Make new friends
As the banquet began, fragrant white smoke rose from the center of the hall, celestial music lingered in the air, and graceful fairies descended from the sky, their colorful robes fluttering as they danced and sang. The gods and immortals toasted each other, clinking glasses, and the atmosphere was extremely lively.
Some immortals and gods exchanged pleasantries with her, but none were as welcome as the Flower Goddess beside her. Facing this situation, the Flower Goddess handled it with ease, responding naturally and taking good care of every immortal around her.
The wine used at the banquet was peach wine, a rare and precious treasure. The refreshing and sweet peach fragrance lingered for a long time. Yuanli drank the whole pot without feeling drunk at all. This completely made up for Yuanli's regret that she loved drinking but had a poor alcohol tolerance, so she started drinking a second pot of peach wine.
"It's best not to drink too much peach wine."
Yuanli was a little surprised and turned around to say thank you, "Thank you, Flower God, for the reminder."
The flower goddess called out to the fairy messenger beside her, covered her mouth and whispered a few words. Soon, the fairy messenger brought a plate of Buddha's apple and presented it to her table.
The Flower God met her puzzled and grateful gaze and explained, "Peach wine has an incredibly strong aftertaste. The Sakya fruit is the best hangover sobering spiritual object. If you can't hold your liquor well, it's best to take a glass of wine and a mouthful of fruit."
"Thank you, but why?"
As soon as these words came out of her mouth, Yuanli herself was shocked. She didn't understand why she would say what she was thinking directly. Could it be that the saying "alcohol makes cowards brave" was true?
"What why?"
The Flower Goddess, equally shocked, paused before saying, "You want to ask why I warned you? I'm not the type to deliberately watch others embarrass themselves just because of a man, nor would I frame anyone."
"Since you like him, why don't you tell him? Simply preventing other women from approaching him won't necessarily be very effective. Why not face your true feelings and pursue the one you love."
After saying that, Yuanli covered her mouth in annoyance, "Sorry, I didn't mean to offend."
This peach wine is a bit too spiritual. The truth in one's heart cannot be hidden at all, and one's words and actions are so bold that they express one's most genuine reactions and thoughts.
"I know. One of the most interesting features of Peach Wine is that it can make those who drink too much behave according to their true feelings. If you hadn't drunk Peach Wine, you wouldn't have said these words."
The flower god sat down beside her, glanced at the fairy standing behind her, and then looked at her with a questioning look.
"They are all family. What does the Flower God want to say? Just speak freely."
Yuanli was a little surprised by her sudden closeness. The moment she sat down, a faint floral fragrance permeated her heart. It was the pleasant scent of the sacred peach tree, exactly the same as the scent in the Hengjin Temple.
A faint intoxication set in, and her cheeks flushed slightly, as if she had applied too much rouge. Yuanli didn't feel uncomfortable, just a slight dizziness.
With the Flower Goddess sitting closer, her beauty became even clearer, and Yuanli couldn't help but stare at her in ecstasy. She herself hadn't noticed she was lost in thought. She smiled at the Flower Goddess and exclaimed in admiration from the bottom of her heart, "Flower Goddess, you are so beautiful, and the fragrance of the sacred peach blossoms on you is so beautiful."
The flower goddess couldn't help but feel happy when she was praised. The gaze in her eyes was full of appreciation and praise, without any malice or falsehood.
"You're beautiful too. But I'm curious, do you like the scent of the sacred peach tree? Or do you like the people who plant the sacred peach tree? The scent of me, everyone who gets close to me, smells their favorite flower scent; it's not fixed. If you don't tell me, I won't know. Just like what I smell, it's my favorite water lily scent."
"It's...it's amazing."
Yuanli was a little embarrassed. She was clearly asking her, but she revealed her own preferences.
"I am the Flower God after all. Xingjun hasn't answered my question yet. If he doesn't want to tell me, then forget it."
"The Flower God hasn't answered me yet. I was the one who asked you first. If you don't want to tell me, forget it."
The Flower God communicated with her, saying, "I didn't tell him because I knew we were only immortal friends. There's no need to refuse someone if there's no chance of winning. I also knew that simply preventing other women from approaching him was useless. I've only done this to you."
"You've only done this to me?" Yuanli asked through telepathy.
"Don't get me wrong, I'm not targeting you. I was just panicked by your appearance. After returning from your divine palace that time, I felt a little confused myself. I believe you also know how much you look like someone." The Flower God explained through telepathy.
"I know Demon Lord Li Wan." Yuanli said through telepathy.
"So, you should answer my question now, right?"
Yuanli replied through telepathy, "I like the scent of the sacred peach tree, and I also like the people who plant it."
The Flower Goddess transmitted a message, "You're still trying to persuade me, but why don't you just face your true heart and pursue the one you love? Others might not be able to see it, as the Emperor hides it well, but I've been watching him for tens of thousands of years, and I can tell he probably likes you, too."
Yuanli was silent for a long time. It was not because she had overcome the pleasure of the peach wine and was able to suppress what she wanted to say, but because the relationship between them was too complicated. For a moment, even she herself did not know where to start.
