Rebirth of the Phoenix Princess novel Chapter 78

This unexpected request had taken Prince Jing by surprise. He shot a glance at Yun Shang and saw her nodding at him. Then he looked towards the Empress who was sitting next to Emperor Ning. The Empress? Prince Jing squinted and stood up, "Your Majesty, this is unfair since I don't have the silk ball in my hand."

Emperor Ning laughed heartily, "Lady Shu was right. It should be you."

Prince Jing had no choice but to sigh in agreement. "Since it is also Your Majesty's wish to see me play, I will play the xiao* for Lady Meng to dance. But I will require one more person to join us. Will Your Majesty permit my request?"

(*TN: xiao is a Chinese vertical end-blown flute, which is generally made of bamboo.)

Emperor Ning nodded, "Since it's a request from you, as your brother, I would not disappoint you. So tell us, who is this person? You can name anyone here."

Prince Jing gave a nod in response. His eyes swept the hall from one end to another. Then he pointed at a girl, "Your Majesty, may I request Princess Hui Guo's assistance to perform a melody together?"

Yun Shang raised her head in surprise. She saw a mischievous glint in Prince Jing's eyes.

All guests turned their eyes to Yun Shang. Emperor Ning said with a smile, "As promised, I would grant your request. But as far as I know, Shang'er knows nothing about music. So, are you still sure that Shang'er should join you?"

Prince Jing turned around to look at Yun Shang, "It must be her. She must play alongside me."

It must be her? Yun Shang sank into a trance. She remembered the name of the melody in her plan, and felt as if her heart was about to jump out of her throat. What did Prince Jing mean when he said those words?

"So, Shang'er, are you willing to play together with your uncle?" Emperor Ning turned to Yun Shang and asked.

Yun Shang stayed silent for a while before uttering a gentle "Yes."

Prince Jing always carried his xiao with him. It was a beautiful one as green as an emerald. And the guqin* was in the Hall, as Lady Lan had played it a moment before. Yun Shang stood up, walked toward the guqin, and sat down before it.

(*TN: guqin is a plucked seven-string Chinese musical instrument of the zither family. It has been played since ancient times, and has traditionally been favored by scholars and literati as an instrument of great subtlety and refinement.)

As soon as Yun Shang sat down, the xiao sounded.

The melody, however, surprised everyone in the Hall. Popularly known as Courting A Phoenix, it was a melody usually played when a man expressed his love towards his lover.

Yun Shang's hands began to pluck the cords of the guqin when the melody from the xiao was getting weak. The sound of the guqin flew as smooth and fluent as a merry creek, and meshed perfectly with that of the xiao.

Qin Meng walked to the middle of the Hall, bent a little, and began to dance. She showed her charm and grace with every movement of her body. She looked like a phoenix about to fly. Her carmine dress shimmered as she danced to the music.

As the melody and the dancing were intoxicating, all guests were holding their breath even after the performance had finished.

"I am so fortunate to have Prince Jing and Princess Hui Guo play for me. Thank you very much." Qin Meng swept a graceful courtesy towards Prince Jing and Yun Shang.

Regaining his composure, Emperor Ning applauded heartily, "Wonderful!" Nobody could figure out whether he applauded for the dancing or the music.

Emperor Ning glanced at Prince Jing, and noticed that he had set his eyes on Yun Shang. Emperor Ning frowned. He wondered if there was something between Prince Jing and Shang'er...

Now, almost all the guests were racking their brains to figure out what had Prince Jing meant when he said, it must be her. After all, Courting A Phoenix was a melody used for winning the heart of lovers. And Prince Jing said it must be her when he selected Yun Shang.

Although everybody thought the same thing, none of them dared speak it out.

"Lady Meng's dancing was quite excellent. I think no one else could dance as good as her. But what surprised me most is that Princess Hui Guo played the guqin so well. It is said that Prince Jing is a master performer of the xiao. But Princess Hui Guo's show of the guqin just now was no inferior to his. The sounds of the guqin and xiao were quite harmonious. How wonderful they were."

"Yes. It was also beyond my expectation. Shang'er has learned quite a lot at Ning'guo Temple. I should extend my gratitude to Master Wu Na." Emperor Ning thought of Lady Jin while looking at Yun Shang, who resembled her mother very much while playing the guqin.

