The palace banquet was held at the Mingyi Palace.
Although the spring day in Jiangbei is warm and pleasant, the night is still a bit chilly. Sui Heng was afraid that Jiang Yun couldn’t bear it, so he specially asked Ji An to prepare a cloak.
Sui Heng didn’t expect Jiang Yun to agree to attend. Before leaving, he still said, “You don’t have to force yourself for Gu. It’s just Qi Ziqi, Gu doesn’t care about him.”
Jiang Yun said he didn’t mind and just asked Sui Heng to prepare an inconspicuous seat for him.
At the entrance of the palace, there were already many carriages of ministers and officials parked outside, all with jade-carved saddles and luxurious and exquisite decorations.
Tonight is a grand banquet, and all the important officials in the court who can walk are required to enter the palace to participate in the banquet. Some of the Princes, Crown Princes, and officials of the subordinate countries residing in the Sui capital have also been summoned.
Jiang Yuping, the Guozhu of the Jiang Kingdom, Luo Fengjun, the Crown Prince of Luo, and Wei Yun, the Crown Prince of Wei, are also among them. Luo Fengjun was still dressed in white, holding the ‘Kunshan’ zither, which never leaves his hand in his arms.
Tonight, he is not averse to attending the banquet because Qi Ziqi, who is said to be the only Prince of Qi who has received the true biography of ‘Feng Qiu Huang’ is here. After hitting a wall at Jiang Yun, Lou Fengjun decided to directly seek advice from Qi Ziqi.
After Luo Fengjun got off the carriage, he saw Jiang Yun standing beside the carriage.
He nodded slightly and saluted Jiang Yun.
“Young Master Chu also came to attend the banquet?”
Jiang Yun nodded.
The servants and officials of the Luo Kingdom were surprised by their Crown Prince, who was always proud. When standing in the crowd, he was always like a lonely white crane, rarely taking the initiative to greet anyone. Many prominent figures in the Sui capital secretly accused their Crown Prince of being “arrogant and disrespectful.” In this regard, the officials of the Luo Kingdom were also very helpless, unable to find words to refute the other parties.
They didn’t expect him to be so polite to this young gentleman in the Crown Prince Mansion.
Luo Fengjun glanced at Jiang Yun’s hand and asked, “Has Young Master Chu recovered from his injury?”
Jiang Yun said, “Thank the Crown Prince Luo so much for concern. It may take some more time.”
Luo Fengjun smiled inexplicably, withdrew his gaze, and without saying anything more, he led the people of the Luo Kingdom towards the palace gate.
Sui Heng happened to have finished dismissing a few military generals who came over to greet him and naturally took Jiang Yun’s hand, smiled, and said, “Let’s go in too.”
The two people walked side by side, like jade figures.
The servant respectfully replied, “It’s the young gentleman from the Wei Kingdom who swept literary events at the Spring Banquet a while ago. It seems that his name is Chu Yan.”
“Chu Yan?”
Jiang Yuping recited the name and said, “Delicate and charming, it’s a good name.”
The servant had always known that the Guozhu had some special tendencies, so he bravely whispered, “It was said that this Chu Yan was brought back from Jiangnan by the Crown Prince during his Southern Expedition. Since entering the Sui capital, he has been living in the private courtyard of the Crown Prince’s Mansion.”
The implied meaning is self-evident.
Jiang Yuping slowly stroked his fingers and said with a smile, “Guaren was just asking, Guaren does not want to do anything. There’s no need to be so nervous.”
“Beauty is always pleasing to the eye.”
His temper was gloomy and unstable. Even when he smiled, there was still a layer of darkness in his eyes, giving people a feeling of melancholy. The servant immediately shut up and said no more.
The Mingyi Palace is brightly lit, and many people have already sat there.
Jiang Yun did not follow Sui Heng to the front but sat down at a relatively rear seat in the corner, quietly observing the situation in the hall.
Not long after, the envoys of Qi entered the palace under the leadership of the important officials of Qi, Tian Que, and the Young Master of Qi, Qi Ziqi. The group of people were all dressed in splendid attire, elegant, and had the demeanor of a big country.
Especially Qi Ziqi, the Young Master of Qi, who was dressed in a purple cloud robe, a white jade belt, red lips, and white teeth, with a face as bright as Tudan. His eyes were as beautiful and cunning as gemstones, vividly portraying a shining young man, making people unconsciously feel the freshness that came upon him.
The Qi Kingdom is different from ordinary subordinate kingdoms, it’s one of the three great powers in the world, on par with the Jiang and Sui. Therefore, in terms of seating arrangement, they’re second only to the Left Prime Minister, Jimo Qingyu, and the Right Prime Minister, Yan Bing, even Han Xiao has to sit at the bottom.
After all the guests were seated, Emperor Sui and Empress Yan officially took their seats.
Everyone saluted, and Qi Ziqi personally presented gifts from the King of Qi and Marquis Duan to Emperor Sui.
Emperor Sui smiled and asked the palace attendant to take it. “Is Marquis Duan in good health?”
Qi Ziqi’s eyes curved and he said, “My father is fine. Thanks Your Majesty for the concern.”
He is truly a carefree and lively young lord. At first glance, one could tell that he has grown up without any wind or rain, under the careful care of his elders.
Emperor Sui secretly praised him in his heart.
Tian Li is in charge of military affairs in Qi, and this time, when he traveled to Qi, he purposely brought with him the first fierce general in Qi, Tian Meng. Tian Meng is not as skilled as Tian Que in concealing his fronts. He has heard of Sui Heng’s reputation for a long time and does not believe that a pampered Crown Prince can lead troops as a General and establish the Qinglang Battalion.
As soon as Tian Meng saw Sui Heng, he was like a hungry wolf seeing its natural enemy, and his sweaty body hairs stood up. However, Sui Heng did not notice, looking carefree and even raising a cup to him from afar.
This was a silent provocation, and Tian Meng could hardly resist rushing out.
Tian Que warned, “General Tian, pay attention to your appearance.”
Han Xiao couldn’t feel it and immediately smiled and pulled them to drink.
Jiang Yun sat behind the table, drinking quietly.
He sat in a remote and dimly lit place, he was also not a high-ranking official in the Sui capital. Not many people noticed him.
But there is still one sharp-eyed person who noticed him, and that is Tian Meng.
Tian Meng is tyrannical in nature, a wild egg of an unsavory nature, and has a bad reputation in the Qi capital, and is afraid of no one. He is tall and powerful, more than ten feet tall, with a beard on his face, and his right eye is blind for some reason, so he wears a mask all year round. Like a demon, his appearance is even more malodorous than his reputation.
Tian Que didn’t like him. He brought him here purely to test Sui Heng and his subordinates’ strength.
The Qi Kingdom has not fought a war for many years. Although they have elite soldiers and advanced weapons, they are not sure if they have a chance to win against the Qinglang Battalion, which is known as the Blood Slaughter.
After being scolded by Tian Que, Tian Meng refused the wine handed over by Han Xiao and directly left the hall. As he approached the entrance of the main hall, his footsteps suddenly stopped, and then he turned his head very slowly. His gaze was like lightning, piercing towards Jiang Yun, sitting in the dim place.
His pupils suddenly shrank, showing an incredulous expression. Then he took a swift step and grabbed Jiang Yun’s wrist, his one-eyed eyes burning with hatred and anger. He gritted his teeth, and his voice trembled with extreme anger. “So you’re hiding here!”
He exerted so much force that he almost crushed Jiang Yun’s wrist.
Jiang Yun’s cup of wine rolled down to the ground, and he looked up at him quietly.
For a moment, the gazes of the people in the hall were all drawn over.
