The moment Liu Wenyuan entered, the entire banquet hall held their breaths in awe. He sauntered gracefully across the floor, bowing his head in a respectful gesture to the guests, but never once bending his back in submission.
Liu Yichen's booming laughter was heard coming from the entrance. He strode the hall to escort his son to the middle of the room.
"I humbly introduce to everyone the most precious pearl in Wuyang Palace, my beautiful son Wenyuan."
The Liu family went to sit at the elevated platform at the end of the hall, with Liu Wenyuan sitting in the middle. The interested suitors were supposed to line up to present their gifts to the omega. This was their chance to impress the omega and the omega's family, with the hope that they might be allowed to court said omega.
Eyes were drawn to Xie Jianyu, who had yet to move from his spot. As the suitor who held the highest position in the entire empire, naturally, he was given the priority to greet Liu Wenyuan and his parents officially.
Xie Jianyu slowly walked toward the elevated platform. He gave a slight bow before the three people, who bowed in return. Xie Jianyu clapped once, and his servant stepped forward with a velvety pillow in both hands. On top of the velvety pillow was a red brocade box.
Xie Jianyu took the red brocade box and opened it. Inside was a shiny seven-colored stone bracelet that was brimming with pure, unadulterated cultivation energy.
"Greetings to Palace Master Liu Yichen, Lady Wen, and Prince Liu Wenyuan. On this auspicious day, I come with a humble gift. Let this Seven Star Qi Refining Bracelet represent my most sincere intention toward the prince."
"..."
What humble gift?
Zhang Fengxi was not the only suitor who gritted their teeth in indignation. That bracelet was made from spiritual stones of seven beasts that terrorized the Heavenly Realm for the past five hundred years! If Xie Jianyu referred to his gift as "humble", then the other gifts were more or less trash.
Liu Wenyuan gave the Crown Prince his sweetest smile. He then held his right hand in Xie Jianyu's direction and coquettishly said, "Will His Majesty The Crown Prince please put it on for me?"
Naturally, Xie Jianyu complied.
When he brushed Liu Wenyuan's silky hand in the process, Liu Wenyuan's cheeks were suffused with an adorable pink color. All the other suitors almost suffered from a heart attack on the spot, then and there.
Liu Wenyuan tucked a loose hair strand behind his ear and rubbed at the bracelet around his wrist affectionately.
"Thank you, Crown Prince, I love it."
Once Xie Jianyu was done with his greeting, all the other suitors automatically fell into a line. One by one, they offered their gifts to Liu Wenyuan. It did not surprise anyone when they saw no ripples inside the Liu family's eyes.
Zhang Fengxi too was greatly disappointed with his gift. How was he supposed to know that Xie Jianyu was going to come with such a grand offering? But wait, did this mean that Xie Jianyu was serious about pursuing Liu Wenyuan?
But he was born as an omega!
Two omegas would never sire a child. If Liu Wenyuan was mated to Xie Jianyu, he was going to be wasted. Zhang Fengxi curled his fingers into fists. He must prevent that from happening. Liu Wenyuan was his and his only!
Following the gift offering, all guests were asked to enjoy the banquet. While they sat behind their desks and enjoyed the most delectable dishes that Wuyang Palace had to offer, entertainers entered the hall and started performing one by one.
Zhang Fengxi watched with burning jealousy as Xie Jianyu was invited to sit with Liu Wenyuan and his parents. He did not need to eavesdrop to know what they were talking about. They were surely discussing the next step in this courting process. Truly, even if Xie Jianyu came with a cheap box of facial powder, Liu Yichen would still welcome him enthusiastically.
Why?
Because Xie Jianyu was the Crown Prince, the heir to the Dragon Throne.
Liu Wenyuan had the chance to become the future empress of all heaven!
Now, who in the room could compare to Xie Jianyu?
Of course no one.
Next to Zhang Fengxi, a noble young alpha from Ling'an Palace sighed heavily.
"I can't believe it," he complained. "With all the rumors surrounding the crown prince, I should have expected him to show up. I should have sold half of our treasure storage to buy a wonderful gift for Liu Wenyuan!"
His conversation partner snickered. "Oh well, there will be another."
Zhang Fengxi furrowed his brows. He turned his upper body to face the gossipy young alphas and asked, "Excuse me, what rumors are you referring to?"
The two alphas looked Zhang Fengxi up and down as if trying to decide if it were a trick question or not.
"Well," the first speaker then leaned closer and said with a conspiratorial tone, "According to the circulating rumors, the Crown Prince likes to surround himself with omegas."
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Zhang Fengxi's mouth dropped open in bewilderment. Xie Jianyu, a player? But no. No, no, no.
He was an omega. Of course, like other omegas, he preferred to surround himself with omegas.
"The Crown Prince has just differentiated into an alpha. I am sure that he is just trying to explore his sexuality," Zhang Fengxi argued.
The two alphas stared at him.
"Prince Zhang Fengxi, no offense, but we all just differentiated into alphas. Our parents will cut our limbs off if we grant ourselves the same degree of freedom."
Right.
