CHAPTER 700: CHAPTER 567: DIFFICULTIES AND COUNTERATTACK

Ye Lingyue stood at a spot not too far from Emperor Beiqing, yet it wasn’t appropriate to directly lift her head, she could only cautiously use the corner of her eye to steal a glance at the throne.

Dimly, she could only see a figure in bright yellow sitting upright on the throne.

With the arrival of the Beiqing Empress, the enthronement ceremony began.

Having been trained by the Daxia Rites Officer beforehand, she had a general understanding of the process for this enthronement celebration.

It began with the homage of the court officials, the Beiqing Ceremony Officer reciting the grand achievements of Emperor Beiqing, overflowing with praise.

Then came the foreign envoys, offering their congratulations on behalf of their sovereigns and presenting tribute gifts.

The palace banquet was the final part.

Daxia’s status among the nations wasn’t considered high, but because Xiahou Qi had just married Princess Qing Bi, he was now Emperor Beiqing’s son-in-law, counted among the royal relatives; thus, this time, they were arranged to be seated in the third seat to the right-hand side of Emperor Beiqing, just underneath Feng Xun.

Ye Lingyue had just seated herself, when she received a challenging glance, looking straight back, she felt somewhat overwhelmed.

Sitting across from her, lifelessly, was none other than the Dan Palace’s Heavenly Maiden Xue Pianran, who pretended to be a pure white lotus.

Two seats further to the left of Xue Pianran was Cong Lv.

Not long after taking their seats, the Ritual Officer started laying out the life story of the Beiqing Empress.

Ye Lingyue listened until her head spun, but she still managed to acquire a rough understanding of the life of the Beiqing Empress.

In truth, her sole rule hadn’t yet lasted for twenty years, yet she had begun to assist the previous Emperor in governing the country when she was still the Crown Prince, so this so-called "twenty years" counted from when she was declared Crown Prince.

From the description of the Ritual Officer, the Empress was a genius since childhood, skilled in the zither, chess, calligraphy, painting—none were beyond her grasp, and she was versed in military strategy, which reminded Ye Lingyue of the young prodigy Hong Mingyue from the Hong Residence.

Ye Lingyue naturally didn’t have much interest in such matters, what actually piqued Ye Lingyue’s interest were the private affairs of the Beiqing Empress.

Although the Empress had a brilliant life, she was actually only thirty-five years old, with two Princes and seven or eight Princesses to her name.

However, just by looking at the level of devotion Emperor Beiqing showed Feng Xun, one could guess that these offspring probably weren’t as favored as Feng Xun.

Considering the number of her offspring, it actually wasn’t few, it was said that the Empress had twenty or thirty servant husbands, but the most prestigious Imperial Consort position had been vacant all along.

After recounting the life achievements of the Empress, it was finally time for the foreign envoys to step forward one by one.

Many of the envoys present were witnessing Emperor Beiqing’s true face for the first time.

It was inevitable that they’d have to sing praises and the congratulatory gifts offered were varied and bizarre.

However, listening to the Empress’s voice, stable and calm, displayed no emotions of extreme joy or displeasure.

After roughly half an hour, Ye Lingyue finally heard a voice.

"Daxia Yuehou, step forward to congratulate Your Majesty."

Ye Lingyue walked forward unhurriedly, offering her salutations and congratulations, her bearing graceful and composed, neither too meek nor too arrogant, to the dismay of Xue Pianran and others who awaited her humiliation.

"Your servant Ye Lingyue, hereby represents the Emperor of Daxia in wishing Emperor Beiqing a long life."

Upon hearing the name "Ye Lingyue," someone sitting at the table abruptly lifted their head to take a closer look at Ye Lingyue.

"Are you Daxia’s first female Marquis, Ye Lingyue? Lift up your head and let Us have a look."

Emperor Beiqing’s voice betrayed no emotions of joy or anger.

Ye Lingyue lifted her head.

