50 Am I Beautiful?
Song Hui Yao helped her into the carriage, then they were heading in the direction to the palace.
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The atmosphere was festive at the palace. Nobles and officials were getting out of their carriages. With a smile fixed on their face, they traveled through the palace to the banquet hall while admiring the scenery.
Tang Rue was informed by her mother that the emperor would decree a marriage upon her and Song Hui Yao. Standing in her room, she roamed through all her clothes chest.
"Your Highness, this one is good, too!"
"That's right, Your Highness. Try on this, it's really beautiful."
With the help of the palace maids, Tang Rue wore a ravishing pink dress with striking red flowers embroidery.
After that was adornments. Gazing through the hairpin and other hair accessories, Tang Rue asked her maid, Yu Xi: "Which one should I choose?"
Yu Xi smile, "They're all very pretty. Your Highness, you should pick the one you think is best."
Hearing that, Tang Rue looked at the ornaments again. Father Emperor would turn Song Hui Yao and her an official couple today. She should wear something that would make him give her compliments.
Picking up a gold phoenix hairpin and many others expensive pins and ornaments, Tang Rue beckoned Yu Xi to do her hair.
Song Hui Yao would be at the banquet, hence, she also put on some make-up.
Tang Rue: "How does this princess look?"
"Gorgeous, Your Highness!"
"Your Highness is so stunning! Prince Shen's eyes will definitely fix on you for the entire banquet."
The palace maids nodded and flattered her engaging look. Then they noticed a woman was coming in. Bowing to her, they said: "Noble Concubine You."
"Mother," Tang Rue beamed, "How does daughter looks? Am I beautiful enough?"
"Of course you are." Noble Concubine You smiled at her daughter for acting so childishly. "Are you ready?"
Tang Rue fixed her clothes and said, "We can go now."
In the banquet hall, people were talking with each other. Exchanging pleasantries or flatteries with covert knives, no one dared to create troubles; the hall was lively with noise.
Princes of the imperial house were there and two of them were praising each other with honey-coated words that concealed slashes of dagger within.
Soon, the announcement of 'the emperor and empress have arrived' echoed slightly
Tang Tian and his empress walked into the hall together. The guests were smiling as they watched the imperial couple went to their golden seats. Tang Tian said whatever he needed to say as the emperor and started the banquet.
Noble Concubine You was clenching her teeth vaguely as she glanced at the empress. She wanted to sit on that phoenix throne, high above and not here in a concubine seat. Suddenly, her eyes widened slightly then she smiled.
Turning to the other concubines, Noble Concubine You began to boast about her daughter, that Tang Rue was about to be Prince Shen's fiancée and that Tang Tian Xu would be likely to be the next dragon.
Sitting on her phoenix throne, Empress Shui noticed what Noble Concubine You was doing. Faintly knitted her brows and then soothed it. Noble Concubine You was bragging about her children in front of her knowing that she would be angry. She was trying to humiliate her for having a useless child.
Empress Shui snorted secretly at Noble Concubine You. 'Clown can only bound around. No one knows which prince would be the emperor in the end.'
Tang Rue on the other side was accepting admiration from the girls as she gloated about the time she spent with Song Hui Yao.
The banquet had started for quite a while when some guests saw a combined silhouette of two people. As the silhouette got nigher, they could see that it was Prince Shen and a stunning little girl that was carried in his arms.
They were complaining inside about how rude it was to be late on the emperor's birthday and were waiting to watch a good show. However, that good show never even started as Tang Tian was too afraid to even say a word of reminding that he was late.
When Song Hui Yao walked to the front with Zhu Xiao Wan still in his arms, he smiled, "This prince greet Your Majesty."
