Interstellar Marriage Guide-Chapter 23 - Formal Meeting
After Luo Fei finished his coming-of-age speech, the atmosphere of the birthday banquet reached its peak. Thunderous applause sounded in the hall, accompanied by the royal band playing the birthday song on the spot. Major General Mond, the captain of the Royal Guard, pushed a five-tiered cake into the banquet hall in person.
In the past, the birthday celebration always followed procedures, and the main purpose was to give the princes an opportunity to meet with officials from all walks of life and get acquainted with the government affairs in advance. But today, His Majesty Xize specially added an item of making a wish and cake cutting. Even though a coming-of-age ceremony is more special than most birthdays, and this banquet is very ceremonial, he also wants the two children to experience the atmosphere of celebrating their birthday.
The cake is five tiers high, with 18 candles lit on the top tier.
The curtains lowered automatically, the main light was also turned off, and the room became pitch black, illuminated solely by the flickering candlelight.
Luo Fei and Luo Ning walked side by side in front of the birthday cake.
Against the backdrop of the candlelight, the handsome facial features of the two youths are clear and distinct, with exquisite eyebrows, a high nose bridge, and a light smile. The picture of putting hands together and making a wish was very beautiful, and could be directly used as a movie poster for a youth idol drama.
Even though Mo Han knew that he was a bit stupid in nature, he maintained this superficial seriousness very well. Those who don’t know him might really be fascinated by the First Prince’s appearance.
Despite Luo Fei’s handsome image on the surface, inside his mind, it was completely different. “Is making a wish really effective? If so, I hope Mo Han will not be angry with me. I didn’t mean to lie to him. I really like him so much. Please let me succeed in chasing after Mo Han, and make him my partner. My biggest wish now is for him to fall in love with me too.”
Luo Fei’s mind was full of this wish, making Chongming disdain its master who fell in love and couldn’t extricate himself.
After the two princes made a wish and blew out the candles together, they cut the cake. Of course, they didn’t need to cut all the five layers, only the top layer as a gesture. The rest was handled by the chef, who cut the cake to be distributed to all guests present.
Next is the meal.
The royal family’s banquet did not adopt a buffet style like Mo’s. Instead, it is orderly, with a particular menu, and observed etiquette. Appetizers, soups, main meals, desserts, and fruits are served one by one and placed on the table. Everyone has the same meal, and it is said that Queen Lin Yuan personally decided on the menu. There are many dishes, but not much food on each plate. Everything is rare or expensive, and the presentation is also very sophisticated, delighting the guests.
Despite the many long tables in the banquet hall, the space isn’t crowded, and spacious instead.
Sitting at the main table is naturally His Majesty’s family.
In addition to His Majesty, Queen Lin Yuan and the two birthday princes, also present were Marshal Rosen, General Ling Yu, Major General Ling An, Princess Xiya, and Uncle Xiwei who came from afar. Among them, Xiya and Xiwei are His Majesty’s sister and brother, Rosen and Ling Yu represent the Queen’s parents, Ling An is the Queen’s brother, and everyone is Luo Fei’s elders.
People of the younger generation, like cousin Emil and the royal cousins, were placed at another table to the side.
Mo Han was not familiar with the royal family, so he simply glanced at the main table then looked away, just in time to meet the gaze of the Emil on the side table.
Compared to Luo Fei’s calmness, Emil was obviously not calm enough. Seeing Mo Han was like seeing a ghost – his eyes instantly widened bigger than copper bells, and his mouth was so wide an egg could be stuffed in.
Mo Han smiled gracefully at him.
Emil’s mouth twitched, and he immediately lowered his head to pretend that he didn’t exist.
Those who can attend this occasion naturally know table manners, maintaining the politeness of “eating without speaking” throughout the process as they focused on tasting the meticulously plated dishes instead. There were slight sounds of knives and forks colliding with tableware, and the whole dining process was very quiet.
After the meal, the tableware was quickly taken away, and the guests in the hall were also invited to the side hall.
The reporters left after filming some important scenes, and with the side hall being a relatively open area, there no longer was a need to pay too much attention to etiquette. There were many fruits, snacks and precious wines here, for guests to mingle freely. His Majesty took the queen and the two princes to a different conference hall next door to greet people.
