Leng Caiwen said with dissatisfaction, "What else? I just wanted to find out what she was going to do later. She wouldn't tell me, but she played me for a fool. She really didn't give me any face. I always seem to lose out to Ouyang Yue. I'm the top scholar in the capital, a real gentleman, but how come I always get the short end of the stick when it comes to her?"
Dai Yu, who had been intently watching Li Rushuang's sword dance, turned her head and said with deep agreement, "Because she can see that your true form, this elegant young master, is just a lustful scoundrel, a womanizer who can't shake off women once they're involved. Naturally, she wants to stay away." As she spoke, she glanced at Ouyang Yue, who also looked over. Dai Yu nodded and said seriously, "That's a smart woman. You deserve it!"
Leng Caiwen was immediately furious: "What did you say? You ice block! If you don't speak, people won't think you're mute. You're driving me crazy!"
Although Dai Yu is usually cold and aloof, sometimes she can say something so witty that it leaves you speechless for a long time. Leng Caiwen has always been the victim, and the two have argued about this countless times.
Baili Chen had been ignoring this, but was looking forward to Ouyang Yue's performance. He had a feeling that Ouyang Yue was very confident in her talent, judging from her calm demeanor.
"Now, only Miss Ouyang San is not performing yet."
"Yes, only Miss Ouyang is missing."
At this moment, most of the young masters and ladies in the courtyard had performed their talents. After counting them, it was only Ouyang Yue who had performed. Ouyang Yue smiled and was about to take a step when a soft voice rang out: "And I haven't performed yet."
Everyone was taken aback when they saw this.
"Whose young lady is that? I've never seen her before."
"Could it be the daughter of some important person who recently returned to the capital? She's quite beautiful and has a good temperament."
The crowd buzzed with discussion. Rui Yuhuan stepped forward with a smile: "This humble girl, Rui Yuhuan, also has a talent I'd like to showcase. Please feel free to offer your critiques!"
Today, Rui Yuhuan was dressed in a multicolored outfit, a mix of light pink, light red, and other shades, making it seem as if she were wearing all the vibrant colors of a garden. However, her gentle demeanor, coupled with her exceptionally bright and expressive eyes and her smiling face, added to her charm. Suddenly, Rui Yuhuan's sleeves opened, her feet lightly stomped on the ground, and her body began to sway in a strange, graceful way. Her supple figure moved like a piece of fine silk, immediately drawing gasps of admiration from the crowd.
Ouyang Yue smiled faintly. This Rui Yuhuan certainly liked to steal the spotlight, and she was constantly trying to scheme against her. With Rui Yuhuan's dance, she could easily have performed in the front row, but she insisted on performing before her. With her dance as a foil, her own talent, which was already lacking in skill, would appear even worse.
Upon watching Rui Yuhuan's dance, Baili Jing immediately smiled, while Mu Cuiwei's smile deepened, and Li Rushuang looked at Ouyang Yue with some nervousness.
"Good, Miss Rui, your dance was excellent. Now only the Third Miss of the Ouyang family is left. You are the last to perform, so don't disappoint us." Mu Cuiwei smiled maliciously, while most of the others looked on with amusement. Rui Yuhuan wiped the sweat from her hair, covered her face, and gave Ouyang Yue a malicious look.
Ouyang Yue walked out calmly, a faint smile on her face despite the unfriendly gazes of the crowd. She didn't care what they thought of her. She simply turned to Baili Jing and said, "Your Highness, is it true that for this talent show, any performance that satisfies the young masters and ladies present is considered a good talent?"
Baili Jing nodded, her eyes filled with disdain, and said, "Of course, I wonder what 'outstanding' talent Miss Ouyang wants to display."
As soon as Baili Jing finished speaking, a burst of snickers immediately came from the garden. This Ouyang Yue was ignorant and incompetent; what talent could she possibly have? She was just putting on a show.
Mu Cuiwei looked at Ouyang Yue with a victorious air, already plotting how the princess should punish Ouyang Yue—making her kneel down and kowtow to apologize. No! That would be too lenient! Making her crawl on her hands and knees? That would be good, but with so many people around today, and Ouyang Yue being the granddaughter of Old Madam Huang of the Ning family, it might not be appropriate. This was a bit of a dilemma.
After hearing this, Ouyang Yue slowly took two steps and came to Li Rushuang. Li Rushuang was stunned and had no idea what Ouyang Yue was going to do. Ouyang Yue smiled and said, "Don't be surprised by anything I do in a moment. Consider it cooperating with me."
Li Rushuang didn't understand, but nodded seriously nonetheless. Ouyang Yue turned around and said loudly, "Next, I'm going to perform a talent called magic tricks."
