Chapter 204: Zhu Xuan

With the arrival of Yu Hongxi and Lu Qinger, the banquet officially began, and accompanied by the light and cheerful sound of instruments, the atmosphere inside the banquet hall became even more lively.

Yu Hongxi wore a smile as she clinked glasses and sipped with the guests who came forward to offer their congratulations, then glanced at Lu Qinger's position behind her; at this moment, she was surrounded by many young talents, and young people like Zhu Xuan, Ning Zhao, and Wang Hejiu could all be considered the cream of the crop among their peers.

"Hehe, President Yu, what do you think of that boy of mine?" From the side, the Master of the Extreme Flame Mansion, Zhu Qinghuo, asked with a smile.

Yu Hongxi smiled and said, "Zhu Xuan certainly has the potential to surpass his predecessor."

Zhu Qinghuo laughed, "I think he and Qinger are quite a good match."

Yu Hongxi glanced at him, shook her head, and said, "Let us elders not meddle in the affairs of the younger generation; if they truly have mutual interest, it will not be too late to give them a push then."

Zhu Qinghuo's eyes flashed; Yu Hongxi's words were vague, but she did not reject the idea outright, clearly implying that if Zhu Xuan and Lu Qinger were truly interested in each other when the time came, she would not stand in their way.

Knowing this was, in fact, enough.

Zhu Qinghuo raised his glass with a smile; the Golden Dragon Treasure Bank was a powerful force with vast financial resources, and if the Extreme Flame Mansion could draw closer to them, it would naturally be a tremendous boon.

Of course, if he could win over Yu Hongxi, the President of the Golden Dragon Treasure Bank, that would be the most perfect outcome, but unfortunately, Zhu Qinghuo was well aware of how thorny this beautiful woman before him was, and even he did not dare to harbor any ulterior motives to provoke her.

Yu Hongxi clinked glasses with Zhu Qinghuo and smiled, "The Golden Dragon Secret Keys this time are actually intended to select a few outstanding young people to accompany Qinger into the 'Golden Dragon Dojo,' and when young people go on adventures together, it always enhances their mutual affection."

As a Mansion Master, Zhu Qinghuo naturally understood the deep meaning behind Yu Hongxi's words and immediately laughed, saying, "President Yu, rest assured, I have already instructed that boy of mine that he must compete with all his might."

Yu Hongxi nodded with a smile; she would, of course, not tell Zhu Qinghuo that she had actually mentioned similar things to the elders of other young talents as well.

Her hidden motive for doing all this was nothing more than having noticed her daughter's budding affection for Li Luo, and that this affection showed signs of gradually increasing.

Regarding such matters, Yu Hongxi was naturally opposed; not to mention the complex grievances between her and Li Luo's parents, the mere fact that Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e had a betrothal was enough for Yu Hongxi to flatly reject it.

Regardless of whether this betrothal was in name only, Yu Hongxi would not accept it.

However, Yu Hongxi was not the type of overbearing and arbitrary parent; she knew that if she directly forced Lu Qinger not to have contact with Li Luo, it would not only be ineffective but would instead provoke the girl's rebellious nature, and if she stirred up other trouble, it would be even more of a headache.

In her view, Lu Qinger's affection for Li Luo was mostly because they had attended the same academy back in Tianshu County, where Lu Qinger had not seen many outstanding peers, which was why she focused on Li Luo.

But now that they were in Daxia City, the center of the Daxia Kingdom, geniuses here were as numerous as carp crossing a river, countless in number.

Coupled with her own promotion, Lu Qinger would be able to come into contact with more outstanding peers, and in time, Lu Qinger's affection for Li Luo might gradually fade.

Therefore, she had never explicitly opposed Lu Qinger's affection for Li Luo from beginning to end, but she had chosen a different approach.

For instance, the Golden Dragon Secret Keys this time...

If people like Zhu Xuan and Ning Zhao could obtain the secret keys and accompany Lu Qinger on this trial, their relationship would improve significantly, and perhaps by the time the trial ended, Lu Qinger's affection for Li Luo would have gradually worn away.

By then, she would not only be rid of these worries, but Lu Qinger would also not harbor any resentment toward her.

It could be called the best of both worlds.

As for whether Li Luo might also obtain a Golden Dragon Secret Key... that boy was still only at the first stage of the Resonance Master realm, right? While Zhu Xuan, Ye Qiuding, Ning Zhao, and the others were all at the third stage of the Resonance Master realm.

No matter how monstrous that boy was, he couldn't possibly reach that level, could he?

"Qinger, happy birthday."

Amidst the crowd that surrounded her like stars around the moon, Wang Hejiu showed a sincere smile to Lu Qinger: "I hope you won't take to heart what happened at the academy before."

