Yi Xin as a concubine

As night falls, the palace is brightly lit.

Even though there are countless bones buried outside the capital, it will not stop those who are pretending to be asleep from continuing to live a life of luxury and debauchery. What's more, today is the old emperor's birthday, the longevity festival that everyone has been looking forward to for a long time.

The whole palace was filled with a festive atmosphere. The magnificent banquet was filled with a dazzling array of delicacies, and the palace maids moved lightly among them, serving the guests fine wine and delicacies.

The old emperor sat on the high throne, with a kind face and a big smile, accepting the blessings from everyone. His robe shone with golden light, reflecting the candlelight in the palace. The court musicians played cheerful music, and the dancers danced on the stage, adding a touch of bright color to this feast.

The princes and nobles presented precious gifts to express their respect for the old emperor. The ministers shouted "Long live the emperor" in unison to pay the highest respect to the old emperor. In this joyous atmosphere, people celebrated the old emperor's birthday together and wished him a long life and good health, and a long and stable regime.

The singing and dancing gradually stopped, and several princes walked out of the crowd, standing on both sides with clear positions.

"Brother Crown Prince, you are still coming out even though you are in this state. How can you be so filial?"

The Second Prince's tone was sarcastic, and his mean and petty nature really didn't live up to the title of a prince. However, the Second Prince himself cared. He was less than a year younger than the Crown Prince, yet he was inferior to him in everything. Not to mention power and status, he couldn't even compare to him in terms of wives, concubines and children. His disgust for the Crown Prince was almost unsuppressible.

The two of them would pinch each other whenever they met. Now that the prince was sitting in a wheelchair, he was naturally a head shorter than him, which made him very excited and he couldn't help but ridicule him.

"That's not right, second brother. The Crown Prince is the eldest brother after all. He has to crawl to celebrate Father's birthday. Don't you agree, Crown Prince?"

Since he was a child, the third prince liked to watch his two brothers fighting with each other. No matter if there was something going on, he would add fuel to the fire and fan the flames. He could have a lot of fun by himself.

"Second brother, third brother, you are really impatient. They are just fools. It's not worth getting angry. If you are really capable, you should learn from fifth brother."

As he spoke, without looking at the two men's faces which suddenly darkened, he signaled the people behind him to push the wheel forward a little.

"Your son wishes you a happy birthday, Father. May you live as long as the heavens!"

After the prince finished speaking, the old emperor saw that the prince did not bring the Shoushan stone, so he could not help but ask: "I heard that the prince found a rare treasure for my father. Did you bring it today?"

"I brought it with me."

After saying that, he clapped his hands. Not long after, a young boy came in from outside, followed by two shirtless men, holding a huge object covered with red cloth in their hands.

"Grandpa Emperor, your grandson is here to wish you a happy birthday. May you be blessed with as much wealth as the East Sea and as long a life as the Southern Mountains." Without waiting for the Crown Prince's orders, he pulled down the red cloth that was covering the room, revealing a magnificent stone with the word "Shou" on it.

Ning Ye's action made the expressions of those present freeze. The prince's face became several shades darker than that of his two brothers just now. The old emperor sitting at the top also sneered with an ambiguous meaning, and his eyes looked in the direction of General Duanmu intentionally or unintentionally.

The few people from the Duanmu family who came to attend the dinner were so frightened that they suddenly became nervous and looked at Ning Ye with resentment in their eyes.

General Duanmu sighed inwardly. After all, he was still young and unstable, and he acted too hastily.

The Shoushan Stone is not so easy to come by. The prince is almost disabled now because of the injury he suffered. Therefore, the merit of retrieving the Shoushan Stone becomes particularly obvious. The stone has been labeled as His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Only the Crown Prince can present it to the emperor, no one else can, not even his own son.

Just when everyone looked solemn and worried about Ning Ye, the old emperor finally spoke, but it was not what Ning Ye wanted to hear.

"Good! Good!" The old emperor was delighted. "You are so thoughtful, Prince. Take good care of your injuries. Your father is waiting for you to get better so that you can help your father."

As soon as these words were spoken, Ning Ye's face turned pale and he could hardly maintain the smile on his face. Only then did he vaguely realize that he seemed to have done something wrong.

Seeing him like this, the old emperor was too lazy to pay attention to him. He walked down from the platform and carefully looked at this natural magical object. He praised it repeatedly, almost using up his limited vocabulary.

