CH 95

December 3, 2022Merchie

When they walked up to the entrance of the hall, they heard a lively, vibrant noisiness coming from inside.

Pei Zheng stepped into the hall first, and all the officials bowed to him one after another.

Shen Shijiu was about to walk inside as well when he suddenly heard a voice call out from behind him.

“Ch-Changyi!”

It wasn’t loud; only Shen Shijiu heard it. He turned his head, and someone was standing behind him. He looked noble and dignified, but Shen Shijiu didn’t know him.

Shen Shijiu didn’t think that he was calling for him, so he continued forward and walked inside.

Qi Changfeng, who was standing outside the door, paused. It had only taken a hasty glance for him to realize that this person wasn’t Qi Changyi. But they really looked quite similar.

As he watched Shen Shijiu follow Pei Zheng and sit at a small table, Qi Changfeng’s mind was full of suspicion, but he couldn’t reveal himself just yet. So he walked inside with his usual expression.

Today, Qi Changfeng’s position in the court was very different from what it was in the past. The Emperor’s high regard and grace for him had gradually faded over the past three years. The Fourth Prince of the present was hardly different from the other princes. In fact, his status was probably even lower than theirs.

After his row with the Emperor, it was inevitable for him to have fallen to this point.

Qi Changfeng sat far away from the throne, and continued to stare at the masked Shen Shijiu through the layers of people around him.

Tonight’s banquet was different from last night’s; the atmosphere last night was much more solemn in comparison. All the ministers were discussing serious matters with the barbarian leader and his envoys.

But tonight, the atmosphere was extremely relaxed. The guests all brought their family members, and everyone in the hall was getting along well.

After a bit, Ah Mu Le and the barbarian envoys entered the hall. Everyone in the hall stood up and bowed to show respect, and Ah Mu Le returned the gesture to each person.

But Pei Zheng was sitting on a cushion, playing with a wine cup, having no intention of getting up.

Shen Shijiu saw that everyone around them had stood up, so he tried to do the same. But Pei Zheng pressed his thigh to prevent him from moving.

After Ah Mu Le exchanged pleasantries with the other guests, he walked toward Pei Zheng with a smile.

“Lord Pei, we meet again. Did you rest well last night?” Ah Mu Le’s gaze flitted to Pei Zheng’s side, “Why didn’t Her Royal Highness come with you?”

The corners of Pei Zheng’s lips hooked, “If Your Excellency is so worried about the princess, why don’t you ask her yourself?”

Ah Mu Le was at a loss for words; she wasn’t here, how the hell was he supposed to ask her?

“So Lord Pei has a new lover now?”

Ah Mu Le scrutinized Shen Shijiu, who was obediently kneeling at the side. He was curious; how beautiful would the face under that veil have to be in order to seduce Pei Zheng?

His line of sight was suddenly blocked. Ah Mu Le looked at Pei Zheng who was now shielding Shen Shijiu with his body, his eyes full of warning.

Ah Mu Le shrugged with indifference. If he wasn’t allowed to take a peek, then so be it, no need to be so fierce.

Then, he turned around and returned to sit in his seat.

Shen Shijiu poked his little head out from behind Pei Zheng, and poked Pei Zheng’s shoulder with his finger. He asked in confusion, “My Lord, what’s wrong?”

His voice was very quiet, as if he was afraid of being heard by others.

Only then did Pei Zheng shift sideways slightly. He said expressionlessly, “Nothing.”

“That man who was just here, his clothes were really weird. And his hair was tied in little braids, it was so cute.”

Shen Shijiu leaned into Pei Zheng’s ear and spoke in an excited voice. His gaze kept drifting toward the group of barbarian clansmen.

Pei Zheng didn’t say anything; he merely snorted coldly.

Upon hearing this, Shen Shijiu turned his head. He saw Pei Zheng staring at him irritably, his gaze extremely gloomy.

His body trembled twice, before he peeped up, “It was only… kind of cute…”

Pei Zheng’s gaze was still gloomy.

“Truthfully, it wasn’t cute at all, it was really, really, too ugly.”

Pei Zheng snorted again, and the gloominess in his eyes faded.

At this moment, a eunuch walked out from beside the throne, and called softly, “His Majesty had arrived.”

The hall suddenly fell quiet. Everyone stood up and bowed in humble reverence. The barbarians also placed their fists over their chests as a gesture of deep respect.

The Emperor walked to the throne and sat down with a smile on his face, before he waved his hand and said, “My aiqing, please rise. Think of tonight as a family dinner; no need to be so polite, just forget about the court for a little bit.”

Everyone else in the hall smiled as well, and respectfully toasted the Emperor.

Then, the door to the hall opened, and a group of dancers came in, their flowy sleeves curling, their figures graceful and willowy. They began to dance with elegant movements in the center of the hall, and everyone laughed and chatted as they watched the performance.

After the dance was over, there was thunderous applause.

The Emperor was also delighted, and ordered someone to fetch a folding fan for him to inscribe.

After he waved a brush and wrote the four words “prosperity of the country” upon the fan, everyone was bursting with compliments, praising the Emperor’s cursive script1 as a peerless masterpiece.

Then, in front of everyone, the Emperor presented the folding fan to Ah Mu Le.

A eunuch walked down the steps with the folding fan in his hands, and held it out to Ah Mu Le.

Ah Mu Le bowed and saluted, “Ah Mu Le is very grateful. Many thanks to Your Majesty.”

But under everyone’s staring eyes, he didn’t take the folding fan himself. Instead, a subordinate beside him received it and placed it right on Ah Mu’s Le’s table.

This was actually an act of extreme disrespect toward the Emperor’s gift. The Emperor’s expression became a bit ugly, and everyone in the hall also fell silent.

