This banquet was held on a meadow in the garden of the Marquis of Gaochang's mansion. Neat tables were placed all around, filled with all kinds of sumptuous delicacies and fresh fruits that were hard to come by at this time of the year.
In the middle of the garden, a huge carpet was laid, embroidered with peony totems and auspicious cloud patterns.
The Marquis of Gaochang and the Princess of Pingyang, along with Feng Linyuan, Feng Jingye and the remaining princes, took their seats on the main seats on the north side. They then sent someone to lead Bai Zheng and the Bai Yinan couple to sit on the right side of the main seats. Zheng Yan brought Bai Di and Su Muxiao to sit on the left side of the main seats. The guest seats in the remaining three directions were filled with young gentlemen who had come to propose marriage.
"Zheng'er, why did you take so long to come out just now?" As soon as they sat down, Mrs. Lin asked.
Since they hadn't received the summons from the Marquis of Gaochang and the Princess of Pingyang, Bai Yinan and Mrs. Lin had been led by the butler to the side hall and had been waiting until now.
Bai Zheng didn't want them to worry, so she just smiled and said, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince came a bit late. Naturally, we had to wait a while. After all, this banquet couldn't start until His Royal Highness the Crown Prince arrived."
Mrs. Lin nodded. "I see. I thought you had said something wrong and offended some noble person."
Bai Yinan laughed. "You don't know. Your mother was so worried that she was almost going to force me to break into the main hall for fear that you might have offended some noble person."
Bai Zheng felt a warm feeling in her heart. She leaned her head on Mrs. Lin's shoulder and said, "Mother, now your daughter is a favorite in the eyes of those noble people. Those noble people are eager to curry favor with your daughter. They won't easily argue with me. Mother doesn't need to worry."
"You!" Mrs. Lin poked Bai Zheng's forehead with her index finger and smiled helplessly.
Bai Zheng's head was nestled against Mrs. Lin's body, smiling coquettishly. But her eyes scanned the young gentlemen with eager looks. Sure enough, she found Song Yiqing in a very eye - catching brocade robe on the guest seats on the south side facing her.
Song Yiqing obviously noticed her gaze. As soon as she looked over, he showed his white teeth and smiled brightly. He gently waved his signature fan, looking extremely suave.
Bai Zheng frowned. This guy was dressed so ostentatiously. Had he forgotten the purpose of coming here today?
Since Feng Linyuan and Song Yiqing were still here today, it obviously meant that Mo Li had gained nothing last night.
Today, Bai Zheng had deliberately worn a plain light - blue dress in order to steal the medicine. Even though Feng Linyuan would surely send some secret guards to sneak into various parts of the Marquis of Gaochang's mansion during the banquet to search, more people meant more hope. Before they found the Gelsemium elegans, they should put in all their efforts.
Bai Zheng turned her head and glanced at Feng Linyuan sitting on the main seat. She saw that Feng Linyuan was sipping his tea leisurely, as if everything around him had nothing to do with him. His calm and composed appearance made Bai Zheng have a momentary illusion that she might be meddling.
Feng Jingxuan held up his wine cup and said to Feng Jingyi, "Fifth brother, come."
Feng Jingyi quickly raised his wine cup. "Third brother."
At the moment when the wine cups clinked, Feng Jingxuan's voice came. "Didn't fifth brother say he wasn't coming?"
Feng Jingyi's face froze. Just as he was about to answer, he heard Feng Jingye on the other side say, "I heard that fifth brother also wants to propose marriage to Miss Bai, so I invited him along. Fourth brother's matter is settled. Fifth brother can't be alone forever."
Feng Jingxuan's face changed. Didn't this sentence mean that Feng Jingyi had joined the Crown Prince Feng Jingye's camp?
One Chen Yanzhi from the Duke of Chen's mansion was not enough. The Crown Prince's faction didn't have enough eligible young gentlemen. Now they even wanted to include Feng Jingyi?
Feng Jingyi lowered his head. If he could, he didn't want to get involved in their struggle for the throne. But being in this situation, he couldn't stay out of it.
"Gentlemen," seeing the atmosphere change among the princes, the Marquis of Gaochang said in a loud voice, "Gentlemen, you've come a long way today. If there's anything that the Marquis of Gaochang's mansion has not entertained you well, please forgive us."
The whole place fell silent instantly. Everyone's eyes turned to the Marquis of Gaochang.
"I, by the order of His Majesty, am holding a banquet for Miss Bai, the third daughter of the Bai family, to choose a husband. Many outstanding people have gathered for this grand event. All of you gentlemen are young heroes and outstanding figures. This has made Lord Bai, Lady Bai and Miss Bai a bit hard to make a decision for a while."
Everyone's gazes now fell on Bai Yinan, Mrs. Lin and Bai Zheng. The eager looks were so intense that even Bai Zheng, who had once given a speech in front of thousands of people as an outstanding graduate, felt a bit overwhelmed. Mrs. Lin even shrank her neck and buried her head deeply.
"I know all of you gentlemen's admiration for Miss Bai, and I'm deeply touched. However, a good woman doesn't marry two husbands. If you gentlemen want to win Miss Bai's heart today, you'll need to have a competition."
Hearing this, everyone started to roll up their sleeves, eager to start.
"I wonder how Your Lordship plans to conduct the competition?" a young gentleman in gray clothes asked.
The Marquis of Gaochang stroked his beard, smiled slightly, and clapped his hands twice. Then the maids came up from all sides and placed a piece of white silk cloth and writing brushes and ink in front of each gentleman.
"Lord Bai hopes that Miss Bai can marry a young gentleman who is well - versed in music, chess, calligraphy and painting, and is both civil and military. Therefore, today we'll have a competition in seven aspects: music, chess, poetry, painting, horse - riding, archery and swordsmanship."
Feng Jingyi gasped. "This is more comprehensive than the competition for the civil and military champions."
Feng Jingye smiled indifferently. "Fifth brother needn't worry. Among all the people here, who can compare with fifth brother?"
Feng Jingxuan put down his wine cup and sneered. "Second brother must have forgotten that the Marquis of Dingyuan, whose literary talent and elegance were no less than the sages of the previous dynasty and whose martial arts were as outstanding as a god of war, is also here today, right?"
Feng Jingye's pupils constricted for a moment, then he smiled. "The Marquis of Dingyuan was famous all over the world back then. Naturally, this Crown Prince won't forget. However, third brother may be making a wasted trip today."
Feng Jingxuan snorted coldly and said no more.
Feng Linyuan, who was at the center of the topic, seemed not to hear at all and continued to sip his tea leisurely.
Feng Jingyi carefully glanced at Feng Linyuan, then quickly retracted his gaze as if afraid of being discovered.
The Marquis of Gaochang's voice continued. "Writing brushes, ink and silk cloth have been placed in front of all of you. Let's start with poetry and painting. All you gentlemen just need to draw a picture and compose a poem beside it within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn."
On the carpet in the middle of the garden, a black wooden table had been placed. There was an incense stick that hadn't been lit in the incense burner on the table. A servant was standing by with a lit coal.
"Are all of you ready? Then let's start!" After the Marquis of Gaochang said this, he signaled the servant with his eyes to light the incense stick in the burner.
Suddenly, the whole garden fell silent. In the huge garden, only the sound of the silk cloth rustling and the scratching sound of the writing brush on the cloth could be heard.
Feng Jingyi also lowered his head. He dipped the tip of his writing brush in the ink and began to draw attentively on the silk cloth.