The State Banquet Hall was located in a side hall next to the Vermilion Bird Hall. Although it was a side hall, it was still magnificent and grand.
At the entrance of the main hall stood a row of beautiful palace maids, responsible for guiding usher. At the entrance, Long Chen saw many figures dressed in different attire.
"There are actually so many foreign missions?" Heavenly Seal, Purple Thunder, Eastern Radiance, Feathered Sound... Wow, these are countries that aren't friendly to our Vermilion Bird Empire—they must be coming with ill intentions! Yu Qianxue's expression changed when she saw these powerful figures.
Tianxi and Purple Thunder Long Chen knew, but as for other empires, Long Chen had never heard of them.
According to imperial custom, the delegation was invited in first, meaning the guests were allowed to go first, and then it was their own family's turn.
Yu Qianxue counted and realized it was the delegation of the Eight Great Empires, and all of them were unfriendly countries. This state banquet was probably not a good event.
While waiting, Long Chen saw the eldest prince Zhu Yunwen. He gave Long Chen a cold glance but said nothing, but in his eyes, Long Chen could see deep apprehension.
Clearly, the news that Long Chen possesses 537 dragon power has already reached their ears, and no one dares to underestimate him anymore.
And perhaps because of Long Chen, quite a few royal disciples had taken the initiative to strike up conversations with Yu Qianxue. Although they weren't qualified to enter the hall or take a seat, they still had seats outside.
When it was time for the princes and princesses to take their seats, Long Chen followed Yu Qianxue into the grand hall. To Long Chen's surprise, Emperor Zhuque Yu Xiaoyun, along with the two empresses and some concubines, had already arrived early.
After Long Chen entered, Jiang Huixin and Xu Lanxin smiled and nodded slightly to him, as if greeting him.
"Long Chen..."
Just as Long Chen entered the hall, a gritted voice rang out. He looked toward the voice, a look of surprise appearing on his face:
"Wow, Fortune Boy?" In the Three Thousand Worlds, you gave me the Mad Blade and the Thunder Ancient Tower. Bro, do you have some treasure this time and are planning to give it to me? That
person was none other than Weng Tianyao of the Purple Thunder Empire. His Thunder Ancient Tower and Mad Blade had both been confiscated by Lei Ling'er. This was the greatest humiliation of his life. Long Chen immediately exposed his wounds, and Weng Tianyao's face twisted into distortion.
"Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing? This is the banquet hall, pay attention to the occasion. Look at your face, it's wrinkled like a crotch. What's wrong?" Are you constipated? "Seeing Weng Tianyao so furious he was about to explode, Long Chen simply fanned the flames on him.
Weng Tianyao was furious and was about to speak, but was stopped by an old man nearby: "Yao'er, you must not be rude." The
old man's face was thin and covered with age spots, looking no different from an ordinary elderly man, but with every movement in his eyes, lightning flashed, and deep within his gaze it seemed as if countless stars were shining.
The age spots on his face were not ordinary spots, but rather the result of endless runes gathering together. Although they looked dim, they contained earth-shattering power.
This was a terrifying powerhouse. From Weng Tianyao's respectful attitude toward the old man, it was clear that this old man's status was quite extraordinary.
But regardless of the old man's identity, Long Chen couldn't be bothered to pay him any attention, because he immediately spotted Yu Qingxuan in the distance.
The tables in the main hall were rectangular, about four feet long, with two people sharing one seat. At the very front of the hall were the seats for the emperor and his consorts, and in front of them were the seats for the princes and princesses.
Yu Qingxuan's seat was right next to the concubines, and she didn't enter with the princes and princesses, but with the emperor and empress, showing just how high her status was.
Only two people sat alone in one seat: one was Emperor Yu Xiaoyun, and the other was an elderly man with white hair and beard, a stern face.
The stern-faced old man was somewhat bulky, with a fat head and big ears, but a pointed mouth that looked very strange and somewhat comical.
Long Chen's eyes lit up when he saw Yu Qingxuan. Without another word, he walked over.
"Hey, Long Chen, your seat is here." Yu Qianxue saw Long Chen walking straight toward Yu Qingxuan, and her face turned pale with fright. She tried to pull Long Chen away but couldn't, sweating nervously. Does this guy really treat this place like his own home? He didn't understand any rules at all.
"Miss, you're gentle, kind, and stunningly beautiful. Could you help me out? How about we switch seats?" Long Chen smiled and said to the woman beside Yu Qingxuan.
The woman was also a princess, accompanied by Yu Qingxuan. Seeing Long Chen walk over and talk to her like this, she was so frightened she was stunned, her eyes wide open, and she didn't know what to say.
You have to know, this is a state banquet, and all the seats are predetermined. There's no way you can just change them randomly. Moreover, this was done in front of His Majesty—was he trying to lose his mind?
Yu Xiaoyun's face darkened and he said nothing. Jiang Huixin and Xu Lan exchanged a glance and couldn't help but shake their heads secretly. This kid seemed a bit off in his mind—couldn't he see any sign of it at all?
"Well... The woman glanced at the Emperor, then at the two Empresses, and couldn't help but stand up. Seeing that neither the Empress nor His Majesty stopped her, and after Long Chen thanked him profusely, she switched places and walked over to Yu Qianxue.
"Hehe, it's done."
Seeing Yu Qingxuan's pretty face flushed red, whether out of embarrassment or anxiety, Long Chen held up two fingers and made a victory gesture.
"Attending important events, dressed in casual clothes, acting frivolously, breaking the rules. Hmph, the atmosphere of the Vermilion Bird Empire has been ruined by people like you." Suddenly, the stern-faced old man spoke coldly.
In front of the emperor, no one else dared to speak, but the old man criticized without hesitation, his eyes filled with contempt.
"Old man, let me tell you, I'm not the same person I used to be. You'd better not argue with me, or don't blame me for not giving you face." Long Chen looked at the old man and warned.
"Long Chen, that's Master Sun..." Yu Qingxuan hurriedly said to Long Chen, revealing the old man's identity.
"Love is whatever it is, what does it have to do with me? I just want to sit at the same table with my wife, so what? Did it break the law? Long Chen stiffened his neck and looked at the old man.
"You haven't broken the law, but you have destroyed propriety, righteousness, integrity, and shame, disturbed the bonds between ruler and minister, broken the rules. At such a young age, you don't understand respecting the elderly and the ruler, don't know what shame is, how can you have the face to speak so freely here?" The old man said coldly, expressionless.
The old man's words were sharp and merciless, directly pointing out Long Chen's faults in front of the emperor, clearly making it impossible for Long Chen to stay here.
Among those present, except for the emperor's consorts, the envoys and most of the princes and princesses all had hopeful eyes in their eyes, hoping the master would teach this reckless boy a lesson.
"Getting too cocky, huh? You get a third of the color and you start dyeing the room? Do you want to play? You shameless old man, I'll go with you! Long Chen's anger surged in his heart, his evil spirit rising as he looked at the old man and sneered.
Seeing Long Chen lose his temper and dare to argue with the scholar, everyone was shocked, but they looked at the emperor, who remained expressionless, as if nothing had happened, not interfering at all.
"This... What's going on? "