Feng Qingtian said with a smile, “You do know how to entertain yourself, grandmother.”
The empress dowager laughed. “I’m entitled to some fun at my birthday celebration. There won’t be too many rules. Whoever wants to participate can step up.”
Gu Bailu bit into the cake that was on the table; it was terrible. She put it back on the plate.
The food on the table had long grown cold since it was winter. Because of her lack of experience, she didn’t know that she should have eaten something before coming to the party.
She was pretty hungry at this point.
“Mother, the winner should have an award,” suggested the emperor.
“Whoever defeats five opponents can request something of me.” The queen wasn’t petty at all.
The ministers were delighted. If they made a good request, their families would be able to gain a lot.
Immediately, descendants of some of the greatest families jumped out. Some from the ministers’ families joined the game as well.
Three rows of candidates stood on the empty ground in the square.
Gu Bailu glanced at them and asked Ah Luo, “Which one do you think is the strongest?”
“My lady, none of them is strong. They can’t even defeat me.”
Gu Bailu patted her head and said, “Good girl, Ah Luo. Do you want to try?”
“No, I don’t.”
“Then are you hungry?”
Ah Luo nodded. “Very much.”
“If you defeat five of them, you can ask the empress dowager to give us the most delicious food. You’ll enjoy it…” said Gu Bailu enticingly.
Ah Luo’s eyes sparkled. “I’m going!”
She shouted in delight, then quickly jumped into the crowd.
She was younger and shorter than all the other candidates, so she was particularly eye-catching.
“Whose family is she from?” The empress dowager didn’t recognize her.
Gu Bailu stood up and said, “Your Highness, she’s with me.”
The empress dowager glanced at her and sighed, “You again…”
Gu Bailu was bummed by her “why are you everywhere?” tone.
It wasn’t her fault that the empress dowager happened to spot the candidate from the Gu family.
“Yes, it’s me again,” replied Gu Bailu with a fake smile.
“Is she capable or not? Not everybody can join this game,” said the emperor in dissatisfaction.
Gu Bailu smiled. “Your Majesty, the empress dowager didn’t say that no one from the garbage’s house could join this game. As for whether or not she’s capable, you’ll soon find out.”
She sat down after saying that.
The emperor’s neck turned red with anger, but he couldn’t scold this piece of insolent garbage.
He was the emperor, and had to maintain the demeanor of one.
The queen glanced at Prince Zi, who seemed to be examining the contestants and wasn’t paying any attention to this woman.
The queen patted the emperor’s shoulder and said, “Just give her a break and focus on the game. They’re all the hope of our country.”
The emperor swallowed his rage and said, “I understand, mother.”
Altogether, there were twenty-four participants in the game.
They were divided into twelve groups to fight one another.
Ah Luo was quite upset. “I want to fight five at the same time!”
She was hungry, and planned to defeat five of them and then ask the empress dowager for food.