Madam Rong's body swayed a little. Luckily, Miss Su caught her and held her upright.
Miss Su also looked tense. Even back at the Ying Estate, Sixth Sister had always tried to appear strong despite being out of favour. However, doing so in a situation like this was just silly; she should've just kept her head down instead of standing out.
"Eldest Sister-in-Law, are you alright?" Miss Su whispered in concern.
Madam Rong pressed a hand against her forehead before waving her off. "I'm fine."
The progression of events even frightened Eighth Miss, Miss Yuan. Even if Chu Lian was disgraced, they would still be fine by virtue of her having already married out of the estate. Plus, she belonged to House Jingan now, so she would surely be disciplined by Matriarch He. However, now that things were at this point and Madam Huang was clearly angry, if Chu Lian were to mess up, both House Ying and House Jingan would be pulled down together with her.
Miss Yuan was a little afraid now.
She carefully pulled on Madam Rong's sleeve and begged quietly, "Eldest Sister-in-Law, let's leave now."
Madam Rong looked around her. She did want to leave, but when she caught sight of the occasional glances thrown her way
She stiffened up.
How could she leave in a situation like this? Although no one was speaking, plenty of eyes were watching her!
If she were to leave now, news might spread that she didn't care about her sisters.
Madam Rong felt immensely regretful. To her, Chu Lian was to blame for everything!
"I believe House Jingan's Third Young Madam didn't do it on purpose. For a young girl, a thousand taels is a huge sum. If Third Young Madam can truly make longevity peach buns that are better than Mr. Wangs, then I'll give her this coral bracelet to calm her nerves."
Right when Madam Huang had ordered someone to bring Chu Lian to the kitchen, a woman's voice rang out.
The crowd slowly parted to let her through. A middle-aged madam dressed in a begonia-coloured sixteen-bolt dress stepped out, accompanied by a group of people behind her.
Immediately, whispers of discussion sprang up around them. "Lady Yang is here! Madam Huang won't be able to continue doing as she likes now!"
Lady Yang? Chu Lian turned her bright, clear eyes in the direction the crowd was looking in.
The middle-aged madam was tall and luxuriously dressed without seeming too stately. She exuded elegance all over. The corners of her eyes were slightly tilted upwards, somewhat similar to Chu Lian's own eyes.
She took off the coral bracelet on her wrist and passed it over to one of her handmaids. The maidservant then moved forward and placed the bracelet onto a silver tray sitting on a stone table outside the corridor. When the bracelet hit the tray, it produced a clear ringing sound.
Each coral bead on the bracelet was finely carved with exquisite patterns, and their colours were about the same. Amber jade beads were placed between each coral bead, showing off a beautiful contrast of red and amber. Everyone could see at first glance that it wasn't just any ordinary bracelet.
Chu Lian was shocked. She tried to remember when this character had appeared in the book she was reading before.
Lady Yang? There was a character in the novel who matched this identity, age, and appearance. Yang Ge's wife! She was one of the most influential people among the ranks of the capital's noble madams. Even Matriarch He had to accord her some respect if they met.
This madam was one of the original Chu Lian's greatest enemies.
In the end, Chu Lian had tortured her to death with some cruel methods.
Chu Lian cast a curious, measuring gaze towards Lady Yang.
She hadn't expected that Lady Yang, who should have been working against her, would come out now only to stand on her side.
What was this called again? The tables have turned?
Although Chu Lian didn't want to overthink things and make her life complicated, she wasn't so naive as to think that Lady Yang had come simply just to help her out.
As expected, she could hear some people talking in the crowd.
"Lady Yang and Madam Huang have been at odds since they were young unmarried ladies. It would be hard to avoid clashing over this matter today. Unfortunately, that poor Third Young Madam from House Jingan has become a target."
Chu Lian laughed inwardly. She didn't really mind being a target. No matter what Lady Yang's motives were, that coral bracelet was pretty valuable. What did she need the most now? Money! That bracelet was going to be hers!
"Since Sister Yang has already placed something in the pot, I'll have to add in my own share." A young madam with rosy cheeks standing behind Lady Yang spoke up. She looked to be in her twenties, and was dressed in a silk green dress. From what Chu Lian could hear from the crowd's whispering, this was the wife of the vice minister of the Ministry of Personnel.
The vice minister's wife took off a butterfly-shaped golden hairpin decorated with pieces of jade from directly off her head and placed it in the silver tray.
The other madams behind Lady Yang followed suit, taking a single accessory off and placing it in the silver tray. There were hollowed out gold bracelets inlaid with jade, yellow jade amulets, headdresses with precious stones All these high-quality, sparkling accessories were laid out on this ordinary silver tray.
The younger madams in the crowd were completely wide-eyed in shock.
What was going on? How did these influential senior madams suddenly start fighting with each other?
The moment Madam Huang caught sight of Lady Yang, she gritted her teeth. Although she clearly hated Lady Yang, she had to put on a fake smile and say, "How generous of you, Lady Yang. Since you're betting on Chu Lian being able to make better longevity peach buns, what if she fails? It wouldn't make sense if you just take back your wager, am I right?"
Lady Yang harrumphed, "Oh? Then what do you think we should do if she fails, Madam Huang? "
Madam Huang shot a look at her daughter, Zou Yuanqin, before she removed a gold bracelet from her arm. Threaded on it were two rare pink pearls. They were shaped differently from normal pearls; instead of the usual sphere shape, they looked like water droplets. Rounded with a lustrous shine, they were quite a rare sight.
