By now, the group had exited the main hall. There was a group of carriages coming their way and judging by their attire, they didn't seem to be of Zhongzhou's style.
The Thousand Island Nation was located in the East Continent's Thousand Islands. Their culture and customs were completely different from this place. This was obvious from their attire.
Feng Ziyong and the others went up to greet them and chatted happily with the Thousand Island Nation's envoy. Just then, a well-dressed woman came down from one of the carriages.
This woman was escorted by many female officials. She was dressed luxuriously and wore a veil over her face. Her figure was lithe and graceful. As she walked over, a fragrant breeze wafted through the air. In terms of manners, she was the cream of the crop. Only a royal princess would have such upbringing and manners.
Needless to say, this woman must be the princess of the Thousand Island Nation who was here for the marriage.
Judging from the pair of eyes behind the veil, this princess must be a stunning beauty as well.
However, it was awkward to have a layer of benefits added to the relationship between a man and a woman.
If it were Lin Jin, he definitely wouldn't like such a marriage.
The three princes each had their own style. Even the taciturn eldest prince, Feng Ziyong, was talking non-stop, not neglecting the honored guest at all.
Lin Jin's gaze shifted from the princess to the metal cages. It seemed like the rare beasts from the Thousand Island Nation were kept within.
However, the cages were wrapped in a silver cloth so Lin Jin couldn't see what was inside.
The envoy of the Thousand Island Nation was an eloquent man. He had a pleasant conversation with the three princes and the atmosphere was cordial.
"Envoy Liu, please don't stand on ceremony. This banquet is considered a private one. Let's eat, drink, and chat behind closed doors. There's no need to be so reserved." Feng Ziyong was straightforward and his words carried a unique domineering air.
Envoy Liu, on the other hand, did not forget the purpose of his visit. He laughed and said, "We can all feel the First Prince's hospitality. Our Princess is also very grateful to the three Princes for their hospitality."
Envoy Liu was clearly saying that the main character this time wasn't him, but the princess of the Thousand Island Nation.
Now that everyone had entered the main hall, the lone person sitting in the library was naturally conspicuous. Envoy Liu was stunned. Confused, he even felt a tinge of displeasure.
When everyone came out to welcome Her Highness, why was there still someone sitting there?
How rude.
However, they were guests, so it was not appropriate for them to say this out loud.
"Could he be the Imperial Advisor of Tian Xuan?" Envoy Liu thought to himself. He felt that the person's age matched the criteria, so even though he was unhappy, he could only pretend that he didn't see it. After all, the status of the State Advisor of Sky Spiral Nation was not to be trifled with. A lowly envoy like him couldn't afford to offend him.
Everyone took their seats.
Since the beginning, Lin Jin had only been a bystander. He had been chatting with Appraiser Yan the entire time and now that they were back at their respective seats, Lin Jin started whispering to Shu Xiaolou.
In fact, only a few people were listening to the conversation between the three princes and the envoy from Thousand Island Nation. Most of them kept glancing at Lin Jin and Little Library from time to time.
"Appraiser Lin and Senior Shu are so close!" Appraiser Wang looked envious.
"That's right. It's a pity that we don't have such an opportunity," Appraiser Yan said with a lowered head.
At this time, some waiters and palace maids brought food and wine. The atmosphere immediately became lively. Some toasted and laughed. The Thousand Island Princess also chatted with the three princes.
It could be seen that the three princes were trying their best to show off, hoping to leave a good impression on this foreign princess.
Shu Xiaolou took a sip of wine and shook her head. "The wine is mediocre and the food is mediocre. I thought it would be fun but I didn't expect it to be so boring."
Shu Xiaolou would never say this to anyone else. It was only when she was with Lin Jin that she would reveal her true nature.
"Shu Xiaolou, are you here to eat?" Lin Jin retorted bluntly. "We're here to support Feng Ziqian and also to see the rare beasts from Thousand Island Nation. If you really want to taste the food and drink, I'll take you to a restaurant next time. It's definitely better than here."
Shu Xiaolou's eyes lit up. "That's a deal."
Lin Jin smiled. "Don't worry, I won't bully you."
Just then, Messenger Liu had three large cages brought in and placed them in the main hall. He then stood up and said, "His Majesty the Emperor of Thousand Island Nation has bestowed upon us three rare beasts to accompany Her Highness to Spiral Nation. Consider them part of the princess's dowry. I've long heard of Spiral Nation's beast appraisers' skills and how they can identify all rare beasts in the world. Her Highness would like to invite all three princes and beast appraisers to appraise these three rare beasts together."
Here comes business.
Lin Jin and Shu Xiaolou stopped their conversation and turned to look at the three cages in the main hall.
The other beast appraisers did the same.
Messenger Liu was about to say something when the Thousand Island Princess suddenly got up and dismissed him. She then walked to the center of the hall and said, "Your Highness and fellow beast appraisers, Ruoli has known that Spiral Academy is a sacred place for beast appraisers ever since I was in Thousand Island Nation and I've been looking forward to it ever since. This time, Father has requested for one of us sisters to marry into Spiral so Ruoli took the initiative to come here. This banquet is actually for Ruoli to choose her future husband. I believe all three princes are aware of this."
Everyone was stunned.
Everyone knew about this but none of them mentioned it in front of everyone. Who would've thought that Her Royal Highness would take the initiative to expose this fact and say it out loud?
She sure had a shrewd personality.
"Since we're here to choose Ruoli's future husband, I should naturally be the one to choose. Among these three rare beasts, one of them is Ruoli's pet beast. If any prince can guess it correctly, Ruoli will marry him and serve him wholeheartedly until the day we grow old."
Hearing this, the three princes had different expressions on their faces.
However, it was true that they were all shocked.
They really didn't know about this before. Perhaps even their father didn't know about it. Also, this was too fast. Didn't they say that relationships needed to be nurtured?
Yet, they had only met for the first time and only exchanged a few words with each other and she had already laid down the rules.
Whoever could guess which pet beast of Princess Ruoli was, she would marry that person.
Straightforward enough.
However, this didn't seem too difficult. After all, pet beasts and their owners shared a blood contract. Any beast appraiser would be able to identify their pet beasts in no time at all.
Hence, this wasn't a difficult task at all.
Could it be that it would depend on who spoke first, and this was a question to be answered first?
The three princes weren't stupid. The more simple it seemed, the more complicated it might be. There was a high chance that there was a trap in this.
The three princes turned to look at the beast appraisers they had invited. Beast appraisers were crucial in this segment.
Among them, the eldest prince, Feng Ziyong, felt the most helpless. He was burning with rage because the State Preceptor wasn't around. If he was here, his chances of winning would definitely be the highest.
But now, only Appraiser Yan was left. Although Appraiser Yan wasn't bad, he was still just one person.
Feng Ziyong glared at his third brother, Feng Ziqian, his face filled with anger.
It was all because of that Senior Shu whom Feng Ziqian had invited. If it weren't for him, he wouldn't be in such a passive position. On second thought, with that Senior Shu around, wouldn't his third brother's chances of winning be much higher?
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