The moment the Emperor’s carriage arrived, all chatting ceased as everyone scrambled to welcome the imperial couple.
When Long Yang and Lu Liangwei got down from the carriage, the crowd was already on their knees, and cries of greeting rose one after another from among them.
“You may all rise!”
Kneeling among the throng of family members, Li Tong’er could not help raising her head to sneak a peek when she heard the Emperor’s deep voice.
From her position at the far back, all she could glimpse was the man’s profile.
However, even that was enough to make her breath catch in her throat.
In the span of a little more than ten years, the once-youthful Emperor had grown into the calm and reserved man he was now.
A mere glance at the perfectly sculpted outline of his face was enough to send her heart palpitating.
She stared on in a daze, almost forgetting to get up until Madam Li tugged at her arm.
There were many maidens from various noble houses present that day.
The Emperor had once seemed so out of their reach, and the rumors of his brutality had only served to crush any tendril of desire they had once harbored toward him. However, now that word about the Emperor doting on the Empress had spread like wildfire outside the court, some of them could not prevent the ambition in their hearts from rearing its head.
In addition to Li Tong’er, many maidens were also secretly eyeing the Emperor, and Lu Liangwei, heavily pregnant beside him, seemed nothing but an invisible entity to them.
A palace had been built in the Western Gardens, but the fine weather that day made it possible for the banquet to be held in the peach blossom woods.
At this moment, tables and chairs had already been set up in the area.
With an arm around Lu Liangwei’s shoulders, Long Yang walked forward when he suddenly felt a sharp pinch on his waist.
He turned his inquiring gaze on the girl beside him.
Lu Liangwei retracted her hand and shot him a cool glance. Displeased as she was, she still dropped her voice to an annoyed whisper. “Insect trap.”
Her voice was low, but Long Yang was still close enough to hear her clearly. If not for the huge crowd present, he would have squeezed her cheek.
How could this girl be so adorable?
In the end, he only gave her a restrained squeeze on the hand and replied in an equally low voice, “Why do you say that?”
Although Lu Liangwei had not personally seen anyone ogling the Emperor, a woman’s intuition could be frighteningly accurate at times.
When they had made their appearance just now, she had already sensed numerous enamored gazes sweeping all over the man next to her.
She had thought that Li Tong’er was the only one coveting the Emperor, but she had apparently underestimated his charm.
He was not that young anymore, yet he could still attract the admiration of so many young girls.
It was all because of his face!
If she had known, she would have changed this occasion to a masquerade.
If everyone wore masks, no one would be able to see the Emperor’s face.
Meeting the man’s perplexed gaze, she gestured half-heartedly toward the peach blossoms not far off.
“I was talking about the peach blossoms. They’ve attracted not only butterflies but also bees—doesn’t that make them insect traps?”
The hint of bitterness in her tone puzzled Long Yang greatly.
What had the peach blossoms done to offend her?
“The blooming of peach blossoms is a rare and gorgeous sight that only occurs in spring. Even humans flock to admire them, not to mention bees and butterflies—it’s their instinct to be attracted to beautiful flowers. How could you blame that on the peach blossoms?” Long Yang commented casually.
The next moment, however, he saw Lu Liangwei’s face cloud over.
Long Yang paused. “What’s wrong?”
Lu Liangwei said pointedly, “So you’re saying that, since everyone likes beautiful things, it’s natural for a person to be gaped at because they’re beautiful?”
If Long Yang still failed to understand why she was suddenly angry, all those years of ruling on the throne would have been in vain.
As soon as she finished speaking, Long Yang looked up and cast his gaze over the court officials and their family members behind him. Sure enough, he caught sight of numerous pairs of admiring eyes that were unable to tear themselves away from him in time.
His face twisted into a scowl, and he almost lost his temper.