Seeing this, everyone couldn't help but be curious and walked forward to take a look. After watching, they all marveled at the ingenuity of the Creator.

After the old emperor had admired it enough and was flattered by his ministers, he walked back to the seat on the high platform feeling relaxed. Then the other princes presented the gifts they had prepared.

The second prince presented a string of South Sea pearls, each of which was round and plump, exuding a faint luster; the third prince presented a Hetian jade statue of the God of War, which was finely carved and lifelike; the fourth prince was not allowed to attend such occasions due to his illness.

However, with the crown prince's Shoushan rare stone as an example, the old emperor had no interest in these two things. But in order to warn his two sons, his eyes finally stopped on the fifth prince.

"Old Fifth, what gift have you prepared for me?" asked the old emperor.

The fifth prince smiled slightly, took out a sword from his back and presented it to the old emperor.

"I have always known that my father likes weapons, so I found this dragon-roaring short blade and presented it to my father for self-defense. What happened last time really scared me."

The old emperor took the dagger, exerted a little force in his hand, and the sharp blade came out of the sheath with a faint sound of dragon roar, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

"This sword is very good. I like it very much. I will reward you with a big reward."

When the old emperor said this, the prince's face became even worse. He presented such a rare item, but was only answered with "You'll be rewarded!" It can be seen that this little fifth brother really won the emperor's favor.

The other princes and grandchildren of the emperor also had different expressions, but they were angry but dared not say anything.

At this time, the chief steward Qiu He beside him whispered, "Your Majesty, it's time to eat the birthday peach."

The old emperor nodded and ordered his men to carry up the huge longevity peach tower.

Amidst the laughter and joy, the old emperor personally took down the longevity peach at the top and took a symbolic bite. Then the others at the banquet began to share the peach.

Just when the host and the guests were having a great time, the great scholar Mo Xuan, wearing a beige long-sleeved robe, looked like an immortal from a distance. He was accompanied only by an old servant in gray. Although the master and servant were late, they seemed to have returned home and walked into the hall casually.

The old emperor noticed the person at the door immediately. He narrowed his eyes, a dangerous curve appeared at the corner of his mouth, and he waited calmly for someone to come and salute him.

But who is old man Mo Xuan? He is the leader of the small country of Yingzhou. Which country's royal family doesn't have a few good sons studying in Yingzhou? With his status, he doesn't have to kneel or bow to anyone.

But after all, something had to happen today, so old man Mo Xuan intended to lower his posture and paralyze the old emperor, so he stepped forward respectfully and saluted, while signaling old man Hui to present a birthday gift.

The old emperor intended to humiliate him, so he naturally would not let him get up easily.

"Mr. Mo Xuan actually wished me a happy birthday. I thought the old man was eager for me to go there early."

But in my heart I was complaining wildly, this old bastard really had bad intentions. He was wearing all white to celebrate his birthday. If you didn't know, you would think he was here to attend a funeral.

The feud between the two men started many years ago. At that time, Emperor Ning's ambition was just beginning to show, so he sought out Yingzhou to seek the support of the Mo Xuan clan. Yingzhou never participated in these disputes and refused many times. He even disdained to associate with a minister like him who had the intention of treason because of his integrity and character as a scholar.

Emperor Ning was not a magnanimous person, so he hated the Mo Xuan clan, thinking that they looked down on him, mocked him, and humiliated him.

This hatred became stronger as the only daughter of the great scholar Mo Xuan became the Crown Princess of the Chu Dynasty. After he succeeded in seizing the throne, he even kept the children of Crown Prince Chu. On the surface, he said it was to show his benevolence, but in fact he wanted to take them as hostages. Seeing old man Mo Xuan worried and helpless, he lived in painful struggle every day.

"Your Majesty, you are joking. This is a military book that I have treasured for many years in Yingzhou. Every strategy and every policy recorded in it is a magic weapon to defeat the enemy. Today, I will present it to Your Majesty. I wish Your Majesty to unify the nine provinces and live a long and healthy life!"

This scholar's mouth, if he scolds you, even without using a single dirty word, can still make you feel completely beaten to a pulp, but if he deliberately praises you, even if you are enemies, he can make you feel comfortable listening to it.

Although the old emperor felt uncomfortable, he had to change the subject.