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Kapitel 40

"Xi Lan, could you spare that small room on the far west side of Tianxi Palace for me?" Neither Ye Feng nor Xiao Bai can enter Zhilan Palace, and I need to maintain contact with them, so there are some things I can only ask them to do. With Ye Feng's skills, it seems that he can easily enter and exit other parts of the palace except for Zhilan Palace. Since I have already confessed everything to Tian Xi Lan, it wouldn't be unreasonable to find a place in his palace specifically to contact Ye Feng or Xiao Bai.

"Okay." He didn't ask any more questions and agreed. Perhaps he already guessed what I was thinking without even asking.

That evening, I contacted Ye Feng and explained a few things to him. He told me that Ling'er had disguised herself and infiltrated the Fourth Prince's residence. Since Ling'er was there, and Ye Feng knew I would be attending a banquet at the Fourth Prince's residence the next day, plus the envoys from Wangyue Kingdom would also be attending, and Xiao Bai would definitely be among them, I felt a little more at ease.

After tomorrow night, the envoys from Wangyue Kingdom will return home, which will be the time for me to persuade King Tianqing to devise a plan of "openly repairing the plank road while secretly crossing the Chencang pass," or in other words, "switching sides in the face of battle."

Today is my seventeenth day on my journey. Dragon Fox says that the Moon Gazing Kingdom will be at our gates in as little as two months. Therefore, I must successfully persuade King Azure Sky within a month. The military campaign itself isn't my concern, but I need to allow enough time for King Azure Sky to write to the King of Cold Star Kingdom, and then for both kingdoms to write to their respective generals at the front, informing them of the battle plans. So, my time is running out. Within thirteen days, I must successfully persuade King Azure Sky. If Dragon Fox really does arrive in a hurry, I hope I will have already successfully completed my mission by then, and then I can return to Dragon Radiance Kingdom with Dragon Fox.

The so-called double celebration banquet was actually a double celebration of the Fourth Prince's investiture as a prince and his son's one-month birthday. According to the customs of the Tianqing Kingdom, when a prince gets married, he is granted a residence and moved out of the palace, and then his son is formally enfeoffed as a prince upon his one-month birthday. The Fourth Prince married last year and had a son a month before, so he was enfeoffed as "Prince Rong." The double celebration banquet was held in the Fourth Prince's residence, and was naturally a lively and extraordinary occasion.

I naturally went with Tian Xilan. You say to avoid suspicion? Forget it, we're sworn brothers and sisters now, completely innocent. Besides, my Zhilan Palace is right inside his Xilan Palace, it would be too fake to pretend anymore. If I had moved into Zhilan Palace ten years earlier, his Xilan Palace would be just a small corner of Zhilan Palace! Moved into Zhilan Palace ten years earlier? Then wouldn't I have become one of Tianqing King's concubines? Bah, what am I thinking!

Thinking back to the last banquet I attended, I suppose I should be able to get a seat this time as Princess Xiyue. Although it seems I'll be performing again, at least I can enjoy some delicious food, so it's not a huge loss.

Clouds Drunk, Moon Slightly Asleep (Revised Edition) Volume Two: Where Can the Vast Sky and Waters Find a Beauty That Cannot Compare to the Color of a Cold Crow (Part Two)

Chapter word count: 4037 Update time: 08-12-21 16:23

Her jade-like face paled in comparison to the color of a crow in the cold (Part Two)

When Xi Lan and I arrived, the Fourth Prince's mansion was already brightly lit and packed with guests. I took Zi Su's hand and followed Tian Xi Lan inside. Along the way, people kept paying their respects, all of which Tian Xi Lan handled, much to my delight. Very few people had actually seen me before. After all, even during the banquet for the Wangyue Kingdom's envoy and before that, my face had been disguised. After reverting to my original appearance, it seemed that only Xi Lan Palace, Zhi Lan Palace, and Tian Qing King had seen me. However, since I was wearing the attire of a future princess and appeared with Tian Xi Lan, my identity wasn't too difficult to guess.

