A/N: Bonus Chapter!

In the receiving ceremony, the gifts were presented to the Matriarch based on the hierarchy of the nobles. The ones with the highest position would offer their present at the very beginning, followed by the others nobles in the descending order. Hence, the Lu family's turn was right after the royal family.

This year, the Lu house gifted bronze chariot and horses to Matriarch Gu which had been placed at the main entrance courtyard. The Gu family, being the hailing family of the Generals, were pleasantly surprised by the thoughtful present, which signified the bravery and gallantry of the Gu house.

Even though it was meant for his mother, Master Gu treated the present from his student, Lu Tong Xiao, with rare enthusiasm. It was also him, who had ordered for the bronze chariot and horses to be placed in the entrance courtyard where everyone entering the Gu manor could see at a glance.

One could see how important the Lu family regarded the Gu family, not only because Lu Tong Xiao was good friends with Gu Jin and Gu Sheng but also because he had been trained under Master Gu and regarded the man with the utmost respect.

However, unlike what Bai Yu Yan had expected, nothing happened during this receiving ceremony. Confused, she looked at Song Mei Lin who was smiling at her.

Her eyes held mirth as if she was playing the game of cat and mouse with Bai Yu Yan.

"Speaking of, Matriarch Gu's dress is extraordinary this year. Even the royal tailors in our palace will not be able to think of such a creative idea," commented the Empress as she ran her eyes through the long emerald cheongsam, "For Miss Song to be able to design something like this, Bengong will have to invite you to the palace to train our tailors."

After the receiving ceremony, the younger generation would go forward to greet Matriarch Gu and the royal guest which this year was the Empress and the Princess. It was a form of courtesy, which was not a formal ceremony, so the hierarchy really did not matter much. At this time, the ladies were chatting away about the gossips in the capital as they ate and drank.

"Mother, I will go and see around for a bit while you chat here. You know this is not my thing," seeing the direction of conversation An Ruo leaned towards the Empress and whispered in a low voice. To engage in the talks about the dress and jewellery, she found it rather distasteful and a waste of time.

The Empress' eyes stretched towards the far corner of the hall where Lu Tong Xiao was having a conversation with the Gu brothers while exiting the hall. She knew her daughter and what interested her very well, so she nodded her head with a warm smile at An Ruo, "Go but stay around. Better if you take a walk with someone who knows this place well so as to not get lost. Bengong will call you when it's time to leave."

An Ruo nodded her head with a smile and turned to leave without wasting a moment. Her pace increased as she walked towards the open door of the hall, seeing which, the Empress' eyes turned deep.

On the other hand, the topic of dress immediately brought forward everyone's attention. They had been wanting to know more about the unique dress that had never been worn in the capital before. All the new designs came from the ladies of the royal families so it was rare that someone outside had worn it first.

"Her Majesty is absolutely right. The design is impeccable. Even the silk is so well matched," a sophisticated looking woman put down the wine cup and remarked seriously.

"Miss Song, you have done an excellent job with this one. As soon as this banquet will be over, I am going to order this one lest you get busy with more orders," said a Madame looking at Song Mei Lin.

"By the way, is this really hanfu?" someone asked Madame Gu who was pouring tea for her mother-in-law at the side.

"I think this Madame will have to ask the designer herself. Even Mother and I don't know about it," replied Madame Gu, directing her glance towards Bai Yu Yan who was quietly sitting in an inconspicuous position. Madame Gu was slightly annoyed with Song Mei Lin who was doing nothing to clear up the misunderstanding that she did not make this dress. So she wanted to give this chance for Bai Yu Yan to shine in front of these noble ladies.

When Song Mei Lin did not say anything, the ladies started to ask more, "Miss Song, what is this dress called? I have been waiting to know this ever seen I've laid my eyes on it."

Everyone's eyes were directed towards Song Mei Lin who awkwardly sat at the side with her mother.

Suddenly, a soft voice answered, "It is called cheongsam."

Bai Yu Yan raised her head to look at the Madames who had confusion written all over their face as they gazed at her in question.

"Cheongsam? Does Madame Lu also know about this dress?"

