“My husband,” Gan Qiongying said, her eyes glistening with tears, “we need to sit separately now. I will wait for you here after the banquet.”

"Okay." Li Hua was too reserved to look back at Gan Qiongying.

With Manyue's help, Gan Qiongying walked to her seat, where she witnessed firsthand what royal pomp and circumstance truly meant.

Wow... there are so many people.

She was still marveling at how important the Grand Princess's position was when she turned around and saw Wen Xueling dressed like a blooming pink peony.

Wen Xueling kept a straight face, looking like she wanted to keep strangers away.

Gan Qiongying ignored her, propped herself up on her arms, and leaned lazily against the table. The pastries on the table were exquisite and looked very tempting.

She savored each piece of food slowly and deliberately. Wen Xueling, along with all the noble ladies present, thought that Gan Qiongying was being arrogant and unwilling to talk to people.

Little did anyone know, Gan Qiongying was recalling the events of this birthday banquet.

The birthday banquet in the story is quite spectacular.

The story is full of ups and downs, and the general plot is that Princess Duanrong is like a mad dog, relentlessly attacking Wen Xueling and using many sarcastic words.

In an attempt to provoke Wen Xueling, Duanrong deliberately said hurtful things and repeatedly tried to stop her from getting together with Zhongli Zhengzhen.

Finally, during the summer hunt, she insisted on competing with Wen Xueling, but her real intention was not to compete; she wanted to use the archery contest to injure her.

When one plan failed, she devised another. Even as the banquet ended, she refused to give up, still thinking of giving Wen Xueling a good scare as she passed by, pretending to push her off the edge of the stone platform halfway up the mountain.

In the end, none of them worked out, and her meddling caused trouble for the son of a vice minister of the Ministry of Revenue, whom the Grand Princess had originally chosen for her granddaughter.

Duanrong's original intention was just to scare Wen Xueling and threaten her, so that she wouldn't compete with her for Zhongli Zhengzhen.

She didn't dare to actually kill the daughter of the King of Jingxi, but she didn't expect that the heroine would naturally have someone to protect her. When the son of the Vice Minister of Revenue saw this, he thought that Princess Duanrong was crazy and wanted to kill someone. He rushed over to help Wen Xueling, but accidentally twisted his ankle by the stone platform and rolled down the mountainside.

This has truly cemented her reputation as a vicious and ruthless woman.

In the story, Princess Huian immediately summoned the imperial physician to examine him. After a series of ordeals, the man was wrapped up like a mummy. It would take a hundred days to recover from the injury, and the multiple fractures would keep him bedridden for three or four months. The imperial physician said he would also be left with a disability, which would be tantamount to ending the career of this son of the Vice Minister of Revenue.

Now Duanrong was speechless. This son of the Vice Minister of Revenue was quite famous in Yindu. He was a student of a great Confucian scholar from the previous dynasty and held a high position among scholars. Otherwise, he would not be one of the male protagonists.

Duanrong ruined her career and even angered the public. She attracted a group of fearless scholars and officials who wrote poems to scold her and impeached her repeatedly, making her afraid to leave her house for half a year.

After this incident, Duanrong completely offended the family of the Vice Minister of Revenue. Although she did not do it on purpose, she was severely avenged in the future.

The truth will eventually come out. Duanrong's various misdeeds were later discovered. During the fall of Nanzhao and her escape, her whereabouts were repeatedly revealed. In the end, she was dragged to her death by a horse. The family of the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue played a major role in this.

Having figured out this subplot, Gan Qiongying's gaze towards Wen Xueling began to turn strange. She had almost forgotten that this was a harem/torture romance novel, and perhaps this was something she could make good use of...

This scene at the birthday banquet can be considered the first major conflict in the original text, as almost all the "male protagonists" in the story are present, making it an epic scene in the book.

As Gan Qiongying recalled the plot, her gaze shifted to the seats opposite her.

Diagonally to the right is the Regent, dressed in a crimson robe very similar to the Emperor's. His sharp eyes scanned the surroundings as if he were observing everyone present, exuding an air of dominance. He was the classic domineering CEO from a novel, with sideburns as sharp as a knife and sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes.

To his left was Prince Kang Guang, Gan Li, dressed in a dark green brocade robe. He seemed carefree, sipping his wine. After taking a sip, he flashed a strange smile, revealing a row of white teeth with missing brainstem.

At his age, he was usually urged to study diligently and had no time to go out for drinks. He was so happy to be able to enjoy the food and wine at this birthday banquet that he was even happier than Princess Huian herself.

Behind the Regent was the son of the Vice Minister of Revenue.

As the protagonist of tonight's "fall off the cliff," Gan Qiongying gave him a second look.

He was dressed in moon white, elegant and noble, which perfectly complemented his refined and graceful temperament. His eyebrows were like distant mountains, truly a gentleman as beautiful as jade.

No wonder Princess Huian was satisfied; after all, he was chosen as the husband for her granddaughter, and his temperament seemed genuinely good... But who would have thought that in this book, this jade-like young master, the Vice Minister of Revenue, would later become disabled and rise to power due to the female protagonist's "guilt," turning out to be a genuine yandere (a character with a sickly and delicate personality).

Seated beside the Regent was Zhongli Zhengzhen, the hostage prince of Jinchuan.

He had already changed out of his clothes. His dark attire was not particularly eye-catching, but it was subtly embroidered with gold thread. With the slightest movement, it shimmered with golden light under the lamplight, exuding extraordinary elegance.

But his temperament steadily suppressed the restless crimson color. It has to be said that among the male protagonists, he was the most handsome, with extremely delicate features, and his whole person exuded an untamed spirit that made little girls infatuated.

He seemed to turn his head unintentionally, but in reality he was looking at Li Hua, who was to the right rear of the Regent.

Compared to these male protagonists, Li Hua, wearing a mask, looked rather ordinary and indistinguishable from the crowd. However, Gan Qiongying couldn't help but laugh when she saw him looking down and ignoring Zhong Lizheng's gaze.

She had already discovered that Li Hua was actually annoyed by Zhongli Zhengzhen.

Otherwise, why would he have rushed off the car that morning to take her back and get on the road?

Zhongli Zhengzhen received a response from Bu Lihua's gaze, and helplessly turned back. Gan Qiongying's gaze, however, went past him and Lihua and looked at the servants behind them.

There is also a male protagonist there.

It was Song Ci, Zhongli Zhengzhen's bodyguard with uncanny movement techniques and superb martial arts skills.

He stood at the entrance of the banquet, wary of his surroundings. Although his features weren't particularly outstanding, he was the kind of loyal, redeeming character that a group of readers would love to see. He was willing to risk his life for the female lead, walking in the darkness with extraordinary martial arts skills.

The female protagonist, Wen Xueling, must inadvertently save his life, and from then on, he will be obsessed with her and bang his head against a wall for her.

Literature that involves giving one's life with red eyes is commonly known as "life-giving literature."

He carried a thin, long sword at his waist, and his cold demeanor inexplicably sent chills down one's spine.

Gan Qiongying read through all the male lead's accounts, clicking her tongue inwardly.

I really loved this scene when I was reading the novel. Who doesn't love a love triangle?