Following the lead maid, we took our seats and found ourselves at the same table as Prince Tianqing. To his right sat Consort Shu, Consort De (reporter: Su Tianxi Lan secretly told me this), Consort Rong, the Third Princess, the Seventh Princess, and the Eighth Princess. To his left sat the Crown Prince.

Xi Lan and I were the last two to sit down. Xi Lan sat to the left of the Crown Prince, while my seat was actually the first one to the left of the Heavenly Azure King, even closer than the Crown Prince's! I was utterly stunned and felt incredibly uncomfortable. It was all that damned Xi Lan's fault; she only remembered she hadn't prepared a gift when she was about to leave, which caused a significant delay. This was definitely the Heavenly Azure King's punishment for my lateness for my first official appearance. I sat down with my head down, clearly feeling everyone's eyes focused on me. Sigh, it seems that being too outstanding, too beautiful, and too exceptional makes it quite difficult to maintain a low profile.

The Fourth Prince—no, we should now call him the Fourth Prince—was seated at a table to the lower left of our table with his wife and family. To the lower right of us sat a table of envoys from the Wangyue Kingdom, and to the lower left was another table occupied by high-ranking officials. The entire table was filled with white-haired men, and the average age seemed noticeably older. These four tables were set up in a quiet little garden, completely isolated from the noisy crowd outside, so much so that we couldn't hear a sound – a testament to the effective soundproofing.

The customs of the Azure Sky Kingdom weren't too outdated. The emperor and his subjects shared the same space, and surprisingly, the empress and princesses didn't need to avoid the occasion, which actually made me feel somewhat favorably towards them. But was the Azure Sky King really going to make me perform a talent for this event? This filled me with a sense of melancholy and the desolation of a life as a street performer.

Today's main characters, besides Tian Xinrong and his son, include myself. King Tianqing's arrangement of this seat was clearly deliberate. At the beginning of the banquet, he solemnly introduced me to everyone present. I say solemnly because he personally introduced such a minor figure as myself. The original text is as follows:

"Now that I have bestowed the title of princess upon Xiyue, she is now your family. From now on, you must get along well. If Xiyue does anything against the rules, you must be patient and accommodating to her." Then he turned to his three concubines beside him, "You three must choose an auspicious day for the investiture and ancestral worship ceremony. You must not be careless in this matter."

After speaking, he turned to me and gave me a seemingly benevolent smirk. I trembled a few times before forcing a smile myself. Hearing the three concubines respond in unison, their feigned gentleness making me feel even colder. This is tricky. I've always had the hardest time dealing with middle-aged people, and looking around, half of them are middle-aged. (Brother Crown Prince, I'm sorry, you must be almost thirty too, please bear with me.)

The atmosphere quickly warmed up, and the people at the other two tables stood up to toast Tian Xinrong. Due to the special nature of our table, Tian Xinrong came over first with her wine cup. After toasting in turn, it was soon my turn. Since I was a princess who appeared halfway through my life, I couldn't squeeze into the existing order of one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. The second and fifth princesses had passed away prematurely. I was younger than the sixth princess, Xi Lan, but older than the seventh princess, Ying Li. So, those older than me called me tide Yue, and those younger called me Imperial Sister. It sounded a bit more distant than their "sixth brother" and "seventh sister" address.

"Xiyue, let's forget about the misunderstanding between you and your fourth brother after drinking this cup of wine." I don't know if Tian Xinrong was in a particularly good mood today, or if it was because I was made a princess, but his attitude, expression, and the familiarity with which he spoke made it seem as if he had really been my brother for eighteen years.

"Fourth Brother, you're too kind. I'll offer tea instead of wine to celebrate your auspicious birth." Hey, I didn't mean it! I really don't know why the word "fourth" came out of my mouth so off-key, sounding almost like "death." But honestly, your father, who is also my godfather, was sitting right next to me. Even if I had ten times the courage of a bear, I wouldn't dare say it like that on purpose.

