At the moment, everyone had raised their wine cups to toast the emperor, but Song Yihuan was the only one who didn't. In the past, no one would have noticed such a minor detail.
However, since Song Yihuan had been praised by the emperor before the trip and gained some fame, every move of hers was now under scrutiny.
Among the guests at the banquet, some were eager to watch the show, some were worried, and some were curious to see how she would handle this situation.
Song Yihuan quietly raised her eyes and unexpectedly met Ji Lingchuan's gaze.
The current situation was so similar to the previous one, but she didn't have time to think too much. If she couldn't handle it properly and angered the emperor, implicating the Ding'an Marquis Mansion, Meng would surely skin her alive.
Fine, she'd take a gamble.
She picked up her wine cup, stood up, bowed to Ji Zihuan on the main seat, and said with a smile,
"Your Majesty, please forgive my rudeness. I have no dissatisfaction with today's banquet. It's just that this goat - milk wine is so mellow and sweet that I'm already drunk just by smelling it. That's why I reacted slower than others."
"To show my apology, I'd like to toast Your Majesty with this wine to express my gratitude for your kindness."
After saying that, she tilted her head back and drained the wine in one gulp. Then she turned the cup upside down to show that it was completely empty.
Ji Zihuan immediately clapped his hands and said, "Good! Miss Song is so bold. She truly lives up to the title of a heroic woman I've praised in public. Someone, fetch the jasper bow I obtained some time ago and bestow it upon her!"
Her response was extremely clever. She praised the strength of the goat - milk wine prepared by the officials of Xingzhou, saying that just the smell was enough to intoxicate people. This made the officials of Xingzhou very happy and also pleased the emperor, who immediately decided to give a reward. Everyone was extremely envious.
Ji Lingchuan knew she was intelligent. Seeing her casually defuse the crisis, he finally felt relieved.
At the emperor's order, a eunuch soon walked up to Song Yihuan with a tray in his hand.
Everyone was very curious about the bow Song Yihuan had received. In front of everyone, the eunuch lifted the brocade cloth on the tray, revealing the bow below.
When Ji Zihuan saw Song Yihuan pick up the bow, his smile became even more interested. He looked at Ji Lingchuan below and said, "This bow was personally crafted by General Weiyuan. General Weiyuan, please introduce this jasper bow to everyone."
Song Yihuan was stunned and looked at Ji Lingchuan in surprise.
Did he make it himself?
Song Nanxin stared at the bow in Song Yihuan's hand, grinding her back teeth. But then, as if thinking of something, she lifted the corners of her lips. She had just seen Song Yihuan drink that cup of wine. Well, the more proud this little girl was now, the more embarrassing she would be later.
Next to her, Ji Lingchuan, who had been mentioned by Ji Zihuan, stood up. Taking this opportunity, he openly looked at Song Yihuan diagonally in front of him.
The flickering firelight shone on her face, making her deer - like eyes even brighter.
"Although this bow is named the jasper bow, it is not made entirely of jasper. Only the two ends of the bow are inlaid with jasper, while the rest is made of the lightest and hardest black sandalwood in Yu State."
Ji Lingchuan slowly explained.
"The purpose of crafting this bow is to use the lightest bow to shoot the fastest arrow, hitting the target a hundred paces away in an instant and taking the head of the enemy from afar. Even a woman can make good use of it without being restricted by insufficient arm strength."
"Miss Song is very lucky."
Ji Lingchuan tried hard to suppress the upturned corners of his lips to look more serious and cold.
"There is only one such jasper bow in the world. Since Miss Song has obtained it, please take good care of it and don't let such a good bow go to waste."
There was obvious surprise on Song Yihuan's face.
A woman could use it? She could shoot the bow without much effort? And there was only one in the world?
After thanking the emperor for the reward sincerely, Song Yihuan sat down.
Holding the bow in her hand, Song Yihuan's palms felt hot.
She remembered that many years ago, in her letters with Mr. Lingji, she had once mentioned such an idea. She hoped that there would be a bow so light that it was almost weightless, but could shoot arrows faster and more accurately. She never thought that he had really made such a bow, and she had even obtained it.
Maybe it was because she had drunk the cup of goat - milk wine in one gulp, but Song Yihuan felt dizzy, as if she was drunk.
"Dear officials, to celebrate the successful autumn hunting, let's raise our cups and drink together!"
The fact that Song Yihuan had received a reward stimulated everyone. For a moment, the banquet was filled with the sound of clinking cups and was extremely lively. Ji Lingchuan lowered his eyes and looked at the wine in front of him. His eyes darkened, and he also picked up his cup and drank the wine with the others.
For this banquet, the officials of Xingzhou had also prepared musicians and dancers to liven up the atmosphere. After drinking, the camp was filled with laughter and music, extremely lively.
After three rounds of drinking, seeing Ji Zihuan so amiable as to drink with his officials, or perhaps being infected by the dancers and musicians of Xingzhou, everyone gradually became bolder. Someone even jumped into the open space in the middle, saying that they wanted to show their talents and liven up the atmosphere.
The goat - milk wine of Xingzhou had a strong after - effect. Although Song Yihuan liked to drink, her alcohol tolerance was not very good. After one cup, her head was already a bit dizzy. Remembering her identity, she sat quietly in her chair, eating and not wanting to attract attention.
However, the more low - key Song Yihuan was, the more dissatisfied others became.
"Just because she was praised by the emperor? What's there to be so proud of?"
"Exactly. Look at her. It's as if she's written her seductive intentions all over her face."
"I heard that she's been staying at the Prince Ning's Mansion since the prince returned to the capital. I'm afraid she wants to seduce the prince and be a co - wife with the princess."
"In my opinion, she just wants to seduce the emperor, enter the palace as a concubine, and become a phoenix from a sparrow."
The noble ladies who were gossiping about Song Yihuan happened to be sitting near Cao Jinyu. Cao Jinyu was happy for her friend's reward. Hearing such malicious speculation, she was so angry that her face turned red.
"You, how can you make such wild speculations? Miss Song is not such a person! She's very nice!"
However, she was usually timid. Although she summoned up the courage to refute, her voice was not loud. Covered by the music, it was not heard by those people.
Song Yihuan was unaware of all this. She just suddenly heard her name being mentioned at the banquet.
"The princess of Prince Ning is extremely talented, which shows that the Marquis Mansion has good upbringing. Miss Song is the princess's younger sister. She must be equally talented. How about Miss Song dance for us?"
Song Yihuan was extremely helpless.
Why was she involved again out of the blue? She had been so low - key. Couldn't they just leave her alone?