Nine years ago.

The vast Lizhou Imperial Palace was festooned with lanterns and colorful decorations, and red silks filled the air. The usually solemn and tranquil palace was now bustling with singing and dancing. The entire imperial capital was filled with joy and cheers.

The reason is: today is the birthday of Lizhou Emperor Xiao Yun. This year's birthday banquet is very grand. Except for Shuizhou Kingdom, which has always been on bad terms with the country, many important figures from the other three kingdoms came to congratulate.

Inside the magnificent Zhaosheng Hall, people of all kinds sat on both sides of the steps. On the top of the steps was a golden imperial throne. A man in his forties sat upright there, wearing a yellow robe with the hem and sleeves trimmed with gems, gold threads, and jade. He wore a royal crown on his head with tassels covering his face, through which one could see his majestic features.

Yes, this person is the Emperor Xiao of Lizhou——Xiao Yun

The woman sitting next to him, wearing a rose-red long dress and with an enchanting face, was his new favorite, Yu Li, also known as Concubine Yu.

Looking at the first person sitting on the left side, there is a man about fifteen or sixteen years old. He is wearing a light blue brocade robe, his hair is tied up in a crown, he has a handsome face, and his temperament is friendly and amiable, which makes people trust him unconsciously. This man is from Yuzhou Kingdom and is Yuya, the prince of Yuzhou.

Prince Yuya came with a girl of about ten. She was not very pretty. She wore a simple emerald green dress, her hair was not beautiful, and her fair face was not made up. Compared with the many beauties in the hall, she was at most pretty.

But the temperament emanating from that woman made people feel very comfortable. Her every move was elegant and she was exceptionally gentle and charming.

This woman sat next to Prince Yuya, and only heard Prince Yuya call her affectionately, "Imperial Sister."

Rumor has it that there is a princess in Yuzhou who is resourceful and as strategic as any man. Her name is Yuwan and her title is Qingluo. It is said that Prince Yuya is not polite to anyone except Qingluo, to whom he is particularly affectionate.

Now it seems that the woman in green is Princess Yuwan of Qingluo.

Yu Wan tilted her head slightly to look at Yu Ya and asked in a low voice, "What's wrong?"

Yu Ya glanced around, then turned his gaze to Yu Wan and asked in confusion, "Everyone is here, why isn't the Crown Prince of Lizhou here?"

Half of the reason why Yuya came to Lizhou this time was that he wanted to meet Xiao Moyan, the Prince of Lizhou, who was said to be able to plan and make decisions thousands of miles away at a young age. What's even better is... Everyone says that Emperor Xiao of Lizhou dotes on Prince Xiao, but why doesn't this cold-hearted Prince Xiao recognize Emperor Xiao as his father?

This is not just good for Yuya, there is no bad person in the entire Five States. There have been many versions of the reasons why Emperor Xiao and Prince Xiao were not in harmony among the people.

Yu Wan couldn't help but frown upon hearing this. "Wait a little longer. This is the first time Emperor Xiao is hosting such a grand birthday banquet. Even if Emperor Xiao and Crown Prince Xiao are on bad terms, Crown Prince Xiao will come because of the envoys from the three states who have come to congratulate him and for the sake of Lizhou's reputation."

Upon hearing this, Yu Ya nodded with relief. In order to come to Lizhou Kingdom to meet Prince Xiao, he had promised his father to copy "The Emperor's Strategy" a hundred times, and he couldn't copy it in vain.

Yu Wan felt like someone was staring at her, and couldn't help but look over according to her intuition.

I saw a boy about ten years old sitting opposite me, wearing a black brocade robe with red patterns. The boy was very delicate, as if he was carefully polished by heaven, but such a boy had a calm and old-fashioned expression, and his temperament was so cold that it made people feel cold in their hearts.

Yu Wan was slightly stunned, and nodded slightly and smiled politely at the boy. The boy nodded in agreement, glanced at Yu Ya who was next to Yu Wan, and then looked away.

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