Chapter 393: Birthday Presen (1/2)

t

The next day, the birthday of the Qinghuang Kingdom’s king had officially begun. Jian Chen was woken up early by Qin Ji, and the two left together to congratulate him.

The palace was especially lively today. Many influential lords and nobles came to personally congratulate the king on this happy occasion. All sorts of political leaders and major powers came and in short, everyone was of some importance.

The Qinhuang Kingdom held a lot of power and was second only to the Three Great Empires. Within the continent, the Qinhuang Kingdom was already considered one of the highest powers. Thus, every single territory within the kingdom and even the subsiding powers bordering the kingdom had sent men with gifts in order to celebrate this happy occasion. If it were not a lord or princess, it was a prime minister that came, even several Imperial Advisors had come to pay their respects.

Directly walking toward the main palace hall, Jian Chen and Qin Ji both saw well over a thousand people standing around. Each one wore gorgeous robes or were figures that were well known throughout the kingdom.

A wave of maids could be seen walking around the place with small platters of food in order to serve the guests.

“We greet the third prince!”

“We greet the third prince!”

……

Upon seeing Qin Ji arrive, many of the people there began to cup their hands in salute with extremely respectful greetings.

Greeting them all with a kind smile, Qin Ji responded amiably without any sense of arrogance.

Jian Chen followed behind Qin Ji silently. He was perfectly content not being in the limelight and did not wish for the spotlight to be put onto him.

The nobles within the palace naturally paid very little attention to him. The vast majority only believed that Jian Chen was an attendant to Qin Ji and didn’t spare him a second glance. The other part of the crowd took a neutral stance, but some noticed that Jian Chen was not any ordinary person. He was neither servile or overbearing in nature and carried himself with a graceful manner. Despite his age, he walked with a steady step that even a mountain could not attest to. Some of the stronger men in the room could even tell there was a strong pressure coming from him, causing them to look on in shock.

“Strange, why is it that I feel as if I’ve seen that man walking behind the third prince before? Just where did this feeling come from?” One of the more richly dressed men stared suspiciously at Jian Chen as he muttered to himself.

He was not the only person to have this hunch. Several other men within the palace had this same exact suspicion. They felt that he was a stranger, but they still couldn’t shake off this feeling.

“Brother Jian Chen, feel free to go rest somewhere, I still have several people to greet.” Qin Ji spoke apologetically toward Jian Chen.

Today was the 50th birthday of his father so the king could not greet any of the people himself. However, these men were all high ranking people, some from the surrounding kingdoms. They couldn’t be received by just anyone, so the children would have to take up the mantle.

Even this was considered to be a good opportunity for the prince to get to know people. It was with that excuse that they could make a foundation for political support when the time came to fight for the throne.

Jian Chen was neither a child nor an ignorant farmer from the thatched villages. He understood clearly just how important this gathering was for Qin Ji and did not argue. Taking a small snack to eat, he began to stroll to the closest corner of the room before enjoying the delicious tasting pastries.

Just then, a cyan robed middle-aged man sat down right next to Jian Chen. Nodding with a smile toward the eating Jian Chen, he spoke, “Fellow brother, have we seen each other somewhere before?”

Jian Chen lifted his head to look at the man. Seeing that the man was unfamiliar to him, he shook his head, “You must be mistaken. Perhaps I look like someone else?”

Still skeptical, the man nodded his head, “Perhaps so. My name is Tie Muzhuang, what might your name be?”

Jian Chen laughed, “This one is just a nobody and not even a member of the Qinhuang Kingdom. My name won’t be recognizable by sire even if this one speaks of it.” Jian Chen finished off the pastry and left to go get a new one.

After Jian Chen had left, Tie Muzhuang narrowed his eyes in doubt, “An unknown nobody? Is that really the truth? Why do I feel that I’ve seen you from somewhere?” Even with his mutterings, he had been unable to think of an answer, so Tie Muzhuang had no other choice but to leave as well.

“His Majesty the king has arrived!”