Yao Kun was worried that her mother would catch a cold and had been urging her to go inside, but to no avail. When Yao Kun, wrapped in a fox fur cloak, appeared in front of her, Lady Yao finally felt relieved and followed Yao Yao into the octagonal pavilion to take a seat.
Yao Yao had sharp eyes and could clearly see the approaching group from afar. As usual, Yao Kun was closely following Shi Muyuan. Instead of holding a hand warmer, she was hugging a muff.
What surprised her was that her younger sister, who had never been afraid of the cold since childhood, was actually wearing thick clothes and a muff for a rare occasion. Mother would surely be surprised when she saw this later.
Yao Kun sniffed. The weight on her body made her extremely uncomfortable. She had obediently nursed her injury and was almost fully recovered. But when Lady Shi came to pick her up today, she insisted that Yao Kun wear this outfit, threatening that otherwise her mother would take her back.
Of course, that was impossible, but she didn't want to reject Lady Shi, so she obediently put it on. Now she regretted it so much. The fox fur was so thick that she could hardly breathe.
Several palace servants were constantly sweeping the snow to keep the only path clear. When they reached the octagonal pavilion, they could feel a wave of warmth even before getting close. And when the palace servant lifted the curtain, the warm air rushed out, making people's faces flush.
As soon as Shi Muyuan walked in, the noble ladies and their daughters bowed to her. "Greetings to Her Majesty the Empress Dowager."
"Rise. Since this is a snow-watching banquet, everyone should enjoy themselves and don't be so formal."
"Thank you, Your Majesty the Empress Dowager."
Shi Muyuan smiled at them and began to look around. Fortunately, the Noble Consort Rui couldn't be sitting in a corner. With just one glance, she spotted her among a group of noble consorts sitting in the high seats.
The crabapple-red makeup made her look even more majestic. In contrast, Shi Muyuan, who looked like a young girl, surprised even the noble ladies and young misses.
The Noble Consort Qi sitting beside the Noble Consort Rui winked at her. "Look at her. She's trying to act young. She might as well wear Hu clothes and play with the young girls."
"The Empress Dowager is so improper," another noble consort chimed in.
"The Empress Dowager is much younger than us. It's not strange for her to look like a young girl. And today is supposed to be a day for fun. If we dress so formally, it will make the young girls feel constrained," the Noble Consort Rui said with a smile.
"Sister Rui is just too kind. She was like this before, and she's still the same now. None of us has an heir. Why should she, Shi Muyuan, be the empress dowager?" a noble consort whispered. They were some distance away from the noble ladies and young misses, and her voice was just loud enough for them to hear.
"Sister, be careful with your words," a hint of pride flashed in the eyes of the Noble Consort Rui.
Look, they were all palace women, yet they all supported her. The court officials also didn't want Shi Muyuan to be the empress dowager. And what did Shi Muyuan have besides the Shi family?
But just the Shi family alone was enough to defeat everything she had.
The Shi family, the Shi family, the Shi family. She must find a way to bring them down and then take the position of the empress dowager.
That person had promised her that as long as they cooperated, the position of the empress dowager would be hers.
There were no strict rules for the snow-watching banquet. People could either sit inside and have fun or go outside to play with the snow.
As soon as Yao Yao took her seat, Chen Leran put her arm around Yao Yao's shoulder, almost making her fall. It was Lady Chen who came over to help steady her and scold her naughty daughter.
Lady Yao stepped forward and joked with her. "Lady Chen, with your fiery temper, you might scold Leran into tears."
"Humph, I'm not sure if she'll cry, but she'll surely make me mad first," Lady Chen tapped her daughter's head.
Chen Leran dodged her mother's hand and stuck out her tongue.
"Alright, Sister Chen. Let's go and have fun on our own. Let the young girls play by themselves."
"Sure. Go ahead. I just wanted to tell you about the embroidery skills I've learned recently."
The two ladies smiled and linked arms, then sat down among the other ladies.
Yao Yao pushed away Chen Leran's hand on her shoulder.
Chen Leran wasn't annoyed. She was even used to it. She tilted her chin in Yao Kun's direction and asked, "What? Has this little girl really defected?"
"What do you mean by 'defected'? Chen Leran, can't you say something nice?"
"Didn't you say the same thing when she followed the national master?" Chen Leran pouted and whispered, "A girl who values her lover more than her sister."
Yao Yao blushed. "Shut up. You won't be taken for a mute if you don't talk!"
Huo Qizhou's handsome face had indeed attracted her for a while. It was hard not to fall for such a handsome man. Yao Yao looked at Yao Kun with a dissatisfied expression.
Yao Kun was sitting obediently, letting Shi Muyuan play with the small bell at the end of her hairband.
She suddenly felt as if she had really been betrayed.
Yao Kun cherished that hairband with the bell the most. When she, her twin sister, had tied her hair with it once when they were little, Yao Kun had chased her all over the mansion, being very fierce. It was only with the suppression of Yao Yunnian's strength that she was saved. Although it had gotten better as they grew up, it was still unexpected for her to let someone play with the bell like this.
Yao Yao shook her head to make sure she wasn't seeing things wrong. It seemed that the Empress Dowager was really liked by her younger sister. She frowned. She didn't know if this development was good or bad.
Chen Leran noticed where her gaze was and grinned. After looking for a while, she leaned over to Yao Yao and whispered, "The Empress Dowager looks so young. It's not an exaggeration to say she's only fifteen or sixteen. Walking among us, there's no difference at all. Unlike those noble consorts, they look as rigid as the older generation."
"The Empress Dowager is young and looks cute," Yao Yao replied absent-mindedly.
Chen Leran looked at her and raised her voice.
"Come on. Let's go outside and play with the snow. Look at Jiang Qiong's snowman. It's so ugly," Chen Leran's voice pulled her back from her thoughts.
"I'll build a real snowman to show them."
When Chen Leran was a child, General Chen was just a military general. Chen Leran had lived on the border with her father, so she had a wild personality. When she first returned, she showed off her heroic deeds everywhere, which made these noble young misses dislike her. They always compared her with Jiang Qiong, who had grown up in the capital city. So she disliked Jiang Qiong and always wanted to embarrass her.
After so many years, everyone had gotten used to teasing her.
Before Yao Yao could refuse, Chen Leran grabbed her hand, lifted the curtain, and ran outside. The cold air rushing in made the ladies and young misses beside the curtain uncomfortable. But since Lady Chen was sitting there, they couldn't scold.
Outside, many girls in Hu clothes were having a great time, occasionally throwing snowballs at each other.
After playing with the small bell for a while, Shi Muyuan fell into deep thought. How could she get information from the Noble Consort Rui without being suspicious? Everyone knew that they didn't get along. If she rashly went to talk to her, it might backfire and arouse the Noble Consort Rui's suspicion.