Chapter 3: Grand Banquet

  The night banquet has begun, with palace music rising and falling in a lively rhythm, the sound of flutes and pipes wafting through the air.

  In the beautifully landscaped Yu Jing Garden, the officials who accompanied the banquet took their seats in an orderly manner, and the palace maids fluttered about, serving fine wines and delicacies one by one.

  In an instant, the jade plates were filled with delicacies, and the cups were overflowing with fine wine. The music was beautiful, and the scenery was breathtaking!

  As they entered the garden, Geshu Wuji withdrew his hand, which had been grasped by the boy and was now sweaty, and whispered: "Second Prince, your seat is over there."

  She pointed to a seat next to the high platform, her line of sight falling on the seat beside it. The long prince was already seated, having changed out of his previous cyan robe and now wearing a white brocade garment. On such an auspicious day, only he dared to be so presumptuous! He was showing off in front of the Grand Empress Dowager!

  At this time, the long prince noticed the woman's gaze, raised an eyebrow with a hint of arrogance, and hung a few lazy smiles on his handsome face. His slender figure leaned against the back of the chair.

  Ge Shu Wu Luan coldly withdrew his gaze and urged Gongzi Xu to quickly take a seat, then turned around and walked towards his own seat.

  As the Jin Yi Hou, she should have a place of her own. Previously, she had insisted on attending to the Empress Dowager's side, but the Empress Dowager said: Your identity is different now, this palace is not lacking in serving maids who are attentive and meticulous, those daily trivial matters can be done by others, you just need to do well as your Jin Yi Hou!

  As long as it's the queen, she will follow everything.

  Her seat was just a few steps away, she walked elegantly, but her ears kept hearing some shallow comments from time to time, which were the families of some officials.

  "See that? She's the famous Geshu, and she's done being a woman to the point where it's 'the ancestral tomb is emitting green smoke'!" The one who spoke was the wife of Gu Xi Tu, and after finishing her sentence, she couldn't help but curl up her lip, revealing a face full of disdain that still retained some lingering charm.

  "Are you envious? Let her be your daughter then!" said another official's wife.

  "I cannot tolerate this! Our family has been renowned for its literary heritage for generations. How can we possibly accommodate such an androgynous creature like her?"

  "There must be a master and servant relationship, and only women like those on the high platform can be trained."

  "Ah! None of them is 'ordinary'!"

  Hahaha...

  They relied on the loud music and spoke freely, criticizing others without restraint. Little did they know that a martial artist's hearing is extremely keen, and these words had already been transmitted into Geshu Wuruan's ears without missing a single word.

  Ge Shu Wu Luan smiled coldly, his face calm and unruffled, without breaking stride, he walked to the seat in front of him and sat down.

  She had just sat down when a disdainful voice came from not far away, "A stock of evil spirit! Turn the stomach! Yan Qi Sha and I will swap seats, otherwise this banquet can't be eaten!"

  The speaker was the first in command of the Du Caiying's criminal cases - Tie Li Tie Duzuo, who relied on his power and status to look down on everyone.

  Geshu Wujuan wasn't a fool, of course she knew this was aimed at her. The anger in her heart was ignited inch by inch, "You..."

  There are those who gossip behind her back, but he dares to be insolent in front of her. It's simply infuriating! However, she swallowed the words on the tip of her tongue and wouldn't ruin the Grand Consort's big day for her own dissatisfaction. There's always tomorrow, one day she'll teach this iron rake a lesson.

  Tie Du sat up straight and let out a cold hum, stood up and fiercely swept his sleeves, walking towards the adjacent seat.

  Ge Shu Wu Luan slowly suppressed his anger, unclenched his fist and picked up a cup of fine wine with his long fingers. He brought it to his lips and took a sip, the beautiful wine moistened his throat, sweet and refreshing, completely dispelling the suffocating air stuck in his chest.

  Suddenly, a low and magnetic voice pierced through the eardrum, extremely pleasant to listen to. "Your humble servant has yet to offer congratulations on your coronation, sir!"

  At a glance, a suit of dark official robes entered his line of sight, tall and slender like a pine tree, standing proudly with an air of elegance.

  The moonlight is like a wash, lightly sprinkling down, reflecting a beautiful and charming face. What kind of exquisite craftsmanship is this countenance?

  Slender and long eyebrows, deep and mysterious icy eyes, high and straight nose bridge, thin and moderate lips, now pursed into a line, sensual lip corners with a faint smile like wind and mist, seemingly smiling yet not quite, full of real and illusory meanings, subtly revealing a hint of playful intent, suddenly gazing over is thought-provoking.

  His facial features are as if carved, with clear contours, like a sculpture, and the overall appearance is exceptionally handsome. The only thing is that his face is slightly pale, but it's not a healthy color, rather a sickly pallor. However, this doesn't affect his beauty at all! On the contrary, it gives off an air of elegant melancholy and refined sorrow.

