An Eight-year-old Princess

Chapter 167 The Withered Flower (Part Two)

Lord Hua Guo smiled as if he knew what Prince Jing was thinking. He said, "I come here today for no

other purpose than to find someone to drink with. You know, the seventh Prince is not well, and I dare

not invite him to drink, so I come to you."

Prince Jing smiled at his words and said, "Obedience is better than politeness. My mansion is desolate,

but very quiet. Let's drink here." Then Prince Jing turned to a servant and said, "Prepare the wine, and

take it to the pavilion by the lake."

When Prince Jing took Lord Hua Guo to the pavilion, the wine was ready and there were a few food

dishes as well. Lord Hua Guo smiled and poured a bowl of wine without saying a word. Then he

toasted to Prince Jing. Prince Jing took his bowl of wine and they drained their bowls.

Lord Hua Guo did not speak anymore about the war, not even about the State of Xia and the State of

Ning. Instead, he asked Prince Jing some questions as if they were in a casual conversation. He

asked, "I heard that you are the sworn son of the former Emperor. Then where is your hometown, Your

Highness?" He also inquired, "Your Highness, you are now in a high status. Have you ever looked for

your parents?"

Prince Jing answered his questions one by one. "I don't know where my real hometown is. I grew up in

the southern city of Jingning, but it wasn't necessarily my hometown, because it wasn't my biological

parents who brought me up. Later, Jingning was flooded, and my sworn parents died. I was adopted by

the former Emperor who came to aid the disaster relief in Jingning." As for the investigation into the

identity of his biological parents... Prince Jing shook his head. He never thought of looking for his

biological parents because he never cared about them.

Lord Hua Guo sighed, "Heroes don't care about their family background." After that, Lord Hua Guo did

not ask more. He only spoke with Prince Jing about the conditions and customs of the State of Xia.

They were congenial.

The next morning, Yun Shang took the official dress to Prince Jing's Mansion. Prince Jing felt the dress

and found that the fabric was still the same, but it seemed a little different. Though he knew Yun Shang

must have done something to it, he trusted her and put on the dress without any questions.

Official dresses were always grand. Their official dress was scarlet in color and looked very festive.

Added to that the hair ornament of their respective grades, and their radiance caught everyone's

attention.

When they arrived at the Flower Show Banquet in their carriage, many people had already gathered.

All the officials of the court were seated in their positions, and at the front were Emperor Ning and the

envoys of the other two countries. Behind the officials, large numbers of common people from the

Imperial City had come to watch. They crowded around the platform and the road was clogged.

Wang Jinhuan was sitting at the back. His eyes lit up when he saw Prince Jing and Yun Shang. Then

he turned, rested his head on the back of his chair, and stared at them for a long while before he

grinned and teased, "I didn't expect Qingyan to be so handsome in this official dress. Look at you, tut,

tut, people who don't know what's going on will think it's your wedding day."

Prince Jing and Yun Shang turned and glared at the loose-lipped Jinhuan. Jinhuan laughed and added,

"Tut, tut, you are so consistent even when you are angry. You two really look like husband and wife."

Yun Shang sighed and wondered how Minister Wang who was very serious and his wife who was quite

gentle and virtuous, could have such a son.

"Your Highness, It's almost time. The Flower Show Banquet is about to begin. Let me take you to the

top to prepare." A eunuch came up to them and spoke. Prince Jing nodded, then he looked at Yun

Shang before following the eunuch up to the next restaurant.

Looking out of the window, Yun Shang found guards everywhere. She even spotted some shadow

guards. As she glanced over the crowd, she noticed some incongruous men among the people. They

had sharp eyes, and she knew at a glance that they knew Kung Fu.

"Some of these people are shadow guards, and some, probably, have ulterior motives or the wrong

motives." Prince Jing's deep voice rang in Yun Shang's ear. Yun Shang left the window with a frown,

and said, "My father leaves the Palace once in a blue moon. There must be some malicious people

who don't want to miss this opportunity."

Outside, a few drums suddenly sounded, accompanied by Grand Councilor Li's faint voice in the

distance, "It's time to begin the Flower Show Banquet."

Prince Jing raised his hand and helped Yun Shang to the platform. The platform had an altar. They

stood before the altar as the master of the Banquet loudly proclaimed, "Flower Show Guides, please

begin the ceremony."

Yun Shang took the incense from the maid next to her. Then she proceeded to light the incense before

placing it respectfully on the altar. Then she took the wine and poured it onto the ashes on the table

before she bowed before the altar.

After the simple ceremony, Prince Jing and Yun Shang turned to look at the people around the

platform. Prince Jing, with a poker face, said, "The Flower Show Banquet, begins..." A deep voice with

Neigong slowly spread.

The host of the Banquet hastened to add, "The Flower Show Banquet, begins. Women who are going

to present flowers, come on stage."

Yun Shang and Prince Jing stood on one side of the platform and silently watched the women climb to

the platform with flowers in their hands. All the women wore pink dresses, and they carried brilliantly-

colored flowers in their hands.

A long table had been placed on the platform, and the women put their flowers on the table.

Prince Jing and Yun Shang walked from one end of the table to the other, holding a jade bottle from

which they sprinkled some water in each flowerpot.

The next step was for each woman to come forward in turn to show the flowers they had brought. This

was also their only chance to show themselves.

The women came forward one by one. Yun Shang's eyes fell on Wen Ruyu. Ruyu was stunning, but

she always looked so cold that people tended to overlook her beauty. Now, she stood on stage quietly

and she was exquisitely dressed.

Yun Shang looked at the table in front of Ruyu. While the other women had flowers in front of them, two

small objects that resembled stones were placed before Ruyu. Many stared at the stones curiously, but

Yun Shang understood her purpose.

It was finally Ruyu's turn. With a smile, she placed one stone in each of her pale hands. Then she

quickly covered her hands, opened her mouth, and blew on her hands. When she opened her hands

again, each stone seemed to open a crack, and green leaves grew. The audiences were startled, and

before they could react, they saw the leaves grow quickly and sprout new shoots. As the plant grew to

about a foot high, a flower bud suddenly appeared at the top of the green shoot. It grew slowly,

revealing a touch of red as it slowly blossomed.

Looking at the audience who seemed amazed, Yun Shang sneered in her heart. 'It turns out that Grand

Councilor Li is the one who has colluded with Ruyu.

Why didn't he ask his daughters to do that instead of Ruyu? Now, even the daughter of the Wen Clan This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.

has stepped in.'

The red flowers were finally in full bloom. The flowers seemed to be good ones, however, they were not

the best ones. The process of their blooming was so amazing that everyone was curious about them.

"For the first time, I have seen such wonderful flowers. Your country is indeed vast in territory and rich

in natural resources."

Xia Houjing praised, "Your Majesty, may I see the flowers? I wonder what's going on with them?"

As if satisfied with his admiration, Emperor Ning laughed, nodded in agreement, and ordered, "Bring

them down."

The Flower Show Banquet stipulated that the person who presented the flowers could not leave the

platform, so the task of bringing the flowers naturally fell to Yun Shang and Prince Jing. The two looked

at each other and walked to Ruyu with a smile. They each took a flower and walked down the platform.

But, after a few steps, the flower in Prince Jing's hand suddenly drooped. Gradually, a yellow color

spread, and an instant later, it withered...