The Ye Family Manor was bustling with high-importance people from all over the continent, there were representatives from the six royal families of the nearby kingdoms and their noble families, people from other three of the Four Great Families of the empire, owners and general managers of the biggest trading firms, and even regional management of the Alchemy Tower and representatives from the two of the Five Great Sects, both of which were on this continent, the Frozen Garden Palace and the Profound Martial Arts Valley, which rarely appear outside.
It was only natural since the influence and political power of the four great families of the Azure Eagle Empire is only second to the Imperial Family on this continent. A major celebration of such an important family was bound to be noted by everyone who means something on the continent. So not showing up here would instead be declaring themselves irrelevant, as well as making the Ye family displeased.
As the guests arrived, the person in charge of announcing the people and their status was loudly doing his job. And then~
"Soaring Feather Trading Company, company owner Sui Luxiao and her partner Wu Long"
When he monotonously, as he has been doing this for hours, announced this pair, a lot of interested gazes turned to the entrance.
Sui Luxiao was wearing a golden-colored dress that was in her usual revealing style that made her long and slender legs wrapped in dark tights and wearing high heels partially visible when she was walking. She did not wear many accessories as usual and her hairstyle was lifted, revealing an elegant neckline. Many people who knew her but did not see her noticed that she looked a lot more beautiful and even slightly younger. There was a refreshing atmosphere around her, and her sensual body gave off indescribable charm. Her root of longevity was in the process of rapid restoration, and she would soon look around the same age as Ye Ling. The woman in her also awakened and made her aura more sensual, alluring.
Wu Long was in black robes made of high-quality fabric, contrary to the common clothes he was wearing usually, very simple in design but actually made him even more handsome, as interested eyes of the female audience immediately were glued to him.
The owner of the newly re-established Exquisite Peacock Trading Company nearly spat out the wine he sipped while talking to his friends. He was among the earliest guests saying that he arrived in advance of his wife, to not be denied entry if his former wife arrived first and he would not be able to weasel his way in through the unsuspecting attendant.
There is no way that with his current status, he was qualified to be on the final banquet day, at most he should have been invited to one of the less important banquets on the previous days. The incident happened too suddenly and at the time of their celebrations so the Ye Family was slow to adjust.
He was going around all day here explaining that it was "just a temporary quarrel" and saying phrases like "Women, right? Nothing can make them happy, but everything will eventually turn normal again like always" with a rueful smile as men threw knowing gazes at him since his acting was quite good and it really seemed like a spousal antic and trivial quarrel from his attitude and words.
The news of their separation was all the rage in the imperial capital these past days, but the formal re-establishment of the companies would only be a week from now, and almost everyone believed that the situation will be resolved before the actual formal act, and the actual separation of the companies would not occur. Though it was rumored that the divorce part was already official, rumors were just rumors after all. It was a big deal, but only if the formal separation of the companies was carried through. If it was not, then it really would be just a loud, expensive, and ridiculous farce, nothing more.
Only the most influential people in the crowd, who he was not qualified to interact with, knew that the rumors were not just that, but they did not bother correcting anyone as it was beneath their level of concern.
The arrival of Sui Luxiao with a male partner, however, did make the rumors more believable, but of course not that much more since it could be an act to annoy the other side.
"Khe…Ahem…Hehe, she really knows how to get salty", the owner of the Exquisite Peacock Trading Company said after clearing his throat a bit as he plastered a wry smile on his face above the furious grimace that was about to have appeared.
Sui Luxiao did not acknowledge his presence and was not fazed by the attention, as it was bound to be concentrated on her. Her trading company had caused a massive stir in the capital and then like a wave on the continent just recently with their Qi Condensation Pill and feud with the Alchemy Tower over it. Now they are separating a large chunk of the company and practically gutting themselves almost immediately after this success.
Wu Long, because of his looks and low cultivation base was deemed to be just a handsome face, granted, a ridiculously good-looking, but a handsome face with no other traits nonetheless. Something to annoy her husband with.
The Ye Family, however, looked at him with wide eyes as they did not expect him to be present here, and in the company of such an influential figure as Sui Luxiao, no less. Ye Ling was the only one of them who merely smiled, as she already knew about this beforehand.
As they made their way, the conversations mostly revolved around Sui Luxiao and her former husband, as well as the company.
But there were foreign guests here who were also discussing other topics, and as someone interested in learning about this world, gossip of some of the most influential people on the continent was just what Wu Long needed.
