Huh? The Tyrant Cries After My Inner Thoughts Were Exposed!-Chapter 119: Turmoil at the Birthday Banquet
The crowd immediately turned their gaze to Su Juan, or to the Old Emperor, and Bai Ziling.
Yes, surely His Majesty wouldn’t hit a person who has trouble walking?
Marquis Wu Yuan’s heart was in his throat. He had heard that His Majesty forbade Su Juan from drinking wine, and even recently had the Xie Family’s son, who drank with her, beaten with twenty strokes.
He truly feared his grandson would also be punished.
Su Juan smiled, poured herself a cup of wine, gently sniffed it, and the fragrance lingered. "As expected of the Old Emperor’s birthday, this wine is truly fragrant."
The Old Emperor’s temples throbbed. Who arranged these seats? Nonsense!
The Empress’s eyes were full of love. It turns out this child likes to drink wine, she’ll have someone collect some for her later.
"Your Majesty, liking wine isn’t a bad thing, why withhold her?"
The Old Emperor was speechless, feeling terribly wronged inwardly; it was he who was indirectly being scolded. Does the Emperor not deserve respect?
But it was rare for the Empress to speak to him like this, so the Old Emperor could only bear it, allowing Su Juan to drink as she pleased.
Soon, the courtiers of each mansion presented their birthday gifts, all sorts of rare treasures. The Mansion of the Minister of the Secretariat presented a landscape painting, which held good meaning, and immediately ordered it to be displayed for the courtiers below to appreciate.
Others presented rare treasures, the rarer and more novel, the more the Old Emperor liked them.
Duke Ping had always been lazy, and the Xie Family naturally did not lack honor and favor, so it was best to keep a low profile in these matters, and they got by with a simple Jade Ruyi.
Su Juan smiled, "Still, the Lord has a simple mind and doesn’t comprise with these flashy things."
"Unlike them, what they are presenting are not birthday gifts, but rather their ambitions for promotion and wealth."
Duke Ping coughed lightly, finding it impossible to maintain a low profile after Su Juan’s comments.
Those officials holding their prepared birthday gifts were annoyed: you’re the simple one! Your mind is simple!
You think you’re so noble, you don’t want promotion and wealth!
What flashy things? What ambition for promotion and wealth? This is slander, outright slander!
We are showing our loyalty to His Majesty, you understand nothing!
Su Juan sipped her little wine, looking at Song Qianhang, who was presenting a gift at that moment. He presented a Landscaped Jade Statue, not really a rare or novel item, but the craftsmanship was exquisite, making it hard to look away.
The Old Emperor squinted, inspecting it for a long time. It was indeed exquisite, a good item.
Beside him, Marquis Ping stared at it, "Could it be crafted by Ding Chenggong himself?"
Song Qianhang nodded, "Indeed, it was made by Ding Chenggong."
The ministers were surprised. In the world of carving, Ding Chenggong was regarded as the best. However, he hadn’t worked on anything for ten years, nor did he take on disciples. His masterpieces couldn’t be bought with money.
No one expected that Song Qianhang managed to invite him!
The Old Emperor was delighted, immediately rewarding Song Qianhang. This Song Er, truly not bad, he was attentive.
Receiving his reward, Song Qianhang remained composed, without much fluctuation in emotion. After kneeling to give thanks, he returned to his seat.
Marquis Ping looked at him with deep eyes. This Song Er was not as incompetent as the rumor said. Rumors couldn’t be entirely trusted, and in the future, he might indeed become a character of importance.
Su Juan narrowed her eyes, "Song Qianhang was well-prepared, to have a Water Jade Statue carved, even someone like Ding Chenggong would take at least two months."
In her impression, Song Qianhang had never given away a Water Jade Statue, let alone one by Ding Chenggong.
It was evident that many things were no longer on the path she once knew.
Song Qianfan’s hand tensed around his wine cup, veins bulging, his gaze icy and extremely cold. How did Song Qianhang manage to invite Ding Chenggong?
Prince Jing was very pleased with the gift his younger son had presented; he hadn’t expected him to handle it so beautifully when he handed it over.
While Prince Jing was feeling proud, it was obvious that Prince Han should be worried.
But Prince Han seemed quite composed. As the birthday gift was presented, when the cloth covering was lifted, the courtiers were in an uproar; even Su Juan was surprised.
"What is this!?"
"It looks like coral, yet brighter than coral in color..."
Prince Han presented a coral bonsai, with a golden basin as the base, piled with gems. The coral was vivid red, extraordinarily beautiful, even for someone like Marquis Ping, who had seen countless rare and precious collections, had never seen coral so brilliant.
He only ever heard that the Lu Family of Jiang State once possessed such a coral, but the Lu Family was annihilated years ago, and the treasure lost with no chance of seeing it.
The Old Emperor stood up, approached and carefully observed the bonsai, "Marvelous...marvelous!"
If the Landscaped Jade Statue presented by Song Qianhang could be described as exquisite, then the item presented by Prince Han could only be described as stunning.
Seeing the Old Emperor’s reaction, the courtiers clearly realized that among the gifts, Prince Han’s most captured the royal favor.
With Prince Han’s bonsai before them, their own offerings paled in comparison.
The Minister of the Ministry of Justice was smiling proudly. This item, which he had meticulously chosen, helped Prince Han capture the royal favor. Upon his ascension, he would be the greatest contributor.
None had expected that Prince Han, known for living frugally, could still find such a treasure.
The Old Emperor was delighted, ready to reward Prince Han richly.
For Duke Ping and Marquis Ping, Prince Han garnering favor was not necessarily good news.
Just then, Su Juan’s voice came to their ears...
"Such beautiful coral, if not for knowing it carries dozens of lives on its back, I would have rushed up for a closer look."
The courtiers were shocked: dozens of lives!?
The Old Emperor’s face turned grim, stepping away from the coral bonsai.
Prince Han’s smile froze. Dozens of lives?
He instinctively looked over to the Minister of the Ministry of Justice not far off, whose expression was panicked, lowering his head, sweating profusely.
The Minister of the Ministry of Justice couldn’t understand how Su Juan knew about this!
Su Juan glanced at the coral, shaking her head repeatedly, "Having a jade is a crime!"
"Such a good family, doing a lot of good deeds, yet because they guarded this Blood Coral and didn’t want to sell, they were wiped out; a total of thirty-eight lives, even a newborn child less than a month old wasn’t spared, how cruel."
A piece of coral, thirty-eight lives!
At this moment, Prince Han’s face grew as dark as it could possibly be. He never expected that the item given by Lou Shiye would be such a thing!
He had endangered thirty-eight lives, how bold!
The Emperor’s expression was unpleasant—today was his birthday, yet Prince Han presented such a thing, a total of thirty-eight lives...who on earth was responsible!
At this moment, Marquis Ping could guess and immediately stepped forward to advise, "Your Majesty, I have seen countless rare items; this coral originally belonged to the Lu Family, who were wiped out long ago—it is an ominous object!"
Su Juan was surprised and then remembered that Marquis Ping had many collections, possibly knowing the original owner of this Blood Coral. Knowing the story behind the coral wasn’t surprising.
The Emperor was furious and scolded Prince Han, "Prince Han, where did you acquire this item!?"
Prince Han’s expression was gloomy, "Replying to Your Majesty, it was presented by a subordinate,"
"At this point, you might as well say it outright. Are you still protecting him?"
The entire court turned their gaze to Prince Han, wondering who dared present such an item as a birthday gift to His Majesty, truly tired of living.
Many were inwardly urging Su Juan, curious to find out.
