The Divorcee Is A Wicked Black Belly 85 The Banque

The banquet gathered together all the beautiful people that really mattered, and which include artists, athletes, government officials, ministers, the fabulously rich people of the land, and of course, royalty. Without that invite, the door to meeting these fabulous and beautiful people was barred forever.

In previous meets, the invite had been given to a select few, only top athletes in each competing teams, their coaches/teachers, and members of families if they were in the top rank, that is. In the past, matchmaking parents have been known to smuggle in a son or daughter hoping for lightning to strike and the heavens to open up. No one had been successful, that is, until the eldest Wu daughter came, was seen, and easily snagged a rich duke for a husband.

That story was already legendary according to the books on courts.h.i.+p and marriage. And it became even more phenomenal, the luck of the Wus, when the second Wu sister did better than her elder and married a wealthy prince from another kingdom. Thankfully, the third sister met and fell in love and eventually married a very rich merchant before she even set foot in the capital and disrupted the banquet. Otherwise...the matchmaking mamas shuddered at the implication. But of course, they remembered the fourth Wu sister, who will be present in the banquet, and the shudder became a quake of trepidation.

This year's banquet promises to be different from previous ones. For one, many protocols were broken, nearly all of them at the request of Mu Xing, who was now the school princ.i.p.al. His appointment to the post was made possible after the emperor downgraded the board's power and basically made them an advisory council rather than co-equal partners of the school. And the first thing Mu Xing did as princ.i.p.al was loosen up the guest list and send out invitations to all partic.i.p.ants instead of only the select few.

Invites were also given to previous winners in previous contests, which the board had previously blocked, insisting that this year's compet.i.tion should be low-key to reflect the mood in the capital. No chance of that after a b.l.o.o.d.y civil war, Mu Xing scoffed.

Although the school was the games' chief organizer, the imperial banquet, however, was strictly the palace's imperial pervue. The banquet serves at the emperor's pleasure. He can cancel it, rescind an invitation, even refuse to let someone in at the door. This year's banquet, however, also broke with tradition when the palace announced that the banquet was going to be hosted by the empress rather than the emperor. The venue also came as a surprise announcement: it was going to be held in her official residence rather than the palace as had been the previous practice.

The decision to hold the banquet in the love nest was not An Ning's idea. Neither was the banquet. She had officially moved to the residence after matters during the aftermath of the failed rebellion were cleared up. The monies were paid out, the lands apportioned so she had thought it was time for her to take a step back and let Gu Sheng take the limelight after the admirable leaders.h.i.+p he showed during the crisis. She had told Gu Sheng this, expecting him to agree.

Gu Sheng didn't say anything; he merely smiled but didn't stop her either. A few days later, he was in her living room eating lunch. Then eating breakfast with her in the mornings, then napping in the big bedroom in the back courtyard, then staying late to discuss official business with her, then staying the night because it was too late to go back to the palace, which was just a block away.

The habit became so ordinarily regular the servants started moving some of his things in the west courtyard, which was opposite hers. Then Yi Hai and some of the palace guards followed, and Kang Jun, who tidied and cleaned up the study for the emperor's use. Kang Jun also took over the back bedroom after asking An Ning's permission.

An Ning just looked on, never saying anything about the intrusion. What was the point of saying anything anyway? If she moved back to the palace or moved to another house outside the capital, the same thing would happen. Better stay put and not disturb the apple cart. It seemed Gu Sheng was still unwilling to cut the ap.r.o.n strings and take the mantle of the monarchy just yet.

The banquet was arranged in the large pavilion which was the centerpiece of the love nest's famous garden. This garden was not originally part of the blue print approved by the emperor's favorite concubine but was later added at the request of the empress when she took over the renovation. It was a magnificent creation, creatively fusing together the harmony of rocks, ponds, trees, flowers, and structures.

The guests started arriving around six that evening. Since the house was very close to the school, most of the guests practically presented themselves at the gates at the same time after walking the short distance away. Servants then directed them to the pavilion, which was ablaze with light from a hundred lanterns.

There was a sort of magical feel to it, making everyone feel as if they were entering dreamland. Not only the pavilion but the garden was bathed in the soft light emitting from the lanterns. The smell of flowers engulfed the night with their sweet scent, the walkways twist and turn as small flas.h.i.+ng lights illuminated their path. Fascinated, they examined the lights and realized they came from hundreds of thousands of glow worms caught in little nets. The glow worms wiggled happily about, each wiggle causing the lights from their bellies to s.h.i.+ne.