With a light smile, Bai Yu Yan gave a soft nod, "Yes, I know about this dress. It is...designed by me." The later part came with a slight hesitation which she realized herself.

Her answer earned surprised reactions from the rest who had no idea that she was the designer. In fact, they knew she had started dressmaking but they had just regarded it as a new hobby of hers after entering the Lu house and becoming the rich Madame. Those who had heard of her having designed Consort Shu's dress was under the assumption that the consort was helping the girl in promoting her new shop. It never occurred to them that Bai Yu Yan was serious about dress designing and was actually so good at it.

On the contrary, the Empress's eyes held no surprise whatsoever. Her red lips parted as she leisurely drank the wine while looking at the unfolding drama with interest.

"Madame Lu, why did you not say that before? We had heard about your new shop but to think that you would be able to design such a piece... Stunning! Absolutely stunning!" exclaimed Madame Liang, who was the wife of one of the highest-ranking officers in the royal court. She was a sophisticated young woman in her early thirties who loved to collect designer clothes.

"Old Madame Lu, you've been hiding your talented daughter-in-law too deep, ah. We have such a skilled designer in the capital and we don't even have any knowledge about it?"

As a response, Old Madame Lu simply leaned back on the chair and shrugged her shoulders. Wrapped with her impeccably manicured nails, the bronze cup had been lifted to her lips to hide the smug smile.

Suddenly everyone realized they had been mistaking Song Mei Lin as the designer when in reality it was Bai Yu Yan.

"Miss Song, you should have said it when the dress was not designed by you. What is the point of keeping mum about it?" complained some of the ladies who were annoyed by Song Mei Lin's pretence all this time. Her expression had really fooled them into thinking that she was the real designer and the women who had been praising her did not like it.

"Yes, Miss Song, we know that you are a good designer but why did you not say anything when we were asking you all this time?" Did this girl really think of not telling them until the end?

As the ladies started questioning her, Song Mei Lin started to appear uneasy and fidgety. Her eyes frequently glanced at Bai Yu Yan which seemed to hold nervousness.

After a long hesitation, Song Mei Lin finally opened her mouth to speak, "Uh, I have never said that I designed Matriarch Gu's dress. And I did not think that the Madames here would think I am the designer of this dress just because of my silence. It's just that...if I had spoken, my words would have created trouble for Madame Lu."

Create trouble for Bai Yu Yan? The women looked at Song Mei Lin with scepticism, not understanding what she was trying to get at.

"What Miss Song is trying to say, do say it clearly without going in circles," this time it was Old Madame Lu who said this. This young lass from the Song family was starting to get on her nerves.

Right at this time, the maid refilling cups with wine suddenly tripped in her skirt and lost balance. This caused her to slightly bump with the Empress' elbow, resulting in the cup in her hand to tilt towards the side.

Under everyone's alarmed eyes, the wine from the cup directly spilt on Matriarch Gu's cheongsam in a matter of seconds. Although the Empress straightened the cup in time, a small amount still fell on the dress.

Stunned, the women could do nothing but stare at the series of actions. The cheongsam which was just being relentlessly praised was suddenly soiled.

PAK! A loud slap rang in the quiet room which brought everyone to their senses.

The personal maid of the Empress had slapped the other maid who was now lying on the ground while covering her red cheek with trembling hands.

"How dare you push Her Majesty! Do you have a death wish?" shouted the maid with anger.

The noise had attracted and gathered the attention of men who were on the other side of the hall. Curious, they walked to this side to see if there was any problem.

While everyone was looking at the two maids, Bai Yu Yan's eyes were glued at the part where the wine had been spilt, her eyes silently studying the micro details of the material.

Bai Yu Yan had thought that Song Mei Lin was having difficulty saying the dress was not made by her. But it seems that she was wrong. What the girl wanted to do was attract everyone's attention and blow up the matter.

However, at this time, even Song Mei Lin was surprised. Things were going smoothly, way too smoothly if she had to be honest. This incident with wine was not in her plan, however, the timing was so right that it seemed things were falling into its place without her even trying.

Suddenly, she felt her heart soar with excitement that she could barely suppress. Everything was happening better than she had expected. It seems even luck is on her side today.