Chapter 55: Su Miaolan (3)
Unfortunately this time, she never expected him to take out something very familiar. Su Miaolan stared at the item with a blank look–indeed it was her double-sided peony embroidery.
The peony was considered the king of flowers. In the past, she gave this carefully embroidered treasure to the Crown Prince for his birthday.
There were a couple of reasons for the gift: the first was to show off her talent to the Prince. The second was because the gift had no use for the prince, and he was known to be very filial. Thus, she expected him to kindly hand over such precious embroidery to the Empress, which would make a good impression on her mother-in-law in advance.
Never did she expect that Gong Che would actually send it over to the Chaoyang Princess!
Su Miaolan had once seen the Chaoyang Princess from a distance.
The weather was fine that day. On the way to visit Long Gui Fei with her mother, she encountered the favored Chaoyang Princess" sedan chair. Su Miaolan had to kneel down on the side to let her pa.s.s first.
Such a princess was spoiled beyond compare… While the concubines only dared to use the small sedan chair lifted by four men, the Emperor actually allowed the Chaoyang Princess to ride a large sedan chair lifted by sixteen men only because she said something about feeling too stuffed in a small one! The favored princess traveled elegantly like a gentle breeze. She was magnificent, affluent, and unparalleled in her style.
Over the princess" head was a golden canopy to block out the sun. The four sides of the sedan were draped with curtains while the top was decorated with pearls and gems. It fluttered at every movement to create a dream-like illusion.
It was rumored that the large sedan chair was crafted by the Ministry of Works for four months. Sitting on it, on wouldn"t feel the stuffiness or jolting of a normal sedan chair.
As Su Miaolan knelt on the ground, her heart was filled with bitter jealousy. Why was the Chaoyang Princess treated so favorably? Su Miaolan was regarded as the first beauty of the capital, but she could only step aside and kneel before the princess like a trampled on weed. The Chaoyang Princess did not even spare her a glance.
Even the Crown Prince admired the young princess and treated her specially. He did not hesitate to hand her the embroidery that Su Miaolan had painstakingly worked on for an entire year.
When the sedan chair pa.s.sed by, Su Miaolan couldn"t help but look up. At that moment, a strong wind pa.s.sed by, causing the sedan"s dream-like curtains to gently lift up. Su Miaolan caught a glimpse of the sleeping girl within.
Princess Chaoyang, at the tender age of eleven, was very beautiful. The girl"s expression showed a hint of caution but there was no arrogance to her demeanor. She exuded a calm atmosphere that caused onlookers to admit that she was truly a gracious princess!
Su Miaolan suddenly felt a sense of crisis. Perhaps when this young princess matures, the t.i.tle of the capital"s first beauty would no longer be in her reach.
When Su Miaolan discovered that the Chaoyang Princess had been discarded, she was joyful for several days. She was still the jewel of the capital while the other had fallen into the mud from the heavens. Believing that a Phoenix was more favored than an abandoned chick, Su Miaolan no longer worried about losing her place.
Now, she had her embroidery returned to her hands… Her eyes flashed with a certain light, and she asked in a warm and gentle voice,
"Brother Shen… didn"t this embroidery fall in the Chaoyang Princess" hands? How do you have it with you… did you meet up with her by chance?"
She secretly felt pleased. In the past, Shen s.h.i.+ Ye promised to find a chance to help her seek revenge. It"s possible that he s.n.a.t.c.hed this embroidery from that princess as the fulfillment of that promise.
Su Miaolan gloated in her heart, but she continued to display a worried look. "Brother Shen, did you do anything to the Princess?"