Chapter 96 Second Update

  On the delicate small table, a plump white donkey is rolling around, crystal clear hundred-fruit glutinous rice cake, enticing purple rice cake, light green mung bean cool cake, crispy Buddha's hand pastry...... There are almost dozens of small dishes on this delicate small plate, each containing some, so that it won't be too much to finish eating but can let people eat a little more. On the side is a fruit platter that has been cut for a long time and a white jade wine bottle.

  The tables of the ministers were all filled with exquisite pastries, each pastry seemingly a delicate work of art that one hesitated to taste. Ziyue Ye sat on the right side of Yun Ning, while Liu Qingyou sat on the left side, next to Yun Ning was Lang Ge, and next to Liu Qingyou was Shangguan Meng.

  Shangguan Meng sat down and saw all sorts of delicate pastries, after asking for Zi Ruoye's consent, he dared to reach out and take those pastries. Zi Ruoye looked at him, clearly wanting to eat but looking at her with a sulky expression, thinking it was adorable. Just like a little cat begging for food.

  Entertaining a foreign envoy is basically equivalent to telling the country behind that envoy about one's own strength, whether it is profound or superficial. Although it cannot be fully explained through a small banquet, it can still have some deterrent effect. Bi Fan had already entered the scene with many other officials and was slightly shocked by what Wang said, not expecting that the seemingly incompetent prince was actually the mastermind behind this palace feast.

  As everyone had taken their seats, Zi Yanran took the cup handed over by Liu Qingyue and said in a loud voice, "Today is the banquet I set up for the envoy of Qinglan. Everyone should have fun, and also tell the Queen of Qinglan that her wishes have been received by me and my people."

  Bifen stood up, raised his wine glass, and said in a loud voice, "After Bifen returns, he will surely report to the Empress. My son Qinglan still has to rely on your care, Your Majesty." He then toasted to Ziyuanran and also toasted to Ziruoye.

  Zi Ruoye raised the wine jug, and at that time, he returned the gift. He drank a big mouthful with great fanfare. Liu Qingyou sat on Zi Ruoye's left side, looking at Zi Ruoye's left arm that had been placed on the table. She slightly blinked her eyes, picked up the jade chopsticks, and clutched a piece of Baiguo cake into her own bowl. After using the jade chopsticks to make it into small pieces that were easy to eat, she then clutched some for Zi Ruoye. In a soft voice, she said, "You scoundrel, this cake isn't bad. Try some?"

  Zi Ruoye immediately bit down on her chopsticks and put the moderately-sized fruit cake into her mouth, mumbling unclearly with her mouth full, "Thank you. Qingyu, I'm fine." Her eyes were filled with a knowing expression, Qingyu was probably still worried about her left arm.

  She said, still pretending to be calm, and moved her left arm slightly. The movement was indeed slower than usual, but it didn't hinder Zǐ Ruò Yè. Lán Gē saw Zǐ Ruò Yè's arm and her eyes flickered slightly, but she continued to look at the main hall, however, her gaze was distant and unfocused.

  Liu Qingyu put down her chopsticks and muttered, "Who said you had something to do with this bastard?" As she spoke, she turned her head to the side, but her eyes were dimly melancholic. Hadn't that dead bastard's arm really been cured?

  Yun Cong found something was off about Zi Ruoye's left arm on the first day she returned, and after some questioning, Zi Ruoye finally told her what had happened. Looking at Zi Ruoye, Yun Cong's eyes were filled with a pained expression. If only he had been the one to get hurt instead. Thinking of how Ning City's governor had died so suddenly, it was really a blessing in disguise for him.

  He also had Wang Ye go see the people at the Medical Sage Hall, and it seemed that Wang Ye still held a grudge against what the Medical Sage Hall said last time about the intoxicating pill being good medicine. He reluctantly went to see them, but the result was not optimistic. His gaze fell on Zi Ruoye, and he sighed inwardly, but this person was surprisingly nonchalant, saying that if it couldn't be cured, then so be it, it wasn't like they couldn't move...

  He was worried about the poison on that person's arm... She really thought she could deceive him and get away with it, but every time they were intimate in the dark, this man had forgotten that a martial artist wouldn't be unable to see at night... In fact, in the pitch-black environment, he could still clearly see the black and purple mark on Wang Ye's chest.

