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Chapter 581 Splashing Water
The clothes were indeed made of flowing cloud silk, and neither the shop assistant at the shoe store nor Gu Lingyun lied about it.

Upon seeing this, Zhu Yu immediately sat up straight, craning her neck to look ahead. Seeing that the people at the surrounding tables had also stood up, she stood up with Lu Qing as well.

Lady Yan probably deliberately timed her appearance from behind, because if it were any later, the light would dim, and without the sunlight, the most unique and magnificent view of the flowing clouds would be greatly diminished.

Although he was over seventy years old, Zhao Bi's wife, like Zhao Bi, was quite vigorous and healthy. She had a haughty yet feigned friendly smile on her face and had her maid carry a tray with wine pots and cups to toast the distinguished guests present.

Logically speaking, a woman of the Duchess's status shouldn't need to personally offer toasts, and it's indeed inconvenient for a woman to do so.

However, she was, after all, the wife of the Duke of Yan, not just anyone. She was of noble status and over seventy years old, so there were no longer so many taboos.

Zhu Yu guessed that she still had some desire to show off her unique and beautiful dress.

Based on what I'd heard before, this Lady Yan doesn't seem to be a low-key or simple person; she usually has a very grand presence.

That's not surprising. The fact that they've been able to live in harmony with that old scoundrel Zhao Bi for so many years suggests that their temperaments and personalities are probably quite similar.

Zhu Yu was slightly nervous, wondering if she and Lu Qing would give themselves away if the old woman offered them a toast.

However, she was clearly overthinking it. The old lady didn't even glance at them once from the corner of her eye, completely ignoring these insignificant relatives.

Just as the old lady had finished toasting most of the people, a maidservant carrying a bowl of soup or something else walked in from outside. She was walking steadily, but as she passed by the Lady of Yan, she suddenly seemed to trip over something and fell forward to the ground.

At the same time, the basin of water she was holding was also splashed directly onto the Lady of Yan State.

Lady Yan was caught off guard by this sudden turn of events and instinctively turned away to avoid being splashed in the face. As a result, the contents of the basin, which were either soup or water, were all poured onto her back.

The back of her dress was immediately soaked.

The people around were startled and quickly got up to show their concern.

At this moment, a strange scene unfolded—the part of Lady Yan's body that had been wet, the fabric that had shimmered and glowed in the sunlight like the radiant glow of sunset, seemed to have melted into the basin of water just now.

Also melted away was the faint pale yellow color that could be felt in the field of vision.

As the two colors disappeared, a vast expanse of shimmering gold was revealed. The fabric, now wet, seemed even more dazzling, and the base color and embroidered patterns, previously obscured by the radiant glow, finally became clear.

People around were first surprised, never expecting that the clothes had such a wonderful feature, with their own dazzling brilliance when wet and when dry.

However, some people quickly realized something was wrong, and their expressions became somewhat awkward.

Why did the clothes turn golden after getting wet?
According to the regulations of the Great Brocade Code, no one except the Emperor is qualified to wear colors similar to gold or bright yellow. Even the princes are no exception. Whether in court attire or casual wear, they can only wear colors such as dark purple or emerald green at most. Not to mention gold, they are not even allowed to have a gold thread.

Even if he were to be named Crown Prince and become the heir apparent one day, he could only wear the reddish-yellow court robes on important occasions such as court assemblies. On ordinary days, he could only wear ochre-purple everyday clothes, and he could never touch gold or bright yellow.

Such a grave taboo should have been known to the Duke and Duchess of Yan, people of their age, so how could they have dared to...?

Those around were initially stunned by the golden fabric, but then gradually noticed other clues—the patterns embroidered on the golden fabric with dark gold thread... were clearly... phoenixes!

Upon seeing the phoenix pattern, the surrounding guests were quite startled.

Zhu Yuqing clearly saw that several guests who had originally wanted to approach and show their concern turned pale with fright and subconsciously took a few steps back, afraid of getting too close and causing trouble for themselves.

Guests further away, who had initially tried to get closer when they couldn't see clearly, changed their expressions immediately upon seeing the large expanse of golden fabric embroidered with phoenixes poised for flight. Some pretended to become fast friends with those at the next table, chatting happily and oblivious to the situation with the Duchess of Yan. Others even lay on the table, feigning drunkenness, trying to avoid seeing her.

From the moment Zhu Yu saw a maid spill water on the clothes of the Lady of Yan, she knew the show was about to begin. She and Lu Qing had gone to great lengths to sneak in for this very moment.

She subconsciously sat up straight, trying to hide her excitement. Her eyes were fixed on the clothes worn by the Duchess of Yan, which had become even more "outrageous" after being soaked in water. After seeing the pattern on them, she turned her gaze to the reactions of the other people around her.

At this moment, more and more people around could see the pattern and design of the dress clearly, and the once lively birthday banquet suddenly became dead silent.

Duke Yan was sitting upright at the front, unaware of what was happening below. When he saw someone wet his wife's clothes, he didn't pay any attention, assuming it was just a servant being clumsy. After all, such things shouldn't be discussed in front of outsiders; the matter would have to be settled and punished later. So, he remained calm and composed, chatting casually with the people next to him.

It wasn't until he noticed that the expressions of the guests below seemed a little off that he realized things weren't so simple, and he quickly got up and walked over to the Duchess of Yan.

Lady Yan, who had water splashed on her back, was about to lash out, but with so many guests around, she was suppressing her anger. She couldn't see her back and assumed that the strange reactions of those around her were because she was so disheveled at the birthday banquet. Just as she was about to go to the back to change her clothes, she saw the Duke of Yan stride toward her, glance behind him, and then take off his cloak and drape it over her.