ABBLEIP Chapter98

In the golden autumn, the emperor’s birthday arrived as scheduled.

 

The emperor wanted to keep everything simple, but the emperor’s birthday was called the Wanshou Festival, a festival of the Dayong Dynasty. It was one of the most important celebrations in the palace to celebrate the emperor’s birthday, and the ancestral etiquette could not be abolished.

 

To celebrate the Wanshou Festival, not only did princes and ministers prepare birthday gifts, but many foreign countries also sent envoys to Shengjing to pay tribute, with auspicious themes such as happiness and longevity, and presented precious and rare gifts such as gold, silver, jewelry, jade, and porcelain.

 

Under the guidance of the Chamber of Commerce, wealthy merchants from all over the country donated money and grain, and some even paid out of their own pockets to repair bridges and roads, truly celebrating the whole country together.

 

“Look, now not only are the people of Dayong congratulating you on your birthday, but even small foreign countries have come to congratulate you.” Shen Qingzhuo half-lying on the dragon bed, his finger bones resting on his chin and smiling lazily, “It can be seen that being an emperor still has many advantages.”

 

Xiao Shen was changing clothes. Hearing this, he turned around, lifted up his beautiful jaw with his fingertips, and gave him a hot kiss. “I don’t care. Why do I need their congratulations?”

 

Shen Qingzhuo turned his head slightly. “Why not? Your Majesty’s birthday will make the treasury richer.”

 

Xiao Shen made a light “tsk” sound and forcibly turned his master’s face over and kissed him. He had to kiss him thoroughly, kissing him so hard that he couldn’t breathe. Then he backed away a little with satisfaction, “I only care about the birthday gift that Master gave me.”

 

Shen Qingzhuo did not respond. After recovering from his shock, he stood up and said, “Let me change Your Majesty’s clothes.”

 

On the day of the Wanshou Festival, the emperor accepted birthday congratulations and birthday gifts from civil and military officials in front of the palace and personally received foreign envoys who came to pay tribute.

 

The numerous valuable gifts were recorded and sent to the treasury, and then the emperor hosted a banquet for all officials in the Fengtian Palace.

 

The birthday banquet was set up at noon, with a total of 99 dishes, including hot dishes, cold dishes, preserved fruits, pasta, and dim sum snacks, including all kinds of delicacies from the mountains and the sea, and precious wines.

 

As Weishi (1-3pm) approached, the princes, ministers, and envoys from various countries entered the hall in an orderly manner and took their seats.

 

Accompanied by the eunuch’s long and loud shout: “His Majesty has arrived—”

 

Firecrackers rang, the bells and drums played music, and the princes, ministers, and envoys from various countries left their seats one after another, standing on both sides of the hall, bowing their heads, and welcoming the emperor.

 

According to convention, everyone should have performed the ceremony of kneeling and bowing, but His Majesty deliberately waived the ceremony today.

 

The tall and slender figure slowly walked into the hall. The emperor was wearing a black robe embroidered with a golden dragon pattern, which exuded an unattainable nobleness. Everyone lowered their heads and waited for the emperor to take a seat.

 

“No need to bow.” After the emperor sat down, he said in a deep voice, “Let’s start the banquet.”

 

The birthday banquet officially began.

 

In the middle of the banquet, the Second Prince of Nanle suddenly stepped out and bowed, saying, “The little king came to Dayong to celebrate the birthday and also has a gift to present to the Emperor of Dayong.”

 

The emperor was playing with the jade cup and secretly glanced at the Grand Tutor sitting on the lower left. Hearing this, he opened his eyelids and said, “The gift from Nanle, Zhen has received it.”

 

The Second Prince of Nanle laughed out loud and said, “Nanle has a most special gift that he wants to present to the Emperor of Dayong in person.”

 

There was a burst of whispers among the Highnesses, especially among the other foreign envoys, who secretly thought that the envoys from the Nanle Kingdom had no martial ethics and had even prepared special gifts in order to show off in public at the birthday banquet.

