In the main hall, there were many boxes and items that could only be considered luxurious and glorious. There was not a single thing that did not glow beautifully.
Usually, Cao Fenfang did not care about picking gifts for others. The only time that she really did care enough to pick a gift was for her master, but even then she did not really give much thought. This was going to be the exact same.
Although she has already established a well-partnered relationship with many of the wealthy and powerful in the capital, she really wanted to hold a connection to the Ninth Prince. This was mainly because, in the capital, the only person with enough power to protect her could only be him - not even the emperor.
This was because emperors could not be trusted. However, the ninth prince could be trusted as he has a long reputation for not having many friends and allies. There are many rumors that say anyone who has betrayed him has never managed to live and that he does not give second chances.
Well, this was perfect for Cao Fenfang because that would mean that their personalities were not too far apart. Not only that, she had no plans to take over or control the capital in any way. She was simply wanting to overthrow her biological family and give herself enough power so that she could live until retirement.
"Boxes," Cao Fenfang ordered Uncle Zheng.
Hearing that, he motioned all of the servants to open every single box and show them in a neat line to Cao Fenfang.
With that done, Cao Fenfang walked past every single box and gave them all a glance. By the end, she pointed at an ordinary wooden box.
"Miss, would His Highness be happy with this?" Uncle Zheng asked with an unsure expression on his face.
After all, the box looked too ordinary compared to the rest of the boxes, and even the items in there seemed to not be glowing gloriously compared to the other items in the fancier boxes.
"He will," Cao Fenfang answered in a confident but flat tone.
Although the items in the box looked ordinary, they were in fact something that no longer existed - with her being the only person to have them. In the box, there were three items: a book, a black robe, and a piece of jade. However, all of these were super rare items that could no longer be found.
The book was old and perhaps over a thousand years old, looking super worn and torn, but this was the only book left from the very first dynasty of the continent - written by the first emperor. The black robe was a famous robe left behind by a general who conquered an empire to save the people from a rotten emperor. As for the jade, it was a jade that changed colors following the sky: black at night and white at daytime - it was also good for helping identify poisons.
Having decided the birthday present for the prince, Cao Fenfang asked, "Any more matters?"
"Miss, I feel that as the master of the bank, is it not best to give His Highness a golden card?" Uncle Zheng asked, wondering why Cao Fenfang would give something at face value when currently they wanted to find a deep-rooted ally in the capital. "If Miss gives His Highness a golden card, His Highness would be the most important customer, receiving the best service and protection."
"He has no need for something he already has," Cao Fenfang stated and then turned around to leave the hall. "Clean up."
The servants saluted to her order while Uncle Zheng also followed her out to lead her to the master hall.
When they reached her room, she immediately dismissed him after asking when the birthday was going to occur. And of course, being the "on-time" person that she was, she came just on time as the birthday feast would be held tomorrow.
And yes, after getting to her room, she ate, bathed, and then went to sleep without looking at any business accounts or reviews. Well, this was mostly due to the fact that she only looked at the monthly account books and had others to help with issues and problems that may occur. In the end, she just hated having to deal with minuscule things compared to others.
On the next day when waking up, Xiao Xiulan came to help her change out of her sleepwear and put on the many layers of clothing that she always loved to wear.
Cao Fenfang left the capital six years ago in tatters and did not care about hiding her appearance. However, after the event three years ago where a Jianghu big boss tried to chase and force her to marry, she began to wear veils and multiple at that in order to hide the beautiful appearance that attracted people left and right.
She also used to love wearing black as her favorite color was black. However, after her grandmaster died, she began to only wear white as a sign of respect for him. At first, the clothes were simple with not even a single strand of embroidery, but as time went on, she knew not to grieve for long and only continued the colors but ordered for her clothes to be more exquisite and refined - still showing her respect, but to also stop her grieving.
In Yong Rui Hall…
Forced by his father, Shi Huang sat on the seat just below the emperor to show that he was the birthday boy. If he could, he did not want to attend this birthday feast at all. However, he really could not reject his father as his father was the only person in the world who truly did love him - even if it was merely out of guilt.
At this time, every person who has been invited should already be here. This gave Shi Huang great relief. Thank god he is one step closer to leaving this annoying feast.
At the same time that Shi Huang was getting annoyed at the many nobles sitting at the tables below him, his father the emperor said in a very quiet voice, "Huang'er, see if there are any noble ladies that you like."
Currently very angry and annoyed, Shi Huang gave a simple response, "Unnecessary."
Hearing that, Shi Zian, the emperor stated, "You're now twenty-four and without a wife. Even if there are no concubines, there should at least be a consort."
Shi Huang internally sighed at the words his father said.
Just at this moment, Eunuch Fu came to inform Shi Zian, "Your Majesty, there is one missing guest."
"Who?" Shi Zian asked, wondering which noble was capable enough to dare be late to the birthday of his most beloved son.
"Master Cao," Eunuch Fu answered.
However, just at that moment, the eunuch guarding the door announced, "Welcoming Master Cao!"
The moment that the eunuch announced, every person in the hall held onto their breaths and looked at the entrance of the hall.
For the longest time ever, no one knew who Master Cao was nor did they know who was the boss of the Continental Bank. This was especially so for the capital as not once had there ever been any news of a big Cao person in the capital. In fact, due to the mysteriousness of the bank, everyone was already glad enough to just know that the boss was called Master Cao.
Walking in, was a person dressed in all white and covered in veils. Based on the clothing, they all knew that it was a woman. However, just as always, Master Cao was still covered in mysteries.
"Master Cao, this emperor thought that you would not be coming seeing as you are coming in late," Shi Zian said, showing his unhappiness at her late appearance.
"Apologies, I didn't want to wake up wanting to kill people, so I made sure to sleep enough," Cao Fenfang honestly gave him her excuse that was completely true.
For the first time ever, people were able to get another glimpse into who this Master Cao was. Apparently, it was a very graceful and elegant woman, and when she spoke, her words were never too loud nor too quiet - perfectly soothing to the ears.
However, hearing her honest words, Shi Zian had nothing to respond with besides thinking in his head, 'Her sleep is more important than my son's birthday?'
Just as Shi Zian thought that things would not go any more unexpected, he heard his son giving a low chuckle.
Since the day his mother died, he has never laughed and never smiled. Yet, because of the words that she spoke today, he gave a true sound of happiness. Shi Zian seemed to no longer feel unhappiness at the fact that she came late anymore.
"It is fine as long as Master Cao managed to make it to my birthday," Shi Huang excused her and showed a rare smile that no one had ever seen.
To that, Cao Fenfang did not respond and merely gave a simple bow of thanks before sitting down at her arranged table.