Chapter 69: The Duel!

  The imperial palace banquet, the lights are shining brightly, the four major families sit together, with the Ling family at the forefront. Everyone is chatting and laughing, but no one mentions what happened at the entrance of the palace.

  Golden halls are precious, silk and bamboo music is refreshing, singing and dancing are rising, the night banquet has begun.

  On the highest throne, Nan Gong Qi was a slightly chubby man who looked very ordinary, with a warm smile on his face. It was hard to associate him with the handsome Nan Gong Ye. On either side of him sat the Empress and Concubine Jiang.

  Ji Yunyang was sitting right next to Ling Wushuang, pinching a wine jug in his hand, smiling slightly and winking at her with raised eyebrows.

  This guy is fearless, he actually killed the second elder of the Holy Temple, Xuanming, who was favored by Leisheng, and it made him tremble with fear.

  At the same time, Ji Yunyang was also worried that Lei Sheng, that old guy, was vengeful and would definitely take revenge. Not to mention his only disciple had been killed, if he found out, he would definitely go to the Ling family to kill them!

  Musou played with the delicate wine cup in his hand, smiled at Ji Yunyang as if nothing had happened, like an innocent person.

  It was unclear whether it was intentional or for some reason, Nan Gong Ye happened to be sitting opposite Ling Wu Shuang, wearing a magnificent deep blue changshan, but with his head slightly lowered, pouring himself a drink, his eyes deep and introspective, as if thinking about something, occasionally raising his head to respond to the flattery of the people around him.

  "His Imperial Highness The Seventh Prince"

  A gentle and beautiful voice sounded in Nan Gong's ear, neither too loud nor too soft, warm and pleasant.

  Nan Gong Ye raised his head, looking up at a pair of sparkling eyes, blushing and embarrassed. Nan Gong Ye was taken aback for a moment, put down the wine jug in his hand, nodded and smiled: "Feng Qiu Princess"

  The surname Feng is the imperial surname of Beichen Country, and the yellow-clad woman in front of Nangong Ye, with a slender figure and a gentle smile, was none other than Princess Feng Qi of Beichen Country.

  "In the past few days, I've been troubled a lot. I'm deeply grateful and have come to offer a toast to the Seventh Prince." Princess Feng Qi held up her wine cup, smiling and chatting, and after finishing speaking, she drained it in one swift motion.

  "The princess is too kind," Nangong Ye smiled, raising his wine cup, but his eyes inadvertently glanced at Ling Wushuang across from him. He laughed loudly and said, "The princess has come from afar, so why not stay in Donglin for a few more days? It will also allow the young king to fulfill his duties as host."

  Who would have thought that a hint of playfulness flashed in Feng Qi's eyes, "Then I won't be polite"

  Feeling the adoration in Feng Qiu's eyes, Nan Gong Ye was slightly dazed, his thoughts drifting to who-knows-where.

  "This must be Princess Tianxue." Feng Qiu smiled gently.

  "Feng Qiu sister, you're really beautiful" Nangong Xue smiled and flattered her with a sentence. Then, she raised her head, pretending to be innocent, and said: "Why don't you become the imperial concubine for Ye brother? That way, Xue'er can see Feng Qiu sister every day."

  "Xu'er, don't spout nonsense!" Nan Gong Xue hadn't even finished speaking when he was sternly interrupted by Nan Gong Ye.

  However, Nan Gong Xue's innocent words did not escape the pricked ears of the people around her, and they immediately began to discuss it. Everyone in the Eastern Palace knew that Ling Wu Shuang and the Seventh Prince were engaged, so what did Tian Xue Princess mean by this?

  Listening to the whispers around him, Nan Gong Ye's eyes seemed to hold a hint of something as he glanced at Ling Wu Shuang across from him before turning his gaze to Feng Zuo Gong Zhu and apologized: "My younger sister is still young and ignorant, please don't mind her, Your Highness."

  "How could that be?" Feng Qi's voice softened, and a faint blush appeared on her face. "I think Princess Tian Xue is refreshingly lovely, truly rare."

  The Emperor sent her to congratulate on his birthday, and he had already planned to marry her off. Compared to other incompetent princes, she would naturally prefer to marry Nan Gong Ye, who was young and promising, and handsome.

  "The Phoenix Perch Princess of Beichen, has she set her sights on the Seventh Imperial Prince?"

  "This seems to imply a marriage alliance, but isn't the official wife of the Seventh Prince Ling Wushuang? Why would Feng Qiu Gongzhu be relegated to being a secondary consort?"

  ……

  Everyone looked at Feng Qiu Gongzhu's blushing face and suddenly understood. Isn't it obvious that there is a tendency to form an alliance? Ling Wusuo hasn't even married into the royal family yet, but the Seventh Prince already has intentions of welcoming a secondary wife. This is simply too much.

  At Nangong Ye's rebuke, Nangong Xue stuck out her tongue and turned around, but then lifted her chin and gave Ling Wushuang a provocative smile across the way.

  The people around also looked at Ling Wu Xue, wanting to see her reaction.