"Father, you be the judge. How can Xiyue substitute tea for wine today?" Tian Xinrong's face was already a little red. He was in high spirits and didn't care about my "death" and "dying" when I first arrived.

Huh? How could you force me to drink? Do you know what happens to me after I drink? Seriously!

"Father, Xiyue is not accustomed to alcohol. If she gets drunk in this setting, wouldn't she lose her composure?" I said to the Heavenly King with a charming smile. I'm best at acting cute and charming, after all, I used to be the youngest in the family. I absolutely cannot touch alcohol, especially in this corner. I know that much. So, Tian Xinrong, I'm sorry, you may be disappointed. But your father needs me now.

"In that case, Fourth Prince, don't make things difficult for Xiyue. Once she drinks this tea and gives my little grandson a good name, we'll be even," said the Azure Prince casually, but everyone was shocked. I was shocked too.

In the customs of the Azure Sky Kingdom, the emperor bestows names upon princes and grandsons when they reach their one-month milestone. This has always been the case. Even though there are precedents of empresses and empress dowagers bestowing names, there is absolutely no precedent of a princess bestowing a name upon someone. Moreover, I am just a commoner princess.

I offered the tea, set down the teacup, and all eyes immediately turned to me. Were they waiting for me to name the child? How many eyes held gloating, how many harbored hidden jealousy, and how many were unpredictable and enigmatic? I ignored them all and simply bowed to Tianqing Wang Weiyi, saying, "Xiyue is unworthy, this is my first time naming a child, Liulin. Liu means gold, and Liu means auspicious unicorn. Please, Father, give your guidance."

I was thinking of using names like "Yu Lin" or "Rui Lin" to avoid having to think too much, and they would fit today's theme. But then I thought better of it. It wouldn't be good if I got caught being lazy.

"Wonderful!" King Tianqing exclaimed first. "Fourth brother, why don't you bring out the Liulin so everyone can see it?"

After someone went to carry out the order, the wet nurse returned shortly with the infant still in swaddling clothes. Fourth Princess Li took the baby, but before she could reach Prince Tianqing, the baby unexpectedly began to cry. For a moment, Li was quite embarrassed, frozen in place, only able to soothe the infant in her arms. Tianxinrong's expression also darkened slightly. I glanced at Prince Tianqing with the corner of my mouth; he neither looked at Li nor the baby, staring calmly at the wine cup before him, showing no sign of anything amiss.

"Come, Lin'er, let your imperial aunt take a good look at him." I glanced at Consort Shu's somewhat displeased expression, and then at the somewhat embarrassed looks on everyone's faces. I smiled and walked towards Madam Li. She looked at me gratefully and carefully handed the baby in her arms to me. I took the baby and gently rocked it as I walked towards Prince Tianqing, and said with a smile, "Father, listen to this little guy's loud and clear cry. He will surely be famous throughout the world in the future, hehe."

“Yes, Your Majesty, Lin’er isn’t afraid. His father didn’t have the guts to cry so freely in front of Your Majesty back then.” Consort Shu quickly chimed in, glancing at me thoughtfully, her face bearing a gentle and pleasant smile as she spoke softly to Prince Tianqing beside her.

The silence vanished, and everyone chimed in, eager to chime in. I gently touched the little guy's rosy cheek with my fingertips. He opened his mouth, his big, dark eyes wide open, staring at me. There were no tears in his eyes, only pure curiosity. Ah, so the little guy had been crying on cue! I couldn't help but find it amusing. I slipped my fingers under the cotton cloth wrapped around him and tickled his little neck. The little guy still stared at me with wide eyes, then suddenly grinned. I quickly carried him to the Azure King, turned him around so he was facing the king, and whispered, "Good boy, this is your royal grandfather. Give him a smile."

