Chapter 45: Full Moon Banquet

Shen Tubai stepped forward and rolled up her sleeves, preparing to shave his beard herself. To her surprise, no sooner had she approached than Li Tinghan pulled her into a tight embrace, burying his face in her waist.

"It was my fault that hurt her, my fault that hurt Wenniang..." Li Tinghan spoke in a remarkably calm tone, yet pressed his face against Shen Tubai, remaining motionless for a long time.

After a while, a damp patch formed against Shen Tubai's waist. At first, she thought it was sweat, but soon realized he was weeping.

That day, Li Tinghan curled himself up into a ball and slept on Shen Tubai's couch the entire night; his beard, in the end, remained unshaven.

Shen Tubai was somewhat angry. A child's full-month banquet happens only once in a lifetime.

Had her little A-ning merely come into this world only to bear the stigma of a father's displeasure simply because of her father's distraught state of mind?

The more she thought about it, the more furious Shen Tubai became. Therefore, at the fifth watch of the dawn, she forcibly hauled Li Tinghan up and, with the help of Chunchan, shaved away the bluish stubble on his chin by force.

She spent another full hour dabbing and painting cosmetics on his face. When Li Tinghan finally presented himself to the public, though his eyes were still laced with bloodshot veins, anyone who looked upon him would perceive a man of vibrant and spirited radiance.

At the banquet, Lu Yuanshuang, who had been absent from society for a long time, deliberately wore a bright yellow court gown bestowed by the Empress upon her wedding day, continually taking veiled digs at Shen Tubai in her conversation.

Most of the noble ladies traveling to and from Chang'an were well-acquainted with Lu Yuanshuang. Many flattered her, remarking that with Cui Xiewen gone and the Empress Dowager supporting her, she would surely be elevated to the official primary wife before long.

Lu Yuanshuang tilted her chin up haughtily, casting a look of intense triumph toward Shen Tubai.

Yet the moment she opened her mouth to provoke Shen Tubai, the ladies who had been flattering her fell abruptly silent. Not a single noble relative present was a fool.

Uttering a few pleasant flattery words was one thing, but taking sides in the inner courtyard of the Prince of Yan's Mansion was entirely unnecessary, especially since the Prince of Yan was not yet the Crown Prince.

No matter how flamboyant Lu Yuanshuang acted, she was ultimately not the protagonist of the day.

When the wet nurse carried little A-ning out, the crowd swarmed around in a flock, lavishing praises as if complimentary words cost nothing at all.

After all, the Prince of Yan was twenty-five years old this year, and this was his very first child.

"The little princess has such rounded earlobes; she is surely destined for profound blessings and fortune."

"This is the wife of the Duke of Cheng," Lady Zhu announced aloud, and Shen Tubai hurriedly stepped forward to exchange formal greetings with her.

"The little princess is exceptionally pretty. Only these eyebrows, so dark and dense, must certainly have been inherited from my elder brother."

"This is Princess Anping."

Shen Tubai lifted her gaze and lingered a few extra looks upon her. She had long since heard that Her Majesty the Empress favored this youngest daughter above all, and upon seeing her now, she indeed possessed an air distinct from ordinary people.

After exchanging pleasantries with a full circle of today's guests, the time for the banquet arrived in the blink of an eye.

Lady Zhu scratched her head somewhat sheepishly. "I quite forgot that you have never dealt with these people before. I should have come out earlier to help you. Did Concubine Lu humiliate you again just now?"

Shen Tubai brushed it off with indifference. "It is nothing of consequence. One can tell these madated ladies are all born of illustrious families and are quite easy to get along with. Even though the Secondary Consort tried to stir up discord, they did not actually say anything untoward to me."

Lady Zhu choked back a retort. She glanced toward today's guests: the wife of the Duke of Cheng, Princess Anping, the Lady of Han... several of the notoriously difficult women in the city of Chang'an had all arrived.

Were they truly easy to get along with? Most likely, they were simply giving face to the Empress, which was why they refrained from making things difficult.

Yet seeing Shen Tubai's poised and serene demeanor, Lady Zhu began to suspect that Shen Tubai herself must have been well aware of this fact.

The banquets for male and female guests were held separately. Although today was meant to celebrate A-ning's full-month milestone, Lu Yuanshuang managed the household, and all matters concerning the banquet had been under her charge.

