Dad, open the door. I'll bring your mistress back for you.

The Mid-Autumn Festival reunion dinner in the palace is divided into two parts: female guests and male guests.

The emperor held a banquet in the Wenhua Hall to entertain princes, nobles, officials of the third rank and above in Beijing, as well as some promising and potential young men from aristocratic families.

The Empress Dowager hosted a banquet at the Imperial Garden to entertain the female members of the family.

In the imperial garden at dusk, the trees were hung with red jade pomegranate gauze lanterns, and on the ground were placed glass lanterns depicting a solo dancing jade figure. Each jade figure had a different dancing posture, which set off the other's interest.

The Empress Dowager sat at the top, with four palace maids on each side, holding moonlit glass lamps in their hands.

A circular platform was erected in the middle of the open space. From the platform, the clear sounds of pianos and flutes filled the air, while the dancing girls danced gracefully, dancing like startled swans and swimming dragons. Their movements were smooth, dignified, and lively.

Around the high platform sat the women of each family.

The table in front of the women was filled with various fruits and some exquisite snacks.

After the dancers on the stage finished their piece, the Empress Dowager looked at the ladies and young ladies seated below and said, "Today, only women are in the Imperial Garden. Everyone, please feel free."

Concubine Qin, who was sitting to the right of the Empress Dowager, said, "Look at the young ladies from the noble families of our Great Yong Dynasty. They are all so beautiful and charming that even the flowers in the imperial garden are outshined by them."

The Queen Mother glanced around and said with a smile, "You can't refuse to accept your age. Look at the little girls down there. They've all grown up. Many of them are already of marriageable age."

When the women of marriageable age heard the words of the Empress Dowager, they all lowered their heads shyly.

Concubine Qin asked, "Is the Empress Dowager looking for a matchmaker for a girl?"

"I'm blind and deaf, so I can't find anyone a marriage partner. If they end up being a grudge match, they'll have to blame me later. But if you have a girl or boy you like, come to me and I can arrange a marriage for them. It's like helping someone. You're so proactive. Which girl did you find for the third brother?"

Concubine Qin covered her face with her hands, smiled, and shook her head, "The third son is only a little old. Even if we were to meet him in advance, it's not the right time. The Crown Prince is of marriageable age. I wonder which girl Concubine Hui has chosen for him."

Concubine Hui, who was sitting on the left of the Empress Dowager, was eating happily. When she heard Concubine Qin call her name, she quickly put down the snack in her hand, picked up the teacup, drank a sip of water, and swallowed the food in her mouth.

This was a trap set by Concubine Qin. If she said she had not shown the Crown Prince her daughter, she would be accused of not caring about the Crown Prince and that she was an incompetent adoptive mother. If she said she had shown the Crown Prince her daughter, she would be accused of interfering in other people's business.

Concubine Hui picked up her handkerchief and wiped the crumbs from the corner of her mouth. "I am only taking care of the Crown Prince on his behalf. The Empress Dowager and the Emperor are here. It is not my turn to make decisions for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

The Empress Dowager glanced at Concubine Hui and said, "You can also help out. You can't just sit there and do nothing."

Concubine Hui nodded in agreement. "The two study companions chosen by the late Empress for Jinyu are both excellent in my opinion. They are both outstanding in appearance, talent, and character. Princess Nanyan of the Ruyang Palace plays the zither well, and the second daughter of Lord An's family dances well."

The Empress Dowager nodded and asked Old Madam Shen who was sitting below, "Does the Shen family have any boys who are of marriageable age?"

Madam Shen quickly stood up from her seat and knelt in the middle: "In reply to the Empress Dowager, the marriage between Cheng Lu and Cheng Lu has been finalized. The betrothal gifts have been sent to the girl's family, and they are waiting for the end of the year to get married. Cheng Shan and Cheng Lu are still dating."

