Emperor Guangwu strode in with a dignified gait. One step behind him was Empress Ma.
Lü Baiwei and a valiant-looking beauty supported Empress Ma from either side.
Lü Baiwei, with a respectful and humble look on her face, walked slowly into the imperial garden.
As the Crown Princess was ill and unable to get out of bed, Lü Baiwei had been temporarily taking the Crown Princess's place to serve Empress Ma in the past two years.
All the civil and military officials, including the Crown Prince, Song Yinghuai and others, knelt on the ground. "May the Emperor live long! May the Empress live long!"
At this time, the valiant beauty on the other side of Empress Ma was recognized by the officials of the Great Ye.
Wasn't this Xu Buyue, the youngest daughter of the Duke who founded the state and the Princess of Nan'an!
There were six dukes and twenty-eight marquises among the founding heroes of the Great Ye.
Among them, Xu Ying, the Duke who founded the state, ranked first.
Emperor Guangwu and Xu Ying were life-and-death friends. They had addressed each other as brothers even before the founding of the state.
A daughter of the Xu family had entered the palace as one of the four concubines. Xu Ying's three sons now served as the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, the Censor-in-chief of the Censorate, and the First-rank Grand Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi respectively.
A family as powerful as the Xu family that could cover the sky with one hand would usually arouse the sense of crisis of the superior.
However, Xu Ying was a modest and prudent man. He had always been extremely respectful to Emperor Guangwu. He even handed over his former 300,000 southern army troops. Therefore, the whole Xu family had always been in favor and the imperial favor never faded.
Xu Buyue had never liked feminine adornments since childhood. She only liked to hang out in the army and rarely appeared in the aristocratic circle.
Moreover, due to her noble status, she was still unengaged at the age of twenty.
Everyone was smart enough to guess the reason when she suddenly showed up at Empress Ma's birthday banquet today.
It turned out that the Emperor and the Empress were going to arrange a marriage for the Princess of Nan'an!
Their eyes scanned over the Crown Prince and all the princes.
They wondered which one of them the high-minded Princess of Nan'an would take a fancy to.
After Emperor Guangwu took his seat, Lü Baiwei supported Empress Ma to sit down, and then walked back to the seat beside the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince sat on the lower left of the dragon and phoenix chairs, while Song Yinghuai sat on the lower right.
Lü Baiwei was sitting almost right opposite Song Yinghuai.
When she raised her eyes, the handsome face of the man that made her heart flutter was deeply imprinted in her eyes.
After not seeing him for seven years, he was still as handsome as jade. Time had not left any traces on his face. Instead, it had added a mature charm to him.
The evening breeze of early summer was blowing in the imperial garden. His long hair fluttered gently in the wind. His eyebrows were like distant mountains, still hiding the calmness and wisdom like countless rivers and mountains.
Compared with Song Chengyuan's laziness, Song Yinghuai sat there straight and upright, like a proud pine and bamboo, like an insurmountable mountain.
Lü Baiwei could hear her heart beating violently, and her eyes were hot.
This man was more attractive than he was seven years ago.
If it hadn't been for the Emperor's partiality to the Crown Prince and Song Yinghuai's constant concession and lack of ambition to fight for the crown prince position, she wouldn't have abandoned Song Yinghuai and turned to Song Chengyuan's arms...
Lü Baiwei's gaze was burning, but Song Yinghuai opposite seemed not to notice at all.
His eyes passed through the crowd and landed on the catalpa tree in the distance.
Only Caiyu and the servants brought by the families of the officials were standing respectfully there under the tree.
Sheng Jiangli had returned to her seat after stuffing the jujubes into Caiyu's hand.
The dress made of rain silk brocade that Caiyu was wearing stood out among the servants, making her look like a fairy.
Empress Ma had forced herself to attend the birthday banquet today. There were two things on her mind.
The first one was to take a look at the woman in Song Yinghuai's heart.
She followed Song Yinghuai's gaze.
There was a peerless beauty standing out under the catalpa tree, wearing the dress made of rain silk brocade that Song Yinghuai had specially entered the palace to ask for a few days ago.
Empress Ma smiled and nodded slightly, showing her satisfaction.
She was really good-looking.
Only such a beauty could match Xuanyao.
However, for the position of the main concubine, appearance was not the most important thing. Family background and character were more important.
That girl was nice, but it was a pity that her family background was too low to help Xuanyao. Even if she was reluctantly promoted to the position, how could she control the other women from aristocratic families if Xuanyao took them as concubines in the future?
