Chapter 91: Cheng Zhao's "Show"

Cheng Zhao saw the situation in the courtyard and quietly stood at the entrance without going further inside.

Huan Qingtang was surrounded by maids and women as she entered the courtyard. Her cheeks kept trembling, although she tried her best to stay calm.

She didn't notice Cheng Zhao.

"...Madam, I'm wronged!" The stewardess in charge of the cranes knelt on the ground, crying bitterly. "I don't know how these cranes died."

"Take your time and tell me. When did you notice something was wrong?" Huan Qingtang asked.

"They were fine this morning. You invited the masters to teach the cranes to dance. They trained the cranes at noon.

You gave the order to let the masters have a good meal, preparing for the performance later. After they went to have their meals, the cranes' legs went weak.

I thought they were just tired. Then I saw them foaming at the mouth and all of them fell down. One died, and the other seven also seemed abnormal. That's why I quickly came to tell you.

In just such a short time, the other seven also died. I don't know the reason. They were only given water once in between. The masters said not to feed them because they would use food to lure the cranes during the performance later."

The stewardess was crying loudly and then said, "Could it be that they starved to death?"

Huan Qingtang pondered and then turned around and said, "Sister-in-law, what do you think..."

But she didn't see Cheng Zhao.

When she turned around again, she saw Cheng Zhao standing at the courtyard entrance with her maid Suyue. Both of them covered their noses with handkerchiefs and looked like they didn't dare to enter.

Huan Qingtang was almost infuriated.

She quickly walked out and said to Cheng Zhao, "Sister-in-law, Grandmother asked us to come and have a look. What are you doing at the door?"

Cheng Zhao gave her a helpless look.

Suyue replied, "Madam, our young mistress can't stand the smell of dead things. She has been afraid of dead poultry since she was a child. She has been retching just now."

Cheng Zhao said, "Sister-in-law, I don't know what's going on either. If I vomited in the courtyard, it would be even more embarrassing."

Huan Qingtang said, "...Sister-in-law, what do you think happened?"

"Sister-in-law, you arranged the birthday banquet, and you were in charge of the crane dance performance alone. Asking me is really embarrassing me," Cheng Zhao said.

She then added, "Sister-in-law, have you finished the interrogation? If so, I'm going to leave. I really can't stand it."

She pretended to vomit again.

Suyue quickly said, "Young mistress, take it easy. Let's take a few more steps back."

Cheng Zhao waved her hand, indicating that she could still endure it.

Huan Qingtang's face turned blue and white. She didn't expect such a thing to happen and didn't know how to deal with it for a moment. She wanted to shift the responsibility to Cheng Zhao, but Cheng Zhao didn't take the bait.

Apart from Cheng Zhao, it was useless to shift the blame to other stewards because she was the "general steward" of the entire birthday banquet.

Cheng Zhao seemed to be in great pain.

Huan Qingtang was waiting for her to give suggestions and come up with solutions, but she was weakly relying on her maid.

In order to avoid getting involved in this trouble, she didn't even enter the courtyard.

"Sister-in-law, in my opinion, the two of us..."

"I can't stand it anymore!" Cheng Zhao trotted a few steps to the side, bent down and lowered her head. When her back was turned to Huan Qingtang, she pressed her finger against the root of her tongue.

She didn't vomit anything because her stomach was always in good condition, but there was a very real retching sound.

She coughed painfully.

Suyue supported her with concern and asked, "Young mistress, how do you feel?"

The stewardesses and maids who came with them also came out of the courtyard later.

One stewardess said, "Could it be that the third young mistress is pregnant?"

Huan Qingtang looked at Cheng Zhao.

After a while, Cheng Zhao came back. The stewardess asked with concern, "Third young mistress, how do you feel?"

"I just can't stand the smell of dead poultry. You may not notice it, but I can smell it," Cheng Zhao covered her nose with a handkerchief. "Sister-in-law, can you stay and handle it? I'll go back first. If Grandmother wants to punish me, I'll bear it myself."

Huan Qingtang said, "..."

