Chapter 74 Triumphant Banquet

Although the event shocked everyone present, the ministers dared not discuss matters of state at the banquet, let alone the fact that Prince Zhen had already announced the start of the feast. In the end, everyone swallowed their objections and returned to their seats, secretly glancing at the Crown Prince who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, whispering amongst themselves.

The reason the eldest prince was initially considered to have completely withdrawn from the competition for the crown prince position was because he suffered an accident in his leg, which the imperial physician diagnosed as a disability, thus failing to meet the requirement that "the crown prince should be physically healthy." Furthermore, Prince Zhen had never shown any particular favor to the eldest prince; although he had never bestowed upon him a title or fiefdom, keeping him in the capital, the officials assumed this was due to caring for the prince's illness, not any favoritism. Unexpectedly, his leg ailment turned out to be a fabrication, meaning that as the eldest son of the legitimate wife, the officials had no reason to prevent him from entering the Eastern Palace.

Given the Crown Prince's influence and connections back then, concealing the truth would be easy, but deceiving his superiors would be impossible. Therefore, it's likely that the Poison Prince orchestrated this whole thing, only revealing this hidden pawn now. It's truly chilling to think about!

While the courtiers were still sighing with relief, the Empress Dowager's situation was far from optimistic. Her recently recovered stroke seemed to be recurring. Seeing the Empress Dowager's ashen face and her limbs stiffening again, Granny Qin hurriedly appealed to Prince Zhen for help: "Your Majesty, Her Majesty the Empress Dowager is unwell—"

The Prince of Zhen glanced at the Empress Dowager and interrupted, "If you are unwell, go back to the palace to rest." He then waved his hand and ordered the palace servants to help the Empress Dowager leave the seat, showing no further concern.

Those present who had openly or covertly obeyed the Empress Dowager's decrees suddenly felt a chill run down their spines.

Meanwhile, Xiao Dunzi had already sampled the imperial cuisine in the side hall and waited patiently for a long time. After the imperial physician finished examining his pulse and confirmed that there was nothing wrong, he allowed him to leave. However, as soon as Xiao Dunzi turned out of the side hall, he noticed that Zhen Su's brows were unusually furrowed with melancholy, and his aura was low. He couldn't help but stop and look on with concern.

The other servants, whose path was blocked by him, were about to urge him on when they saw Xiao Dunzi suddenly head towards the head of the courtyard. He moved so fast that by the time they tried to stop him, it was too late.

The King of Poison was the first to notice the newcomer. His cold gaze swept over Xiao Dunzi, and Xiao Dunzi felt a sudden chill run down his spine. He forced himself to walk to Zhen Su's side. When Zhen Su looked up, his pupils were a scarlet red, like jade, which startled Xiao Dunzi so much that he stood frozen in place.

However, in no time, the blood-red color faded away, and the eyes returned to the same pure gold color as the earrings, clear and bright.

Xiao Dunzi suspected that he was seeing things, but he intuitively felt that he should not have misunderstood Shinjuku's feelings, so he still planned to ask Shinjuku if he needed to replace him so that he could go and rest.

But Shinjuku sensed Kodama's intentions first. He shook his head, his eyes narrowing slightly, and gestured for him to go back.

Although the Prince of Zhen was talking in hushed tones with the eldest prince, he kept his eyes fixed on them out of the corner of his eye. He saw the two of them exchanging glances several times, and the Prince of Zhen did not respond to the eldest prince's words. This led the people around to mistakenly believe that the eldest prince had said something wrong, and they guessed that he might still have a chance to compete for the position of crown prince.

Fortunately, Xiaodunzi was always obedient. He bowed to the King of Poison and then retreated, looking back every step of the way.

Shinjuku stared silently at Kodama, who dared not turn back and hurried away.

Only then did the King of Zhen's expression soften slightly, and he resumed his act of fatherly love and filial piety with the eldest prince.

A collective sigh of sympathy rippled through the crowd.

They didn't fall out...

It was indeed a grand feast in the capital, unlike the famine of the frontier. Delicacies were laid out before King Zhen, and Shinju received the same portion, unlike back in the frontier when King Zhen allocated his own portion to Shinju.

