Peaceful Farm Life

Chapter 448: Chapter 448: Longevity Beyond Roads_1

Xiao Changyi said, ”Do you really want them to be together?”

An Jing shook her head, ”That’s not it. But if the two of them are truly in love, I do hope they can be together.”

Xiao Changyi said, ”Everything is predestined by fate.”

An Jing originally did not believe in such things, but thinking of the relationship between her and her husband, she started to believe in destiny, nodding her head, ”One can only go with the flow.”

...

The next day, the twelfth of September, was the Emperor of Xiyun’s fifty-third birthday. Everyone in the palace was so busy they were practically flipping upside down, every nerve strained for fear of making the slightest error. Only An Jing and Xiao Changyi were leisurely, even taking a stroll together in the Imperial Garden.

By the time An Jing and Xiao Changyi arrived at the birthday feast, most of the guests had already arrived. Everyone was presenting their birthday gifts to the Emperor of Xiyun, a countless array of precious and rare treasures.

Those with less wealth at their disposal also brought gifts that were presentable, like Prime Minister Li, who had been a Top Scholar in the Three Vein Exam and the first in the history of Xiyun, a feat that had shaken the entire realm. His literary prowess was undoubtedly extraordinary. He composed a congratulatory birthday poem for the Emperor of Xiyun, twenty pages thick and without a single repeated phrase, which delighted the Emperor when he saw it.

Hand in hand, An Jing and Xiao Changyi entered. Upon seeing Changyi, everyone intended to greet him or pay their respects, but seeing the two of them holding hands openly, they were first taken aback before they hurriedly greeted Changyi and An Jing or paid their respects.

Xiao Changyi paid no mind to those greeting him or paying their respects, as if they didn’t exist at all. An Jing, however, regardless of not knowing these people personally, responded to each with a smile, displaying great generosity and propriety.

”Elder Brother, Sister-in-law, you’ve finally arrived,” Su Chengyu came over to them, looking relieved.

As he approached them, Su Chengyu lowered his voice to a volume only they could hear and said, ”Father was asking about you repeatedly, he was almost ready to leave all these people behind to find you.”

An Jing, sweating.

Xiao Changyi wore an expression of disdain.

Noticing that Xiao Changyi was carrying a scroll, Su Chengyu was very surprised, ”Elder Brother, you’re actually bringing a birthday gift for Father?”

An Jing, sweating even more. It turns out, it was normal for her husband not to bring a gift...

Xiao Changyi ignored Su Chengyu and, pulling An Jing along with him, headed straight for the Emperor of Xiyun. The Emperor was sitting at the highest place, and where everyone had been kneeling down one by one to present their birthday gifts to him, they immediately made way for Xiao Changyi to go first as soon as they saw him approach.

Watching Xiao Changyi’s air of unconcern, An Jing could imagine how unrestrained he must have been in the palace before.

Of course, this unrestraint was indulged by the Emperor of Xiyun himself. With the Emperor not saying a word, who would dare to speak?

But this way, it was indeed exhilarating.

An Jing chuckled secretly in her heart.

The Emperor of Xiyun, seeing Xiao Changyi arrive, was very happy, and the smile on his face immediately grew much broader.

Seeing the Emperor’s genuine smile, everyone else was envious but could only sigh inwardly: The King of Eternal Victory is truly favored.

The Emperor of Xiyun had thought Xiao Changyi would proceed directly to his designated Prince’s seat as usual, but—

”This son/daughter-in-law wishes the Emperor all the best and a life longer than the longest road,” Xiao Changyi and An Jing called out loudly before kneeling together and kowtowing deeply in a birthday salute to the Emperor of Xiyun.

In their eyes, the person at the highest place was not the Monarch, but their father. One kowtows to the heavens, the earth, and one’s parents; on Father’s grand birthday, it was right to kneel.