Everyone saw Lan Miao approaching gracefully. With gentle steps, her skirt swayed like a water lily emerging from the water. There were plum blossoms swaying around her, making her look extremely elegant and charming.
She bowed to everyone one by one and said softly,
"This is my finished work. Please have a look, Your Majesty and Princess."
"My lady has worked hard."
Emperor Jingxiang lowered his eyelashes, hiding the look of心疼 in his eyes. Lan Miao's slightly damp hair and shining eyes all showed how hard she had worked.
The palace servant behind her carried the work Lan Miao had carved. It passed by everyone on the stage and was finally placed on the table beside Feng Han's work.
It was a lifelike jade cicada.
It was carved from the warm jade provided by the Qi State. The jade was pink and lustrous. The posture of the cicada about to sing was vividly portrayed, looking so real that it seemed to be a real cicada.
At this moment, everyone's eyes were fixed on the jade cicada.
The jade gourd beside it seemed dull in comparison.
It wasn't that the jade gourd was not good. It was just that the jade cicada was so excellent and lifelike that it was hard to take one's eyes off it.
People could see clearly.
Feng Han's face had looked bad since the jade cicada appeared. After looking at it carefully for a while, his face turned deathly pale.
In the long silence, Emperor Jingxiang burst into laughter. He said to Princess Kaiyun excitedly, "Well? Are you convinced now? Is there any need to argue?"
Princess Kaiyun felt a bit dejected.
It was obvious, and there was no need for her to argue with the emperor. She just didn't expect Lan Miao's craftsmanship to be so superb. It seemed that the Jing State was truly a vast land with outstanding people.
Unexpectedly, among the concubines, a woman sitting at the end of the table whispered jealously, "Didn't she exceed the time limit?"
Her voice was not loud, but everyone in the hall could hear it clearly.
The imperial concubine saw that it was Concubine You who had spoken. Concubine Xie beside her quickly covered Concubine You's mouth, but it couldn't stop the imperial concubine's murderous look.
What a stupid person!
Unexpectedly, the always arrogant Feng Han spoke first, "In the face of such a work, exceeding the time limit a little doesn't matter. I admire her."
He bowed to Lan Miao. His attitude was much better than before. When he looked up at Lan Miao again, his eyes had changed from indifferent to deep.
Lan Miao returned the courtesy with a graceful bow.
"Your craftsmanship also makes me admire, Master."
As they bowed to each other, Emperor Jingxiang's face darkened. His look at Feng Han became more and more strange. He said in a deep voice, "Sit down first. The winner has been decided."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Emperor Jingxiang winked at An He. An He understood and arranged Feng Han's seat as far away from Lan Miao as possible.
Only then was Emperor Jingxiang satisfied.
Seeing this, Princess Kaiyun said calmly, "Although the gourd symbolizes fortune and prosperity, we people in the Jing Dynasty prefer the singing cicada."
The Empress Dowager held the jade cicada and kept praising, "Perched high, its song reaches far; not by the autumn wind's aid. The cicada drinks the clear dew, just like a gentleman. I like this jade cicada carved by Lady Lan very much."
When Feng Han's carved gourd was presented before, the Empress Dowager didn't say so much. Obviously, she favored Lan Miao's jade cicada more.
"Thank you for your praise, Empress Dowager."
Being praised by so many people, Lan Miao felt a bit embarrassed.
"Lady Lan has won the contest. What will Your Majesty reward her with?" The Empress Dowager looked at Emperor Jingxiang with a strange look in her eyes.
Emperor Jingxiang pondered for a while and didn't say a word for a moment.
His eyes fell on Lan Miao's face, showing an indescribable and eager emotion.
Lan Miao felt a little scared.
Would the emperor... do something on the spot?
"Of course, a reward is due. Lady Lan is extremely beautiful. Ordinary things are naturally not worthy of her. I'll reward you with a promise. Lady Lan can make a request to me. No matter what it is, I will surely promise you."
Emperor Jingxiang said slowly.