After hearing this, the Empress Dowager said to the crowd sitting below, "Take advantage of this opportunity today and ask all the young ladies to come out and show off their talents. No matter what they are, those with sons should take a close look. I'll have someone bring over the poems and essays from Wenhua Hall. Please help your young ladies take a look."

As soon as the Empress Dowager finished speaking, An Zhiyao stood up and said, "Empress Dowager, Zhiyao is willing to perform a dance to inspire others."

The Empress Dowager nodded to Concubine Hui and praised her, "She looks very graceful and elegant."

Concubine Hui smiled and said, "She is the niece of the late queen, so naturally she can be no worse."

An Zhiyao was delighted when she heard what the Empress Dowager and Concubine Hui said on the stage.

Other young ladies from aristocratic families who also wanted to perform at the palace banquet showed expressions of regret, angry at themselves for not being a step faster and being overtaken by An Zhiyao.

An Zhiyao performed a water sleeve dance with gentle melody and light tapping of toes. She turned around and looked back, full of charm, dancing without a shadow, and her steps were like lotus flowers.

Shen Chuning was stunned. Although she didn't like An Zhiyao very much, she couldn't deny that the dance was indeed good.

Princess Nan Yan, who was sitting next to Shen Chuning, nudged her with her elbow and said, "Wipe the saliva from the corner of your mouth quickly."

Shen Chuning came back to her senses and quickly picked up a handkerchief to wipe the corner of her mouth. After wiping, she found that the handkerchief was clean, and then she realized that she had been fooled.

Shen Chuning patted Princess Nan Yan lightly, "Good on you, you actually dare to play tricks on me."

Princess Nanyan smiled and said, "Who told you not to sit next to your grandmother and instead squeeze in with me?"

Shen Chuning glanced towards Old Madam Shen and curled her lips, "I don't like seeing Shen Jingwan."

Shen Jingwan's rouge shop, Huarong Pavilion, has been doing brisk business recently, with goods often in short supply.

At today's palace banquet, Shen Jingwan brought a lot of rouge, powder and perfume from Huarong Pavilion and gave them to the young ladies and ladies of each family. The ladies of each family praised Shen Jingwan to Old Madam Shen, and Old Madam Shen valued Shen Jingwan more and more.

"Have you also received the rouge and powder from Shen Jingwan?" Shen Chuning asked.

Princess Nan Yan's eyes lit up and she nodded, "Got it. If I hadn't known you and her weren't on good terms, I'd have asked you to ask her for a few more bottles for me. She might not be a very nice person, but her rouge and powder are truly excellent. It makes your face smooth, delicate, and fair, but they're often out of stock. One time, I ran out of it and couldn't buy another, so I used another rouge and powder and it broke out in small red rashes. So now I have to keep at least three bottles at home to feel at ease."

After hearing what Princess Nan Yan said, Shen Chuning frowned. After using Shen Jingwan's rouge and powder, she would break out in a rash when she used other products. Was it just Princess Nan Yan, or did it happen to others as well? She wasn't sure what was going on, but what Shen Chuning was certain of was that this hadn't happened in her previous life.

Shen Chuning recalled what Madam Shen Er had said about Shen Jingwan being a bit strange, and suddenly said to Princess Nanyan, "This is a bit strange. If you believe me, stop using all the rouge and powder you bought from Huarong Pavilion. The rash should be temporary and will heal with some treatment."

Princess Nanyan asked, "Is there something wrong with the rouge and powder in Huarong Pavilion?"

Shen Chuning said in a deep voice: "It's not clear yet. Everything is just my guess. I will tell you as soon as there is a result."

"Okay, I believe you."

After Princess Nan Yan finished speaking, the two stopped talking and focused on watching the performance on the stage.

If there were any calligraphy or painting performances, the Empress Dowager had already ordered their works to be hung on the stage for everyone to admire.

There are also performances of pipa, jade flute, and dance, and so on.

"Why don't you go up?"