Such a grand birthday banquet was filled with prominent and influential figures, but the one who stood up right now was definitely the most special of them all.
In Tianning, nobles didn't participate in politics. Those who did weren't nobles, but this man was both a noble and an influential general!
His name was Baili Yuanlong, born of Tianning's largest noble family, the Baili Clan. He was nearing 50 years of age and was a Great General who commanded Tianning's navy.
Tianning had three Great Generals in charge of the infantry, cavalry, and navy respectively. General Mu commanded the largest infantry force, while Baili Yuanlong commanded the most special navy. General Mu and Great General Baili resided in the capital, while the Great General of Cavalry was stationed at the Three-Way Battlefield. He hadn't returned this time.
The navy was the most special because Tianning was the only country in Cloud Realm Continent that had a navy. Northern Li and Western Zhou didn't have one. Moreover, Tianning's navy was a regular army that Baili Yuanlong had single-handedly raised in his youth.
Unlike General Mu's illustrious military exploits, Baili Yuanlong's navy had never been sent out before. However, they received the most military pay from the imperial court each year. None of the civil and military officials dared to object to this, because they all knew that the late emperor had raised this navy to deal with Northern Li.
Like Tianning, Northern Li's eastern border was an endless coastline. If necessary, Tianning wouldn't let Northern Li's eastern border go!
Thus, once war broke out, this navy would be the Tianning emperor's trump card, the key to turning defeat into victory.
Baili Yuanlong had always kept a low profile and only showed his face once or twice a year. Why was he standing up at a time like this? Everyone was bewildered.
"General Baili, is something the matter?" The empress dowager had always been polite to this naval general personally appointed by the late emperor.
"This general naturally wishes to congratulate Esteemed Empress Dowager on her birthday," Baili Yuanlong replied.
He wants to congratulate her?
The empress dowager's phoenix body trembled as she stiffened.
For a moment, the silence in the great hall was indescribable. Everyone subconsciously held their breaths as they grew nervous.
What did Baili Yuanlong mean by this?
Of course he had to attend the birthday banquet, but it wasn't his turn yet. His Highness Duke of Qin had just finished his birthday banquet, and he was already standing up. Could it be that he also wanted to …
Everyone trembled with fear. They wanted to guess, but they didn't dare to think too much about it. Some things, even if they thought about it, were treasonous and heinous crimes.
Emperor Tianhui's face was grave and stern as he stared unblinkingly at Baili Yuanlong. Long Fei Ye, on the other hand, was aloof and indifferent, as if he didn't care at all.
Under everyone's gazes, Baili Yuanlong personally poured the wine.
Was he going to propose a toast like Long Fei Ye?
Unease began to spread in the empress dowager's heart. She wanted nothing more than to go up and stop Baili Yuanlong, but she couldn't.
She sat solemnly, watching, her heart in a whirl.
Baili Yuanlong walked out with a cup of wine in hand. Although he'd never been to a real battlefield, his austere aura was comparable to General Mu's. He was old but vigorous, his every step filled with power as he walked to the empress dowager.
His posture made everyone's hearts beat faster. Many of them even stopped breathing. The empress dowager nervously clenched her hands into fists, forgetting the pain from her fingernails pricking into her palms.
Baili Yuanlong stopped in front of the empress dowager and bowed in a neither servile nor overbearing manner. "This soldier offers congratulations to Esteemed Empress Dowager on her birthday. May Esteemed Empress Dowager's phoenix body be in good health!"
The empress dowager was still wearing a smile, but it was completely stiff. She looked calm on the surface, but her heart was already in turmoil.
She couldn't guess what Baili Yuanlong's actions meant. Would he be like Long Fei Ye and only offer his congratulations without a gift? Or would he offer up a gift afterwards?
At this point, it didn't matter what Baili Yuanlong's gift was, but whether he had one at all.
If he did, then his action of cutting the queue was a silent protest against Long Fei Ye's actions. It was the strongest support for the empress dowager and Emperor Tianhui.
If he didn't, then … the empress dowager couldn't keep thinking. She was too nervous – the first time she'd ever felt so nervous at her own birthday banquet.
She waited for Baili Yuanlong to offer up his gift, but no matter how long she waited, Baili Yuanlong didn't say a word.
He simply stood there, leaving the empress dowager in an awkward position.
Was there really no gift?
The empress dowager couldn't believe it, much less Emperor Tianhui. He coughed lightly to remind the empress dowager, who said, "General Baili may dispense with the formalities."
Was he going to dispense with the gifts after that?
All eyes were on the scene, but Baili Yuanlong simply returned to his seat behind Baili Yuanlong, mirroring Long Fei Ye and Han Yunxi's actions.
That's it?
It's over?
There's only congratulations, but no gift?
Thus, Baili Yuanlong followed the Duke of Qin in offering a toast.
In other words, Baili Yuanlong wasn't here to offer his congratulations, but to publicly declare his position. He and his tens of thousands of naval troops were Long Fei Ye's subordinates!
One of Tianning's three armies was actually Long Fei Ye's forces!
Time seemed to stop as the empress dowager stared at Baili Yuanlong, gaping. Emperor Tianhui was caught off guard as well. For a moment, he couldn't accept reality.
He always thought he had the three armies firmly in his hands. Even the strongest of the three armies, General Mu's estate, was under his control. He never expected Baili Yuanlong to be one of Long Fei Ye's men.