This shocked everyone present.
The emperor was the Son of Heaven. Was there anything the emperor couldn't do? Lan Miao could ask for any promise?
Many people present were envious.
But Lan Miao looked embarrassed.
She found that she couldn't voice her request. At this moment, she could only thank the emperor first. Her tone was a bit solemn, "Thank you for your reward, Your Majesty. It's just that I haven't thought of what I want yet..."
"It doesn't matter. Tell me when you think of it."
Emperor Jingxiang winked at Lan Miao playfully and then quickly resumed his mysterious look.
Among all the royal relatives present, it seemed that only they two knew what was on each other's minds.
Lan Miao's heart skipped a beat. "Thank you, Your Majesty."
At this time, Princess Kaiyun also laughed. She stood up and stared deeply at Lan Miao. "Since Lady Lan hasn't thought of what she wants yet, won't Brother Emperor let her go empty - handed today? I'll take the liberty to reward you with a jar of tribute wine from the Qi State. Come, drink with this princess."
The customs in the Qi State were a bit bold.
Princess Kaiyun's words enlivened the atmosphere again.
The palace servants quickly brought the wine bottles and filled the cups row by row. Even Feng Han, who wanted to decline, was forced to drink a lot.
Lan Miao had no choice but to pick up the wine cup and drink the fine wine heartily.
People kept congratulating her and toasting her.
Below, in the bushes, Yu Jia and Xue'er were also smiling happily. "Your mother won. That's great. Let's also have a little bit of wine. Just a sip."
"My mother is really the best."
Xue'er jumped up with joy. Looking at her mother on the stage, being constantly praised and surrounded by people, she was also happy for her.
Just as Yu Jia was about to drink the wine in one gulp, Xue'er said seriously, "You can't drink so much. You can only have a little. I won't drink. Otherwise, no one will take care of us later..."
"Delicious. The wine from the Qi State is really strong..."
Before Xue'er could finish her words, Feng Ling, who was lying on the stone bench beside them, was already drunk. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes were blurred, and she kept mumbling.
Xue'er and Yu Jia both laughed secretly.
The night was thick, like strong wine going down the throat.
The candles were bright, the red plum blossoms seemed to be on fire, and with the strong wine as a companion, the atmosphere of the banquet reached its climax. Even those who were envious on the stage couldn't say anything unpleasant at this moment.
But it was different for those below.
Lan Xin, sitting at the end of the table beside Mrs. Qin, stared at Lan Miao on the stage with wide eyes, as if looking at a fairy in the sky that was out of reach.
Mrs. Qin was still chatting with the other ladies.
"Lady Lan is really outstanding. Even the Empress Dowager and the emperor praise her highly. Your Lan family is really lucky."
"We don't deserve such praise. It's also her own fortune."
Hearing her mother's happy voice, Lan Xin became even more dissatisfied. She whispered, "Lan Miao is really shameless. A divorced woman, how dare she show up on stage?"
She had been having a hard time recently.
Since the day she went to find Lan Miao, she had been feeling uneasy. Her father, Lan Cen, had really scolded her and told her not to cause trouble for Lan Miao. He even didn't let her go out.
This made her extremely angry.
She didn't even dare to mention her dream of becoming a royal concubine. Why was that? Why was Lan Miao, a divorced widow, more important than her, the legitimate daughter?
She didn't dare to say that she had eavesdropped on their conversation. She could only bury all her grievances in her heart and wait.
But then she heard the news that Lan Miao had entered the palace as a jade carver.
It was like a thunderbolt from a clear sky.
What if Lan Miao met the Empress Dowager or the emperor in the palace and said bad things about her? Was it because of Lan Miao that the emperor didn't take a fancy to her?
Lan Xin became more and more annoyed.
Finally, today, she begged her father to let her go out to attend the banquet. As a result, she saw Lan Miao standing on the stage shining brightly.
Lan Xin was filled with hatred.
Finally, she made up her mind to take a risk tonight.