The sudden burst of laughter around her made Wei Shuwan blush, her face turning as red as a ripe plum.
Li Qingchen patted her hand twice to comfort her, and then naturally flicked his robe to block the view of the people next to him, giving Wei Shuwan the opportunity to sit back on her side.
Although she sat back down on her own side, Wei Shuwan's face was still flushed red. Li Qingchen glanced around without saying a word, but everyone who met his gaze instantly stopped laughing, realizing his protectiveness towards his wife.
Then, without saying a word, Li Qingchen poured Wei Shuwan a full glass of wine and handed it to her, saying, "Calm down."
To hide her blushing embarrassment, Wei Shuwan took the glass of wine and drank it down in one gulp, not caring whether it was light or strong. Only upon tasting it did she realize it was slightly sweet, with a faint aroma of fruit wine.
She found it delicious, and besides, fruit wine wouldn't give her a headache, so she poured herself two more cups. After three cups, the earlier embarrassment seemed to have been forgotten, and she was finally able to enjoy the singing and dancing in the main hall.
Palace musicians played melodious tunes in a corner, while dancers swayed their sleeves and danced gracefully in front of the palace, their charm wafting through the air. Even the princes and ministers sitting on both sides couldn't help but sing along softly and sip their drinks.
Palace maids carrying cups filed in through the side door, taking silent, small steps. Their skirts swayed in neat, uniform arcs. They gracefully and nimbly placed the delicacies and fine wines on the table before respectfully withdrawing with empty cups in hand.
The entire process was extremely quiet, neither obstructing the guests' view of the dance nor making any noise to spoil their enjoyment of the music. Moreover, their gentle and graceful movements were a pleasure to watch.
After the warm-up performance, it was time to present the birthday gifts. This was an even more exciting part of the Thousand Autumns Festival than the singing and dancing, and everyone hoped that their carefully prepared gifts would win the emperor's praise.
The eunuch Cao, who was serving Emperor Pingjia, bowed and asked for permission before taking a few steps forward. He stood on the edge of the jade platform, unfolded the list of gifts that had been prepared in advance, and began to read them out one by one.
Those whose names were called by him would personally present their birthday gifts to Emperor Pingjia. If the gifts were large, a pre-arranged eunuch would assist in carrying them to the main hall to be displayed to His Majesty and everyone present.
Because the presentation of gifts was also based on seniority, Li Qingchen, the adopted son of Emperor Pingjia, was placed earlier in the order. After the princes and senior members of the imperial clan had finished presenting their gifts, it was his turn.
Before this, Wei Shuwan had secretly guessed what Li Qingchen would give. She thought he would try his best to collect rare treasures from all over the country like the other princes in order to win the favor of Emperor Jia. However, what Li Qingchen presented was only an original work by a famous artist from the previous dynasty, a painting of immortals celebrating a birthday.
Such a birthday gift could not be said to be unthoughtful, but it did not seem particularly rare or special; it was merely conventional. However, Wei Shuwan thought about it afterward and realized that this was precisely Li Qingchen's cleverness in handling matters. He always appeared to have no intention of competing with anyone, and although he was clearly capable of doing things perfectly, he always deliberately restrained himself.
After the birthday gifts from the imperial relatives were presented, it was time for the envoys from various countries to present their gifts in front of the officials. This was a sign of respect from the Emperor of Daye towards friendly nations.
Those who entered the hall before him were all friendly nations that had maintained good relations with Da Ye for many years. They exchanged auspicious words and expressed their friendship with their respective countries, and that was the end of it. However, when the last envoy entered the hall, some of the people present showed different emotions.
As the young man with a feathered crown and a full beard walked into the hall, and his face was seen more clearly by more people, a dull thud of a cup being dropped broke the previous peaceful atmosphere.
Wei Shuwan curiously looked in the direction of the sound and saw that the person who had slammed the cup down on the table was none other than Pan Wenjun's father, Pan Wei.
Judging from Pan Wei's expression, he was clearly furious with the newcomer.
Wei Shuwan looked at her uncle again. Sun Xingjian was also staring intently at the newcomer, his right fist clenched tightly on the table, as if he could leap into the hall at any moment and deliver a heavy punch to the newcomer!
Although it had not yet been confirmed, Wei Shuwan felt a sense of unease. She turned her gaze back to the man wearing the feathered crown and began to speculate about his identity.
A foreign land that could inspire such hatred in both Governor Pan and his uncle...
While Wei Shuwan was pondering, the man spoke: "I am Awuge, the eldest prince of His Majesty the Emperor of Ziyi Kingdom. Today, I have come on behalf of Ziyi Kingdom to congratulate the Emperor of Daye on his birthday and to present birthday gifts."
As soon as he finished speaking, Prince Awuge turned around and pointed to the tall object covered with red silk behind him. The gift was so tall that it was almost as tall as Prince Awuge himself.
However, this was not Wei Shuwan's main concern at the moment; the last beat of her heart was still on Prince Awuge's self-introduction.
Ziyi Kingdom? Isn't that the enemy that Pan Wei and his uncle have been fighting against in the northern border?
At the same time...
Wei Shuwan slowly and sadly shifted her gaze to Pan Wenjun, the very place where her sister Pan was to be married off and die tragically.
As Wei Shuwan's right hand trembled, the ruby-red wine in her hand rippled outwards, and a little spilled out.
Li Qingchen, who was sitting next to Wei Shuwan, naturally noticed her unusual behavior. He turned his gaze over and frowned slightly as he looked at Wei Shuwan, who was in a state of fear.
"What's wrong with you?" he asked in a deep voice.
Wei Shuwan seemed not to hear anything at all, staring blankly at the person opposite her. Li Qingchen followed her gaze and found that the person she was looking at was Pan Wei's daughter.
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