The vast procession passed through a long street and walked all the way to the Imperial Palace with red walls and yellow tiles.
Murong Lingxiang and Yue Yinshuang stood at the entrance of the hall, their heads raised in anticipation.
After a while, the team holding the flag in front of them came into view. They approached them and stopped in front of them.
The curtain of the soft sedan was lifted, and a plump middle-aged man dressed in Rain Country's court uniform stepped out, leading a few female officials forward.
"This subject, Hajir pays his respects to the Emperor and the Empress.”The middle-aged man cupped his fists and knelt on the ground with his head lowered.
"Rise." Murong Lingxiang's lips twitched slightly, his powerful voice striking the hearts of everyone present.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Hajir stood up and looked up at the emperor who was wearing a bright yellow dragon robe.
"I believe that the envoy must be tired from the long journey. First, move to the western suburbs to rest. Zhen will ask someone to pick you up at night to attend the banquet.”He gave Ming De a look.
"Alright." After Hajir finished speaking, he left with Ming De.
Yue Yinshuang was still smiling a second ago, but in the next second, she glared at the man in front of her.
"Since I'm here purely to smile apologetically, you don't have to lie about 'accompanying you' next time. Just tell me!”She flung her sleeves angrily and turned to leave quickly.
"…Wait, let me explain." He reached out to grab her, but she cleverly avoided him this time. Looking at her empty palm, he sighed helplessly and followed closely behind.
The group of eunuchs and palace maids behind them also took a step forward, intending to follow behind the two masters.
"Don't follow me." He stopped in his tracks and turned around to stop the person who was about to follow him.
" This…" Chief Eunuch Qing An said hesitantly.
"It's alright." He waved his hand, indicating that he was fine.
After convincing them, he ran in the direction where she had disappeared.
Yue Yinshuang was leaning against a tree nearby, cursing incessantly.
"Murong Lingxiang, you are a bastard, a bad guy.”She said without thinking as she tore off the green leaves on the tree.
"If you scold me like this, I can punish you.”He saw her sulking at the tree and approached her with a light smile. He was half serious and half teasing her.
"Treat him, treat him immediately, treat him quickly!”She turned around angrily and stared at him fiercely.
"Alright, don't be angry." He held her hand clumsily because he had never coaxed anyone before.
"Humph!" She deliberately turned her head away from him.
"I didn't ask you to smile apologetically. I just want you to stay by my side. It's fine if you don't talk.”He let go of her hand and held her face with both hands before turning to face him.
"..." She blushed when she heard his confession.
Although she didn't know if he was telling the truth, she didn't want to think about it.
She didn't know how she got back to the Phoenix Palace, but she knew that he held her hand tightly all the way and never let go.
Night soon arrived, and the Imperial Palace was as bright as day. Everyone was in a happy mood.
There were hundreds of tables and chairs in the Chong Qing Hall. The Emperor and Empress sat high on them, while the tables and chairs below were placed on both sides. There was an empty space in the middle of the road, which was covered with a fine wool blanket.
There were many lanterns strung together with colorful gauze on the roof of the hall. Each of them was lit up and emitted a red light, illuminating the entire palace.
In the past, the pillars in the hall were simply wrapped with gold paper. She would remove the gold paper and ask the artist to draw different landscape paintings on the white pillars. The tables and chairs weren't just placed there. If one walked in from outside the hall, one would find a small plate of flowers placed on each table. It didn't take up too much space, but it also made the originally monotonous scene beautiful.
"Today, there is no distinction between monarch and minister here. Everyone, drink to your heart's content.”He stood up from his seat, holding a wine glass in his hand, and said to everyone.
Then, he raised his head and drank the wine in his hand. The ministers below also raised their glasses and drank it all.
"What wine is this?" The wine was not spicy and had a faint fragrance. He liked this wine very much, so he asked her, who was sitting beside him.
"Osmanthus wine." She raised her head and smiled at him.
"Why is it different from what I drink in the past?" He had drunk osmanthus wine before, but it didn't taste like this.
Because Shuang 'er invented it." She was like a child asking for candy, waiting for his praise.
"Oh? Tell me." He whispered into her ear.
"This osmanthus was picked with morning dew. After picking it, it must be steamed immediately. After it is dried, it must be placed into a large jar specially made by Jingde. Then, it is poured into the Xuemei wine brewed last year.”She carefully explained every step to him.
"It's indeed a unique brewing method.”He couldn't help but admire her.
Then, the hall continued to be filled with laughter. The performance in the middle had begun to become a little boring, and almost everyone stopped watching.
She glanced at him, who was talking to the messenger, and quietly got up and left the seat. Coming backstage, she took the things Jin Xiu handed over and lifted her skirt to enter Chong Qing Hall from the side door.
Her appearance caused everyone to close their mouths and stare at her with their mouths agape.
"BenGong here represents the Emperor to offer a song for Rain Country.”She gently placed the 'Feng Lai' in her hand on the zither platform that she had just moved over. She nodded slightly at him and plucked the strings with her slender hands.
The ministers stared at her intently, their expressions changing from surprise to intoxication to admiration.
The strings of the zither emitted a beautiful melody. Sometimes it was light, sometimes it was sad, and sometimes it was passionate. It was a mixture of many emotions, making people unable to help but fall into the story of the zither.
Everyone was listening quietly. Only one person could hear the hidden meaning of the song, and the arc of his mouth gradually deepened.
His black eyes stared at her, unwilling to miss her every expression. His heart seemed to sink.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。