Time travel is risky, and love requires caution

On the day of the state banquet, Ling Qiqi finally "arrived" reluctantly. The Northern Emperor gave her a death order, not allowing her to be absent for any reason again.

She knew that the Northern Emperor intended to form an alliance with the two countries, so the more chess pieces the better. As one of the chess pieces that met the conditions for marriage, she naturally had to prepare well.

She put on an extremely ugly makeup for herself. In order to enhance the ugly effect, she not only made herself darker, but also put a lot of pockmarks on her face. Fortunately, her makeup skills have not deteriorated at all. After all, as a modern professional woman, few people don't know how to put on makeup. Although she is not very good at using current cosmetics and it is not easy to make herself beautiful, it is still easy for her to make herself ugly.

While she was putting on makeup, she couldn't help but think that when she had time to spare, she would speed up and upgrade Beiwei's cosmetics industry.

It is said that clothes make the man, so she deliberately matched a set of down-to-earth clothes. Some things are so magical. Sometimes the material and workmanship are very high-end, but the clothes made into them look very tacky. Even if Ling Qiqi has a figure and appearance like a clothes rack, when she wears these clothes, it can reduce her overall image by at least 20%.

Ling Qiqi also carefully selected one or two pieces of jewelry that are so classic that they can only be passed down from generation to generation. In other words, they are old-fashioned and superfluous that are worse off than not wearing them. They are the kind of jewelry that are very valuable but very outdated.

She didn't want to steal the limelight from the Fifth Princess, nor did she want to attract the attention and favor of the two delegations. She knew without thinking that the Fifth Princess would be wearing silk and satin and gold and silver today. In contrast, her vulgarity and shabbyness would make her look disliked by the Northern Emperor and the Queen, and marginalized. No one wanted to marry a princess who was not popular, wouldn't it be the same as becoming a rag picker?

Ling Qiqi looked at herself in the bronze mirror, left and right, and was quite satisfied with her outfit. She looked vulgar in her wealth, and shabby in her vulgarity. Compared with the fifth princess, who was fair, rich and beautiful, she was definitely the opposite, a typical royal, poor and ugly. If she wasn't worried about embarrassing Bei Wei, she could actually dress herself up to be even more shabby.

After Ling Qiqi finished her preparations, she went to Guanghe Hall early.

Since the banquet was for foreign envoys and the standard was higher than any previous one, the state banquet was held in the Guanghe Hall.

Ling Qiqi, under the guidance of the palace servants, sat obediently on the seat that had been prepared for her in advance, waiting for the state banquet to begin in a low-key manner. Ling Qiqi's dress, coming so early, and being so demure completely broke the palace servants' usual perception of the Seventh Princess, and they all unconsciously looked in the direction of the Seventh Princess' seat.

In fact, Ling Qiqi just didn't want to enter the venue under the watchful eyes of the public. The less visible she was, the better.

She looked around the overall arrangement of the state banquet. As the host, the Emperor and Empress of Beiwei naturally sat at the top, while the envoys of Ximo and Beiwei sat facing each other on the east and west sides. Behind the envoys' seats were the seats for the two princes and three princesses of Beiwei, some royal relatives and officials accompanying Beiwei. The third and fourth princes were already eight years old and needed to see the world, but the other princes were still young and were not arranged to attend.

The seats for the princesses and princes were arranged in order. Ling Qiqi's seat was at the back and was inconspicuous. I don't know if it was intentional by the Queen, but it didn't matter, as it was exactly what Ling Qiqi wanted.

The guests attending the state banquet finally arrived one after another, and Ling Qiqi almost fell asleep while waiting.

When Pei Churan arrived, she looked at Ling Qiqi intently. Ling Qiqi smiled at her, while A'ran had a question mark look on his face, as if to say, "Is it really you?"

When Lu Cheng and Ling Yi arrived, they both saw Ling Qiqi's irritating outfit, but they felt relieved. It was obvious that our Seventh Princess was not going to be a conspicuous person today. Amitabha, I hope she lives up to her appearance.

