Yixiang Pavilion.
Just thinking that she would appear with Ji Lingchuan as husband and wife at the birthday banquet of the Duke of Jiang's Mansion today made Song Nanxin extremely delighted.
After getting up early, she began to dress and do her makeup. She put on the prepared clothes and jewelry, and applied the apricot - scented balm.
When she was ready, she stood up, twirled around in front of the bronze mirror twice, and sized herself up.
The dress woven from the feathers of the liliu birds was smooth and floating, outlining Song Nanxin's graceful figure and making her look radiant.
Bai Zhi looked at Song Nanxin, who appeared noble, elegant, and extremely beautiful, and exclaimed, "Miss, you look as beautiful as a celestial maiden from the Ninth Heaven today. When you appear at the Duke of Jiang's Mansion with the heir apparent later, you will surely catch everyone's eye, and people will cast envious looks at you."
However, Song Nanxin looked at herself in the mirror from all angles but still felt dissatisfied.
She had suffered from continuous and intermittent bleeding in her lower abdomen for nearly three months, which made her complexion look haggard. Even powder and rouge couldn't conceal the weariness between her brows and eyes.
Suddenly, as if remembering something, her eyelashes fluttered. She took out a small brown porcelain bottle from the secret compartment of the dressing table.
Bai Zhi had never seen this before, so she asked curiously, "Miss, what is this?"
Song Nanxin opened the porcelain bottle, poured out a pill, examined it for a moment, and then replied, "This is the beauty - enhancing pill."
The pill in Song Nanxin's palm was completely red, dainty, and emitted a faint floral fragrance.
It was given to her by Cui Ying'er the other day when they met outside. Cui Ying'er said that using this would make men fall head over heels for her.
Song Nanxin considered herself a beautiful woman, ranking among the top beauties in the capital. She had never thought of using such a thing to enhance her appearance.
Ji Lingchuan had been back in the capital for so long. She had always fulfilled her duty as a wife by caring about him, but he had always been lukewarm towards her. The night before last, he even refused the jade pendant she bought, which embarrassed her.
She had thought more than once in recent days that maybe she wasn't beautiful enough to catch his eye.
This time when they went to the banquet at the Duke of Jiang's Mansion, there would not only be young talents from the capital but also many noble ladies.
If Ji Lingchuan took a fancy to someone at the banquet and wanted to take her as a concubine, her status as the heir - apparent's wife would also be threatened.
Looking at herself in the mirror, Song Nanxin hesitated for a moment, but finally chose to put the pill into her mouth.
The strong taste of the medicine spread on her tongue. Song Nanxin swallowed the beauty - enhancing pill with difficulty.
After a moment, she felt a fire explode in her abdomen and then spread to all parts of her body. She couldn't help but straighten her limbs, let out a soft cry, and then slumped limply into Bai Zhi's arms.
She gasped for breath, her eyes were blurred, and a few beads of sweat slowly appeared on her forehead, scaring Bai Zhi so much that she didn't dare to move.
It took Song Nanxin a long time to come to her senses in Bai Zhi's arms.
Gasping for breath, she propped herself up and hurriedly looked at herself in the mirror. She saw that the formerly dignified, elegant, and beautiful woman now had slightly flushed cheeks and glistening eyes, adding a touch of charm for no reason.
Bai Zhi, who had witnessed Song Nanxin's transformation, was also amazed: "This beauty - enhancing pill is really effective. After Miss took this pill, she is truly peerlessly beautiful. Even this servant can't help but be tempted."
It's just... There was a sentence that Bai Zhi didn't dare to say out loud.
It's just that she looked a bit like the Fourth Miss.
Song Nanxin and Song Yihuan were sisters, so their facial features were somewhat similar. This charming look inevitably made people think of Song Yihuan in Tinglan Courtyard.
Especially after applying the apricot - scented balm, she looked even more like her.
But Song Nanxin didn't notice at all. She was extremely satisfied with herself in the mirror. After her mood had completely calmed down, she got up and said, "Alright, it's time to go and pay respects to the princess. Let's go."
Bai Zhi came to her senses and quickly supported Song Nanxin as they headed towards Songhe Courtyard.
Song Nanxin couldn't wait for Ji Lingchuan to see her now. But when she arrived at Songhe Courtyard, she found that Ji Lingchuan was already sitting beside Princess Ningqin. When he saw her coming, he just looked up and gave her a faint glance, then shifted his gaze away, not even giving her a chance to gently stroke her temples.
Didn't he see how she looked now? Why was he still so cold and distant?
Song Nanxin froze there and had to temporarily suppress her thoughts and step forward to pay respects to Princess Ningqin.
It was Princess Ningqin who noticed that Song Nanxin was different today. She smiled and said, "The heir - apparent's wife is looking more and more radiant these days. Even I am tempted by this glorious appearance. It's not like those days when Chuan'er wasn't back, and you always looked a bit tired."
These words made Song Nanxin inexplicably flustered. She calmly said, "Mother - in - law is overpraising. How can I compare to you? Mother - in - law was a famous beauty in the capital back then."
Nanny Chen echoed with a smile, "This old servant also thinks that the heir - apparent's wife is radiant today. It must be because she has won the favor of the heir apparent."
Ji Lingchuan gently raised his eyes and glanced at Song Nanxin across from him. After just one look, he shifted his gaze away. His expression was calm, and he didn't show any reaction to this remark.
At this time, Nanny Hu walked in from outside and said to everyone, "Princess, Miss Song the Fourth and Young Master the Fifth are here."
Hearing Nanny Hu's announcement, Ji Lingchuan calmly raised his eyes and looked towards the door.
The next moment, a familiar figure walked towards him hand in hand with a child.
Song Yihuan had walked all the way from Tinglan Courtyard. A natural blush appeared on her fair cheeks, and fine beads of sweat oozed from her forehead and nose. Although she had a charming appearance, at this moment, she showed a bit of innocent cuteness.
Today, she was wearing a lotus - pink brocade dress. On her shoulders, cuffs, and hem, large and gorgeous hibiscus flowers were embroidered with several different kinds of silk threads. As Song Yihuan walked, her sleeves and hem fluttered gently. The hibiscus flowers blooming on the fabric seemed to be swaying in the wind, and the colorful butterflies in the stamens seemed to be fluttering their wings, making her look even more elegant and lively.
However, this dress stirred up a storm in Ji Lingchuan's heart.
— The dress she was wearing at this moment was exactly the same as the one in that absurd dream.
Ji Lingchuan remembered the bright hibiscus flowers on the fabric and the colorful butterflies resting on the stamens. He also remembered how he had completely torn this dress to pieces.
He never thought that she would be wearing this dress to go to the birthday banquet of the Duke of Jiang's Mansion.
Did she dress so carefully and wear such a gorgeous dress because she knew that she would be choosing a husband at the banquet today?
Ji Lingchuan tightened his fingers slightly and didn't notice that his heart was aching painfully.
He had indeed told her to choose a husband carefully at the Duke of Jiang's birthday banquet and not to pester him anymore. But at this moment, he found that he really couldn't be completely indifferent.