After Shen Yuan and her companions took their leave, Wang Yueniang could no longer contain her anger and complained to Fourth Miss Wang, “We shouldn’t have invited that good-for-nothing Ji Cheng. Who does she think she is to be worthy of entering our home? It’s all because my elder sister is too kind-hearted. Besides, we’re not afraid of Shen Yuan. If we don’t associate with her, so be it.”
Fourth Miss Wang glared at the incompetent Wang Yueniang. This girl’s mind was as narrow as a needle’s eye, without any sense of the bigger picture. “The Imperial Consort’s life in the palace isn’t always smooth sailing. If we fall out with Shen Yuan, that old lady of the Shen family is known for her protectiveness. She’ll cause our two families to drift apart. If you can’t swallow this anger now, wait until the Imperial Consort’s affairs are settled. Then you can vent your anger however you like, alright?”
Hearing this, Wang Yueniang’s anger subsided a little, but she couldn’t help saying, “How long do we have to wait? Hasn’t it been said that the Emperor’s health is poor? Why hasn’t he…”
Fourth Miss Wang quickly covered Wang Yueniang’s mouth. “What nonsense are you spouting? Be careful someone might hear.”
Wang Yueniang pushed away Fourth Miss Wang’s hand and said, “There’s no one here. How could anyone hear?”
Fourth Miss Wang wanted to call her a “fool” but restrained herself. “The Emperor has a team of Jingshi Army specializing in gathering intelligence from all quarters. They have countless spies. Not only do they know what you’ve said, but they even know what you ate the night before and how many times you’ve used the privy.”
“Is it really that miraculous?” Wang Yueniang didn’t believe it. “How come I’ve never heard of this before?”
Fourth Miss Wang explained, “Of course, you haven’t heard of it. Even the Imperial Consort only learned about it recently, and that was because the Emperor accidentally let it slip while drunk.”
It turned out that the Jingshi Army was established during the time of the founding emperor. In those turbulent years, they specialized in gathering military intelligence from all quarters, contributing greatly to the founding emperor’s conquest of the empire. It could be said that without them, there would be no Great Qin today.
After the founding emperor pacified the empire, the Jingshi Army moved to the background. Many people thought this force no longer existed, but in reality, they were still active. They had simply shifted their focus to monitoring the affairs of the current court and its subjects. Whenever there was any unusual activity, they would report it to the emperor for his decision. Moreover, their highest commander held an imperial edict from the founding emperor, giving them the right to execute anyone on the spot, except for the emperor himself.
Because this power was too terrifying, even the founding emperor feared that if they grew too powerful, it would cause widespread panic. Thus, the Jingshi Army could only operate in the shadows, and few people knew of their existence.
“I heard that the Jingshi Army is full of talented individuals and martial arts experts with all sorts of abilities,” Fourth Miss Wang continued. “The Emperor said that when the late emperor heard that the Queen of Kucha was a great beauty and wanted to enjoy her company, the Jingshi Army secretly kidnapped her from Kucha, brought her back for one night, and then quietly returned her. The Queen herself never knew who had taken her.”
Emperor Jianping was incredibly envious of such an adventure, but unfortunately, his health was poor. He was already too lazy to cultivate his harem, let alone think about beauties from the Western Regions.
This story of “kidnapping” was far more captivating to Wang Yueniang than any talk of intelligence gathering. She couldn’t help but sigh, “That’s too outrageous.”
“It may be outrageous, but you should know to be careful with your words now, right? Don’t say things you shouldn’t,” Fourth Miss Wang warned.
“I know, I know,” Wang Yueniang drawled. “But Fourth Sister, did you see how smug Shen Cui looked? It was just one victory, why was she so pleased with herself? It’s truly despicable.”
Fourth Miss Wang sneered, “Compared to Shen Yuan and Shen Qian, she’s far inferior. Her vision is narrow, just like her mother’s. That’s how people from small places are.”
“She’s just too annoying,” Wang Yueniang said, still upset by Shen Cui’s barbed words.