 

The emperor narrowed his eyes slightly and replied nonchalantly, “Then, present it.”

 

The Second Prince of Nanle signaled to the attendant beside him, and soon, the attendant led in a young woman wearing a red veil from outside the door.

 

The woman was dressed in red, with a slender waist and a light figure. The semi-transparent veil could not hide her beauty, especially her pair of bright eyes, which made the flower on her forehead look beautiful and lively.

 

There was a faint commotion in the hall, but the emperor’s gloomy eyes never lingered on the beauty for even a moment, and he asked in an unpredictable tone, “Is this your Nanle’s special gift?”

 

“That’s right!” The Second Prince of Nanle was very confident about the beauty: “This is the noble Seventh Princess of my Nanle country, who is born with a beautiful face that can overwhelm the whole country. Today, Nanle is willing to marry the Seventh Princess to the Emperor of Dayong, in the hope that Nanle and Dayong will forever form a close relationship.”

 

After the words fell, the discussion in the hall became more and more noisy.

 

Xiao Shen’s heart was calm, and his eyes unconsciously glanced at his master, hoping that his master would show a different expression.

 

But the result disappointed him. His master looked calm and seemed to have not heard anything. He took a sip of wine unhurriedly, as if what he just said had nothing to do with him.

 

The emperor secretly gritted his teeth, and the fingers holding the jade cup suddenly tightened. He spoke in a cold voice: “Why is the Nanle Kingdom so keen on these unpresentable means?”

 

The confident Second Prince of Nanle’s expression changed.

 

“Since Dayong has decided to protect Nanle, even if you guys don’t marry the princess to us, we will not break our promise either.”

 

The emperor put the jade cup on the table. “Women are not tools for you to play politics and protect your interests. If a country needs to marry to another country to maintain friendly relations with other countries, it is a manifestation of the incompetence of the monarch.”

 

The emperor did not scold loudly, but every word was as heavy as a thousand gold. Not only did the Second Prince of Nanle feel hot on his face, but the envoys of other countries also lowered their heads involuntarily.

 

“This…” The Second Prince of Nanle still tried to defend himself, “This is just how our Nanle showed friendship…”

 

Halfway through, he couldn’t continue making up stories anymore.

 

At this time, the Sixth Prince, Xiao Chengyun, who was sitting on the side, suddenly stood up, raised his glass, and drank it all. “Your Majesty is right, the minister wants to toast you!”

 

His mother, Consort Jing, was a princess of the Nanle Kingdom. She was offered to the late emperor as a marriage partner and could not return to her hometown for the rest of her life. She was very unhappy.

 

All the civil and military officials in the court quickly stood up and toasted the emperor.

 

Shen Qingzhuo also looked up at the young emperor on the high platform, with a gratified smile on his lips.

 

After the birthday banquet, the emperor returned to his bedchamber first but ordered his men to go back halfway to welcome the Grand Tutor.

 

Shen Qingzhuo accidentally drank two more cups, and his steps were a little erratic. As soon as he stepped into Chengqian Palace, he almost tripped over the high threshold.

 

Fortunately, a big hand caught him in time and took him into his arms. “Did Master drink too much?”

 

“No ah…” Shen Qingzhuo raised his head and denied it flatly, “Did I drink too much? Not at all ah!”

 

His beautiful and charming peach blossom eyes were drunken, his snow-white cheeks were covered with delicious pink clouds, and even the slightly upturned corners of his eyes were slightly red. He looked up at him with a smile, and he didn’t look sober at all.

 

Xiao Shen swallowed unconsciously, picked up the dizzy person, and walked to the inner hall. “Just now in Fengtian Palace, Nanle Kingdom said that they wanted to marry their princess into the palace. What do you think, Master?”

 

“What?” Shen Qingzhuo couldn’t help but frown, “Didn’t you refuse? What else do I have to think about?”

 

Xiao Shen put his master on the dragon bed and said with a bit of grievance, “But from what I see, Master seems to be indifferent.”

