The next day, in the Imperial Garden of the Royal Palace.
You Lanfeng attached great importance to this welcoming banquet. Before Rong Xi and the others arrived, he instructed the Empress to make it grand and sincere. The Empress naturally did her best to fulfill the Emperor's instructions.
At this moment, the banquet hall in the Imperial Garden was already full of people. The Emperor and Empress naturally occupied the main seats, while the distinguished guests from the Azure Dragon Kingdom and the Heavenly India Kingdom sat on the left and in the front, and the members of the Youlan Kingdom's royal family sat on the right. Behind them were the accompanying envoys and the invited officials from the Youlan Kingdom.
From the moment she entered, Feng Qinghuang felt many eyes fixed on her, including a familiar yet venomous gaze. Ignoring this, she led Rong Qi to their seats. Next to Rong Qi was Crown Prince Rong Xi, and beside Feng Qinghuang was her third senior brother. As for her eldest senior brother, he naturally sat opposite her.
As soon as Feng Qinghuang sat down, she saw her senior brother You Bowu and Luo Yunya opposite her and quickly waved to greet them.
When Luo Yunya looked up at her, she inevitably saw Rong Xi, who was not far from Feng Qinghuang. Since taking his seat, Rong Xi's gaze hadn't wavered, his eyes fixed on his beloved. When their eyes met, the joy in their eyes was impossible to hide.
Once everyone was seated, You Lanfeng announced the start of the banquet.
"The purpose of this banquet is to welcome the Crown Prince of Qinglong Kingdom and all the envoys. His Highness the Crown Prince has come from afar to marry our Princess Qingya. And since Princess Qingya and His Highness the Crown Prince are in love, I am naturally delighted. To show the sincerity of my Youlan Kingdom, I will first toast everyone. I will drink this first as a sign of respect. Please feel free to drink as you wish."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
"Rong Xi is here to thank the Emperor of Youlan Kingdom."
You Lanfeng laughed loudly: "Hahaha, Your Highness, after you and Ya'er get married, we will be family. You can just call me Uncle like Ya'er does."
Rong Xi nodded: "Please call me Rong Xi or Xiao Xi, Uncle."
"Alright, alright, Xiao Xi. From now on, Youlan Kingdom will also be your home. After Ya'er gets married, you must come back often, so that your sister and brother-in-law won't always miss you."
Rong Xi nodded: "Rong Xi will certainly follow his uncle's instructions."
You Lanfeng looked at the Crown Prince of Qinglong Kingdom. He was polite and respectful, yet his tone was still noble. You Lanfeng was quite satisfied with this nephew-in-law.
The Empress of Youlan Kingdom, however, felt a pang of resentment. Why was such a fine man not her daughter's, but instead Luo Yunya's? Her daughter was in no way inferior to Luo Yunya; the Emperor was clearly biased, always siding with the outsider.
Then she glanced at her disappointing daughter. How come both of them were undergoing training in the secret realm, yet Luo Yunya managed to become the crown prince of a country, while her daughter ended up disfigured?
The more I think about it, the angrier I get.
The Empress looked again at the little girl her daughter had mentioned. She seemed completely harmless, having spent the entire banquet eating. Could someone with such an adorable appearance really be so cruel as to disfigure her own daughter?
Looking at the pretty and adorable Feng Qinghuang, the Empress wondered to herself, "Could it be that my daughter has mistaken someone for someone else, or perhaps she can't stand the girl's beauty? This little girl doesn't seem like a ruthless person." She decided to test the waters first.
The Empress deliberately tried to get closer: "I presume the lady next to Prince Rong is the little princess that Wu'er often mentions? Wu'er told me before that the little princess played a joke on her, changing her face to look different, and that she would restore it when they met next time. I thought she was just joking, but I didn't expect the little princess to actually come!"
Upon hearing the Empress's words, Feng Qinghuang stood up from her seat, bowed slightly, and asked in surprise, "Your Majesty, did the Princess really say that?"
Hearing her question, the Empress figured she couldn't refuse. Wasn't this a girl who was so easy to manipulate? How could Wu'er have failed so miserably?
The Queen nodded.
After hesitating for a long time, Feng Qinghuang weakly replied, "But I can only destroy, not restore! Besides, I don't think I ever said anything like that to the princess! Aqi, have I been having memory problems lately? Can you help me remember if I said anything like that in the secret realm?"
Rong Qi shook his head: "I never said that."
Feng Qinghuang nodded knowingly: "Your Majesty, you see, I really didn't say that."
The Empress suppressed her anger: "Oh, you didn't say that? Perhaps Wu'er remembered wrong. But the Princess and Wu'er are both young girls. Isn't it a bit much to make such a joke? A girl's appearance is her face. If her appearance is ruined, it will be difficult for Wu'er to get married in the future!"
The Empress's meaning was clear: if the princess's appearance could not be restored, she would be unable to get married in the future, and the blame would be placed on Feng Qinghuang.
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