Lin Hu Xi was around 11 years old, but he had a proud look on his face as he greeted his aunt. Smiling yet not smiling, he performed his greetings flawlessly.

Feng Ning watched everything from the back, amused by their performances, but she said nothing. She had no place to even interfere and joined in their conversation. After all, she was nothing more than an outsider.

In this party, she was nothing more than a spectator.

Spectator.

It might sound like a good word, but it was nothing more than someone who was staying at the shadow and being unnoticed. In the end, all that she could do was to watch as others interacted and showed off their skills.

‘I like this silence, though.’

With no one bothering her, Feng Ning was watching her mother battle of words with the other Imperial Family members. She took the sip of the tea while noticing that Feng Quan was trying hard to maintain her smile.

‘Did she notice someone?’ Feng Ning glanced to the side naturally and noticed a group of people were staying not far from them. Being able to sit in location near the Imperial Family only showed that their statuses were not bad.

Unfortunately, Feng Ning didn’t know everyone.

They would only introduce themselves later on when they reached that segment.

“His Majesty, Her Majesty, and Her Highness Princess Mei Ni had arrived.”

The moment the eunuch announced the Emperor’s arrival, everyone stood up from their chairs and kowtowed to the ground. Feng Ning followed their movement and noticed that the atmosphere turned tense almost immediately. The stifling atmosphere reminded her of her school days when the principal suddenly appeared.

It was fear and respect.

“We greets Your Majesty, long life Your Majesty.”

“Rise.”

The Emperor’s voice was low and pleasant to the ear. At the same time, it carried hint of bloodlust that he didn’t even bother to conceal. Some children were trembling and stifling their tears from the moment the Emperor had arrived.

Feng Ning took a deep breath as she raised her head for a brief moment before lowering her head once more. She only took a brief look, but she had seen the Emperor’s face. He didn’t look that much different compared to her mother, around 60 to 70 percent similar. However, his eyes were exceedingly cold that Feng Ning didn’t even want to look at him anymore.

Just that brief moment had made Feng Ning felt as if she was meeting with someone who glanced at everyone here as if they owed billions to him. It was not a nice feeling.

As for the Empress… she was a beautiful woman. However, she never gave birth to any child for the Emperor and was probably nothing more than a figurehead. However, the air that she exuded still gave out the word authority.

Princess Lin Mei Ni was the only surviving younger generation.

As for why Feng Ning called her that way, it was obviously because she had heard that there were countless imperial concubines who had died in the past decade. Not to mention, there were also various attacks directed at the children who were born for the Emperor that many of them didn’t survive even for a month.

It was a brutal battlefield.

And the Emperor did nothing to even stop them.

Probably because not a single one of them was a son. That was quite an unfortunate luck for him.

Cruel and cold blooded. That was the only description that Feng Ning could give when she saw the Emperor.

“Today marks New Year and this time there are a lot of vassal kingdoms have sent their regards. This banquet is also to welcome them all.”

Ah right…

Lin Tang Kingdom was a powerful kingdom that also ‘claimed’ many areas as their vassal. Those who didn’t want to obey were destroyed one by one until this time, where everyone was basically forced to follow them. With the power that Lin Tang Kingdom’s hold, Feng Ning had no doubt that this kingdom would be heading towards its peak soon.

Of course, that was only if the Emperor could hold onto his chair.

‘What in the world am I thinking….’

Feng Ning lowered her head and focused on eating the food in front of her. For some reasons, she couldn’t help but think that the peace she had right now was nothing more than being superficial. It was a fragile peace that could be broken so easily.

“Imperial Cousins.”

Hearing the cheerful voice, Feng Ning’s body stiffened slightly. She raised her head and made sure that she put on a blank look as she looked at Princess Mei Ni who came towards them.

Lin Mei Ni.

The only child of the current Emperor who survived. It was needless to say that her mother was a favored concubine and that she managed to survive this long was not mere luck. She was also a very capable person.

Lin Mei Ni was only a year older than her, making her being only 7 years old. Nevertheless, Feng Ning recognized the gaze that Lin Mei Ni held when she was looking in their direction that appeared for a split second.

Disgust.

Feng Ning pushed her feelings down and showed a foolish smile. “Imperial Cousin Mei Ni.”

Beside her, Feng Quan and Feng Zhu Liu also suppressed their expression as they greeted Lin Mei Ni politely.

“This is the first time we meet with each other. Imperial Mother taught me that I should be polite, so I have prepared presents for all of you,” Lin Mei Ni said with sweet tone.

Feng Ning was utterly speechless. Did this Lin Mei Ni think of herself as an elder? The way she conducted herself would make her look as if she was looking down on her and her sisters.

Though, Feng Ning didn’t care that much.

“Your Highness, isn’t it a bit too much? I didn’t prepare anything for you.” Feng Ning looked troubled.

Feng Quan’s eyes burned with fury while Feng Zhi Liu was more interested in what kind of present they were.

Lin Mei Ni smiled, her expression still looked like that of a sweet girl. “It’s fine. I’m the one who want to stay close with all of you. Do you perhaps dislike the presents?”

“Not at all, Imperial Cousin.” Feng Quan forced a smile. However, she was older than Lin Mei Ni, so how could she not understand the intention of her cousin? It was as if she was telling them that she would always be above them in terms of seniority.

She was infuriated, but she couldn’t possibly lash out in this kind of place.

Feng Ning and Feng Zhu Liu also expressed that they didn’t mind as they accepted the present.

“That’s good.” Lin Mei Ni curtsied and didn’t stay there any longer before returning to her parents. It was time for them to watch the performance and to make sure that they all enjoyed the night.

Feng Quan snorted as her grip tightened. It was clear that she was dissatisfied with this arrangement, but what could she possibly do?

She was nothing.

‘So this is a person from the Imperial Family.’

Feng Ning looked at the three people on the highest seat as smiled faintly. In the past, she often watched historical drama and always felt awe to these people who could live their lives in this complicated place.

Now that she had seen them.

She understood that it was not like they wanted to be like that. But if they wanted to survive, they had no other choice but to grow up to be the scheming ones.

If they failed, they would die.

As simple as that.

‘The most glorious place is also the dirtiest place.’

Feng Ning closed her eyes as she lowered her head once more. Now that she was born in this kind of family, she felt that she was really unlucky.