Chapter 22.1 - Birthday banquet
On January 10th, the birthday banquet of the First Prince and Second Prince of the Empire was held at the Imperial Palace at exactly twelve noon.
Those miscellaneous media reporters were not invited to the coming-of-age ceremony. Only two official reporters and photographers from the Empire Central Channel were present to shoot and report the occasion. The media will only broadcast a small subset of edited photos and videos, which are reviewed in advance by His Majesty. Because the event wouldn’t be broadcast live, there was no need for the guests present to be too cautious.
Many guests had already arrived by 11 a.m.
Military and political officials knew each other from other occasions and previous banquets, while it was the first time for the business world to attend the princes’ birthday. Many business leaders came to celebrate the coming-of-age ceremony of the two princes. After arriving, everyone gathered in twos and threes, exchanging greetings, creating a happy atmosphere.
Mo Qiming brought Mo Han to attend. After all, he is a figure on the Empire’s wealth list. Many people have heard of his name. In addition, KM Airlines’ new generation spaceships recently dominated headlines, and after the press conference, many people were also deeply impressed by Mo Han.
People gradually came over to say hello, and Mo Qiming shook hands politely.
Those who can participate in this banquet occupy the top of the pyramid, whether in wealth, status, or influence. No one is easy to offend, whether it’s the President of the Congress, the Minister of Defense, the Head of the Senate, or the generals of the major armies. Naturally, no one was ignorant of current affairs, and everyone was very polite and welcoming.
Most of the people who came to say hello to Mo Qiming also praised Mo Han with lines, such as: “Your son is really a good-looking talent.”, “President Mo, you really have vision.”
Mo Han maintained a smile the whole time with great grace. He also gained something by following his father to meet many legendary characters.
Based on the time, it’s now half past eleven, and the First Prince and Second Prince have not appeared yet. As the protagonists of today’s birthday celebration, they should appear soon.
At this moment, there was a commotion in the crowd. Several men in military uniforms appeared at the entrance of the hall. One of them was wearing a black military uniform with five gold stars on his shoulders. He was followed by a man in a midnight blue military uniform, a few centimeters shorter in height, but not lacking in aura and his expressionless appearance was particularly cold. Behind them was a handsome young officer with a smile on his face.
When the three of them walked forward, all the guests around immediately gave way to them.
Mo Han was wondering who they were, when his father leaned over to explain in a low voice: “The one in black is the commander of the Legion of Glory, Marshal Rosen of the Empire. The one in the blue is the commander of the Night Legion, Ling Yu, the only omega general in the history of the Empire. Both of them followed His Former Majesty and participated in the military’s suppression of the chaos back then. The two of them have played an indispensable role in the lasting peace over the Empire.”
Mo Han has also heard many stories about Marshal and General Ling Yu. He greatly respected the two seniors, especially Ling Yu, the omega general, who was Mo Han’s idol.
The person who followed them looked quite similar to the two of them. He should be their youngest son, Major General Ling An.
Sure enough, Mo Qiming immediately followed up with, “The one behind is Major General Ling An. He is young, but he inherited his father’s abilities and has already earned many military achievements. He was promoted to the rank of Major General in his twenties, and is very promising. He is also the younger brother of the queen, Lin Yuan, and also Luo Fei’s uncle.”
Major General Ling An does have the temperament unique to a soldier, with good facial features and a tall and straight posture. His training and participation in battle also made him a little more calm and resolute than the average alpha, and is very different from the alphas Mo Han regularly interacts with in the business world..
Just as he was thinking, he suddenly found that Ling An had actually walked in front of him. Mo Han immediately came back to his senses.
Mo Qiming took the initiative to say hello, “Major General.”
Ling An smiled slightly and said, “Mr. Mo, I heard of your name a long time ago. It’s our first time meeting, and your name precedes you.” Ling An looked at Mo Han who next to Mo Qiming, and said gently: “This is your son, Mo Han?”
Mo Qiming nodded and said, “Yes, I brought him here to learn more.”
Mo Han politely bowed to the other party: “Hello, Major General.”
Ling An looked at him appreciatively: “Having vision at such a young age, and it is said that you are still a programming genius? A tiger father does not produce a dog son indeed.”1Ling An is complimenting Mo Han for being very skilled with the tiger father/dog son comment
Mo Han said humbly: “The general overpraised me.”
Ling An didn’t say much, just smiled slightly, and turned to follow his fathers inside.
Regardless, Mo Han is only twenty years old, and was actually very happy to receive a compliment from Major General Ling An on such a solemn occasion.
At 11:40, all the guests were seated in turn.
The seats were carefully arranged, guests from the military, political circles, and business circles sat separately, and Marshal Rosen and General Ling Yu naturally sat at the top.
Mo Han followed his father to a table near the throne. The royal family’s birthday banquet has a lot of rules, and is not as casual as the Mo family celebration for his grandpa. After being seated, the guests also consciously quieted down, no one dared to make noise on such an occasion.
At twelve o’clock, the protagonists finally appeared.
His Majesty Xize and Queen Lin Yuan walked in front arm in arm, brothers Luo Fei and Luo Ning followed behind them, and behind them was a row of royal guards in white military uniforms.
All the guests in the banquet hall stood up collectively and bowed neatly to His Majesty Xize as a royal salute.
Xize walked all the way to the throne, sat down side by side with Lin Yuan, smiled slightly and said, “Everyone, no need for these formalities, take your seats.”
Luo Fei stood by His Majesty’s side, Luo Ning stood by the Queen’s side. This family is really good-looking, Mo Han couldn’t help noticing when he saw this–
Today’s Luo Fei seems very different wearing the complicated royal uniform. Exquisite gold detailing wrapped around the cuffs and hem, and the combination of black and gold was luxurious and noble. Because of his tall stature and handsome appearance, the complicated uniform didn’t look tacky on him at all; on the contrary, it made him radiant.
Luo Fei indeed had the appearance of being the First Prince of the Empire.
Standing beside His Majesty, he is tall and slender, with a smile on his face. The smile is different from the cheeky, cute smile when acting in front of him – it instead revealed a magnanimous gentlemanly demeanor as he stood beside the throne, looking at the guests with gentle and calm eyes. The man on the throne is his father, and he will be the future heir to the Empire. At this moment, Mo Han really felt that he had the demeanor of a prince and heir to the throne.
Today, he no longer has the immaturity and youthfulness of a teenager, and has transformed into the First Prince – noble, elegant, calm, and even contains a hint of a ruler’s authority. Standing next to his father, he commanded respect from the guests, and the eyes of many younger omegas, who followed their elders to the banquet, shone.
The thick-skinned guy in Mo Han’s memory who claimed to have an ordinary family background, and was a graduate of Hermann University, is completely different from the Luo Fei in front of him.
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1Ling An is complimenting Mo Han for being very skilled with the tiger father/dog son comment