Unparalleled Beauty

Chapter C080 pt1

In the end, Wushuang was carried out.

Ji Yang came out first, ordering everyone outside to withdraw, before carrying her out wrapped in his clothes. Once inside the tent, Wushuang hid herself under the covers, and only after much fumbling did she manage to put on her undergarments, feeling slightly better.

Ji Yang chuckled at her, "Why are you so shy?"

Wushuang did not want to acknowledge him. She knew that they were to attend the banquet soon, and Linglong and little Douzi were naturally waiting outside. Yet, he had to act so recklessly. After the deed, just the thought of a group of servants standing outside, knowing the commotion they had made in the bathing chamber, made her face burn uncontrollably.

"Your Highness, His Majesty has sent someone to inquire when Your Highness will be attending the banquet," Fusheng's voice sounded from outside.

Wushuang quickly said, "Hurry and let them in to help me change. It's all your fault!"

Her final words were a shy and coquettish reproach. Ji Yang only smiled without speaking. Afterward, Linglong and Fusheng entered, each attending to one side, helping her change and dress. Then, the two of them hurriedly went to the banquet.

By the time the two arrived, the venue had undergone a great transformation. A thick red velvet carpet covered the ground, and many long tables were arranged along both sides, row upon row, with people seated behind each.

At each of the four corners of the venue, a bonfire was lit, with hunted game hanging above on iron hooks and racks, roasting. In the very center, there was a giant bonfire, upon which the bear that Prince Wei had hunted today was being roasted.

The fire caused the meat to sizzle, and the entire area was filled with the aroma of roasting meat.

Except for the bear, which was still not fully cooked due to its large size, the meat at the other fires was already roasted. Specialized palace servants used knives to carve the meat and remove the bones, placing the roasted meat onto plates and distributing them to the guests.

Wushuang and Ji Yang arrived late. By the time they arrived, everyone had already taken their seats.

Ji Yang apologized to Emperor Taihe. Emperor Taihe did not say anything. The two took their seats, with Wushuang sitting slightly behind Ji Yang.

"Today, Third Brother won first place, yet he arrives so late. He should be punished with wine," Prince Jin said with a smile from across the table.

Prince Qin said, "Third Brother, since you returned to the capital, this Prince has not had a chance to drink heartily with you. Your wedding day doesn't count. You cannot refuse today."

Prince Zhao also raised his wine cup, "Third Brother, I certainly cannot be left out."

Prince Han said, "Since all of my elder brothers are doing so, I can only follow suit."

As soon as Prince Wei sat down, several of the older princes came to him to drink. Seeing this, a minister on the right side of the table said to Emperor Taihe, who was at the head of the table, "Your Majesty, the princes are showing brotherly respect and harmony, which is truly a blessing for Great Liang. This humble subject offers this toast to Your Majesty, wishing Great Liang peace and prosperity for all eternity."

"Good!"

Emperor Taihe laughed and raised his cup, thus beginning the banquet.

Afterward, the sound of silk and bamboo music arose, and more than ten graceful palace dancers came into the venue, dancing elegantly to the music. Palace maids and chamberlains, carrying trays, moved with lowered heads between the tables, serving various delicacies and fine wines to the guests.

Besides the roasted meat, the palace servants also served some other dishes. Wushuang looked at them. These foods looked beautiful, but she did not know how long they had been prepared before being served. They were already cold, and upon closer inspection, a layer of white grease covered them, making them unappetizing.

Since sitting down, Ji Yang had not put down his wine cup. Wushuang, seeing him drinking continuously without eating anything, quietly tugged at his sleeve.

"Your Highness, you should eat something too."

His other hand was still holding his wine cup, but the hand beneath his sleeve grasped hers and gently kneaded it.

"Are you hungry?"

Then, seeing a large piece of roasted venison on the plate in front of her, he immediately put down his wine cup, took the plate, and then took a small silver knife from Fusheng, helping her slice the venison into pieces that were just the right size to eat.

"You eat too."

Seeing a hint of fierceness in her eyes, he smiled and left half of the sliced meat behind.

"Alright, I will eat."

"I hadn't expected Third Brother and Third Sister-in-law to be so affectionate."

Prince Zhao was seated just below Ji Yang, while Wushuang sat a little behind Ji Yang, her position adjacent to him, yet separated from Prince Zhao by an empty space.

However, sitting in Prince Zhao's direction, one could clearly see the situation over here.

Wushuang had just eaten a piece of venison, thinking how fragrant it was, when she suddenly heard those words, and her appetite vanished instantly.

She was both somewhat resentful of her own lack of awareness and disgusted by Prince Zhao's lack of tact.

"If Fourth Brother is envious, isn't Fourth Sister-in-law sitting right beside you? You two can also be as affectionate as you please," Ji Yang said languidly, glancing towards Prince Zhao's consort.

Prince Zhao's consort was somewhat embarrassed, because she also had a large piece of venison in front of her, just like Wushuang. The chamberlains had rules for presenting the meat; the best part of the deer naturally went to Emperor Taihe, then to Princess Changhe and the four consorts, and then to the various princes and their consorts.

