Muleng Huiyan and An Ping were both county princesses, and naturally, they could not sit together with Zheng Lingbo, an ordinary general's daughter. So, she turned around and greeted Zheng Lingbo, and the two of them walked together to their seats.
Zheng Lingbo stood still and silently looked at the people for two eyes. For a moment, her emotions were complicated.
Zheng Jiliao approached her, seeing the strange expression on Zheng Lingbo's face and asked, "What's wrong? Are you upset?"
Zheng Lingbo shook her head: "No, just a little boring."
Zheng Jiliao laughed.
"It is a bit boring now, but it will be fun once the banquet starts."
Nowadays, this official is quite an innovative person. The palace banquet is not serious, but rather a lively gathering of eating, drinking, poetry, songs and dancing. It has a strong sense of sharing happiness with the people.
And with a decisive victory over another country this year, the tribute definitely has more flavor.
Zheng Lingbo listened to Zheng Jingluo's endless chatter about the interesting aspects of the banquet and couldn't help but get interested. She sat up and looked around curiously.
And this time, she looked around and saw someone familiar.
It's Yongyi.
Zheng Lingbo was somewhat surprised.
She thought that Yongyi was just an ordinary scholar, but she didn't expect him to be qualified to attend the palace banquet.
Thoughts flashed across her mind for a moment, but Zheng Lingbo did not delve deeply.
After all, she was not very familiar with this person.
It's just that she thinks they're not very familiar, but Yongyi seems to think otherwise.
Once the official at the top and various people in the palace had delivered their speeches, announced the start of the banquet, and exchanged pleasantries, Yongyi secretly approached and greeted Zheng Lingbo with no restraint: "Miss Zheng, here we are again."
You don't strike a smiling person.
Zheng Lingbo returned a greeting.
Yongyi looked excited: "I heard that Ca Yun Country will offer some rare and strange beasts that we don't have here, I wonder what they look like? Are they good-looking or not?"
Zheng Lingbo truly believes that one cannot judge a book by its cover.
The young man has a pair of peach blossom eyes. When he doesn't smile, he looks cold as ice, but when he smiles, his eyes are filled with emotion.
Zheng Lingbo had seen him talking with others. Most of the time, he had no expression on his face. Occasionally, he would give a polite smile, curling the corners of his lips, which was as far as it went.
It surprised Zheng Lingbo that on these two occasions, the man had been unusually cheerful, making her feel quite out of place.
However, Zheng Lingbo didn't dwell on it too much.
Yongyi was also quite amiable in front of Muleng Huiyan, and she only took him for a person whose nature was like this in front of girls.
It might sound slightly flirtatious, but in reality, he's quite measured. Even when he's overly lively, his words are never forward.
After exchanging a few words casually, Zheng Lingbo found an excuse to leave.
Wandering aimlessly along the path in the imperial garden, she realized that she had unconsciously wandered deeper into the shadows.
She couldn't help but burst into a bitter laugh.
This could also be a carry-over of her six-year stay in Liu's family.
At any time or place, she always unconsciously wants to hide in the corner, feeling an unexplained sense of security.
After hiding, she realized that this wasn't the same as hiding in her previous life in the Liu family. She couldn't help but sigh.
Just as she was about to return on her original route, she suddenly heard some faint sounds.
Zheng Lingbo held her breath and focused, hiding herself in the shadows.
This is also something she is very familiar with.
After all, if she hides poorly, there is a risk of being beaten.
After waiting for several tens of seconds, the faint sound of conversation began to be heard.
Zheng Lingbo actually couldn't hear it very clearly, but one of the people seemed to be quite emotional, and the tone unconsciously raised a bit.
"Are you crazy?"
"Your Majesty... I... Zheng... a great danger to the realm..."
"Impossible! This is definitely not acceptable!"
"Sir!..."
Quickly catching the key points, Zheng Lingbo's heart skipped a beat, and she focused her attention to listen more intently.
It seems like the two are arguing, and one of them has an unusual tone, which is not like the dialect of the capital.
Zheng Lingbo was confused and only understood that the person with the accent wanted to do something during the palace banquet, while the other official disagreed.
But in the end, the person with the accent seemed to threaten something, and the other official was convinced.
After the sound disappeared, Zheng Lingbo didn't immediately come out. Instead, she hid there for a while longer, waiting until there was no more movement. She then returned to the palace banquet with a worried expression.
Zheng Jiliao was chatting with a few strangers, so Zheng Lingbo didn't want to interrupt. She turned her head to find Muleng Huiyan, but saw her being pulled by An Ping's feudal lady to speak with several noble ladies in the palace.
Zheng Lingbo took a deep breath, feeling a bit melancholic for a moment.
Yongyi then approached her again.
"Miss Zheng."
He looked at her repeatedly without leaving a trace, wanting to say something but stopping himself. "You... are you all right?"
Zheng Lingbo returned to her senses and said, "I'm fine."
Yongyi couldn't help but mutter to himself.
The young girl seemed distracted; she certainly didn't look like she was all right.
He guessed that she probably encountered something outside just now.
After a long time, he mustered the courage to ask tentatively: "Miss Zheng, did you encounter something just now?"
Zheng Lingbo composed herself and met Yongyi's eyes, which were filled with concern. She paused for a moment before suddenly asking, "Do you know which foreign envoys are attending today?"
Yongyi was taken aback for a moment.
He didn't understand why Zheng Lingbo asked this, but he still thought about it and said a lot. Afterwards, he smiled. ：
"The most notable is Ca Yun Country, which has never paid tribute before and is said to have many unusual attractions this time."
Zheng Lingbo nodded in thought and said, "Thank you."
Yongyi's ears pricked up slightly, turning red: "No need to be polite."
The sound of silk and bamboo instruments grew louder from a distance. Zheng Lingbo glanced at Yongyi, and that person's lips curved slightly. "Would Miss Zheng like to go and take a look?"
Zheng Lingbo's eyes flitted, and she nodded in agreement.
She recalled the conversation between the two men earlier. Subconsciously, she felt that the man in question was probably an official in the court, and he might even be present at the scene.
Now, if she went over to join in the commotion, perhaps she might recognize someone by the sound of their voice.
With this thought in mind, Zheng Lingbo paid no attention to the lively music and dancing in front of her. Instead, she kept her ears open to listen to what people around her were saying.
Yongyi watched Zheng Lingbo's alert expression with interest. After a while, he leaned over and whispered to her in a low voice, "Miss Zheng, are you looking for someone?"
Zheng Lingbo jumped in surprise, stepping back abruptly.
Just as someone walked by behind them, they collided and Zheng Lingbo almost didn't stand up straight, swaying a bit. But she was immediately caught by Yongyi's arm.
She took a deep breath and tapped her chest to calm herself down. She turned around to apologize, but the person waved their hand dismissively and walked away without paying much attention.
Zheng Lingbo then turned around.
Yongyi slowly released his hand and whispered, "Are you okay?"
Zheng Lingbo shook her head, feeling that the part of her arm that Yongyi had grabbed a moment ago was burning hot. She subconsciously touched it with the other hand.
Yongyi immediately noticed her small movement and asked involuntarily, "Did I hurt you?"
Zheng Lingbo: "……”
——No, it wasn't. I just felt something odd.
The two of them soon brought up the topic again.
Yongyi asked again, "Miss Zheng, are you looking for someone?"
Zheng Lingbo was mentally prepared this time and didn't get startled again. She simply shook her head and said, "Just looking around."
Yongyi: "……”
Yongyi pretended to believe it and didn't ask any further questions about it. He followed Zheng Lingbao around, watching her leisurely look around.
