The capital was filled with nobles as numerous as the stars, so aside from those who frequently appeared before him and those of significant importance, Emperor Jingming had no impression of the Earl of Dongping, even if he had seen him before.

Yet, this seemingly forgettable person had been mentioned repeatedly this year, each time as the unfortunate party in some incident, which piqued Emperor Jingming’s curiosity.

Noticing the Emperor’s inquisitive gaze, Pan Hai silently rolled his eyes and gestured toward a certain direction, “Your Majesty, the second person from the inside at that table in the southwest corner is him.”

Southwest corner?

Emperor Jingming squinted into the distance.

Pan Hai cleared his throat, “Your Majesty, that’s the southeast corner…”

Emperor Jingming’s expression darkened, “What? Can’t I look at other places?”

Pan Hai twitched his lips.

Finally, Emperor Jingming caught sight of Jiang Ancheng and was slightly surprised.

The Earl of Dongping was surprisingly a handsome man. Logically, someone with such good looks shouldn’t have such bad luck.

“Your Majesty—”

“Yes?”

“Is it time to start the banquet?” Pan Hai reminded him quietly.

“Uh, yes, let’s start the banquet.”

Pan Hai immediately raised his voice, “Start the banquet—”

The nobles and officials quickly stood up to express their gratitude.

Emperor Jingming accepted the wine cup handed to him by Pan Hai and, following the customary practice toasted his ministers. This time, however, he raised his cup toward the southwest corner.

The Emperor’s intentions were often difficult to decipher, and people loved to speculate about them.

The fact that the Emperor was toasting toward the southwest corner this year made everyone wonder if there was someone he valued over there.

Nobles and officials turned their gazes toward the southwest corner.

There was nothing special about the people sitting there; they were all lesser nobles who rarely had the chance to show their faces before the Emperor. Especially the Earl of Dongping, who had had a particularly unlucky year and was so unfortunate that no one wanted to share a table with him.

As the lively music began to play, the atmosphere gradually became more festive.

Emperor Jingming casually sampled a few dishes and continued gossiping with his trusted eunuch, Pan Hai, “Jiang Shaoqing looks older than his elder brother.”

Jiang Erlao, the current Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, was a familiar face to Emperor Jingming, which was why Jiang Erlao had more prestige than Jiang Ancheng.

One was a registered official in front of the Emperor, while the other would have no descendants to inherit his title after he passed away. It was clear to everyone who had more status.

Pan Hai looked at Jiang Erlao with sympathy.

The Emperor’s words were tactful; “older” implied that he thought Jiang Shaoqing was not as handsome as the Earl of Dongping!

“I’ve heard the brothers are not far apart in age.”

“Uh.” Emperor Jingming casually replied, glancing at Jiang Ancheng’s quite pleasing face, and suddenly became curious again, “Both daughters of the Earl of Dongping have had unfortunate marriages. Could it be that their looks take after their maternal family?”

Pan Hai glanced around and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Your Majesty, can’t you save these questions for when you return to the palace? What if someone hears that the ruler of a nation is concerned about such matters? How embarrassing!

Regardless of his internal complaints, Pan Hai had to respond, “I’ve heard that the girls from the Earl of Dongping’s household are all outstanding beauties.”

“What about Fourth Miss Jiang?” Emperor Jingming asked unexpectedly.

Although Pan Hai had never seen Jiang Si, he did know about her.

He had eyes and ears everywhere through the Eastern Depot, and recently, the Earl of Dongping’s household had taken the Zhu family to court. Fourth Miss Jiang had made a public appearance in court, and among the officials present were people from the Eastern Depot.

According to reports from his subordinates, Fourth Miss Jiang was a stunning beauty.

However, how to report this to the Emperor made Pan Hai hesitate for a moment.

If he told the truth, would the Emperor consider taking Fourth Miss Jiang into the palace?

Emperor Jingming raised an eyebrow, “Hmm?”

Pan Hai’s heart skipped a beat, and he quickly said, “It is said that Fourth Miss Jiang is exceptionally beautiful.”

To be called “exceptionally beautiful” by Pan Hai surprised Emperor Jingming.

In that case, Fourth Miss Jiang must indeed be a beauty that outshines all others.

Such a beauty, and yet the young man from the An Guo Gong family broke off the engagement?

After his curiosity was satisfied, Emperor Jingming set the matter aside and began to enjoy the performances.

Winter days grew dark early, and once the banquet concluded, the grand procession returned to the city after a short rest.

Along the way, colorful flags fluttered, and music filled the air as countless citizens stood on both sides of the street to watch the royal procession. Emperor Jingming sat in his carriage, smiling as he looked at his subjects.

Upon returning to the palace, however, Emperor Jingming’s high spirits began to wane.

Transitioning from the vast outside world back to the unchanging palace, anyone would feel a bit disheartened.

But regardless of his mood, he had to muster his spirits for the evening family banquet.

After a brief rest, Emperor Jingming changed into his regular attire and headed to the Changsheng Hall.

The family banquet in the palace was always held in Changsheng Hall, and for Yu Jin, this was his first time attending such an occasion.

The continuous music, the lightly dressed palace maids, and the warm atmosphere made Yu Jin feel quite bored.

Yet, no matter how bored he was, he still had to come; his lifelong matters depended on the Emperor.

Low laughter reached his ears.

Yu Jin had a sharp hearing and understood clearly.

“That must be Seventh Brother. I heard he often fights with the other brothers, but he looks quite handsome…”

“Hmph, no matter how handsome, he’s just a barbarian who only knows how to fight. What’s there to see?”

…

Yu Jin glanced over and was dazzled by a group of princesses.

There were at least a dozen princesses; the Emperor truly had a knack for producing offspring!

He then scanned the row of princes and couldn’t help but smile wryly.

If he hadn’t been born, perhaps he wouldn’t have had the chance to exist at all.

Despite being sent out of the palace at birth having hardly enjoyed any privileges of being a prince, and having received no warmth from his parents, Yu Jin had never thought of his fate as so miserable that he wished he had never been born.

What a joke! Living was wonderful! If he had never walked this earth, how would he have met his A Si?

Yu Jin picked up the wine jug and poured himself a glass.

The silver wine jug, the white jade cup, and the amber-colored fine wine.

Yu Jin raised the cup to his nose and took a light sip.

A low chuckle came from nearby.

Without needing to listen closely, he knew it was the princess laughing at his inappropriate act of pouring his wine.

Yu Jin raised an eyebrow and shot a sharp glance in their direction.

The princesses immediately fell silent, a few of them blushing and lowering their heads.

No matter how rude and uncouth this royal brother was, it had to be admitted that among the many brothers, Seventh Brother was indeed the most handsome, and there was something inexplicably unsettling about his gaze.

It was as if… if they said too much, they would end up like those brothers and get beaten up…

Yu Jin withdrew his gaze and twirled the jade cup in his hand.

“The Emperor has arrived! The Empress has arrived—”

With a loud announcement, the music and festivities came to a halt as Emperor Jingming entered the grand hall with the Empress.

Everyone in the hall immediately stood up and bowed respectfully.

Emperor Jingming pressed his hands down, “Sit down, everyone. We are all family; there’s no need for excessive formality.”

Having already been exhausted from the day’s ceremonies, he didn’t want to maintain a formal demeanor at the family banquet.

Emperor Jingming lazily sat down and began to survey the concubines and children.