At the gates of the Grand Princess's estate, carriages and horses formed an endless stream. Maids and footmen guided the arriving guests into the mansion.
The moment the Cui family's carriage rolled to a halt, maids and older servant women immediately stepped forward to curtsy. "Eldest Miss Cui, Second Miss Cui."
By rights, a mere concubine-born daughter like Cui Yunchu had no standing to attend a banquet hosted by the Grand Princess. However, the Cui family's prestige was so immense that even their concubine-born daughters enjoyed a status far beyond that of girls from ordinary official households.
"Eldest Sister, let's go," Cui Yunfeng said.
When out in public, Cui Yunfeng was always careful to give Cui Yunchu her due respect.
The two sisters entered the estate hand in hand. Along the way, they encountered quite a few noble ladies who had also come for the banquet, gathered in small groups exchanging pleasantries.
"Second Miss Cui."
At the sound of the call from behind, both Cui Yunchu and Cui Yunfeng turned around to see a young lady dressed in a flowing, goose-yellow gown.
The young lady's eyes darted toward Cui Yunchu. She quickly lowered her raised hand, dropped her gaze, and fell silent, pretending instead to chat and laugh with her companions.
"..."
Cui Yunchu withdrew her gaze. "Go on and join them."
Cui Yunfeng furrowed her brows. She glanced at the young lady, then back at Cui Yunchu, who seemed to be universally disliked wherever she went. "Forget it. Otherwise, you'll just run back and tattle to Grandmother, claiming I banded together with outsiders to bully you."
"..." Cui Yunchu pursed her lips.
When it came to twisting the truth while looking delicate and pitiful, she was practically the grandmaster of the entire imperial capital.
A maid of the Grand Princess's estate led the two sisters to the banquet hall reserved for the young ladies.
Quite a few guests had already arrived. As they walked in, many girls stepped forward to greet Cui Yunfeng. When it came to Cui Yunchu, however, managing a stiff "Eldest Miss Cui" was already considered showing her the utmost courtesy.
Cui Yunchu felt utterly helpless.
The Cui family was incredibly illustrious; the fact that these girls could resist the urge to suck up to her was a true testament to her own notorious reputation.
However, if there was one thing the imperial capital never lacked, it was social climbers and sycophants. Naturally, Cui Yunchu had her own little social circle.
Ahem... just a few outcasts huddled together, collectively side-eyeing the entire society of noble ladies.
"Sister Cui, you're finally here!"
"Exactly, Sister Cui. Don't lower yourself to their level. They're just jealous of how pretty you are."
Cui Yunchu glanced at the two lackeys hovering before her.
One was the now-legitimate daughter of the Vice Minister of Revenue, whose concubine mother had been elevated to the status of primary wife. The other was a concubine-born daughter whose mother had triumphed in a bitter household struggle to seize the keys to the estate.
Hearing the scrape of chairs being moved, Cui Yunchu turned her head. She caught sight of two young ladies sitting behind her, their lips pursed as they cautiously inched their seats further away.
Catching Cui Yunchu's eye, the two looked both embarrassed and tense. "Eldest Miss Cui."
"..." Cui Yunchu returned a polite smile and looked away.
Her two lackeys were still chattering away like magpies. Finding the noise grating, Cui Yunchu shooed them both back to their own seats.
Just then, a few maids carrying ledgers stepped into the banquet hall.
They made a beeline for where the Cui family ladies were seated. "Eldest Miss Cui, Second Miss Cui. Her Highness the Grand Princess is hosting a talent competition in the back garden today. The prize is a hairpin belonging to Her Majesty the Empress. She invites the young ladies of every household to join in the festivities."
Cui Yunfeng stared at the ledger, then shot a look at Cui Yunchu beside her, momentarily speechless.
A talent competition? Why hadn't there been any mention of this beforehand? With such a prime opportunity to show off, would she even be able to rein in the social butterfly of her family?
She'd probably flutter about, leaving her dust everywhere...
"Miss Cui, Her Highness stated that participation in the competition is strictly voluntary," the maid added.
"Oh... very well..."
The young maid was just about to jot down Cui Yunfeng's name in the ledger when Cui Yunfeng interrupted.
"I will not be participating."
The maid, having only written half of the character for Cui, hastily stopped her brush. "Then... what about Eldest Miss Cui?"
"She absolutely cannot participate," Cui Yunfeng declared.
Cui Yunchu shot a sidelong glance at Cui Yunfeng, then quietly closed her half-open mouth.
The daughters of the Cui family had no need to gild themselves with empty titles like talented lady. As long as Cui Yunfeng could drag this troublemaker back home in one piece, she would be thanking the heavens.
Cui Yunchu merely twitched her lips and stayed quiet.
She hadn't planned on participating anyway.
A banquet at the Grand Princess's estate, with the Empress's hairpin as the prize... Cui Yunchu's lips curled into a cynical smile. The waters here were waist-deep; she was afraid she might drown.
Remembering her ultimate fate in her past life, an involuntary shiver ran down her spine.
Hearing that neither of the Cui sisters would be competing—especially Cui Yunchu—the young ladies from the other families breathed a collective sigh of relief. The tension on their faces visibly melted away.
Cui Yunchu might have been an insufferable drama queen, but when it came to the arts, she truly stood head and shoulders above all the other noble ladies in the imperial capital.
And rightly so. After all, her concubine mother had relied on those very skills to secure her livelihood and status; naturally, she had honed them to absolute perfection.
In her past life, Cui Yunchu had once taken immense pride in this.
However, having inherited her mother's mantle, her style inevitably carried traces of her mother's past profession.
A dancer's arts were designed to please men—soft, sensuous, yielding, and delicate—displaying a woman's most alluring and graceful side.
...
The Grand Princess and the Empress had colluded to set up this event; who would win the prize was already predetermined. Cui Yunchu, acting like an absolute fool, had nearly ruined their scheme. The consequences were easy to imagine.
It was only because she was a daughter of the Cui family that the Grand Princess, out of respect for her lineage, had merely mocked her with a few veiled insults to ensure the predetermined winner received the prize smoothly.
Cui Yunchu smacked her lips at the memory.
Sweeping her gaze over the noble ladies eagerly scrambling to sign up, she felt a twinge of pity and lingering dread.