  Thinking of him, her eyes were filled with sorrow... Why had she searched for so long, yet still had no news of the free and untamed person? Now that the poison was not yet healed, new wounds were added.

  Yun Cong was lost in thought, Zi Ruo Ye's hand gently grasped his, silently giving him strength. Meanwhile, her left hand, which was quite agile, held onto Liu Qing You, and playfully hooked her fingers into the palm of his hand.

  One was teasing, the other was comforting. Yet both were the best comfort for these two men. Liu Qingyou's palm itched from being teased by Zi Ruoye, but she didn't let go of his hand. "Not serious," she said softly, then turned around.

  Yun Cong's face softened into a gentle smile. "Your Highness, I'm fine." But the worry in her eyes still lingered, refusing to dissipate.

  The various ministers looked at Zi Ruoye being so good to her husband and couldn't help but feel that their decision back then was wrong. They didn't want their sons to suffer, but if they could climb up the ranks by marrying Zi Ruoye, this sole prince of the Imperial Family, it would also be greatly beneficial for their official careers.

  Li Yu looked at Zi Ruoye with a gloomy and resentful expression, but she had been pursing her lips without revealing it. Seeing the people around Zi Ruoye were all earthly roles, she glanced at her own husband, who was also considered a handsome man, but thinking about it, they were worlds apart. With a scrutinizing gaze, she looked at Liu Qingyou as if looking at a man who could be anyone's husband.

  Liu Qingyu had always felt that after entering, he was watching himself with a gaze that seemed to be there and not there. Subconsciously searching, but found Li Yu's accusing gaze, as if... as if he had betrayed her. Liu Qingyu's eyes cooled down, she didn't like this kind of gaze that took him as her own, with strong possessiveness. He admitted that he used to like her, but all that was already in the past, and even though they had met a few times, it was all because of Li General's position as her mother.

  Zi Ruoye also caught Li Yu's gaze, her half-closed eyes showing a hint of intoxication and disdain. She hadn't even settled the score for the eight months he had been causing trouble on their journey. She actually liked that Li Yu was being more subdued; otherwise, she would have made a bigger scene, and then she would have had to answer to General Li as well. But if she were to encounter his reverse scales, it wouldn't be her fault.

  Gently kissed on Liu Qingyu's cheek, smiling as if already drunk, "Qingyu, obviously I'm better looking..."

  Liu Qingyou covered his face, which had just been kissed by Zi Ruoye, and didn't expect this bastard to suddenly kiss him. His cheek turned red with a blush, "Damn you, you...!" The shameless scoundrel! Liu Qingyou was so embarrassed and annoyed that he could only pick up his chopsticks and start eating, this bastard really had no shame. Although... he was a little happy... but just a little bit!

  Although Zi Ruoye did not hear the second half of Liu Qingyou's sentence, she had already seen what was behind his words from his eyes. Zi Ruoye swung the wine jug in Li Yu's direction and narrowed her eyes to cover up the cold intent at the bottom of her eyes.

  Li Yu felt even more that Zi Ruoye was truly shameless after seeing her recent actions, and her eyes were filled with a thick, unresolvable jealousy. She tried her best to endure it, but the fact that no one had been able to kill Zi Ruoye in eight months of attempts was infuriating. Not only that, but the huge sums of money spent on hiring assassins had all gone to waste. Hundreds and hundreds of taels had been thrown away, yet Zi Ruoye still hadn't died. With both her people and wealth depleted, how could she not be angry?

  Liu Chengxiang was delighted to see this scene, it seems that their family's young son has finally won Ye Wang's heart... He was so happy that he drank several more cups of wine in a row.

  On the stage, the dancer was waving her sleeves and dancing beautifully, but Zi Ruoye was close to Yun Cong's ear, smiling and saying, "There is no dance as good as Cong'er's." That was truly a peerless dance, and she still couldn't help but praise it till now.

  "The king wants to see, Jing'er will go back and dance again." The other women would have their husbands learn a few beautiful dances for themselves by now, even if the wife didn't ask, the husband would still go learn on his own, this is how they attract their wives. But Zi Ruoye had never made such requests before, thinking that the king's husband was really different from others, yet he was also different from other men.

  He used to be an assassin, and was once the top card of Penglai Pavilion. Qingyou, although the son of the Prime Minister, liked martial arts and wasn't favored by those women. Xiaomeng'er was delicate and transparent, but liked formations. And Lang Ge... was seen as a disaster by people. These men were more or less unacceptable to the world. Yun Cong looked at Ziyue Ye, her eyes becoming even softer.