  Ling Wu's eyebrows slightly raised, what is she looking at? What does she have to do with him, she hasn't said a word.

  Nangong Xue hummed at Ling Wusuo, then smiled sweetly at Feng Qiu. Many people liked Ye brother, anyone could become Ye brother's imperial concubine, but Ling Wusuo, this waste, absolutely not!

  Ling Wushuang smiled lightly and played with the wine cup in his hand, but didn't say a word, directly ignoring her. This Nangong Xue was really too self-righteous.

  Nangong Xue's fingernails were all embedded in her flesh, she was so angry that she gritted her teeth, feeling like she had punched a cotton ball.

  The envoy of Beichen Kingdom, seeing this situation, secretly rejoiced in his heart. It seems that the seven princes are quite satisfied with their Feng Qiu Gongzhu. In these few days, they even accompanied her to stroll around the entire Donglin City.

  This marriage alliance is promising.

  Nangong Qi, who was standing above, looked at Nangong Yan and Feng Qiu Gongzhu, who were laughing and chatting, and then glanced at the other side, where Ling Wushuang seemed to be detached from the scene with a calm expression. His eyebrows furrowed again, what's going on here?

  In the past, Lao Qi didn't like Ling Wushuang, so it's still acceptable for him to think this way. But isn't Rong'er the one who asked for an imperial decree just a few days ago to marry Ling Wushuang? Now, why is he suddenly... with Feng Qiu Gongzhu...

  Nangong Qi's face showed a hint of guilt as he thought about it, and he had also heard rumors about Ling Wushuang's previous misdeeds. However, he was powerless to do anything about it at the time. Now that things were finally taking a turn for the better, he didn't want any new complications to arise.

  More importantly, the marriage between the two countries, although not a bad thing to talk about, but at this sensitive time, the Ling family is even more important and cannot afford to have any distractions.

  Everyone at the banquet was smiling and chatting on the surface, but each had their own thoughts.

  After a long time, the singer on the red carpet retired, an old minister of Xilang country stepped out of his seat, slightly hunched over, walked out, and smiled: "Happy birthday to the Emperor, my emperor has sent me to congratulate you on your birthday, with a humble gift, hoping that Xilang will always be at peace"

  A suitable smile floated onto the person's face, and with a wave of their hand towards the back, two people walked in slowly, holding a red lacquered carved jade plate.

  The birthday banquet in the imperial palace, after the opening welcome song and dance, was the presentation of gifts from various countries. Xilang country happened to be the first one.

  "Hahaha" Nangong Qi stroked the golden jade belt at his waist, bursting into a loud and clear laughter. "Too polite, thank you, Western Emperor."

  Everyone's gaze also fell on the red cloth-covered lacquer tray, and when sending gifts to foreign countries, the more valuable and sincere the gift, the more it subtly implies a country's wealth, which everyone understands.

  "This is a pair of jade horns from the Nine-Headed Snake, I hope the Eastern Emperor will like it"

  The old chancellor of Xilang country waved his hand and opened the red cloth with a very natural smile.

  "What? A pair of jade horns from the nine-headed snake?" Many people present were secretly astonished, their eyes gathering on the red lacquer large plate.

  As the red cloth was lifted, everyone gazed in awe, a pair of ivory horns, pure white as jade, about half a meter long, curved like a crescent moon, lay quietly on the red wooden tray.

  Greed Nine-Headed Snake, nine heads and nine horns, that is a low-level Sacred Realm-level mysterious beast, extremely precious, with only one appearance in history, the Jade Horn being its most valuable part.

  The most important thing is that if Xiling has its jade horn, then the nine-headed snake with a greedy head might have been killed by their people.

  Except for the pair brought over, the other seven jade horns should also be in Xileng.

  "Is there anyone in Xilang who can kill a high-ranking Sacred Domain beast?" Everyone looked at each other, and had to reevaluate the strength of Xilang, which had been silent until now.

  Xizhan country can produce such things, this is a declaration of strength!

  "Hahaha" Nangong Qi laughed and waved his hand to let someone collect it, stroking the sparse beard on his chin, looking very satisfied.

  Then all the major forces also presented their congratulations.

  There are rare heavenly treasures, elixirs that prolong life, and some mysterious beast cores. Although they are all extremely precious, none of them surpass Xilan. The other three countries suddenly feel their status has dropped significantly, and they grit their teeth in secret.

  It was soon the turn of the four major families, and the Yun family, being wealthy and generous, presented a whole box of colored night pearls from the depths of the far north sea, with over a hundred night pearls that illuminated the entire grand hall.

  The gift from the Ji family, a thousand-year-old Blood Ginseng King, is even more invaluable.

  Everyone sighed in amazement, the four major families were indeed not to be underestimated.

  At this time, the people of Jiang's family also stood up under the indication of Concubine Jiang.

  "The Jiang family has also prepared a humble gift for Your Majesty, to congratulate you on your grand birthday. I hope that Your Majesty will be pleased." Jiang Ming, representing the head of the Jiang family, stepped out of his seat and said a few words before waving his hand to have a small black box brought up.