“Mm,” Fourth Miss Wang agreed. “The Central Platform Arts Selection will begin soon. Shen Cui will surely sign up. When the time comes, you just need to win against her beautifully in front of everyone. Then let’s see if she dares to show off in front of us again.”
Wang Yueniang nodded, confident about this year’s Central Platform Arts Selection.
The so-called Central Platform Arts Selection was the process of choosing performers for the central platform during the intermission of the polo season finals. Every year, those who could perform on this stage were all individuals of outstanding talent, admired wherever they went. Fourth Miss Wang herself had benefited from this, which was why she now held such a high position among the young ladies of the capital.
For Fourth Miss Wang, the only misfortune in her life was her marriage prospects. Before Wang Shu Fei entered the palace, the Wang family was just a declining household, and Fourth Miss Wang was already engaged. But after Wang Shu Fei entered the palace, she was promoted to Imperial Consort within a year and quickly became pregnant. The Wang family’s fortunes rose with her, and they returned to their former status as a noble family. The previous engagement arranged for Fourth Miss Wang was now beneath them, and they used every means to force the other party to quietly break off the engagement.
But there are no walls in the world that don’t let the wind through, and some people knew about the Wang family breaking off the engagement. That’s why the Princess hadn’t given her consent to her marriage with Shen Che, even with Consort Shu’s intervention. It was precisely the matter of Fourth Miss Wang’s broken engagement that silenced Consort Shu.
Thinking of this, Fourth Miss Wang couldn’t help but resent Shen Che again. If only he would be more proactive and speak to the Princess, their marriage would surely be approved.
Fourth Miss Wang’s thoughts were not unlike Wang Yueniang’s. Wang Yueniang privately admired Shen Che but dared not speak of it, and had to hide it from Fourth Miss Wang. This time, she was determined to win the Central Platform Arts Selection. This way, even if her sister couldn’t marry into the Shen family because of her broken engagement, she could.
The two sisters, each harboring their thoughts, chatted for a while before parting.
In the weather of the sixth month, even sitting still would leave one drenched in sweat. So whenever possible, people preferred to lie down and enjoy the cool air.
However, for the young ladies of the capital, especially those of marriageable age, the sixth month was their busiest time. They were all preparing for the Central Platform Arts Selection on the twenty-sixth day of the sixth month. The selection was open to all forms of art; as long as one could get a unanimous vote from the leader of the Seven Treasures Alliance and the four officials, they could perform on the central platform.
Don’t underestimate this rule. Since the establishment of the Seven Treasures Alliance, there had been two years when not a single young lady from a noble families had managed to get a unanimous vote. This was a disgrace to all the young ladies.
Because ladies from noble families couldn’t perform on the stage, but the polo finals couldn’t go without intermission performances, in those two years, the performers were courtesans and hidden talents from among the common people. When people saw this, they felt these performances were more entertaining, and every year they clamored to see more.
Now, the Central Platform Arts has passed its initial exploratory stage. There were now three performances, each lasting no longer than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, but the competitiveness and entertainment value had greatly increased.
The three performances were allocated as follows: one for the young ladies of the capital, one for talented commoners, and one for the most outstanding courtesans from various regions.
Normally, if these noble young ladies were asked to perform alongside courtesans, they would rather die than comply. But the Central Platform was different. This was where the polo matches that everyone was passionate about took place; it was everyone’s holy ground. Being able to perform there was an honor, the highest affirmation of oneself, and one could no longer be constrained by status.
Of course, there were gossipmongers everywhere. Every year after the Central Platform Arts, there would always be people comparing the three performances. So whether they were noble young ladies or courtesans, they were all striving hard. Whoever could be crowned the best on the Central Platform would be revered as a master throughout the land.
Fourth Miss Wang could only be considered outstanding among the young ladies of her time, but compared to true masters, she fell far short. After all, those people had no other way to make a living except through their skills, so they practiced tirelessly. But young ladies from noble families wouldn’t do this; they weren’t professional performers.