The stewardess sized up Huan Qingtang's expression and said, "How about letting the third young mistress go back first? She really can't help here."

If Cheng Zhao was also pregnant, she would be very noble in the future. The stewardess wanted to make a good relationship with her.

Huan Qingtang said, "Sister-in-law, you can go back first."

Cheng Zhao agreed.

She returned to the flower hall where the birthday banquet was being held.

When she walked up to the dowager lady, Cheng Zhao said in a voice that could be heard by the dowager lady, the emperor, and Zhou Yuanshen, "Sister-in-law was in charge of the crane dance performance. I really couldn't help. Sister-in-law told me to come back first."

"How's the situation?" the dowager lady asked with a smile.

The emperor was also curious and asked, "What happened?"

"Your Majesty, I didn't enter the courtyard, so I'm not very clear," Cheng Zhao said. Then she said to the dowager lady, "Sister-in-law is wise and decisive. She can handle it."

The dowager lady still smiled and said, "Then go and sit down and listen to the opera."

Cheng Zhao said yes.

The emperor and the crown prince were there. The people in the main seats didn't dare to get up or move around casually. They couldn't leave their seats without permission.

Zhou Yuanshen looked at Cheng Zhao with an inquiring look in his eyes. Cheng Zhao just waved her hand to tell him to rest assured.

Huan Qingtang didn't come back for half an hour.

The crown prince asked about the crane dance performance twice.

"...This batch of cranes is the most spiritual. Father also said he would give me two to raise in the Eastern Palace," the crown prince said.

He was a little expectant.

The emperor said, "Cranes are not something that will make one indulge in pleasure. If you like them, raise them. They will make the courtyard look auspicious."

The dowager lady's smile was a bit hard to maintain.

Then Huan Qingtang finally came back and whispered to the dowager lady.

The dowager lady was always very calm.

"...It's time to set off the fireworks, right?" the dowager lady said with a smile.

The crown prince was inexplicably nervous.

The emperor glanced at him, and he sat back obediently with a little sweat on his forehead.

Cheng Zhao stepped forward and said to the dowager lady, "Grandmother, I have a new and interesting way to play. It's both beautiful and fun. We can just skip the fireworks."

The crown prince relaxed a bit. He looked at Cheng Zhao curiously.

The emperor said, "Not setting off fireworks, isn't it a bit of a let-down?"

"Your Majesty, please allow me to keep it a secret for now," Cheng Zhao said.

The emperor seemed to be in a very good mood tonight and his emotions were stable. He said, "If your secret isn't good enough, I'll revoke your imperial title."

Cheng Zhao agreed.

She was smiling on the surface, but her palm was wet with sweat.

Many times, people tell the truth in a joking way.

It seemed that Cheng Zhao's "superior imperial title" had already annoyed the dowager lady, and the dowager lady wanted to take it away.

And transfer it to Huan Qingtang.

Cheng Zhao sent someone to make arrangements.

Soon, colorful carrier pigeons took off into the sky above the flower hall.

The pigeons were brightly colored, and they even sparkled in the night sky.

The guests had never seen such a sight before and were all amazed.

The pigeons even formed a character "Fu" (happiness).

If it was just the dowager lady's birthday banquet, the character "Shou" (longevity) would be better, but since the emperor was also there, the character "Fu" had a better meaning.

"Really good!" the emperor said.

The crown prince clapped his hands happily.

There were thousands of pigeons, and then they scattered in the night sky, looking like stars and adding more splendor to the night view.

The guests were full of praise.

"Why do the pigeons glow? And how did they form the character?" the crown prince asked.

Cheng Zhao explained it to him.

"Your Highness, our flower hall is at a lower position, and the gate tower of the main courtyard is at a higher position. At the higher position, black branches were arranged to form the character 'Fu' and pigeon food was stuck on them.

This batch of pigeons had been hungry. They immediately went to look for food, so it looked like they formed the character themselves," Cheng Zhao said with a smile.

He added, "As for the glowing effect, it's achieved by grinding night pearls into fine powder and adding some powder of red obsidian. They smeared this mixture on the pigeons, and it's these powders that make them glow."