Chapter 67: Birthday Banquet
There were no secrets in the Imperial palace, there were too many people who knew the secrets. From the top to the bottom of the Imperial court, inside and outside the palace, there were too many well-informed people and everyone had so many eyes and ears in different locations, openly or secretly listening for news. And there was no such shortage of people around the Empress and the Emperor Dowager. Perhaps even the Empressâ meals were recorded in detail every day. Who knows what type of person needed these kinds of reports, whatâs more, there would be some things that people cannot believe!
Many people couldnât believe their ears when they heard some of the news and even thought that such information was too absurd. There must be some misunderstanding, and even the person who sent the news was severely reprimanded. But with the birthday banquet, under the gaze of hundreds of people, the bizarre actions between the Empress and Emperor Dowager were taken in by everyone, but smart people clearly understood the saying that silence was golden.
âFengying, announce the start of the birthday banquet.â Luo Yu no longer struggled and Liyou released her shackle-like grip on Luo Yu as he instructed Feng Ying on the side.
The singing and dancing in the hall sounded again. Although the hubbub and bustle from before had disappeared, it made everyone breathe a sigh of relief. They no longer needed to hold their breath in fear of daring to breathe too loudly.
Luo Yu trembled as he sat, sensing the cold and gloomy aura next to her, and didnât dare to move his body. He was truly afraid that she would do something that she shouldnât do here and when that time came, his only path was death.
How many people could face death calmly? It was absolutely impossible for ordinary people to do so. Luo Yu thought to this point and the expression on his face became decisive. His transformed expression was something Liyou didnât miss and although she didnât fully know what Luo Yu was thinking, she could sense a few things from this expression.
âI donât want to threaten you, as long as you donât do things that make everyone else unhappy, I wonât make things hard for you. Yu, do you believe that even if you die, I have methods to make you open your eyes again?â Resurrecting people from the dead wasnât too difficult for her and the King of Hell wouldnât dare to accept the person she wanted!
âDo not be too arrogant, can you even interfere in the matters of the dead!â Luo Yu obviously didnât believe Liyouâs assertions. Even though Liyouâs tone had made him feel so frightened that he began to feel that her claims were real, he didnât believe that there was anyone in this world that could go against the heavens and control life and death.
âDo not try to reject it, there are always miracles that happen. I donât like your current attitude right now. Calm yourself and donât let the secular world cloud your wisdom.â Compared with Luo Yuâs cold exterior and warm interior, Qianhe Liyou appeared completely ordinary at this moment. However, her zen-like words seemed to have infinite meaning and drinking a glass of clear wine, her entire character seemed to feel more free and easy.
This change of emotion was instantaneous, it wasnât a change of mind, but rather she didnât want her emotions to affect Luo Yuâs emotions. He was nervous enough now and the uneasy expression had made her sober.
Luo Yu couldnât retort anything back, especially upon seeing Liyouâs casual expression, he suddenly began to wonder if he had been too sensitive. But just how many people could laugh at such a thing and let it pass?
He wasnât free and easy like Liyou, neither did he have any arrogance. He once believed that he was also ruthless and indifferent, but could never think that he was still limited by worldly customs and there would be a day when he had to pretend to be calm.
The expressions of Liyou and Luo Yu had eased and relaxed a lot, causing the expressions of the ministers in the hall to also ease up. After the dancers dispersed, the courtiers stepped forward to give their speeches, and all kinds of gifts were presented in front of everyone present. From precious stones, jade to the four arts, everyone had put a lot of effort into Luo Yuâs gifts.
Luo Yuâs demeanor seemed to have returned to his former coldnessä¸ä¸he simply nodded his head when accepting the gifts but didnât seem to take them to heart. All these things were precious, but they couldnât enter his eyes. Besides his body, he didnât care about those things outside. If he could, he would rather live an ordinary and mediocre life, and be a free and easygoing person.
The birthday banquet gradually came to an end and most of the guests had become a little drunk. But in the inner courtyard of the palace, no matter how stupid people were, they could not allow themselves to get drunk, still responding with a humble, yet empty smile. This was until Luo Yu couldnât sit still for any longer and said: âYouâer, have them leave.â
He really disliked this kind of spectacle. If it wasnât for Youâer insisting on holding a birthday banquet for him, he would definitely not appear in this type of scene!
âTired? Then letâs go.â She actually liked these kinds of occasions, but it was only because she wanted to observe the people inside and outside the palace, and use this banquet as a chance to get to know everyone. She also borrowed this banquet to tell everyone some news. She thought that after the birthday banquet, a few of those individuals would be able to sleep peacefully and the scene between her and Luo Yu had just been a mere thorn in their hearts. But these kinds of considerations were meaningless to her. The only thing that weighed on her head was the group of unusually silent men, Luo Weiqing, Yun Tailing, Feng Xue, and Murong XuanheâŚ
Qianhe Liyou stood up and was about to withdraw. THe courtiers immediately knelt down to see them off. Liyou casually waved her hands and pulled Luo Yu away from the birthday banquet. Then, under the leadership of Luo Weiqing, the concubines in the rest of the harem also departed from the birthday banquet.
The palace illuminated under the moonlight looked a bit desolate, especially compared to the festivities just now. The atmosphere lingering between Liyou and Luo Yu was extraordinarily quiet and no one wanted to speak, yet they walked side by side on the path to Luoxian Palace.
And just on the small bridge outside Luoxian Palace, Luo Yu suddenly halted, turned slightly to face Liyou and said in a somewhat low voice: âYouâer, I am only yours. I will not fall in love with anyone else. If you have expectations, I can swear it here and now. It is just that I cannot give you any other affection besides familial affection. In my life, my understanding and cognition of emotions is too shallow. You are already the most important to me and the only existence that can stir up my emotions. I donât want to make you unhappy and I donât want to make my life difficult because of you. If you really have feelings for me, I hope you can understand me and do not do anything that makes it impossible for the both of us to accept. I am very selfish , but my only affection has been given to you. If you still canât be satisfied, then I can only apologize, I cannot give you anything more.â
Escape was a kind of choice, but it was definitely not a solution to the problem. But it was most definitely not a solution to a problem. He never felt that he was cowardly, but at this moment, he was facing the biggest emotional fluctuation in his life. He felt that he should stick to his own principles and do what he wanted, instead of evading and having him as well as the people he cared about living in distress.
Liyou listened to Luo Yuâs words and could only say she did not agree with him, but she could understand what he meant. Although there was a disparity compared to her radicalism, it was not unacceptable.
âI hope you can do what you just said.â There was still a lot of time. If Luo Yu could do what he said, she wouldnât expect anything more. She had already said so, she did not want the so-called love nor does she understand love. She was just following her desires, possessing the person or emotion that you want to have!