Su Chengyu also recognized the handwriting as Xiao Changyi’s and felt a hint of imbalance in his heart, yet he kept a straight face, approaching Xiao Changyi with extreme steadiness. Bending over, he lowered his voice and shamelessly asked Xiao Changyi, "Brother Yi, when will you write four characters for me?"
"Pfft." An Jing tried to hold back her laughter, but couldn’t help letting out a chuckle.
Su Chengyu did not care if An Jing was laughing at him; she was his Brother Yi’s wife, so naturally, he would not take issue with her. Besides, it would be futile to do so.
He still maintained the composure of the Crown Prince on the surface, but his eyes sparkled as he looked at Xiao Changyi.
Luckily, he was standing in a good position, as bending down perfectly shielded his facial expression with his Brother Yi blocking the view, preventing the people below from seeing it.
Xiao Changyi simply glanced sideways at Su Chengyu but did not speak.
However, it was An Jing who stopped laughing and softly told Su Chengyu, "Your Brother Yi hasn’t forgotten you. He has also written four characters for you. After the birthday banquet ends, I’ll have someone send them to your palace."
Su Chengyu was overjoyed and, containing his excitement, whispered, "No need for that trouble, after the birthday banquet ends, I’ll go with you to Fenghua Palace to fetch them."
An Jing thought... Is there a need to be so eager? The gift isn’t going anywhere...
Finally, Xiao Changyi spoke, his voice low but extremely brusque, "Aren’t you going to leave?"
"Oh." Su Chengyu immediately straightened up and returned to his seat designated for the Crown Prince.
The Crown Princess Consort Ning Wenxian, sitting next to Su Chengyu, saw An Jing look her way and offered a polite and gentle smile, her demeanor particularly graceful and proper.
An Jing also returned the smile courteously. The Crown Princess Consort was too preoccupied to share her heart for now, and as for the future? Leave it to fate.
There was no need to force anything.
Below the jade-carved birthday stage, those who hadn’t yet presented their gifts continued to offer them, most of which were worth a fortune, extremely rare and precious. Just one of these gifts would be enough to fund an extremely lavish and grand birthday banquet, and the Emperor of Xiyun certainly wouldn’t be at a loss.
An Jing felt that the Emperor of Xiyun was planning not to lose out. Otherwise, with the state treasury being as depleted as it was and considering raising taxes, an enlightened Emperor of Xiyun would not possibly lavish so much on his own birthday banquet.
It’s not good to stretch out one’s hand and ask others for money, so hosting a birthday banquet is a good way to amass wealth.
And those who offered exotic treasures undoubtedly hoped to win the Emperor of Xiyun’s favor with their birthday gifts, maybe even gaining promotion and nobility if the Emperor’s heart was greatly delighted.
Even if the chance was slim, it wasn’t nonexistent.
If not, that would be fine too. As long as they could win the Emperor’s favor, they’d have an easier time among their colleagues in the future and would be held in higher regard by others—a situation with all benefits and no harm, so naturally, they would rather spend more money and time to gather rare treasures and take that gamble.
An Jing, never intimidated, sat unfazed next to Xiao Changyi. Like him, her back was straight as an arrow, exuding an aura that differed from the Crown Princess Consort’s dignified grace up on the stage. Yet she presented a unique landscape of her own, much to the disappointment of those below who had hoped to see An Jing, this farmer’s daughter, embarrass herself.
Almost everyone attending the banquet already knew the Changsheng Princess was a farmer’s daughter. Originally, only a few were aware, but once the King of Eternal Victory brought a woman back to the Capital to celebrate the Emperor of Xiyun’s birthday, those with connections only had to inquire slightly and learned of this.
Then, as the word spread, everyone became aware of it.