In March, the Crown Prince married the Crown Princess.
It was a season of growing grass and flying orioles, with bright sunshine. The entire capital of Duan was abuzz with the Crown Prince's wedding, from the beginning to the end of the month.
Wei Yu was now officially the Crown Princess, her rank higher than Wang Qingyao's, and even higher than Noble Consort Wei's.
After all, Noble Consort Wei was merely a concubine, while the Crown Princess was the lawfully wedded principal wife.
In the entire harem, besides the Empress Dowager, she was the most esteemed.
And as the newly minted Crown Princess, she soon hosted her first banquet as the mistress of the Eastern Palace.
The banquet hosted by the Crown Princess naturally invited the female dependents of the top aristocratic circles.
Wang Qingyao, as the Princess of Ding'an, was naturally on the guest list.
However, Wang Qingyao was reluctant to go.
She initially intended to refuse with the Emperor's verbal decree of "no summons, no entry into the palace." Who knew that Wei Yu specially pleaded with the Emperor, who then granted her permission to attend the banquet in the Eastern Palace.
What bad luck.
"Why don't you feign illness and not go?"
The Eastern Palace was Wei Yu's territory, and Xiao Yun was worried she would retaliate against Wang Qingyao.
Wang Qingyao shook her head. "This is the first banquet Wei Yu is hosting. It's her first appearance in the noble ladies' circle as the Crown Princess. How could she bear to ruin it for nothing just to harm me?"
Although Xiao Yun found her reasoning sound, he was still worried.
While Zhenzhu could accompany him into the palace, she could only wait outside the hall most of the time. Unlike other places, she couldn't provide close protection.
Wang Qingyao said, "You should worry about yourself. You're twenty-three this year. Shunfeng must be impatient, right?"
Xiao Yun chuckled and cursed her for having a "dog's mouth that can't spit out ivory."
He was usually protected by people around him. As long as he didn't enter the palace, Shunfeng wouldn't find an opportunity to strike.
And since Shunfeng wanted to make the assassination look like a curse, he wouldn't dare to attack directly.
"I carry silver needles even when I eat outside," Xiao Yun said. "I'm very cautious."
Everyone knew that the Prince of Ding'an cherished his life. His almost obsessive habit of carrying silver needles with him was not unusual to others, especially since he was nearing twenty-five.
Wang Qingyao still went to the Eastern Palace for the banquet.
Wei Yu indeed did not dare to cause any major trouble, but she also did not show Wang Qingyao much respect.
When Wang Qingyao arrived, Wei Yu was already surrounded by many noble ladies, chatting and laughing merrily.
Wei Yu was usually the one who entertained others with her words. Now, the roles were reversed, and she was the one being entertained. Her complexion was even more radiant, and her brows were filled with triumphant joy.
Wang Qingyao overheard someone saying that since the Crown Prince married the Crown Princess, he had been staying in her chambers every night, completely forgetting about the concubines, ladies-in-waiting, and maids he had before the marriage.
No wonder Wei Yu was so smug.
Someone then compared the Crown Princess and the Princess of Ding'an, saying they were both fortunate women who had married well.
However, if they were to truly compare, the Crown Princess was even more fortunate.
Because she was destined to be the future Empress.
The Empress, as the mother of the nation, naturally possessed profound blessings.
Someone noticed Wang Qingyao's arrival and mentioned it to Wei Yu, standing up to greet her.
Unexpectedly, Wei Yu merely glanced up at Wang Qingyao, her gaze sweeping past her lightly before she turned back to speak to others.
The person who had stood up froze for a moment, then quietly sat back down.
Speaking of which, among the female guests in the hall, aside from the Crown Princess and the Princess of Rong, the Princess of Ding'an was the most esteemed.
Those of lower rank than her all stood up and paid their respects. She accepted them one by one and then went to pay her respects to Wei Yu.
Wei Yu merely gave a faint "hmm" and turned back to speak to others, as if discussing something of utmost importance that could not be delayed in the slightest.
Some people began to notice something was amiss.
Was the Crown Princess deliberately snubbing the Princess of Ding'an?
Regarding the relationship between the Crown Princess and the Princess of Ding'an, it seemed it had always been strained, followed by the incident of Consort Wei attempting to harm the Princess of Ding'an and the theft of Noble Consort Wei's hairpin in January.
Considering this, it was normal for the Crown Princess to dislike the Princess of Ding'an.
One was the Crown Princess, and the other was the Princess of Ding'an. It was obvious who everyone would side with.
Wang Qingyao had been the Princess of Ding'an for so long, yet this was the first time she had been snubbed at a banquet.
In the past, she might not have been the center of attention, but she was at least a focal point.
She figured Wei Yu couldn't do anything to her, so she could only retaliate in this manner.
Wei Yu was now the Crown Princess, the mistress of the Eastern Palace, and naturally, she commanded everyone's attention. Without her explicit command, others would act according to her mood.
Wang Qingyao didn't mind. She scanned the hall and saw Wei Qing.
Wei Qing's gaze met Wang Qingyao's, then she coldly looked away. She was seated far from Wei Yu, not mingling with those clustered around Wei Yu, and her expression was not one of happiness.
Wang Qingyao was startled, and a bitter feeling arose in her heart.
Alas, another good friend lost.
She found an inconspicuous seat.
A moment later, Feng Jiangduo arrived. After greeting Wei Yu, she went directly towards Wang Qingyao.
She paid no attention to those who signaled or coughed at her.
Instead, it made those people look like clowns.
"Your grandfather and the others have returned to Nanzhou?" Wang Qingyao chatted with Feng Jiangduo.
Feng Jiangduo nodded, a hint of reluctance on her face.
Wang Qingyao patted her hand. "When Duke Ding'an's anger subsides, you and Xiao Mo can go back to see him together."
Feng Jiangduo sighed. "Actually, grandfather holds grudges."
Then there was nothing that could be done.
They could only take it one step at a time.
However, in Wang Qingyao's opinion, neither Feng Jiangduo nor Xiao Mo cared about what others thought. It wouldn't be bad to remain unmarried for a lifetime and have a sweet romance…
Of course, this was just her wishful thinking. This was ancient times, after all, not to be viewed with modern perspectives.
Wei Yu's banquet was a flower banquet.
As the name suggested, all the food was made from flowers.
It was spring, and Wei Yu's banquet was fitting for the season.
She had put a lot of thought into finding dishes made from flowers.
Rose sugar buns, rose-infused tea, rose candy, and osmanthus cakes were the most basic.
More novel was fried magnolia flowers!
This involved washing and drying magnolia flowers, lightly coating them with flour, and then frying them in oil for a while.
Wang Qingyao tasted one, and it was surprisingly delicious!
There were also wisteria cakes, peach blossom wine, peach blossom tea, and peach blossom porridge. Plum blossoms were also a common ingredient.
Some were dishes Wang Qingyao had never even heard of.
There was Xue Xia Geng, which was made by picking hibiscus flowers, removing the pistils, blanching them, and then boiling them with tofu. After boiling, the red and white intertwined, resembling the rosy clouds after snow, hence the name.
There was Zhan Bu Jian, made from gardenia flowers, mixed with licorice water, and fried in oil to eat.
There had always been examples of using flowers as ingredients in ancient times.
The first year Wang Qingyao arrived in ancient times, she had tasted some at a teahouse.
However, that one time did not have as many varieties as Wei Yu's.
The guests naturally could only offer compliments.
Wang Qingyao just ate, not interjecting. Anyway, she had used her clairvoyant eyes to scan the surroundings, and everything was safe.
Indeed, nothing unexpected happened until she left the Eastern Palace.