Princess Luoning was young. As the youngest child of the queen, she was inevitably doted on more on weekdays. She was lively by nature and often disliked listening to the tutors' lectures. Skipping classes was a common occurrence for her.
Everyone in the palace knew about this, but those outside the palace were unaware.
Now, in front of so many people, Princess Jingya had exposed Princess Luoning's embarrassing deeds. Although Princess Luoning was young, she already knew the importance of face. Her eyes immediately turned red.
"You... Jingya, it's none of your business what I do! You'd better take care of your own affairs!"
"Luoning!" Princess Luoyao frowned and scolded her coldly, "Stop talking!"
"Elder sister! She clearly said just now that your flower was not good. That's why I... And she just said bad things about me!" Princess Luoning tilted her head up aggrievedly, looking at her elder sister, hoping that she would stand up for her.
Princess Luoyao didn't respond to her. Instead, she cast a cold glance at Shen Miao, who was standing opposite Princess Jingya. "Luoning, you are a princess! You should be dignified and magnanimous. Don't haggle with those who are inferior to you!"
Princess Luoning understood what she meant and immediately smiled. "Yes! Elder sister! I won't pay attention to those who are inferior to me from now on!"
Shen Miao's face flushed red. She knew that although Princess Luoyao's words seemed to be addressed to everyone, they were actually implying that she had a low status and only knew how to curry favor with others.
Princess Jingya's face turned cold. She was one year younger than Princess Luoyao. As they were both princesses, it was inevitable that people would compare them. Even she herself often secretly competed with Princess Luoyao.
However, her status was a notch lower than Princess Luoyao's. Princess Luoyao was well - known for her talent and presented herself as a dignified and generous image. As a result, she had always been overshadowed by Princess Luoyao.
Unexpectedly, today, in front of so many people, Princess Luoyao had once again made her lose face with just a few words! One day, she would surely teach Princess Luoyao a lesson!
At this time, seeing that the atmosphere among the three princesses was tense, no one wanted to step in and risk offending them.
Of course, there were also some shrewd ones who, looking at the current situation of the three princesses, couldn't help but think about the situation in the palace.
The queen and the imperial concubine had been in contention for many years. Now, both the Second Prince and the Fourth Prince had entered the court as officials. However, the emperor had never established a crown prince. The Second Prince and the Fourth Prince each had their own forces, and a struggle for the imperial power was inevitable.
All the people here had family members who were officials. Some had father and son serving in the court together, and there were even large families with a dozen or so officials, including grandparents, uncles, nephews, and sons - in - law.
As officials in the court, they would inevitably be involved in this in the future. They would surely report today's incident to the elders in their families when they got back.
With the flower - viewing coming to an end, someone then proposed a poetry - making activity.
Countess Heyuan was the first to stand up and agree. "It's a beautiful spring day now. Why don't we all write a poem about spring?"
Hearing that the theme was spring, everyone felt relieved. This topic was not difficult, and besides, they had written such poems before. Even if they reused those poems, no one else would know.
Immediately, everyone nodded in agreement.
"Since everyone has no objections, then let's write a poem about 'spring'!"
Princess Luoyao looked at everyone with a smile on her face.
"However, this might be a bit monotonous. After all, this is a banquet. Just having poems might be a bit dull!"
"Poetry and painting go hand in hand. If someone writes a poem, someone should also paint a picture! But it's not mandatory. You can choose whether to write a poem or paint a picture by yourself!"
With a turn of her words, Princess Luoyao gave everyone an additional choice. However, the noble ladies present had all studied the Book of Songs intensively. Writing a poem was not difficult for them. Even if they couldn't write something outstanding, they would never make themselves a laughingstock.
However, painting not only took a long time but also extremely tested one's skills. If one was not careful, they would surely make a fool of themselves! So everyone silently chose to write a poem in their hearts.
"Then, within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, please write a poem according to the requirements just mentioned. If you choose to paint, you'll have half an hour."
Seeing that the matter was settled, Countess Heyuan ran over and proposed, "Since this is a competition, there should be both rewards and punishments. I wonder, Princess, what prizes will you offer today?"
Hearing this, Princess Luoyao pretended to be angry and said, "You're such a smart one! Are you so confident that you'll definitely win? I know exactly how much talent you have!"
"Princess, you've wronged me. I'm just asking on behalf of others! It's better for everyone to know, isn't it?"
Princess Luoyao said with a smile, "In that case, the prize for today will be those three peony flowers. Whoever writes a poem or paints a picture that wins everyone's admiration will get those three peonies!"
As soon as Princess Luoyao said this, everyone was shocked. They knew that these precious peony varieties were extremely hard to come by, and there was even a rare 'Wei Purple' among them.
"Since elder sister has offered three peonies as prizes, I'll also join in the fun! I'll offer my South Red Agate bracelet to add to the atmosphere of the occasion."
The maid of Princess Yajing took out the bracelet and showed it to everyone.
The crowd immediately started to whisper. South Red Agate was not commonly seen, and a bracelet with such uniform and delicate texture was even rarer.
Princess Luoning glared angrily at Princess Yajing, thinking that she was deliberately stealing her elder sister's limelight.
Princess Luoyao glanced at her younger sister, who didn't even try to hide her emotions, and shook her head in her heart. But on the surface, she smiled calmly. "Since Sixth Sister has offered a prize, Xiao Jiu, what prize are you going to offer?"
Princess Luoning, of course, knew that she couldn't be stingy at this time. She took out a gold - inlaid multicolored phoenix hairpin that the queen had given her.
With the three princesses offering such generous prizes, those who originally didn't intend to win now felt a surge of fighting spirit and were ready to give it a try.
"Since the prizes have been decided, there should also be punishments! Do you have any suggestions?" Countess Heyuan clapped her hands excitedly and said.
"I have a suggestion. Let the one who performs poorly have a turtle drawn on their face!"
Before anyone else could speak, Countess Heyuan answered herself, obviously having thought of this idea long ago.
"This..." The young ladies looked at each other. Although they all knew that they were well - prepared, they were also a bit afraid that they might be the losers in the end.
That would be such a great embarrassment!
"Heyuan! This suggestion is inappropriate!" Princess Luoyao frowned and said.
All the girls present were in their teens. They were thin - skinned and loved their face. Being forced to have a turtle drawn on their face in front of so many people, they would probably burst into tears on the spot. Who knew what rumors would spread outside tomorrow!
"Great! Great! Draw a turtle on their face!"
Unexpectedly, Princess Luoning also clapped her hands in agreement. She cast a sidelong glance in the direction of Princess Yajing and secretly felt happy. She was looking forward to drawing a big turtle on Yajing's face in front of so many people later.
Let's see how she could show her face tomorrow! Let's see if she would still dare to laugh at her for skipping classes!