Free Web NovelChapter 771: Chapter 206: Indulgence and Intrigue, Clash of Light and Shadow (Third Update)
The front hall of the Taixuan Ancient Palace was filled with intersecting lights and drifting melodies.
When Mu Qingge arrived, the place was already packed with people. Besides the eight Great Feudal Lords she had already met, there were others she hadn’t seen before, but to be able to enter the Taixuan Ancient Palace, their status and rank must not be low.
"These people are some idle nobles. After Your Majesty ascended to the throne, he took back the powers they held, leaving them with empty titles. They harbor some resentment towards Your Majesty, but dare not show it. Tonight, Su Sheng and the others unexpectedly called them all here, probably intending to exploit their dissatisfaction with Your Majesty to harm the Princess," Gu Ye whispered in Mu Qingge’s ear.
Mu Qingge gave a barely noticeable nod, already having an idea in mind.
She cast a glance over everyone in the hall.
About twenty people had come to this banquet. Besides the eight Great Feudal Lords, the remaining dozen or so were all in their prime and were not accompanied by any women.
Mu Qingge raised an eyebrow slightly.
A group of big men coming to welcome a woman?
If word of this got out, people who didn’t know the truth might label her as having questionable conduct.
She didn’t mind, but she couldn’t give these people an opportunity to attack her.
Mu Qingge’s gaze turned cold. Instead of hastily stepping out, she whispered a few words to Gu Ye. The latter understood and immediately retreated to make arrangements.
Before long, a few palace maids came over with translucent gauze veils in hand, following Gu Ye.
"Princess," Gu Ye said to Mu Qingge.
Mu Qingge lifted the veils for a glance and nodded, "Hang these veils out."
"Yes," Gu Ye led the palace maids out.
When they appeared in the hall, they immediately drew everyone’s attention.
However, as they started to move, the people in the hall were taken aback.
"Gu Ye, what are you doing?" She Yin stood up unhappily.
Gu Ye continued to instruct the maids, placing a gauze veil in front of each table, blocking the view of the people behind the tables and obstructing their views from crossing one another.
Gu Ye replied coldly, "The Princess said that as a woman, it’s not appropriate to sit with men. However, since everyone is so enthusiastic, we had to come up with a compromise."
"If you want to block, just block the main seat, why block us?" someone protested.
Gu Ye firmly insisted, "The Princess’ status is so noble that in her presence, it is the subjects who should veil, not the master herself."
This statement was irrefutable.
Ling Jiu peeked out from behind the veil and said to Gu Ye, "The Princess has considered everything thoroughly; it was us who were reckless."
He spoke, and the others had no objection.
The nobles from the Demon Realm who had been stripped of power were silently contemplating.
Mu Qingge stood behind with her eyes closed, patiently waiting, listening to the commotion ahead. In fact, she most disliked such occasions of deceit and treachery, with every word cleverly cutting to the quick, and every step a trap.
Yet when it was truly necessary to confront, she would never back down.
With Si Mo not present, she had to protect everything that belonged to him, letting no one covet it. If anyone dared to come, she would kill them!
One Yan Ya was not enough; she wouldn’t mind continuing to make an example to scare others!
Mu Qingge slowly opened her eyes, bright and clear, filled with a fierce killing intent.
After a while, Gu Ye returned with the empty-handed palace maids and said to Mu Qingge, "Princess, everything has been arranged."
Mu Qingge nodded, stepping into the hall.
By now, over twenty gauze veils were hung, shielding the banquet tables and blocking the calculative guests. Mu Qingge raised an eyebrow, finding this type of banquet much cleaner.
Mu Qingge directly headed to the main seat, which was her place.
As she appeared, everyone at the table saw an enchanting silhouette pass by outside the veils, and just seeing that blurry shadow was enough to sway people’s hearts and captivate their souls.
This hint of elegance evoked even more intrigue.
As someone couldn’t resist and wanted to secretly lift the veil to look outside, a cool female voice resounded in the hall. "Though the Demon Realm does not have that many rules, now that Your Majesty is absent, as his wife, it is naturally inappropriate for me to share a table with his subjects. However, given everyone’s enthusiastic reception, I will not be coy. I am here for the banquet, but Your Majesty’s face must also be considered. Be careful, if you carelessly glimpse the scenery outside the veil, it would be a grave offense against His Majesty’s honor."
Her words immediately reined in those eager to peek.
No one wanted to risk their future just for a glimpse of beauty.
Mu Qingge smiled coldly, her clear eyes scanning past the layered veils.
The veils blocked everyone’s view as well as her own. In the whole hall, the only table without a veil set down was hers.
In the extremely quiet hall, Mu Qingge casually said, "Let’s begin."
She was the true host!
At the Taixuan Ancient Palace’s banquet, how could the guests preside?
Her cool words allowed no objection. Already waiting palace maids swiftly entered and placed hot dishes and fine wine on each table.
She Yin and Su Yan exchanged glances in private.
Clearly, the initiative was supposed to be in their hands, so why was it so easily taken by this Princess?
Moreover, she took it so naturally, without a hint of awkwardness.
Soon, the tables were filled with exquisite Demon Realm dishes and fine wines.
The twenty-something attendees each had their cups filled with wine.
Mu Qingge raised her glass and said to everyone, "Come, this first cup of wine is to all of you. Thank you for keeping the Demon Realm well-managed during His Majesty’s absence."
With that said, she drained her cup in one go, neatly and without hesitation.
The crowd followed suit, with Ling Jiu and the other three urging them on, they all drank the wine.
However, this was not the original intent behind Su Sheng and his group holding the banquet.
The rhythm of the banquet should not be in the hands of Mu Qingge!
