Reincarnation and Rebirth

Because of this unexpected situation, Zi Xingchen lost his mood to enjoy the song and dance. The Empress Dowager smoothed things over, saying, "Your Majesty, today is the Lantern Festival. Why don't we all raise a glass together to celebrate Ziyun's great victory, and wish for favorable weather, a prosperous and strong nation from now on?"

Zi Xingchen laughed heartily, "Grandmother is absolutely right. Let's all raise our glasses and celebrate Ziyun's ever-growing prosperity."

Everyone stood up, raised their cups, and shouted, "Long live the Emperor! May the Purple Cloud Emperor live forever!"

Su Wan'er also raised her glass and followed everyone else, drinking the wine in one gulp.

"Everyone here has made great contributions to our Ziyun's great victory over Ziyan this time, and I hereby bestow special rewards upon you. Su Ping of the Su family is brave and skilled in battle, and I hereby appoint Su Ping as the Iron-Blooded General, a first-rank general, to command the Iron-Blooded Army."

Su Ping was overjoyed and hurriedly went to the scene, kneeling down to express his gratitude. "Your Majesty is the true Son of Heaven, which is why the immortals have taken notice of you and sent the beast army to help my Ziyun. I have only happened to be fortunate enough to receive this blessing."

These words made Zi Xingchen laugh heartily, "Good, General Tie Xue is devoted to the country and is capable of shouldering heavy responsibilities."

"Your subject accepts the imperial decree and expresses his gratitude."

Su Wan'er was amazed at how shameless the Su family was. It was a pity that her little Bai had become his stepping stone.

Next, Su Wan'er heard her own name called.

What's going on? Why is he slamming himself?

"Where is Su Wan'er?" Eunuch Li shouted.

Su Wan'er quickly made her appearance, kneeling down in humiliation, "This humble woman is here."

Zi Xingchen couldn't take his eyes off Su Wan'er, who was becoming increasingly radiant thanks to the nourishment from the space.

Chu Linlin frowned, "Your Majesty?"

"Oh, Su Wan'er, you are a woman who is just as capable as any man. You have rendered meritorious service in protecting Zi Yan. I hereby bestow upon you the title of Qingwan Clan Daughter as a reward."

Qingwan, a woman of the imperial family? What the heck?

"Princess Qingwan, why don't you hurry up and accept the imperial decree to express your gratitude?"

"This humble woman is very grateful for Your Majesty's gift."

Chu Linlin said with a grin, "Although Qingwan Sect's daughters do not have a rank, they don't need to refer to themselves as commoners anymore."

Zi Xingchen laughed and said, "Indeed, indeed."

"Wan'er thanks Your Majesty for your great kindness."

Next, it was Xiao Yunting's turn. Although Xiao Yunting had put in the most effort, he was the last to be rewarded, which shows Zi Xingchen's intentions.

Xiao Yunting was appointed as a second-rank military general, a position even lower than Su Ping's.

Xiao Yun frowned. He hadn't expected the Emperor to make such an arrangement. It wasn't a good thing that one family had produced two great generals.

Since he was already a first-rank general, Zi Xingchen had no way to further promote himself. In the end, he gave Madam Xiao the title of first-rank imperial consort.

After the bestowal of titles and rewards concluded, Zi Xingchen, in order to demonstrate his magnanimity as an emperor, bestowed the title of king upon several of his younger brothers.

After that, the young ladies from various noble families began to perform in turn.

Today's banquet also has another purpose: a talent show. Unlike other talent shows, Ziyun's talent show is like a large-scale beauty pageant.

The noble ladies dressed up in their finest attire, using every trick in the book to win the emperor's favor.

Zi Xingchen is young and handsome. Even if he weren't the emperor, many women would be infatuated with him. Moreover, he is the supreme being of the Ziyun Kingdom. Who wouldn't want to transform into a phoenix in an instant?

Su Wan'er showed no desire to show off, silently sipping her tea while her mind wandered to her money-making plans. However, several pairs of gazes made her quite uncomfortable.

In preparation for today's palace banquet, Su Qing'er had specially learned a dance from the best dancer in the capital well in advance. She gracefully walked to the center of the venue, bowed to the Emperor, and began to dance. Her movements were light and elegant, her eyes occasionally glancing at Zi Xingchen, full of expectation. However, Zi Xingchen only glanced approvingly a few times before his gaze quickly drifted towards Su Wan'er's direction. Su Qing'er felt a surge of resentment, but maintained a smile on her face.

The Emperor's gaze was naturally noticed by most people. Chu Linlin frowned and looked at Granny Guo, who nodded slightly and then looked puzzled.

Damn it, I was planning to embarrass Su Wan'er in public today so I could lend her a hand and make her grateful. But my plan failed.

