"I don't want to wear these..." Disliking the cumbersome palace clothes, Song Jinyu wanted to wear the ordinary clothes of a palace maid. However, in Heyi's palace, there were only these complicated palace costumes.
Heyi put her hands on her hips and frowned. "Dress up nicely... You've always dressed so plainly on weekdays. You never stand out."
"Are you not going to listen to me anymore?"
"..."
It was Heyi's birthday today. Oh well, just listen to her. Heyi liked Song Jinyu very much. It wasn't just because she had saved her life, but more importantly, they got along very well. Song Jinyu was neither pretentious nor arrogant, but rather elegant and straightforward.
Song Jinyu looked at herself in the mirror and hesitated. "It's your birthday today. I can't steal your thunder..." She firmly refused to wear those gorgeous hair ornaments. Heyi shook her head helplessly. She didn't know that her own beauty was already extremely dazzling. No wonder the Fourth Prince liked her so much. She knew how to conduct herself appropriately and had an adorable personality.
Early in the morning, Princess Heyi first went to pay respects to the Empress Dowager, the Emperor, and the Queen. Then she went to her mother's palace and sat there for a while. They were afraid of restraining the young people, so they let Heyi hold a banquet in the palace by herself. At today's banquet, Princess Heyi invited many princes and princesses in the capital. Currently, the King of Zhongzhou, the Prince Yu, and the Prince Yong were in the capital, so she also invited them.
Princess Heyi especially took Song Jinyu's hand and walked into the main hall together. For a moment, many people's eyes fell on her. Ming Ruyi looked at Song Jinyu with a frivolous smile. She knew that the girl had extremely good looks, and after this dressing up, she even looked faintly like a peerless beauty.
Zhongli Mingye stared at her with his phoenix eyes, still angry in his heart. However, at this moment, he felt uncomfortable. All along, Song Jinyu had been a unique existence by his side. Now that she finally appeared in the palace, this palace dress perfectly showed off her figure. From the first time he met her, so green and innocent, to now in full bloom. She had grown up...
The Crown Prince's hand holding the teacup was a bit unsteady. Shen Yingyun noticed his mood. "Your Highness, is the tea not to your liking?"
When Song Jinyu entered the door, Shen Yingyun noticed her. She remembered the disgraceful past in the Liuzhou Palace. Resentment welled up in her heart. Seeing so many people admiring Song Jinyu, jealousy flared up!
As if she didn't see their gazes, after saluting these royal relatives, Song Jinyu directly sat down with Princess Heyi.
Princess Heyi tilted her head and smiled. "Look, they're all looking at you!"
"Today is your birthday. They're looking at you, Your Highness..." Song Jinyu didn't like this kind of occasion. Because of Heyi, she had to put on a smiling face and deal with it.
As if seeing her thoughts, Heyi whispered to her, "Later, we'll go out of the palace!" She had asked her father this morning if she could go out to play.
"Great!" Song Jinyu almost wanted to hug Heyi and kiss her.
Hearing this, Song Jinyu's eyes sparkled! Since she came to the capital, she hadn't had a chance to wander around. However, she was so happy that she didn't see the mischievous smile in Princess Heyi's eyes.
Heyi glanced at Zhongli Mingye lightly. The other person still had a cold face and said nothing. Looking back, Song Jinyu was still laughing and joking with her heartlessly. Heyi sighed in her heart. She had really wasted reading so many storybooks.
Ming Ruyi finished the fine wine in his hand. Just as he was about to say something, he heard the Crown Prince's concubine Shen Yingyun suddenly say, "Miss Song's performance at the palace flower banquet last time was really impressive."
She stood up and looked at Song Jinyu with a smiling face. "How about performing something at this princess's birthday banquet?"
"After all, the people here are all royal relatives. I'm sure everyone would like to have a look!" She raised her eyebrows proudly, implying that Song Jinyu had the lowest status here.