Empress Ma then turned to look at Xu Buyue who was sitting next to her.
The Princess's eyes were bright and her nose was straight. After experiencing the army life, she had a unique charm. She was a valiant and unruly beauty.
But both she and Xuanyao were keen on the battlefield. They must have a lot in common. Coupled with the background of the Xu family...
Empress Ma knew that Song Yinghuai had suffered for many years because of the Crown Prince. She just wanted to give this child the best future. Otherwise, she wouldn't be able to rest in peace even after death.
After Emperor Guangwu symbolically finished his blessing speech, he motioned for everyone to present their congratulatory speeches and birthday gifts one by one.
Everyone knew that Emperor Guangwu and the Empress had a deep affection for each other, and Empress Ma was a wise and virtuous empress of a generation. Everyone respected her from the bottom of their hearts.
Therefore, everyone had racked their brains to prepare the birthday gifts sincerely.
In addition to all kinds of precious gold jewelry and rare jade, there were also many other rare treasures.
Such as the precious agarwood of the Pillar of Prolonging Life, the Buddhist beads from Qiongdao and Jachna, the fragrant wood from the Kingdom of Siam of the Lily in the Mermaid Palace, the Nine Statues of Infinite Buddha, the blue lapis lazuli plaque with the word "Good Luck" and so on. They were so dazzling that people were dazzled.
Under the public attention, Song Chengyuan ordered someone to present a golden star rosewood box engraved with the character of longevity.
Emperor Guangwu looked at the box in front of Empress Ma in confusion and asked, "What birthday gift has the Crown Prince prepared?"
Song Chengyuan waved his hand to signal the maid to open the box. Inside, there was a huge black pill.
Facing the puzzled and confused looks of everyone, Song Chengyuan smiled proudly. "Father and Mother, this is the world's number one super invincible and perfect tonic pill refined by Taoist Priest Zhang for your son! The Taoist Priest said that after Mother takes it, she will be able to prolong her life and stay young forever!"
Emperor Guangwu's face froze.
Taoist Priest Zhang was recommended to him by Song Chengyuan before.
As an emperor, everyone had thought about living forever.
So Emperor Guangwu was no exception. After learning that Taoist Priest Zhang had the art of immortality, he had been obsessed with it for a while.
It was not until Song Yinghuai managed to expose several absurd things of the Crown Prince that Emperor Guangwu took back the power of government. Coupled with the persuasion of Song Yinghuai's people in his ear, the shrewd emperor had come to his senses.
Where was there any art of immortality in this world?
If there was, how could the emperors of past dynasties have died and aged one by one?
How could Empress Ma be dying?
So Emperor Guangwu promoted Buddhism again and believed in reincarnation, cause and effect, and gods and Buddhas.
At this time, the Crown Prince brought up the old matter again. Wasn't this slapping Emperor Guangwu in the face?
Empress Ma keenly noticed that Emperor Guangwu's face was not good, so she smiled gently and said, "Mother is old. She doesn't need to stay young forever. Mother only hopes that my imperial sons will be safe and smooth all their lives."
But Song Chengyuan didn't understand the implication of Empress Ma's words. He continued to persuade, "Mother doesn't believe your son's words? Your son has also tried this pill. After taking it, I feel energetic and full of vitality. I can even have sex seven times in one night. If Mother and Father take it together, your son thinks that you can still have another little prince!"
Now not only Emperor Guangwu's face changed, but also the faces of all the officials changed.
They all knew that the Crown Prince was dissolute and immoral, but they didn't expect him to be so stupid.
How could he talk about bedroom matters in front of everyone and even mention having a little prince...
Absurd!
Too absurd!
If such a crown prince ascended the throne, would there be any hope for the Great Ye?
Empress Ma was so angry that she coughed violently, gasping for breath.
Xu Buyue, who was sitting beside her, quickly patted her on the back to help her catch her breath. Her starry eyes coldly swept across Song Chengyuan. "Your Highness the Crown Prince, you don't need to worry about how many times the Emperor and the Empress have sex. You'd better worry about how the soldiers on the border of the Great Ye are fighting on the battlefield!"
Emperor Guangwu supported his aching forehead and scolded, "You step back first! Step back!"
Empress Ma finally stopped coughing. Her kind eyes were filled with sorrow. She looked at Song Yinghuai and asked,
"What gift has Xuanyao prepared for Father and Mother today?"