Xue Ye commanded immense influence within the Heaven Dou Empire.
The nobles and powerful figures invited here were all renowned individuals, and Heaven Dou City had fallen into a brief frenzy of celebration because of this event.
The guards and maids within the imperial palace were so busy their feet barely touched the ground. The imperial kitchens in particular, tasked with preparing a palace banquet of such immense scale, wished they could split each hand in two.
Countless precious ingredients and all manner of treasures were escorted by heavily armored cavalry through the towering palace walls. Any one of them, if taken outside, would be a treasure worth hundreds of thousands of Gold Soul Coins—enough for an ordinary family to live peacefully and happily for a lifetime.
Yet at Xue Ye's birthday banquet, these could only be considered the most commonplace gifts. Under the radiance of certain treasures, they were even discarded into corners like ordinary bricks.
Shui Ningbing and the others had been specially invited as honored guests, so they naturally did not need to wait outside the palace gates like the other visitors. Dedicated officials would guide them into the imperial palace.
Snow Empress walked among the Skywater Academy group with her arm hooked through Shen Hanyu's. Her peerless, noble coldness left the nearby crowd in a brief daze.
Snow Empress disliked such gazes. Shen Hanyu narrowed his eyes slightly, releasing an invisible pressure. Some who were still entranced were abruptly jolted awake, then broke out in cold sweat and fled at once.
Shen Hanyu lowered his head slightly and said with a soft laugh:
"Don't mind them. They're just a bunch of useless spoiled brats. If they make you unhappy, kill them all after the banquet."
Snow Empress raised her eyes slightly, then said softly:
"Let's go."