Everyone's gazes were instantly drawn to her.
She was dressed in a trailing smoky-purple silk robe. Her long hair was coiled up in a bun, and her smooth, fair forehead resembled a piece of fine jade.
A veil of the same smoky-purple silk as her robe covered her face, revealing only a pair of bright, translucent black eyes.
With every graceful step and every gentle smile, she exuded an air of nobility and elegance.
Bai Zheng slightly curled her lips.
It must have taken a great deal of effort to make such a grand entrance. No wonder Bai Di hadn't come to cause trouble for her recently.
Seeing the stunning Bai Di, Bai Zheng couldn't help but glance across the hall.
On the male guests' side, except for Feng Linyuan, who looked calm, most of the men, whether young or old, had a glint in their eyes. Their gazes seemed to be glued to Bai Di and couldn't be torn away.
Feng Jingxuan even stood up directly and walked forward, smiling as he looked at Bai Di approaching gracefully.
Feng Jingyi and Feng Jingxuan beside him also wore proper smiles, but the smiles didn't reach their eyes.
Bai Di walked gracefully to Feng Jingxuan's side. They exchanged a smile and then knelt down to pay their respects to Feng Linche on the upper seat.
"Greetings, Father Emperor."
"Greetings, Your Majesty."
Looking at the handsome couple in front of him, Feng Linche nodded repeatedly and laughed, "Good, good! Truly a match made in heaven. General Bai, you really know how to raise your daughter."
Bai Yizhang, who was named, quickly bowed his hands and said, "My daughter is just an ordinary girl, not fit for such a grand occasion. It's really a great honor for her to be favored by Your Majesty and the Third Prince."
Zhao Guifei, Bai Di's aunt, immediately laughed and said, "General Bai, this palace can see clearly that you're not blind. How can your own daughter's celestial beauty be just an ordinary girl in your eyes?"
"Auntie—" Bai Di said shyly.
Yi Fei, Feng Jingxuan's birth mother, also looked at her future daughter-in-law with a smile on her face.
"Child, come here." Yi Fei waved to her affectionately.
Bai Di quickly walked up to Yi Fei and respectfully said, "Your Ladyship Yi Fei."
"My child, it won't be long before you change your address." Yi Fei pulled her hand with a beaming smile, looked her up and down, and smiled even more kindly, "Now that Xuan'er has found such a good princess consort, this palace can rest assured."
As she said this, she took out a jade pendant from her body.
It was exactly the same as the one she had just given to Bai Zheng.
She picked up the jade pendant and said with a smile, "This palace has been wearing this pair of jade pendants for more than a decade. Just now, I gave one to the Lady of Dingyuan Marquis, that is, your third younger sister. Now I'll give this one to you as a token of my affection."
Then she was about to hand the jade pendant to Bai Di.
Seeing this, Feng Jingyang's face suddenly changed, and he blurted out, "Your Ladyship Yi Fei, wait!"
Yi Fei's hand stopped in mid-air. For a moment, it was neither appropriate to stretch it out nor to retract it. She looked at Feng Jingyang in confusion.
Zhao Guifei's face darkened, "Yang'er, what are you up to?"
"Your Highness, I'm not joking. Your Ladyship Yi Fei," Feng Jingyang steadied his mind and showed a wronged look on his face.
"Do you still remember that when I was seven years old, I once asked you for this jade pendant? At that time, you said it was a gift from Father Emperor and of great significance, so you didn't give it to me.
Now that Your Ladyship Yi Fei has received Father Emperor's permission to give away this jade pendant, why not give it to me?
If we talk about first come, first served, I should be the first one."
Hearing this, Yi Fei couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed. After all, it was just a small thing ten years ago. How could she still remember it?
She didn't expect Feng Jingyang to use this matter to block her.
Yi Fei's eyebrows curved into a crescent shape, and she forced a smile, "Oh, it's all this palace's fault. I actually forgot about this!
But Your Highness the Fourth Prince, you can see that this palace only has two jade pendants in total, and now both of them have been given away.
This palace really can't produce a third one.
How about this? This palace will send you a better jade pendant later. I guarantee that the material and carving are of a higher quality. It can also be regarded as this palace's apology to you."
"How old are you, and still so shameless?" Zhao Guifei scolded angrily, then turned back to Yi Fei and laughed, "Don't pay attention to him. He's just joking with you."
But Feng Jingyang ignored Zhao Guifei. He just smiled and tilted his chin towards the jade pendant in Yi Fei's hand and said, "The one in Your Ladyship's hand hasn't been given away yet. It's still not too late to give it to me now."
Bai Zheng watched this show with great interest.
It seemed that Feng Jingyang really had his heart set on this jade pendant of Yi Fei's.
However, Bai Zheng was a bit strange. Why didn't Feng Jingyang step forward to stop it when Yi Fei gave the first jade pendant to her just now, but only got anxious now?
Thinking of this, Bai Zheng couldn't help but shake her head.
Now Feng Jingyang's actions were so tricky and strange that it was really difficult to accurately figure out his motives.
"This..." This sentence really stumped Yi Fei. She looked at Feng Linche for help.
She saw that Feng Linche was squinting at Feng Jingyang, obviously also thinking about his purpose of asking for the jade pendant.
It was the Third Prince Feng Jingxuan beside him who laughed and said, "Fourth Brother, this is Mother's affection for her future daughter-in-law. And Di'er is your cousin. You're a grown man. It's really shameful to compete with a little girl for something."
For this accusation, Feng Jingyang obviously didn't care. He said aggrievedly, "Third Brother, you don't know. Mother Yi Fei has always doted on me. She would give me whatever I wanted, except for these two jade pendants.
Over the years, it has become a knot in my heart.
Today, when I saw Mother Yi Fei about to give away the jade pendant, I got anxious."
"Cousin, but this is the first gift that Mother Yi Fei gave to Di'er. Please let Di'er have it." Bai Di said pitifully.
By now, she naturally also saw Feng Jingyang's strangeness.
Feng Jingyang frowned slightly, "Cousin has never begged Mother Yi Fei like this before..."
"Miss Bai, you really shouldn't compete for the jade pendant." Zheng Yan, who had been silent since being scolded by Zhao Guifei just now, suddenly spoke loudly, "If we talk about affection, His Highness the Fourth Prince has been thinking about this jade pendant for ten years. Compared with your sudden whim, the depth is obvious. If we talk about reason, according to the order of asking for the gift, it should be given to His Highness the Fourth Prince."
This speech was reasonable and well - founded, and it blocked Bai Di's plea that hadn't been spoken yet.
Feng Jingyang couldn't help but look at Zheng Yan. Seeing her smiling, he looked at Yi Fei again and said, "Your Ladyship Yi Fei, isn't that right?"
Yi Fei frowned and looked at Zhao Guifei for help.
Zhao Guifei shook her head helplessly, indicating that she couldn't control her own son.
Yi Fei sighed secretly in her heart. She turned to Feng Linche on the upper seat again and said, "Your Majesty. Now both children want this jade pendant. To avoid partiality, please make the decision. Anyway, they are both your own sons. Whoever you say the jade pendant should be given to, this concubine will give it to that person."
"Let me make the decision?" Feng Linche raised his eyebrows.
His gaze swept across Feng Jingyang and Feng Jingxuan, then he looked at Bai Di and Zheng Yan. Suddenly, he burst into laughter and said loudly,
"Fine. Since you want to receive a reward, then show me your real skills first. Whoever wins, this jade pendant will be given to that person."