Chapter 669

A full ten minutes later, Empress Tina finally spoke again:

"Today, I grant a general amnesty to the realm!"

With Empress Tina's words, cheers erupted once more throughout the Imperial Capital!

Empress Tina's thousand-year birthday celebration officially began.

The birthday proceedings were much the same as those of other Emperors on the Gods' Continent.

The first segment was the recitation of the gift list.

This segment was exceedingly long, yet the nobles listened with great interest.

Especially those nobles who had given lavish gifts.

This single segment lasted nearly three hours.

When the Flame Empire's list was being recited, every noble pricked up their ears.

"One thousand bolts of silk, ten sets of porcelain, one 'Tears of the Goddess' diamond, one thousand catties of tea leaves, ten barrels of grape wine…"

The lengthy gift list—every noble listened to it very carefully.

"These are all fine things. I wonder where the people of the Flame Empire are—we must find them."

Many nobles began to scheme.

Clearly, they had all spotted the business opportunity within.

After this segment, several more segments followed, and then they entered the formal banquet segment.

A great number of court ladies appeared, presenting fine wine and delicacies.

The nobles and celebrities held fine wine, conversing as they drank—this was also a rare opportunity to expand one's connections.

"Master!"

Annie finally found a chance to walk over to the Eldest Princess's side and said joyfully.

"Annie, it's been so long."

A smile appeared on the Eldest Princess's face.

"Miss Annie seems to know those two. Duke Lauren, do you know them?"

A duke asked while chatting with Duke Lauren.

As he spoke, he casually picked up from the table a glass of grape wine that a court lady had poured for him, and took a light sip.

"What wine is this? The taste is strange."

The duke raised that glass of wine.

Only then did he discover that the wine was actually red.

"Oh, red wine."

At this moment, the duke also noticed that the wine glass holding the wine was very peculiar.

It was not the kind of wine glass they usually drank from, but rather a stemmed glass with a thin stem at the bottom!

Yet such a stemmed glass, paired with this red wine, somehow possessed a special charm.

It seemed that drinking from such a glass would appear especially… elegant!

Yes!

Just elegant!

The duke could not help but swirl the glass a few times.

This unintentional action, however, gave rise to a peculiar feeling in his heart.

It seemed that this motion was also the standard accompaniment to this wine, and to this glass.

And under the influence of these various factors, he took another sip of that red wine.

"At first sip the texture is a bit strange, sour, seemingly with a hint of sweetness, but why does it feel completely different after another sip?"

As a duke, this Grand Duke had tasted no small number of wines, yet he had never tasted one like this.

This wine was not only unique in texture, its color was also very distinctive; more importantly, when drinking this wine, one's mindset seemed to change as well.

It would give him a feeling: only this kind of wine could match his noble aristocratic status!

"Where did this wine come from?"

This question arose unbidden in the Grand Duke's mind.

"Duke Hess, Duke Hess…"

At this moment, the duke heard Duke Lauren's voice.

Only then did he come back to his senses—he had been so focused on that dark-red wine that he had actually failed to hear what Duke Lauren had said.

"Ah, how rude of me. Duke Lauren, what were you saying just now?"

Duke Hess quickly expressed his apologies.

"Duke Hess, what I was saying just now was that they are both from the Flame Empire. The one on the right is the former Eldest Princess of the Xiling Kingdom, and also Annie's former teacher—she is now a legendary-level existence. And the one on the left is the Empress of the Flame Empire!"

Duke Lauren said.

The Empress of the Flame Empire!

These words made Duke Hess's eyes widen instantly.

Now, the surrounding nobles were already quite certain about the Dreaming realm.

They knew that Meng Ying was one hundred percent Holy Domain.

And now, this Holy Domain was actually also an empire's empress!

The Flame Empire!

The name of the Flame Empire had already spread completely throughout the circles of the nobles.

A great number of nobles wished to strike up a conversation with people from the Flame Empire, so that they could purchase silk and porcelain from the Flame Empire and resell them to the Eternal Night Empire, thereby earning enormous profits.

But now, Duke Laurent told him that the powerful Saint Realm was actually the Empress of the Flame Empire!

Heaven, what is the origin of the Flame Empire!

While Duke Hess was stunned, at the banquet, an increasing number of nobles had noticed that the wine they drank for this birthday celebration seemed different!

Transparent stemmed glasses, red wine, a unique taste.

This wine, even if consumed in large quantities, does not cause intoxication — perfect for noble banquets.

Some nobles who normally did not drink but were forced to at such occasions, after sipping just a mouthful or two of this wine, suddenly realized it was nothing like other wines — it was not unpleasant at all.

These nobles instantly became interested in the wine.

If every banquet they attended featured this wine, they would find it far more enjoyable!

And when some ladies held stemmed glasses and sipped this wine, they appeared exquisitely elegant.

This wine was clearly tailor-made for the nobility!

Thus, the conversation at the banquet quickly turned to the wine.

One could say that the moment the wine appeared, it conquered every noble!

"I've seen this wine — it's the He Li presented to His Majesty by the Flame Empire; I heard it's called wine!"

At this moment, one noble recalled.

"Yes, I've seen it too — this is indeed the wine sent by the Flame Empire."

Another noble said.

"Where are the people from the Flame Empire? Has anyone seen them? I want to buy this wine — a hundred barrels… no, a thousand barrels!"

One noble, spotting the business opportunity, exclaimed!