Lu Xunguang calmly stood up and bowed slightly in the direction of the Emperor and the Empress Dowager.
"Your Majesty, Empress Dowager, it's not that I meant to be mysterious. It's just that my gift is not an ordinary one. If there's a slight mishap and it gets startled, it would be rather unpleasant. That's why I didn't submit the birthday gift to the Ministry of Rites. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."
As soon as he said this, the Emperor raised his eyebrows, a hint of keen interest flashing across his face.
"Minister Lu often travels outside. I'm sure you've collected many rare items in private. I'd like to see what surprise you've prepared for the Empress Dowager."
Lu Xunguang smiled faintly, bowed gracefully again, and gently clapped his hands.
A palace attendant carefully carried in a large golden birdcage covered with black silk.
He stepped forward and said with a smile, "It's really a coincidence. Minister Cao, Miss A Man and I seem to have had the same idea!"
He reached out his hand and lifted the silk. Inside the birdcage, the perky little peacock that A Man had brought back from afar was leisurely preening its wing feathers with its sharp beak.
"I, Lu Xunguang, respectfully present this peacock, the divine bird, to wish Her Majesty the Empress Dowager a birthday as long as the sky!"
Lu Xunguang bowed respectfully and shouted "Long live the Emperor" three times.
A look of surprise flashed across the Emperor's eyes.
These peacock divine birds were rare. Although there were a few in the imperial garden, they always looked rather sickly, which was quite disappointing.
The peacock presented by Lu Xunguang was slightly smaller in size, but it was full of vitality. Just one glance at it would make people fall in love with it.
Minister Cao noticed the Emperor's keen interest and secretly cursed in his heart.
This rascal Lu Xunguang!
He had racked his brains and finally managed to collect all the peacocks in the capital. But who would have thought that this lucky guy would take advantage of the loophole?
Was this upstart going to steal all the limelight today?
On the surface, Minister Cao remained calm, but he said with a smiling face, "Minister Lu is really thoughtful! However, since it's a divine bird presented for the birthday, I wonder if Minister Lu has properly tamed it in advance?"
"Miss A Man's peacock dance was really wonderful. Especially the scene of the peacock spreading its tail was the most brilliant part. I wonder if I have the good fortune to see this little peacock spread its tail to celebrate the Empress Dowager's birthday?"
He was nitpicking, thinking he had given Lu Xunguang a difficult problem. But Lu Xunguang just nodded calmly and immediately replied, "Your Majesty, this divine bird is very intelligent. May I open the birdcage?"
His expression was confident. The Emperor was skeptical but immediately waved his hand and agreed.
Li Ying stood silently behind the Queen. Hearing this, she quietly raised her head and exchanged a knowing look with Lu Xunguang.
Success or failure depended on this one move.
Before entering the palace, she had already repeatedly instructed this proud little peacock with Mao Mao. Today, whether they could successfully shake the position of Minister Cao, a veteran official of the previous dynasty, depended entirely on it!
Lu Xunguang stepped forward himself and slowly opened the golden lock hanging on the large birdcage. The cage door opened with a creak, and the little peacock strolled out leisurely.
It lazily shook its feathers. Its proud strut was extremely pleasing to the Emperor and the Empress Dowager.
This was the noble king of all birds in the imperial garden!
The little peacock's bright eyes saw all the eager gazes on it and felt extremely proud.
It flapped its wings gracefully and easily flew onto a corridor pillar in the corner of the hall. It raised its slender neck and let out a long cry!
The peacock's tail feathers gently trembled and slowly spread out, turning into a brocade-like fan in the air. It was imposing and dazzling.
"The peacock divine bird... actually... actually spread its tail!"
"The spreading of the divine bird's tail is a great auspicious sign. May the Empress Dowager live as long as the sky, and may Your Majesty live a long and prosperous life! May our dynasty last for thousands of generations and enjoy a long national fortune!"
Several quick-witted civil officials immediately knelt down on the ground after a moment of stupefaction and shouted "Long live the Emperor".
Li Ying also had to obediently kneel down with the others and mechanically repeat those words of submission like "Long live our Emperor".
This scene was extremely satisfying to the Emperor. He cleared his throat and then ordered everyone to rise.
"Minister Lu's birthday gift is very interesting! I will reward you handsomely!"
While the Emperor was overjoyed, Minister Cao gritted his teeth in hatred.
Today, the golden peacock robe that he had painstakingly rushed to make should have taken the lead and reconciled with the Emperor.
Who would have thought that all the limelight would be stolen by a peacock that Lu Xunguang had found!
It was just a furry animal. He had countless such peacocks in his mansion. There was nothing to be proud of!
Minister Cao was still complaining to himself in his heart when he saw the little peacock retract its long tail feathers, flap its wings, fly down from the corridor pillar, take a few steps, and let out two sharp cries.
"Your Majesty, when the divine bird cries in the sky, there must be auspiciousness!"
The civil official who had spoken earlier quickly kowtowed again. Seeing that the little peacock seemed about to fly again, he reported, "Your Majesty, I observe that this divine bird seems to have a place it wants to go. In my opinion, we might as well follow it and find out."
The Emperor was in high spirits and readily agreed without thinking, "Good! I'm just about to see where the auspiciousness of our dynasty will fall!"
A large group of people followed the little peacock in a grand procession.
The little peacock didn't fly far. It always kept a certain distance from the Emperor's sedan chair.
It flew intermittently and finally flew out of the palace wall, heading towards the streets of the capital.
This made the Emperor and the officials extremely curious.
Only Minister Cao's face became more and more suspicious.
This... for some reason, wasn't this the way to his mansion's villa?
Minister Cao vaguely felt that something was strange. Seeing Lu Xunguang following closely behind, looking calm, he felt even more uneasy.
Before he could figure out what was going on, the little peacock had already lightly landed on an old tree outside the wall of Minister Cao's mansion and let out three loud cries.
Uncle Pei stepped forward first and gave Minister Cao a hearty smile.
"Minister Cao, I've heard that the phoenix only perches on the parasol tree. Now that this peacock divine bird has chosen to land outside your mansion, your residence is truly a blessed place."
Uncle Pei playfully pushed open the half-closed courtyard door.
Minister Cao secretly cried out in alarm!
But at this moment, there was no time for him to think of any countermeasures or plan carefully.
All the large and small blue peacocks in the courtyard suddenly came into everyone's view.
Although these peacocks were still quite lively, they all looked listless. The long and proud feathers on their tails were all gone, leaving them bald, looking like a group of down-and-out pheasants.
"Minister Cao, what's going on here?"
Uncle Pei frowned and sized up Minister Cao from head to toe.
The Emperor's sedan chair also stopped in front of him. The cold and sharp eyes of the superior swept across him and then looked at the peacocks in the courtyard.
Just one look made Minister Cao's heart sink into an ice cave.