Ji Cheng was grateful to Shen Yuan, but she clearly understood that it wasn’t because she was particularly important. She had simply provided Shen Yuan with an opportunity to save face against Fourth Miss Wang. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement. Regardless, Ji Cheng was very thankful to Shen Yuan. After all, it was Shen Yuan’s kindness that allowed her to be moved by Ji Cheng’s situation. If possible, Ji Cheng would have preferred not to place herself in a position of weakness, begging for mercy, but sometimes one’s methods weren’t always a matter of choice. She wished she could be more naive in her dealings with people and disliked her constant scheming, but what could she do? It was simply who she was, born with an extra chamber in her heart and mind.
“You’re quite impressive, being so lost in thought yet still able to shape the hibiscus cake so perfectly,” Shen Yuan’s laughter interrupted Ji Cheng’s reverie. She came back to her senses and saw that indeed, the hibiscus cake in her hands had taken shape.
Hibiscus cake wasn’t particularly delicious, but it required skill to knead the dough, mix in rose sauce to create a pink color, and then hold it in the palm with the right amount of pressure. The other hand needed to be dexterous in pinching and shaping to create a lifelike and dynamic hibiscus flower.
The flower in Ji Cheng’s hands was full of spirit, even better than when she was fully focused. The skin was so thin it was like oil paper wet with water, translucent, and the petals were naturally rounded without any hint of artificiality.
Even Liu, the cook who was usually stingy with praise, showed a slight smile at this hibiscus cake.
Shen Yuan’s hibiscus cake paled in comparison to Ji Cheng’s, but she didn’t mind. Culinary skills were just a pastime, and if Ji Cheng was good at it, it was because she had talent. Shen Yuan wasn’t envious.
“What were you thinking about? You were so lost in thought,” Shen Yuan asked Ji Cheng after washing her hands.
Ji Cheng lowered her eyelids, “I was thinking about how to help Sister Yuan make the Hundred Flowers Banquet a success. Otherwise, I’d feel guilty.” This was her honest feeling; with a win-win outcome, she had no reason not to give it her all.
“Silly girl, this isn’t your fault,” Shen Yuan said. But in her heart, she didn’t think Ji Cheng could help her much. Later, when discussing the specifics of the Hundred Flowers Banquet, it was mostly Shen Yuan and Shen Qian talking, with Su Yun occasionally offering some good suggestions. As for Shen Cui’s ideas, the less said, the better, and Ji Cheng rarely spoke.
Two days before Wang’s Peony Banquet on the tenth day of the fourth month, Shen Yuan sent a reply to Fourth Miss Wang, saying she was feeling unwell recently and couldn’t attend the banquet, hoping for understanding. Shen Qian, Shen Cui, and even Su Yun all sent similar replies, all citing poor health.
There had been some discussion about this. As the date approached, they were all considering how to respond to Fourth Miss Wang. Shen Cui said, “Let’s say Cousin Cheng is sick, and we’re staying home to take care of her. Everyone knows what’s going on anyway. This way, Fourth Miss Wang will know that she can’t bully our family’s sisters as she pleases.”
Su Yun and Shen Qian both nodded.
Ji Cheng inwardly cursed Shen Cui but knew she wasn’t deliberately trying to cause trouble. Shen Cui was simply not used to considering others. Ji Cheng sighed, thinking she needed to find a way to win Shen Cui over, otherwise her constant hindrance would become problematic in the future.
At this moment, Ji Cheng could only turn to Shen Yuan for help. The Shen family’s young ladies might want to challenge Fourth Miss Wang, but Ji Cheng had no right to offend her.
Shen Yuan poked Shen Cui’s forehead, “What nonsense are you talking about? If we do that, who knows how much Fourth Miss Wang will hate Cheng. After all, Cheng is the most innocent in this. Let’s each reply separately, saying we’re not feeling well. The Wang sisters will understand the reason when they see it.”
Ji Cheng breathed a sigh of relief. Although she would inevitably face Fourth Miss Wang’s jealousy, it was better than confronting her directly. Moreover, if Fourth Miss Wang wasn’t foolish, she should know that it wasn’t Ji Cheng who was at odds with her. Of course, Ji Cheng wouldn’t come out of this unscathed, but she didn’t want to please Fourth Miss Wang either, as it would be futile.
On the tenth day of the fourth month, Fourth Miss Wang’s Peony Banquet was quite lively, but the absence of the Shen sisters sparked curiosity among the guests. People gossiped, trying to figure out the underlying meaning. Those who usually flattered Fourth Miss Wang naturally spoke ill of the Shen family, while those who disliked Fourth Miss Wang but didn’t dare to speak out simply smiled silently.
Fourth Miss Wang was furious but could only force a smile. She hadn’t expected Shen Yuan to dare to slap her face like this. But a Peony Banquet not acknowledged by the Shen family’s young ladies could hardly be considered an elegant gathering.
Five days later, when Shen Yuan’s health had improved, she sent invitations to the young ladies in the capital, apologizing for missing the recent gatherings and expressing her regret. She announced that she was specially organizing a Hundred Flowers Banquet to make up for it and invited everyone to get together.
When Fourth Miss Wang received the invitation, she slammed it on the table with a “bang.” “Shen Yuan is going too far.”
“How dare she?!” Wang Yueniang’s face turned pale with anger. “Sister, let’s go to the palace and find Consort Shu. If she just says a word to the Emperor, Shen Yuan, and the others will have to come crawling to apologize to us.”
Fourth Miss Wang glanced at Wang Yueniang; she wasn’t as naive as her sister. After all, the Wang family’s foundation couldn’t compare to the Shen mansion. It was only because of Consort Shu’s support in the palace that they could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Shen family and other prominent families. But Princess An’he was not to be trifled with, and the Wang family didn’t have enough power to move against the Shen family.
