The grand celebration was in full swing, but the protagonists were nowhere to be found, leaving the court officials anxiously stomping their feet.
They searched inside and out, finally finding the two on the upper balcony, only to be blocked by Monkey himself with, "We're watching fireworks. Very busy."
The officials were dumbfounded.
If it were just the Handsome Monkey King, that would be one thing—but even the usually composed Holy Mother simply stood by, giggling, not uttering a word to admonish such outrageous behavior.
Vaguely, the officials sensed the world was about to change, and hurriedly reported the matter to Chancellor Louis Quickpaw in the grand hall.
Louis Quickpaw's reaction upon hearing the news was truly remarkable.
He craned his neck and whispered to Shortbeak, who was sitting across the low table yawning, "Could it be—a wedding is about to happen?"
As he spoke, his eyes flicked toward the door.
Shortbeak was stunned for a moment before finally responding, "You mean... those two, are, uh, doing that?"
"That's my guess," said Louis.
They exchanged a knowing smile, immediately moving their cushions together and starting to chatter excitedly.
At the other end of the hall, Isabel Su watched the two with narrowed eyes, "What's going on with those two? They were at each other's throats not long ago, and now, even if they're not holding grudges, shouldn't there be some awkwardness? How did it become..."
Beside her, Blackie, gnawing on a chicken leg, quickly looked in the same direction and clicked his tongue, "Maybe they're just drunk tonight?"
"Drunk?" Isabel glanced sideways at Blackie.
"When the wine flows freely, old grudges fade away, right?"
Isabel rolled her eyes, "That's you. Those two aren't the type to settle things with just a bowl of wine."
Blackie could only shrink his head in embarrassment.
After thinking for a moment, Isabel whispered to Blackie, "Why don't you go toast them, help me find out what they're talking about?"
Blackie hesitated briefly, then nodded, "Alright! I'll go right now!"
Wiping his mouth, he grabbed a whole jar of wine and staggered over.
News that the Handsome Monkey King had left the banquet to watch fireworks with the Holy Mother quickly spread throughout the main hall. Even before Blackie returned with his report, Isabel Su had already guessed what Louis Quickpaw and Shortbeak were discussing.
Before long, every demon in the hall was debating the same question.
"Do you think they really might...?"
"I guess so. Remember those old rumors that the King and the Holy Mother were actually... that close? Looks like those stories weren’t just made up after all."
"Exactly, I think so too. Otherwise, why would the Holy Mother—a human—help the King and help our Blossom Mountain rebel against Heaven?"
"Makes sense. So, Blossom Mountain is about to celebrate two happy events?"
"I think so. The King is a man—he can’t bring it up. The Holy Mother’s the woman—even harder for her to speak. As loyal subjects, we ought to understand their intentions." As he spoke, the demon made a matchmaking gesture with both hands.
The surrounding demons all nodded, voices rising in approval.
Amid the crowd, a young Daoist with a small mustache, dressed in robes and whose appearance gave no clue whether he was human or demon, sat alone drinking gloomily. Hearing the chatter, he couldn’t help but twitch his ears, his eyes swirling with thought.
After a long while, he quietly said to the pretty female attendant pouring his wine, "Junior sister, about what they’re discussing..."
The pretty female attendant glanced at the Daoist coolly and subtly waved her hand under the table.
The Daoist understood instantly and said no more.
Soon after, the fireworks outside ended.
Monkey returned alone, glanced around at the door and said, "Enjoy yourselves." Before the ministers could say anything they’d prepared, he disappeared again.
Seeing this, the ministers looked at each other in confusion. Before Belle could finally relax, someone said, "Let’s not disturb them tonight. We’ll bring it up at court another day."
"Yes, yes, yes, disturbing them tonight would be terribly inconsiderate."
"As loyal subjects, we should help bring them together."
With that, the ministers all laughed and went about their own business.
Perhaps because of this little episode, the atmosphere at the banquet became much more lively amid the rounds of toasting.
"What’s wrong?" Elder Skylar Loft asked Belle softly.