Although she did not care for Wang Hejiu in her heart, Lu Qinger would not show anything on this occasion, so she just smiled and nodded, having no intention to say much more to Wang Hejiu.

She spoke reservedly with Zhu Xuan, Ning Zhao, and the others beside her, and after a moment, her gaze drifted toward a certain direction, and then she gave an apologetic smile to the others: "I'll go greet some others first."

After Zhu Xuan and the others nodded, she walked with light steps toward the direction where Li Luo was.

Wang Hejiu watched her slender back and sighed helplessly, saying, "She must be going to find Li Luo again; they had a very good relationship when they were in the academy."

Ning Zhao frowned and said indifferently, "Qinger and he are just ordinary friends, and after all, they both came out of the Southwind Academy, so it's inevitable that their relationship would be a bit better."

Wang Hejiu smiled slightly, his folding fan gently fanning in his hand: "Perhaps, but in the academy, Qinger would sometimes even help that Li Luo buy breakfast."

Ning Zhao's eye twitched, and his expression turned slightly ugly.

Zhu Xuan, who was on the side, smiled calmly: "Qinger lived in Tianshu County before, where what she saw and heard was subject to some constraints; now that she has arrived in Daxia City and has more exposure, some of her past ideas will inevitably change."

"If one can obtain a Golden Dragon Secret Key this time and accompany Qinger to the Golden Dragon Dojo for a visit, then some situations will naturally change."

His expression was calm, and a sense of confidence surged between his brows.

Ning Zhao glanced at this Zhu Xuan, and some wariness and vigilance rose in his eyes; after all, as a fellow student in the Two-Star Hall, he was well aware of Zhu Xuan's excellence, and if he really let him take advantage of the situation to get close to Lu Qinger, then his own chances of success might plummet.

"This President Yu is really something, why bring out the Golden Dragon Secret Keys for no reason..." Ning Zhao complained inwardly; his father was also a high-level official in the Golden Dragon Treasure Bank, with a status second only to Yu Hongxi, so like Lu Qinger, he could directly possess a Golden Dragon Secret Key. Originally, according to his plan, he was supposed to be the one to accompany Lu Qinger into the Golden Dragon Dojo this time, and by training together, he might have been able to take the opportunity to open Lu Qinger's heart.

But now that Yu Hongxi had intentionally brought out the Golden Dragon Secret Keys, this undoubtedly created many powerful competitors for him for no reason.

However, no matter how much he complained, he could not make Yu Hongxi change her decision, so he could only grit his teeth and accept it.

While they were each harboring their own thoughts, Lu Qinger had arrived at where Li Luo and the others were with a wine glass in hand.

"Greetings, Princess, Senior Sister Jiang." A faint smile appeared on Lu Qinger's clear and moving face as she raised her glass to the two women.

"Junior Sister Qinger."

Facing the protagonist of the day, the Princess and Jiang Qing'e both raised their glasses to offer congratulations.

Li Luo also followed suit and raised his glass.

"There are many guests, and my hospitality has been lacking; please do not take offense."

Lu Qinger said politely to the two women, then looked at Li Luo and said, "I actually invited Yu Lang, Zhao Kuo, and the others, but they all declined."

"They probably don't like this kind of occasion, it's not that they didn't want to come," Li Luo explained.

Those who could come here were almost all famous noble families and major forces in Daxia; Yu Lang and Zhao Kuo's family backgrounds were relatively ordinary, so letting them come to such a place would instead make them feel somewhat uncomfortable.

Lu Qinger nodded slightly and said, "I understand."

"When the holiday ends and we go back to the academy, I'll find them to celebrate with you then," Li Luo said with a smile.

Lu Qinger's eyes brightened imperceptibly, and she immediately said reservedly, "We'll see when the time comes."

She paused, swept her gaze around, and said softly, "Are you interested in that Golden Dragon Secret Key?"

Li Luo smiled frankly, "Among those here who are at the Resonance Master realm, I'm afraid there is no one who wouldn't be interested in it, right?"

Lu Qinger nodded; in fact, she had originally intended to ask Yu Hongxi for an extra one directly, but she hadn't expected the Golden Dragon Secret Keys to be used by her mother as a birthday prize, which made it a bit difficult for her to speak up.

"Then good luck," she could only encourage him.

Li Luo nodded with a smile.

While the two were talking, on the side, the Princess's gaze drifted, glancing at the calm-looking Jiang Qing'e, and then a look of keen interest appeared in her eyes.

This Li Luo is truly just like his father, so favored by many famous noble young ladies of the Daxia Kingdom.