"Magic tricks? What kind of talent is that? I've never heard of it before." The crowd was stunned and began to discuss among themselves.
"Yes, I've never heard of this before either. Do you know what this magic trick means?"
"How would I know? Magic? It doesn't sound like a good thing. What in this world is good if it's related to magic? Humph, this Miss Ouyang really has no talent to perform. She's up to her weird tricks again."
"That's right!"
Leng Caiwen also asked in confusion, "What kind of magic trick is this? I've never heard of it before."
Baili Chen's eyes flickered, and his smile deepened. Leng Caiwen couldn't help but ask, "Seventh Prince, do you know what magic is? You look so eager to know."
Baili Chen smiled and said, "I'm really looking forward to it; it should be very interesting."
At this moment, Ouyang Yue stepped forward and stood in front of Li Rushuang, spreading her hands out. Her fair and flawless hands stretched out, leaving everyone puzzled. What was so special about her hands? Ouyang Yue's hands were indeed beautiful, as fair as jade, but that couldn't be considered a talent, could it?
Ouyang Yue said in a clear and loud voice, "The talent I am going to perform, this magic trick, is the talent of turning the rotten into the magical." As Ouyang Yue spoke, she slightly rotated her five fingers to let everyone see her palms, and said, "I can turn nothing into something, and something into nothing, all in an instant."
"Go!" Ouyang Yue waved her arms near Li Rushuang's ear, and with a flick of her wrist, a delicate peach blossom appeared in her hand.
Li Rushuang was stunned. She had no idea what Ouyang Yue was planning, but she trusted her completely, so she stood still. Unexpectedly, Ouyang Yue suddenly transformed into a flower right before her eyes. No one felt more shocked than she, who was standing closest to Ouyang Yue. Holding the peach blossom Ouyang Yue had given her, she stood speechless, yet her face was filled with excitement!
"Wow! Something really appeared! It's amazing, it really appeared!"
"How could that be? She clearly didn't have anything in her hand just now. That's impossible!"
"What happened? How did this change?!"
The crowd began to discuss among themselves, their eyes sparkling with excitement. Even Baili Jing's eyes flashed with curiosity, while Mu Cuiwei's expression changed.
At this moment, Ouyang Yue's hands began to tremble, and her palms clenched and swung rapidly. Then, as she danced with her arms, peach blossoms would fly out and land in the air, landing on the young men and women in the garden.
Some people picked it up in surprise, and even pinched off a petal in disbelief, while others brought it to their noses to smell it, and then they all exclaimed.
"It's real! It's actually real peach blossoms, and they even smell like peaches."
"It's true! It's amazing! It's true!"
With a smile, Ouyang Yue turned around, flicked her arm, and then flung out several more petals. The petals scattered in the air, and some of the young ladies even had their eyes sparkling as they jumped up to catch them, abandoning their reserve. The garden was instantly filled with an unprecedentedly enthusiastic atmosphere. Everyone wore happy smiles and their eyes shone. They were both surprised and delighted by Ouyang Yue's performance, a feeling they couldn't quite describe.
Ouyang Yue smiled and nodded: "It seems that you gentlemen and ladies quite enjoyed my performance."
Mu Cuiwei's expression changed drastically, and she suddenly shouted, "No, your performance doesn't count! Everyone else is performing music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, and songs. We've never even heard of your performance before, so it doesn't count at all. This is clearly just you faking it; it's not a talent!" Baili Jing was ready to teach Ouyang Yue a lesson. Her time to vent her anger had come! She hadn't expected Ouyang Yue's magic trick to be so spectacular! This made her look inferior; how could she accept that!
Leng Caiwen snorted coldly: "Why can't it count? This kind of miraculous skill doesn't count? Does your singing, which goes off on its own, count as a performance? Haha, that's hilarious! If you can't handle losing, don't compete. Miss Mu calls herself a daughter of a prestigious family, how come you don't even have this much tolerance?"
Mu Cuiwei's face flushed red, but she still shrieked, "What's wrong with the song I sang? This is a recognized talent performance. How can something she's never even heard of be considered a talent? Besides, I think this is just the kind of lowlife stuff that people use to cheat others out of money. How can it be compared to the exchange of talents between us noble families? Of course, it can't be counted!"
Ouyang Yue smiled as she approached Mu Cuiwei, whose heart skipped a beat: "What are you doing? I'm just stating the facts. How can such low-class things be considered talent? You're an uneducated person who doesn't study proper poetry and songs but instead learns these petty tricks to deceive people. It's a disgrace to literature. You should be judged the loser and punished!"