"Have you heard of the trouble in the Tingren Kingdom? I heard the raids of the mountain bandits get harsher"
"That is nothing compared to the serial killer in the Fantian Kingdom, he recently even killed one of the royal…"
"Shhh! The envoy from the Fantian Kingdom may overhear you!"
"Hmph, what can they do, if they cannot even protect the sister of the king from being killed by a maniac they cannot catch?"
"You are only saying that because someone touched your nerves with those mountain bandits you cannot get under control, huh? The Tingren Kingdom people are such hypocrites…"
"Hah! The pirates near the coastal cities of your Liugwei Kingdom are roaming freely for centuries, and you can't even do anything about them! What right do you have to point fingers at others!"
"You…!"
"Gentlemen, let us not get heated, we are all guests here"
"By the way, have you heard of a piece of news from the Wood Spirit continent?"
All the local news were just different kingdoms vying for superiority in conversation by exposing the recent troubles of their neighbors, which was still beneficial to Wu Long, but news from another continent picked up his interest more than others.
The three continents had different names throughout the times, but since the three empires have gained a foothold and governed them they are generally called by the name of the empire that is based there. So the continent Wu Long currently was on was called the Azure Eagle Continent, which coincidentally was the largest of the three continents, almost the same size as the other two combined. The Wood Spirit continent was the smallest of the three, and the one that was governed by the Wood Spirit Empire.
"Yes, I heard there was a sighting of a large tree there recently, one that was miles high and its tree crown covered the sky…"
"I heard it was a legendary tree of eternal life… I wonder if…"
"No, I heard…"
The speculations and guesses of the people did not interest Wu Long, but the description of the tree was definitely ear-catching. If his guess was not wrong, the Bahshi Assassination Group was not the only entity to survive the 'great calamity'. He also had another guess, but he had to meet the Crown Prince to know for sure.
"Who is that, looking daggers at you?"
Wu Long said to Sui Luxiao who just finished greeting some acquaintances, and resumed walking through the crowd leading him by the arm he was offering her. He was pointing with his eyes at an old man wearing luxurious robes and several people around him wearing similar robes.
"Haa… that is the Grand Elder of my Sui family, one of my great uncles. He came to the capital just yesterday"
Sui Luxiao looked in the direction Wu Long was hinting at and a sigh of exhaustion escaped her as she explained. Sui family, like most noble families, were actually mostly located not in the Imperial Capital, but in their own domains, cities, or even entire provinces they ruled as sole masters.
It was the same for the Ye family, as there is no way such a powerful and long-standing clan whose members tended to live for more than 500 years would be so small. It was only because of this celebration that their now-previous patriarch and the new patriarch have come to the Imperial Capital Manor along with some key members so that the Imperial Family can attend their celebration without lowering themselves too much.
So it stood to reason that a family that was, although not as powerful as the Ye family, but still prominent in the empire had a city where they ruled as the de-facto owners of it. Sui Luxiao, due to her position tended to reside mainly here, while the Sui family was mostly run by the elders of the clan in their home territory. So the response to her actions from them was somewhat delayed.
"Are you sure you don't want my help in dealing with them?"
He asked as she did not mention anything, but her sigh and the look on her face spoke plenty of how troublesome she found it to deal with them.
"I can deal with it myself. I do rely on you with my treatment, but I have run my business and dealt with those geezers for decades before you arrived. Don't take me for a feeble woman who needs help with something as trivial as this"
She replied confidently.
He only smiled, as he definitely found this confidence and determination very attractive. He did not press this matter any further and ignored the gazes from the Sui Family thereafter.
As they went through the crowd they finally arrived at where the Ye family greeted their guests and received their congratulations.
"Greetings Patriarch Ye, please accept my sincere congratulations on your succeeding the position"
Sui Luxiao made her greetings, while Ye Fan was intensely gazing at Wu Long. The latter was nonchalantly looking back at him, finding nothing out of the ordinary with the current situation.
"Ah, this here is my companion, Wu Long, please do not mind his manners as he is not from our circle" she added after noticing the gaze.
"Hahaha, Matriarch Sui misunderstood, I was just surprised because he looked familiar, but that must have been my imagination. Thank you for coming to celebrate with us"
Ye Fan finally snapped out of it and a wide smile covered his face as he greeted back Sui Luxiao, who, despite the recent incident, was still a very important person at the moment due to the Qi Condensation Pills. He tactfully did not mention anything about her recent affairs.
As they talked a bit more, the next guests arrived to give their respects to the Ye famiily, and as they started to walk away the man by the doors to the banquet hall loudly announced, with none of the previous monotonousness seen anywhere:
"His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince of the Azure Eagle Empire, Song Minfu, and his entourage!"