Chapter 202: Celebration

The banquet was held in a mansion connected to the grounds of the Long Baoxing. As the representative of the phrase "wealthy and influential" in the Great Xia Kingdom, Yu Hongxi naturally spared no effort in the scale and momentum of her daughter's birthday banquet.

Before the mansion, there was a constant stream of carriages and horses, with guests arriving in an endless flow.

Here, one could see the vast majority of the Great Xia Kingdom's top-tier powers; the major estates and noble clans almost all had various business dealings with the Long Baoxing. Coupled with the Long Baoxing's long-standing neutral stance, if one were to speak of having the most friends, it is likely that no second house could be found in this Great Xia Kingdom.

The Astral Sage College certainly had the ability and qualifications, but the Astral Sage College did not make friends with any power. If the Long Baoxing was known for its social finesse, then the Astral Sage College radiated a sense of aloofness.

Of course, there was also the Great Xia Royal Court; as the orthodoxy of Great Xia, all parties held a certain degree of reverence toward it.

Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e stepped down from their carriage, drawing quite a few gazes. Most were directed at Jiang Qing'e, as her fame in Great Xia City was far greater than Li Luo's.

However, the eyes of some noble young ladies also swept over Li Luo, and their eyes could not help but brighten slightly. After all, his appearance was quite outstanding; that face, which inherited the fine traditions of his parents, though still carrying a hint of youthful greenness, was spirited and radiant.

That head of gray-white hair gave him an even more unique temperament, drawing frequent glances from some of the young girls.

As for the surrounding gazes, Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e did not pay them any mind, instead casting their eyes directly toward the mansion gate, where two graceful figures were welcoming the guests.

They were Lu Qinger and Yu Hongxi.

Today, Lu Qinger was wrapped in a light-colored dress that clung to her well-developed, curvaceous young body. The legs beneath her skirt were straight and slender, appearing even more rounded and delicate against the backdrop of white silk stockings.

Her dark hair hung down smoothly, resting on her small waist, swaying gently in the breeze and releasing the unique youthful vitality of a young girl.

A faint smile hung on her beautiful and moving face as she accepted the praises of the many distinguished guests.

Beside Lu Qinger, Yu Hongxi was, as usual, in a red dress, looking beautiful and moving. Compared to Lu Qinger, her temperament appeared much more mature. However, due to her high position, her brows and eyes radiated a certain sense of oppression, making people afraid to let their gaze linger on her for too long.

Standing together, the two did not look like mother and daughter, but rather like sisters.

Lu Qinger followed her mother in receiving guests, a flawless smile on her small face, though this smile was somewhat formulaic—until, at one moment, her moving gaze suddenly caught sight of Li Luo stepping off the carriage.

And so, a glimmer of radiance bloomed in those eyes.

Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e also walked up at this time, handed their invitation to the attendant nearby, and then bowed slightly to Yu Hongxi: "Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e of Luolan Mansion have come to offer our congratulations."

A smile hung on Yu Hongxi's beautiful face. Her gaze sized up the two, especially Li Luo, and as she looked at this young face from such close proximity, her narrow eyes narrowed slightly.

He really looked too much like Li Taixuan.

At the same time, there were also traces of Tantai Lan.

Thinking of these two, some complex emotions could not help but well up in Yu Hongxi's heart. She then chuckled and said, "Thank you for your trouble, honored guests."

"Please, come inside."

Her attitude was polite, without appearing overly intimate.

"I will take you in," Lu Qinger, who was to the side, said with a smile.

However, Yu Hongxi looked at her with feigned reproach and said, "You are the protagonist today, and there are still guests behind. How can you just walk away? That would be too impolite."

Lu Qinger complained, "I'm not really doing anything here anyway."

Finally, Li Luo laughed: "It's fine, you stay here and welcome the guests first. We will go in first and chat later."

Having said that, he and Jiang Qing'e ascended the steps and entered the mansion first.

Lu Qinger withdrew her gaze from Li Luo's back, and immediately noticing Yu Hongxi's eyes fixed on her, she quickly composed her expression and reminded her in a calm manner: "Mother, more honored guests have arrived."

Yu Hongxi smiled and did not expose the child's little trick, instead turning a smile toward the approaching guests.

Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e walked into the mansion; inside, it was decorated with lanterns and colored streamers, and the coming and going of people made it extremely lively.

"How was it? You can consider yourself to have met Yu Hongxi now," Jiang Qing'e asked.

"She has a feeling of being unfathomable; it's very stressful," Li Luo said honestly. Although Yu Hongxi was all smiles and her attitude was beyond reproach, Li Luo could faintly feel a sense of oppression.

"She is, after all, a Marquis-level powerhouse. In terms of strength, she ranks among the top in this Great Xia. Plus, she controls the Long Baoxing, has a cloud of experts under her command, and possesses astonishing financial resources. If you really want to talk about it, even the current Princess would be a notch below her. Don't be deceived by her beautiful and moving appearance," Jiang Qing'e said with a faint smile.

"But I feel she seems a bit... cold, or rather, repelled by me?" Li Luo nodded and then said.

Jiang Qing'e's lips curved slightly as she tilted her head to look at him: "Who told you that your face carries the shadows of Master and Mistress? If there is anyone in this Great Xia who could make Yu Hongxi lose her composure even slightly, I'm afraid it would be those two."

Of course, she vaguely guessed there was another reason, but she hadn't told Li Luo yet.

Li Luo was speechless. The grudges of the previous generation had to be dragged onto the younger generation. It seemed that although this President Yu Hongxi was a strong woman, she couldn't avoid being a bit petty.

Of course, this could only be said in his heart.

"Lu Qinger seems to have had some changes this time as well."

Jiang Qing'e changed the subject: "The faint cold air radiating from her is several times purer than before. If I am not mistaken, her Ice Resonance should have already been upgraded to the eighth grade."

Li Luo's footsteps paused, somewhat shocked: "Eighth-grade Ice Resonance?"

This was the first time he had seen with his own eyes someone upgrade their own Resonance from the seventh to the eighth grade, because he knew very well just how difficult this upgrade was.

One must know that others did not have his talent to use Spirit Water and Strange Light without limit. For Lu Qinger to want to upgrade her Ice Resonance from the upper seventh grade to the eighth, it meant that she had likely been refining and absorbing seventh-grade Spirit Water and Strange Light ever since she awakened her Resonance.

"There is nothing strange about it. Seventh-grade Spirit Water and Strange Light are indeed expensive, but is that difficult for Yu Hongxi, who controls the Long Baoxing?"

"She has sufficient financial resources, and the Long Baoxing grants her enough resources. As long as she wants, Lu Qinger's supply of seventh-grade Spirit Water and Strange Light will never be cut off," Jiang Qing'e said.

Li Luo sighed. What could he say? He could only say that Yu Hongxi was truly too wealthy.

If he also had a Long Baoxing to squander at will, he felt that his dual Resonances would probably have already stepped into the seventh grade by now, right?

As the two spoke, they had already reached the outside of the most brightly lit pavilion, and just as they arrived, they saw a figure walking out from within.

"I saw you two earlier; what are you talking about?" A soft, laughing voice came over.

Li Luo looked up at the tall, graceful figure walking out, and just that one rough glance at the magnificent waves was enough for him to understand who had come.

Besides the Princess, who else could it be?