bayedsolid Chapter 468: Small Tricks
Chapter 468: Small Tricks
Things did not go as planned. Princess Cheng'an encountered a setback from Su Wanrou. Just as she was getting angry, she raised her eyes inadvertently and suddenly saw Yang Qi who was standing beside her leisurely and contented.
Princess Cheng'an's eyes suddenly tightened, and the dissatisfaction and contempt in her heart became stronger.
She felt that these so-called "dirty characters" were simply ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth and did not consider their own status.
Bai Yuxin had just vacated the position of Crown Princess, and these people pounced on her one after another like cats smelling blood.
And who is this Song Yangqi? Princess Cheng'an remembered that Song Yanglan had relied on the background of the Yongyi Marquis's Mansion to get close to her fifth cousin. But now that the fifth cousin is in trouble, the Song Guogong Mansion has pushed Song Yangqi out again.
I really don't know what kind of luck Song Yangqi has to have to win Yuan Yi's favor and stay in the Queen's palace for several months.
"Miss Song, what are you daydreaming about?" Princess Cheng'an suddenly came close to Yang Qi without any warning, and tapped the red hairpin in her hand lightly on the rim of the cup, making a crisp sound.
She raised the corners of her mouth slightly, looked at Yang Qi with a smile, and continued, "I heard that the Duke of Song's Mansion has been reducing its staff a lot recently, and they can't even pay the monthly salary?"
Changing the subject, Princess Cheng An looked Yang Qi up and down, and finally stopped at her clothes, revealing a hint of mockery in her smile, "But your clothes are quite unique, could it be that... you dug out all the old fabrics from the bottom of the box?"
The people around him fell silent instantly. Yang Qi sighed softly in his heart. Hey, he didn't want to cause trouble, but trouble always followed him.
"Princess Cheng'an is joking." Yang Qi lowered her eyes and smiled softly, her fingertips stroking the fine lines on her clothes. "Although the Song family is not as good as before, it still has half an acre of thin land."
Princess Cheng'an has been obsessed with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince for many years. This is an open secret in the imperial city. Previously, due to the engagement between His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Bai Yuxin, Princess Cheng'an was depressed for a while, but has recently become active again.
The Duke of Song's Mansion was recently implicated in the affairs of the Fifth Prince, and has become a place that everyone in the imperial city avoids. All shops and farms have been implicated, and naturally the income and expenditure of the mansion have been greatly affected.
Now Princess Cheng'an mentioned this matter in front of everyone, which embarrassed Yang Qi in person.
Although Song Yangqi originally had the title of Mr. Yang's disciple, due to the example of Bai Yuxin and Song Yanglan, Yangqi's reputation in the imperial city has never been prominent.
However, this time, he was invited to the palace by Princess Yuan Yi and stayed in the Queen's palace for several months, which made the people in the imperial city suddenly notice Yang Qi's existence.
Princess Cheng An had a cold smile on her face, her eyes full of disdain. She slowly walked to Yang Qi's side, the new rose flower in her hairpin trembling, "I didn't realize before, you are such a sharp-tongued person."
As she spoke, Princess Cheng'an took the handkerchief from the maid and covered her nose.
As Princess Cheng'an approached him, a pungent fragrance entered Yang Qi's nostrils, and Yang Qi couldn't help but frowned.
Today, the scent of flowers and spices in the imperial garden were all mixed together, but the scent of the handkerchief in Princess Cheng'an's hand was particularly pungent, as if it had been deliberately drugged.
Not knowing what Princess Cheng'an was up to, Yang Qi had to be careful and slowly stepped back a few steps.
Noticing Yang Qi's backward movement, Princess Cheng'an raised the corners of her eyes slightly, and slowly approached Yang Qi while adjusting the pearl hairpins on her temples. The handkerchief in her other hand gently swept across the hem of Yang Qi's moon-white skirt embroidered with gold.
The honey was mixed with butterfly-attracting powder, and when it got on to the fabric it condensed into tiny golden powder, sparkling in the sunlight.
She took a half step back, pinched her fingertips into her palm, and waited for the bees to come in response to the scent.
At this time, a palace maid was passing by with freshly picked peonies, and a few low exclamations of admiration were heard from the crowd.
Yang Qi was looking down at the petals of the peony when she suddenly felt the edge of her skirt tremble slightly - first a golden-headed bee buzzed past her ear, followed by the second and third, and soon they gathered into a black mass, hovering around her feet.
"Ah!" A noble lady screamed and stepped back, and the teacup fell to the ground with a clang.
All eyes were focused on her. Princess Cheng An bit her lip to hold back her laughter. When everyone looked over, she immediately showed a worried look: "What happened to Sister Yang Qi? Did she eat something that attracted bees?"
Yang Qi's heart tightened. So this was what Princess Cheng'an was planning. She didn't know what was wrong with Princess Cheng'an. It was clear that she was just a runner-up at today's flower-viewing banquet. If Princess Cheng'an wanted to marry His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, it seemed that the target should not be directed at her.
Lowering her eyes to glance at the swarm of bees swarming around the hem of her skirt, Yang Qi's fingertips quietly stroked the sachet around her waist - which was filled with dried agarwood.
She suddenly raised her hand and threw the sachet towards the pomegranate tree not far away.
The sachet drew an arc in the wind, and the scent of agarwood mixed with honey immediately spread in the air.
The swarm of bees seemed to be led by invisible strings, buzzing and turning towards the pomegranate tree.
"It was my sachet that caused the trouble." Yang Qi took a half step forward, her voice as clear as a copper bell on the eaves, "Just now I heard the sisters say 'bees and butterflies also know the beauty of spring' when they were appreciating the flowers, but I didn't expect them to find my embroidered sachet first."
Yu Guangzhong glanced at Princess Cheng'an casually, and saw that her charcoal-like face looked particularly dark in the sun, as if it had been stained with ink. Seeing this, Yang Qi felt a little helpless about Princess Cheng'an's appearance.
She secretly thanked herself for having been prepared. She had been worried that there would be many bees and butterflies flying around at the flower viewing banquet, so she had specially prepared this trick just in case. Otherwise, she might have really been tricked by Princess Cheng'an.
Yang Qi thought to herself, and couldn't figure out what Princess Cheng'an was thinking. She dared to use such a simple and crude trick in front of everyone. Wasn't she afraid of being discovered?