Chapter Thirty-Six: Birthday Banquet

  A few days passed in a hurry, and finally arrived at the birthday of Purple Leaf. The outer wall of the Wangfu hung red lanterns, and the tables arranged inside and outside the Wangfu reached 300 tables, basically all officials and even ordinary people from the capital could have a good meal. Around the stone bridge with flowing water, a shed was built, which is strange, usually they would build a stage on flat ground, but Purple Leaf included the stone bridge and the lake as part of the viewing platform.

  Apart from the round table, there were chairs that were much higher than the ground. The highest one belonged to Zi Yanran, and the position next to her was for Liu Qingyue. The positions three rows below them were for the Chancellor, the General, and other high-ranking officials in the imperial court. Sitting up there allowed one to see everything without any obstructions, whether it was the performances on stage or the faces of the people below.

  The birthday banquet was set for the afternoon, and although Ziyue Ye didn't like it, she still let the servants prepare everything. The entire palace was in a state of great bustle, while Ziyue Ye, who had become a recluse, stayed shut up in her room drinking wine until the steward came to look for her.

  "Your Highness, are you awake?" The steward knocked gently on the door and asked respectfully, holding a tray with a bowl on it. The black liquid medicine in the bowl emitted an unpleasant medicinal smell.

  Zi Ruoye opened the door and saw the bowl of medicine, frowning involuntarily. "Housekeeper, I asked you to prepare the medicine, but not to decoct it so early." The bitter smell wafting up made Zi Ruoye's already irritable mood even more unbearable.

  "Your Highness, it's better to drink the medicine sooner rather than later. Your body can't be neglected." She respectfully presented the medicinal liquid, implying that if she didn't drink it, she would have to deal with Ziyu Ye.

  He took it and drank it expressionlessly, "Alright, Housekeeper, you're good at managing people. Those officials have arrived?" Looking at the sun, it was just past noon, probably still a bit early.

  "The adults have yet to arrive, but the ministers' gifts have already been sent." He pulled out a gift list from his pocket and handed it to Ziyue.

  "This is a big profit!" Zi Ruoye's eyes suddenly sparkled with excitement, her love of wealth on full display. "I didn't expect that hosting a birthday banquet would bring in so many kickbacks. From now on, I think I'll have to host a few more."

  The housekeeper listened but didn't feel depressed, this birthday is only once a year, only their King Ye would have the idea of holding several times a year. After watching Ziyue Ye drink down that bowl of medicine, the housekeeper retreated to attend to his own affairs.

  The little servant was summoned and asked in a soft voice, "Has Young Master Yun Cong's clothes been sent over?"

  The little servant nodded and replied, "It's been sent, it was just made today, as soon as it was done, I sent it to Young Master Yun Cong." The maid who had never seen Zi Ruoye speak like this before stared blankly and replied, "This king... is not like the usual king at all."

  Zi Ruoye's lips curled up slightly as she looked forward to Yun Cong wearing that outfit... As the time was approaching, she took a step towards the gate to welcome those officials.

  As the red glow on the horizon slowly dyed the azure sky, the ministers arrived in droves. The ministers had always seen the extremely luxurious decorations inside the palace, with some showing surprise, some looking disdainful, and some expressionless. In short, the joys and sorrows of life seemed to have been presented on the faces of the ministers.

  "Happy birthday, Prince Ye!" The minister bowed his hands in gratitude, followed by his wife and son. Seeing Zi Ruoye staring at his son, the congratulatory minister plucked up the courage to stand before her and offer his congratulations again. The emperor's words were law, even if they didn't want to, they had to carry them out; he only hoped that Prince Ye wouldn't take a liking to his son.

  It's not just this minister who thinks so, all ministers with their own sons think so...

  Withdraw your gaze from the beautiful woman, and with a half-drunken glance, there's an inexplicable hint of infatuation. "Minister of Rites, you're too polite, please sit down quickly, please sit down quickly." Although he said so, while speaking, he couldn't help but sneak glances at the person behind Minister of Rites, and the young master standing behind Minister of Rites could only pretend to be calm, not daring to look directly at Zi Ruoye.

  Seeing Ziyue Ye finally let her go, the Minister of Rites finally breathed a sigh of relief and led his family to the banquet table in front of the viewing platform. The table was filled with delicacies, including eight-treasure duck, nine-grade abalone, top-grade shark fin, and even the desserts were the most exquisite pearl balls soup.

  This is really...a big move.

  The ministers all looked at each other in confusion, wondering if the Ziyue Leaf was just a cool pavilion and...the small lake in front? With doubts, they sat down first.

  "King Ye, today you've disappointed me." Minister Liu appeared with a smile, accompanied by his wife and the long-unseen Liu Qingyu.

  Today, Liu Qingyou was not wearing white clothes, but a clean and elegant lake blue robe, with silver thread embroidered with lily flowers on the hem. However, Zi Ruoye found that Liu Qingyou was glaring at her again, leaving her speechless.

  "Yu'er." Minister Liu saw the look on Liu Qingyu's face and coughed slightly, hinting that he should congratulate Zi Ruoye, after all, he was now her fiancé.