Lady Shu said with a smile, "After the marvelous dancing by Lady Meng, I don't think there would be any fun in the game as no one else could present us with a better performance. Fortunately, I have prepared some special dishes for today's banquet. So, Your Majesty, shall we begin our banquet?"

Emperor Ning nodded, "All right. Today's banquet is prepared by you. So, it's up to you."

Lady Shu clapped her hands and a group of maids came in, each holding a plate in their hand. In the middle of the plate was a bowl painted with cute babies, and the bowl was filled with gruel boiled with slongan, lotus seed, and peanuts*. Lady Shu said with a smile, "Your Majesty, today's banquet is being held to celebrate the pregnancy of the Empress and Lady Jin. So, I have prepared this gruel boiled with slongan, lotus seed, and peanuts. I'm hoping that the Empress and Lady Jin will bear sons for Your Majesty."

(*TN: in China, gruel boiled with slongan, lotus seed, and peanuts is a sign of blessing for women who wish to be pregnant and bear more children in the future.)

Emperor Ning laughed heartily at those words, "Good. It seems Lady Shu has made elaborate preparations for the party. Both of you should have a try of the gruel."

Lady Shu waved at a maid. Before long, the gruel had been placed on the tables. Then another group of maids entered. They carried mandarin fish boiled with Chinese-date.

"As Prince Jing is going to war, I have prepared mandarin fish for Prince Jing to wish him good luck and an early victory." Lady Shu looked at Prince Jing with a smile in her eyes. Then she turned around to look at Emperor Ning, "There will be more dishes served later. I hope Your Majesty will be satisfied." Emperor Ning said with a smile, "That's very nice. As you have prepared two special dishes, everyone should try both. You cannot disappoint Lady Shu." Then he raised the wine cup on the table, "I'm very happy today, because both Lady Jin and the Empress are pregnant. Although Prince Jing has not yet left for battle, I believe he will return with a victory. So, let's cheers for them!"

The guests cheered at the Emperor's words, and downed their wine in a gulp.

Yun Shang tasted the mandarin fish and tried a little of the gruel. She seemed upset. She stood up and whispered something in Qian Yin's ear. With a nod, Qian Yin withdrew to the last of the queue, and then left Jinxiu Palace.

There was jubilant music in the Hall. Seeing the Emperor indulging himself in drinking, all the guests started to enjoy the fun and proposed toasts to each other. In an instant, Jinxiu Palace became a sea of noise.

After the guests had drunk several cups of wine, they heard the merry laughter of Emperor Ning. They looked at the Emperor, and found that he was chatting with Prince Jing. It seemed both men were in a cheerful mood. Prince Jing proposed several toasts to Emperor Ning before returning to his seat.

Emperor Ning descended from his seat and walked toward Lady Shu. He held her hands in his, "I'm very happy today as the Empress is also pregnant. She must get ample rest for her pregnancy. It would not do to have her worry about trivial issues in the imperial household. Therefore, Lady Shu, you shall share her burden and take this responsibility for her. And, Empress, please give your seal to Lady Shu. It's more convenient for her to do her duties with the Empress's seal in hand."

The clamor and noise in Jinxiu Palace quenched at once. The Empress was drinking the gruel. She was so startled at the Emperor's words that she inquired, "What did you say, Your Majesty?"

Emperor Ning replied with a smile, "Lady Shu has held a nice banquet today. And she also runs things well at the imperial household. As you are pregnant, you'd best not bother yourself with trivial things in the imperial household. When the baby is born, you can take back your seal and manage the imperial household again."

The Empress felt as though a heavy bolt had struck her heart, but she still squeezed out a smile at the Emperor, "Your Majesty is quite right. My body is getting more and more heavy as time goes by. It is true that I will feel more and more stressed when managing the imperial household. So, I'm very glad that Lady Shu will share my burden."

Lady Shu's eyes sparkled. She walked to the middle of the Hall in a hurry, and said, "Thank you for your trust, Your Majesty. I will try my best to manage the imperial household well."

Yun Shang shot a glance at Prince Jing, who was sitting opposite her. She wandered what role he had played to make this happen. At this critical moment when he was going to leave the Imperial City, Lady Shu was awarded with this fantastic opportunity to run the whole imperial household. This would make it easier for him to do something in the imperial household if he wanted.

In the imperial household, it is an everlasting rule to lick the shoes of those in power and spit at those out of power. Maybe, everything in the imperial household would change tomorrow when the sun rises again.