Chapter 244
The Lantern Festival (2)
Mu Mingtang was shaken by the scene presented in front of her. All the famous opera tropes and artisans from the capital were gathered on the Xuande Gate Square. And all of this had happened only because of the presence of the emperor and the royal family on the day of the Lantern festival. People who came to enjoy the festival could not bear to take their eyes off of fascinating performances.
Seeing that Mu Mingtang was immersed in her own thoughts as she looked at lanterns downstairs, the empress standing beside her could not help but ask with a smile, “Princess An seems to be spellbound by the beautiful lanterns. Are you really enjoying it that much?”
Among eighty or so noble women present on the tower, the empress’s close observation of Mu Mingtang immediately zeroed everyone’s gazes on the two.
“Yes, this is the first time this lady has seen lanterns in the capital. Moreover, I have never seen such a bustling festival before.”
“The palace has not arranged such an occasion for a long time, so this empress isn’t even aware of how many performances are going to be held today. This year’s Lantern Festival is very grand, so Princess An, you should take this opportunity and enjoy to your heart’s content.” The empress responded with a smile graced on her lips.
“Thank you, Empress.” Mu Mingtang gave a small bow to convey her gratitude.
As the Empress wanted to publicly display her affection toward Prince An’s residence, she spoke very gently to Mu Mingtang and from time to time pointed out the colourfully light lanterns downstairs. While this was taking place, Jiang Mingwei who stood near them, watched her mother-in-law, who had always been strict and criticising towards her, speaking very amiably to Mu Mingtang. Jiang Mingwei was feeling complicated because of the empress’s different way of treatment towards her and Mu Mingtang.
Ironically, the empress had always been very critical of Jiang Mingwei, asking her to be generous, virtuous and respectful. Not only that, Jiang Mingwei was asked to be more humble and self-examine. But for Mu Mingtang, the empress seemed to treat like her own daughter. For example, when the empress got to know that Mu Mingtang had not seen the lanterns in the capital before, she personally pointed out naming each and every lantern down there.
Jiang Mingwei, who had been standing with them for a long time, hadn’t even received a glance or a word from the empress, so the partiality between the two sides really annoyed her.
The more Jiang Mingwei thought about it, the more uncomfortable she felt. She was also a princess, but no matter what the occasion was, as long as Mu Mingtang was there, Jiang Mingwei, who was supposed to be the main character, could only step aside and act like a supporting character. What’s even worse was that everyone told her to endure and be humble, as if she should avoid confronting Mu Mingtang, which was only right and proper.
If Jiang Mingwei hadn’t read the book in her previous life, she would have thought Mu Mingtang was the main protagonist.
‘Calm down, it’s not time to be impulsive… I should think about the plans I have made for the future.’ She took a deep breath as she thought about what will happen in the next moment as mentioned in the book. She kept coaxing herself that her life would definitely take a turn just like Xie Xuanji’s and her fame would soar from today onwards, so was it worth to be angry at such cannon fodder?
‘I am the one who had the discerning eye to see the pearl, and I am the one who married the Son of heaven. For now, let’s just let Mu Mingtang enjoy her last festival before her fall.’
Thinking so, Jiang Mingwei gradually calmed down. Now her mind was full of thoughts about the fire in the Forbidden City that would happen in a while. She was not in the state to watch the performance downstairs. She even ignored others who wanted to initiate conversation with her.
As the time was getting closer, she had big things to do, so how can she spare time to pay attention to these small supporting roles? And what’s more, Jiang Mingwei didn’t even care even if she offended anyone. Anyway, after today, she would be the queen of the nation. Whatever these people thought of her had nothing to do with her. Soon enough, they would be bowing down to her and worship her wholeheartedly.
On the other side, when the eunuch saw that the emperor and others were about to get up, he said with a deep bow: “This humble servant would like to present something to the emperor if given the permission, today the folks made a dragon lantern to congratulate His Majesty. I heard that the dragon lantern is three feet high and painted with gold and floating powder. It is very magnificent, especially the dragon eyes. It is said that if one were to look at them, they would feel that eyes are moving because of their lifelike craftsmanship.”
Hearing the eunuch’s boosting words, an official agreed: “His Majesty is the real Son of the Dragon sent by heaven, and the folks had presented a dragon lantern to his majesty, it really compliments each other. With such a big dragon lantern, I am afraid that no one in the world can control it except the emperor himself.”
When the eunuch heard this, he immediately followed with: “Well, I heard that ever since the beginning of the completion of the dragon form, the workshop has been on fire frequently. The craftsmen who made the dragon lantern said that they could not control it. Therefore, the lantern has never been lit since it was made. I’m afraid that only in front of the emperor can it be lit safely.”