in a large screen.

Shen Ninghua was really going to deal with her. As a first-class madame, and her eldest son was the prime minister of the imperial court, how could Mrs Xiao not have a screen in her hands? This was simply grandstanding.

Mrs. Xiao also frowned slightly in her heart. She was slightly unhappy thinking, wasn't Shen Ninghua's present too perfunctory?

Chu Junyi fanned herself as she waited to see what would happen. It would be strange if that black-hearted girl made such an obvious mistake! Those people were just waiting to be slapped in the face.

As expected, the two attendants stopped at the entrance of the hall, but they didn't continue to move forward until the cyan sparrow came out with a large mirror. It reflected the sunlight from the entrance onto the screen, and only then did they slowly approach the center of the hall.

"The scene on the screen has changed!"

At the beginning, the screen was an ordinary picture of a crane. However, under the illumination of the sun, the picture slowly changed. The auspicious cloud flowed, the crane soared into the sky, the pine tree branches extended, and the mountains were verdant! As the sun shone down, the auspicious cloud seemed to be able to move, giving off the faint feeling of heavenly music.

If they did not see it with their own eyes, they would not have believed that a small screen would hide so many mysteries.

What was more surprising was that when they reached the center of the hall, the two attendants slowly turned the screen around.

There was actually a single word embroidered on the back of the card, 'Fortune and Ankang'. If one were to look carefully at it again, each character was made up of a small piece of paper. This screen was truly amazing.

"Oh my god, this screen actually used so much thought. I'm afraid it won't be completed within a year or so, right?"

"You're thinking too easily. This embroidery is not as simple as a double-sided embroidery. Just this embroidery alone requires a lot of effort. When did I ever come up with such a skillful embroidery method?" It was likely that even the royal palace would not be able to find such a skilled embroidery lady.

Everyone was in a heated discussion, but no one thought of Shen Ninghua because she was after all, only a fourteen year old girl. With such exquisite embroidery techniques, she would probably not be able to come out for more than ten years.

Chu Junyi looked at Shen Ninghua. "Miss, is the screen yours?"

Upon hearing these words, everyone quieted down and looked curiously at Shen Ninghua.

Shen Ninghua's expression did not change in the slightest. "Yes, while recuperating, I still remember Grandmother's birthday. I originally copied dozens of scriptures to send to Grandmother together, but due to an accident, the screen was only sent up." As for the incident of damaging the scripture, it was naturally because Mrs Zhao had forcibly searched the courtyard previously.

Hearing this, Baili JinChuan could not help but exclaim, "Such exquisite craftsmanship, I'm afraid even the Royal Palace would not be able to find one."

Mrs Xiao was already so happy that she did not know what to do. Shen Ninghua had given her such a big face. This screen was something that did not even exist in the imperial palace! When she saw Lady Zhao's gloomy expression, she immediately felt a burst of disgust. She actually dared to have such an expression on her face at her birthday banquet. Was she dissatisfied with her?

Mrs Zhao's face turned ugly. Shen Ninghua had completely stolen away the limelight from Shen Xuanyin and Shen Linghan. Playing the zither and dancing the sword was something even more stunning. It was not as impressive as the display of filial piety shown on Shen Ninghua's screen. And what the emperor valued the most right now was only two words — filial piety!