The little guy continued to grin and smile, but his head seemed to be struggling to turn towards me, following the source of the sound. He looked absolutely adorable.

"Hahaha, good, good, Xiyue really has a way." King Tianqing seemed to laugh heartily a few times. It was hard to imagine that someone like him would laugh so loudly. Then he turned to look at me, nodded at me with satisfaction, his voice full of approval, but his eyes were sharp. "Talented in both arts and sciences, and with the demeanor of an empress, you truly win my heart."

The demeanor of an empress? I'm speechless! King Tianqing, you're exaggerating!

Although I was somewhat prepared, I was still startled by these words and almost dropped the little guy in my hands. I guessed that King Tianqing hoped Tian Xilan would inherit his throne, and I also guessed that he wanted to use me to keep Tian Xilan from traveling all year round. But I didn't expect King Tianqing to push me into the limelight in this way. Did he see through Xilan's heart and use his feelings to force him to take the initiative to fight for it?

For a moment, everyone was speechless, their gazes fixed on me. There was anger, jealousy, hatred, and many other unidentified emotions in their eyes. I glanced out of the corner of my eye at Xi Lan; he was looking in my direction too, his expression unchanged, though his smile was somewhat cold, his eyes offering a comforting warmth. I gently squeezed the little one in my arms through the cotton fabric, and he immediately started crying again. While comforting him, I casually said to the Heavenly Azure King, "Father, you were laughing so loudly just now that you scared Lin'er to tears."

I gently shook the little one in my arms, then turned and walked towards Madam Li. She gave me a complicated look and reached out to take the baby. I smiled bitterly to myself. Although I tried my best to pretend I hadn't heard what King Tianqing said, I was afraid that everyone present would have different calculations and thoughts from this moment on.

That damned Prince Tianqing! The Crown Prince already has a Crown Princess, yet you chose to sacrifice me without hesitation to achieve your own goals. Did you do this because Xilan has already explicitly rejected your feelings? You gave me the title of princess so I could have leverage to become a prince's object of affection. You praised me for my empress-like demeanor, implying that the Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince must win me over if they want to inherit the throne? Are you trying to force Xilan into your trap? Being my godfather wasn't enough; you wanted to make me your father-in-law as well. How could I allow myself to be like Xiaoyanzi?

I sat in the carriage, looking at Tian Xilan sitting opposite me. To outsiders, Zhilan Palace was merely a forbidden palace forbidden by the Emperor, a place where the Emperor's most favored concubine, who almost became Empress, once resided. The secrets behind those flower walls were unknown to anyone except the Prince of Tianqing. Xilan brought me to Zhilan Palace; the significance of that place was probably only truly understood by the Prince of Tianqing. Was my peaceful existence in this palace, as a woman of unknown origin from Longyao Kingdom, something the Prince of Tianqing had tacitly approved from the very beginning? He coldly observed, weighing my importance in Tian Xilan's heart, perhaps even testing her, before making this move today?

"The most prestigious chair in the world, does Xi Lan really not want to sit on it?"

"The most precious things are not necessarily what everyone likes the most." He looked at me and answered with the words I had said before, smiling calmly, which showed that he truly had no desire for power.

It seems that from the moment we were honest with each other, he shed his usual gentle demeanor in front of me. Although he still had the same smile, at least I could see the emotions behind it.

"So what do we do now? It seems that Xi Lan's father is still not giving up!" I said half-jokingly. I still like to call him Xi Lan, and he still calls me Wei Mian.

"Don't worry, I said I would protect you. After you finish what you need to do, we'll leave here together." There was determination in his eyes and a smile on his lips, as if things would unfold as he said.

I smiled, ignored him, and stretched ungracefully in the carriage, telling myself to get a good night's sleep and go bother the Azure King first thing tomorrow morning. He gave me the status of a princess, so I might as well use it. You've used me like this, so I should at least use the status you gave me back. It's only polite to return the favor, and I've always been a well-mannered child.