The guests filled every seat, and the appointed hour for the banquet to begin had already long passed—yet there was still no sign of this year’s host of the Flower Queen Gathering, Jun Beiyue!
Though Emperor Tianhui sat in the seat of honor, he held no real power at all. Facing the ever-mounting murmurs from below, his old face had turned dark again and again. Consort Yi and the Second Prince, ever since parting ways with Chu Tiange, had grown considerably more subdued, sitting obediently beside Emperor Tianhui without saying a word.
After all, Prince Yao had always been a man punctual to a fault, strict in discipline toward others—and yet today, at such a grand occasion, he was actually late!
Prince Baxian sat to Emperor Tianhui’s right, his brow tightly furrowed. He had already sent people to fetch Jun Beiyue again and again, yet Jun Beiyue, who had clearly arrived long ago, was for some unknown reason dawdling and refusing to show his face!
And so the entire hall was left waiting on this one great figure.
Jun Beiyue was not far away at all—he was in the side chamber nearby.
Under the bright lamplight, the whole room was awash in red—a lively, festive red. A golden phoenix crown, a shawl like rosy clouds, a bright red bridal gown with a trailing hem, and plate after plate of jewelry, all crafted from precious red jade—every piece personally and carefully selected by him, laid out one by one on great crimson trays. Even a single small pendant among them was worth a fortune!
Situ Haonan had already arrived, and at the sight of the room full of treasures, his jaw dropped in astonishment.
“Well, well, Jun Beiyue—I daresay you’ve spent more time around women than I have!”
This fellow’s taste in choosing all this was actually better than his own!
To pair red with such elegance and avoid vulgarity—that took real taste!
Jun Beiyue paid him no mind, busy giving the maids careful instructions for later. The moment Ziqing was crowned the winner, he intended to personally present this entire room of red to her—and marry her that very night!
Marrying her on New Year’s Eve, taking her home as his primary wife on New Year’s Eve—starting the new year, she would no longer be the Consort of Prince Yao bestowed by Emperor Tianhui, but the wife personally wedded by Jun Beiyue himself!
At that moment, even Eunuch Li, who attended Prince Baxian, came in person to hurry him along, waiting just outside the door.
“Hey, if you keep dawdling like this, I guarantee your bride will be the first one to lose patience!” Situ Haonan reminded him kindly.
Only then did Jun Beiyue turn around. He patted Situ Haonan on the shoulder and left without a word.
Though he said nothing, Situ Haonan understood exactly what he meant, and answered cheerfully, “Got it, I’ll make sure everything’s arranged!”
Then, in a low voice, he added, “Once the New Year is over, take me to Xijing.”
The banquet soon began. In another side chamber, Ziqing had long since finished preparing, standing now by the half-open window, watching Jun Beiyue from a distance!
Though he stood beneath Emperor Tianhui in rank, and though he was still young, his presence was in no way inferior to that of a reigning emperor, and his bearing was no less than Prince Baxian’s. Surrounded by the crowd, amid the clinking of cups, this cold-faced Asura smiled for once—clearly in an excellent mood!
Seeing this, the corners of Ziqing’s lips curved up unconsciously. She wondered how things were coming along with Hongyi.
At Prince Yao’s residence, the two courtyards told two very different stories. On Jun Beiyue’s side, the West Garden, the maids had been busy preparing the bridal chamber ever since Ziqing left. On Ziqing’s side, the East Garden, Hongyi had been beaming with joy the entire day, not minding in the least that she couldn’t go along to join in the excitement at the Flower Queen Palace, happily preparing the New Year’s Eve dinner as her mistress had instructed.
Prince Yao’s residence had never been this lively since the day it was built!
The moon rose high in the sky. Tonight the moon was not full, though people gathered together. At the Flower Queen Palace, after several rounds of wine, the Flower Queen Gathering had already begun!
Though the customs of Da Zhou were relatively open, women were still women in the end—virtue meant having beauty even without talent!
And the contest of “beauty” could be as simple or as elaborate as one liked—some judged with a single glance, others through careful, detailed comparison, one by one.
This Flower Queen Gathering hosted by the imperial family of Da Zhou was extremely meticulous. The competing women stood in a row, a black curtain hanging before them, completely separating them from the banquet hall.
Once the contest began, the curtain would rise bit by bit, according to a set measure—the face would be the very last thing revealed. Such an unveiling truly kept everyone’s appetite whetted.
Ziqing stood in silence, ignoring the resentful glances Situ Xin’er kept casting her way from not far off, her head lowered.
In truth, Ziqing did not, at heart, enjoy competing against a group of women like this, being judged and scrutinized in such a way!
But this was the long-standing custom of the Da Zhou imperial family. Throughout Da Zhou’s history, most female officials had emerged from the Flower Queen Gathering, and there had even been imperial consorts who, by winning this very contest, were later crowned empress!
Since Jun Beiyue liked it, she would simply go along with him.
Behind the black curtain, everything before her eyes was pitch dark—she could see nothing at all, only hear the lively bustle all around. She had no idea what Jun Beiyue was doing. Ziqing gently touched the secret hidden on the side of her face and smiled faintly, waiting for the New Year’s Eve dinner to come.
Compared to Ziqing’s stillness, Situ Xin’er could not sit still at all, glancing left and right. She had looked around fully three times now, and still hadn’t spotted her good friend Yanzi anywhere!
Could it be that her friend was running late?
That wasn’t right either—when the roll had just been called, her name hadn’t been called at all!
Situ Xin’er vaguely sensed something was off. She touched her own carefully made-up face, filled with suspicion—Yanzi’s precious looks were nothing to joke about!
But Situ Xin’er had no time to dwell on it further, thinking she would look for her friend again afterward.
The curtain was slowly rising, and the commentary from the crowd grew louder and louder. Jun Beiyue lounged lazily on his couch, his gaze already sweeping across the row of embroidered shoes!
His attention was immediately drawn to a pair of embroidered shoes set with purple jade gems—Ziqing’s. He knew nothing at all of what Situ Haonan had arranged; judging by feet alone, it was truly impossible to guess who was who. Yet the corner of his mouth curved slightly, and no one could tell what exactly he was thinking at that moment.
The black curtain paused for a moment, then continued to rise. Soon, it stopped just below the faces, and the women’s attire immediately sparked another wave of discussion!
Among the dozen or so women, as it happened, ten of them were all dressed in purple, and their figures were all quite similar—slender, and not very tall.
And yet, Jun Beiyue’s gaze remained fixed on one particular woman the entire time, the smile at the corner of his lips growing even deeper.
Soon, the curtain moved again—this time rising far more slowly than before, at a pace that could drive anyone half mad with impatience!
This was the true unveiling. All at once, the noisy surroundings fell utterly silent. Though they couldn’t see, the women all knew that countless eyes were fixed upon them at this very moment, waiting to behold their true faces!
Ziqing felt the tension in the air and inwardly mocked herself—she really must have been utterly bewitched by Jun Beiyue to have agreed to take part in such a gathering.
The black curtain had already risen to chin level. Ziqing, who had been lowering her head, quickly lifted it. Gradually, gradually, her entire face was revealed.
But for some reason, instead of the gasps of admiration and buzz of discussion that should have followed, the entire hall fell into dead silence!
Ziqing could clearly see Jun Beiyue looking at her—but why, why were his eyes filled with nothing but fear?
What was happening?