Page 468
Huo Qiuer was sitting at a table not far away, picking up food with her chopsticks. Anyone who wanted to talk to her was politely sent away by her.
Banquets are an important social venue for nobles, but Huo Qiuer pays more attention to its essential attributes.
However, Huo Qiuer is not the only one who cares only about food, there is also Tian Meng who should not be here.
She pretended to sit next to Huo Qiu'er and ate the delicious food on the table as if no one was around. While eating, she urged: "Bingbing, Sister Xue'er, don't you come out and eat with us?"
The Ice Emperor in the Sea of Spirit did not respond and did not look very hungry. Perhaps he was expressing his speechlessness towards Tian Meng.
Finally, Huo Yuhao waited for the person he wanted to wait for. He turned around with a smile and looked at the two figures slowly walking towards him.
Xu Jiujiu and Nebula Douluo.
"I'm sorry Yuhao, my brother has important matters to discuss with several ministers now, so I have to receive you."
Xu Jiujiu also held a goblet in his hand and extended it towards Huo Yuhao. At the same time, he shook his head slightly and blinked his right eye playfully.
"Cheers~"
Huo Yuhao chuckled and clinked the wine glass in his hand with Xu Jiujiu.
"Cheers, Princess."
The crisp clinking of glasses in the noisy banquet immediately attracted the attention of Huo Qiuer and Tianmeng in the distance, and they turned back to look over here at the same time. But Huo Qiuer soon stopped caring and reached out to press Tianmeng's head to turn around: "Eat seriously."
"Okay..." Tian Meng said weakly, feeling a little uneasy in his heart.
She felt that she shouldn't be alone with Huo Qiuer, especially on such a special occasion as dinner.
The clinking of wine glasses seems to be a special ritual that makes the wine inside taste better.
“Senior Xingyun, is Jiujiu okay? Thanks for taking care of her during this period.” Huo Yuhao did not ask Jiujiu, but asked the old woman behind her.
If you ask me this question directly, I will basically get a positive answer.
Nebula Douluo smiled with relief and said, "Thanks to friend Huo, the deputy hall master believes that Her Royal Highness the Princess is no longer in danger."
“That’s good.” Huo Yuhao nodded slightly.
Xu Jiujiu looks good and there is no sign of any hidden illness. However, since the Medical Immortal Douluo has said so, there will probably not be any major problems.
"Yuhao, I didn't expect that your plan would actually succeed." There was something strange in Xu Jiujiu's eyes, and there was a hint of admiration from the bottom of his heart amidst the disbelief.
Huo Yuhao said nonchalantly, “Sometimes you still have to take a gamble. What if you succeed?”
Nebula Douluo didn’t know the secret between the two and thought they were talking about Huo Yuhao’s plan to successfully lobby the new Sun and Moon Emperor.
But only Xu Jiujiu knew that there was no need to spend a lot of effort lobbying, because the Huo Yuhao in front of him was the new Sun and Moon Emperor.
She swore on her own name that she would keep this secret for Huo Yuhao forever.
"I never thought that a war that has lasted for four thousand years would actually end one day."
Xu Jiujiu put down the wine glass in his hand, bowed deeply and performed the Xingluo royal etiquette. Xingyun Douluo did not stop him, she knew that this simple etiquette could not express all the gratitude in the heart of Her Royal Highness the Princess.
"Thank you, Yuhao."
Huo Yuhao did not return the gift, nor was he flattered. He just laughed softly.
"This is just the beginning. True peace is still a long way off."
Nebula Douluo sighed and said, "Your Highness, I am a little pessimistic."
"Grandma Manyi, just tell me what you think."
Nebula Douluo said: "The mind of the emperor is so difficult to guess. There are no eternal friends between countries, only eternal interests. Today, the new emperor of Sun and Moon can temporarily make peace with our country, probably because his foundation is unstable and he cannot bear the losses brought by war."
"If another warlike king takes the throne one day, who can guarantee that the Sun-Moon Empire will not start another war?"
"Besides, the Sun-Moon Empire and our Xingluo Empire have been enemies for four thousand years. The Sun-Moon Empire has been full of resentment for a long time. It is difficult for me to ask them to give up and let go of their grudges—"
Nebula Douluo's view is very pessimistic, and this is also the view of most ministers in the Xingluo Empire.
