The Tyrant's Beloved Empress

31

The New Year's Eve banquet was organized by the Guang Liu Bureau and situated in Qianwen Hall. Not far from Qianwen Hall was the imperial garden which had now been cleaned spotless and covered in draperies. Red lanterns were hung on the plum blossom branches, and below it, cushioned chairs and tables filled with dried fruits and pastries were prepared for the dignitaries to enjoy. Six-legged braziers were installed every two steps along the walkway and burned with the highest grade imperial coal. Apart from not emitting smoke, the coal also gave off a soothing pine fragrance. Traversing this path, one would not even feel a hint of coldness.

The banquet had yet to start so the guests who arrived early stayed in the imperial garden to enjoy the scenery and gossip.

And the hottest topic for this year was the newly wedded Wangfei of the Northern Warlord.

Before the wedding, no one was optimistic about this marriage. The Northern Warlord was known to have a notorious temper but more remarkable was his talent for warfare. When several of the great Generals were approaching retirement, leaving the northern border unguarded, only Xiao Zhige was able to drive the Beidi people back in one fell swoop. As such, no matter how much Emperor An Qing disliked this son, he would still turn a blind eye to his actions.

As those below usually follows the examples of those above and the court was a place filled with people who flowed with the wind, since even the emperor could not do anything to this son, the officials had been doing their best to stay out of his way, lest they incur the wrath of this Death God.

However, in recent days, they had heard the unforeseeable news that the Northern Warlord not only pampered his Wangfei, he even relinquished control of the manor over to him. This had roused a lot of interest.

Those with an agenda were trying to figure out his intentions. After all, he was a prince who commanded a powerful army; they refused to believe that he bore no ambitions for the throne. But with how things had unfolded, they were at a loss for what to believe. Using the banquet as an excuse, these officials took this chance to discuss and observe.

At this point, the central figure of their conversation had just arrived. An Chang Qing got off the sedan and immediately sneezed. It was a snowless day but the frosty wind could still pierce the bones.

Because An Chang Qing had fallen into an ice pond when he was young, he had become susceptible to the cold. Even with a thick fur coat and hand warmers, his hands and feet were still freezing.

Xiao Zhige wrapped his large hand over An Chang Qing's and frowned, "Drink some hot wine to warm up when we get inside."

An Chang Qing was not as delicate as he thought. He smiled and said, "It's nothing. Let's go over there first."

The banquet was divided by gender. There were palace maids to guide the guests but they were hesitant to come close to Xiao Zhige. Hearing An Chang Qing's words, one of them approached them and bowed, "Wangfei's seat is over here, please follow me."

An Chang Qing was baffled. He looked back at Xiao Zhige, "I won't be together with Wangye?"

The maid was at a loss, "The... the madames' seats are all over there..."

Although An Chang Qing is a man, his status was the Wangfei of the Northern Warlord. Customarily, he should be arranged to sit with the womenfolk.

As An Chang Qing was hesitating, he heard a woman's voice coming closer, "Let Chang Qing come sit with me."

The woman looked about thirty-something, well-dressed and had an outstanding appearance. An Chang Qing saw the pattern of her gown and guessed that she was the only daughter of the Empress Dowager and Emperor An Qing's sister, Grand Princess Xiao You Xi.