The pavilion stood like a bright wondrous city in the middle of the lake. The four bridges linking it to sh.o.r.e also shone, the lights from the glow worms reflecting on the still water like a melody from a forgotten song. It was beautiful and magical. It made one breathless and made one feel wondrous joy.

Inside the pavilion greeting guests were the emperor and empress. An Ning herself looked like the personification of a dream. She seemed to capture the magic of the moment and return it tenfold as an image of her reflection. She was dream-like and unconventional, fierce and powerful.

All women in that gathering came to represent themselves by dressing in their very best. But they came dressed in the same drab robes, wearing the same hairstyle, the same trinkets, the same jewelry on their bodies. They were beautiful but lacked originality, sensuous but vulgar with it, smart but lacked the verb to follow through.

An Ning on the other hand was dressed in a deep emerald green gown that followed the gentle contours of her long and slender body. The dress was cut half-way back, so that it bared her smooth, white skin and the slenderness of her arms. Her long hair was twisted on top of her head and fastened by what looked like to be a pair of lavender chopsticks. She was not wearing any makeup except a touch of pink on her cheeks and lavender tint on her lips. On her feet were lavender shoes the same exact color as the chopsticks on her hair. She was not wearing any jewelry, except for the thin strand of silver around her neck and an ugly-looking ring on her left finger.

An Ning was dressed so simply and yet unconventionally she practically smashed years of sartorial convention that night. The ladies surrept.i.tiously studied every detail of her dress and that surprising pair of chopsticks in her hair. In each bosom was born a desire, to find a seamstress and have the imperial dress immediately st.i.tched and copied.

Gu Sheng stood beside his stepmother as beautiful and elegant as a peac.o.c.k. Months of training and deep worries about the attempted coup have matured him. He seemed to have shed his baby fat and now stood straight and tall, proud, and serenely majestic.

Girls eyed him surrept.i.tiously under their lashes. They liked what they saw. They blushed when he met their gazes directly and without embarra.s.sment. But his eyes never lingered and many were disappointed.

The emperor spent time talking to the athletes. He seemed particularly interested in the pugilists from Duo Xing, who crowded around him like he was not the emperor but an ordinary young boy they liked and wanted to hang out with. Looking at the merry group, partic.i.p.ants from other teams gathered their courage and joined in, conversing with the monarch who seemed happy to talk with them. Soon, the group grew into a large circle. Soon afterwards, the circle moved on sh.o.r.e for a friendly bout, completely shedding their formality and awkwardness around his majesty, the emperor.

Watching them from the pavilion, An Ning signaled to the servants and immediately after, long tables were set not far from the emperor and his group. Finger foods were laid on the table, along with small plates and thin paper sheets that can be used as napkins. Pastries of all kinds courtesy of Sweet Nothings were arranged delectably on attractive bowls and made many a mouth water in hunger just looking at them. There were jugs of wine and cups, which were filled by servants waiting to serve the crowd.

The guests looked at this array and were dumbfounded. The emperor casually walked to the table, picked a plate then, using his hand, he filled his plate with the little cutlets. He then took one sheet from the pile and used it to eat the cutlets with. The crowd looked at him surprised. The emperor laughed and motioned for them to dig in. They did, doing the exact same thing as the emperor. Afterwards, the group resumed their lively talk, talking sports, talking training, talking compet.i.tions while munching on the cutlets and pastries, as if the idea of eating outside and watching the emperor touch food with his own hands was nothing as earth shattering as another protocol gone bust.

Yi Hai, who stood some distance from the emperor, turned his head towards the slim figure wearing that blatantly s.e.xy green dress and shook his head. Only she can make his highness eat cold food out in the open air and without using cutlery. He looked at the table and against his will, his feet moved and without him even noticing it, a plate was on his hand and he was chewing on a small piece of chicken that tasted like nothing he had ever tasted before. He laughed and his hand moved to pick another tasty piece when a loud scream suddenly shattered the night.

Wu Xiang Yun had a problem. When her third sister married and the husband turned out to be richer than the husbands of her two eldest sisters, the pressure for her to surpa.s.s them became even more unbearable. Her parents, especially her mother, were constantly at it night and day, nagging at her, screaming at her. She was only fifteen years old. It wasn't as if the world would end if she didn't find the fourth ideal husband to marry now, would it?

