Chapter 77
Chapter 77
The poor sucker of a guard from the Duke’s Mansion had received the mission to steal the electric scooter. Hiring some legendary thief from the martial world was clearly unreliable, so he had no choice but to come in person.
Who would have thought Ye Piaoling would actually get her hands on a chain meant for locking up prisoners? No matter where the Divine Donkey was parked, she chained it firmly to a pillar.
There was simply no way to make a move!
In the blink of an eye, the day of the birthday banquet arrived.
Duke Anguo and the Heir were celebrating their birthdays on the same day. Duke Anguo’s Mansion was packed with guests, and all their political allies had come to offer congratulations.
Xiao Mei wore formal attire and exquisite makeup, basking in the envious gazes of the crowd.
She had planned this entire banquet herself, from beginning to end.
As a lost-and-found Princess, Xiao Mei desperately needed a grand occasion to display her abilities and status. On the surface, it was a birthday celebration for her father and brother, but in reality, it was meant to win herself admirers.
Dali had no imperial princesses, so Xiao Mei felt that as a Princess, she ought to be the top star of the imperial capital!
This birthday banquet had been arranged with extraordinary luxury. The promotion had been done in advance, and the decorations on the day itself were full of thoughtful details. From the stage to the wine and dishes, even down to the tables, chairs, and tableware, every corner reflected the host’s wealth and nobility.
The guests showered the event with praise.
Xiao Mei’s lackeys seized the opportunity to flatter her shamelessly.
“Duke Anguo’s Mansion is so gorgeous and extravagant. Coming here is like entering the heavenly palace!”
“I heard this banquet was personally arranged by the Princess!”
“The Princess is truly intelligent and refined, with exceptional taste!”
Xiao Mei swept her gaze over the crowd and discovered that besides Ye Piaoling, two other classmates had not come.
One was Ximen Chunqiu, and the other was Hua Wuhuang.
Xiao Mei frowned and sneered.
Ximen Chunqiu had long since become hopelessly obsessed with cultivation. As soon as he got home, he locked himself in his room and cultivated like a madman. Even if the sky fell, he would not come out.
As for Hua Wuhuang, everyone thought Hua Wuhuang was Ye Piaoling’s close friend. With that withdrawn personality and awful temper, it was better if Hua Wuhuang did not come!
The only thing Xiao Mei was worried about was the guard who had gone to steal the electric scooter. The banquet had already begun, yet the scooter still had not been stolen…
At that moment, the guard tasked with stealing the vehicle was about to cry.
The Divine Donkey was protected so tightly that he could not complete the mission at all. There was no way he could go back and report!
In desperation, the guard suddenly came up with a compromise. Since Miss Ye had the Divine Donkey, she must have other treasures too. If he could not steal the Divine Donkey, then he might as well steal something else and use it to atone for his failure!
So while Ye Piaoling was not home, he secretly slipped into Falling Petals Courtyard.
There was no one in the room, only a fish dancing in its tank.
The guard felt around by the head of the bed. Good things were usually hidden beside the pillow.
After fumbling for a while, he found something round and smooth. The texture was extraordinarily unusual!
The guard’s heart leaped with joy. As expected, there was a treasure!
He pulled it out and saw that it was a dark-green sphere, like two turtle shells fastened together.
The guard had never seen such a strange object before.
Although he had no idea what kind of treasure it was, time was tight. He could only bring this back and report…
At Duke Anguo’s Mansion, Xiao Mei was already growing impatient.
The gift she had promised to give her brother still had not arrived, and Xiao Mei felt somewhat embarrassed.
Just then, the guard finally returned.
Xiao Mei hurriedly called him into an empty side hall and asked, “Where is the Divine Donkey?”
The guard replied, “Reporting to the Princess, Ye Piaoling seemed to be on guard. The Divine Donkey was watched extremely closely. This subordinate truly had no way to act…”
After hearing this, Xiao Mei was just about to fly into a rage.
The guard quickly said, “However, this subordinate risked his life to steal another treasure from her room. I hope it can make up for my failure.”
With that, he took out the hand grenade and presented it to Xiao Mei.
Xiao Mei frowned. “What is this?”
The guard said, “This subordinate has never seen it either. Perhaps it is some rare kind of spirit stone?”
“Spirit stone? Do you take me for a fool?”
Xiao Mei gnashed her teeth. “I told you to get the Divine Donkey, and you bring me this turtle shell to fool me? Something this ugly, and you dare call it a treasure?”
The guard hastily knelt on the ground. “This subordinate deserves death!”
Xiao Mei was furious. “I don’t have time to deal with you right now. Hurry up and throw this piece of junk away!”
The guard said, “Throw… throw it away?”
“Yes. Throw it into the latrine!”
Xiao Mei shouted in a fit of rage, “Isn’t this Ye Piaoling’s thing? Her things only deserve to be thrown into the latrine!”
The guard took a thorough scolding.
He felt wronged but did not dare explain. He could only carry the hand grenade and walk outside the latrine.
To be fair, he truly felt this was a treasure. Unfortunately, the Princess judged things by appearance and insisted on throwing it into the latrine.
The guard sighed. He had gone to so much trouble to steal it, and now he was honestly a little reluctant to part with it!
Unable to let go, he fiddled with the oval object in his hand, then tugged at the ring on top. Still, he could not figure out anything special about it.
In the end, he could only follow the Princess’s order. With a swing of his hand, he reluctantly tossed it into the latrine…
The banquet had already reached its climax. Cups clinked, wine flowed, and the guests praised the event again and again, saying that even the grand banquets in the palace did not have such a magnificent scene.
Xiao Mei watched it all with smug satisfaction.
The birthday banquet had been such a success. Now everyone would know how capable and virtuous she, the Princess, was!
Duke Anguo was also very pleased. He said with gratification, “Mei’er, you planned this birthday banquet entirely on your own. You have worked hard.”
Xiao Mei smiled and said, “It is only right that I do this for Father and Brother. There will even be a fireworks performance later.”
Before she had finished speaking…
“BOOM!!!”
A deafening blast suddenly came from not far away.
Immediately afterward, many things sprayed into the air, glittering with golden light across the sky-
The guests were all stunned and raised their heads one after another.
It was not even dark yet. Had the fireworks performance already begun?