At the same time, the regulations for the Crown Prince's banquet were on par with those for the Poison King.

This time, Shinjuku didn't pick and choose, eating silently without ever glancing at the food box containing mooncakes on the table again. He didn't know if he had lost his appetite or if the food tonight was truly subpar, but he couldn't taste anything, yet he still chewed and swallowed mechanically without showing any sign of discomfort.

The dancer's anklets jingled like yellow leaves fluttering in the wind. The yellow leaves danced and fell, casting shadows on the lamplight. The shadows brushed against the dancer's face, as if tears were secretly flowing down her face and disappearing in an instant.

Everyone says the moon is fullest on the 16th of the lunar month, but when Shinjuku looked at the moon hanging in the center of the stars, he felt it was even more perfectly round than a meticulously shaped eclipse mold. He had never seen such a round moon before. It truly was a wonderful time for reunion.

But that warm, dazzling gold couldn't penetrate even a fraction of Shinjuku's golden eyes. The harmonious atmosphere at the head of the table also failed to affect Shinjuku in the slightest.

He stared blankly at the moon, uninterested in his surroundings, only feeling a burning sensation on his back.

Seeing that Shinju's bowl was empty, that everything had been eaten clean, leaving not a single bite, King Zhen assumed he was satisfied with tonight's meal. However, something felt off. After a while, he realized that Shinju had barely spoken tonight. Although he answered every question, he seemed somewhat distracted. As for the rather conspicuous food box, King Zhen had seen the menu for tonight's dishes and knew it wasn't arranged by the Imperial Kitchen. He had noticed it many times, but Shinju showed no intention of opening it, as if he had completely forgotten about it.

King Zhen drank two cups with King Han after a long absence, then put down the agate cup and summoned Shinju to his side, asking Shinju to wipe the sweat from his forehead after drinking the wine.

Although Shinju's strokes were precise, his gaze was actually wandering, never landing on him. The King of Zhen, oblivious to the fact that the Prince of Han and the First Prince were watching, and even the other concubines and ministers were secretly observing, suddenly grabbed Shinju's withdrawn hand and asked in a voice as gentle as if coaxing a child, "Bored? Or sleepy?"

Princess Han grabbed the hem of Prince Han's robe under the table, and the two exchanged a subtle glance.

The eldest prince immediately looked away and began to watch the dancers' performance in the open space intently.

Normally, if Shinju replied "bored," then the King of Zhen might find him something interesting, or keep him company while he was "bored." If he replied "sleepy," he had no doubt that the King of Zhen would make him, a mere attendant, abandon the emperor he was supposed to serve and go back to his room to rest early.

The more Shinju thought about the special treatment the King of Poison had given him, the heavier his heart became.

He made no choice, only shook his head repeatedly, withdrew his hand, and sat back down at his desk.

The King of Poison did not stop Shinju from leaving. He probably knew that the darkness in his eyes was layered with a heavy shadow, and he did not want to frighten anyone.

The final part of the triumphal banquet is the awarding of prizes.

The eunuch was ordered to read aloud the imperial edict prepared by the Prince of Zhen, which officially promoted several soldiers and generals. For the first time, five senior palace maids were given official ranks, and were moved out of the scope of the imperial concubine preparation and turned into full-fledged female officials. All five of them were of the fourth rank.

This was an unprecedented appointment. No female official had ever appeared in the court before. The five palace maids had been doing the work of maids while secretly taking on the work of secret guards. Apart from helping to control the tiger tally and keep the officials in check when the Prince of Zhen left the capital, they had never participated in the affairs of the court.

As one can imagine, many high-ranking officials immediately rose in uproar and raised objections. Even loyal ministers who had listened to the poisoned king found it difficult to accept.

However, the Prince of Zhen didn't even bother to lift his eyelids completely. With a glance from his narrow phoenix eyes, the eunuch delivering the decree trembled and had no choice but to grit his teeth and continue reading.

"The eldest son, An Chengjing, is hereby appointed as the Crown Prince. The investiture ceremony will be held tomorrow at 9:00 AM."

