Lingering

What should have been a fine Jade Flower Banquet, a grand feast for the imperial scions to choose their beloveds, came to a hasty end just like that.

First, Sha Xinyue's peerless beauty had stirred jealousy in every woman present, including the Empress Dowager, and muddled the minds of every imperial scion. The entire Jade Flower Banquet had been utterly overshadowed by Sha Xinyue's matchless visage, left dull and colorless.

Then Ying Sheng kicked up a tremendous fuss, throwing everything into chaos and beating the branches and leaves of the Jade Flower Grove into drifting ruin. Everyone's enthusiasm abruptly fell by seventy or eighty percent.

Finally, Ying Zheng had come over to join the excitement as well. This Jade Flower Banquet had nothing to do with him in the first place, yet he eagerly came over, had Lin Qi identify some strange and unusual objects, bestowed an official post and noble rank upon Lin Qi for no reason at all, then left without a word.

There had been too many matters tonight—too complicated, too strange. Everyone, including the Empress Dowager, had lost the mood to feast and drink. They sat carelessly beneath the jade flower trees, drank a few cups of wine, and listened to a few little tunes. When midnight arrived, the ten thousand mu of jade flower trees slowly unfurled their petals. After watching the crystalline jade flowers, as though carved from crystal, bloom with captivating beauty beneath the night sky, and savoring their rich fragrance, the Jade Flower Banquet came to an end.

Ying Qin was still behind them, putting on a false show of intimacy with his imperial brothers, while the others were still kneeling to pay their respects and bid the Empress Dowager good night. Lin Qi, Hu Xinzhu, and their group had already slowly