Only then did Emperor Beiqing Qingshuang fully see Ye Lingyue’s appearance.

Bright eyes and white teeth, a pair of autumnal eyes graceful, her figure slim and graceful; a bit more would be too much, a bit less would be too thin.

Sitting near Ye Lingyue was Xue Pianran.

The Beiqing Empress couldn’t help but compare Ye Lingyue with Xue Pianran.

In terms of beauty, this girl was not much different from Xue Pianran, but on Ye Lingyue, there seemed to be an additional special aura.

That kind of aura was something Xue Pianran did not possess.

And Ye Lingyue, taking this opportunity, quickly glanced at the Beiqing Empress.

The Beiqing Empress had maintained her youth very well; she did not at all look like a woman approaching her forties. Rather, she seemed more like Feng Xun’s sister, voluptuous and enchanting. In her youth, she must have been a stunning beauty that could topple states and cities.

In her heart, Ye Lingyue couldn’t help but silently wonder, between Feng Xun’s mother and the Beiqing Empress, who was more beautiful.

But just from looking at Feng Xun, it was certain that Princess Consort Feng must also be exceptional in appearance.

As Ye Lingyue pondered, the Beiqing Empress cast a glance at Feng Xun beside her,

With that glance, the Beiqing Empress’s heart slightly shuddered.

Feng Xun held a cup in his hand, and his attractive phoenix eyes were fixed on Ye Lingyue.

Such focus, as if nothing else existed between heaven and earth.

This Feng Xun was something the Beiqing Empress had never seen before.

Originally, the reason the Beiqing Empress had arranged the marriage of Xue Pianran to Feng Xun was that she had observed Feng Xun’s lack of emotional fluctuation when he looked at Xue Pianran.

But the Feng Xun of today had changed.

The same kind of gaze, the Beiqing Empress had also seen many years ago.

There was once a man who had looked at a woman with such focused eyes.

And at that time, all she could do was stand by and watch.

"Indeed a marvelous person, no wonder I’ve heard that my son-in-law, the Emperor of Daxia, was once deeply infatuated with Yue Marquis," the Beiqing Empress said indifferently.

As soon as the Beiqing Empress’s voice fell, the court erupted into murmurs.

Everyone knew that one of the Beiqing Empress’s beloved daughters, Princess Qing Bi, though married into Daxia, had always had a rough time.

It was said that this was because the Emperor of Daxia had his heart set on another woman.

And that woman was none other than the delicate-looking Yue Marquis present before them.

The Beiqing Empress harbored hostility towards her.

As a woman, Ye Lingyue could distinctly feel the Beiqing Empress’s dislike for her.

Was it because of Princess Qing Bi, or because the Beiqing Empress had already come to know about Ye Lingyue’s birthdate being in conflict with Feng Xun?

But if the Beiqing Empress truly cherished Princess Qing Bi, how could she allow her to stay alone in the Xia Palace, indifferent to her life or death?

"Your Majesty is perceptive; the Emperor of Daxia and Yue Marquis merely share a deep sibling-like affection. The rumors outside are utterly groundless." Just as Ye Lingyue was about to answer, Feng Xun stood up and walked out.

He strode forward and knelt down, speaking out loud.

"Prince Feng, it was just a casual jest by Your Majesty; there is no need to take it seriously. You are always the most composed in your actions, why act like a brash young boy today?" the Beiqing Empress said with pursed lips, smiling.

Ye Lingyue’s eyes blurred for a moment; the Beiqing Empress, who clearly harbored hostility just before, had already put on a different face.

She smiled beamingly, like a peony in the spring, dignified and luxurious, a sight so lovely it was overwhelming.

Compared with her, Ye Lingyue suddenly felt herself to be naive and immature.

The Beiqing Empress truly adored her nephew, Prince Feng.

Ye Lingyue vaguely sensed something was amiss, but for the moment, she could not pinpoint what exactly was wrong.