Ouyang Yue smiled faintly, but her eyes suddenly turned cold. She suddenly slapped her hand towards Mu Cuiwei's face. The latter cried out "Ah!" and instinctively reached out to cover her face. She took two steps back, but in her haste, she stepped on her right foot and fell on her bottom, letting out a "howl" in pain.
The other young men and women from prominent families in the garden couldn't help but chuckle when they saw Mu Cuiwei's loss of composure and the lingering panic on her face.
Baili Jing's expression suddenly changed. She walked over and raised her hand to strike Ouyang Yue. Ouyang Yue, who was originally standing to the side, suddenly turned around, causing Baili Jing's hand to miss: "You dare to dodge!"
Ouyang Yue was startled by the angry shout behind her. She turned around in confusion and asked curiously, "Princess, are you talking to me? I don't understand?"
Seeing the innocent expression on Ouyang Yue's face, Baili Jing's expression darkened, and she said coldly, "You actually hit and scolded Miss Mu, and even forced her to fall to the ground, making her lose all face. Don't you think your behavior went too far!"
Ouyang Yue blinked: "Princess, please forgive me. I heard that Miss Mu didn't believe in my so-called charlatanry, so I wanted to perform for her so she could understand. You see, I'm only performing for Miss Mu out of respect, and I absolutely had no intention of embarrassing her."
As she spoke, Ouyang Yue opened her hand, and a pair of pearl dangling earrings lay in her fair palm.
"Ah, aren't those Miss Mu's earrings!"
Mu Cuiwei, already filled with shame and indignation, reached out to touch her ears upon hearing this, only to find her left ear completely empty—it was none other than the earring in Ouyang Yue's hand. She jumped up and snatched it back: "Give it back to me!"
Ouyang Yue handed it to her with a smile. Mu Cuiwei's face was a mixture of red and white, with occasional streaks of black and green, making her look as ugly as a palette.
Ouyang Yue had just performed magic in front of her, something she considered lowbrow and vulgar, yet it had terrified her. If she continued to deny it, it would only make her look worse and more pathetic! Because she knew very well that the magical transformation she witnessed was so incredible that she only realized her earring was missing after Ouyang Yue had spoken of it, and she was just as shocked!
This garden is full of young masters and ladies. Judging from their expressions just now, Ouyang Yue's talent show today is truly the highlight of the day!
While some of the other young masters and ladies' performances were less than satisfactory, she sang off-key halfway through and failed to complete the entire talent show, clearly making her the worst performer of the entire event. After all that fuss, she was the one who ultimately lost. Mu Cuiwei was filled with extreme shame and indignation, her expression constantly shifting.
Even Baili Jing's face looked extremely ugly!
She was clearly standing up for Mu Cuiwei, but she was so disappointing that she ended up embarrassing Mu Cuiwei.
Leng Caiwen, seemingly wanting to further embarrass Baili Jing, laughed and said, "Second Princess, didn't you say before that the performance was too bad? As a princess of the Great Zhou, a role model for young women, you should give her a good talking-to. Now, how do you plan to give Miss Mu a good talking-to? Among all the talents, only Miss Mu's performance was incomplete, making her the worst. The Second Princess has always been the most fair and impartial, so let us see it! The Second Princess's concern for the women of the world will surely earn her praise from everyone. The Emperor will be very pleased to hear this."
Baili Jing stared at Leng Caiwen with a dark expression. However, with so many people watching in the garden, Baili Jing couldn't take back her words once they were spoken. If she truly didn't deal with it, wouldn't it be seen as her going back on her word and abusing her power? If her father found out, and that she had disregarded the royal family's dignity and embarrassed herself in public just because of the rivalry between the two young ladies, would she even have a chance to live?
Baili Jing's face was flushed and pale, while the others in the garden all lowered their heads, fearing that Baili Jing might use them as an excuse to vent her anger.
As the second son of the Leng family's eldest branch, Leng Caiwen was also known as the foremost of the three talents in the capital. He frequently accompanied Baili Chen to the palace and occasionally had the opportunity to converse with the Emperor. Naturally, he was incomparable to other ordinary noblemen. Leng Caiwen dared to speak to Baili Jing like this for several reasons: first, their relationship was inherently adversarial; second, Leng Caiwen had the means to do so; third, Baili Jing's initial idea of organizing this talent show was wrong; and fourth, if she compounded her mistakes and attempted to show favoritism, and Leng Caiwen were to expose her, Baili Jing would be playing with the royal family's reputation, and it wouldn't just be Mu Cuiwei who would lose face!