After the guests arrived, they exchanged pleasantries, but Ling Qiqi still sat in her seat and ignored everyone. When everyone finally finished their polite conversations and sat down, Ling Qiqi realized that although her seat was hidden, it was very close to Pei Chufeng and Pei Churan, and she could just see the actions of the Second Prince of Ximo and Lu Cheng across from her. Although Bei Yihou was also there, his seat was relatively remote, and it was obvious that the Northern Emperor did not want him to show off his presence.

After a while, Emperor Beiwei and his empress arrived. After everyone stood up and saluted, the state banquet finally officially began.

It goes without saying that the dishes at the state banquet were pretty standard, and the guests and hosts were all exchanging fake greetings and toasts, while Ling Qiqi sat in the back eating with little appetite.

The fifth and sixth princesses beside them were indeed dressed up. Seeing the seventh princess like this, they were very proud and disdainful, and they didn't even look at her. Both of them were concentrating and observing the words and actions of the guests at the banquet. They didn't even have time to take care of this rare opportunity to bully Ling Qiqi.

The emperor and the queen also saw the seventh princess respectively. The emperor's reaction was very interesting. He was stunned at first, then he turned his head and looked at the queen meaningfully.

Ling Qiqi thought to herself: Oh, there is an unexpected gain. The emperor is probably blaming the queen for failing to supervise and manage her, the seventh princess. This is considered a light punishment. He might even think that the queen is suppressing her deliberately.

Other people also saw the Seventh Princess, especially those from the two delegations. They all said that seeing is believing, and this time they finally saw her, but it felt even worse than hearing about her a hundred times.

Isn't it said that the Seventh Princess is the most beautiful among the princesses? Isn't it said that the Northern Emperor loves the Seventh Princess the most? It seems that the rumors cannot be believed!

As Ling Qiqi wished, everyone gradually stopped paying attention to her, the seventh princess.

Except for Pei Churan, everyone would look back at Ling Qiqi from time to time, as if they wanted to say something but hesitated.

After three rounds of wine and five dishes, the atmosphere at the banquet became more relaxed and lively than before.

At this time, the Second Prince of Ximo stood up and mentioned to the Northern Emperor about taking the Sixth Prince back to Ximo, and the Northern Emperor happily agreed.

Ling Qiqi and Lu Cheng looked at each other from a distance. Although Ling Qiqi knew in her heart that it was only a matter of time before Lu Cheng returned to Ximo, she still felt some separation anxiety after hearing it with her own ears.

Although she didn't spend much time with Lu Cheng, not even as much as she had with Du Jingshan, Lu Cheng, who was also a time traveler, was a spiritual sustenance for her.

After Lu Cheng returned to Ximo, they were thousands of miles apart, the transportation was slow, and the letters were far away. She was afraid that she would no longer have anyone to discuss and confide in, and she felt a strong sense of loneliness.

Ling Qiqi's negative emotions were interrupted by the dancers and musicians who came to cheer her up. She found them noisy, and seeing that no one was paying attention, she slipped out of the hall to get some fresh air.

She had just left Guanghe Hall when Pei Churan followed her from behind.

"Where is the Seventh Princess going?" A'ran asked kindly.

"I feel suffocated and came out to get some fresh air." Ling Qiqi spoke the truth and was in no mood to deal with her.

"Is it because the Sixth Prince is going back to Ximo?"

Ling Qiqi nodded and said nothing.

"If you can't bear to leave the Sixth Prince, you can go back to Ximo with him."

Ling Qiqi was stunned and quickly explained:

"I'm not reluctant, and I don't want to go to Ximo either."

"Then...would you like to come to our Nan Shen? Our Nan Shen is really fun."

"I'm afraid my father won't agree."

"The Northern Emperor will agree. You can just marry my third brother."

"Haha, it's not worth it to get married just to go abroad for fun. I don't want to go to Nan Shen either. I can't leave my hometown. I like staying in Bei Wei."

"You don't like Bei Yihou, do you?"

"I'm crazy I like him."

"It's good that you don't like him."

"Wait? What do you mean? Could it be that you like Bei Yi Hou?"

Ah Ran nodded and admitted it openly. Ling Qiqi was caught off guard by her sincerity and asked:

"What do you like about him?"

"He is handsome. I have never seen anyone as handsome as my third brother."

"He's not as good-looking as your third brother. Besides, good looks can't be eaten. I advise you to give up your love for him as soon as possible. It's impossible for the two of you to be together."