  After the box was opened, the great hall suddenly lit up, and after the light converged, everyone saw what was inside.

  "A dragon ball in hand, I hope Your Majesty will be pleased" Jiang Ming's words were like a bomb.

  "Dragon Ball!"

  Some people were even shocked and stood up, staring intently at what Jiang Ming was holding in his hand, and even Nangong Qi couldn't help but straighten his waist.

  But everyone also knew that the Dragon Ball in Jiang Ming's mouth was unlikely to be a real Dragon Ball.

  The Star Continent had never seen a true dragon, only the legendary mysterious beast recorded in ancient texts with just a few sparse lines, and whether it existed at all was debated among the people, while the Dragon Pearl spoken of by the masses was actually the crystal nucleus of the Jiao Dragon.

  In the black wooden box held by Jiang Ming, a brown crystal stone was placed, about the size of an adult's fist. In the dim light, it faintly emitted a dark glow, majestic and magnificent.

  "This is a mid-grade Sacred Domain Xuan Beast, the crystal core of the Earth Poison Dragon." Those with discerning eyes in the room immediately saw where this thing came from.

  "Not bad," Jiang Ming smiled with some complacency.

  Legend has it that Ditou Long has a thread of true dragon bloodline, and his crystal core is also known as the Dragon Pearl by many people.

  "Good, good, this gift is the most precious one I received tonight. The Jiang family will be heavily rewarded." Nangong Qi was overjoyed, not only because the Jiang family's gift was precious, but also because his gift contained a dragon character.

  Dragon, in the Star Continent, is a symbol of nobility and auspiciousness.

  The imperial concubine Jiang was overjoyed at seeing the emperor's face, and immediately raised her eyebrows and let out a breath, also smiling gently.

  For this gift, the manpower and material resources spent are not small, and even the expensive price is paid to invite people from the Holy Hall. However, it's worth making this old thing happy and competing for this position for the imperial son.

  "I don't know what gift I can offer to the Ling family!"

  Jiang Ming presented the gift and didn't immediately retreat, instead he coldly snorted at Ling Qingtian with a somewhat provocative tone.

  The Jiang family's gift is so precious and meaningful that he can't believe it. This extraordinary thing can surpass everything!

  Ling Wushuang cut off his son's arm, and today, he will make the Ling family lose face in front of the four countries.

  Jiang Ming's face was tense with a hint of divine aura.

  In such a situation, he really didn't expect it beforehand. Not only the other three countries but also the congratulatory gifts from various major powers were unexpectedly precious. Most importantly, he hadn't paid attention to preparing for them!

  What he had prepared was also a rare treasure, but compared to the Jiang family's, it seemed much more ordinary.

  Actually, if it were before, the gifts from the Ling family were ordinary compared to those from the Jiang family, but now that Jiang Ming has spoken so bluntly and provocatively, he immediately attracted everyone's attention, and people couldn't help but compare them.

  "Jiang Ming, you are being impolite!" Nan Gong Qi, who was in a higher position, suddenly spoke out to stop him.

  Nan Gong Qi's face turned somewhat unsightly, Jiang Ming directly provoked the sacred one of the Ling family. If Ling Er Tian were to get angry and strike on the spot, even if he was the emperor, it would be difficult for him to intervene.

  "Your Majesty, please calm down. I think this gift from the Ling family must be extremely valuable and will surely amaze everyone." Consort Jiang's face was filled with a warm smile as she spoke flawlessly, "Jiang Ming is just impatient and wants to take a look, that's all."

  She had specially prepared a gift, almost spending half of her savings, and if it could also make the Ling family lose face, that would be even better.

  Jiang Guifei stared at Ling Wushuang below, her eyes filled with fluctuating hatred. Stinky girl, she actually dared to have a crush on her own son, what a ridiculous daydream!

  Listening to Princess Jiang's words, Jiang Ming climbed up the pole and laughed: "Princess, you're absolutely right, that's exactly what I meant"

  He looked towards the Ling family's direction with an unusually fierce gaze, he just wanted to see what gift the Ling family had brought, could Ling Tian still use this as an excuse to make a move on him?!

  "This Jiang Ming is clearly because Ling Wushuang has ruined his son and is taking the opportunity to provoke him"

  "But if the Ling family really can't come up with a more precious gift than the Jiang family, wouldn't this number one great immortal family become a joke?"

  "Let's see, I'm watching, who knows, it might just be a joke"

  "How can you expect the Ling family to find a gift as precious as this in such a short time?"

  ……

  Anyone with eyes can see the provocation in Jiang's eyes, it was clearly intentional.

  Nan Gongqi also looked at Ling's house with some difficulty, feeling like a needle in the haystack, and had a hard time getting off the tiger.

  "You're so impatient?" Ling Wu Xuan finished a mouthful of tea, put down the wine cup in his hand, smoothed out his clothes, and slowly stood up, "Then I'll let you take a look"

  Digression

  I'm so busy today, I'll explode tomorrow, 10,000 words update