  A bun of hair was high on her head, held in place by a small, delicate black gauze official hat, making her look exceptionally simple and neat.

  When it comes to Yaoyao, it's not just his appearance, but the silver hair on his head that resembles snow and frost. Yes, it's silver, silver hair, silver eyebrows, and silver eyelashes!

  A young face framed by hair as white as snow, it was such a harmonious match that she couldn't help but marvel at the wonders of creation.

  The man elegantly lifted the hem of his robe and slowly sat down, such a simple action, yet it made people's hearts beat inexplicably. He saw him pinching the wine cup with his long fingers, slowly approaching Ge Shu Wu Luan, those deep and narrow icy eyes, hiding an inexplicable light that made people wonder.

  Ge Shu Wu Luan glanced at him sideways with a faint gaze, his face without a ripple.

  She knew very little about the person in front of her. She had secretly investigated which officials he was privately acquainted with, but what she found out were all things that outsiders already knew!

  His origin can't be described as poor, he is an orphan with no parents, no relatives, and no family. This point is similar to hers. Before the age of 19, he was unknown, making a living by working as a guard for rich families. Later, he became a ordinary constable, after three years on the job, he solved a bizarre murder case and gained fame in the imperial court. After that, he was recommended by the Metropolitan Procuratorate to join the Detective Bureau, within a year, he solved several pending cases and quickly rose to the position of Deputy Director. His real name is Yan Qi Sha, but the people of the Eastern Capital gave him a loud nickname - Silver Hair Ghost Detective! This nickname has already overshadowed his real name!

  The woman had not even raised her cup, but merely cast him a cold glance. Yan Qi sneered and said: "It seems that even if my wrist were broken or crippled, Your Excellency would still not give me the slightest bit of face."

  He raised his hand to drink, but just then the woman suddenly spoke up, "Vice Magistrate Yan is exaggerating a bit, isn't he? How could someone with such an 'iron fist' say cut off and actually cut off? I've had enough of this!" The voice stopped and the wine was drained, the cup was empty.

  She and he originally had nothing to do with each other, one walking in the inner palace, the other belonging to the previous dynasty. However, after the coronation, some people from the inner palace and the previous dynasty inevitably tried to get close to her, and she knew the reasons clearly, either fawning or having ulterior motives, but he was absolutely not the former!

  The man shook his head and smiled, as if he had heard her unspoken words, and then downed the wine on his lips.

  "She's really shameless, already almost engaged and still hitting on that pervert, how low!"

  Yan Qi was about to swallow a mouthful of fine wine when he heard this sentence and almost spat it out.

  Her eyes followed the sound, and a few steps away, she saw a golden branch of a young woman, who was now proudly raising her head filled with jade hairpins and jade combs, seeing the man looking this way, she pretended to be shy and coquettish.

  A woman standing beside her whispered, pulling at the girl's sleeve, "Speak softly, be careful she hears!"

  However, it's not something that can be avoided with just a reminder, this remark had already entered Geshu Wuwan's ears, but looking at her being neither warm nor cold, expressionless, only slightly sipping the fragrant wine, as if such slander and abuse were just a fleeting breeze by her ear, unable to blow into her heart.

  The delicate girl cast a disdainful glance at the woman sitting quietly and drinking, and continued to say reluctantly: "What's there to be afraid of? My father is the Grand Prince's tutor, what can she, a mere slave, do to me?"

  "Now he is Marquis of Brocade!"

  "The higher the honor, the less she deserves it. She's just an ant envying a canary!" After saying that, she quietly threw a glance at Yan Qi.

  "Isn't it infuriating?" Yan Qi raised an eyebrow and asked, gazing at Ge Shu's profile.

  The woman glanced at him, but only slightly opened her mouth, "What about it? Are you going to cut out her tongue or sentence her to a humiliating punishment? I'm afraid that by then, the prison cells of your Dusi camp will be full!"

  This remark would make anyone angry, and she's no exception. However, she has heard and endured things that are a hundred times more hurtful than this. If she were to take offense at everything, she wouldn't have time for anything else!

  The man's eyes sparkled with a smile, his handsome face more enchanting than the blue flowers blooming in the night, and said: "You're quite witty, sir!"

  After that, Gesu Wujiu stopped making a sound, only raised his eyes to look at Gongzi Xu kneeling under the high platform, and offered congratulations to the Grand Empress Dowager.

  After a long time, Yan Qi raised an eyebrow and asked: "What does your excellency think of this nickname that I have just obtained?"

  Suddenly this sentence made Geshu Wuji somewhat bewildered, "What?"

  The man glanced in the direction of the charming woman, and the words "Yao Yu Qi" instantly appeared in his mind. She smiled knowingly, "Heh! Extremely suitable!"

  Digression

  Collect it! Collect it!