Chapter 43.3: Imperial Banquet
Qing Ye Li only lowered his head to look at the young lady whose height only reached up to his chest and he curled up the corners of his lips as he reached his hand out to give her a gentle pat on her head. "What are you thinking of?"
Yue Xin Yan was feeling a little confused with that pat on her head. "Isn't it because Big Brother Ye Li wasn't able to find that Big Sister that is making you feel….. unhappy?"
Qing Ye Li smiled slightly but did not explain any further.
The several guards who were to escort the guests from the Water Edge Kingdom were already waiting outside the Palace Annex and when they saw the guests come out, they all bowed in greeting. "Your Highness, Ninth Princess."
Qing Ye Li acknowledged indifferently and then went forward on his own in front. In a suit of deep red, a head of silver hair aflutter, the wolf shaped mask mysterious and sinister, his entire person exuded an incredibly carefree aura.
Yue Xin Yan took the initiative to go forward to stand beside him, with everyone else falling in line behind, the entire line of people immediately turned to look like accessories to the two in front.
The Palace Annex to the Imperial Palace was merely only a distance of slightly more than ten steps away. The banquet was about to begin and it would be just right to go there now. Qing Ye Li had never liked to wait for people and so he had chosen to be the person people waited for.
The Imperial Palace's grand hall was already filled with people, the men and womenfolk seated at separate tables, their seating arrangements naturally based on the hierarchical order of seniority in rank. The Emperor upon the Dragon Seat looked very young, a certain sense of righteousness between his brows, already imposing without anger in them. Directly below him to his left were the seats of the Duke of Eternal Peace Yan Su and the Crown Prince Xuanyuan Che, while on the right was the Left Prime Minister Yu Cheng Hai and High General Mo Yuan Wei who had served a few generations of Emperors.
Lined up right after, were several of the Princes and Princesses just around ten years of age, and then some of the more prominent aristocrats and senior ministers.
Right at the end, then came the family members of the nobles.
The top prodigy, the most talented young lady Yan Ning Luo was naturally seated at the leading seat and seated beside her was the Left Prime Minister's family's Young Miss Yu Xiao Ning. Surrounding them were some pampered Young Misses who came uninvited to fawn and curry favour.
Yan Ning Luo's expression was cold and apathetic, her eyes scanning across the grand hall sweepingly. [Is he not here yet?]
[That must be it. With such a revered and honoured identity, coming a little late is to be expected. She will definitely see him in time.]
Thinking about that, the highly tensed string in her heart then slightly relaxed.
On the other side, Qing Ye Li and his convoy of people had already come to the Imperial Palace. When they were passing a pavilion in the Imperial Garden, the sound of people talking suddenly reached them.
By that time, all the guests should already have reached and the palace maids and servants should have been summoned into the grand hall to serve the guests. There shouldn't be anyone here anymore.
Qing Ye Li did not bother himself with it and he raised his foot to continue his way forward.
And it was only after they had walked a good distance away that two figures suddenly shot out from within the darkness.
One of them was covered up entirely in a large loose hooded cape and only that deathly pale white chin could be faintly seen, strange and terrifying.
The man beside that figure similarly possessed a deathly pale complexion, his lifeless eyes looking like those of a marionette that was being controlled. His lips then opened and enunciated haltingly: "Someone seems to have noticed us just now."
"Heh heh. There are quite a number of crouching tigers and hidden dragons in this place." The person under the hooded cape sneered. "We don't need to bother about that person yet….. Didn't you say that you sensed the presence of the person who wounded me? Continue to look for him."
"Yes."
"Announcing the arrival of the Water Edge Kingdom's Duke of Vast Seas and the Ninth Princess!"
A clear voice raised up outside the doors, reverberating within the vast palace hall, and the sounds of voices raised in revelry suddenly stopped in an instant.
The Green Wave's Emperor on the topmost seat also sat up, his eyes looking straight at the doors.
Only a small number of people present had ever seen the Duke of Vast Seas and most of them have only heard how legendary he was, almost like a god, but have never laid eyes upon the actual person before. The moment had finally come that they would be able to see this man whose rumours about him were almost legendary, and the people's hearts were all unbelievably excited and were almost quivering.
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