He patted her on the shoulder meaningfully, then brushed past her. He left Ji Feiyu standing there, feeling dejected. So he knew all about her feigning ignorance.
Ji Feiyu watched his back, and her heart suddenly felt in a complete mess.
...
The wine tasting banquet was actually a royal feast for wine appreciation. That meant only the royal family and the concubines in the harem were present, with no foreign ministers. The wines served at the banquet were all divine masterpieces. It was no exaggeration to call them celestial nectar. However, since men were generally more fond of wine, in order to arouse the interest of the women in the harem, the predecessors had specifically set up a small event at the wine tasting banquet - that was to brew and taste wine by themselves. Each imperial concubine had the chance to bury a jar of wine under the guidance of the imperial winemaker. The wine would be unsealed and tasted at the next wine tasting banquet, which was seven years later. The winner would receive a promise from the emperor to fulfill a wish.
Because of this reward, the wine tasting banquet had become another arena for the concubines in the harem to compete for the emperor's favor. Books on how to brew wine were also widely circulated in the harem.
Ji Feiyu still remembered that seven years ago, when she first attended the wine tasting banquet, all kinds of palace servants had brought her various books on wine - brewing in order to curry favor with her, which had caught her off - guard. She also remembered that year, when the Empress Dowager, Younger Prince 18 and others were all there. Everyone was smiling and chatting, tasting a jar of wine that the Empress Dowager had buried for Yong Yaxuan when she was a concubine of the late emperor. The light and shadow were soft.
Unexpectedly, after seven years of changes, the old acquaintances were no longer at this year's banquet, and many new faces had appeared.
"Brother Emperor, it's time to unseal the wine. I want to drink Sister - in - law's wine." A slightly green and astringent young voice came, interrupting her train of thought. At this moment, Ji Feiyu was sitting at her seat at the wine tasting banquet. She looked up at the figure that had just spoken. She saw that the figure was tall and straight, with a face as fair as jade and eyes like stars. It was Younger Prince 18, whom she hadn't seen for a long time. She didn't expect that after not seeing him for four years, the boy had grown so tall. He had also changed his voice and had an Adam's apple.
Truly, time waits for no one. In the blink of an eye, everyone had changed.
Ji Feiyu stared at him like this, but didn't expect that his gaze swept across the whole table and he also noticed her. He just paused slightly, then ran over quickly and hugged her, shouting, "Sister - in - law, you're finally back! Yun Xuan has missed you so much!" At this time, he was already a tall and thin teenager. Ji Feiyu was startled when he ran over and hugged her like this.
When he shouted like this, everyone present changed their expressions. Even Yong Yaxuan called out, "Yun Xuan, don't be naughty. That's Princess Shuanghua. What are you shouting about!"
Only then did Ji Feiyu remember that she shouldn't have changed into the palace dress. Although her face was covered by a thick veil, her figure, back, and the aura after changing into the palace dress were all there. How could those familiar with her not recognize her?
At this time, the three concubines also cast malicious glances at her. They began to scrutinize her desperately.
Ji Feiyu couldn't help but regret her decision. She remembered that he had agreed to let her wear the dress of a princess from the Northern Cold yesterday, but she had deliberately gone against him and changed into the palace dress of the Great Yong. She had forgotten about the risk of being exposed.
Just as she pushed Younger Prince 18 away and gave him an embarrassed smile, she thought of a question. Since she looked the same, why hadn't Yong Yaxuan recognized her? Was it because his eyes... hadn't fully recovered?
After thinking about it, Ji Feiyu turned to look at his eyes. At this moment, he also happened to be looking at her absent - mindedly.
Sure enough, there was something wrong. Yong Yaxuan's gaze didn't seem as sharp as before.
"Your Majesty." Seeing this, Ji Feiyu stood up, bowed deeply to him, and said in Shuanghua's voice, "If this dress of Shuanghua has brought trouble to Your Majesty, please allow Shuanghua to change back into the dress of a princess from the Northern Cold. Shuanghua knows that Empress Feiyu is an indelible memory of the whole country. Shuanghua also admits that it was after seeing the touching story of you two that she decided to come to the Great Yong. Shuanghua did deliberately imitate Empress Feiyu because Shuanghua also hopes that Your Majesty can treat her like Empress Feiyu! Please forgive Shuanghua's rudeness."
Her words were very grand - sounding, but they made Younger Prince 18 beside her stunned. Seeing her like this, he wanted to pull her up, but was stopped by Yong Yaxuan. "Yun Xuan, let go. That's Princess Shuanghua, your future new sister - in - law."
Everyone on the seats gasped. This time, the emperor had affirmed her identity in front of them. At this time, the three concubines were sitting far away from them. When Concubine Zhen saw this, she couldn't help but hatefully say, "This bitch actually dares to deliberately imitate Ji Feiyu to gain the emperor's attention..."
Concubine Ru said, "We underestimated her."
Concubine Li said leisurely, "The real can't be fake, and the fake can't be real. Just look at the emperor's expression and you'll know that he doesn't like such behavior."
Concubine Zhen said, "But this palace almost misjudged just now. I thought it was really that bitch Ji Feiyu who had come back."
Concubine Ru analyzed, "She's much thinner than Ji Feiyu. Her tone of speaking and voice are also different. If it were really her, how could the emperor not recognize her?" The implication was that although they didn't have much contact with Ji Feiyu, the emperor was in contact with her every day. How could he not tell the difference?
Concubine Li wasn't worried at all. "It's normal for people to look alike. Otherwise, why would our emperor choose to marry her? Presumably, he took a fancy to her appearance."
Ji Feiyu, who was far away, naturally didn't know that she had already become a thorn in the side of the three concubines. She just bowed to Yong Yaxuan three times and then got up and prepared to leave.
Seeing this, Yong Yaxuan felt a bit tired. He waved his hand. "There's no need to change the clothes. Unseal the wine." After saying that, he frowned and didn't look at her anymore.
The wine tasting banquet officially began at this time.
When the seven - year - old aged wines were dug out from under the soil of the flower trees, all the women became excited.
Younger Prince 18 had already been led away from Ji Feiyu, but he couldn't help but keep looking back at her. Ji Feiyu felt extremely uncomfortable being stared at by him, so she volunteered to help a sister unseal the wine.
"Please, all the ladies, find your own wines and then unseal them. Those who didn't bury wine seven years ago will act as wine tasters. You can choose a jar at will to taste and compose a poem." The shrill voice of the eunuch in the palace announced the arrival of the climax of the wine tasting banquet.
The girl beside Ji Feiyu said happily while digging, "I didn't expect that I would still have the chance to dig out the wine I buried seven years ago. In this palace, even one's own survival isn't up to oneself."
Hearing this, Ji Feiyu asked, "What's your current status, sister?"
"Xiuyuan."
"And before?"
"Meiren."
Ji Feiyu couldn't help but smile. "Then you've been promoted quite quickly in these seven years, sister."
But the woman shook her head. "I just feel like it's all a dream. Since Empress Feiyu left, the three concubines have been in power. Each of them has chosen a group of meiren to promote as their own forces in the future. I was unfortunately chosen by Concubine Ru. Although I've been granted the title of Xiuyuan now, I'm only lucky enough to see His Majesty today." The woman in front of her had a clear look in her eyes. She didn't seem as worldly as ordinary concubines. Seeing that Ji Feiyu wanted to help her dig out the wine, she politely declined. "Princess Shuanghua, you'd better wait over there. You're in charge of wine - tasting. It's not good to dirty your hands here."