These words were like a heavy stone thrown into the bustling city; soon, the banquet fell into a deathly silence.

Just moments ago they were clamoring that the appointment of the head palace maid was illogical, and now they've immediately dropped such a direct result. Everything came so decisively and so swiftly that there was no room for objection.

After making the announcement, the Prince of Zhen used the excuse that this was a family banquet and he wouldn't discuss politics. However, it was already late, and in order for the officials to rest, he announced that the morning court session would be canceled the next day, and any matters would be discussed the day after. This left everyone completely dumbfounded.

Many people only came to their senses after the party ended, but by then it was too late.

Under the hesitant gaze of the King of Poison, Shinju took the food box back to the side room of the Scorpion Shadow Palace.

"well."

When it came to offspring, Masakuni had never felt anything when facing the Third Prince or the First Princess. But now, seeing the First Prince, he suddenly felt weak, and his heart sank heavily, falling and falling, with an endless pressure and panic, as if he would never reach the bottom.

He couldn't stop thinking. He had always thought he was an outsider cultivator, just like the Poison King. The Poison King had never had any feelings for the imperial heirs or concubines, but he was different towards him. But what he saw tonight? The Poison King hadn't even mentioned anything about the eldest prince to him, but everyone knew that the eldest prince's legs should be crippled, yet he could walk freely. Clearly, the crippling was due to the Poison King's protection; he treated the eldest prince differently.

That was a level of care that none of the princes and princesses around them had shown.

He couldn't help but wonder if the Prince of Zhen and the First Prince's birth mother actually had a good relationship. After all, offspring are only born through marriage... He thought he wouldn't mind; it was all in the past. But when he looked down at the food box he had unconsciously crushed into crumbs, he realized he wasn't as calm as he thought.

Shinjuku's empty gaze fell on it, and after a long while he picked away the wood chips, picked up the mooncake fragments, and put them in his mouth.

The original design of the cassia tree and jade rabbit was completely unrecognizable. The mooncake filling, which had been adjusted to suit King Zhen's aversion to sweets, contained little maltose and no rose sugar, but it shouldn't taste bitter. However, at this moment, all that bloomed on his taste buds was an overwhelming bitterness.

It was sweet when I tasted it...

But Masaya still silently ate the mooncake bit by bit.

We ate it all.

He gathered the crumbs from the food box in his palm, then suddenly squeezed them, turning them all into dust. With a breath, he blew them into the moonlight filtering through the window frame.

Fate plays tricks on people.

He had only recently made up his mind to stay. Now, however, he was hesitant.

He thought that the Poison King was as isolated in this world as he was, but since they were both cultivators, they would eventually leave together. Unexpectedly, the Poison King had blood relatives left behind and things she cared about, so it was impossible for her to leave for him.

Blood relatives are ultimately different; he was being too naive.

Although he had made many acquaintances in this small world, everyone had their own lives to live. Xiao Dunzi was merely a descendant of his immortal blood, and he worried about how Xiao Dunzi would fare after he left, whether he would be bullied. However, he couldn't take Xiao Dunzi with him. He was burdened by the demon's unwarranted hatred, and protecting himself was already extremely difficult; he simply didn't have the strength to protect Xiao Dunzi in the cultivation world.

Xiaodunzi belongs to this area.

Yes... He still has things he must do, and he shouldn't involve others. Facing that ruthless demon who can turn the world upside down with a flick of his wrist, life and death can be decided in an instant, and no one can, and should, share that burden with him.

As he pondered deeper, a vibrant crimson-gold hue, like the tail of a dragon-eyed fish, swam and swayed in Shinju's eyes, eventually completely obscuring the underlying golden hue.

Its back was as if branded with a hot iron, radiating a terrifying heat.

In his dejection, Shinju keenly sensed something amiss: why was his back burning so intensely, and surely not for the first time? He broke free from the thorny vines that bound and locked him in his emotions, immediately opening his divine sense to carefully search for the source of the heat on his back.

The heat is still crystal clear; just by feeling it, I can tell there should be some kind of floral pattern.

However, he found nothing—his back was as smooth as white porcelain, and there was nothing there.