Rising Phoenix

Feng Zhiwei was clearly displeased, and she made no effort to hide her thoughts as she glared at Ning Yi.

“How could you request such a shameless …” Feng Zhiwei heard herself say in a trance, and for a moment she was not sure whether she had actually spoken or not. Flicking her hair and turning away from the insufferable man, she bumped into Helian Zheng. The Hu Zhuo Prince smiled as he grabbed her hand, calmly declaring: “She is my fiancée, why would she sit with you? After provoking half the women of Dijing, you now want to lay your hands on my woman? Your skills are better spent on those pink dolls of yours.” Helian Zheng pointed at Qiu Yuluo with his chin, laughing as he pulled Feng Zhiwei’s hand and turned.

This prince’s background was unshakable, and the men of the steppes were known to have unrestrained spirits to begin with — even the Emperor dealt modestly with this young man, so what could these princes do to him? The princes all laughed at Helian Zheng’s mockery, poking fun at Ning Yi, and the offended man himself only smiled silently. As Helian Zheng made his way through the crowd, he turned back and met the Sixth Prince’s gaze.

At that moment, Feng Zhiwei felt as if sparks were flying beside her…

After this kerfuffle, the young ladies no longer dared speak; the pale faced Qiu Yuluo finally regained her seat, and the infuriated Madam Qiu could only sigh and whisper into her daughter’s ear: “Yuluo, trust me, never provoke your older sister Feng.”

Qiu Yuluo silently bit her lips, filling her mother with worry. Madam Qiu knew that her little girl had never suffered, so how could she know what was at stake?

 The Feng Family’s young miss was terrifyingly talented — without money or background, securing a place as a favored minister of the Emperor. Even the newly minted Imperial Merchant Yan Family and the powerful Chunyu Family courted her favor, and her control even extended to the Qiu Young Master, plucking him from the Hu Wei Camp and placing him under Chunyu Meng in the Chang Ying Guard. Even if she was not willing to harm the Qiu Mansion, she still had the Qiu Young Master in her hands. Her return to the mansion on the heels of the Qiu Master’s expedition was surely not coincidental as well, and the more Madam Qiu thought about Feng Zhiwei’s influence, the more cold sweat dripped down her spine.

The experienced matron patted her daughter’s hand, already thinking of how to talk some sense into her when they returned home when a young lady beside them suddenly turned to Qiu Yuluo and whispered: “You are Little Sister Yuluo? Don’t feel bad, that mad woman will not be looking good for long.”

Qiu Yuluo’s eyes flashed as she turned hopefully to the young lady: “Does Older Sister Hua have a plan?”

This young lady was the Ministry of Personnel’s daughter, Hua Gongmei, the first eager soul who had leapt ahead of the pack to attack Feng Zhiwei. She was much more sly than Qiu Yuluo and had shut up as soon as she felt something off, but she had not given up; now, Dijing’s famed, talented beauty whispered into Qiu Yuluo’s ears, passing on her devious plan to her accomplice’s delight: “Noble Imperial Consort Chang excels at literature and hates ignorant people… If little sister can come up with a way to trap Feng Zhiwei in this regard, she will bring on her own destruction.”

Hua Gongmei smiled quietly, an arrogant expression filling her face.

If she called herself the most talented young lady in the whole world, who would be able to contest her?

She would make sure that this ugly woman would fall from the clouds to be trampled in the dust!

As the two plotted, the Emperor arrived with Imperial consort Chang. Everyone stood and bowed, and after a toast to the honored birthday star, the music and dancing began. Noble Imperial Consort Chang was greatly contented and in an excellent mood, and quickly sent the Fifth Prince and his wife off to offer toasts to the guests. None of the well-dressed wives could refuse this Imperial Grace and were forced to drink until flushed and tipsy. A pleasant breeze blew through the square carrying the fragrance of alcohol past the more and more unrestrained guests, a truly boisterous and happy occasion.

After a few rounds of drinks, several of the princes exchanged glances and began offering their birthday gifts. The Fifth Prince had already presented his pair of precious Pen Monkeys, and the Noble Imperial Consort had brought her adored gift with her to the feast. Clearly, no one could compete with the mother’s natural son.

The Second Prince presented a pair of exquisitely sculpted green jade peaches, clearly rare and difficult to procure, but ultimately not too valuable. The Seventh Prince presented a rare set of ancient books, fitting both his “Poetry Prince” nickname and the Noble Imperial Consort’s hobby. Princess Shao Ning presented a famous named Chinese Zither, and the Tenth Prince brought a Jiang Huai style Screen.

The Imperial Consort praised each gift, happiness covering her face.

But when Ning Yi presented his gift, Imperial Noble Consort Chang’s smile slipped for a brief moment.

His gift was a root carving beautifully crafted in a foreign style, its bold and unrestrained angles meshing with its fine and delicate details. The root was a clear portrayal of the South Sea’s famous Mount Wu Yang, the masterful strokes of the knife beautifully depicting the green mountains and cloudy skies, evoking the bright sun and the fragrant pine, capturing mother nature and all her beauty.

The Tian Sheng Emperor was deeply impressed with the gift, and after looking it over this way and that finally joked with Consort Change: “You have so many good things already, how about you gift this to me?”

Noble Imperial Consort Chang eyed the root carving with an unnatural expression before turning to smile at the Emperor: “Your Majesty always teases this Consort. Doesn’t everything that I possess already belong to your?”

Ning Yi smiled up at the Imperial couple, saying: “Father Emperor never lets go of any good thing, look at Mother Consort’s unwilling expression, are you still willing to take it from her?”

The Emperor laughed loudly as he put down the carving, saying: “You monkey, look at your slippery tongue!” The Imperial Consort gracefully retrieved the root carving and placed it by her other gifts before casting Ning Yi a meaningful gaze.

Ning Yi smiled normally.

Feng Zhiwei looked away from the carving, already planning to check on South Sea’s Chang Family in her free time the next day.

Once the Imperial Children were done presenting their gifts, it was now the time for the young ladies from the noble families to demonstrate their talents — this was an unwritten practice of the Imperial Palace, and most of the Princely Wives had been chosen from just such occasions.

Ning Yi and Ning Ji were not yet paired, so today was also a matchmaking feast.

Feng Zhiwei had been unwillingly dragged into this feast, and only now did she understand why all these girls had dressed so alluringly.

Feng Zhiwei could not help but think back to her time as a servant boy in the brothel; she felt as if these tables of young ladies hidden behind their gauze screens were not too different from the Lan Xian Brothel’s girls waiting for their customers.

The status was different, but the circumstances were quite similar, and all the girls looked up at the brilliant, rich men with glowing eyes.

Feng Zhiwei could not help laughing to herself at the comparison.

She hid her laugh, but Ning Yi immediately turned to look at her, a frown crossing his face.

What was the matter with this woman? She clearly knew that this was a matchmaking feast, why was she so happy?

Suddenly, he felt somewhat unhappy.

“It’s always good to have a prize.” Noble Imperial Consort Chang said to the Emperor, and her husband smiled and ordered some people to bring over some gold thread pouches and gold coins.

“Let’s have the kids show their hands and give us a show.”