#83 - Banquet Gift
Although many people present were dissatisfied, they knew that the golden invitation must have been given to Jun Wuxie by Ji Yinlan, so they didn't dare to question it openly.
Before long, all the invited guests had arrived, including Qin Keqing, who gave Su Lan and Jun Wuxie a smile.
Her seat was arranged near Jun Wuxie, separated only by Su Lan.
"Today is the birthday of my daughter, the Seventh Princess of Great Zhou. Thank you all for coming," Emperor Ji Liufeng of Great Zhou said with a smile, very approachable and without any imperial airs.
However, many people present were apprehensive and flattered upon hearing this, and they all stood up.
"Your Majesty's grace! It is our honor to receive the imperial invitation and attend the Seventh Princess's birthday banquet!"
Civil officials, military generals, dukes, and marquises of the court all spoke in turn.
People from various forces also stood up and said some polite words.
"Everyone, please be seated," Ji Liufeng gestured.
At this moment, a minister said, "Your Majesty, now that the guests have arrived, let us present our gifts for the Seventh Princess's birthday banquet."
Ji Liufeng nodded, indicating his approval.
Then, two palace maids standing behind Ji Yinlan slowly walked to the foot of the high platform.
The minister immediately took out a gift from his storage ring and presented it with both hands.
One of the palace maids took it and opened the box, revealing a burst of silver light.
It was a jade-carved warhorse, ridden by a beautiful woman holding a silver spear and with her battle robe flying, her appearance almost identical to Ji Yinlan.
"This silver spirit jade carving of 'Galloping on the Battlefield,' I hope the Seventh Princess will like it," the minister said.
"Left Prime Minister presents a three-star silver spirit jade carving!" the palace maid who received the gift said loudly, while another palace maid immediately recorded it.
"The Left Prime Minister is thoughtful," Ji Yinlan nodded.
Next, the first-rank officials of Great Zhou successively stepped forward to present their gifts.
They were all works of art carved from precious materials, exquisite and luxurious, colorful and dazzling.
Jun Wuxie sighed inwardly, after coming to the capital, his horizons had truly been broadened. Where had he ever seen such extravagant things before?
Although these trinkets were not practical, they were highly sought after by the powerful and wealthy, each worth more than seven or eight hundred million.
Ji Yinlan always maintained a calm but polite expression.
No matter what kind of gift was presented, she responded with what seemed like an unchanging reply, a simple "Thoughtful of you," dismissing all the gift-giving officials.
When it came to the Four Great Families, they came up with new tricks.
Some sent war chariots, and others sent tamed fourth-order ferocious beasts.
However, these still seemed difficult to arouse Ji Yinlan's interest. She only glanced at them a couple more times, but her attention was slightly higher than the previous luxury goods.
One after another, important officials, dukes, marquises, and so on had presented their gifts.
People from the Three Great Merchant Guilds and the Hunter Guild also came forward to present their gifts.
Su Lan presented a pill, a three-star high-grade pill called the Marching Pill.
This pill was specially refined for those who galloped on the battlefield.
When fighting on the battlefield, taking the Marching Pill would continuously provide true qi and physical strength to the user.
The medicinal qi released by the Marching Pill in a short period of time was not considered strong, but it was very long-lasting.
For ordinary martial artists, the effect was not outstanding. After all, martial artists fought with too high intensity in a short period of time, all explosive battles, and the medicinal qi release speed of the Marching Pill could not keep up.
But it was different for battlefield combat, which required this kind of long-lasting pill.
"Thank you, Chief Manager Su," Ji Yinlan nodded and said thank you for the first time.
Qin Keqing's gift was a thousand-year-old blood ginseng of three-star high-grade, completely bright red like blood, with the effect of quickly healing serious injuries, which could save lives at critical moments.
The chief manager of Tianjing Tower was an old man in his sixties. His gift was a three-star high-grade Lesser Revitalizing Pill that could instantly replenish life essence, also a life-saving elixir.
… …
After the people from Qizhen Pavilion also presented their gifts, only Jun Wuxie and Chu Zhongtian were left.
The gifts from the Three Great Merchant Guilds and the Hunter Guild were not only valuable but also very rare, and it was difficult to buy them even with money on weekdays.
