Chapter 51 - The Banquet

Jiang Ying Yue stared at her feet as she could still feel many people, especially other maidservants and young ladies of the noble families, stealing secret glances at her every now and then.

The Third Prince had put on a spell on her to hide her real face before they entered the Throne Hall. That was when she realized that the man was way more powerful than he was letting others see. Not only he had great martial arts but he also possessed the so-called spiritual energy.

She recognized the energy of his powers when he was casting the spell. It was the same that she felt in his courtyard, and as far as he told her, at that time he used his powers to make the servants forget about her.

So far, other than Qing Shan and Wang Shu, he was the third person whom she has seen controlling the spiritual power.

Back in the mountains, the hellhound told her that only Immortals had such abilities and it was very hard to meet one. But so far, just in the span of a few days, she had encountered not one or two, but three people who possessed the spiritual powers.

Now she was questioning if what the hellhound told her was even true or not. If what he told her was true, then how come the Third Prince was able to use spiritual energy? Did he become an Immortal too? And why were there two other Immortals lurking in the Capital City when they were supposed to stay away from the mortal world?

She was pulled out of her thoughts when a maid approached her with a tray filled with sweet snacks. Jiang Ying Yue accepted the tray with a sweet smile before placing it on the table where the Third Prince was sitting.

Currently, everyone thought that she was someone who had been following the Prince as his maid for the past two years ever since he saved her life near the borders when she got attacked by some bandits.

Yeah! This was the story he told everyone when the Prime Minister asked about who she was since they had prepared a talented maid to serve the Prince but the latter refused their offer, using her, Jiang Ying Yue, as a shield.

Instead of the clothes that the maidservants of the Imperial Palace used to wear, she was now wearing a plain light yellow dress with a jade pendant hanging on her waist. She was allowed to keep her hair free and she even got to wear jewelry.

Even though she still caught the attention of too many people, the reason was not that they recognized her. Instead, it was because they wanted to see the personal maid of the Prince who had the luck of following him so closely and serving him day and night.

Like she wanted to serve him! If not for the fact that the useless body of her's was unable to break the seal that he had placed on her, she would never have let him order her around like his real servant.

"What are you thinking about? You are my servant. Don't keep staring at your feet. You are here to serve me, not to glare at the floor." The Prince muttered to her in a low voice, making Jiang Ying Yue grit her teeth.

Still, making a small and polite smile appear on her lips, she crouched down beside the table where the Prince was sitting and poured him a glass of wine.

Previously, he had made her check all the snacks and wine in addition to the dishes, to make sure that they were not poisoned. The dark face of the Empress Dowager and the ministers were a sight to see at that moment.

When Empress Dowager questioned him about it, this was what he said in response - "Empress Mother, you probably don't know about this but after serving at the borders for so many years, I've made a few enemies who are always eager to get rid of me. They are just waiting for the right moment. Since I'm back at the palace, they will likely think that I'll put my guard down here and they will probably use this chance to get me out of their way. But there's no need to worry, I won't let them succeed. This is just one of the precautions that I use. Hope Empress Mother and the Ministers won't mind." 

After hearing his words, no one dared to show any offense. After all, he was in danger because of fighting for the people of his country. How could anyone have the face to speak anymore on the topic?

Jiang Ying Yue offered the wine cup to the Prince who accepted it with a small twitch on his face.

She ignored him and stood up to once again take her position behind him as she let her eyes roamed over her surroundings. She still had to see any glimpse of Silver. The man had disappeared to only God knew where.

Her eyes landed on the woman sitting on the table set right below the throne. Since there was no Emperor nor a Crown Prince, she was undoubtedly the person with the highest authority in the entire Hyuang Empire, especially since all three princes had been living at the borders for the past five years.

Jiang Ying Yue suddenly felt curious to know what the woman was thinking about in her mind. So far, she appeared like someone responsible and cold but not domineering. The interactions between her and the Third Prince were not filled with warmth but there wasn't any sort of animosity either.

But Ying Yue was not someone who could be fooled by such appearances. Even though she found nothing wrong with the woman so far, her instincts were telling her that Empress Dowager wasn't as simple as she was portraying.

Her attention was pulled towards the entrance of the hall when a beautiful young lady entered while holding a cute fluffy white cat in her hands.

Silver!