About an hour earlier...
Arriving at the imperial palace, everyone was abuzz. Despite knowing that it's a supposedly perfunctory welcoming banquet for the visiting princess from Spirit Valor Country, there were still hushed conversations and whispers of excitement amongst all the attendees, from the nobility, to the civil officials and even some military officers.
This wasn't purely caused by the banquet itself but more due to the countless rumors and unconfirmed news floating around the capital this past couple of days.
At that moment, there was a small commotion erupted at the entrance to the hall before it was quickly taken cared of and just as peace was restored, a resplendent beauty dressed in gorgeous clothes the color of pale pink reminiscent of soft flower petals, giving the impression of a youthful butterfly.
Despite some people's surprise, most of them were quick to recognize the young lady who just entered.
The princess of Spirit Valor Country; Ning Yan Mei.
Seeing the numerous gazes directed at her, Ning Yan Mei let her lips tilt up until a sweet yet elegant smile showed attracting a mixture of looks that ranged from acknowledgement, admiration and even envy from the other young ladies who did their best to conceal their dissatisfaction yet this was caught by her despite their efforts.
Instead, her smile became even brighter as she internally laughed at them for their reactions. As a princess of Spirit Valor Country, she had innate ability of the royal family wherein they are more sensitive to people's thoughts and emotions.
This has helped her countless times in the past when she faced visiting dignitaries and other official from her father's court along with the occasional nobleman. The only downside to this innate ability of hers is that it wasn't as strong or as accurate as her father's. If people were on guard against her then she would still fail to feel their real emotions, let alone deduce their thoughts.
Thinking about this, she gritted her teeth when she remembered her encounter with that infuriating veiled girl back at the auction house. She felt insulted at how much disregard and humiliation she experienced!
That was the very first time she ever experienced that and even just thinking about it makes her blood boil.
Of course, none of this can be seen in her face. Instead, she still had a calm, gentle smile on her lips that remained unchanged, even when she arrived at her seat and just as she sat down, she heard a series of surprised gasps, prompting her curiosity to find it's source.
When she raised her head, her gaze landed on a small group of people. A distinguished elder male, a middle-aged gentleman, three dashing young men and a beautiful lady.
Obviously the newcomers didn't have any ordinary backgrounds and their temperaments are certainly far from ordinary. From the old man who had a distinctly imposing yet restrained aura, to the mature gentleman that seemed sharp yet gentle at the same time whenever he looks at their female companion who exuded a noble yet lighthearted air about her.
As Ning Yan Mei's eyes continued to scan them, her gaze landed on the three attractive yet distinctively different young men. One was aloof and cold with handsomely chiseled features, the other was completely opposite and had softer features that some could say was too beautiful for a man yet he was much more alluring than the others with a mischievous little smile while the last who also seemed to be the youngest had a calm and scholarly vibe to him.
After staring for them for so long as they neared the place where she was seated, recognition flashed in her eyes and her heart inevitably started to beat faster.
It was them! The Fan family!
As much as she'd like to stand up and greet them, due to her status, it was inappropriate for her to just suddenly stand up and approach them.
Instead she settled on keeping her eyes on the coldly aloof young man who is the current object of her affections.
Fan Li Jie.
Despite the feeling of having such an intense gaze on him, Fan Li Jie acted as if he felt nothing and just nonchalantly averted his gaze and instead, he quickly scanned the room, searching for a familiar figure.
Noticing his actions, Fan Song Xue let out a low chuckle and murmured lowly, "They're not here yet."
With a subtle nod in acknowledgement, Fan Li Jie just calmly sat on his seat and paid no more heed to his surroundings.
On the other hand, his two younger brothers were a little more restless compared to himself.
"Father, when is Uncle Zhong, Little Xia and Little Shi arriving?" Fan Xian Liang asked.
Looking at his youngest son, Fan Hui Liang sent him a reassuring smile and replied, "Just be patient they'll be here soon."
Hearing his father's words, Fan Xian Liang felt a bit impatient but he tamped it down and just quietly drank the tea in front of him, prompting Fan Yong Rui to laugh at his sulky appearance.
They've been there for almost thirty minutes and most of the people had already calmed down from the shocking news they received when their family arrived.
When they first got here, most of the guests who were already there were dumbfounded. It has been long known to the public that the old patriarch of the Fan family has long been in a comatosed state and this has lasted for almost a decade!
To find his figure standing among his family in seemingly great health and peak condition was just an unprecedented surprise!
As soon as they sat down, countless officials and noblemen hurried to their table and offered their greetings to Fan Song Xue to which Fan Song Xue good-naturedly acknowledged and greeted back in return while indulging with some idle chit-chat with his old friends and acquaintances when they came up.
When Ning Yan Mei heard the various whispered words floating around her, she was shocked speechless.
After gathering her composure, Ning Yan Mei took a deep breath and then gracefully got up from her seat and made her way towards them while her bodyguard, the same old servant that accompanied her at the auction house quietly trailed behind her.
Seeing the princess of Spirit Valor Country making her way towards their position, the guests excused themselves one by one which let Ning Yan Mei reach them unimpeded.
"Old General Fan! This junior greets you and wish you a long and prosperous life! I have long heard of your glorious might and achievements." Ning Yan Mei greeted elegantly while cupping her hands and nodding her head slightly in respect.
Seeing her actions, Fan Song Xue's eyes flashed subtly yet it was too fast and no one noticed it before he hid them.
Studying the young girl in front of him, if he hadn't heard of her bullying his new granddaughter and eyeing his eldest grandson then he might have gotten a good first impression.
Sadly for Ning Yan Mei, this wasn't the case.
"The Princess is too kind. This old man isn't deserving of your praise." Fan Song Xue replied in neither a cold nor warm manner but there was a subtle alienation nonetheless.
Despite this, Ning Yan Mei shrugged it off and chalked it up to him being distant towards her due to them only meeting each other for the first time so she just shot a small smile before she turned her eyes to look at Fan Li Jie.
"Big Brother Li, it's been a while! I was looking forward to you accompanying me to tour around the capital." Ning Yan Mei said with a bashful smile that contrasted with her coquettish manner.
Annoyed yet left with no choice but to respond, Fan Li Jie shot her a cold and distant look.
"This Princess, please excuse me. We are not familiar and this Young Master thinks that it would be extremely inappropriate for me to accompany you as we are both unfamiliar and unmarried individuals. This Young Master suggests that you find someone else to go around the capital and play with."
"But-"
"This old man apologizes on behalf of my grandson and implores that the Princess understands our position, after all we wouldn't want any unwarranted gossip hurting the Princess' good reputation."
"I didn't mean-"
"Princess please, as I said before, we are unfamiliar. Please keep your distance and I shall do the same." Fan Li Jie reiterated coldly.
Tongue-tied, Ning Yan Mei could only nod stiffly and send an aggrieved look towards Fan Li Jie before she excused herself.
Watching the princess return to her seat Fan Yong Rui who watched everything unfold with an amused expression sighed in dismay, drawing the questioning looks of his family to which he returned with a playful and devilish smile which caused some of the nearby young ladies who saw it too blush.
"Second Brother?"
Grinning at his younger brother's confusion, Fan Yong Rui opened his mouth and turned to them with a mischievous and conspiratorial look as he subtly casted an enchantment to isolate their conversation.
"Well don't you guys think that Little Xia would've loved to see that annoying princess' expression? Our poor cousin just missed a good show!"