Baili Jing's eyes were dark and cold as she looked at Leng Caiwen. When she looked at Ouyang Yue, her eyes were filled with undisguised killing intent, but her fists were clenched and her expression was constantly changing.
At this moment, Baili Cai, who had been standing by her side, suddenly tugged at Baili Jing's sleeve and whispered a reminder: "Second sister, she's just the daughter of a minister. How can she compare to you, someone of noble birth? If this matter continues, it might not end well. Don't forget that there's also Baili Chen here. If he implicates the Crown Prince and fabricates some baseless accusations, then the Crown Prince, the Empress, and the Emperor will all be in a difficult position."
Baili Cai's words made Baili Jing's body tremble. Baili Cai had always depended on Baili Jing and always had to submit to her. She never dared to disobey her orders. But because she had always been the one being suppressed, she was very open-minded about this kind of thing.
Baili Jing's expression immediately changed: "As I have said before, I am a princess of the Great Zhou Dynasty, a role model for all young ladies. Naturally, I hope that every noble lady is proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. This is the standard for a young lady of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Originally, this talent performance was just to bring good luck to Madam Huang's birthday celebration, but I have already spoken, and those who deserve punishment must be punished!"
As she spoke, Baili Jing turned to look at Mu Cuiwei, her eyes also filled with coldness. Mu Cuiwei's heart skipped a beat. She naturally understood that the princess also resented her. If it weren't for her, the princess wouldn't have lost face. This was truly going to make an example of her. Mu Cuiwei was filled with fear and couldn't help but plead, "Princess, Cuiwei just caught a cold and hasn't fully recovered yet, so my throat is a little sore. Please give me another chance, Princess. Cuiwei will..."
"Shut up! A defeat is a defeat! Alright, this failure in the talent competition is all because of your mouth. Guards, slap Miss Mu in the face until this princess is satisfied." Baili Jing waved her hand, and two maids immediately stepped out from behind her. The two maids were expressionless, and Mu Cuiwei's heart pounded.
Slapping herself in front of so many people, how could she possibly go out tomorrow? It was utterly humiliating! She opened her mouth to retort, but Baili Jing waved her hand, and the two maids immediately grabbed Mu Cuiwei's shoulders and slapped her hard without any mercy.
Mu Cuiwei's head was being tossed from side to side as she was hit, all her pleas for mercy suppressed by her cries of pain. She was truly having the worst day ever. They were just bullying Li Rushuang as usual, but then Ouyang Yue appeared and stopped them, even forcing her to kneel and apologize. Now the princess was standing up for her, and she herself was being punished for her mistake!
It's absolutely hateful! All of this was caused by Ouyang Yue! That bitch! I will never let her get away with this! Ouyang Yue! I will never let you go!
In truth, Baili Jing also harbored resentment towards Mu Cuiwei. She had stood up for her, only to find that Mu Cuiwei was so useless, making her lose face like this! If she didn't teach her a lesson, she would really think that her efforts and anger were in vain!
Just then, Ouyang Rou, who was standing to the side, suddenly approached Ouyang Yue with something in her hand. While everyone's attention was focused on Mu Cuiwei, who was being punished with a slap, she quietly put the thing into the purse that Ouyang Yue was carrying, and then quietly moved a few steps away.
A chilling, malicious smile flashed across her face, her eyes gleaming like a venomous green snake. She silently counted to herself, 'Five, four, three…one!'
Ouyang Yue, who had been standing perfectly still, suddenly swayed, her vision went black, and she collapsed to one side, unconscious. Upon seeing this, Ouyang Rou immediately sneered, but cried out in alarm, "Third Sister, what's wrong with you? Wake up!"
☆、054、Counterattack, turn the tables on them!
The chaos caused by Ouyang Rou and Ouyang Yue, coupled with Ouyang Rou's sudden cry, immediately attracted the attention of others.
Everyone turned around in surprise. Why had Ouyang Yue, who had been standing perfectly fine, suddenly fainted? Ouyang Rou, who was holding Ouyang Yue, looked worried and said urgently, "Third sister, why did you suddenly faint? Did you suffer from heatstroke in the summer? What should we do? We need to help you to a shady place to rest first."
Li Rushuang rushed over anxiously: "Yes, quickly help her to a shady place to rest."
Ouyang Hua stood to the side, but his expression changed slightly. He quickly came over and said, "Second sister, let me do it. I'll take third sister down to rest."
“How can that be? How can I be at ease with Third Sister in this condition? Eldest Sister, let me take care of her.” Ouyang Rou shook her head and refused. “Third Sister and I are the closest. I understand Third Sister’s thoughts best. There’s no need to trouble Eldest Sister.”