Putting down his cup, Su Sheng said, "The Princess has just arrived at Taixuan Ancient Palace, and since Your Majesty is not here, if the Princess has any questions, she can come to us at any time."
On the surface, these words seemed harmless.
But in reality, wasn’t it just a veiled jab at Mu Qingge’s mysterious origins, suggesting her appearance was all too coincidental?
His statement was merely a precursor.
Immediately, a former noble spoke up, "Where is the Princess from? Your Majesty has always been indifferent to women, and now a Princess suddenly appears, which truly surprises us!"
’It’s starting!’
Mu Qingge toyed with the wine glass in her hand, a playful smile appearing at the corners of her mouth.
Starting so quickly, they truly can’t wait.
"And you are..." Mu Qingge spoke with a half-smile.
"Princess, we people of the Demon Clan are not fond of beating around the bush when we speak, so I will be direct. You claim you are Your Majesty’s woman, you say you carry Your Majesty’s child. Whether these are true or false, we have no certainty." A voice interrupted Mu Qingge’s words directly.
His straightforwardness, compared to others from the Demon Realm, actually made Mu Qingge appreciate him more.
Originally, in her heart, the people of the Demon Clan should be straightforward and act as they please, following their true desires. But after interacting within Taixuan Ancient Palace, she discovered that even among the Demon Clan, people still engage in deception, intrigue, and schemes.
Of course, power makes people lose their way.
A person, blinded by power, always ends up inexplicably entangled in some kind of conspiracy.
Even the Demon Clan cannot escape this rule.
In general, the true nature of these people from the Demon Clan still remains. Like Su Sheng and the others—they have ambitions, and once Si Mo’s disappearance was confirmed, their ambitions could no longer be contained.
If it were the Human Clan or the Divine Clan, they might not be so obvious and direct; they might be more discreet and cautious.
The person speaking now finally allowed Mu Qingge to feel the frankness of the Demon Clansman.
She lifted the corners of her mouth and asked, "So how do you want me to prove it? In your hearts, I cannot prove my identity. Then, how do you prove that I am not Your Majesty’s woman and that the child in my belly is not Your Majesty’s?"
"This..." The voice hesitated and gave in.
Indeed! They can choose not to believe, but they have no evidence to disprove her identity either.
Mu Qingge laughed and said, "Now, by sitting in this position, I am the Princess of this Taixuan Ancient Palace. Since you cannot present evidence to prove my identity is false, you must be cautious with your words. I believe I don’t need to remind you of the crime of slandering the Princess, do I?"
Her words quieted the banquet.
The music that was playing had also stopped at some point, and the waiting dancing girls all knelt at the hall entrance, not daring to make a sound.
There was nothing blocking their view, and they could see the Princess sitting at the main seat, chatting and laughing clearly.
In the presence of so many significant figures, she remained composed, with a face so beautiful it defies description, adorned with a faint smile all the while. Even her brows bore a trace of light arrogance.
Few women can be as dazzling as her.
The dancing girls kneeling on the ground glanced at their Princess, cheeks faintly red, eyes full of admiration.
They seemed to vaguely understand in their hearts why the usually indifferent to women Your Majesty would have such a Princess!
Such a Princess would captivate even them as women, let alone men.
"You may doubt my identity, and you may continue not to believe. I don’t need your belief. Just remember, until you have evidence to prove I am a fraud, I am the mistress of this Taixuan Ancient Palace, and that’s enough. There is Your Majesty’s flesh and blood in my womb, and it will be your future Crown Prince." Mu Qingge declared assertively.
She came not to reform the court on behalf of Si Mo, but to stabilize the situation for him.
The more confident she is, the more hesitant these people will be to act lightly.
"But... the origins of the Princess seem too mysterious. We have inquired from many sources but got no results. If it weren’t for Gu Ya and Gu Ye saying, we wouldn’t even know that Your Majesty had someone he favored." Another person voiced doubts.
However, this time, his tone was much gentler than before, not as sharp.
Mu Qingge sneered. To put it bluntly, these people’s tricks against her were merely doubts about her identity.
"Do you think Gu Ya and Gu Ye have the guts to lie? Or do you self-righteously believe you are closer to Your Majesty than Gu Ye and Gu Ya?" Mu Qingge smiled.
Who are Gu Ya and Gu Ye?
They are Your Majesty’s personal attendants, always by his side, so it’s only natural that they know Your Majesty’s secrets.
Moreover, if you say they dared to bring in a fake Princess, they themselves wouldn’t believe it either.
The voices of doubt fell silent once more.
Mu Qingge, however, placed both her hands on the table and stood up. Her stature was erect, not dressed in luxurious or complicated gowns, but in simple and snug casual wear.
The blood-red color was particularly conspicuous and striking in the hall.
Her indifferent gaze swept over those hidden behind the veils, looking down and saying, "Your Majesty is merely temporarily out of contact. He is fine and will return sooner or later. I know you have questions in your heart. No matter what questions you have, you can ask Your Majesty directly when he returns. Me saying hundreds or thousands of sentences here won’t match a nod from Your Majesty, right?"
Behind the veils, gazes met and discussions broke out.
The doubts about Mu Qingge and uncertainty about her origins were now stifled by her single remark.
Indeed!
You doubt her? Where’s your evidence?
Since you don’t believe each other can provide evidence, you can only wait until the only man who can confirm it returns to explain everything to everyone.
At that time, everything will be clear, and all disputes will be settled.
This result was something Su Sheng and the others did not welcome. They never expected that today’s painstakingly arranged banquet would end like this.
However, before they could attempt to turn the tables, Mu Qingge spoke again.
"You have no more questions, right?" Mu Qingge straightened, her gaze cold as a spring, sweeping over those hidden behind the veils. "Now that your doubts have been cleared, it is time for my questions!"
