After the heir of the Marquis of Zhaoping left, Shen Wan also headed towards the bustling crowd.
From afar, she saw a young woman approaching with a maid. The woman was beautiful, but her eyes held a hostile intent, as if ready for a fight at any moment.
Shanhu whispered, “The Third Miss and the Fourth Miss of the Duke of Wei’s mansion had another argument today.”
Shen Wan knew this without Shanhu telling her.
In her past life, she had been present when Shen Wu and the Fourth Miss of the Duke of Wei’s mansion argued.
The two had harbored a grudge over jewelry, and their animosity deepened due to the Second Master and the Third Master of the Duke of Wei’s mansion vying for official positions. They had reached the point of being at each other’s throats, ready to fight at any moment. Naturally, they wouldn’t give her, the Second Miss of the Duke of Dingguo’s mansion, a friendly look.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend, and Shen Wan actually felt a bit of goodwill towards the Fourth Miss of Wei.
As she walked past, a note appeared out of thin air on the ground.
The two ignored each other and brushed past each other.
Seeing the note in the middle of the road, Miss Wei glanced back at Shen Wan, her delicate brows furrowing slightly as she bent down to pick it up.
The Peony Banquet began, and young masters and ladies of noble families took their seats.
Xiao Yun was also there.
In his previous life, Xiao Yun had broken his arm saving her and was absent. In this life, he had only dislocated his arm saving a maid, but it had long since healed, so his presence was not surprising.
Shen Wan and Ye Caiwei sat together, sipping their tea, waiting to see the spectacle.
First, the dancers performed, then the young masters and ladies of noble families went on stage to showcase their talents, entirely voluntary, there was no requirement to perform.
After several ladies of noble families had shown their skills, Ye Caiwei could no longer contain herself. To shine at the Peony Banquet, she had practiced one dance hundreds of times over the past year, and with guidance from Vice-Envoy Li of the Imperial Music Bureau, she was confident she could amaze everyone present.
Just as she was about to get up, Shen Wan pressed her down. “Don’t rush, go on stage later.”
“Why?” Ye Caiwei asked, puzzled.
“Isn’t it better to have more people to complement you?”
Ye Caiwei restrained herself.
Shen Wan had given her the shimmering brocade, arranged for someone to teach her, and gifted her jewelry, she had no reason not to trust Shen Wan.
Shen Wu played the zither. In her previous life, she had received guidance from the Imperial Music Bureau, and her zither skills had improved considerably. In this life, not only had she not improved, but she had also neglected her studies for a few days because she wanted to cherish the opportunity to be instructed in dancing by Vice-Envoy Li of the Imperial Music Bureau. Although her performance was still quite good, it wasn’t enough to amaze anyone.
Shen Wu was very unhappy after leaving the stage.
After Shen Wu, Ye Caiwei went on stage, wearing a shimmering brocade dress that shone brightly in the sunlight. Combined with her purple jade jewelry, she appeared even more noble.
Her dance was light and graceful, with her toes like brushes and her flowing sleeves like ink, so beautiful it was captivating.
The dance ended.
Praise poured out.
Ye Caiwei couldn’t have been happier with those admiring and envious glances.
She truly felt that Shen Wan was thinking of her, because after her, no young lady from a prominent family would dance, she would either have to give up performing or find another role.
Shen Wu angrily tore the handkerchief in her hand to shreds.
She had never seen Shen Wan so clueless, praising Ye Caiwei like this, what good did it do her?!
It infuriated her!
Thinking of the opportunity to shine later, Shen Wu suppressed her jealousy.
After waiting for almost half an hour, a maid brought over writing materials. Today was the Peony Banquet, everyone attending had to compose a poem about peonies, and the most outstanding one would win first place and a prize.
The deadline was the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. The maid placed the tray down, and Ye Caiwei said, “Cousin, you go first.”
Shen Wan said, “I’m not good at poetry, you do it.”
Ye Caiwei didn’t stand on ceremony.
She picked up a brush, pretending to think, and quickly wrote a poem.
After the incense burned out, the maid collected the poems from table to table and presented them to Princess Shunyang and several noble ladies for their appreciation, selecting the best one.
Several of the poems were passed around among the noble ladies, their eyes filled with admiration.
Among the young masters of noble families, the poem by the eldest son of the Hanlin Academy scholar was the best, while among the young ladies of noble families, it was Shen Wu’s.
Princess Shunyang praised both poems several times and then circulated them for everyone to admire.
Shen Wu looked smug.
Shen Wan picked up her teacup, the rising steam obscuring the smile on her lips.
The poem was handed to Fourth Miss Wei She glanced at it and asked Shen Wu, “Did you write this poem on the spot?”
Shen Wu stood up, her expression haughty. “Of course.”
Princess Shunyang asked, “What’s wrong?”
Fourth Miss Wei replied, “I found a poem in the garden, exactly the same as Third Miss Shen’s.”
Shen Wu’s face stiffened. “How could that be?!”
Fourth Miss Wei didn’t mince words. She took out the paper she had found and unfolded it.
She showed it to the young ladies around her, then handed it to a maid to be delivered to Princess Shunyang.
Princess Shunyang’s expression darkened after reading it.
The peony banquet had been going smoothly until now, and then this happened just before it ended. She knew many people weren’t good at poetry and would prepare their poems beforehand, but to cheat on the poem and bring cheat sheets was one thing, but to not only forget a few lines of poetry and need to copy them?
The more smug she was just moments before, the more humiliated she was now.
She swore she composed the poem on the spot, but Fourth Miss Wei found an identical poem in the garden. She was utterly speechless.
How could this poem have been written down and ended up in Fourth Miss Wei’s hands?!
Even if Shen Wu racked her brains, she couldn’t guess it was Shen Wan’s work.
To gain fame, Shen Wu had written the poem beforehand, but she wasn’t satisfied with it herself. So she asked the Second Madam to find someone to polish it for her. Still dissatisfied, she asked the Second Master to find someone to polish it again.
One poem.
Twenty-eight characters.
Twenty-seven characters were polished.
How could such a meticulously crafted work not become famous?
Not only Shen Wu, but Ye Caiwei’s poems also came about in this way.
Although Shen Wu’s poem was excellent, it was caught red-handed as a forgery, so it couldn’t be counted. Otherwise, it would be unfair to the others, and Ye Caiwei would win on the side of the refined young ladies.
Of course, some suspected Ye Caiwei of forging the poem, since both Ye Caiwei and Shen Wu came from the Duke of Dingguo’s mansion and were cousins. However, without evidence, they dared not speak rashly.
Furthermore, even if the poem could be forged, Ye Caiwei’s dance earlier was completely genuine, so everyone accepted her victory.
Shen Wan’s plan included Shen Wu’s embarrassment and Ye Caiwei’s rise to fame. However, Shen Wan hadn’t anticipated that Ye Caiwei, by neither showcasing her talent nor composing a poem, would appear genuinely sincere in contrast to Shen Wu’s deception.