Firmament Sword

A coming-of-age ceremony is arguably the first and most important day in a young woman’s life.

Today was her coming-of-age ceremony. She had naturally hoped to receive the blessings of all her friends, but she hadn’t seen him in three years.

As a child, the Seventh Princess had been innocent and vivacious. She never let her physical disability make her feel inferior. Diligent and studious, she loved reading above all else, and had devoured nearly every book she could find in the palace.

When she grew a little older, she watched her sisters marry and leave the palace. For a time, she thought she and Brother Xu Luo were kindred spirits in their misfortune. ’Since Father-Emperor relies so heavily on Grand General Xu Ji,’ she had once thought, ’he’ll surely betroth me to Xu Luo.’

But she gradually came to understand that her father, the Emperor, did not like the Xu Family’s second son. He was, however, quite interested in their eldest.

Unfortunately, Xu Su had been betrothed since childhood to a daughter of another influential noble family. As the Emperor, he certainly couldn’t just tear apart their engagement.

After that, she saw Xu Luo less and less often, and gradually, few people mentioned him to her anymore.

The Seventh Princess had been holding onto one hope: that she would see him at her coming-of-age ceremony.

’He’ll definitely come!’

’When he does, I’ll ask him myself what he truly feels!’

’If you remember the bond we shared as childhood sweethearts, then I, Huangfu Shishi, will not fail you!’

’But if you’ve started to despise me for being a cripple... then I will never speak of it again!’

But he didn’t come.

A glint of moisture appeared in Huangfu Shishi’s eyes, but it was gone in an instant. A faint smile graced her lips as she raised a hand and waved gently to the crowd below.

ROAR!

A passionate uproar surged through the crowd.

Someone took the lead, shouting, ”Long live Her Highness, the Princess! Long live the Princess! Long, long live the Princess!”

A cold, murderous glint flashed in Leng Ping’s eyes. He shot a look at Wei Ziting, furious. ’Wei Ziting... How dare you shout that before I did?’

’You’re... courting death!’

But Wei Ziting was gazing fervently at the Seventh Princess on the stage, completely ignoring him!

”Long live Her Highness, the Princess! Long live the Princess! Long, long live the Princess!”

Everyone in the banquet hall joined the chant, their voices echoing as one!

The center of the banquet hall was an atrium, open to the second floor, which was lined with a ring of luxurious private rooms. All the most influential nobles of the court were seated there.

The first floor was a stage for the younger generation to shine!

Year after year, it had always been this way.

It had never changed.

Next was the coming-of-age ceremony for the Seventh Princess, Huangfu Shishi. Because she was unable to stand, the ritual was relatively simple, but no less dignified.

As the Grand Ceremony Officer announced, ”The ceremony is concluded!”

A cheer erupted from the crowd below!

The graceful and beautiful Empress sat beside the Emperor, watching the scene below with great interest. She glanced at Prime Minister Wei Feng, seated in a position of honor below them, and chuckled. ”Prime Minister Wei, your son is quite a talent. He reminds me of you in your younger days!”

Wei Feng’s old face flushed. He gave a light cough and said, ”Your Majesty jests. This old minister is well past his prime. The world belongs to the young now.”

In his youth, Wei Feng had been known to steal the show at such events. In fact, he had won his wife’s heart by publicly courting her at a very similar banquet.

Their story became a celebrated romance of its time.

The Emperor smiled faintly and gave Wei Feng a meaningful look, but said nothing more.

Now that the Seventh Princess had made her appearance, a silent competition began among the young noblemen below, all vying for her affection.

Like proud peacocks, they each fanned their beautiful feathers, trying to outshine one another.

”Young Master Leng Ping, son of Lord Leng, wishes Her Highness the Seventh Princess eternal youth! He presents... a set of the finest rouge and face powder from the Southern Celestial Divine Continent, a velvet cloak from Lake Victoria, and a Black Crystal bracelet from Black Water... May they please Your Highness!”

At a signal from Leng Ping, the Leng Family’s attendant had managed to get ahead of Wei Ziting’s man to announce Young Master Leng’s gifts for the princess.

BUZZ!

The crowd was instantly abuzz, with countless people staring at Leng Ping in disbelief.

”Gods, that’s... a bit too extravagant, isn’t it? These... these gifts... they’re all worldly treasures!”

”Not long ago, at the banquet where the National Guardian General’s Mansion accepted a goddaughter, the gifts from Phoenix, the Fengyue Tower Master, were stunning enough. But they pale in comparison to Young Master Leng’s extravagance!”

”Tsk, how can you compare a woman from the pleasure quarters to Young Master Leng? Do you even know who he is?”

”The Southern Celestial Divine Continent... I hear it’s a million miles away, on another continent entirely, separated from us by an endless ocean. I’ve heard tales of the cosmetics from there—they’re said to be the best in the world!”

”That’s right! The cosmetics from Rouge Pavilion are good, aren’t they? But compared to the finest powder from the Southern Celestial Divine Continent, it’s the difference between brass and solid gold!”

”The jewelry from Bilan Residence is expensive and exquisite, but ultimately, it’s something money can buy. But the Black Crystal from Black Water... I heard every single one contains a vast amount of Heaven and Earth Essence Qi, which is incredibly beneficial to one’s body! That’s something money can’t buy!”

”And the velvet from Lake Victoria... Heavens! The weakest of those swans are Tier Five Exotic Beasts! A cloak made from their down... This... this is unheard of!”

The nobles present chattered excitedly. They might not possess great power themselves, but when it came to appraising treasures, the people gathered in this hall represented the most discerning eyes in the entire Cangqiong Kingdom!