Ah Mu Le smiled, stepped forward, and said, “Your Majesty, our barbarian tribe would also like to present a gift to you tonight. I hope that once Your Majesty sees it, you will take a liking to it.”

After he finished speaking, he clapped his hands. The tightly shut door suddenly groaned, and everyone looked toward it.

A huge black shadow was cast over the door. It was clearly the silhouette of a person, but it looked as strong as a black bear.

The black shadow pushed the door open and walked inside; he was so strong that he cracked the door frame. With every step he took, there was a loud thud.

This man had very thick hair and a beard; only a pair of beastly eyes could be seen through it all. His body looked extremely sturdy, and his arms were as thick as the circumference of a normal person’s head.

Ah Mu Le cupped his hands and said, “Your Majesty, this is an extremely rare giant from our barbarian tribe. He is so strong that he can uproot willow trees. Today I gift him to Your Majesty, with the hopes that he can stay by Your Majesty’s side to ensure Your Majesty’s safety.”

Ensure His Majesty’s safety?

Having this kind of terrifying creature at His Majesty’s side would put him in even more danger.

“This… I appreciate the clan leader’s kindness. It’s just that, the palace is always heavily guarded; there are already many imperial guards around to protect me, enough to ensure my safety.” Ah Mu Le flashed an unperturbed smile, “Your Highness, please don’t rush to refuse. How about this, Your Majesty can send the fiercest warriors of the Celestial Dynasty to duel with our barbarian giants; it’ll be clear who’s on top once we give it a try.”

The moment these words fell, the ministers all began to discuss amongst themselves.

If they didn’t accept Ah Mu Le’s challenge, they would be ridiculed; the Celestial Dynasty couldn’t find even a single warrior that was brave enough and skilled enough to try.

If they accepted Ah Mu Le’s challenge, they would have to face this creature and its terrifying strength.

“All right then, let’s duel. Come in!”

The Emperor called out, and ten burly imperial guards came through the door. But compared to the creature in the middle of the hall, they were utterly insignificant.

Those imperial guards didn’t have weapons with them either; they were all unarmed.

One of them stepped forward and stood face to face with the giant, but his head only reached the giant’s chest.

The man’s strikes were firm and accurate as he punched the giant’s stomach, but the giant didn’t react at all.

That man became impatient, and he punched the giant over a dozen times in succession. The giant endured every strike without a single sway or wobble.

The man was out of breath and had no choice but to bend over to rest. All he saw was the giant’s toothy grin, before the giant stretched his arms out and smashed down onto the person in front of him…

Pei Zheng reached out and covered Shen Shijiu’s eyes, and felt Shen Shijiu’s long lashes brush his hand as he blinked.

The mess in the hall was quickly cleaned up.

Pei Zheng removed his hand. His palm still seemed to be itching a bit.

Three of the remaining imperial guards first tried to launch a group attack, but ended up failing miserably.

The rest of them simply grabbed their weapons and charged forward all at once, but the giant’s entire body was like an impenetrable wall, incredibly hard and invulnerable.

One by one, each soldier fell, seriously injured, and they were all carried out of the hall.

The giant only had a few cuts on his body. He raised his arms, shouting and cheering in a garbled voice.

Ah Mu Le signaled for him to quiet down, before he turned to the hushed crowd, “All of you noble lords saw it; it’s not that my people don’t understand etiquette, but for a ten-to-one situation to become like this, why, that’s hardly justifiable.”

He looked very smug, “Your Majesty, the winner has been determined. Ten people of the Celestial Dynasty are no match for one barbarian. What are your thoughts?”

The Emperor was on the verge of turning green. The prestige of the Celestial Dynasty was about to be swept to the floor by the barbarian tribe.

“Your Majesty, this subject is willing to give it a try.”

Pei Zheng stood in the hall and cupped his hands. His tone was calm and placid.

The Emperor didn’t even have time to process his words before Ah Mu Le walked over, applauding.

“All right, Lord Pei is indeed courageous, but Your Lordship must be careful, lest these crude, uneducated savages hurt you.”

Pei Zheng shot him a cold glance and didn’t respond. He walked up to the giant in a few steps, and stood with his hands behind his back.

He was level with the giant’s shoulders. Pei Zheng lifted his head slightly, sizing him up with narrowed eyes.

Ah Mu Le watched from the side with his arms crossed. He wanted to see just what kind of trick Pei Zheng had up his sleeve. He asked in a fake, good-natured voice, “Lord Pei, would you like to pick a weapon to aid you?”

Unexpectedly, Pei Zheng really did want to pick one.

He walked over to Ah Mu Le’s table and picked up the folding fan that the Emperor had gifted him, before glancing at Ah Mu Le, as if he were asking for permission.

Ah Mu Le was very confused; what use would a fragile fan be? He nodded.

Pei Zheng flicked the fan open with a “pa”. With his slender fingers, he tossed it high into the air, where it spun several times, forming beautiful swirls and arcs, before his fingers pressed together, closing the fan.

His movements were very fluid and beautiful. Everybody stared attentively at the center of the hall, fearing that they would miss the performance if they blinked.

Shen Shijiu was still obediently sitting in Pei Zheng’s seat. His hands gripped the hem of his cloak. While everyone else’s minds were fixated on watching the lively show, Shen Shijiu was the only one who was concerned about Pei Zheng’s safety.

His Lordship’s internal force had been damaged, and he wasn’t fully recovered yet; how could he use his internal energy so casually?

Notes

Thanks for reading~~

1.草书 (cǎo shū): ‘Grass script’, because it looks like grass. I wrote a footnote about Chinese calligraphy before, 草书 is the cursive script, similar to sosho calligraphy (which also means ‘grass script’). It’s fun to write and looks cool, but no one can read it, so it’s artistic rather than functional.