35: The banquet is coming and the prince will meet!

“He can only be from within the Great Xia Dynasty.”

“I have already received news from headquarters; in recent years, no Geniuses from outside have entered this area.”

“If we can’t find him, then we have to consider whether a force has already risen in secret, and we just don’t know about it.”

Smoky Rain Pavilion Master Han Sen’s voice rang out again.

Xu Nian’s expression changed: “Yes, I will immediately order someone to investigate and make sure this matter is thoroughly understood!”

...

After Chu Yun left the secret room, he found Luo Feng and learned from him the results of Heavenly Demoness’s soul-searching on Third Prince Chu Yuan.

Tomorrow’s Eastern Palace banquet, Crown Prince Chu Rong only intended to probe Chu Yun’s strength and talent, to see what range he was in.

As for the events of that year, Third Prince Chu Yuan was less than ten years old at the time, and he wasn’t very clear about the specific details.

He only knew that his mother, the Empress, had personally handled everything.

And deep down, ever since he could remember, his Imperial Father had always neglected his mother, and Consort Shi was favored, which made Third Prince Chu Yuan hate Consort Shi, and anyone connected to her, to the bone!

As for the rest, it was all meaningless stuff.

Either going to brothels for fun, or engaging in group activities with several powerful nobles, truly elegant and vulgar... truly unbearable! (As flowers of the motherland, everyone must not learn from this, take it as a warning, and forever be at odds with lies, gambling, and drugs!)

...

Early in the morning, the Crown Prince went to the palace early.

He only returned to the Eastern Palace at noon, but this trip was also with the Empress’s permission.

He directly had Wang Hancuo send this news back to the Divine Sect.

In its early years, the Divine Sect had captured several Nirvana Realm Evil Infants, and among them, there happened to be one at the Peak of the Nirvana Realm, which was Sealed within the Divine Sect.

As for Lan Ji herself, she personally sent a message to the Sect Master of the Blood God Sect, asking him for a ten thousand year blood essence stone.

The Blood God Sect had no shortage of blood essence stones.

But a ten thousand year blood essence stone, even for the Blood God Sect, was an extremely precious item, requiring her personal intervention.

A material transfer was now safely underway, under the meticulous arrangements of the Empress Faction.

However, none of them could have imagined that all this effort and expense to move treasures for Xiao Yan would, in the end, not only yield nothing but also result in a loss of both the wife and the army!

...

As time passed, the day of the Eastern Palace banquet quickly arrived.

Tonight, Chu Yun dressed up and stepped out of his room, where Luo Feng was already waiting at the door for him: “Your Highness.”

Chu Yun looked at him: “Commander Luo, let’s go.”

“Yes.”

Because Venerable Wan Lei had appeared at Misty Rain Tower before, and he only wore a mask in the Cangfeng Mountain Range.

To avoid unnecessary incidents, Chu Yun still had him stay in the Princes Residence.

Tonight, the Eastern Palace was exceptionally lively.

The Crown Prince personally hosted a banquet to celebrate Ninth Prince Chu Yun’s return, inviting almost all the young nobles of the Imperial City.

Such as the Young Princes of princely estates, Young Masters and Young Misses of many aristocratic families, and the children of some powerful figures in the city were all on the guest list.

Besides giving the Crown Prince enough Face, most of them also wanted to see what kind of person this Ninth Prince, who had been missing for many years and returned, truly was.

Chu Yun and Luo Feng left the Princes Residence and slowly arrived at the entrance of the Eastern Palace.

Several servants stood at the entrance to greet guests, and one, seeing Chu Yun’s unfamiliar Face, stepped forward and politely asked: “May I ask if Young Master is Ninth Prince?”

“Mm.” Chu Yun nodded faintly.

“Ninth Prince, please come in!”

“Crown Prince has been waiting for a long time.”

The servant immediately led Chu Yun and Luo Feng into the Eastern Palace.

At this moment, in the luxurious and magnificent main hall of the Eastern Palace, some beautiful singers, dressed in dancing attire, were dancing in the center of the hall to entertain.

Crown Prince Chu Rong sat on the main seat, and beside him, in order, were the other Princes of the Imperial Dynasty, as well as many famous nobles in the city.

Third Prince Chu Yuan was prominently among them, sitting in the first position to the left of the Crown Prince.

This showed the Crown Prince’s deep affection and regard for him.

But he was completely unaware that the current Third Prince Chu Yuan had already been replaced.

“Ninth Prince has arrived!!!”

As these words rang out, all the nobles in the hall looked towards the entrance.

Chu Yun, with a calm and composed expression, dressed in splendid robes, exuded a natural and inherent aura of nobility, subtly revealing itself.

Luo Feng followed behind him, and under the concentrated gaze of many nobles, the two entered the main hall.

“Greetings, Crown Prince.”

Chu Yun smiled slightly and cupped his hands in a bow towards the Crown Prince at the very top.

“Hahaha!”

“Ninth Brother and Commander Luo have arrived!”

“Between us brothers, there’s no need for such formality. Please take your seats quickly; everyone has been waiting for you.”

Crown Prince Chu Rong smiled “kindly.”

Chu Yun nodded with a smile, then he and Luo Feng sat in an empty seat on the right side.

Chu Yun could feel everyone’s gazes in the hall directed at him; some watched with curious observation, while others looked with disdain and openly scrutinized him.

“Crown Prince, I heard that several other older brothers also came today. I would trouble Your Highness to introduce them to me.” Chu Yun said after sitting down.

“Good!”

“Ninth Brother, even if you didn’t ask, I would introduce them to you.”

“The one sitting to your left is your Fourth Brother, Fourth Prince Chu Shen.”

“The one to your right is your Fifth Brother, Fifth Prince Chu Yu.”

“The one opposite you is your Sixth Sister, Sixth Princess Chu Xinyan.”

“As for the one beside her, that’s your Seventh Brother, Seventh Prince Chu Bei.”

“Finally, the one sitting opposite your Third Brother is your Eighth Brother, Eighth Prince Chu Hao!”

In the entire hall, besides the Second Prince who was leading troops at the border, all the other Princes, including the Princess, were present.

Chu Yun looked at each of them, and everyone, meeting Chu Yun’s gaze, nodded slightly.

Chu Yun had naturally made inquiries about these brothers of his.

The Fourth, Fifth, and Seventh Princes were not particularly outstanding among the Princes, nor were they part of the Crown Prince’s faction; they were considered a neutral party.

The Sixth Princess and Eighth Prince were both born of the Imperial Concubine, and their relationship was naturally closer than with others.

As for the Second Prince, he was considered the most intelligent one.

His talent was the best among all the Princes; he was excellent in both civil and military arts, and even the Crown Prince was once overshadowed by him.

But because of his mother’s death and his lack of background, if he remained in court, he would be a thorn in the Empress’s side.

So he had long ago requested to lead troops to the border, not participating in the court struggles, and staying away from this vortex of imperial power.

Chu Yun stood up at this moment, raised his wine cup, and toasted them, saying: “Dear Imperial Brothers and Imperial Sister, your Imperial Brother has only recently returned to the Imperial City and is still unfamiliar with the people and affairs within it, so I did not visit you all immediately.”

“Here, I ask my Imperial Sister and Brothers not to blame me.”

“Chu Yun will punish himself with a drink.”

After Chu Yun finished speaking, he directly drained his cup in one go.