No, that ribbon clearly hit her just now, and some powder fell into the wine glass. She couldn't possibly be unharmed. Could it be that her medical skills are really that advanced?

"Your Majesty, today is a joyous occasion. Qingwan, the princess, is renowned throughout the capital. Today, she has received Your Majesty's reward. Shouldn't she also show her appreciation?" Zi Xingniao said with a smile, though the frivolity in her smile was quite obvious.

What? Su Wan'er looked at the man who had indulged in excessive sexual activity. She had just been blaming herself for drugging him. Chu Linlin wanted to harm her. When the ribbon was brought over, she had already noticed that something was mixed in with it. If it weren't for this man's intervention, she would have been fine, but it would have been easy to give herself away. After all, she had always said that her medical skills were not good enough. So when he made his move, Su Wan'er took the opportunity to cleverly sprinkle the powder on Zi Xingniao. Later, when the palace maids were serving tea, she secretly added the antidote to Zi Xingniao's tea. But who knew that this spoiled brat was either drinking or staring at those women the whole time and didn't drink any tea at all.

Moreover, he was among those uncomfortable gazes.

Su Wan'er felt that since she had already repaid her debt and they were even, if he wanted to provoke her, then he shouldn't blame her for taking action.

Zi Xingchen was already interested in Su Wan'er, and seeing someone offering an opportunity, he quickly said, "Seventh Brother is right, Qingwan, the sect's daughter, why not show her off?"

Su Qing'er finished the dance with great effort, but everyone's attention was on Su Wan'er, which made them even angrier. She forced a smile and said, "Sister, although your second branch of the family was expelled from the family genealogy by my grandfather, we have grown up together since childhood. What I can do, I think you can do too."

Bullshit, you can climb into bed, but I can't.

Su Wan'er curled her lips and said, "Sister also knows that our second branch was expelled from the Su family and left with nothing. How could I have time to learn these things?"

"Sister, the Emperor has already given his word. Do you intend to disobey the imperial decree?" Su Qing'er feigned a terrified expression, causing everyone present to change their expressions drastically.

The Emperor had only been testing the waters and hadn't insisted that Su Wan'er go on stage, but now that Su Qing'er had said that, it would be a loss of face for the Emperor if Su Wan'er didn't go on stage. This was a serious matter, so everyone fell silent.

Madam Xiao was a little anxious. Such a good child shouldn't be ruined by these people. Just as she was about to get up to defend Su Wan'er, Zi Xingniao, who was sitting in front, suddenly became unsteady and stood up.

Seeing her son's state, Consort Shun knew something was wrong and quickly spoke up, "Is the Seventh Prince drunk? What are the servants doing? Quickly take the Seventh Prince away to sober up."

Zi Xingniao also felt a surge of heat coursing through his body, but he assumed he was just drunk. He shook his hand and said, "I'm fine. Qingwan, this is the Lantern Festival banquet, which is also the Emperor's selection banquet. Are you trying to embarrass our Zi family royal family by being so disrespectful?"

Su Wan'er chuckled inwardly. She had felt guilty before for implicating Zi Xingniao, but now it seemed she had only herself to blame.

"Seventh Prince, you've had too much to drink."

"Woman, come here quickly and dance for us." Consort Shun was in a great hurry, and even her maternal family, the Guo family, turned pale.

The Third Prince, Zi Xingxuan, was enjoying the show and couldn't resist teasing him, "Seventh Brother, today is the Emperor's wedding banquet, don't steal the spotlight."

Upon hearing this, Zi Xingchen's face darkened. He was usually quite lenient with his seventh brother, but this was not the time for him to take advantage of him.

"Seventh Brother, you've had too much to drink. Someone, take the Seventh Prince away to sober up."

If Zi Xingniao hadn't been given the medicine, he would definitely have been more lucid and left with the palace maid. But unfortunately, he was given the medicine.

Zi Xingniao grabbed Su Wan'er's hand and sighed, "Your little hands are quite smooth."

The sound was quite loud, but the entire Imperial Garden was completely silent, making the sound seem particularly jarring.

"How dare you, Zi Xingniao!" Zi Xingchen was truly enraged. "What are you standing there for? The Seventh Prince has behaved improperly before the Emperor. Send him back to the Prince's residence to reflect on his actions. Without my decree, he is not allowed to leave the Prince's residence even a step."

Consort Shun grew anxious, "Your Majesty..."

"Is the Dowager Consort pleading for mercy?" Zi Xingchen warned.

"No, I, I thank Your Majesty."

Consort Shun originally wanted to go to the Prince's residence to take care of Zi Xingniao, but after receiving a look from the head of the Guo family, she swallowed her words.

Consort Liang felt a little regretful. What a great opportunity! It's easy to leave the palace, but difficult to come back in. Consort Shun must have thought of this as well, which is why she was unwilling to leave.