The seats on the altar were rearranged. The old Emperor, of course, sat in the highest seat. He was, after all, the most powerful person there. He was nervous though, sitting still, and alert like he was on pins and needles. He had no empress, which left the seat next to him for Lady De. She was aging, like the pearl becoming yellow, plus she had no power, and her son died, so, there was no longer any justifiable reason for her to be sitting at his side.
Below the Emperor and his concubine, Lady De, Qin Liuren sat to the right and Xi Zhiyao was on the left. Next to Xi Zhiyao sat Shui Minghan who had no title yet. Compared to the powerless Prince Xiaoyao of the Jin Kingdom, the ranking the most favored sixth Prince of the Lie Kingdom had was inferior.
Yang Gezhi sat on the opposite side of Shui Minghan. Qin Liuren was innocently placed next to Yang Gezhi, not knowing the situation, but, as the saying was, "When rivals in love should meet, they will fight until one of them dies." Yang Gezhi was impassive, while Qin Liuren felt quite uncomfortable. He grew more impatient when he thought about the flirtatious scene that happened only moments ago, between Yang Gezhi and Yun Canglan.
Below them, were the princes and princesses beloved by the old Emperor. In the Ling Kingdom, seats were arranged according to the Emperor's favor instead of ages unless they had a formal title. The Emperor loved Yang Tianyun and Yang Tianxin above the others, so they sat in front of those princes and princesses with no titles yet.
Yang Tianxin deserved the seat. 'She had a relationshi
ost rational of the four men who were in love with Yun Canglan.
"There must be quite a lot of girls infatuated with you, Prince Qingzhuo. You have unparalleled manners and deportment. Is there any good news today?" Xi Zhiyao hated seeing Yang Gezhi's cold yet tender smile, especially when he was simpering over Yun Canglan like just now.
His words held depth for Qin Liuren and Shui Minghan. They looked at Yang Gezhi and then, through eye contact, they agreed with Xi Zhiyao to handle Yang Gezhi first. They hated him leering at Yun Canglan.
Yang Gezhi replied with a tender smile, "I don't care who loves me. I do care for her heart." He scanned the faces of the other three men, which enraged them.
"Mister Yang, have you considered she may have a lover already?" Shui Minghan sneered, his eyes were opened wide. He nursed the jealousy he felt towards Yang Gezhi.
Yang Gezhi gave an unabashed chuckle saying, "She used to say, 'Behind every successful woman, there is a supportive man. If she accepts me, I won't mind being one of her lovers.'