At this time, everyone's eyes fell on Jun Wuxie and Chu Zhongtian.
However, their gazes towards the two were different.
Looking at Chu Zhongtian, they were full of anticipation, wanting to see what kind of eye-catching gift this Crown Prince of Chu, the outstanding talent ranked tenth on the Wind and Cloud List, would present today.
Looking at Jun Wuxie's eyes, they were filled with hidden ridicule.
Some time ago, the incident at the Jubaozhai auction had been heard by everyone.
Jun Wuxie bid for three items, the most expensive of which was worth 600 million, but in fact, that item was not worth 600 million at all.
Defensive earrings, this kind of thing, its effect may be good for others, but for a strong person like Ji Yinlan, it is completely useless.
"Jun Wuxie, now only you and Crown Prince Chu are left. You can't just sit there like this, can you?" Murong Qi raised the corner of his mouth, with a hint of sarcasm, and said, "Didn't you bid for a pair of three-star middle-grade defensive earrings at Jubaozhai that day? Hurry up and present them to the Seventh Princess."
"Qi'er, don't be rude," the head of the Murong family reprimanded softly, and then said, "Young Master Jun comes from the small town of Qingyang, and his financial resources are naturally not as strong as everyone present. Although he is a direct disciple of the Zongwang Academy, the Zongwang Academy has long declined, and there is no financial support to give him. Young Master Jun, it is already very rare to be able to use a three-star middle-grade spiritual weapon as a gift. Although the grade is slightly lower, the gift is about the intention, not the price."
Jun Wuxie sat there quietly, watching the Murong family's young and old perform in turn.
Murong Qi jumped out to play the red face, with sarcasm in his words.
His father then jumped out to play the white face, saying words that seemed to be helping him out of the siege, but in fact, he was saying that he was a young man from a small town, without a background, and came here to embarrass himself.
"Young Master Jun, there is nothing to be embarrassed about. Three-star middle-grade is actually not bad," a high-level member of the Muyang family said with a smile, "For ordinary women, if they receive such earrings, they will definitely be flattered."
Jun Wuxie sneered secretly. This guy from the Muyang family had thorns in his words, implying that Ji Yinlan was not an ordinary woman, so how could you offer such a gift?
"Young Master Jun, don't delay the time of the banquet, Your Majesty is waiting here," some important officials began to speak, feeling very dissatisfied with today's arrangement.
What qualifications did a seventeen-year-old boy have to sit on an equal footing with them?
"Hahaha!" Chu Zhongtian laughed loudly. He had been worried that someone would offer a Red Beauty Flower, but until the end, he did not see anyone offering it. It seemed that the person who bid for the Red Beauty Flower that day was not giving it to the Seventh Princess.
After laughing, he stood up, looked down at Jun Wuxie, and said, "Could it be that you really want to use the three-star middle-grade earrings as a gift to Yinlan? What is her status? She gave you a golden invitation, but you used three-star middle-grade to embarrass her?"
"Crown Prince Chu, you seem to be more excited than everyone here?" Jun Wuxie narrowed his eyes, then smiled faintly, and said, "What gift I give, does it have anything to do with you?"
"Of course it has something to do with it!" Chu Zhongtian could not calm down when he saw Jun Wuxie now. He wanted to humiliate Jun Wuxie severely in public before killing him, especially in front of Ji Yinlan, to humiliate this ignorant kid!
"What does it have to do with it? Let me hear it," Jun Wuxie said unhurriedly, very calm and composed.
On the high platform, Emperor Ji Liufeng looked at the young man who had been targeted by everyone before, and who was now being targeted by Chu Zhongtian, and who had been so calm and composed from beginning to end, and could not help but nod secretly.
This kind of composure, appearing on a seventeen-year-old boy, was truly commendable.
The young man who killed three elite disciples of the Dahe Sword Sect with three swords was indeed not simple. His talent and state of mind were very outstanding.
He could not help but have a trace of interest in Jun Wuxie, wanting to see how he would deal with Chu Zhongtian, the number one genius of Chu and the tenth on the Wind and Cloud List, who was strongly targeting him.
