CH 48.1

Chapter 48.1 – At The Banquet (1)

Lu Qipei asked Qi Yang to check the background of the Rong State youth, but she never expected to get an answer before the banquet even began.

The name Xie Hongyi was very unfamiliar to Lu Qipei. She would not associate that name with anything after hearing it, but the same was not true for Qi Yang. Her Royal Highness The Princess had lived two lives, and knew more than Lu Qipei.

When she heard Lu Qipei say the youth’s name and seeing how he was dressed, Qi Yang almost instantly came to a conclusion. “He should be the son of the Third Princess of Rong, and his father is Xie Yuan, Rong State’s prime minster.”

Lu Qipei was stunned when she heard this, and she immediately thought of something, “Is that the strategist who helped the Emperor of Rong State establish his country?”

Hear her words, Qi Yang suddenly had a hint of chagrin in her eyes. She just remembered that the Rong State had only been established recently in this life; had Xie Yuan already became the prime minister yet?

Fortunately, since not even she had heard of the news yet, how could Lu Qipei know? So she nodded confidently, “Un. Xie Yuan originally came from the central plains, and somehow wandered all the way to the barbarians’ land. He was taken in by a tribe and valued by its leader. They hit it off immediately, which led to today.”

She saw that Lu Qipei was listening carefully and continued, “Xie Yuan lived alone with his retainers in the barbarians’ land. Ten years ago, the tribe chief betrothed his daughter to him to win him over. Among the upper-class nobles in Rong right now, he is the only one with the surname Xie.”

In fact, most of the central plains people in Rong State were captive slaves. Only a few merchants could be considered of high status. Xie Yuan was the only one from the central plains among the nobles.

Speaking of which, Xie Yuan’s life story could also be considered legendary. In just ten years, he went from wandering destitute in a foreign country to becoming a powerful prime minister.  He did not get his position by fighting his way through the imperial court’s rank, but personally assisted the Emperor, who ascended to the throne through blood and fire. The Rong State he established was Xie Yuan’s contribution!

When the people of Liang heard of his story, they often cursed him for treason and defecting to the enemy. But when had they ever denied his courage and ability!?

Qi Yang introduced him in a few words. Lu Qipei listened to her and asked, “How much does Your Highness know about this Xie Yuan? For example, when did he leave for the north, and how old is he now?”

Qi Yang was not very clear on these details. Although Xie Yuan was famous in her past life, but he was so far away in the Rong State. Why would Qi Yang look up his background? She shook her head slightly and said, “I don’t know much about this. I’ve only heard that he is still very young, and not even in his forties right now.”

Lu Qipei nodded and didn’t ask anything further. She lowered her eyes, and it wasn’t clear what she was thinking.

A while later, the Emperor finally arrived. Everyone inside the hall stood up to receive him.

Lu Qipei returned to her senses after being reminded by Qi Yang, and stood up with her. She inadvertently looked at the people in front of her and saw that foreigner youth opposite her. Xie Hongyi seemed to be aware of it as well and looked back at her for a moment, then turned his head away in disdain.

Lu Qipei was stunned by his reaction. Before she had enough time to think about it, the Emperor had already stepped into the hall, so she had to bow down.

After the Emperor passed through the hall and sat down at the central seat, he raised his hand and dismissed everyone, and they sat down again. Once the palace banquet started, all the relaxed atmosphere from before disappeared. Everyone stood upright, and the scene turned solemn.

The palace banquet was indeed not a good place to be talking about romance, especially when they were receiving envoys from another country.

Because of the previous letter of credence, the Emperor obviously had a lot of dissatisfaction with the Rong State’s envoys. He didn’t pay attention to that matter for a few days, and didn’t greet a lot of people either on today’s banquet. With the Emperor’s attitude, even though the singing and dancing performance was ready, the atmosphere could not become relaxed.

The Crown Prince sitting at the front row had a straight back, a serious face and showed the majesty befitting a crown prince. But although they didn’t dare to be as unbridled as they were before, the couple behind him was still whispering to each other from time to time.

Because it wasn’t easy to move close to each other right now, some of their conversation managed to reach the Crown Prince’s ears…

Qi Yang picked up her chopsticks and pointed at a lamb dish on the table, saying to Lu Qipei, “I’m tired of eating these dishes on the banquet, but this roasted lamb is not bad. It tastes delicious and doesn’t smell. You should give it a try, Ah Pei.”

When he heard this, the Crown Prince’s gaze went towards the roasted lamb in front of him. He was also a bit interested after hearing what Qi Yang had said.

Lu Qipei smiled and picked up her chopsticks and took a bite. She softly said “delicious”, then moved the roasted lamb in front of her to Qi Yang’s table, all while having a straight look on her face.

Qi Yang was slightly stunned and immediately said, “If its delicious, then you should keep it. Why are you putting it here?”

But Lu Qipei said, “The rest of the dishes are enough for me, but Your Highness only liked this one, so of course I’ll give this to you.”

The more they talked, the more the couple seemed to stick to each other again. Listening to those two’s conversation, the Crown Prince looked away from the roasted lamb – he suddenly lost interest in the dishes, even feeling somewhat… full?

Of course, that feeling was just an illusion, but the Crown Prince really didn’t want to listen to the couple anymore. He raised his wine cup and took a small sip, and his eyes immediately moved towards the hall. He decided to focus on the song and dance show accompanied by music.

The palace’s musicians and dancers were all the best of the best. The sound of the musical instruments accompanying the graceful dance made for a very charming experience.

The Emperor did not say anything, so the people in the hall also didn’t dare to chat with each other. Most of them also focused on the song and dance. Those who preferred these things gradually became fascinated with the performance, until a rough male voice broke the peace within the hall. “This soft kind of song and dance, what’s so good about it?”

Translator Notes:

Got my replacement keyboard, so we should be back-ish to normal schedule.