Chapter 168 Palace Banquet
Tonight's palace banquet is held to welcome the eldest prince of Congfeng Kingdom to visit Qi.
Although Feng State and Qi State have established diplomatic relations for many years, this is the first time that the prince has personally visited.
Therefore, Emperor Zhao of Qi attached great importance to it, held a palace banquet, and ordered all officials of the third rank and above to attend.
Lin Qingyue is a first-rank prince, so naturally he has to be present.
This was the first time Lin Qingyue had worn the prince's dragon robe. The patterns and colors were the same as those worn by Dongfang Yan and the others, but the style had changed to a women's dress.
When worn by Lin Qingyue, it looks solemn and bright, and paired with a golden crown headdress with a phoenix spreading its wings, it is dazzling.
When Dongfang Yan saw her, he was stunned for a moment and praised her generously: "Qingyue, you look very beautiful today."
Lin Qingyue didn't even glance at him and just walked past him.
But when she looked up and saw the prince in purple robes and jade belts standing at the palace gate, he smiled and greeted her, "Why are you here on time like me?"
Dongfang Qi said, "I've been in the palace all day today. Seeing it was getting late and you still hadn't arrived, I was afraid you might get lost, so I came to greet you. It turns out you arrived just in time."
Although he spoke in a scolding tone, his voice was gentle.
He looked at Lin Qingyue with gentle eyes and nodded, "Not bad, this dress suits your temperament very well."
Lin Qingyue said, "Come in. You're really late. No one pays attention to me, the idle prince, but you, the future crown prince, will be criticized."
"Well, let's go."
Dongfang Yan saw every move of the two of them. He clenched his fists tightly in his wide sleeves, not even noticing his nails digging into his flesh.
"Lin Qingyue, why are you so pleasant and friendly when you're with the Crown Prince? But you turn a blind eye to me?"
"Dongfang Qi, do you think you can get her like this? Even if you are the crown prince, you can never get her if I can't get her!"
At the hour of Xu, the gates of the Qi royal palace would be closed and no one was allowed to enter or leave at will.
Today, as a palace banquet is being held to welcome foreign envoys, the palace gates will be closed until midnight.
As night fell, the palace began to bustle. Lanterns along the eaves of Linde Hall lit up one after another, illuminating the surrounding area as bright as day.
The melodious sound of stringed instruments blew to every corner of the palace with the evening breeze.
Lin Qingyue strolled through the courtyard, enjoying the night view of the palace with great interest. Occasionally, she would nod in response to an official who greeted her.
Dongfang Qi thought that she had never attended a palace banquet, so he enthusiastically explained to her:
"Palace banquets are usually held in the Linde Hall. There will be singing and dancing to liven up the atmosphere, as well as plenty of fine wine and delicious food. If you don't want to socialize, just eat, drink, and enjoy the singing and dancing."
Lin Qingyue, however, was more concerned about the current state of affairs and asked, "You said earlier that after the Chaos Age, Qi, Chu, and Feng would coexist as three kingdoms? Are there only three kingdoms now?"
Dongfang Qi said, "Of course there are more than that. Qi, Chu, and Feng are the largest and are located in the Central Plains. To the west, there are 26 countries in the Western Regions, and to the south, there are more than a dozen small countries."
"Initially, Qi was the sole ruler of the Central Plains. Over five hundred years ago, Qi was divided into ten kingdoms, when many of its kings rebelled. As the ten kingdoms fought each other, your dynasty took over and I took the stage. Today you claim the throne, tomorrow I will be the king."
"For over two hundred years, there was chaos. Finally, the Qi, Chu, and Feng kingdoms entered an era of three powers."
"Three hundred years ago, although there were occasional wars between the three kingdoms, they were not large-scale. Ten years ago, the monarchs of the three kingdoms met and agreed not to attack each other."
"And our Qi State is the only one among the Three Kingdoms that has survived from a thousand years ago to this day."
Lin Qingyue nodded. "Then you really are an only child. You said earlier that a prince and a princess from Feng Country came this time. Have you seen them before? I wonder what their purpose is this time?"
Dongfang Qi said, "I've met him once. Ten years ago, I accompanied my father to attend the Three Kingdoms Border Conference. Princess Lingxue and Prince Lingzhen of Feng Kingdom were also there."
As he was speaking, he suddenly heard a clear and cheerful female voice: "Get up, brother!"
The next moment, a girl in a pink dress came rushing over like a flying swallow.
Dongfang Qi was caught off guard and was suddenly thrown into the girl's arms.
He hurriedly pushed the person away and subconsciously looked at Lin Qingyue.
Lin Qingyue frowned as she sized up the girl: she was about fifteen or sixteen, delicate and charming. She had been smiling broadly, but when Dongfang Qi pushed her away, the smile vanished.
"Brother Qi, how come you've become alienated from Axue after not seeing her for a few years? Have you forgotten the days when we played together as children?"
As they were talking, Ling Xue noticed that Dongfang Qi was looking at Lin Qingyue, so she turned her gaze over, a look of amazement in her eyes:
"She's so beautiful, could she be your Crown Princess? No, she's wearing a python robe, not a phoenix robe. I heard that your Qi Kingdom recently crowned a princess, could this be her?"
At this moment, another steady voice sounded: "Ling Xue, don't be rude!"
Then, a tall and handsome man in his early 30s walked up the white marble steps.
He smiled brightly and bowed towards the east. "Your Highness, it's been many years since we last met. I hope you are well."
Dongfang Qi also returned the greeting and said to Lin Qingyue, "This is the eldest prince of Feng Kingdom, Ling Zhen, and this is Princess Ling Xue of Feng Kingdom."
Then, he introduced Lin Qingyue to Ling Zhen.
Ling Zhen said, "So this is the famous Prince Chao Lan. She is so heroic and valiant, she is truly a heroine."
Princess Ling Xue saw that Dongfang Qi was only talking to Ling Zhen, but was very unfamiliar with her, so she said coquettishly:
"Brother Qi, why won't you just talk to me? I've been missing you ever since we last met ten years ago. I've come all the way to Qi just to catch up with you."
Dongfang Qi smiled appropriately and answered flawlessly, "Princess Lingxue has come all this way for the sake of diplomatic relations between our two countries. The people of Qi extend a warm welcome. The banquet is about to begin. Princess Lingxue, Prince Lingzhen—please enter."
Ling Xue wanted to say something but was pulled away by her brother.
As the most distinguished guests, they were given seats at the top. As soon as they appeared, many officials immediately started chatting with them.
Even Dongfang Yan took the initiative to come forward and talk to him.
He looked at Ling Xue with admiration and said something. Ling Xue seemed very happy, with smiles on her eyes and eyebrows.
Dongfang Qi sat at the opposite table, next to Lin Qingyue.
For some reason, Lin Qingyue felt that there was always a pair of eyes cast towards her from time to time.
Lin Qingyue looked up and her gaze met Dongfang Yan's.
Dongfang Yan listened to Princess Ling Xue with a cheerful face, but looked at Lin Qingyue with a slightly provocative look.
Lin Qingyue: “…”
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