In fact, it wasn’t just the guests on the first floor who were shocked by Leng Ping’s extravagance. Even the great figures seated on the second floor were left speechless.

The Empress’s lips twitched slightly. She then looked at the Emperor and wheedled in a low voice, ”Later... that powder for Qiqi... ahem, Qiqi is still so young, she doesn’t need it...”

Huangfu Haoran gave his wife—over forty but still as beautiful as a young woman—a speechless look and whispered, ”My dear Empress, you are Qiqi’s mother!”

”It’s precisely because I’m her mother that I...” The Empress trailed off, glancing around the room at the other ministers who were all pretending not to have heard a thing. She cleared her throat twice and sat up straight, her posture once again perfectly dignified, as if she hadn’t been the one wheedling just a moment ago.

Wei Feng, too, was a little taken aback. He looked at Lord Leng, a profound glint in his eyes, and smiled warmly. ”Lord Leng, your family’s resources are truly impressive, to acquire cosmetics from as far away as the Southern Celestial Divine Continent. I see Her Majesty the Empress seems quite fond of it. Why not send some more to Her Majesty later?”

Though her beautiful face flushed slightly at his words, the Empress turned to Lord Leng with a look of clear anticipation.

Lord Leng was inwardly cursing Wei Feng, wishing he could dismember the man. ’You fucking Old Dog Wei,’ he raged silently, ’what do you think the finest cosmetics from the Southern Celestial Divine Continent are? Common cabbage from a nouveau riche family like yours? You think you can have as much as you want?’

But faced with the Empress’s expectant gaze, Lord Leng had no choice but to bite the bullet and force a strained smile. ”Your Majesty, it’s not that this old minister is hoarding treasures and refusing to present them. It’s truly that... this item is far too rare. The journey from our Central Plains Star Continent to the Southern Celestial Divine Continent crosses a million miles of ocean. Even with heaven-defying luck, a single round trip takes ten years... Even I have no idea where my son acquired such a thing to win the Princess’s favor...”

The Empress pouted slightly, thinking to herself, ’Old fox. You think I don’t know your family’s wealth could rival a kingdom’s?’

Outwardly, however, she offered a gentle smile and said with a serious expression, ”Lord Leng, you overthink things. I am the mother of this nation; how could I possibly solicit gifts from my own ministers?”

”Heh heh, Your Majesty is wise!” Lord Leng subtly wiped a bead of cold sweat from his forehead. He cursed Wei Feng in his heart; he truly hadn’t been lying. He really had no idea where his son, Leng Ping, had gotten those cosmetics from the Southern Celestial Divine Continent.

He resolved to go home and teach that boy a harsh lesson. ’It’s one thing to stand out,’ he thought, ’but showing off this much will only breed resentment!’

In the banquet hall, countless young noblewomen gazed at the beautiful figure in the wheelchair on the high stage, their eyes filled with nine parts envy and one part jealousy.

At the same time, many of those same young women watched Leng Ping’s tall, upright figure with fiery gazes, their eyes full of adoration.

Such extravagance... Surely no one here tonight could possibly top it.

Though there were only three gifts, who could possibly present anything more valuable?

Feeling the envious gazes converging on him from all directions, even the normally reserved and composed Leng Ping couldn’t help but feel a little elated. ’Following the Sixth Prince,’ he thought to himself, ’is definitely the most promising path!’

On the stage, the Seventh Princess, seated in her wheelchair, was also slightly taken aback. She raised a delicate eyebrow and said coolly, ”In that case, I thank Young Master Leng for his generosity.”

”Your Highness is a peerless beauty. As the saying goes, cosmetics are meant for a beautiful woman. You and these humble gifts complement each other perfectly. I... am merely offering a borrowed flower to the Buddha,” Leng Ping said with a contrived air of modesty.

Although the Seventh Princess hadn’t directly said, ”I like them very much,” Leng Ping simply saw it as the natural reserve of a proud young woman. He refused to believe any woman in the world could dislike such gifts.

The Seventh Princess smiled faintly. With cheeks like peach blossoms, she was indescribably beautiful. Every young nobleman in the hall, and even the young ladies, was left momentarily dazed by her stunning grace.

Even many of the high-ranking nobles on the second floor felt their hearts skip a beat.

What a... peerless beauty!

However, if Xu Luo, the one who knew her best, had been there, he would have certainly seen the deep-seated disdain hidden within her smile.

Wei Ziting smiled faintly and gave a slight nod to one of his men. His trusted attendant cleared his throat twice and announced, ”My young master, knowing of Her Highness the Seventh Princess’s unparalleled intelligence and fondness for ancient texts, has specially sought out several rare volumes of ancient Divine Text to present to Her Highness. He hopes that she will like them!”

Just then, someone brought forward an ancient-looking wooden tray. On it lay several extremely old scrolls, as well as a book covered in a green patina—it was made of bronze!

It was carried onto the stage and presented to the Seventh Princess.

The Seventh Princess’s eyes lit up!

Wei Ziting’s eyes lit up as well!

A flash of intense anger crossed Leng Ping’s eyes. The hand hidden in his sleeve trembled as he clenched it into a tight fist.

But at that moment, nearly everyone’s attention was fixed on the Seventh Princess, so no one noticed Leng Ping losing his composure.

”Is that ancient Divine Text? Thank you. I love this gift!” The Seventh Princess glanced at the ancient wooden tray and smiled faintly. ”Only Ten Thousand Years Agarwood could preserve such ancient texts. How very thoughtful of you, Young Master Wei!”

BOOM!

A wave of sound exploded through the banquet hall as the crowd erupted in a clamor.

------------