Returning after a three-year escape from death, the tyrant has turned evil.

Chapter 254 Only Room for Her

When Jiang Lanye and Song Yi walked in, their hands were tightly clasped together, their fingers interlocked.

Out of the corner of her eye, Song Yi could see the gold hairpin at her temple swaying gently. She was unusually nervous, so nervous that her palms were sweaty.

The moment the two walked in, almost everyone gasped.

Consort Ning froze on the spot, staring intently at Song Yi. Why was she dressed like this tonight? Did His Majesty really intend to make her, someone with no family background, the Empress?!

The way others looked at Song Yi was a mixture of surprise, disbelief, and, most of all, envy.

I envy that she wore such a bright red dress, a symbol of the empress, and I envy the hairpins that swayed gently in her hair.

Both of them are attracting a lot of attention tonight.

"Greetings, Your Majesty; greetings, Imperial Concubine."

Jiang Lanye casually said, "It's just a family dinner, no need to stand on ceremony, please get up."

Yes, it's just a family dinner, but he deliberately had Song Yi dressed like this. Who could be so informal?
The Empress Dowager stood at the very top, her face ashen.

Consort Shen looked at Consort Ning with some surprise.

Didn't Consort Ning keep saying that the Empress's position was hers?

It seems that His Majesty should prefer Consort Yun.

Consort Ning noticed the gazes that kept falling on her, and immediately felt embarrassed. She kept her head down, looking at the delicacies on the table, but had no appetite at all.

Jiang Lanye smiled faintly: "Your subject greets Your Majesty."

Just as Song Yi was about to bow, Jiang Lanye stopped her, whispering in her ear, "It's just a family dinner, no need for formalities."

Since Jiang Lanye had already said so, Song Yi naturally couldn't bow again.

The Empress Dowager, however, looked increasingly grim.

A family banquet? Does a family banquet give you the right to be disrespectful to her in front of so many people? It was one thing to give her the Phoenix Seal without permission before, but it was just an object after all, and it would eventually end up in the right person's hands.

But Song Yi deliberately dressed up like this tonight, showing it to everyone!

"Your Majesty, this is no child's play. Do you think this is something to joke about?"

Jiang Lanye had Song Yi sit beside him, and said in a calm tone, "Your Majesty, I have never treated Consort Yun lightly. Tonight's arrangement is also my intention."

The Empress Dowager took a deep breath, squinted at the dazzling gold hairpin in her hair, and said in a serious tone: "Ah, if you want to wear the crown, you must bear its weight. This symbolizes the Empress's position. It's not something that can be made a dream come true just by wearing it."

Song Yi frowned, about to speak, when Jiang Lanye continued:
"Even if I were to weave this beautiful dream myself, is that not acceptable?"

His tone suddenly turned cold, and he no longer referred to himself as "your subject" when addressing the Empress Dowager.

The Empress Dowager's expression changed several times, and she stopped speaking.

Song Yi is beautiful and charming tonight.

Many people below would look up at her from time to time and see Jiang Lanye personally serving her food and pouring her water, and always watching her very considerately to observe her reactions.

It's hard to believe that their emperor was actually this kind of person.

The palace maids brought out tea and sweet wine. Jiang Lanye saw that everyone had arrived and gave a brief explanation, basically saying that he had been feeling unwell for some time and had taken a good rest, and that he was now completely recovered.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and the atmosphere in the hall improved considerably.

Suddenly, a clear and melodious sound of string and wind instruments rang out. Song Yi squinted her eyes and vaguely heard the sound of a zither. When combined, she couldn't quite tell what instruments were making the sounds.

The Empress Dowager smiled slightly.

In the blink of an eye, several palace maids dressed in gorgeous dancing dresses escorted one person forward.

Song Yi glanced at the Empress Dowager. Sure enough, the Empress Dowager wouldn't miss such an opportunity at a family banquet.

Palace maids, like stars surrounding the moon, escorted a woman dressed in a scarlet gauze dress as she gracefully arrived.

She glanced at it twice and realized that she had completely forgotten who she was.

Just as she was about to ask Jiang Lanye, Jiang Lanye's voice came first: "Yiyi, who is she?"

Song Yi: "."

She looked at Jiang Lanye with utmost seriousness: "These are the concubines in your harem. You don't even recognize them, so how would I know?"

The two were interrupted by music. A melodious zither tune rang out, and the woman's flowing sleeves fell like clouds, revealing a bright and beautiful face.

She touched the ground with her toes, her skirt blooming like a flower, her waist tracing a graceful arc.

Song Yi immediately put down her chopsticks, rested her chin on her hands, and looked at Jiang Lanye with a smile.

Jiang Lanye immediately turned to look at her.

"Why are you looking at me? Isn't this dance good?"

"do not know."

He responded readily, then reached out and wiped the corner of her lips.

Song Yi grabbed his hand: "Don't give me that, I just wiped my lips with a handkerchief, there's nothing there."

Jiang Lanye chuckled softly, grabbed her wrist with his other hand, and gently rubbed his thumb against her palm: "I'm looking at you, not at the corner of your mouth."

Song Yi's ears burned, and she was about to pull her hand away when he suddenly pulled her closer.

As the music reached its climax, the skirts of the women blossomed, creating an exceptionally beautiful scene. Even Song Yi couldn't help but glance at them out of the corner of her eye before Jiang Lanye grabbed her chin.

"Not focused?"

Song Yi immediately looked away and whispered, "Jiang Lanye, someone is already watching us. This dance is for you, so at least take a look."

She nervously tugged at Jiang Lanye's sleeve.

Jiang Lanye gently stroked her chin with his fingertips: "In my eyes, there is only room for one person."

He paused, then continued, "Besides, someone looks beautiful tonight."

He had just drunk some wine, and his body smelled of sweet wine, making him appear more languid and carefree. The music around him grew increasingly rousing, but he kept his eyes fixed on Song Yi.

The hall was brightly lit. He squinted, and in his drowsy, drunken state, he said softly:
"Even the thousand lanterns in the nine-layered palace cannot compare to you."

His gaze gently traced Song Yi's silhouette illuminated by the lamplight, his voice low and lingering: "Not as beautiful as the shimmering spring water in your eyes."

Although the sound was not loud, it reached the ears of the Empress Dowager.

She looked at Jiang Lanye in disbelief, unable to believe that this child, who had always seemed so indifferent to her, could so easily utter words to make a woman happy.

What "thousands of lamps, shimmering spring water"? Could these words really have come from Jiang Lanye's mouth?

The woman dancing in the center of the hall noticed that Jiang Lanye's gaze wasn't on her as she swung her sleeves, and she panicked for a moment, her dance steps becoming a little erratic.

Song Yi's cheeks burned. It would have been one thing to say these things in private, but to have so many people around...
Jiang Lanye leaned back lazily in his chair, a few strands of black hair hanging loosely over his forehead, making his eyebrows and eyes appear exceptionally deep.

When he squinted at Song Yi, his eyelashes cast a shadow under the light.

Song Yi's heart was pounding wildly.

How come she never noticed before that Jiang Lanye was like this when he was slightly drunk? This man was more captivating than anyone she had ever seen in her life.

(End of this chapter)