  "Madam, these people dancing back and forth don't look good at all." Shangguan Meng whispered to Ziyue Ye's side. Apart from the fun lanterns just now and those exquisite pastries, everything else was really boring. This was the second banquet that Shangguan Meng had attended, apart from Ziyue Ye's birthday banquet. He looked at the dancers on stage and shook his head lightly.

  "What does Na Meng like to watch?"

  "I love watching my wife beat up bad guys!" Shang Guan Meng said, his eyes shining brightly at the memory. Every time he thought about that day, he felt that his wife was simply awesome. Suddenly, he remembered something else, "Wife, since you beat up those bad guys last time, you haven't finished reciting that poem to me yet."

  It was originally remembered, but later on, it was forgotten due to a pile of things. Now that I've recalled it, my desire for knowledge has been stirred up again.

  Zi Ruoye was taken aback, not expecting Shang Guan Meng to still remember that time. "There were eight sentences in total, also known as 'Drunken Eight Immortals', and there's a story behind it too."

  As soon as he heard there was a story, Xiang Jun's eyes sparkled like a child who wanted candy, and he said carefully, "Wife, can you tell us that story? Yun Gege and the others must want to hear it too." The wife seemed to know many stories, but had never told them to Meng before. He really wanted to listen, but was also afraid the wife would refuse.

  Liu Qing's eyes also flashed with a faint light, and he indeed had never heard of a dead bastard telling stories either. "Dead bastard, this young master wants to hear too..."

  Zi Ruoye looked around at everyone, seeing that they were all captivated by the music and dance, before smiling and saying, "Alright, I see you're not fans of music and dance either. Let me tell you a story about the Eight Immortals crossing the sea."

  Zi Ruoye began to tell the story of the Eight Immortals crossing the sea, and as she spoke, the expressions of the men also became more vivid. They felt sorry for Peony Fairy, admired He Xiangnu's bravery, and laughed at Zhang Guolao's love of food...

  After finishing speaking, it was only then that these four men were found to be crying, laughing, frowning and still as calm as ever. A sigh of helplessness, "It's just a story, why are you all like this?" But as soon as the voice came out, it was discovered that the garden had become eerily quiet.

  "Wow, I didn't expect you to know such a wonderful story, Imperial Sister!" The ministers also applauded and cheered as soon as Zi Yanran spoke up. They had been watching the singing and dancing, but for some reason, the imperial garden gradually quieted down, only to discover that it was Ye Wang telling stories again. With curiosity in their hearts, they listened intently, and before long, they were completely absorbed in the story.

  "Maybe Ye Wang isn't that bad after all?" An official's son muttered to himself, his eyes filled with envy. The story he had just heard was really good, and they probably got to hear stories like that every day. Even if they weren't favored by the prince, it was still a good thing. The man's muttering echoed another man's thoughts, maybe it wasn't really like that after all?

  Zi Ruoye had investigated many cases where people were left helpless, and even nearly lost her life. After marrying Yun Cong, she never went to the brothel again. Even today's banquet was said to be hosted by Ye Wang himself. They could all see the satisfaction in Qing Luan's eyes.

  The men present couldn't help but look at Ziyue Ye with a re-examining gaze as she drank wine leisurely by herself, while the few people surrounding her subtly blocked the men's line of sight.

  Lan Ge slightly turned his head, and even he thought the story was quite interesting. This person seemed to know a lot of things?

  Just as everyone was guessing, a voice broke the silence at this moment, "The envoy of Haiyue has arrived!"

  Is Ambassador Hai Yue?!!

  Today is the banquet hosted by Qing Lan's messenger, what do they mean by coming at this time? Zi Yan put down her wine cup and looked at Hai Yue and his entourage slowly entering, her eyes flickering on and off.

  Zi Ruoye's lips curled up lightly, her half-closed eyes were filled with a faint interest, she finally came, she thought she wasn't going to come.

  All the ministers hurriedly sat up straight, thinking in their hearts about Hai Yue's purpose. They knew that Hai Yue's troops had arrived several days ago, but they had not entered the palace to meet with them. They were already quite dissatisfied with this.

  Hai Yue and his entourage walked in, then knelt down together. "Ambassador Hai Yue presents his respects to the three princes and five princesses of the empress."