The most frightening thing about a coup was a military coup. Long Fei Ye's move was simply pulling the firewood from under the cauldron!
He was using Baili Yuanlong to tell everyone present that he, Long Fei Ye, had the guts and strength to stand up to Emperor Tianhui as an equal!
Emperor Tianhui had always given him some leeway, but the leeway in his hands was enough to fight against the emperor's leeway!
The birthday banquet still had to continue. The congratulations had just begun, but the various factions present were already racking their brains. Should they give away the gifts they'd prepared?
If they did, they'd be standing on Emperor Tianhui's side; if they didn't, they'd be standing on His Highness Duke of Qin's side. It was time to make a stand.
Who would be the first after Baili Yuanlong?
Some were nervous, some were afraid, while others were itching to make a move.
Still, nobody expected Crown Prince Long Tianmo to be the first to step forward.
The crown prince's repeated illnesses had long caused the Crown Prince Faction to lose power. Moreover, his relapse had caused such a huge uproar. Smart people could tell that Emperor Tianhui was using the crown prince's life to suppress Han Yunxi.
Although he was the crown prince and had returned alive, he couldn't win the emperor's favor.
He should be resentful, hating, and giving up on himself, but he was the first to step forward to protect the face of the empress dowager and emperor.
"Imperial Grandmother, take a look at what your grandson has brought you."
Long Tianmo personally offered up a large stalk of lingzhi mushroom. It was as big as a palm and as red as fresh blood.
As soon as it appeared, it drew the attention of the crowd. Someone exclaimed in surprise, "Your Highness Crown Prince, is this the real deal?"
"Impudence! This crown prince is showing filial piety to Imperial Grandmother. How could it be a fake? "Long Tianmo scolded unhappily.
"Your Highness Crown Prince, this must be the rumored blood lingzhi mushroom that can cure all kinds of illnesses!" someone asked nervously.
"That's exactly it!" Long Tianmo had been searching for this item while hiding in the Eastern Palace every day. He never expected to find it on his way back after recovering from his illness in Medical City.
Seeing Long Tianmo nod his head, the crowd burst into an uproar. Blood lingzhi mushroom was the best of all medicines. No matter what kind of illness it was, it could cure all illnesses as soon as it appeared.
It was even more valuable than the Persian cat and the Night Moon Pearl and was hailed as the number one medicine in Cloud Realm Continent.
Not to mention the others, even Han Yunxi and Gu Beiyue were shocked. Some medicines only had one or two stalks, so they were gone once they were used up!
All right, it wasn't just Han Yunxi. Even Lil Thing in her sleeve was beginning to stir. It didn't know what was going on outside, but it thought that the imperial palace was a great place. There were so many good things, so it had to make a trip here myself!
With a single stalk of blood lingzhi, Long Tianmo had pulled back the stage for the birthday celebration.
He presented the gift and said respectfully, "Imperial Grandmother, this is a genuine blood lingzhi mushroom. Your grandson wishes for Imperial Grandmother's longevity to be as long as the Southern Mountains and as deep as the Eastern Sea!"
Long Tianmo didn't want to take it out at all. If possible, he'd prefer to remain neutral at the banquet, because he was still too weak to offend either his imperial father or Imperial Uncle Qin.
However, in the end, whether it was his Imperial Father or Imperial Uncle Qin, in the face of this great opportunity, he had to stand up and express his intentions to his Imperial Father. Only by obtaining his Imperial Father's favor could he become stronger and have the power to seize the throne.
In the struggle for imperial power, there was nothing more than "endurance."
Long Tianmo's voice was like a great bell, echoing throughout the hall. Although his influence was far inferior to Baili Yuanlong's, he'd at least turned the tables for Emperor Tianhui.
The empress dowager was so moved that she couldn't speak, while Emperor Tianhui finally gave Long Tianmo a look of appreciation.
Seeing this, Long Fei Ye didn't budge. It was obvious that he didn't think much of Long Tianmo.
Zhao mama secretly stepped forward and murmured, "Esteemed wangfei, you're regretting it now, aren't you? Don't save him next time. He's just an abandoned pawn who doesn't know what's good for him! "
Han Yunxi smiled. Even Zhao mama could tell that Long Tianmo had been tricked by Emperor Tianhui in the "relapse of his old ailment" case?
Although they stood on opposite sides, Han Yunxi didn't dislike Long Tianmo. At the very least, he was the strongest of all her patients. No matter what happened, he'd never given up on himself.
As for saving him? Fine, she'd been forced to do so! There was nothing to regret.
As soon as the crown prince appeared, one person followed closely behind him. That person was none other than the second imperial prince, Long Tianqing.
He was the son of Noble Consort Xiao, the daughter of the Prime Minister of the Left, Xiao Zhengxin.
As the crown prince's faction grew weaker by the day, the second imperial prince's faction grew stronger and stronger. There were even rumors that General Mu was part of the second imperial prince's faction.
Naturally, the second imperial prince wasn't to be outdone by the crown prince's performance. But when he walked past Long Fei Ye and Han Yunxi, he actually snorted at them. His movements were so obvious that everyone in the hall saw it.
Child, it was understandable that he was protecting the empress dowager and currying favor with the emperor. But stepping on the Duke of Qin to curry favor with the emperor was a huge mistake!
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