  Her mother spoke up, and Liu Qingyou could only dryly say, "Happy birthday."

  "Hehe, no need to be so polite, Yōuér." Zi Ruòyè looked at his appearance and couldn't help but want to make him even angrier. She called out "Yōuér" in a mushy tone, but in her heart, she was guessing whether Liǔ Qīngyōu would flip the table today?

  The sudden intimate address made Liu Qingyou unsure of how to react, she glared at her and obediently retreated behind Liu Chengxiang, but her eyes darted around restlessly.

  Zi Ruoye thought he was looking for Li Yu's figure, and whispered, "Li Yu hasn't arrived yet, she'll be here soon." Looking at his impatient appearance, why didn't he say what was on his mind? It seems that Zi Yanran needs to give him the imperial edict directly, so he can be carefree.

  Liu Qingyou was taken aback, he had just been a little unaccustomed to her sudden intimacy, usually she would call him by his name, or otherwise it was in front of Li Yu that she called him, although his heart was racing with thoughts, he still couldn't help but say, "Who told you I'm looking for her?"

  In Zi Ruo Ye's eyes, however, it was a futile attempt to conceal his own small thoughts. With a smile and an air of "a dead pig not afraid of boiling water", he said, "No, no, I'm sure you're thinking of me in your heart."

  Liu Qingyou was left speechless by her, if it were any other time he would have swung his sword and cut her off... Liu Chengxiang looked at the interaction between Zi Ruoye and Liu Qingyou, and only coughed slightly before congratulating them again and taking Liu Qingyou to the banquet.

  "King Ye, this is indeed lively." Zi Ruoye turned her head around and saw the Minister of Justice smiling at her with a gaze that made her feel somewhat embarrassed. She had thought that the Minister of Justice would not attend, after all, he rarely participated in such events. Among all the officials, Zi Ruoye admired none other than General Li, who had spent nearly half his life fighting for Zihuan Country, and then there was also Minister Shangguan Fei of the Ministry of Justice.

  "The Minister of Justice has arrived, and it's really surprising for this king." His gaze turned back, but he was stunned.

  Glutinous rice balls?

  Shangguan Fei gazed at Ziyue Ye with an ambiguous expression, then pulled Shangguan Meng over and introduced him directly, "Your Highness Ye, this is my only son, with a single name of Meng. Meng Yue."

  Shangguan Meng saw Zi Ruoye for an instant, and his mouth opened to call out the title he had been thinking of for days. He was quickly covered by someone beside him, so he could only blink his eyes and silently seek help from Zi Ruoye.

  Wife is the master! Wife is indeed the master. It turns out that the wife is the king, he's really stupid, why didn't I think of it... Being able to see Zi Ruoye again, the satisfied smile in Wang Ye's eyes is sweet even when his mouth is covered.

  Zi Ruoye only then noticed that Shangguan Meng was wearing a warm yellow brocade robe today, with cute little flowers embroidered on the edges of the sleeves, but she couldn't tell what kind of flowers they were. At his waist was a snow-white satin sash with rolled edges, which was very lovely.

  "Well, Your Highness, I'll take my leave first." Officer Fei pulled along the pouting Officer Meng and walked away.

  Why not let him find his wife? His wife is right in front of him! Why doesn't Mother let him talk to his wife, pouting with a small face full of discontent.

  This time, I've finally found my wife, and I definitely can't let her get away. Mou Er must work hard! Secretly giving himself encouragement, his eyes were fixed tightly on Zi Ruoye, even if Zi Ruoye had her back to him, she could still feel the overly ardent gaze of Ou Gongmou.

  Zi Ruoye smiled and entertained the various ministers, occasionally teasing the young masters brought by the ministers. Looking at the sky, Zi Yanran was also about to arrive.

  "Happy birthday, King Ye! " General Li's loud voice came, and before he arrived, his voice had already reached. Zi Ruo Ye turned around to look, and General Li was indeed dressed very casually, wearing only a simple green robe, with Li Yu following behind him. It is said that General Li has four sons in total, but they are all already married, so this time he came alone with only Li Yu.

  "Thank you, General Li." Zi Ruoye cupped her hands and said, looking at Li Yu, who was dressed quite formally today.

  "Happy birthday, Master Ye. I wish you a happy birthday." Li Yu said with his hands clasped together, but there was not a hint of sincerity in his expression, only a look of disdain. Looking at the decorations in the Wang mansion, how tacky!

  Zi Ruoye also cupped her hands in thanks, "General Li, please meet with us again for a while. The Emperor will arrive soon, but it's a private visit in plain clothes." Seeing General Li's eyes widening instantly, she hastily added another sentence to calm him down.

  Digression

  Collect... so cool... so cool! Thanks to all of you guys!

  Thank you juypjj for the 5 huge diamonds ~ The fish can no longer be described with just drooling ~(?)

  Thank you Xiaozhu's beautiful fresh flowers!!!

  ——

  P.S., Yesterday, Yu bought his first electric vehicle in his life and crashed it on the very first day!

  What a tragedy, what a bitter struggle... Now my knee is still in pain... Tears!

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