Qin Yuan took a deep breath, the discomfort in her heart had already dissipated.
Gu Shiba observed the lady’s face slowly soften, and cautiously asked, "Madam, do you want to send a message to the Marquis?"
Qin Yuan said, "Forget it, the Crown Prince’s health is weak and he can’t sit for long. But you can ask the Marquis about this: the Ninth Princess brought the young daughter of the Chang Family here to ask the Gu Family for some care. I’m not sure of the importance of this, and I wouldn’t dare to agree rashly."
Gu Shiba responded and lightly tapped his toes, his figure quickly disappearing three or four feet away.
Qin Yuan returned to her seat, sat for a moment, and then a little eunuch came in and whispered something to the Ninth Princess, who then stood up and said, "Old Madam Gu, Madam, the Crown Prince and I have matters at hand, it is inconvenient to stay long, please enjoy yourselves."
Old Madam Gu tried to keep her, "We have invited the Wuqiao Acrobatic Troupe and the opera troupe, it’s a pity that the Ninth Princess will leave without seeing them."
The Ninth Princess felt a bit reluctant upon hearing this, "The Crown Prince brother is in a hurry, I can only watch it another time."
Chang Qingling had no choice but to rise with the Ninth Princess, and said with reluctance before taking her leave, "This visit was hasty, I haven’t yet seen the Marquis, I deeply regret this."
Old Madam Gu said, "No worries, your father will return to the capital soon, there will be opportunities to meet in the future."
With Qin Yuan serving by her side, she just smiled without speaking.
Everyone escorted the Ninth Princess out of the mansion like stars surrounding the moon, and upon returning to their seats, their words and actions were much more relaxed.
Mrs. Dai laughed, "With the Ninth Princess here, we didn’t dare to speak too loudly, afraid of offending the majesty of the Royal Family."
Madam Jin also said, "This is the first time seeing a princess from the palace so closely. Her demeanor and attire... I wonder if the Old Madam even dared to breathe at the palace banquet."
Old Madam Gu laughed, "The first time this old woman attended a palace banquet, she didn’t eat a single bite, entered with an empty stomach, left with an empty stomach, and didn’t dare to take a drop of water. It truly was suffering for this old woman."
Madam Jin lamented, "That’s such a pity, the palace dishes are all made by the Imperial Kitchen with all kinds of rare delicacies."
Old Madam Gu said, "There’s no pity in it, think of how many people attend the palace banquet, could everyone eat dragon liver and phoenix marrow? It was winter at that time, and the dishes were cold and congealed when served, who would want to eat that."
After chatting and laughing for a while, the meal was taken away, and they went to the theater in the mansion to watch an opera.
The male guests had also finished dining, seated downstairs in the main hall, the women ascended from the back door with good seats for a full view.
The first to perform was the Wuqiao Acrobatic Troupe.
The show started with the collision rope and fancy plate spinning that the ladies loved to watch.
On the coarse hemp ropes set up by two men, a man and a woman walked towards each other, brushing shoulders when meeting, hence called collision rope.
This already had the audience exclaiming repeatedly.
Old Madam Gu laughed, "Quickly, give rewards."
The nannies guarding under the stage hurriedly scattered a basket of copper coins, which clattered noisily onto the stage.
Hong Ye watched happily, couldn’t help but laugh, "It’s surprisingly pleasant to hear."
Qin Yuan also looked on with interest.
The rope was then tied a bit higher, and when the two approached each other, they occasionally performed extremely thrilling moves, seemingly about to fall off the rope, but always managed to stand firm amidst gasps from the crowd.
Amidst the cheers, basket after basket of copper coins were scattered down.
The rope was tied higher and higher, and as it got thinner, the movements of the two on the rope became more exaggerated, Qin Yuan’s heart was in her throat, worried someone might fall.
However, the two showed no fear on the rope, even engaging in banter, amusing the audience.
In the end, the woman, with her light body, even danced on the rope.
Gu Baoshu, excited by the show, clapped and shouted, "Good, well done!"
Saying this, she even pulled a hairpin from her head and threw it over.
That woman was standing on one foot on the rope, head slowly leaning back, her waist softly arching into a bow, and at the crucial moment, the leg on the rope was hit, not lightly, letting out a cry, about to fall headfirst from the heights.
The man on the rope was also shaken and almost lost balance, while holding up a dozen thin sticks with spinning porcelain plates.
Gu Baoshu covered her face, "..."
Old Madam Gu hastily shouted, "Quick, save the person."
The guard had not moved yet, when a whistle sounded, and the woman did a somersault in mid-air, returned to the rope, stepping firmly on it, the opposite man’s stance also gradually stabilized, with the spinning plates in hand, none falling.