Before the banquet commenced, Shen Tubai deliberately thanked her publicly in front of everybody. As the banquet proceeded, both hosts and guests enjoyed themselves immensely, and seeing that no untoward incidents had occurred, Shen Tubai finally let out a sigh of relief.

A-ning's full-month celebration did not require guests to be left with endless lingering memories; as long as it was sufficiently grand and dignified without any scandalous scenes, that was quite enough.

"Oh my—the sky looks as though a breeze is rising. I've long heard that the gardens of the Prince of Yan's Mansion boast breathtaking scenery. Since there happens to be a breeze today, shall we all head to the garden to fly kites?"

Someone initiated the suggestion, and the crowd chimed in with enthusiastic agreement.

Even Shen Tubai felt a stir of inclination; at this time of year, the weather was neither too cold nor too hot, and a gentle breeze brushing against the face was the height of comfort.

"Since everyone has pretty much finished dining, going out to the garden to fly kites and sober up is a splendid idea!" The eldest among them, the wife of the Duke of Cheng, made the final ruling.

The guests proceeded in a stream toward the garden. Having eaten rather heartily, Shen Tubai followed leisurely behind the crowd to aid her digestion.

"Ah—" A sharp scream suddenly pierced the air ahead. Shen Tubai exchanged a glance with Lady Zhu, who was walking slightly in front, but both shook their heads, completely unaware of what had transpired.

Shen Tubai hurried to push through the crowd. To her astonishment, the closer she got to the front, the more astonished expressions she saw on people's faces. The ladies standing in the front rows had even straightened their postures rigidly, completely blocking the view from behind.

Unable to see anything, Shen Tubai could only ask in a low voice, "What has happened?"

Noticing it was her, the wife of the Duke of Cheng felt her expression soften slightly.

Her lips trembled as if she found the sight indescribable, and she merely stepped sideways by half a body's width. Shen Tubai took a single glance before instantly whipping around to address the crowd, "I suddenly remembered there is a fresh fruit from the kitchens that hasn't been served yet. Chunchan, take the young ladies and madams to go taste it."

A sense of boredom flickered across the guests' faces; what kind of fruit hadn't they tasted in the city of Chang'an that they needed to make a special trip back for?

Yet Shen Tubai clearly had no intention of letting them witness what was unfolding inside, and the crowd could only disperse with reluctant disappointment.

Lu Yuanshuang, who had previously retreated to her own courtyard after having her thunder stolen, arrived belatedly. The moment she caught sight of Shen Tubai, she lashed out, "I was only gone for a short while, and such a mess happens. You—"

Impatiently, Shen Tubai cut her off. "This is no time for this. Find a few matrons to enclose the pavilion with curtains, and summon several female medical officers immediately. The Princess currently appears unmistakably drugged; round up everyone who handled the Princess's food and drink..."

Furious, Lu Yuanshuang grabbed her by the wrist and demanded, "What do you mean by this? Everything at today's banquet was arranged by me. Are you implying that my people tried to secretly harm the Princess?"

Shen Tubai turned her head for a glance. Despite the massive commotion stirred up outside, the Princess inside the pavilion showed no signs of sobering up whatsoever, still clinging to the monk Leji with clinging kisses and embraces.

She forcefully shook off Lu Yuanshuang's grip. "This is not the moment to assign blame. Our top priority is to help the Princess regain her senses."

The wife of the Duke of Cheng, having observed the entire exchange, silently nodded in approval of Shen Tubai's handling of the situation.

Unaware of this silent appraisal, Shen Tubai noticed that Li Tinghan was leading a group of male guests rushing toward them from across the way, their clear destination being the pavilion as well.

As a woman of imperial blood, Princess Anping had suffered such a scandalous incident within the Prince of Yan's Mansion; the Empress would undoubtedly fly into a towering rage. If this group of male guests were allowed to witness the scene as well, the consequences would likely provoke an even greater fury.

Fortunately, by this time, several maidservants had already surrounded the pavilion with privacy curtains.

Shen Tubai beckoned a few menservants over, instructing them to divert Li Tinghan, before speaking sternly to the servants present, "Not a single word of today's events is to leak outside."

"Understood."

Without needing her explicit prompting, the wife of the Duke of Cheng and the others declared, "Today's affair was purely accidental. We shall certainly keep our lips sealed."