Chapter 55 Who Are You Looking For

The Empress quickly reached out to grab Duan Qianqian, but failed to catch her.

A dead silence filled the air, and an awkward atmosphere began to spread.

"..."

"..."

The Emperor and the Empress looked at each other in dismay, never expecting that Duan Qianqian would suddenly pull such a stunt.

"Ahem, ahem," the Empress gave a couple of light coughs, wildly shooting glances at Duan Qianqian in hopes that she would shut up immediately and pretend her previous words had never been spoken.

In the past, the Empress might have helped her niece play matchmaker. But now Feli was already in a relationship, and his little female was even present at the ball. For Duan Qianqian to press herself forward so inappropriately was tantamount to asking for humiliation.

The Emperor turned his head to discuss official business with Feli, awkwardly changing the subject.

The matter could have been brushed past just like that.

However, Duan Qianqian was not satisfied.

She stepped closer, trying to take Feli's hand, and urged him in a coquettish voice, "Lord Marshal..."

It was one thing to reject her romantic advances, but was she not even worthy of a single dance? With her status and beauty, she had never been rejected like this by any male.

Males naturally chased after females. Since Feli was still unmarried to this day, she refused to believe that he had no desire for females whatsoever!

Feli sidestepped the hand Duan Qianqian reached out, and refused politely yet decisively, "I apologize, I have some official business to discuss for the moment. There are many excellent males here, and I wish you find a suitable dance partner."

Before Duan Qianqian could continue to pester him, the Empress quickly pulled her aside and whispered, "Enough, say no more. The Marshal already has a female he likes, and he won't invite you to dance."

"What?!" Duan Qianqian wore an expression of sheer disbelief.

She arched her brows in surprise for a moment, then curled her lip, "But he isn't married after all, so I still have a chance."

She didn't mind snatching someone away from another female; after all, this was the one and only Marshal Feli, and he was worth fighting for.

Besides, she didn't believe for a second that Feli really had a female he liked.

Feli's coldness emanated from his very bones. Who on earth was capable enough to melt such an ancient iceberg?

In her view, it was utterly impossible for Feli to fall in love with any female; he must have made it up to brush off her suitors.

Yet since the Empress had intervened, Duan Qianqian had no choice but to randomly pick a male who looked pleasing to the eye to dance with.

Even while dancing, her gaze remained fixed with bitter unwillingness on Feli's tall figure, never moving away.

The lighting was soft as mist, shifting and transforming, while the air was filled with the scent of perfume and the rich, mellow fragrance of wine.

The soothing music drew to its final notes, and the dance came to an end.

Before the start of the next dance, Duan Qianqian changed partners, turned around to search for Feli's figure once more, and suddenly her expression changed drastically—

Feli had actually walked onto the dance floor!

Like a drop of water falling into boiling oil, it instantly caused a huge commotion.

At the mating banquet, most people spent their time exerting their own charm and had no heart to observe others' movements, but this was Marshal Feli!

It was already a miracle that he had graced this ball with his presence; could it be that he was actually going to dance with someone?

Countless enthusiastic gazes locked onto Feli's direction in unison, eager to find out what exactly he was about to do.

Seeing Feli walk toward Zion and Nian Tu, some people sighed and shook their heads, thinking to themselves that it was just as expected.

They had known Marshal Feli couldn't possibly dance with a female; as it turned out, he was only going over to find his nephew Zion.

Nothing to see here, time to move along. There was no excitement left to watch.

The drumbeats gradually grew lively, the music swelled, and the next dance was about to begin.

Just as everyone was about to look away to find their own partners, they saw Feli exchange a few brief words with Zion, and then he actually turned toward Zion's dance partner, bowing slightly to the petite and adorable female to invite her to dance.

！！！

Oh heavens！！

Everyone gasped in astonishment, staring unblinkingly at this shocking scene.

No uncle would invite a younger relative to dance at this banquet—this was a mating ball, after all! The significance of a male extending an invitation to a female was self-evident!

Marshal Feli and his nephew Zion actually liked the same female!

This was bound to be the number one headline dominating all major media outlets for at least the next two months!

Duan Qianqian's face turned dark instantly, and she glared fixedly in that direction.

That little female... could she be the person Feli liked?!

She certainly had a pretty face, a slender waist, fair arms, and a pitiful charm—she was indeed the type males liked. But Feli wasn't an ordinary male; with how cold and merciless he was, could he really be attracted to such a female?

Zion was still standing beside Nian Tu, not stepping away.

Two premium males with similar facial features, equally tall statures, but completely contrasting temperaments surrounded Nian Tu from left to right, making her look all the more deeply pampered.

Duan Qianqian couldn't help frowning as she looked at the males beside her, feeling more and more that they were utterly incomparable to the uncle-nephew duo of Feli and Zion. She raised her hand and rudely pushed them away, "Get lost!"

As it happened, the aristocratic male who had previously been matched with Nian Tu by the monitoring system was among them.

He had been trailing behind Duan Qianqian trying to curry favor for ages, and just as he finally got close to her, he suffered a ruthless expulsion.

The aristocratic male was like a deflated balloon, filled with dejection. He slunk off to the side in a miserable heap, dejectedly raising his head to look at the focal point of the crowd—

Was that... Nian Tu? The aristocratic male stared at Nian Tu with wide eyes, unable to believe his own eyes.

Didn't she lack spiritual power? How could she attend this palace ball, which only A-grade females were permitted to enter?

Yet thinking of Feli's status and power, it made complete sense for Nian Tu to have smuggled her way into this ball under his influence.

The aristocratic male sighed.

Though the ball had progressed this far, he had yet to win the favor of a single female, whereas Nian Tu was drawing the attention of the entire crowd.

Right at that moment, Nian Tu spun through a dance step, turned her head back to the side, and caught sight of the aristocratic male. The familiar face made her pause slightly, and then she narrowed her eyes and smiled at him, considering it a distant greeting.

A jolt ran through the aristocratic male's heart, and he silently lowered his head.

His previous sense of superiority vanished into thin air, leaving him with a slight sense of inferiority.

Feli reached out to straighten Nian Tu's face, wanting her to look only at him and not bestow smiles upon other males.

Although it was an overbearing gesture, Nian Tu didn't find it annoying at all. She raised her little face to look at Feli, curving her lips to reveal pretty little dimples as she smiled back at him.

Feli's deep, amber eyes overflowed with a hint of intoxication.

He held Nian Tu's hand tightly, reluctant to let go even after the dance ended, and continued to monopolize Nian Tu while ignoring the dissatisfaction of Lu Zhan and Zion.

Lights intertwined, and fragrant robes rustled.

"Who are you looking for, Niannian?" Feli pulled Nian Tu closer into his embrace, asking in a low voice.

He had noticed that Nian Tu seemed to be glancing around, yet she wasn't looking at Lu Zhan or Zion.

Nian Tu hadn't expected her lack of focus to be discovered. She flushed slightly with embarrassment, clung to Feli's shoulder, and confessed honestly, "I was thinking of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince..."

She hadn't forgotten that the reason this palace ball had sent her an invitation was because the Crown Prince, an SS-grade male, was on the verge of losing control, and she might potentially awaken S-grade spiritual power to save him.

Yet until now, the Emperor, the Empress, and the other princes had all made their appearance, but the Crown Prince alone was nowhere to be seen at the ball.

"Is His Royal Highness someone someone of your caliber is fit to think about?" A disdainful, cold scoff suddenly rang out.

Nian Tu stiffened all over and looked toward the direction of the voice—

A female wearing a red evening gown stood there with her arms crossed, looking at her with a raised brow.