 

He just wanted to see his master care about him, even if he was a little jealous because him, instead of sitting there and watching the show calmly.

 

Shen Qingzhuo couldn’t help laughing, “Can Master even give a disapproving look to the Second Prince of Nanle in front of everyone?”

 

Xiao Shen frowned and said in a rage, “Master, you even said you don’t want to share with others. If I don’t refuse today, will the Princess of Nanle—”

 

Shen Qingzhuo narrowed his eyes slightly and covered his lips with his palms. “Shh… If you keep talking nonsense, Master will be angry.”

 

Xiao Shen’s mind moved, and he continued to speak even though his mouth was covered: “I thought that Master didn’t care at all…”

 

Before he finished speaking, Shen Qingzhuo raised his hand and grabbed the front of the dragon robe and suddenly pulled him down.

 

The emperor was thrown down on the dragon bed. His master, under the influence of alcohol, turned over and rode on him. He didn’t let go of his hand holding his clothes and said fiercely, “You dare!”

 

Xiao Shen lay on the bed, with a look of surprise on his face, as if he didn’t expect his master to suddenly attack him.

 

But soon, that moment of astonishment turned into surprise. He relaxed his muscles and let his master suppress him. He raised his eyebrows and asked recklessly, “Is Qingqing angry?”

 

“I said you are not allowed to have three palaces and six courtyards. Try taking a concubine and see?” Shen Qingzhuo leaned over and approached his handsome eyebrows, threatening in a gentle tone, “Don’t test my bottom line, Qi Lang.”

 

The two looked at each other at a very close distance. After a while, Xiao Shen finally smiled contentedly.

 

“How dare I ah, Master?” He raised his face to kiss the wet, red, and soft lips. “Qingqing alone is enough.”

 

“Let’s talk seriously, stop smiling!” Shen Qingzhuo hid back, trying to act like a master and scold his disobedient lover.

 

Xiao Shen kept chasing him to kiss him, and after being pushed away again, he admitted sullenly, “What Princess of Nanle? I didn’t even see what she looked like. I just wanted to see how Master would feel…”

 

Shen Qingzhuo couldn’t help but laugh. His drunken voice was sweet and cute: “Then what do you want Master to say? Stand up and loudly say, The Emperor of Dayong is my person, and none of you are allowed to covet him?”

 

“Why not?” Xiao Shen turned over and changed their positions, leaning over his master, “I wish I could tell the world that I am Master’s person.”

 

It would be best to issue an imperial edict immediately and post it all over the streets and alleys so that every citizen of Dayong will know that he is his master’s person.

 

Shen Qingzhuo raised his hand, brushed his lover’s face with his fingertips, and sighed softly, “It’s good enough now. The civil and military officials will not allow us to get married.”

 

That night, Qilang proposed to him, and he agreed in a daze. But when he woke up the next day, he realized that they could never be together openly in this life.

 

There has never been a precedent of men marrying men in Dayong. It is already absurd enough for a king to marry a man, let alone the emperor marrying the grand tutor?

 

“What does it matter if I marry Master?” Xiao Shen held his hand, his tone was not a joke at all. “I will marry you; Master, and I will have a grand wedding with Master, so that the people of Dayong—no, everyone in China can come to witness it.”

 

Shen Qingzhuo’s heart trembled at what he said, “No, this is too difficult…”

 

“It’s not difficult.” Xiao Shen kissed the red fingers repeatedly. “As long as Master nods in agreement, I will take care of the rest.”

 

For him, the most difficult thing is to win his master’s heart.

 

Now that he has obtained the most precious thing, nothing can stop him from announcing it to the world.

 

“Qi Lang…” Shen Qingzhuo’s voice became softer as the aftereffects of the nectar and jade dew became more and more intense. “You are the ruler of a country, you cannot act recklessly…”

 

The hot kiss continued. Xiao Shen held his soft lower lip and laughed hoarsely, “Qingqing, I want to get married. I want to enter the bridal chamber with Master in a legitimate way…”