But...who was she kidding? She was Wu Xiang Yun, the fourth sister of the incredibly talented and famous Wu sisters who all married well and beyond everyone's imaginations. And now the burden of that incredibly fabulous record was on her. If she married someone less than the prince or the duke or the rich merchant, her parents would kill her then convince everyone there were only three sisters and the fourth was just a rumor.

Wu Xiang Yun knew she was beautiful. Far more beautiful in fact than her three sisters. It was just that she didn't really care about her looks. She cared more about alchemy and science and cooking than anything else. She tried to tell her father that but he just didn't believe her or refused to believe her. She knew that her dad loved her the best. She always knew that this constant nagging at her to find a husband really stemmed from his concern over her. He didn't care about money or status. The kingdom was fine without her being married off to the highest bidder but he worries about the things she likes which to him were as alien as a red moon in winter.

Wu Xiang Yun wanted to be a scholar. She wanted to study science and alchemy and perhaps branch out into medicine later on. She had heard that the school in Yuqui had recently hired a renowned scientist who had worked with some scholars from the east kingdom and later wrote a book on the study of bacteria. The book was so fascinating to her because it was not only groundbreaking but unheard of in this time. Who was this scientist and how did he accomplish this feat?

In her excitement, she told her father about it but instead of sharing her fascination, he got angry and forbade her to have anything to do with the book, the scientist, even Yuqui. Her mother cried bitter tears because her youngest daughter was such a freak who would scare away potential suitors with her nonsense. And the final ultimatum: if she didn't find a good husband in six months then her parents would find one for her and she will marry him like it or not!

When the opportunity to leave Lu w.a.n.g and travel to Yuqui presented itself, of course Xiang Yun s.n.a.t.c.hed at it with greedy hands. Only she didn't tell her parents that she was going, especially what she was going there as for. Take part in a talent compet.i.tion? She was already an acknowledged talent. She didn't need to dirty her hands and take part in something as demeaning as joining a compet.i.tion to prove this point.

But in her defense, Xiang Yun was young. And she was pa.s.sionate about learning and stuff so she went. She told her parents that she was staying with her grandmother who lived in another part of the kingdom for six months. Since she always goes there to mope and cry and whatever, her parents let her go. Unfortunately for Xiang Yun, three months into her supposed sojourn, word reached her parents that the grandmother was ill. So, they packed their bags expecting to see Xiang Yun at the grandmother's side. She wasn't and when her dad found out she hadn't been there at all, all h.e.l.l broke loose and now he's looking for her so he could marry her off to the duke of somebody, who's only daughter was even older than she was. What a mess!

So, in a state despair and a mind full of horrors about her impending fate, Wu Xiang Yun walked off the lake, whether it was accidental or not n.o.body actually knows, until somebody who was walking on the sh.o.r.e with some friends saw her body floating on the surface and screamed b.l.o.o.d.y murder.

Mu Xing who was near the scene immediately jumped in the water and pulled the inert body on the sh.o.r.e. Xiang Yun didn't seem to be breathing so Mu Xing did the only thing he could and blew air into her lungs by fastening his lips onto the already blue-lined mouth of the young girl. It seemed like it took minutes but it was actually a second short of a minute when Xiang Yun finally opened her eyes and coughed, expelling the water filling her lungs.

The crowd who were anxiously watching and waiting for Xiang Yun to waken and revive clapped their hands in relief, even the emperor gave Mu Xing an approving smile. Xiang Yun gripped Mu Xing's sleeve and suddenly burst into tears.

This scene, witnessed by everyone on the sh.o.r.e, wasn't seen or heard by the empress at all. She was on the other side of the pavilion talking to Hui Xiu and Li Bing Bing when she suddenly saw Ling Wan with his brother Ling Nam hurriedly cross the bridge to where she and the girls were standing. Ling Wan looked pale, his eyes wet and he couldn't seem to stop shaking.

The empress excused the girls then pulled the men in a corner when they were finally alone. Suddenly, the empress' eyes narrowed. Behind Ling Wan and Ling Nam were a group of men who were shuffling about looking anything but comfortable in her presence. The empress' sharp eyes turned to Ling Wan, silently demanding an answer. She knew those men. She recognized them from the night they stormed the capital and tried to stage an attack against the palace and the emperor.

"Your grace, something has happened!" Ling Wan rasped, his shaking hand nervously raking the lock of hair which had escaped his ponytail. "I...I think...I think we just foiled an a.s.sa.s.sination attempt...against...against your grace and his majesty the emperor. I...I..." his shaking voice stopped as Ling Wan slid to the floor in a dead faint.