Since Gu Yunzheng offered to help Song Yihuan, Ji Lingchuan had felt something was off about himself.
Now, as Song Yihuan danced, the fire within him burned even more fiercely. He realized that there must be something wrong with one of the cups of wine he had drunk earlier.
He didn't think he had been deliberately set up. Instead, his eyes fell on the figure dancing on the red drum.
She was specifically mentioned by the young lady of the Yongping Marquis's Mansion during the banquet, right after he had drunk that cup of goat - milk wine.
Could it be that the drug was originally meant for her, aiming to make her disgrace herself at the banquet and ruin her reputation?
Then why did this cup of wine end up in his hands?
Ji Lingchuan looked at Ji Zihuan on the main seat. Ji Zihuan was concentrating on watching Song Yihuan's dance, his expression very focused. Sensing Ji Lingchuan's gaze, Ji Zihuan looked back and raised his wine cup.
Ji Lingchuan closed his eyes tightly, mobilized his inner energy, and forcefully suppressed the surging restlessness in his body.
In any case, it was better that he had drunk this cup of wine than for it to have entered her stomach.
The firelight of the bonfire cast a soft glow on Song Yihuan on the red drum. As she danced and sang, the rhythmic drumbeats from her feet accompanied the music, making people marvel at the excellence of her dance.
The meaning in the song made people unable to have the slightest hint of amorous thoughts about her. Instead, they felt a sense of admiration.
When the song ended and Song Yihuan got off the drum, the audience finally snapped out of the beautiful and mysterious dance. They immediately burst into applause, louder than the drumbeats and more enthusiastic than when Song Nanxin's performance ended.
It was obvious which of the two sisters was more outstanding.
Song Nanxin's expression remained unchanged, but her hands clenched into fists at her sides.
It was strange. She had clearly seen Song Yihuan drink that cup of wine. Why hadn't she shown any signs of the drug taking effect? Could it be that Cui Muyuan had failed?
On the stage, Gu Yunzheng put down his flute and was about to walk towards Song Yihuan when a faint voice came from the side.
"Lord Gu, thank you for cooperating with me."
Gu Yunzheng looked to his side. Cao Jinyu was looking at him nervously. "I played a few wrong notes just now. Thank you for covering them up for me."
Gu Yunzheng stopped in his tracks and smiled faintly. "Miss Cao, you're being too polite. I didn't notice the mistakes in your music. I thought it was an impromptu creation by Miss Cao."
This young lady from the Cao family seemed timid and weak, but unexpectedly, she played the piano so well. It was really impressive.
The two of them walked to Song Yihuan's side. Song Yihuan curtsied to Ji Zihuan and said, "Your Majesty, all the lords, we've made fools of ourselves."
Ji Zihuan laughed. "Miss Song, the fourth daughter, is truly talented. The Ding'an Marquis's Mansion has really put a lot of effort into cultivating her. Someone, give rewards."
This time, the reward from Ji Zihuan was not a unique jasper bow but the most common silver. Even Gu Yunzheng and Cao Jinyu received their share.
Just after arriving in Xingzhou and before the autumn hunt officially started, Song Yihuan had received rewards twice, which made everyone else at the scene extremely envious.
After receiving the rewards, Song Yihuan, Gu Yunzheng, and Cao Jinyu returned to their seats.
Song Yihuan could feel that after this, there were many more pairs of eyes on her. She didn't dare to look around, so she couldn't see the admiration and infatuation in those eyes. But Ji Lingchuan, whose attention had always been on her, could see clearly.
The young talents who had come to Xingzhou with the emperor for the autumn hunt unconsciously followed her figure with their eyes, and their eyes were filled with the eagerness to pursue a beauty. This almost made him unable to suppress the restlessness in his body.
Just then, the Princess of Ningqin turned to him with a smile and said, "Your younger sister dances really well. She has outshone all the previous performers. I was still worried about how to choose a husband for her this time. Now it's good. The people who come to propose marriage will probably break the threshold of the Marquis's Mansion."
"I think that Lord Gu who accompanied her with music is quite good, Xiao Xuan'er. What do you think? If that Lord Gu who played the flute became your fourth brother - in - law, would you be willing?"
Song Yixuan blinked his eyes and said, "Fourth sister likes smart people."
The Princess of Ningqin was taken aback for a moment and then laughed. "That Lord Gu ranked second in the imperial examination among tens of thousands of candidates. He is very smart."
Song Yixuan hesitated for a moment and said, "But, fourth sister seems to have someone she likes."
As soon as these words were spoken, both Song Nanxin and the Princess of Ningqin were shocked. Song Nanxin felt an inexplicable sense of panic in her heart. She immediately asked, "She has someone she likes? When did this happen? Who is that person?"
Her tone was a bit too eager. This was different from the big sister Song Yixuan usually knew. He subconsciously hid behind the Princess of Ningqin, grabbed her sleeve, and only showed one eye.
"Xuan'er... Xuan'er doesn't know either. Xuan'er only heard fourth sister mention it twice. That person seems to have disappeared for a long time and only reappeared recently."
The Princess of Ningqin glanced at Song Nanxin and asked, "Shouldn't you be happy that Miss Huan has someone she likes? Why do you look like you're accusing her? Don't scare your younger brother."
Song Nanxin's heart skipped a beat. She quickly explained, "Before I got married, I often ate and slept with Yihuan. We sisters talked about everything. But I never heard her mention this. Naturally, I find it strange."
"I'm also afraid that she might be deceived by someone with unknown origins."
The Princess of Ningqin pondered for a while and said, "You're right. After all, she is a young lady from the Marquis's Mansion. We need to know clearly about the people she associates with."
No one noticed that in Ji Lingchuan's dark eyes, the reflection of the raging fire was burning more and more uncontrollably.
With Song Yihuan's dance, all the previous performances paled in comparison. Everyone gave up the idea of performing for the emperor, and the banquet returned to its previous state.
On the side of the Ding'an Marquis's Mansion, seeing that Song Yihuan had successfully avoided the schemes several times and received rewards, as soon as Song Yihuan sat down, Meng Shi said to her:
"Fourth girl, the silver rewarded by the emperor is too eye - catching. Let mother put it away for you. When we return to the capital, you can come and get it from mother."
Without any explanation, she took the tray of silver from Song Yihuan's hands and immediately handed it to the accompanying servant.
Song Yihuan didn't have time to stop her, and the silver was gone, which made her feel extremely angry.
Give it to her when they return to the capital?
I'm afraid that after they return to the capital, all this silver will become the property of the Marquis's Mansion!
She knew that her stepmother was cutting off her way out, afraid that she would run away.
Seeing that Meng Shi had successfully taken the silver from Song Yihuan's hands, Song Nanzhe immediately perked up. He stretched out his hand to Song Yihuan and ordered arrogantly, "I want that jasper bow! Give it to me!"
Meng Shi said to Song Yihuan, "Fourth girl, your younger brother wants to take a look at your bow. Let him play with it. He'll give it back to you when he gets bored."
Humph, younger brother? She didn't have such a younger brother. Her only younger brother was Song Yixuan.
Song Yihuan said coldly, "That bow was rewarded by the emperor. There is only one like it in the world. Zhe'er is still young and unsteady. If he drops it or breaks it, and the emperor blames us, the entire Marquis's Mansion may suffer. Are you sure you want to do this, mother?"