Huh? The Tyrant Cries After My Inner Thoughts Were Exposed!-Chapter 165: Southern Country’s Tribute

On the following day, the palace held a grand banquet to entertain the court officials and the foreign delegation.

Su Juan, still obeying the orders from Honglu Temple, was seated with the delegation. She wore her official uniform, looking listless, "Oh, please heaven, let these delegations leave soon, return from where they came..."

The crowd, upon hearing this, knew at once that the Vice Director had arrived.

"Alas, these matters at Honglu Temple are truly not something a weak woman like me can handle."

The Minister of War glanced at Su Juan, snorted coldly, thinking, women are weak, but are you really a woman?

Su Juan, deep in thought, touched her waist with a face full of worry, "I’ve gained a whole circle in these few days. If I keep eating like this, I fear that when Miaoqing returns, she won’t even recognize me."

Someone laughed out loud, truly, this Vice Director’s imagination is boundless, gaining weight at this age after just a few meals?

When they looked around and fixed their gaze on Su Juan, they were obviously taken aback, her face... had indeed become rounder.

Ah, indeed it’s time to stop eating.

"Su Juan."

Princess Ronghua called Su Juan and asked, "That person in red who was with you that day, didn’t they come today?"

These past few days, she hadn’t encountered that person when she went out, and she hadn’t seen him even after searching for a while.

Su Juan didn’t react for a moment, "What person in red?"

Princess Ronghua: "The one with you at the racetrack that day."

Upon hearing this, Su Juan immediately understood, the Little Princess was asking about Xie Xun, that peacock, "He didn’t come today."

Princess Ronghua frowned, "You came, why didn’t he?"

Su Juan: "???"

"What do you mean I came, why didn’t Xie Xun come?"

The crowd instantly pricked up their ears, why suddenly bring up Xie Xun?

Su Juan looked at Princess Ronghua with wide eyes, her mind slowly processing, then she was shocked, "Oh my god, could it be?"

The crowd excitedly: What, what!?

"Could it be that Princess Ronghua fancies Xie Xun?"

The crowd eagerly: Heavens! The Princess Ronghua of the Southern Country actually fancies the Duke Ping’s son!

This is indeed sensational news.

Quickly inform the Lord Duke, finally, a girl with questionable taste fancies this Heir Xie!

Su Juan looked at the spoiled Little Princess before her, contemplating, "Why would this Little Princess fancy Xie Xun?"

The crowd speculated, there’s no need to ask, it’s said that Xie Xun had humbled the Southern delegation at the racetrack, the Little Princess must have been impressed by his power.

Many shook their heads, impossible, impossible, being impressed by someone who humbled your own delegation, that’s not possible, she’s not a masochist.

Look at you all, daydreaming all the time.

Su Juan touched her chin, recalling Xie Xun’s looks... "I get it!"

The crowd eagerly pricked up their ears: ?

"The Little Princess must have been charmed by Xie Xun’s looks."

The crowd: !!!

Indeed, Xie Xun is handsome, this Little Princess being new, having not heard of Xie Xun’s notorious deeds, being captivated by his appearance is quite normal.

"Good looks are truly beneficial."

Aren’t they just, even walking on the street can attract the attention of a foreign Little Princess, what great luck.

Many older unmarried men felt a pang of envy, sourly thinking: Who knew the Little Princess from the Southern Country would be so shallow.

Su Juan remembered that this Little Princess was betrayed in battle by her own people, dying in war, quite a tragic figure.

At this moment, the Old Emperor, accompanied by the Empress and imperial concubine, attended, and after the courtiers paid their respects, everyone took their seats.

Fine wine and delicacies were served, with only a handful of singers reciting poems with music, poems longing for old friends, accompanied by elegant tunes.

The Old Emperor squinted, today’s Mid-Autumn banquet was different from previous years, considering the flooding in Xu State, this arrangement was quite fitting, neither losing face in front of the foreign delegations nor chilling the hearts of the people, perfectly suitable.

The Old Emperor regarded the Eunuch beside him, "Go and ask who came up with the idea for the poem recital."

The Eunuch hurried off to inquire, and in a moment returned, whispering into the Old Emperor’s ear.

The Old Emperor was surprised, it was actually the son of Pingbo Hou who came up with the idea for the Music Bureau, truly unexpected.

While the courtiers were all engrossed in the banquet, the Eldest Prince of the Southern Country, Chu Guang, stood up to pay respects and present gifts, immediately capturing everyone’s attention.

This Southern boy wasn’t going to cause trouble again, was he?

Even the Old Emperor was slightly on guard, as the Southern people were notoriously troublesome.

Chu Guang clapped his hands, and the delegation brought forward three items, all covered in red silk cloth, lighting in the hall was significantly dimmed as palace attendants extinguished many candles.

Many curiously stared, eager to see what treasures they held, considering the Southern people’s secrecy, perhaps it was something truly valuable?

As the silk was uncovered, there appeared an unknown item, glowing!

A blue-green glow, particularly striking.

Many widened their eyes, what could this be!?

Su Juan took a glance, losing interest immediately.

"Thinking it was some rare treasure, turns out it’s just fluorite, which in modern times, you could buy several pieces for a few hundred bucks."

"If I remember correctly, the Chu Kingdom has several mines of this, but finding it troublesome and unprofitable, they stopped mining it decades ago after a few months."

This drew everyone’s attention to the Chu Kingdom’s delegation, who showed no reaction, clearly unsurprised by the item.

The Old Emperor coughed lightly, oh, fluorite, who doesn’t know this, these Southern folks present it as some precious treasure.

The Southern delegation introduced, "This is called fluorite, during the day it absorbs light, and by night emits brilliant colors."

The courtiers nodded, fluorite, yes, we know.

The Southern delegation exchanged puzzled glances, they had inquired, and knew Jin Country had no fluorite, yet this seemed unimpressive to them.

The courtiers each kept a straight face: Even if curious, they had to maintain their dignity today!

Chu Guang frowned, signaling for the second treasure to be uncovered.

Once the silk was lifted, it revealed a long sword, its blade unsheathed, yet even unsharpened, it emanated a chilling glow.

"This sword is called Zhonghou, made of Mystic Iron, extremely sharp. In our Southern Country, only a hero can merit possessing such a sword."

As the sword appeared, the military generals’ eyes widened...

"Keep your composure, drool is about to leak."

The generals wiped imaginary drool, "Cough cough cough, it’s just a sword, what’s so remarkable?"

The courtiers’ reaction: Yes, yes, not like we’ve never seen one.

Seeing the lackluster response, Chu Guang frowned again, ordering the presentation of the third treasure.

When the silk box opened, three pills lay quietly inside.

This piqued curiosity, even the Old Emperor was intrigued, "What is this?" 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Could it be some miraculous elixir of immortality?

The Southern delegation smiled in introduction, "This medicine is called the Muscle Regeneration Pill, capable of regenerating skin, with one pill each, it can make skin as tender as a baby’s."

The courtiers including the Old Emperor showed little interest, expecting something extraordinary.

Su Juan’s eyes lit up, "What a great item!!!"

The crowd confused: ???

The Old Emperor puzzled: ???

At the forefront, the imperial concubine’s heart itched, indeed a marvelous item...