As the monarch, it is impossible to mix in the crowd and say hello to everyone after all. The list of guests he met is all set in advance, including some important officials from the military, Congress, and high-level officials from the Mech Association, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Education, and so on. This time, it included some executive directors of the Chamber of Commerce.
Mo Qiming came over and said to his son: “We will also go next door to meet His Majesty later. You and Luo Fei know each other, be careful not to be rude.”
Mo Han smiled and said, “Father, don’t worry.”
——Of course I won’t be rude. You should be more worried about whether His Highness the First Prince will be rude. He was so scared that his brain froze just now.
***
After a while, an official came over and respectfully invited Mo Qiming and his son into the conference hall.
Besides Mo Qiming, chairman of Fengyang Group, those present were the leaders of the Empire’s largest entertainment group, IT company, food company, shopping mall, and other large enterprises. Everyone was a leader in the Imperial Chamber of Commerce, and are indispensable to the development of the Empire’s economy.
Therefore, His Majesty Xize was very polite, smiling and exchanging a few words, and officially praised everyone for their contribution to the Empire.
The Second Prince, Luo Ning, has already left with the queen. On such an occasion, as the omega prince, he does not need to participate, but Luo Fei is the presumptive heir to the throne, and must meet officials from all walks of life, so he stayed in the conference hall.
Luo Fei sat beside his father, smiling the entire time. After the first brain crash and reboot, he had adjusted his mentality, so even if he met Mo Han’s gaze, the expression on his face did not change.
Although his spiritual world is about to collapse…
But he couldn’t embarrass his father on such an occasion.
Xize chatted with everyone in the business community about their plans for future economic development. Several business leaders put forward some suggestions, and the atmosphere of the meeting was pleasant.
After chatting about the business, Xize smiled and said: “This time, several young people came here with their parents today. I also want Luo Fei to take this opportunity to get to know them well. Luo Fei is similar to them in age, but he lacks social experience and should learn more from them.”
His Majesty’s eyes swept across the audience, fixed on Mo Han, and said gently: “This one, is Mr. Mo’s son?”
Mo Qiming introduced: “Yes, Your Majesty, he is my alpha eldest son, Mo Han.”
Mo Han stepped forward and bowed respectfully: “Your Majesty.”
Xize smiled slightly, and found that the young man had no timidity when facing him. He was polite, neither humble nor overbearing, and good-looking and tall, with handsome features. Dressed in an off-white suit with a water-blue tie, he looks elegant but not frivolous, lacking the arrogance of a rich kid and is personable, leaving a really good first impression.
Xize looked at him with a hint of admiration, and said, “I heard that you are a programming genius who cracked the Locke virus, and also participated in the development and production of the new generation of smart spaceships. You are really a rare young talent. “
Mo Han said humbly, “Your Majesty, I’m honored.”
Xize looked back at Luo Fei and said, “Luo Fei, Mo Han is only two years older than you, but he is already so young and promising. You should learn more from Mo Han, and get to know him well.”
Luo Fei was about to cry.
Father, we have known each other for a long time!
He also pretended to be his senior for a long time, said he was from an ordinary family, and was honored to be his friend…
Under the gaze of his father, Luo Fei bravely walked up to Mo Han, pretending to calmly stretch out his hand and said, “Hi, Mo Han, nice to meet you.”
Mo Han looked at him, his eyes were full of smiles, he stretched out his hand to shake him and said, “The First Prince really lives up to his reputation, and has an outstanding temperament.”
Luo Fei: “…”
Don’t laugh at me!
Hearing Mo Han’s polite praise, Luo Fei’s mind was in a mess.
The calmer Mo Han behaved, the more embarrassed and ashamed Luo Fei felt. He acted in front of the other party for so long, but the other party only watched the show calmly. He really felt dumb.
Xize didn’t notice anything unusual about his son. Seeing Luo Fei and Mo Han shake hands and get to know each other, Xize was also relieved. His son just lacked experience, and it would be good if he could know more people of the same age. He didn’t expect that Luo Fei would be so bold as to fall in love with Mo Han, and put on an act in front of Mo Han.
Therefore, in Mo Han’s eyes, even though the First Prince is calm and sensible on the surface, he’s just a simple fool on the inside.
They meet again~
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