“At that time, I was diving for pearls in the South Sea, so I didn’t make it back in time,” Lord Qingya said with an embarrassed smile, then turned to Beiming Yu. “Oh, right, Princess, when I came in, I ran into the Great Emperor of Beiming. He’s sending people to look for you. Maybe you should go back to your father so he doesn’t worry.”
“I understand.” Beiming Yu glanced at him, then turned to Suva with a dazzling smile. “Teacher Su, see you later!”
With that, she skipped away happily.
Lord Qingya rubbed his nose. “Well, I’ll head out too. I heard the banquet has a lot of good wine, so I’ll go take a look. I won’t disturb you two.”
He clasped his hands in farewell and left.
That left only Fengguang and Suva. She said, “You know, I suddenly feel like… that little girl Beiming Yu is kind of interesting.”
“Is that so?” Suva replied casually. “But you used to tell me that the person you disliked the most was that Princess of Beiming.”
“I’ve heard you say before that I didn’t get along with her. Do you know why?”
“Fengguang once told me, when it comes to the spoiled-princess-with-a-bad-temper role, one is enough.” After thinking for a moment, Suva nodded firmly. “Yes, those were her exact words.”
Well… that really did sound like something she would have said.
“Ahem… anyway, maybe we should head to the main hall.”
Suva smiled. “Alright.”
The grand hall glittered with gold and jade. Both sides of the room were already filled with guests. The only seats left were the ones nearest the dais—the highest-ranking seats aside from the emperor and empress themselves. Fengguang had visited enough ancient worlds to know this was reserved for the most honored guests. Naturally, these were hers and Suva’s seats.
The moment Suva led Fengguang into the hall, silence fell. Fengguang couldn’t understand why. She looked at Suva, but he remained calm as ever, pulling her to sit down. Across from them sat a rugged, bearded middle-aged man, with Beiming Yu at his side—clearly the Great Emperor of Beiming.
Fengguang scanned the hall. Lord Qingya was there, as was Jian Dan in his black clothes, and even Taibai Jinxing. She didn’t recognize the others. But why had the whole place gone so quiet when she appeared?
Luckily, the silence didn’t last long. The Heavenly Emperor and Empress entered with great majesty. But just like the others, when their eyes fell on Fengguang, they froze for a moment.
The Empress’s expression shifted slightly. She was about to step toward Fengguang, but the Emperor grabbed her hand. She turned back, only to see him watching Suva with a dark, unreadable gaze. The Empress looked again at Fengguang, her eyes flickering, before following the Emperor up to the dais and taking their seats of honor.
Though the Empress’s reaction had been brief, it was clear enough for everyone to see. The entire hall grew even more hushed, the atmosphere heavy and suffocating.
Through it all, Suva’s expression never changed—calm, composed, unshaken. He ignored all the furtive glances cast in their direction.
Fengguang, however, was far from calm. She felt completely ill at ease. She didn’t understand why everyone was silent, or why her unfamiliar “parents” were acting so strangely.
And in the middle of this suffocating tension, the man beside her casually raised his hand and conjured from his storage space a plate of osmanthus cakes. Speaking as if no one else existed, he said, “The palace chefs’ pastries aren’t as good as mine. Fengguang, have some first to tide you over.”
The atmosphere grew even more unnervingly tense.
Loveguy On CFRFGC Chapter 1