Those familiar with Madam Huang all sucked in a breath. That was Madam Huang's favourite bracelet; it was said that her maternal grandmother had passed it on to her.
After placing the pearl bracelet on the tray, Madam Huang said slowly and surely, "Since Lady Yang wants to interfere with this matter, why don't we do it like this? These accessories will become the wager for today. If House Jingan's Third Young Madam has the skills, then everything on this tray will become hers, as compensation for the shock she has suffered. If she fails to carry out her task, then she'll have the same punishment I mentioned earlier: begging for forgiveness from my father in front of everyone in the banquet hall. Furthermore, Lady Yang, all the accessories you've bet will become ours."
Lady Yang smirked. Her answer came without hesitation. "Heh! I didn't know that Madam Huang has an interest in games like these. Why not?"
The moment she agreed to the wager, a few madams walked out from behind Madam Huang and offered up accessories of their own.
When one of the madams was about to place a gold hairpin she had plucked from her head into the tray, Imperial Princess Leyao reached out and stopped her.
Imperial Princess Leyao raised her chin proudly. She glanced secretly at Chu Lian once, and then arrogantly declared, "How could I possibly miss out on such a fun game? "
After saying so, she took off a little golden qilin statue hanging from her waist and placed it on the tray. "This is a golden statue that Mother Empress gave to me. Is this enough for the wager?"
The Empress had given her the little golden statue on her eighth birthday. Imperial Princess Leyao loved it a lot and wore it everywhere she went. The golden kirin had two bean-sized ruby eyes, and looked very realistic.
Madam Huang wanted to stop Imperial Princess Leyao, but this princess had been spoiled rotten in the palace and was used to getting her way. Furthermore, she was favoured by the Emperor. This was supposed to be a fight amongst madams, but now that an eleven-year-old princess had suddenly cut in, it seemed a little strange.
Lady Yang cast a glance at Imperial Princess Leyao; even though she was the wife of an important official and a first-rank titled noble wife, it wouldn't be good for her to interfere with the princess's actions.
Imperial Princess Leyao was part of the imperial family after all.
It was never a good thing to interfere in the imperial family's matters.
Just as everyone thought that the wager had been set, Royal Princess Duanjia stepped out of the crowd.
Royal Princess Duanjia was about the same age as Chu Lian, and was the legitimate daughter of Prince Wei, the brother of the current Emperor. She was much loved by the Emperor and Empress Dowager; the moment she had been born, she had been conferred the title of royal princess.
Her influence wasn't any less than Imperial Princess Leyao's.
"Since Sister Leyao could bear to put up her most beloved treasure, how could I not participate with mine?"
Without looking at Imperial Princess Leyao's expression, Royal Princess Duanjia took out an item from the purse at her waist. It was a completely white jade ring with some words engraved on the inner side. From the quality of the jade alone, you could tell that it was top-quality white jade, and wasn't inferior to Imperial Princess Leyao's golden qilin statue in any way.
A smug look flashed across Imperial Princess Leyao's face and she purposely shot Chu Lian a look; it seemed like she was either showing off or mocking her. However, the moment she noticed Royal Princess Duanjia placing that jade ring on the opposite side from her golden qilin statue, her expression changed.
"Duanjia! You!"
Without any hint of concern for the rage on Imperial Princess Leyao's face, Royal Princess Duanjia tilted her head and declared cheerily, "I bet on House Jingan's Third Young Madam winning."
Royal Princess Duanjia's action stunned half of the people present. What was going on? Wasn't Royal Princess Duanjia on the same side as Imperial Princess Leyao? Why was she helping House Jingan's Third Young Madam?
Chu Lian also found it strange. She had no relation to this Royal Princess Duanjia at all, not in the story or as her current self. Why would she be standing on her side?
Due to her curiosity, Chu Lian couldn't help but look twice at Royal Princess Duanjia. When their gazes met, Royal Princess Duanjia raised an eyebrow and actually smiled at Chu Lian.
Chu Lian shifted away her gaze and felt the urge to scratch her head from confusion.
Since two respected members of the imperial family had just joined in the bet, the excitement of the crowd had been ramped up to the maximum.
These noble madams and young ladies usually passed their days in boredom. Just by attending a simple longevity feast at Marquis Dingyuan's estate, they had bumped into such a spectacular show. Everyone was inwardly shouting with excitement. Something like this would surely become the talk of the capital amongst the upper class! No matter what the result was, everyone would be talking about it within two days time.
Feudal Princess Anmin wanted to have her turn too, and thought of stepping out to add her contribution to the pot. However, she was held back by Zou Yuanqin.
Zou Yuanqin had received a hint from her mother, and shook her head at Feudal Princess Anmin.
Feudal Princess Anmin could only give up the idea of joining in. She was an imperial princess daughter, so she ranked a step lower than Imperial Princess Leyao and Royal Princess Duanjia. Since there were already two daughters of the imperial family taking part, it wasn't appropriate for her to join in as well.
Madam Rong gripped a jade amulet tightly in her hands, hesitating and thinking hard. In the end, when she saw that Imperial Princess Leyao and Royal Princess Duanjia had joined the wager, her courage shrunk even more.
Under these circumstances, if she added to the pot, she would be going directly against Imperial Princess Leyao.