  Everyone had just focused their attention on guessing the purpose of Haiyue's envoy, and with this reminder, they turned their gaze to the two men standing on either side.

  The man on the left was dressed in a navy blue robe with waves embroidered on it, and his slightly curved mouth seemed to be smiling all the time. This three-point charming and seven-point seductive appearance was indeed a beauty. The man on the right, however, wore a white robe, but his body looked somewhat weak. However, his seductive figure made people's imagination run wild. Upon closer inspection, his pale face had no blood color, like a sickly person? Looking up again, everyone felt a wave of disappointment. This seductive figure was paired with such an ordinary face, and on top of that, he was a sickly person, making him even less attractive. How could Hai Yue bring two men with such huge differences over?

  The man on the left, however, seemed to be like a nobody, and lightly hooked his eyes at Zi Yanran, then gently knelt down, his voice soft and seductive, "Haiyue Five Prince Ling Ruo Shui pays respects to Your Majesty. Wishing Purple Xuan country prosperity and people peace."

  Zi Ruoye's hand shook as she drank her wine, almost spilling the precious liquid. This fifth prince was quite bold, wasn't he? He had flirted with her from the start, yet hadn't he noticed Zi Yanran's subtly raised corners of her mouth and Liu Qingyue's increasingly gentle smile? She didn't know how to evaluate him after he had teased the emperor and provoked the queen.

  After the Fifth Prince finished speaking, the man standing on the right finally knelt down softly, but he looked too ill and frail, as if a gentle breeze would take his life away. "Haiyue Third Prince Ling Ruo Xing pays respects to Your Majesty, wishing for peace and prosperity in the Imperial Court and among the people."

  Liu Qingyu noticed the pale-faced man as soon as he entered with Haiyue's envoy. He furrowed his brow and whispered to Ziyue Ye, "That deadbeat, don't you think that Third Prince looks familiar?" Why did he have a sense of familiarity, which was more annoying than anything else?

  Zi Ruoye's eyebrows rose, of course, she was familiar with him. He was the one who had been quarreling with her all along, and even snubbed her in the end - Mu Rou Xing. But she hadn't expected that he would turn out to be Haiyue's Third Prince, looking like an unfavored one? Otherwise, he wouldn't have spoken up only after the Fifth Prince finished speaking.

  But... it's probably not that simple, is it?

  Zi Ruoye smiled and gently nibbled on Liu Qingyu's earlobe, completely disregarding the atmosphere in the room. "You're very familiar... with that person." They almost drew their swords at each other, how could they not be familiar?

  Are you familiar with him?

  Liu Qing furrowed her brow, thinking about when she had met the fifth prince of Haiyue. She only felt that this prince's figure was very similar... very similar to someone, Ling Rou Xing? Rou... Xing? Mu... Rou Xing? Mu Rou Xing?!

  Her eyes widened slightly, looking at the purple leaf-like eyes that seemed to smile but not smile, "Is it really him?" When did he become the prince of Haiyue? I didn't expect his disguise technique to be so ingenious, if it wasn't for his familiar feeling, I'm afraid I wouldn't have guessed it.

  Ziyan's majestic voice spoke to the envoy of Haiyue below, "Haiyue has come to Zixuan, I am naturally most welcome, but I don't know why Haiyue has come at this time?"

  With a hint of apology, she explained that it wasn't that they didn't want to immediately enter the palace and pay their respects, but rather that the Third Prince had been feeling unwell for the past few days. The prince felt that he shouldn't appear before the emperor in such a state, so they waited until he was feeling better before daring to come and pay their respects.

  The third prince, Ling Rou Xing, also bowed slightly at this moment and said, "What we said is not in vain, it's all because my body is not good and has delayed everyone's journey." Standing up seemed to have already exhausted a lot of his energy, and even his body was swaying slightly.

  Lowering her eyelids slightly, she caught a glimpse of Zi Ruoye sitting quietly drinking wine beside her, and lightly curled up the corners of her mouth. Prince Wang, it seems we've met again.

  Digression

  Pfft...

  I'm ready to translate. Please go ahead and provide the text you'd like me to translate.

  (Also, I noticed you provided some text: "1W。送上~>3333". Here is the translation:

  "1 Week. Sent above ~> 3333")

  Vote for me~ Vote for me~ Vote for me~ Vote for me~

  Pfft! In the past few days, there were too few fish and they didn't even dare ask for tickets...