But Fourth Miss Wang indeed couldn’t swallow this anger.
“Fourth Sister, Shen Yuan, and the others never dared to be so disrespectful before. What’s going on this time?” Wang Yueniang asked.
Fourth Miss Wang hadn’t figured it out either. She had guessed the answer but couldn’t believe it. How could they disrespect her like this for the sake of a mere relative who wasn’t even Shen Yuan’s proper kin? It seemed Shen Yuan must have been dissatisfied with her for some time.
Fourth Miss Wang’s lips curled into a cold smile, “I thought Shen Yuan was so magnanimous, but it was all just for show. Now she’s finally lost her composure.”
“If we don’t get even for this, people will laugh at us in the future. Fourth Sister, say something,” Wang Yueniang urged.
Fourth Miss Wang said, “Of course, we need to inform the Consort.” In the end, the Wang sisters could only rely on Consort Shu to save face.
Meanwhile, Madam Huang from the second branch also reprimands Shen Yuan, “I just followed the Old Ancestor to the mountains for a few days of Buddhist rituals, and you’ve caused such trouble. Yuan’er, you’ve never been one to lose your composure like this before. What happened this time?”
“Some people have been given too much respect and now take it for granted. Mother, you know what Fourth Miss Wang is like,” Shen Yuan rarely showed a hint of coquettishness in front of her mother. “Besides, I don’t think constantly avoiding confrontation is the right approach. It will only encourage her to push further.”
Madam Huang smiled, “So that’s what you were thinking. I thought that Ji girl had brainwashed you.”
Shen Yuan looked at Madam Huang and smiled confidently, “Mother, you underestimate your daughter. Even when beating a dog, one must consider its master. Fourth Miss Wang herself is not behaving properly. Not to mention our relatives, even the cats and dogs of our Shen family can’t be bullied by her at will.”
Madam Huang patted the back of Shen Yuan’s hand, “It’s right to be both soft and firm in dealing with people. I can’t say you’ve done wrong, but since you’ve taken the lead, I’ll leave it to you to resolve the matters that follow.”
Shen Yuan nodded, “Fourth Miss Wang doesn’t have much ability. She can only go to the palace to complain to Consort Shu. But Consort Shu is struggling to protect herself now, so I don’t think she’ll have time to worry about Fourth Miss Wang’s small matter.”
Shen Yuan’s prediction was spot on. Consort Shu indeed couldn’t spare the effort to discipline the Shen family, as she had her enemies in the palace. Since she had given birth to a prince, other women saw their chances too. Emperor Jianping, with the mindset of sowing seeds widely, had always been diligent in his efforts with the harem. Consort Wang wasn’t even Emperor Jianping’s most favored. It was said that a new beauty had entered the palace today, whose appearance greatly resembled the woman Emperor Jianping had desired but couldn’t have in his younger years.
Shen Yuan seized the opportunity and gave Fourth Miss Wang a hard slap, yet emerged unscathed. This was a complete victory.
Ji Cheng only learned the reasons behind this later. She had overestimated herself, thinking it was her actions that had persuaded Shen Yuan, not knowing that Shen Yuan had been looking for such an opportunity. The root cause wasn’t that Shen Yuan was particularly clever, but rather that Ji Cheng lacked Shen Yuan’s access to information from the inner palace.
Because of this incident, Ji Cheng became even more determined to make arrangements. Being in the capital, it was indeed disadvantageous not to know the inner workings of the palace. However, they could only interact with minor eunuchs far from the center of power, so useful information was scarce and often outdated, but it was better than nothing.
Since Fourth Miss Wang’s complaint hadn’t affected the Wei family, the Hundred Flowers Banquet on the twenty-fourth day of the fourth month could proceed as planned.
However, before that, Ji Cheng had one more matter to settle. One should never underestimate children; they have the highest expectations for promises because they don’t yet understand that adults often make excuses to renege on their words.
“Young Lady, do you have to go? Master Hong might have already forgotten about it. Besides, if someone discovers you carrying all these tools out, it could be disastrous,” Liuye’er advised.
Ji Cheng didn’t know what had come over her to promise Hong’er that she would take him to the highest place in the mansion. Perhaps it was a momentary surge of sympathy, but sympathy wasn’t a bad thing. When there were no conflicting interests, doing a good deed could be seen as accumulating virtue.
As the moon reached its zenith, Ji Cheng sat swinging her legs on the wall where she had been that night. The little rascal hadn’t shown up, and she was too lazy to move. Today, for convenience, she wore a purple robe that opened on all sides, with dark purple tight-fitting pants underneath and thin-soled shoes. Her hair was tied up high, neat and tidy. Because of this, Ji Cheng did something that no one had ever seen her do before.
Ji Cheng lay diagonally on her back on the wall that followed the contour of the mountain, one hand behind her head for support, one leg resting on the knee of the other bent leg. Her free hand idly tapped on her bent leg. At this moment, if she had a blade of grass between her lips, it would have been perfect, but she was too lazy to turn over and pick one.
When Shen Hong ran to the base of the wall on his little legs, he couldn’t see the peach blossom spirit anywhere. His lips quivered, and he was about to cry. He had gone to great lengths to sneak out, only to be tricked.
Ji Cheng had seen the little black dot coming long ago but wanted to tease Hong’er a bit, so she hadn’t spoken up. This child’s eyesight was poor. She took a jujube pit from her pouch and tossed it onto Hong’er’s head at the base of the wall.
Hong’er let out an “Ouch!” and was about to get angry, but when he looked up and saw Ji Cheng’s smiling face, his tears turned to laughter. “I thought you weren’t coming!”