His eyes held an unnamed hatred, yet arrogantly regarded them as ants.
Shifting my gaze, I saw the Yuan Ning Marquis's family among the powerful and influential. Su Muqing was dressed much more discreetly today, perhaps because of the rumors of her falling into the water. At this moment, she tried to minimize her presence at the banquet.
Among the familiar figures was Qin Shushen, the daughter of the Guangsi family.
As for the rest, Su Wanyan had met a few once or twice, but didn't recognize most of them. However, judging from their clothing, Su Wanyan could roughly guess their identities.
For example, the Xia family, the maternal clan of the Empress.
The Xia family is a family of generals, and the emperor's brother-in-law is currently serving in the Secretariat.
There were also the Qingping Marquis's Mansion and the Ding'an Marquis's Mansion, which she hadn't met but knew a little about. These two mansions were no longer very active in the capital, which could also be because Su Wanyan rarely left her residence.
There are also two other Duke's mansions, the Shun Duke's mansion and the Chang Duke's mansion.
Both of these ducal mansions were inherited from the previous dynasty, while in this dynasty, Emperor Yuanhe had not yet conferred the title of ducal mansion on any other ruler.
Besides these, there were many other seats available. It wasn't until Su Wanyan arrived that she realized what the Spring Hunting Banquet was all about.
Even those noble families and dignitaries who are rarely seen on ordinary days have come today.
Even if the older generation didn't come, the younger generation did.
"Prince Gong, Princess Gong has arrived!" With this announcement, all eyes turned to them.
Su Wanyan didn't understand. When the eunuch came to deliver the message, she had just packed up and arrived. Moreover, the tent and the imperial tent were not far apart. Why did it seem that they were the last to arrive?
Emperor Yuanhe and the eldest princess had the same problem: they liked to make them late.
As soon as Su Wanyan and Yu Nanqing appeared, the wealthy young ladies nearby visibly blushed and began whispering among themselves: "This...this is Prince Gong?"
"No way? This is Prince Gong?" Not only did the woman in front not believe it, but the woman who replied also did not believe it.
"How come it's not what I imagined? No one said Prince Gong was like this..." As she spoke, the blush on her face deepened.
"Not only has no one mentioned it, but no one has even heard of it before."
Even Emperor Yuanhe and the eldest princess couldn't help but squint their eyes.
Before him stood Yu Nanqing, dressed in a pale yellow dragon robe, the hem embroidered with gold thread depicting clouds and landscapes below. Beneath his gentle gaze lay an alluring tranquility.
Bathed in the morning sunlight, it looked like it had stepped out of a painting, so captivating that one couldn't look away.
Emperor Yuanhe had never seen Yu Nanqing like this before. Even when he visited Prince Gong's residence three days ago, he only thought that Yu Nanqing looked well.
Could it be... because of his clothes?
At first, everyone's attention was focused on Su Wanyan, but in the blink of an eye, it was drawn to Yu Nanqing's subtle yet powerful aura.
Even when she's in a wheelchair, she's impossible to ignore.
Su Muqing had met Yu Nanqing before, and now, seeing the woman beside her discussing him so openly, she couldn't help but clench her fist in her sleeve.
She still harbored a lingering fear of Yu Nanqing, but now, amidst the discussions of the other young ladies, she couldn't help but look up again.
At a glance, she seemed to forget the humiliation she had suffered before, and a blush appeared on her cheeks without her noticing.
When he saw Su Wanyan standing next to him, he almost tore the handkerchief to shreds.
"Your subject greets Your Highness and Your Highness's Consort." All those already seated rose and knelt in unison to welcome them.
Su Wanyan pushed Yu Nanqing in front of Emperor Yuanhe and curtsied, saying, "Your Majesty, I greet you."
Even though he disliked Emperor Yuanhe, Yu Nanqing had no choice but to follow etiquette and lower his eyes slightly when facing him.
"Very well, Third Brother is unwell, no need for such formalities." Emperor Yuanhe composed himself and waved his hand, "Rise, all of you!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you, Your Highness!" The crowd returned to their seats.
Su Wanyan also pushed Yu Nanqing to their seats.
"Hahaha." Emperor Yuanhe suddenly laughed three times, seemingly in a very good mood: "I'm afraid none of you gentlemen have ever met Prince Gong before?"
Yu Nanqing left the capital for the frontier long ago, and when he returned, he was paralyzed. Many people had only heard of his name, but had never seen him in person.
When Emperor Yuanhe said this, everyone at the banquet nodded in agreement.
"I told you that my third brother should go out more. Look, the moment you appeared, you captivated countless young ladies."
Upon hearing this, the young ladies, whose thoughts had been exposed, immediately covered their faces with their fans, blushing with embarrassment.
Don't be fooled by how shy these young ladies are right now; Su Wanyan knows that if she were to ask them to marry, none of them would dare to utter a sound.
"Your Majesty," the eldest princess said, unable to bear seeing all the attention focused on Yu Nanqing, "the time is almost up."
"Very well." Emperor Yuanhe responded, raising his wine cup on the table: "In the third month, spring begins, and all things flourish. Today's spring hunt is for friends and with compassion as its aim. I wish you all a bountiful harvest!"
"We share the same wish as Your Majesty!" Everyone raised their cups and followed Emperor Yuanhe in drinking the wine in one gulp.
Su Wanyan originally intended to take a small sip, just to make an appearance.
But Yu Nanqing took the wine glass from him and drank it all in one gulp.
Su Wanyan: "..." Wow, impressive.
They even drank alcohol!
This action was witnessed by the eldest princess.
She raised an eyebrow slightly, and saw that Eunuch Liu, who was in a high position, had already handed a large bow to Emperor Yuanhe.
A colorful ball was placed high up in front of the banquet.
During the annual hunting ceremony, Emperor Yuanhe would personally shoot a colorful ball into the air. When the ball was hit, it would burst open, signifying the official start of the seven-day hunt.
This time, when Emperor Yuanhe took the large bow handed to him by Eunuch Liu, the eldest princess suddenly spoke up: "Your Majesty."
She looked at Yu Nanqing: "How about we have Prince Gong set the tone for this opening ceremony?"
"Oh?" Upon hearing this, Emperor Yuanhe immediately became interested.
The people at the banquet had different expressions.
"Is this to send Prince Gong to shoot the colored ball?"
"This...is this alright? Prince Gong isn't..."
"Shh..."
Although Yu Nanqing looked alright at the moment, he was still paralyzed. How could he possibly be able to draw a bow?
Su Wanyan frowned. Did they want to embarrass Yu Nanqing in public?
She subconsciously looked at the colorful ball hanging in the air.
That height was no joke; otherwise, Emperor Yuanhe wouldn't have gone out of his way to shoot it with a large bow.
If Yu Nanqing misses his shot, those who are with Emperor Yuanhe will be waiting to see him make a fool of himself.
If the shot hits, Yu Nanqing's strength will be exposed prematurely, which is not a good thing.
"I just saw Prince Gong drink that fine wine in one gulp, which is quite rare. Is he almost fully recovered?" The princess smiled, but her eyes were filled with a sinister chill.
"Now that it's healed, why not show off your skills?" the princess said with a smile. "It would be good for me to witness the prowess of the Great Jin's War God."
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