Song Jinyu was just enjoying her food happily. Suddenly being called out, she looked blank. "..."
Hearing the meaning in her words, the people who were familiar with Song Jinyu at the scene all had cold expressions. The Crown Prince persisted. "The concubine wants to watch you perform. Just perform for her!"
Since the Crown Prince had spoken, if Song Jinyu didn't perform, it would be disrespectful to the Crown Prince.
Heyi had a cold face. "Concubine, today is my birthday. Jinyu is my special guest." How dare you look down on me like this.
Ming Ruyi opened his folding fan. There was a half - smile on his face. He also wanted to see how Song Jinyu would handle this.
Song Jinyu thought for a while and said to Heyi, "I've thought it over. The gift I prepared for you is really a bit shabby. How about I give you a surprise?" She didn't want to cooperate with Shen Yingyun. She just simply didn't want Heyi to be unhappy because of her.
Zhongli Mingye glanced at Shen Yingyun. He was afraid that Song Jinyu would lose face. "There really is something missing from my sister's birthday banquet. How about I play the zither to congratulate you?"
Although he was still angry with her, he didn't want to see her being embarrassed. When this cold - faced Prince Yu spoke, the Crown Prince looked at him as if he was seeing him for the first time. "You're going to play the zither? Fourth Brother, is the sun rising from the west today?"
Ming Ruyi stood up. "Since the Prince Yu is going to play the zither, then I'll play the flute. Let's play the zither and flute in harmony to congratulate Heyi." His voice was clear and far from the effeminate tone before. Song Jinyu looked at them and was actually a bit touched. Then she gracefully sat down. Heyi clapped her hands happily. "Someone, go and get the zither and flute."
The two played the zither and flute in unison. The people present felt as if they were bathing in the spring breeze and were in a pleasant mood. Only Shen Yingyun had a gloomy face. Her purpose had always been to make Song Jinyu lose face. Now that these two princes had stepped in, she had lost all her face.
Heyi looked at Song Jinyu thoughtfully. She really had good luck. Seeing that both the Fourth Prince and the Uncle were fond of Song Jinyu, what should she do? However, Heyi thought that compared to the unreliable Uncle, the Fourth Prince was more suitable for her.
Song Jinyu was very grateful for their help. She raised her glass and toasted them from afar. Ming Ruyi responded to her with a smile. Zhongli Mingye was still cold and didn't even give her a look. Immediately, she felt that the food didn't taste good and the wine didn't taste good either.
After the birthday banquet ended, Heyi saw off all the guests. The two girls lay on the couch and whispered to each other. "Where shall we go first?"
"How would I know? This is your territory!"
"Let's go to the biggest restaurant in the capital - Mingyue Tower!" Heyi opened her eyes wide. "I'll take you to see the most beautiful singer in Mingyue Tower!"
Hearing this, Song Jinyu put her arm around Heyi. "I think you're already very beautiful,..."
Heyi kicked her. "Get out of here!"
The two girls noisily changed into men's clothes and each took their personal maids out of the palace. As soon as they left, the news reached the Prince of Zhongzhou's mansion. Ming Ruyi's phoenix eyes flashed with a glint. "Let's go. We'll go and have a look too..."
In Mingyue Tower, the Crown Prince was in high spirits today. He sent his concubine back early. Today, he was in Mingyue Tower and met a new charming guest. It was the dancer from the Bohai Kingdom sent by Xiao Xueyi for him. Now he was holding a glass of fine wine and hugging the dancer. A glass of fine wine spilled down from the dancer's chest. The dancer let out a soft moan. The Crown Prince's eyes darkened and he licked the wine from the dancer's chest. In a short while, he had licked up all the wine.
"Where's the new dancer from the Bohai Kingdom?" Heyi in men's clothes asked the steward of Mingyue Tower.
The steward saw that her clothes were noble and knew that this person had an extraordinary identity. "Sir, you're late. That dancer has a distinguished guest today."