Huo Yuhao stared at the wine glass in his hand in silence for a while, then said calmly: “I want to express a radical opinion here. In fact, I think it is very simple to ask the Sun-Moon Empire to let go of their grudges.”
"Yuhao, what can you do?"
"Senior Xingyun, you also said that as long as there are interests, countries can become friends. And as long as there are interests, the attitude of one country towards another country can be changed from top to bottom."
Huo Yuhao said to himself: “As long as the rulers can control public opinion, even two countries with deep hatred can put aside their grudges and become sweet friends. And two countries with no hatred can also become enemies for no reason.”
After that, he was silent for a while, waved his hand and said: "No matter what the long-term future holds, at least for a few decades, you don't have to worry about the threat from the Sun-Moon Empire."
Huo Yuhao took the initiative to hold out his wine glass and said with a smile: "Don't talk about state affairs tonight."
After a long helpless smile, they clinked glasses again.
She took another sip and said softly, "Duke Baihu has been fighting for the country for years. Now, he can finally put the war aside and rest more."
Nebula Douluo chuckled and said, "In fact, His Majesty also has a dream of going to the battlefield to serve the country as a general. Unfortunately, he is in the imperial family. Although he and the Duke of White Tiger are like brothers, they have never fought side by side."
Xu Jiujiu smiled and said, "My royal brother only has a rough understanding of military tactics. If he were born in the White Tiger lineage, I'm afraid he wouldn't be a good general."
Huo Yuhao fell silent after hearing this. After a while, he agreed, “Fortunately, he is not from the White Tiger lineage.”
"The name Dai Jiawei is indeed not suitable for leading troops."
The banquet was filled with cheers and laughter.
Soon, the music played in the distance changed and became a rhythmic dance music.
The messengers from the Sun and the Moon and the nobles from the Star Luo held hands while chatting and laughing, and slowly danced together to the rhythm of the music.
Xu Jiujiu couldn't help but smile, put down the wine glass, and stretched out his slender hand to Huo Yuhao.
"Dear envoy of the sun and the moon, may I have the honor to dance with you?"
Huo Yuhao sneered and was about to reach out to hold Xu Jiujiu's wrist when his expression suddenly changed slightly and he turned his head subconsciously to look in a certain direction in the hall.
I am determined to get rid of the Duchess, but I have to think of a specific method...
(End of this chapter)
Chapter 469: Talk, the door is open
In the luxurious palace that no one cared about, the imperceptible spiritual fluctuations were so subtle that even the Titled Douluo in the Royal Worship Hall could not detect them.
The secret mental detection covered the Xingluo Imperial Palace. In addition to the ministers who were talking and laughing, a figure that made Huo Yuhao unhappy appeared, causing his originally easy-going expression to subconsciously frown.
It was not difficult for him to control his emotions, but when he saw this person, he was not very willing to control his emotions.
The visitor was none other than the Duke of White Tiger's legal wife, the Duchess. Besides, she was also the half-sister of the current Emperor of Xing Luo, Xu Jiawei.
The Xingguan lineage is sparsely populated. Although each generation of emperors has many concubines, the descendants are always mostly women. Xu Jiawei has no brothers, only sisters. The Duchess is his eldest sister.
The hereditary prime minister of the Xingluo Empire is the Zhu family, which has been friends with the Dai family for thousands of years. The two families agreed that if the daughter of the Zhu family and the son of the Dai family in each generation can master the skill of martial soul fusion, they will become relatives.
But in Dai Hao's generation, the Zhu family happened to have no daughter of the same age. Perhaps to deepen the relationship with the White Tiger lineage, or to intentionally divide the relationship between the Dai and Zhu families, the Duchess was betrothed by the retired emperor to the current White Tiger Duke.
Now, the Duchess has given birth to two brothers, Dai Yaoheng and Dai Huabin, for the Duke of White Tiger. Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu have mastered the martial soul fusion skill Nether White Tiger. If nothing unexpected happens, they should succeed to become the next generation of Duke of White Tiger.
The Duchess was also a very strange woman. Although it was a political marriage, she still fell hopelessly in love with the then Duke of White Tiger.
But in the heart of the Duchess, there is always a twisted jealousy and strong possessiveness. She is not from the Zhu family, and logically should not marry the Duke of White Tiger. Her identity as a Duchess may be lost at any time.
Therefore, the Duchess always harbored strong hostility towards other women who appeared around the White Tiger Duke. Huo Yun'er was the poor woman who bore all her hostility.