Ouyang Hua's expression darkened slightly, and a hint of coldness flashed in her eyes. The fact that the two sisters, Ouyang Hua and Ouyang Rou, were vying to take Ouyang Yue to rest drew the attention of many young masters and ladies. After all, no matter how humiliating Ouyang Hua and Ouyang Rou were in the household, it was a matter for the household. They all assumed that Ouyang Hua and Ouyang Rou were acting out of kindness and concern for Ouyang Yue.
Li Rushuang became anxious: "Stop talking so much, quickly take Miss Ouyang to a less crowded place to rest, otherwise with the sun so strong and she not being able to rest, her condition might worsen again."
Ouyang Rou looked coldly at Li Rushuang: "Thank you for your concern, Miss Li. I am the elder sister of my third sister, so I naturally understand these principles. If it weren't for Miss Li's intervention, I would have already helped my third sister down." As she spoke, Ouyang Rou gave a wink, and Xiang'er and Cao'er, who had come with her, immediately stepped aside from Li Rushuang and helped Ouyang Rou support Ouyang Yue as they left.
"Oh!" Li Rushuang was very anxious, but what the other person said was right. She had only met Ouyang Yue a few times and was not familiar with her. No matter how anxious she was, she was still an outsider and could not help at all. So she could only stand there anxiously and could not keep up with the conversation.
Ouyang Hua's eyes turned slightly cold upon seeing this, but he eventually followed. Rui Yuhuan hesitated, after all, this place was full of sons and daughters of high-ranking officials and noble families in the capital. If she wanted to get to know them, she wouldn't have many opportunities like this in the future.
Ouyang Yue was really annoying. Why did she have to faint now of all times? It meant she missed the chance to meet these young masters and ladies from prestigious families. But without Ouyang Yue and the others around, who would recognize her? When she finally decided to go with them, she turned around but couldn't see Ouyang Yue and the others. So she had to turn back.
When Ouyang Yue got into trouble, the palace maid who had been slapping Mu Cuiwei stopped. Mu Cuiwei covered her swollen and red face, feeling waves of burning heat. She felt a dull pain in her heart and her hatred remained. Finally, she asked someone to give her a veil to cover her face before she dared to come out and see people.
Over there, Ouyang Rou hurriedly led the suddenly unconscious Ouyang Yue away, and the incident seemed quite suspicious. Leng Caiwen sensed something was wrong, closed his fan, and was about to follow when someone suddenly tugged at his shoulder. He turned around and saw Baili Chen. He couldn't help but say, "That Ouyang Rou is no kind person. Ouyang Yue is bound to get into trouble if she's taken away like this. You can see that too, so why did you stop her?"
Baili Chen frowned, a dark glint flashing in his sharp eyes: "You are an unmarried man, and they are unmarried girls. If you chase after them, what will others think? Besides, there are so many people watching here. Even if nothing happened, you will get into trouble if you follow them."
Leng Caiwen paused, then Baili Chen made a strange hand gesture. Leng Caiwen's expression changed, and he immediately fell silent. Dai Yu, though not following, followed Ouyang Yue's retreating figure with his eyes. Hearing their conversation, his brows furrowed even more. He had also heard a little about the General's Mansion.
No one noticed that Baili Chen's hand, which he had lowered, was now clenched into a fist inside his sleeve, and his eyes flashed with a cold, sharp light. In their eyes, there was something extremely strange about this! It was probably aimed at Ouyang Yue!
Baili Jing glanced coldly at Mu Cuiwei, who was bowing her head beside her, snorted, and left with Baili Cai and the others. Mu Cuiwei followed her with her head down. At that moment, whispers rose again in the garden, and she felt that these words were all directed at her, mocking her. Having been so humiliated today, she was determined to get revenge, absolutely! Ouyang Yue, hmph!
Meanwhile, Ouyang Rou, who had hurriedly left, realized halfway there that Ouyang Hua was still following her, and she became somewhat anxious. The effects of that drug had a certain duration, and if Ouyang Yue woke up and did something strange, Ouyang Hua would definitely notice, and it wouldn't be easy for her to escape then.
Furthermore, this matter must be carried out in secret, and she didn't want any complications. Anxious, she said, "Eldest sister, look, Third Sister suddenly fainted and isn't feeling well. These symptoms are very similar to my previous summer ailments. I've been to the Ning residence before; there are several nice places to escape the heat. I can take Third Sister there. However, given Third Sister's condition, if Grandmother and Mother ask, to prevent them from worrying too much, I'd like to trouble you to go and inform them. Once Third Sister wakes up, I'll take her to see Grandmother and Mother."