Originally, only Shen Cui from the Shen family had signed up for the Central Platform Arts Selection this year. But now with Su Yun and Lu Yuan here, and even Ji Cheng, it was truly lively.
“Is Sister Cheng also going to sign up?” Shen Cui asked Ji Cheng, waving the invitation in her hand.
Ji Cheng shook her head, “I don’t have any special talents, so I won’t embarrass myself.” Although Ji Cheng answered quickly, she had thought about it for a long time. Undeniably, the Central Platform Arts held a great attraction for young ladies.
However, after the initial excitement, Ji Cheng knew that for girls from respectable families, the Central Platform Arts could only add luster to their reputation, not save them from difficult situations.
For those with backgrounds like Shen Yuan and Shen Cui, being able to perform on the Central Platform would indeed be a great help when it came to marriage prospects. People already valued their family background, and if the daughter-in-law was both virtuous and talented, she would naturally be even more welcome.
However, for someone of Ji Cheng’s middling background, participating in the Central Platform Arts Selection might give people the impression of being frivolous and unrestrained. The ladies of noble families could see clearly that her participation was aimed at improving her marriage prospects, which were already considered lowly. A girl of low birth who loved to show off would find it difficult to win the favor of her future mother-in-law.
Moreover, even if someone of her background successfully performed on the stage, when gossipmongers compared her with courtesans, it would inevitably lead to unfavorable associations. Shen Cui’s background, on the other hand, meant that people wouldn’t dare to gossip about her lightly.
“You’re not going?!” Shen Cui was very surprised. “Isn’t that why you came to the capital…”
The rest of the words didn’t need to be said; everyone understood.
Ji Cheng smiled bitterly, “It’s not that I don’t want to go, but I don’t have any talents worth showcasing.”
Shen Cui looked Ji Cheng up and down, accepting this reason. She indeed hadn’t seen anything particularly outstanding about Ji Cheng, except for her face.
As for Su Yun and Lu Yuan, they were from noble families and naturally didn’t have Ji Cheng’s concerns. However, Lu Yuan wasn’t particularly skilled in the usual arts of zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting. After signing up, she almost scratched her head bald, not knowing what talent to showcase.
Shen Cui faced the same dilemma. Although she knew a little bit of everything, standing out in the Central Platform Arts Selection would be almost a miracle. Even Ji Lan didn’t have high hopes for her, but she seemed overly confident, unable to see her limitations.
“I wonder what talent Wang Yueniang will use to compete?” Shen Cui casually asked Shen Qian. “Sister Qian, you’re closest to them. Do you have any news?”
Shen Qian shook her head, “She’s being very secretive. No matter how I ask, she won’t say.”
“Oh, so it’s the same as Sister Yun?” Shen Cui muttered.
Everyone wasn’t a fool, of course, they didn’t want to reveal their strengths to their opponents in advance. This couldn’t be blamed on Su Yun.
Hearing Shen Cui’s muttering, Shen Qian remained silent. She knew that Shen Cui was still harboring resentment towards Shen Yuan. This was because Su Yun hadn’t hidden anything from Shen Yuan about what she was working on. Shen Yuan spent almost every day with her, helping her strategize.
Naturally, Shen Cui was dissatisfied. Although she hadn’t actively sought out Shen Yuan, she felt that as her cousin, Shen Yuan should be closest to her. How could she not even ask about her, but instead wholeheartedly help Su Yun?
Because of this, Shen Cui had thrown many tantrums in front of Ji Lan. At first, she even cried tears of anger.
Ji Cheng dared not touch Shen Cui’s affairs at all. If you helped her and the result was good, it would be fine. But if there was the slightest mishap, she would surely blame it on you.
Of course, Shen Cui had no intention of consulting Ji Cheng. However, Jing Garden wasn’t very big, and although Shen Cui always tried to hide and conceal, as long as Ji Cheng paid attention, she could still see what Shen Cui was practicing.