Traveling to the Ancient Times to Rely on Love and Marrying a Shadow After O - Chapter 36

Lately, I have been acting a bit strange.

It is likely because Sister often tells me all sorts of bizarre stories about the Upper Realm, causing me to dream of certain things at night, but those events are different from the Upper Realm.

In Sister’s words, I suspect this might belong to our first life.

In a daze, it felt as though I had a very long dream where I returned to the Hundred Flowers Banquet at Qiongfang Palace.

At that time, the Eldest Prince, Xuan Ce, had just returned from his tribulation in the mortal realm. To welcome him home, the Heavenly Emperor Chu Yuan held a grand feast in Qiongfang Palace, inviting immortals and gods from all paths to congratulate him.

The divine officials of the heavens are usually so idle they can only tease crickets or tend to the lotuses in the Pure Pool. But when a real celebration like this comes around, they are actually ten thousand times unwilling in their hearts.

There is an unwritten rule in the Heavenly Realm: regardless of whether one is a high or low immortal, if a banquet is held, the attending deities must bring a gift. Furthermore, one cannot simply pull out a hundred-year-old Jade Red Lotus or a Sky-Border Jade Flower. The offering must be at least a thousand years old to start. Items like Nine-Direction Glazed Beads or Thousand-Year White Jade Spiritual Stones are standard, and it is best if the item’s age exceeds others by several hundred or thousand years; only then is face preserved.

The divine officials are unhappy, but I find it quite practical. The host spends tens of thousands of spiritual stones to organize the feast; one cannot simply eat and drink for free. By sending gifts, one ensures that when they hold their own banquet in the future, the threshold will be crowded with guests rather than being cold and deserted.

When it comes to treasures, the divine officials of heaven are not lacking. Who doesn’t have a few Night-Luminous Pearls to decorate their room and make their shell shine? It is just that they are unwilling to give away treasures they spent great effort to obtain for nothing.

Heaven knows when they might get something back next time.

Ultimately, it is best not to hold large banquets at all. Thus, in three hundred years, I have only participated in a mere handful.

But this Hundred Flowers Banquet was hosted by the Heavenly Emperor for the Eldest Prince. Who would dare not attend? Consequently, this rare heavenly feast was, for the first time, packed so tightly that not even water could trickle through.

In front of the Heavenly Emperor, one naturally cannot be stingy. Immortals from every path presented the treasures of their palaces, boasting of “Ten-Thousand-Year Wood Wild Fox Fur,” “Night-Direction Sky Mirror,” “Soul-Locking Hundred-Treasure Tower,” and so on.

I heard Xingye say once that a banquet held by the Heavenly Emperor is like a royal feast in the mortal realm. Even the most miserly person will offer up all their family assets before the Emperor. If the Emperor is happy, they might even bestow a few gold bars, ensuring the rest of one’s life is worry-free.

In mortal terms, it is called “flattery.” In Zhao Ning’s terms, it is called “hypocrisy.”

Thinking of this, I let out a pfft and laughed out loud. The gaze of the surrounding gods all shifted toward me. I gave a perfunctory smile and waved my hand, signaling them to continue.

As luck would have it, the person currently presenting a gift was True Lord Beixiao. I once had a bit of a grudge with him. Out of respect for my status, he could only bury his dissatisfaction deep within and refrain from looking for trouble, but he rarely spoke with me. On the rare occasions we met, he would only give a faint greeting of “Little Mistress,” and I would cooperate by nodding casually before we both went about our business.

Currently, he was holding that spiritual, whatever Hundred-Treasure Tower in his hands, staring right at me.

I screamed in my heart. I’m dead. Why did I have to laugh at this exact moment?

“Does Little Mistress feel there is a problem with the gift this Lord is presenting?” It would have been better if he hadn’t asked. With this question, every divine official in the hall looked at me, making my back turn cold.

“No problem, no problem,” I laughed sheepishly and waved my hand. “You continue.”

The moment the words left my mouth, I regretted it. I was so anxious I became muddled and forgot to use honorifics. In the Heavenly Realm, different statuses require different titles. Everyone calls Chu Yuan the “Heavenly Emperor,” and Xuan Ce is the “Eldest Prince.” The immortals below are called “True Lord” or “Star Lord” according to their titles, and below them are “Immortal Lords,” “Little Immortals,” and so forth.

True Lord Beixiao is famous for loving face and equally famous for having a terrible temper. My use of “you” to address him just now was disrespectful. Sure enough, before I could even apologize, I heard him press me: “What was the meaning of Little Mistress’s words just now?”

“I, well, True Lord, I am sorry. I was momentarily lost in thought and didn’t react in time. A small mistake, a small mistake.” I apologized with a smile, truly not wanting him to latch onto this. “The Eldest Prince is still waiting to receive his gifts. Why don’t you, present the gift first? If you truly find it hard to let go, could we, discuss this in private?”

As I spoke, I stole a glance toward the high seat of Qiongfang Palace. I didn’t catch the Eldest Prince’s eye, but I did see Chu Yuan give me a faint, almost imperceptible smile.

I quickly looked away, only to realize I had truly underestimated True Lord Beixiao’s nickname, the “Old Firecracker.” Once lit, no matter how you try to salvage the situation, it only adds fuel to the fire, which is tantamount to suicide.

Right then, he grabbed onto me, insisting he couldn’t let it go, and pressed me once more: “Please explain clearly, Little Mistress. Do you truly feel that this Lord is such a narrow-minded person?”

Now I was in for it. Saying his gift had a problem was one crime; saying he was narrow-minded was another.

Since ancient times, beauties have often suffered ill fates. Although I only consider myself half a beauty, I have a faint feeling that my fate is truly worse than a beauty’s!

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