Chapter 141 Yunze: Is Sister Meng testing me?
Yunze looked at the beautiful figure and realized it was indeed someone he knew.
It was Lin Yun'er, his classmate from first grade.
Beside Lin Yun'er stood three other figures. One of them was Lin Yanyan, whom Yunze also knew—Lin Yun'er's older sister.
The remaining two were a man with a resolute face, exuding an aura of authority.
The other was a beautiful woman with a dignified appearance, who bore a striking resemblance to the Lin sisters, Lin Yun'er and Lin Yanyan.
Clearly, this was the Tingnan Marquis family of Mingdu.
"Master Hongchen, it's been several months since we last met," the Tingnan Marquis said, bowing as he approached Jing Hongchen.
"So it's Marquis Lin. It has indeed been some time," Jing Hongchen said casually, glancing at him. The
Tingnan Marquis, Lin Jinnan, was a rising star in Mingdu in recent years. He was only around forty years old, and while his cultivation was only at the Soul Saint realm, he was among the most likely to receive a title—he was a former soldier.
This man is a cousin of Lin Ya, the vice-captain of the Imperial Dragon Soul Instructor Corps. In his youth, he followed his cousin in border battles, achieving great feats and killing countless Star Luo soldiers. Afterwards, he joined the Imperial Dragon Soul Instructor Corps with his cousin, and after receiving a title, he retired from the military and settled in Mingdu.
Lin Jinnan's title is Marquis, which in the Sun Moon Empire's nobility system ranks above Lord, Viscount, and Earl, second only to Duke.
Moreover, he has allied himself with Crown Prince Xu Tianran, promising a bright future.
Even so, Jing Hongchen didn't pay him much attention.
For someone like Jing Hongchen, only the top nobles could earn him equal treatment.
Seeing that Jing Hongchen didn't intend to acknowledge him, Lin Jinnan wasn't annoyed. Instead, he turned to Xiao Hongchen and the other two, "Truly a genius of the Hongchen family, so young yet already possessing the demeanor of a master. The future of our Sun Moon Empire is bright!"
Xiao Hongchen glanced at him and hummed in response.
Meng Hongchen, on the other hand, nodded politely with a smile, "Uncle Lin, long time no see."
"This must be Yunze, the student my daughter mentioned who's become quite famous in the academy lately?" Lin Jinnan finally focused his gaze on Yunze, his eyes narrowing as if deep in thought.
"It's me," Yunze nodded, "Greetings, Lord Marquis."
"Truly a young hero, no wonder Yun'er is so fond of you." A smile forced across Lin Jinnan's resolute face.
Jing Hongchen waved to the three behind her and walked straight into the palace, "The banquet is about to begin, let's go in."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Hongchen immediately grabbed Yunze's clothes and pulled him inside.
Yunze naturally understood Jing Hongchen's meaning; this Lin Jinnan was a member of the Crown Prince's faction, and who knew what he was here for?
Lin Jinnan didn't react much to this, and walked to his family's side, joining them as they entered the palace.
Stepping into the palace, the sheer number of nobles was astonishing; including their families, there were probably hundreds in the entire palace.
Even so, the palace didn't feel crowded, demonstrating just how vast it was.
"This emperor is quite generous, willing to use his palace as a banquet hall." After looking around, Yunze realized that the banquet venue was entirely decorated and modified from the palace hall.
"According to the banquet rules, I'll be sitting at the head table. Xiao, you guys go to the younger group. Remember, take good care of Yunze." Jing Hongchen said, patting Yunze and Xiao Hongchen on the shoulders before leaving. Xiao Hongchen
glanced at Yunze, "Don't think too much, just do your thing."
Yunze shrugged, and the siblings, one on each side, escorted him to the group of young people. These young people ranged in age from their early twenties to about the same age as Yunze, some even having older siblings with children as young as seven or eight.
Contrary to Yunze's expectations, the relationships among these noble youths were quite harmonious, with no apparent rivalry.
However, Yunze soon noticed that the noble youths were very self-disciplined
, each going to their own territory. Their territories were ruled by the various princes of the royal family.
People like Yunze and his companions, who had no connection to them, were like outsiders.
Yunze didn't think much of it and simply found a place to eat.
It was a banquet, with an abundance of delicious food, and it was hosted by the royal family. Anyway, this banquet was for Xu Tianran and his group to choose people, so it had nothing to do with him.
Even if those princes really wanted to win him over, they'd have to eat and drink well first.
Meng Hongchen was equally uninterested, eating with Yunze. Every now and then, the two of them would earnestly discuss and comment on which dishes were delicious and which weren't.
Xiao Hongchen's lips twitched; these two were incredibly audacious!
"Hehe, Yunze, you're here! I've been looking for you for ages!" Suddenly, a clear voice rang out. Yunze, while stuffing food into his mouth, looked at Lin Yun'er, who was pulling his sister along.
"You two must be part of the Crown Prince's faction, right? What are you doing here?" Yunze glanced around. "This seems to be the territory of the Ninth Prince's faction. Aren't you afraid of being gossiped about?"
Lin Yun'er pouted. "That's my father's business, it has nothing to do with me."
"Don't worry, junior brother. My sister and I haven't joined any prince's faction like our fathers did. Besides, they wouldn't care about insignificant people like us." Lin Yanyan smiled slightly, glancing at Meng Hongchen subconsciously. She wasn't disappointed at all, but instead said with a smile, "No wonder you didn't like me back then. With a stunningly beautiful woman like Senior Sister Meng by your side, how could you possibly like me?"
Upon hearing this, Meng Hongchen felt much better, and his gaze towards Lin Yanyan softened considerably.
Yunze smiled and shook his head. "Senior, please don't think that way. You're very pretty too, and I'm sure many boys would want to pursue you."
"Well, I'm getting engaged soon. You have to bring Senior Meng to our engagement party, okay? I'll be very happy to have you both there," Lin Yanyan said with a smile.
Engaged so soon?
Yunze's expression didn't change, but he didn't see a particularly happy smile on Lin Yanyan's face.
Clearly, her engagement was a political marriage.
This was very common in the Sun Moon Empire and even the former Three Kingdoms, and most noble families had some political connections.
Yunze wasn't against this kind of marriage, but he wasn't particularly interested either.
It seemed that Lin Yanyan and Lin Yun'er's initiative in coming to find Yunze had given others a signal, because soon after the two left, several more girls came over with wine glasses.
Meng Hongchen saw them, but her face remained unchanged, still wearing a smiling expression.
For some reason, she didn't instinctively protect Yunze, but instead just watched his next move.
Yunze's lips twitched.
Was this a test?
(End of Chapter)
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