Royal Guests

A loud gasp silenced the chattering crowd as their heads simultaneously turned towards the open door of the main hall. Outside, an elderly woman was supported by her hand as she slowly walked inside with small steps. The woman seemed to be in her seventies, still, all the eyes in the room were stuck to her regal appearance which no one had seen before.

However, what took everyone by surprise was not the person herself, it was the dress she was wearing.

Donned in a dark emerald cheongsam, Matriarch Gu was accompanied by her daughter-in-law as she made her way towards the large rosewood antique chaise placed at the slightly raised platform of the front hall. The surface of the cheongsam was peppered with golden olive threadwork of maple leaf pattern that gave it a sombre but luxurious feel.

People in the hall could not take their eyes off of the long dress, something that they had never seen before. There were no extra designs or flairs like hanfu but a plain slender outline that ran down to the length of the ankle, with thin piping in the closed neck.

No extra designs. A simple but sophisticated dress, which suited very much to Matriarch Gu's strict temperament.

Usually, the dresses for the old people were dull and boring with very limited designs, unlike the youngsters. Even to those of noble status, old people did not have many options to choose from when it came to designing which made others uninterested in them.

However, at this moment, an old woman was attracting everyone's gazes with her attire.

"Did you see that dress? What is it?"

"How would I know? This is the first time I am seeing it myself and it does not look like hanfu."

"Maybe Song Mei Lin knows it. She is also a designer so she might be the one who designed it. Let's ask her," whispered a woman with a hushed tone before they turned towards Song Mei Lin.

"Miss Song, these hands of yours have been blessed by the deity himself. You have designed such a beautiful dress for Matriarch Gu this year as well."

"Your needlework has started to become unparalleled in the capital. If this continues, all the dressmakers in the capital will have to close their shops before too long," joked another woman which earned laughs of agreements from the others.

"Exactly, this dress is even more extraordinary than your previous year's design. No wonder Matriarch Gu has chosen you as her designer for two years in a row. But what is the name of this dress?"

Surrounded by the noble ladies, Song Mei Lin's eyes turned cold as she was showered by praise left and right. Her hands fisted into a tight ball and her beautifully painted nails dug into her palm to suppress the raging fury.

These praises and the limelight in the design world had always been hers. She was used to hearing the flatters so much that it had started to feel like a normal part of her daily life.

However, right now, when she wanted nothing more than to be revered like in the past, someone else had already come to snatch it from her.

Song Mei Lin was not resigned. It was like a thorn stuck in her heart.

This will come to an end soon. Today, she will make Bai Yu Yan pay for the losses she had to suffer all this while.

Standing behind Old Madame Lu, Bai Yu Yan turned to look at Song Mei Lin who simply waved her hands without giving a clear answer. Her gesture could make anyone misunderstand what she was really trying to say. Mei Lin could neither accept the compliment which clearly did not belong to her nor did she have the heart to deny it.

Bai Yu Yan scoffed and shook her head. She had never wanted to gain fame. Since the very beginning, she intended to continue designing while staying low-key because she felt it was unfair to be compared to someone who clearly did not receive the knowledge that she did in the twenty-first century.

However, at this moment, her guilt of being a modern designer had vanished into the thin air.

It did not matter whether she desired to enter the spotlight or not because there would always be someone waiting to drag her into it.

"Her Majesty, the Empress has arrived!"

"Her Highness, the First Princess has arrived!"

The excitement of the new dress had yet to die down when suddenly the eunuch from the Palace announced the arrival of the royal family.

Following the call, everyone in the main hall stood up from their seats to respectfully bow in greetings to the entering royal guests.

The arrival of the Royals at the banquet was not a surprise to anyone. After all, the representatives from the imperial family had attended the Matriarch Gu's birthday banquet each year without fail.

However, what no one had expected was the presence of the Empress herself. In previous years, the prince or the royal consorts used to attend the banquet on behalf of the imperial family but, this year, the appearance of the Empress herself took everyone by surprise.

"All rise!" said the Empress with a light smile.

Stepping on the red carpet, the majestic woman gracefully strolled towards the front of the main hall where Matriarch Gu was being supported by Madame Gu to stand.

Right behind her, the Princess appeared before everyone's eyes. The freely flowing white dress hugged her body with perfect curves. The pristine white chiffon fluttered with each step she took forward, making her elegance even more picturesque. There was no jewellery adorning her body but a simple jade bangle that coiled around her fair wrist.

But Xin An Rou was not alone. One more person was accompanying Her Highness. It was His Excellency, Prime Minister Lu.

Lu Tong Xiao was wearing his usual dark blue robe with golden patterns on the edge. The tall feature with aloof expression hanging on his face always gave the feeling that he was uninterested in whatever was happening around him.

However, from the look of the small smile that rested on Xin An Rou's face, it seemed that the two had been engrossed in a very interesting conversation since before coming here.

"Oh my god, did you see how good His Excellency and Her Highness look together?"

"His Excellency's eyes look so soft when looking at the Princess. I had not believed when they said he took a sword to protect the Princess. But looking at them together, the rumour seems to be true."

Bai Yu Yan averted her eyes from the two people who looked so harmonious that the others did not want to interrupt them. Lowering her head, she secretly rolled her eyes.

It seems the halo of the lead couple is too strong. Even when just standing together without doing anything, they looked so beautiful that others couldn't help shipping them together.

However, she really didn't know what to feel at this moment. The problem she was about to face with Matriarch Gu's dress was akin to a sword hanging above her head. This was not a simple matter but a fraud, something that could shake her position in the capital. She would be lucky of the Gu family did not lock her up after knowing the truth about the dress.

Matriarch Gu was the protagonist of today's banquet. And the Gu family had sincerely trusted her with the dress. She didn't even want to think what will happen when everyone knows that Matriarch Gu is wearing fake jacquard silk.

To add to it, the name of Lu household will be attached to her actions, especially, when everyone around her is waiting for her to make a mistake that could cause her to be kicked out of the Lu house and vacate the position of Madame Lu.

Thinking of the series of actions that could follow this issue, Bai Yu Yan couldn't help letting out a long sigh. Getting jealous over her husband and another woman was definitely not the leisure she could indulge in at the moment.

Annoyed by the giggling girls she wanted to smack, Bai Yu Yan raised her head to see Lu Tong Xiao looking at her direction.

Unexpectedly, when their eyes met, the man flashed a small crooked smile at her, one that could make the women in the room faint. However, seeing the smile, Bai Yu Yan's anger did not subside even a bit, instead it escalated.

How dare he smile at her while flirting with another woman?

As Lu Tong Xiao waited to see his wife's reaction, he did not receive the beautiful smile he had hoped for. Instead, he got a fierce glare thrown at his way.