Zhang Fengxi cleared his throat awkwardly. He forgot that he was back in his eighteen-year-old body. Why must he speak like an old man?
"Aaaand look at that," the second alpha nodded in the direction of the Liu family and the crown prince. "He is already taking the next step."
Zhang Fengxi turned his head around so quickly that he might snap his neck, but he could not care less. Xie Jianyu, that Xie Jianyu took Liu Wenyuan's hand and led him out of the banquet hall!!!
No, no, no… this could not be happening.
Zhang Fengxi gave the lamest excuse he could conjure and followed the couple outside.
He had to abandon all dignity and squat behind a neatly trimmed bush to listen to the conversation between the crown prince and the love of his life.
"Crown Prince, you truly honor our palace with your presence today," Liu Wenyuan spoke in a sweet, melodious voice. He bit shyly into his lower lip while batting his perfect eyelashes at Xie Jianyu.
Xie Jianyu gave Liu Wenyuan a charming smile, but his eyes were devoid of infatuation. Zhang Fengxi could see that he was only there to extend the Wuyang Palace some courtesy on behalf of Fuxi Palace. He did not really plan to woo Liu Wenyuan. Zhang Fengxi exhaled out of relief.
Of course, he told himself. He was so dumb.
Had Xie Jianyu been serious about pursuing Liu Wenyuan, Liu Yichen would be more than happy to deliver his son to Fuxi Palace's entrance gate on the same day. Zhang Fengxi who did not even show up during Liu Wenyuan's Initiation Day was bound to have zero chance of pursuing the omega.
Just as Zhang Fengxi decided to pick up the remaining pieces of his self-respect and crawl back to the banquet hall, Xie Jianyu's sword launched into the air and landed right in front of Zhang Fengxi.
"Show yourself," his cold voice soon followed.
Zhang Fengxi was speechless. Was his cultivation so poor at this age that he was unable to hide his presence from Xie Jianyu? Or was Xie Jianyu's cultivation over the top?
Lacking better options, Zhang Fengxi pulled Winter Frost from the ground and rose to his feet. Xie Jianyu narrowed his eyes at him, and Liu Wenyuan pressed both hands against his mouth.
"Oh, my," he said. "This… Prince Fengxi, I…"
Both Zhang Fengxi and Xie Jianyu walked toward each other. They only stopped once they were just ten feet apart from each other.
"My sword," Xie Jianyu extended his hand at Zhang Fengxi. His sharp gaze demanded unconditional obeisance from Zhang Fengxi, but the latter was disinclined to show Xie Jianyu some respect.
He instead played with Winter Frost, flipping the sword around his fingers like some harmless toy.
"Today is Prince Liu Wenyuan's Initiation Day," he said. "Why must the Crown Prince come to Wuyang Palace with a sword? Are you preparing yourself for a fight?"
Xie Jianyu sneered at Zhang Fengxi.
"Do you presume to question me? Maybe I should pay a visit to Longjing Palace too. Longjing Palace Master would be delighted to hear that his son likes to eavesdrop on other people's conversations."
Zhang Fengxi chuckled.
"My esteemed father will understand if I explain the circumstances to him. Omegas and alphas do not spend time together without any chaperones. Considering that this is Prince Liu Wenyuan's Initiation Day, I am naturally concerned about his safety."
"Heh, so are you here to protect him from me?"
A remorseless smile played around the corners of Zhang Fengxi's lips. "Pretty much."
"Then let's see whether you are all talk or you do have the ability to oppose me!"
Xie Jianyu stepped off the ground and lunged at Zhang Fengxi. The latter tossed Winter Frost away and parried Xie Jianyu's attacks one by one. Apparently, Xie Jianyu's talent in swordsmanship did not prevent him from excelling in close-range fights at all.
Zhang Fengxi was able to block Xie Jianyu's attacks, but he was unable to slot in even a hit. Xie Jianyu's movements were as fast as lightning and as unrelenting as ocean waves. On top of that, Zhang Fengxi did not want to accidentally hurt Xie Jianyu. A fight between an omega and an alpha was unheard of…
Their fight carried over to the edge of the palace ground. The area was rocky and uneven. To make it worse, the rain from last night caused the ground to be soft and slippery. Due to one careless step, Xie Jianyu slipped and fell backward. Just before he hit the ground, Zhang Fengxi yanked at his arm hard.
In the next moment, they tumbled together to the ground with Zhang Fengxi shielding Xie Jianyu's fall and holding him in a tight embrace. With one protective hand behind Xie Jianyu's head, Zhang Fengxi involuntarily buried his nose against Xie Jianyu's neck and took a deep breath.
As expected, he could smell no alpha pheromones from Xie Jianyu's body. Instead, there was a faint, sweet smell that emanated from him. The kind of scent that omegas used to lure the alphas.
While Zhang Fengxi was trying to guess what kind of smell it was, he was forcefully pushed away by Xie Jianyu. The latter passed Zhang Fengxi a crisp slap on the cheek. The slap was so hard that he only saw stars for the next few seconds.
"Impudent!!!" Xie Jianyu cried out. His whole body shook from fury. Never before had he been humiliated to this extent!
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