Looking at him from a high position opposite, Yuanli felt mixed emotions. The moment he met her gaze, Yuanli subconsciously avoided him.
The Flower God changed the subject and chatted with her about something else, and the atmosphere gradually returned to a cheerful and light mood. As they chatted and laughed, she couldn't help but clinked her glasses with her and drank more peach wine, enjoying herself very much.
As the Peach Banquet was about to end, she said sincerely, "Yuanli, I quite like you. You're sincere and lovely, and you have a good heart. If I hadn't been prejudiced and hostile, we would have become friends a long time ago. Yuanli, I'm sorry."
"Why are you apologizing all of a sudden? It's not too late for us to be friends now, if you want."
"I don't know. Maybe I wanted to become friends with you and eliminate the previous estrangement and unhappiness first. As for why I apologized, it might be because I gave your husband a concubine in the mortal world, but you retorted that I couldn't give birth to an heir, so I don't owe you too much apology. It may also be because of the farce I caused in your divine palace before the tribulation, and my emotions were involved in making me feel hostile and dislike towards you without any basis." The Flower Goddess joked.
"You are actually..."
The Flower God quickly covered her shocked mouth, "Yes, it was me, don't say it out loud! You idiot! Be careful not to be overheard by others."
Yuanli nodded slightly, and the flower god let go of her hand.
She transmitted through her spirit, "I didn't mean to mock you for being childless. I had just begun my tribulation and didn't know much about mortal matters. It was only later, when my maid spoke of you, that I realized I had offended you. I felt deeply sorry at the time, but since you had asked me to give my husband a concubine, I never found a chance to apologize."
"I have gone through trials and tribulations but have no memory of them. Otherwise, do you think I would be willing to give him a concubine?" The Flower God transmitted the message through telepathy.
"It's all in the past. Let's not talk about that anymore. Today I bow my head and apologize to you. All those things have disappeared. From now on, we are just good friends. Don't let a man affect our friendship!"
"Okay, you bow your head first this time, and I'll bow my head when we're both wrong next time."
After the banquet ended and they said goodbye to the flower goddess, Yuanli lay on Jiuwei's back, hugging her furry neck, and pressing her slightly hot cheek against her, feeling very warm. As she closed her eyes for a short nap, Jiuwei suddenly stopped slowly.
She straightened up and saw that the people approaching were Heng Jin and Xiang Yao, who showed no intention of giving way. She gestured to Jiuwei to go around them, after all, they were already outside her divine residence. However, Heng Jin walked side by side with him and entered her divine residence together.
As soon as he landed, he felt like he was back in his own territory. Without waiting for an invitation, he sat down at the stone table in her yard.
She sat down across from him speechlessly, "Heng Jin, what do you want to do now?"
"I want to talk to you about being responsible for my innocence. Xingjun, do you want to talk about it here or somewhere else?"
Heng Jin's voice was quite loud. As soon as he said this, the immortal messengers working around him couldn't help but hear it, but they pretended not to hear anything, especially Chuan Lian who was about to step forward to serve tea.
She raised her hand to signal Chuan Lian that he didn't need to be served tea, and stood up to take him to the main hall of her bedroom. She also signaled Xiao Zhu to dismiss the surrounding immortal messengers, not allowing anyone to approach the bedroom, and to erase the immortal messenger's memory of hearing Heng Jin's words just now.
After closing the palace door, Yuanli sat down next to him. "Your Majesty, have you had too much peach wine? You're saying whatever you want in the courtyard. You don't need to keep your distance from me now? Your Majesty, aren't you afraid that the immortal messengers in my palace will spread what you said today?"
"They won't, I believe in Xiaozhu."
"Oh, no wonder." Yuanli said sarcastically.
"My dear, please don't be angry with me. I don't want to keep a distance from you. I wish I could be close to you day and night, but the time is not right yet." Heng Jin leaned forward on the small table, and said something coquettish and flattering in her tone.
"The time is not right, the time is not right. You are always like this, talking like a heartless man who plays with people's feelings." Yuanli rolled her eyes at him unhappily.
"No, my lady, I'm not a heartless man who plays with feelings. I really only like you, but I have too many concerns that I can't express."
"Then you can continue to worry about it, and wait until the so-called opportunity comes before provoking me."
Heng Jin produced three pots of peach wine and placed them on the small table.
"At the banquet, I saw that my wife liked this wine, so I specially asked the Queen Mother of Heaven for some. There are also a few sealed jars. I asked Xiang Yao to Xiao Zhu to store them for you."
"To ignore your courtesy is either a traitor or a thief. No merit, no reward. Take it. Is the Emperor here to ask for an explanation or to offer you wine? Heng Jin, I really don't understand you."
"I came to deliver wine, and also to ask for an explanation of my innocence." Heng Jin teased her deliberately. Originally, he had said in the courtyard that he came to ask for an explanation of his innocence, but it was just an excuse to be alone with her.
"If you want an explanation, Your Majesty, please don't open your mouth. Don't say I just kissed you. Even if I forced myself to sleep with you, I can't give you any explanation. After all, it was you who brought this upon yourself, Your Majesty."
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