In terms of cultivation, Huo Yun'er was just an ordinary maid with no cultivation at all.In terms of background, she is not a noble daughter.In terms of status, her son with the White Tiger Duke did not inherit the White Tiger Spirit.
From any perspective, poor Huo Yun'er could not threaten the Duchess's position, but the Duchess still launched an endless persecution against her.
Huo Yuhao's feelings for Dai Hao could barely be described as complicated, but his feelings towards the Duchess were extremely pure.
Pure evil can only be avenged by pure evil.
"What's wrong, Yuhao?"
The sensitive Xu Jiujiu immediately noticed Huo Yuhao's abnormality. He followed Huo Yuhao's gaze and his expression changed slightly. He gently advised, "Today is such a happy occasion. Let's not cause a conflict."
Huo Yuhao nodded gently: "Okay."
He chose to give Xu Jiujiu face and temporarily suppressed the chill in his heart. He and Xu Jiujiu deliberately avoided the Duchess's sight and stood on both sides of the hall.
Huo Yuhao hadn't seen the Duchess for a long time. At least when Huo Yun'er was still alive, he had never taken the initiative to greet the Duchess.
If the Duke of White Tiger was the root cause of Huo Yun'er's suffering, then the Duchess was the direct cause of all of Huo Yun'er's suffering. If it were a kind-hearted lady, the food and clothing of the concubine would not be worse than that of the servants, and she would even have to work all day.
Huo Yuhao had never forgotten this vicious woman, but when he was in the Duke's Mansion, he temporarily endured it and simply tried to out of sight so as not to be bothered.
Whether it is the royal family or the Duke's Mansion, they all need to be respectable. He had already cleared Huo Yun'er's name in the beginning, and if he continued to be aggressive, it would be disrespectful. If it was disrespectful, someone would help him and Huo Yun'er to be respectable.
But now, if we talk about decency again, I don’t know who is being respected.
The Ice Emperor in the Sea of Spirit was a little surprised and said, "Yuhao, you are so angry, which is rare for you. Do you want to kill that human?"
“This old woman can be dealt with anytime she wants, but now is not the right time.” Huo Yuhao replied calmly, “And as I said before, I don’t really like killing people.”
Xu Jiujiu and the Duchess are half-sisters, but they are a whole generation apart in age. She was the one who mediated the conflict in the beginning, so Huo Yuhao had to give her face, and also give Xu Jiawei face.
The Duchess was not interested in the theme of the banquet. She came to see Duke Baihu. She hadn't seen Duke Baihu for a long time, and she missed him so much. However, Duke Baihu was discussing important matters with Xu Jiawei and others, so he didn't attend the banquet.
The envoys from the Sun and Moon chatted and laughed with the ministers from the Star Luo. Someone recognized the Duchess and bowed to her and toasted her. The Duchess just nodded slightly to decline, and her eyes kept searching the crowd, hoping to find the tall and mighty figure.
Suddenly, a middle-aged man called her: "Isn't this Xianmei?"
The Duchess was startled and said calmly, "Hello, Mr. Zhu."
The one who called him was the eldest son of this generation of the Zhu family, named Zhu Jing. He had already been promoted to the position of prime minister. In terms of seniority, he should be Zhu Lu's cousin.
Zhu Jing asked, "Are you looking for Duke Baihu, sister?"
The Duchess always felt uncomfortable when facing the Zhu family, as if she had snatched away the position of Duchess that should have belonged to the Zhu family.
"Yes."
Zhu Jing smiled and said, "Duke Baihu is discussing important matters with His Majesty. Today is the social gathering of the Xingluo Empire and the Sun and Moon Empire. Wouldn't you like to join us, my dear sister?"
As he spoke, he made a gesture of invitation to the Duchess.
"Thank you, Mr. Zhu, but I have been feeling unwell recently, so I cannot join you in the fun." The Duchess gave a forced smile and declined the invitation.
She had no intention of attending the banquet and only came to see Duke White Tiger. After saying this, she prepared to leave the hall.
However, just as she was about to leave, a special figure suddenly caught her eye, causing her to also put on an unhappy expression.
She was a young girl sitting alone at the table, eating slowly. Her long azure blue hair was tied into a ponytail and hung high behind her. Looking from the side, her delicate profile exuded a majestic and heroic aura.