Du Ruhui secretly pointed toward the front and said: “Look at Young Master Yuwen, and Young Masters Dugu and Cui.”
Pei Qiancheng naturally recognized those people. After looking at each one, he said: “They’re also sweating profusely like us, nothing unusual.”
Du Ruhui shook his head slightly: “When others began to complain secretly, these few remained calm and composed, showing no displeasure. That Young Master Cui is even smiling slightly. Don’t you find it strange?”
Pei Qiancheng looked carefully again: “Indeed something’s not right. They’re clearly sweating profusely, but they act as if nothing’s wrong. What’s going on with them?”
“Though I know little about this empress, since she is the empress, I don’t think she would…” He spoke in a voice only they could hear: “Lose her composure like this, so the most likely possibility is that she’s testing you all. Those sons of noble families have connections everywhere and likely received advance notice, so no matter how difficult or uncomfortable it gets, they show no dissatisfaction.”
“I see.” Pei Qiancheng suddenly understood. Seeing someone look their way, he quickly lowered his voice: “To use this method to test people, this Her Majesty the Empress is truly extraordinary. Fortunately you reminded me, otherwise I would have been caught off guard.”
Du Ruhui nodded lightly: “Since you want to be a prince consort, endure it well. As you said, to gain something you must lose something.”
“I know.” After this response, Pei Qiancheng looked at his nose and focused his mind, letting the scorching sun beat down overhead without showing any more displeasure.
At the third quarter of the hour of Si, the sound of a heavy object falling to the ground came from nearby. A young gentleman had fainted and collapsed, presumably due to his weak constitution and prolonged exposure to the scorching sun, causing heatstroke and fainting.
As he fell, as if it were contagious, several more people fainted and collapsed in succession. Faced with this situation, the palace attendants showed no signs of panic, orderly carrying those people to the pavilion, then summoning imperial physicians to treat them. Heatstroke wasn’t a serious illness—with some rest and heat-relieving medicinal soup, they would be fine.
Seeing that the unconscious could rest in the pavilion, several people had ideas and pretended to faint, hoping to rest in the pavilion first and come out when the princess arrived. By the end of the hour of Si, only about twenty people were still persisting, while the rest had either truly or falsely suffered heatstroke and gone to rest in the pavilion.
Just as Du Ruhui was also being heated through his whole body with blurred vision, a voice like heavenly music came from afar: “Her Majesty the Empress has arrived!”
Upon hearing this, the crowd who had been dizzy and light-headed from the sun immediately came to their senses, quickly looking toward where the voice came from. They indeed saw a group of palace attendants surrounding a beautifully dressed lady approaching.
Most of these people came from famous families and noble clans, having more or less frequented pleasure quarters and brothels, seeing countless beautiful courtesans and beauties, but none could compare to the woman before them.
Her hair was piled high in elegant clouds, her beautiful eyes flowing with glances, possessing both dignified magnificence and countless graceful manners, as if all the beauty in the world was concentrated in her alone. One look and it was hard to turn away.
They knew this must undoubtedly be Empress Xiao. No wonder His Majesty had been devoted to her for so many years. Even Xi Shi and Diao Chan were probably no more than this. With such a beauty, who could bear to give her up?
“Seeing Her Majesty the Empress, why don’t you pay your respects?” A palace attendant’s shrill voice startled these people, who reluctantly withdrew their gazes and knelt to pay respects.
“Rise.” Just two short words, yet they made many hearts flutter. This Her Majesty the Empress was not only incomparably beautiful, but even her voice was so pleasant. With such a mother, surely that Princess Highness was also a beautiful woman. This thought made them even more determined to marry the princess and become prince consort.
Those who had been resting in the pavilion, except for one who was still unconscious, all quickly came out of the pavilion to pay respects to the two, whether they had truly or falsely fainted before.
When they appeared, palace attendants had already brought a purple sandalwood chair with brocade cushions to the poolside for Xiao Shi to sit, while two other palace attendants held ornate canopies to shield her from the scorching sun overhead.
Xiao Shi’s first words after sitting down were: “How many fainted, how many complained?”
A palace attendant who had been present throughout came forward: “Reporting to Your Majesty, seven fainted in total, and eleven others showed displeasure on their faces.”
Xiao Shi nodded slightly: “Are you clear about which ones they were?”
“In response to Your Majesty, it’s clear.” As soon as the palace attendant finished speaking, Xiao Shi said: “Since it’s clear, please have them leave.”
“Yes.” The palace attendant responded and pointed to eighteen people, then said: “The young gentlemen whom this servant has pointed to, please follow this servant out of the palace.”
Among those eighteen people, many were from noble families who had lived in luxury since childhood, never suffering any hardship. This time, to marry the princess, they had stood here under the scorching sun for a whole morning, only to be told to leave just as the princess arrived, before even seeing what she looked like. Even the dullest person would know that leaving the palace now meant they had no chance with the princess. How could they accept this? They all stood there without moving.
Seeing this, the palace attendant emphasized: “Please, young gentlemen, follow this servant out of the palace.”
Those people looked at each other. One of them boldly walked before Xiao Shi, bowed to her, and said: “May I ask Your Majesty the Empress, what did we do wrong? Why are you making us leave the palace?”
Xiao Shi glanced at him and said coolly: “Among you, seven people fainted just from standing under the scorching sun for such a short time, showing weak constitutions unable to bear heavy responsibilities. The other eleven, though they didn’t faint, showed displeasure merely from waiting a while. If everything goes smoothly in the future, that’s fine, but if they encounter any setbacks, they’ll probably complain against heaven and earth. Such people are equally unable to bear heavy responsibilities.” After a pause, she continued: “Why this palace invited you to admire flowers today, you surely understand in your hearts. With you being like this, how can this palace feel at ease marrying off the princess?”
Hearing this, those people looked ashamed, while several showed complete chagrin. These were precisely the ones who had thought themselves clever earlier, pretending to faint to avoid the scorching sun in the Glazed Pavilion. They had originally wanted to take advantage, but instead outsmarted themselves and ruined their chance to become the current dynasty’s prince consort.
No matter how regretful and chagrined they felt inside, they could only dejectedly follow the palace attendant away. With this, the remaining people were sharply reduced to nineteen. Both Pei Qiancheng and Du Ruhui were among them, with the former quietly giving Du Ruhui a thumbs up. Without the latter’s reminder, he would probably be among those eighteen people now.
After those people left, Xiao Shi looked at the remaining people and said: “Gentlemen have been admiring flowers here for a long time. How do you find the scenery of this Nine Provinces Pool?”
Regarding Xiao Shi’s words, everyone naturally competed to praise the beautiful scenery of Nine Provinces Pool, fearing to fall behind others. Among them were many who composed poetry and prose to praise the scenery of Nine Provinces Pool. Pei Qiancheng also, under Du Ruhui’s secret guidance, composed a simple yet grand five-character poem. Looking at Xiao Shi’s expression, she seemed quite satisfied.