Bewilderment

In the men's area, besides Prince Ding, there were only Prince Zhou, Xu An, and Prince Jing, Xu Xuan, the two princes. The Crown Prince, being in poor health, wouldn't participate in such an occasion. Prince Zhou and Prince Jing were born to Concubine Xu, and both of them were outstanding in talent. Prince Zhou was more outspoken and arrogant, while Prince Jing was reserved but scheming. These two princes also had their eyes on the throne. Everyone knew that the Crown Prince's health was weak, and one day the emperor would surely change the crown prince. Concubine Xu was deeply favored by the emperor. In contrast, Prince Ding's mother, Consort Dong, was much more low - key. If it weren't for Prince Ding's relatively good performance, she might not even be able to hold onto the position of one of the four consorts.

In her previous life, Prince Zhou and Prince Jing were involved in the fight for the throne, but they let down their guard against Prince Ding. Firstly, Xu Hao was on good terms with the Crown Prince, always walking side by side with the Crown Prince. He even personally searched for precious medicinal herbs for the Crown Prince, and the empress was quite satisfied with Xu Hao. So the others thought that Prince Ding was just a follower of the Crown Prince. Secondly, Xu Hao was usually aloof, disdainful of participating in court affairs. Plus, Consort Dong was a cautious and timid person, spending all day chanting scriptures and practicing Buddhism, and she didn't have a powerful natal family to support her. They thought Prince Ding couldn't stir up any big waves.

But in fact, the one who finally sat on the dragon throne was the very Xu Hao whom they thought couldn't make a difference.

Ye Lily picked up the leaf - shaped cards on the side and played with them. Just like these leaf - shaped cards, Xu Hao's starting hand in life seemed extremely bad. Everyone thought he was out of the game from the start, but they didn't realize that he never intended to play with the cards in his own hand. His cards were in other people's hands, and what he had to do was to snatch them.

"Why are you so calm?" Seeing her silent and not showing any signs of love for Xu Hao in her eyes, Feng Anning was a bit puzzled. "Don't you like him?"

Ye Lily looked up at her.

Feng Anning was startled. The sharpness in that glance made her feel a chill in her heart, and she almost had an impulse to kneel down. She didn't know where this feeling came from, but she instinctively knew that what she had just said had made Ye Lily unhappy. She paused and then said, "Actually, I don't really like him either. How can there be such a perfect person in the world? He doesn't seem real."

This time, Ye Lily took a serious look at Feng Anning. She didn't expect that this arrogant young lady from a noble family could see this. How many people were infatuated with Xu Hao's appearance? It seemed that as long as Xu Hao was willing, all the young girls in this hall would fall for him. How come there was actually one who was different?

She said slowly, "It seems you have someone in your heart."

"You, what are you talking about?" Feng Anning's face instantly turned bright red. "Don't slander me."

Ye Lily then stopped talking to her. She didn't have the time to pry into a little girl's affairs.

She had her own things to attend to.

People were coming and going, and most of the invitations to the Chrysanthemum Banquet had been received. Everyone should be here by now.

Under the chrysanthemum field in Yanbei Hall, a huge platform was set up. This stage - like setup didn't seem vulgar at all because the previous emperor had once held a ceremony to worship the heaven here. It was a platform that had been touched by the aura of the real dragon. On both sides, there were flags inserted, and there were soldiers in ceremonial uniforms with red scarves around their heads, beating drums loudly.

The drums rumbled, resounding through the sky. The musicians were also playing the long zither, playing a piece called "The Song of the Virtuous." It implied that the royal family was eager to seek talented people. Today's competition was to select the truly capable people for the Mingqi Dynasty, to find the future pillars of the country.

The music and the drumbeats entered everyone's ears, full of a unique excitement and grandeur, making people's hearts surge with passion. Most of the people present were young gentlemen, in the prime of their youth and full of enthusiasm. They almost got carried away by the music, wishing they could show all their talents in front of everyone, make a great future for themselves in Mingqi, and leave a glorious mark in the history of the Mingqi royal family.

Even the young ladies couldn't help showing excited expressions. Although they couldn't enter the court and become officials like the boys, their fathers and brothers were the pillars of the country. Their families were outstanding, and they felt honored. Under this sense of glory, they also bathed in the imperial favor and were filled with gratitude.

Amidst the excitement and piety of the whole audience under the imperial grace, there was only one person with cold eyes, showing no sign of being moved at all.

Ye Lily's gaze fell on the person playing the zither in the center. The Mingqi royal family loved this kind of thing the most. They aroused the patriotic hearts of the young gentlemen, using them to work for the decadent royal family. However, in the end, once the country was pacified, these men who had shed their blood for the country rarely had a good ending.

It was like the saying "Once the cunning hare is killed, the hound is cooked." Every time a new emperor ascended the throne, he would get rid of the old officials. Especially those who had experienced the dark power - struggle during the fight for the throne, having witnessed the dirty deals and bloodshed of the royal family, how could the royal family feel at ease and let them rise in rank?

These exciting melodies would only become death - knelling songs in the future. And these young men who were now immersed in the patriotic passion would only die in the treacherous power - struggles of the royal family, becoming innocent victims.

She couldn't save everyone in the world, but she could save her own people.

Ye Lily gently raised her hand, and the corner of her right - hand sleeve instantly swept across the table. The bowl of clear tea was then knocked to the ground, and with a "snap," the clear sound rang out in the venue. Normally, it wouldn't be heard, but compared with the rhythmic music, it was like suddenly pulling one thread out of a neatly arranged bunch of threads, messing up all the other threads.

With a "bang," the rhythm of the music was disrupted.

As if waking up from a dream, Feng Anning suddenly came to her senses. She saw Ye Lily gracefully pick up the tea cup from the ground and smile slightly. "Sorry, my hand slipped."

The musicians on the stage, who were playing the intense rhythm and plucking the zither strings, felt their heads explode, almost fainting from the pain.

This kind of music was learned by the Mingqi Dynasty from a foreigner who came from overseas. It had some bewitching effects, being able to slightly stir up the emotions in people's hearts. And this piece was a battle song, which could greatly amplify the fighting spirit and the sense of loyalty in people's hearts. If the whole piece was played, some loyal feelings might even turn into blind loyalty.

The horror of this kind of music was something Ye Lily only witnessed after she became the empress. The Mingqi royal family used this kind of music to bewilder the young people, making them shed their blood for them. When the Huns invaded, the royal family had a large number of imperial guards protect the capital and recruited new soldiers to go to the border. They let these musicians play the drums and zither on the stage, and a large number of young people joined the army without looking back, some of them not even having reached adulthood.

Interrupted by Ye Lily, the musicians' momentum gradually weakened, and the final zither music was no longer as passionate as before, just an ordinary performance. And the fanatical patriotic feelings of the people present gradually dissipated, and everything returned to normal.

But Ye Lily's actions just now still attracted the attention of some people. In the men's area, Xu Hao and Liu Yan looked over together.