To be fair, the meat presented to each of the princesses was from the same cut, and even the size was the same, but the problem lay in the size itself; it was simply too large. The men could hold knives to slice the meat, cutting and eating as they went. One could see the group of civil officials opposite them, all pulling out small knives to cut their meat, but for the women, it was somewhat difficult.

Wushuang looked around and saw that, apart from Princess Changhe who held a delicate silver knife, most of the female relatives were sighing at the meat.

Having just eaten a piece of venison, her mouth slightly glistening with oil, she looked at the meat in front of Prince Zhao's consort and accidentally met her gaze. The other was embarrassed, and so was she.

She quickly and quietly reached out to tug at his sleeve, signaling him to mind his own business.

Ji Yang indeed stopped interfering, not even looking at Prince Zhao. He said to her, "Don't eat too much of this venison. The bear meat will be roasted soon. Actually, bear meat isn't as delicious as venison, but the bear paw is not bad, especially the left paw. That bear was hunted by this Prince. According to the rules, the left paw is mine. I had someone brush some honey on it before roasting. You can try it later."

Wushuang certainly knew that the left bear paw was the best, but he spoke so frankly, even detailing how it would be eaten. The problem was that this was not in their mansion, and Emperor Taihe was present.

Others could be ignored, but Emperor Taihe was Prince Wei's own father. If his son had something delicious, shouldn't he offer some to his father?

"What about Father Emperor?"

She didn't dare say these words aloud, but merely mouthed them.

"We'll eat ours, what does it matter what he does?"

Indeed!

Wushuang rebuked him with her eyes. He hesitated for a moment, still somewhat unwilling, "Then how about we give him half? Anyway, that bear paw is very large, and you can't finish it all."

Just as he was speaking, the food arrived.

Because it was during the banquet, Ji Yang had given the order beforehand, so the food was brought directly to them.

The music and dance continued, and everyone was talking, drinking, and eating meat. In reality, who present wasn't watching in all directions and listening to everything?

Some were waiting to see how Prince Wei would handle it, some were sighing in their hearts at Prince Wei's arrogance, and some were thinking that Prince Wei might not be too clever. This kind of thing should be directly presented to His Majesty, to be handled by His Majesty. It would look better, and also show filial piety. Why was it brought to his own table?

Not only did 'Prince Wei' bring it to his own table, he also directly took a knife to it.

At the moment the knife was taken, countless people sighed in their hearts, and countless others laughed.

Prince Zhao was already annoyed because Ji Yang's words had not given him face. Seeing this from the side, his annoyance instantly vanished, replaced only by schadenfreude.

Ji Yang accurately divided the entire fragrant roasted bear paw in half, keeping the larger half for himself, and with a wave of his hand, had Fusheng take the smaller half away.

Fusheng was very apprehensive, but he didn't dare say anything. He could only brace himself and 'sneakily' go around from behind, passing Feng Xi, and kneeling down beside Emperor Taihe.

"Your Majesty, His Highness has asked this servant to bring you, to bring you bear paw."

Even Fusheng, who was usually eloquent, could not come up with better words at this moment, because his eyes could see that only half of the bear paw remained.

As for the other half?

The other half is with 'Prince Wei.' Haven't you seen the young couple already enjoying themselves? 'Prince Wei' hasn't even glanced this way. Emperor Taihe, sitting above, could see it all clearly.

For a moment, even the music of strings and bamboo softened, and the sounds of drinking and talking on the field quieted for an instant, before returning to normal.

Everyone was waiting for Emperor Taihe to show anger, but instead, Emperor Taihe revealed a very strange expression.

He didn't say anything, waved his hand to have Fusheng put down the things and return, not even giving it an extra glance, nor mentioning a word, and even chatted idly with several ministers nearby.

After a while, Emperor Taihe left his seat for a moment, presumably to change his clothes.

Disappearing along with him was the half bear paw that had been ignored since it was brought over.

In the empty tent, only Emperor Taihe remained.

Before him was the half bear paw, and beside it lay a silver knife.

He picked up the silver knife, sliced off a piece of bear paw meat, and put it in his mouth, chewing slowly. He chewed as if savoring some rare delicacy.

Princess Changhe walked in and saw the bear paw, chiding, "I was wondering where Imperial Brother had gone. So, you were secretly hiding away to eat good things. When eating good things, shouldn't you call your Imperial Sister?"

Emperor Taihe, over fifty years old, with already graying hair, revealed an expression that seemed shy, then immediately became melancholic and full of emotion.

"When this child was young, if he had anything good, he would always leave half for Father Emperor. It wasn't until he grew up that this habit changed. He resented me for more than a decade…"

Princess Changhe's gaze was complex. She sighed and advised, "What nonsense is Imperial Brother speaking? How could he truly resent Imperial Brother? Between father and son, there are no grudges that last overnight. It's just that the world plays tricks on people."

Upon hearing these words, Emperor Taihe seemed to have a thousand words to say, but in the end, he said nothing. In fact, tonight's loss of composure was unprecedented for him.

A moment later, the siblings returned to their seats together, as if nothing had happened.